When the dress code is team spirit
It only takes a few glances around New York City’s Financial District, where Business Insider’s offices are located, to see how the city has gotten in on team spirit.
Whether it’s the New York Knicks or their favorite World Cup soccer team, many professionals aren’t confining their sports gear to the games; they’re bringing it to the office.
However, there’s a right way and a wrong way to show your allegiance, so you can still get the job done. I reached out to Alison Bruhn, an executive stylist for more than a decade, for advice on how to do this properly if you can’t help but grab that jersey.
“Business is still going as usual, you’re still meeting with important clients,” she said, adding that wearing jerseys can often feel out of place in industries such as finance, banking, and the legal field.
For men, she advised grabbing “a quarter zip up that has a discreet logo or even a tie.” And for women, Bruhn, who runs executive presence and image advisory firm The Style That Binds Us with her daughter, Delia Folk, suggested wearing a cashmere sweater in the team’s colors or a polo top with a subtle team logo.
When I told Bruhn that I saw some professionals around FiDi sneaking in team pride through tennis shoes in the team’s colors, she said that was understandable given how many offices are moving away from dress codes. Ultimately, Bruhn said, your company culture will help determine how much you can get away with.
“What I tell all of my clients is know your audience. Know where you work,” she continued. “Work is work. You don’t want to be a distraction.”
