Dressing for Yourself At Work

The absolute best perk of working in famously-laid back in Silicon Valley isn’t the pick-up soccer games at lunchtime or the telecommuting opportunities or even the free snacks. No, by far the
best benefit is the dress code—or, more precisely, the lack of dress code.

When I first began working at my small search engine company three years ago, I wanted to fit in, and so I dressed like my co-workers dressed. Although my company, like many around here, has no written dress code, there is definitely a standard. All the guys (and it’s mostly guys) wear the same thing every day: jeans, freebie t-shirt from a tech conference, and a button-down shirt, unbuttoned. When I followed the “uniform,” however, I found that it drowned out my personality. I didn’t look like the guys; I looked like a bland automaton and a wallflower. So not me.

Eventually, I decided to take full advantage of the Silicon Valley vibe. No dress code? Great—I’m going to dress like me. My weekend style is best described as “modified punk”: vans and studded belts, tattoos on my arms, but no mohawks or nose rings. I started wearing that style to the office, and I’ve felt more confident ever since.

The topic of how to dress in casual offices has come up on many occasions on women-in-science email lists that I subscribe to, and I seem to be in the minority. Most women recommend dressing to fit the culture and look professional. And, sure, people take the girl with visible tats and skull t-shirts a little less seriously, but to me it’s worth it. My style increases my self-possession, makes me surer of myself, and that helps me to be a better worker. It’s liberating to let my personality shine through and not be obscured by my clothes, even if it costs me a bit in professionalism.

How do you dress at work? Would you dress differently if you could?

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