1. 24 MONDAY SEPTEMBER 21 2015 DAILYTELEGRAPH.COM.AU
TELE01Z02MA - V1
ROSANNA ROSENDALE,
50, SENIOR MARKETING
MANAGER
Silk shirt, $169, gingham print
skinny jeans, $149, and belt, $49, all
Marcs, Tony Bianco sandals, $179
I
F your workplace has a casual
dress code or relaxes the rules on
a dress-down Friday, it doesn’t
mean turning up to the office in
your boardies and thongs.
Dressing in a corporate
environment is easy, but
choosing an outfit for casual
Friday can be an exercise fraught with
fashion faux-pas — and even change
the way you are seen professionally.
Stylist Caitlin Stewart says dressing
casually for work is the most difficult
look to get right.
“Many people don’t know what to
wear because they don’t want to look
“too weekend” but they still need to
appear polished and professional,” she
says.
Smart/casual can have different
meanings depending on how formal
or relaxed the workplace attire is.
“Wearing ‘corporate’ is easy — it’s
slimming and attractive on everybody
but casual clothing is less structured
and more relaxed, and many women
worry it’s not as flattering or smart,”
Stewart says.
Her tip is to team a formal item
with one less so.
“A blazer with a pair of jeans or
pencil skirt and striped T-shirt is
almost foolproof,” she says.
We asked Stewart to style three
women in their 20s to 50s for a
successful smart-casual look.
SAMANTHA CAREY, 25,
PRODUCT MANAGER
David Lawrence top, $129, Karen
Millen black pants, $295, Tony
Bianco Dilla loafers, $159.95,
necklace, $25, from empayah.com.au
“My office is not extremely
corporate so I usually wear cigarette
pants with brogues or ballet flats and a
cropped blazer always,” she says.
“I struggle with casual clothes
because my personal style is very laid-
back so I can’t wear a lot of my
weekend wardrobe into the office —
ripped jeans, singlet and Converse
sneakers are just not appropriate!
“If you are going to go out after
work you don’t want to look too
corporate, but you still need to look
respectable in the office so it’s hard
finding that balance.
“I love this casual outfit because
I’m not very girlie so I like the man-
style shoes, culottes and the top is a
great fabric.”
ALICE POWYER, 36,
MANAGING DIRECTOR
Marcs dress, $199, and animal print
belt, $49, Karen Millen pumps, $245
“The biggest mistake women make
is looking like they’re either going to
the club or to the shopping centre,”
she says. “It still needs to be corporate
casual, not just what you wear to the
footy on the weekend.
“I always wear dark or coloured
jeans on casual Friday and try to mix it
up with my work clothes because I
find if you buy a ‘Friday’ outfit, you
can only wear it a couple of times.
“I wouldn’t normally wear a shirt
dress as I go for pencil styles because
I’m curvy. But I love the heels.”
“I struggle with
casual wear because it’s too
easy to go very casual and I work in
IT, which has the reputation of being
the worst dressed as an industry,” she
says. “Jeans are my fallback ... I almost
always wear jeans with either a ‘work’
blouse/T-shirt/sweater and jacket, and
heels.
“It’s a good way to ensure your
outfit doesn’t look like something
you’d wear around the house.
“I really like my outfit — I love the
colours and patterned jeans teamed
with heels work well for a professional
casual look.”
daniela.ongaro@news.com.au
Whyyourcasualclothes
couldcostyouapromotion
5thingsI’ve
learned
1Network.
Starting my first
business in Asia at 24 years
of age, I quickly learned the
cultural importance of
strong relationships.
Building these takes
patience. It wasn’t one of my
strengths, but 10 years on,
my strongest business and
personal relationships are in
Asia. Networking is
essential. Do it right and it
will pay off.
2Employ the best.
Hire people based on
smarts and talent rather
than cost. If you surround
yourself with hardworking,
intelligent people, then your
business will prosper.
3Play to your strengths.
If you are great at
sales and marketing but are
not technically minded,
then hire a tech guru. That
way you can focus your
energy where it most
benefits the company.
4Back the person — not
the idea.
Always invest in the
person driving the business.
My two biggest investment
failures resulted from poor
management.
5Keep looking ahead.
Always reinvest,
otherwise you will be left
behind your competitors.
Play the long game to
ensure you are still
successful in business in the
years to come.
From left: Alice
Powyer, Rosanna
Rosendale and
Sam Carey.
Hair: Nick
Whiticker Double
Bay. Make-up:
Tannia Tiropanis,
from Napoleon
Perdis. Clothes:
Westfield Bondi
Junction.
Get the look:
Long Black
mascara; Nude U
palette for eyes,
cheeks and brow;
Off Duty tinted
moisturiser; The
One concealer
base; Minimal Lips
in Sleek, all by
Napoleon Perdis.
If you have a laid-back
workplace, or dress-down
Fridays, beware taking it
too literally. Here’s how to
dress with success every
day of the week. By
Daniela Ongaro
work life
Beginonhandsandkneesin
atabletopposition.Extend
therightarmoutatshoulder
levelthenthreadthearm
through,undertheleftarm
sothatthebackofthehand,
rightearandrightshoulder
restontheground.
Holdfor8breathsthen
inhaletorelease.
Repeatonthe
oppositeside.
&relax
This pose stretches the
shoulders, arms and
upper back.
THREAD THE NEEDLE
PROVIDED BY NATALIE STANLEY,
ZENINTHECITY.COM.AU
dailytelegraph.com.au/entertainment/arts
NICK BELL
Entrepreneur
and founder of
WME Group
■ No cleavage or micro-minis.
■ Avoid sheer fabrics.
■ No sneakers.
■ Avoid prominent brands and logos.
■ Don’t wear anything you would
wear to the beach, a BBQ, nightclub
or the park.
OFFICEDRESSRULES