How you dress is super-important for a freelancer. In the client’s office you need to fit in and get things done. But, you also need to command respect and carry an air of authority.
But, where do you start? The single or double-breasted world of blazers, jackets and lounge suits – bespoke, made-to-measure or off-the-peg – can seem absurdly complicated.
Style is not just how you look and what you wear: it’s how you live – where you go on holiday, what car you drive, the watch you wear, what food and drink you like, what you do in your spare time, how you treat others, what books you read.
Style is a fiendishly difficult thing to grasp, especially at first. You need first to pay attention to what you wear. You need to try … but never too hard.
Here are some useful guides for the sovereign professional aspiring to elegance:
Do you struggle to tell a dive watch from a driving watch? A field from a tank watch? Or even a dress watch from more casual models?
The importance and role of watches has changed. In these smartphone days, many don’t bother with a watch at all.
A watch to tell quality rather than time
However, with a little attention, a man’s watch can be an elegant indicator of success and a valuable signal of competence.
Remember, when you studied marketing? The reason that City law firms and accountants have plush offices hung with expensive art is that they are selling a service. You can’t try before you buy, therefore you rely on signals to decide whether you are buying real expertise.
We all do it, all the time. In a study a few years ago, researchers found that volunteers wearing Tommy Hilfiger or Lacoste polo shirts were deemed more successful than those wearing unbranded or Slazenger tops:
In summary, the researchers found that volunteers who wore a polo shirt with a Tommy Hilfiger or Lacoste logo (i.e. recognised premium brands) were rated as wealthier and of higher status than those wearing no logo or a Slazenger logo (i.e. a recognised non-luxury brand). Similarly, they were more likely to persuade passers-by to partake in surveys, more likely to be offered a job and raised more money when collecting for charity.
The sovereign professional has a unique challenge: how to fit in with the client’s team, while also signalling that you are the premium product the client is paying for.
Some big consulting firms take the view that consultants on-site should be indistinguishable from the client’s own team. That might work if you have a heavyweight consulting logo behind you, I’m not sure. But, the independent, sovereign professional needs some signals subtle enough to avoid alienating temporary team-mates.
The watch as credibility signal
An elegant, understated watch can signal credibility. However, the world of watches becomes esoteric quite quickly. Here are five useful resources:
Dezeen – The fantastic Dezeen.com used to have an online store of design-led watches. Sadly, the store is no more, but they do have a list of the (mostly small) brands that they used to stock.
Grey Fox – the Grey Fox blog (“A mature search for style.”) has regular features on watches for men.
Omologato – “The world of motorsport inspired timepieces”. This one’s a bit different. I came across the brand a few months ago and was just struck by the owner’s passion both for motorsport and for watch design.
“We will either find a way, or make one.” – Hannibal
“If you start to take Vienna, take Vienna.” – Napoleon
“Optimism is a force multiplier.” – Colin Powell
I worked with a great leader who always used that Colin Powell quote.
Interestingly, if only because I’ve just discovered it myself, Marcus Aurelius died in Vienna (Vindobona as it was then) on March 17, 180AD. There is a (rather uninteresting) Mark Aurel Strasse close to the Roman Museum (Römermuseum) on Hoher Markt in the city centre.
My own interest in hats has grown in inverse proportion to the growth of my hair. The first autumn rain pelting your near-naked scalp, or the dry, shrinking sensation of hot, summer sun on parts you previously supposed to be thatched will do that to a chap.
