Here is a question I have been thinking about recently, which I would pose to all of you: How do you balance your own personal style with dressing for success?

Growing up in the age of neon, my mom would always tell people what a “loud dresser” I was.  I just really appreciate bright colors and funky designs.  This has become a challenge for me as “grown up” given the social conventions surrounding dressing yourself.

The way you dress is often a key aspect of first impressions — if you want to signal that you are wealthy, then wear designer brands with visible logos, if you are a sporty person you wear Nike, etc. I want to give myself every social and professional advantage I can, so I see wearing sharp-looking, stylish outfits as a positive in that respect.  However, most popular men’s styles use grey, blue, brown, and black as their color palette. The most striking patterns are probably argyle and plaid.

So how does one balance the love of bold color and funky patterns in academia and business?  My best solution is to conform with fashion in terms of design and high quality (quality always looks good), and to attempt to “sneak” bright colors in to places where they work-for example brightly colored socks and shoes, an orange tie, or a bold plaid under a sweater.  Or sometimes I just say “what the hell?” and wear turquoise pants.

Leave me a comment telling me how you include your own personal style in dressing for success!

Derek in his natural habitat: Hawaiian shirts!