Military Careers, Second Careers - Army Times

Career outfitter: Your civilian clothing guide

With a reputation for integrity, dedication and cutting-edge talents, service members rarely have trouble landing good jobs once they leave uniform.

Dressing well once they are in those jobs? That’s another matter.

After years of being told what to wear and how to wear it, do you lack the knowledge or the confidence to assemble a wardrobe sure to make you shine in the civilian work force? If you’re in the market for clothing designed to keep you off the company’s worst-dressed list — without breaking the bank — look no further.

Decision Times recently spent a day with two professional image consultants, ImageByRita founder Rita Gworek and her associate, Michelle Gardner-Ince, at The Fashion Centre at Pentagon City in Arlington, Va.

Their challenge? Take two models — Air Force Tech. Sgt. Charles L. Mercurio IV and 1st Lt. Mi Sou Hood; two stores inside The Fashion Centre at Pentagon City — Jos. A. Bank and Talbots; and three budgets — $500, $1,000 and $2,000, and come up with civilian clothing ensembles designed to work in two different career paths.

Gworek and Gardner-Ince made their selections with Mercurio and Hood in mind, but their suggestions are applicable to anyone in need of a little professional wardrobe assistance.

Business casual

Mercurio, 36, has spent the past 16½ years in uniform. He’s force development manager for the Air Force Honor Guard at Bolling Air Force Base, Washington, D.C., and is pursuing a business degree from the University of Phoenix. He hopes to complete a master’s in business administration and start climbing the corporate ladder.

Estimating that he has about three years left in uniform, Mercurio already is working to build a civilian wardrobe that will help him succeed in the business world. He said he takes some style cues from the characters on the ABC television drama “Boston Legal” and admits that years spent stationed overseas have left him somewhat in the dark about the U.S. corporate code of fashion.

Gworek and Gardner-Ince first worked to create a $500 business-casual option for Mercurio, consisting of a wool sportcoat, black pleated wool pants, a tailored-fit cotton dress shirt, silk tie, belt, shoes and socks — all for just under $500 (before taxes).

For men with trim builds, Gworek is a fan of the tailored-fit shirt, which is tapered about 5 inches more into the body than a regular dress shirt, for a cleaner look under the arms and at the sides. For an even more casual option, our experts swapped out the shirt and tie for a long-sleeved silk polo.

This business-casual look — worn with either shirt — not only works well for those more relaxed days at a corporate workplace but also as everyday attire for men in professions such as education, marketing, communications or the science and technology fields, where dress codes tend to be less formal, Gardner-Ince said.

For a well-rounded business-casual wardrobe, Gardner-Ince recommends two or three sportcoats-with-dress-pants combinations — a khaki or tweed coat with darker pant, for instance, or a dark blazer with a tan or gray pant. Aim for seven or eight dress shirts and 10 to 12 ties, she said.

“Different shirt-and-tie combos can make a man’s outfit look entirely different,” she said.

Indeed, Mercurio said he was amazed at how swapping out one tie for another could allow him to have a little fun with dressing for a business environment and also completely change the look of an outfit.

Big-meeting day

Gworek and Gardner-Ince also worked to create a more executive look for Mercurio, appropriate for, say, a big meeting day when he might want to dress to impress his bosses and clients. Working with a budget of $2,000, our experts assembled a black wool suit, French-cuff cotton shirt, cufflinks, brass collar stays, silk tie, braces/suspenders, shoes, socks, silk pocket square, cotton handkerchiefs and a raincoat.

Leftover money was used for a clothes brush and cedar shoe trees for shoe maintenance, because, as Gworek admonished, “It’s one thing to build your wardrobe, but [you also have to take] care of it.”

Gardner-Ince applauded Mercurio for getting a jumpstart on his professional wardrobe while still a while away from leaving uniform.

“It’s important ... over two or three years to build key pieces that are going to work for you,” she said. “That way, when you get in the job, you are not spending a mint to look good.”

And Mercurio needn’t worry that assembling his professional wardrobe over time will mean he looks dated when he enters the civilian work force, she added. “For men, and especially in the area he is talking about going into ... the suits don’t change that much.”

She recommends owning three or four suits, though she’s quick to add that it’s better to own one really good suit than two or three suits of poorer quality.

“Not only will it last longer ... [but] anyone who is at the next level and recognizes the quality of suits will think that you thought enough of yourself to invest in a good suit,” she said.

And speaking of that next level, here’s one final tip Mercurio learned from our experts: Always dress for your next job — even if that means suppressing elements of your own personal style.

“You want to dress to look like your superiors,” Gardner-Ince said. “You want superiors to say, ‘He belongs up here with us.’”

“The top guy really does set the tone,” Mercurio said.

What the doctor ordered

First Lt. Mi Sou Hood, 28, has spent six years in the Air Force and is deputy commander, support flight, for the 844th Communications Group at Bolling. Although she loves her duties as a communications and information officer and has no plans to leave uniform, she has not ruled out someday going to medical school to become a doctor.

For Hood, Gworek and Gardner-Ince worked with a budget of $1,000 to create a wardrobe appropriate for a civilian physician.

Because the medical field is outside the corporate environment, Hood can get away with wearing clothing with softer colors and lines.

Indeed, Gworek said, Hood should look for fabrics that drape, in cool colors that would help patients feel relaxed around her. One of the benefits of a career field such as medicine is the ability to shop for hues other than the power color of black, Gworek said.

Standing at just 5 feet, 2 inches tall, Hood has a petite frame that presents its own set of fashion challenges, Gworek said.

Clothing choices are limited for petite people, and all styles aren’t necessarily flattering. For Hood, Gworek recommended monochromatic looks to help elongate her frame. Accessorizing with long necklaces also can help, Gardner-Ince said. Both experts cautioned Hood against wearing too-bold jewelry that could overwhelm her small frame.

Sticking to their assigned budget, Gworek and Gardner-Ince put together three different outfits for Hood: a fun-yet-classy polka-dot dress with sweater; a navy pant and shell topped by a fun striped jacket; and a pale-blue wool crepe pantsuit. Each outfit was accessorized with jewelry and shoes, and light makeup was applied to Hood, who confessed to usually going without.

“Makeup is extremely important,” Gardner-Ince said. “Studies have shown that women who wear makeup make 20 to 30 percent more in salary.”

Hood, who said she sometimes worries that she dresses too young for her age, said she learned a great deal from the experts and found herself trying — and liking — styles that she otherwise might not have considered.

Such thinking outside the box is critical to finding a personal style that will help you succeed in the professional world, no matter what career path you choose. After all, Gworek said, a principal role of image consultants such as herself is “putting things together that people wouldn’t think to put together.”

Personal style tips

Image consultant Michelle Gardner-Ince offered these tips to address a range of different builds and avert possible fashion blunders:

Men

• Heavy-set men should wear longer, pointed collars rather than rounded collars. Select ties that are smaller prints, and try to wear a smaller knot in the tie. To help elongate the body, make sure the tie goes to the waistband.

• Although black and burgundy shoes work best for more professional looks, when dressing business-casual, you also can get by with a dark-brown shoe. But whatever the color of your footwear, make sure it matches your belt.

• Have an athletic build? Have your suits tailored, or look for an athletic-cut suit, which has an 8- to 10-inch difference in the chest measurement and waist size.

Women

• Very tall women should avoid pinstripes, because they elongate the body and can make the wearer appear pencil-thin.

• Monochromatic dressing is flattering on full-figured women. Wearing the same color from head to toe can make you look more proportioned and 20 to 30 pounds slimmer.

• If you have wide hips, stick to tapered skirts. Wide skirts will make your hips look even wider.

• Large-busted women should always try on blouses before purchasing. If your blouse gaps in the chest area, go one size bigger and have the rest of the shirt altered to fit.

• Avoid greens — at least until you get some experience in what looks good on you. Greens tend to have undertones that look unflattering on many people.

• Shoes, belt and bag should always match.

Clothing-care tips

Image consultant Rita Gworek offered these tips for preserving your professional wardrobe:

• Brush off your suit before you hang it in your closet. This gets dust and dirt off and removes moth eggs.

• Invest in sturdy wooden clothing hangers. They provide support for heavier garments, such as suit jackets, sportcoats and overcoats.

• Hang pants from clips. The small amount of stretching provided by doing so will help eliminate wrinkling in the garment.

• Use cedar shoe trees. They absorb moisture and help maintain the original shape of your shoe.

Do

• Try on both the jacket and pants at the store; give yourself time to shop around.

• Make sure the jacket is smooth across the back and doesn’t pucker at the shoulders. Ensure you have the proper sleeve length on the jacket — about a quarter of the shirt cuff should be visible when your arms are at your side.

• Go for a two- or three-button wool suit in navy or charcoal gray.

• Take the suit to a tailor you trust for tweaking.

• Button the top button on a two-button jacket or the top two buttons on a three-button jacket. Never use the bottom buttons. If you do decide to go with a double-breasted jacket, always wear it closed.

• Wear over-the-calf socks so they don’t drop and bunch up at your ankles, or even worse, expose a hairy calf or shin. Socks should match your pants so it’s a relatively seamless color transition from pant leg to ankle.

• It’s not just a military thing — if your suit pants

have belt loops, wear a dress belt.

• Remember, brown shoes, brown belt; black shoes, black belt.

• A white or pale blue shirt is always a safe choice to wear with your suit. Wear an undershirt. The last thing you want is underarm sweat stains.

• Wear the proper shoes with your suit. Think black leather lace-up with a cap toe. You can wear brown if your suit is blue. In some cases, brown will also go with a gray suit.

• Keep in mind most suits will come with a 6-inch “drop,” meaning that if the jacket is a size 44, the waist on the trousers will usually be 38 inches.

Don’t

• Expect to be terribly active in your suit jacket. It should be comfortable, but the most movement you should have to worry about is hugging someone. So hug yourself with your jacket on; if you can’t without risk of ripping, then it’s too small.

• Try to let out the waist of the trouser more than an inch or take it in more than two inches. You could ruin the trouser’s shape.

• Go for extreme styles (extra-wide lapels, four- or five-button jackets) and colors.

Fitting guide

• Look for clues the jacket is tight. Ridges on the back are telltale signs of strain.

• Too big? You see it when it puckers at the shoulder and along the back seam. Remember, it should look smooth.

• Don’t make the mistake of wearing sleeves that are

too long. Your shirt cuff should peek out from under your jacket sleeve only a bit.

• One of the most common mistakes with wearing suits is treating the trouser length the way you would a pair of jeans or chinos. Too long just doesn’t look right.

• Your tailor may ask how much of a break you want — that is, how much trouser fabric you want to sit on the instep of your shoe. In a “full break,” the trouser legs are hemmed at the top of the heel of your dress shoe, so that the maximum amount of fabric breaks over the shoe’s front. A “slight break” means the trousers are hemmed above the heel, giving you less break over the shoe front.

• To ensure the best fit, wear the clothes you’d normally pair with the suit — your dress shoes and shirt, at least — when you’re suit-shopping and when you go for tailoring.

— Gannett News Service