Ex-Deutsche Bank VP has this advice on how to dress as a woman in finance

 

(Photo:one shoulder prom dresses)Sartorial correctness isn’t necessarily easy when you’re a woman in an investment bank. If you consult UBS’s ‘dress code’ (since withdrawn), the woman in finance should never display her toenails, never wear a shirt that’s ‘tight against the chest’ or a coloured bra beneath a white shirt, and should always wear a nicely folded necktie in the style of a cabin assistant. And if you listen to Nomura, you should never wear a skirt with a deep slit, or ‘gay colour nail polish.’

If this guidance is insufficient, there is – fortunately – additional help at hand. Libby Hart, a former vice president at Deutsche Bank and director at SocGen, quit banking three years ago to devote herself to dressing professional women. You can see her collection of ‘office appropriate workwear’ here. Meanwhile, this is what Hart says about the real art of looking the part when you’re a 35 year-old woman with three children, a sometimes unreliable nanny, and a one hour commute.

1. Face it: you are not 22

When you’re in your 20s, dressing for a banking job is easy, says Hart: “You just go to Zara, where everything is tiny and too short and you can just about get away with it.”

Life gets more difficult once you get to your late 20s and beyond. At this stage, you should eschew Zara office wear for something with more gravitas. However, you don’t want to look “frumpy,” or “mumsy,” says Hart, and you don’t want to spend a fortune. “I know very few senior women who get it wrong,” she says. “The people who make mistakes are the mid-level women who are still wearing pencil skirts and cardigans.”

2. Invest in some ‘proper’ dresses

Hart refers to her clothes as “investment pieces.” Costing around £200 for a dress, they’re not cheap, but Hart says – as is to be expected – that they’re worth it. Moreover, you need a few of them. “It’s easy to slip into a routine of wearing two or three outfits on rotation, especially when you’are starting at 6.45am. But if you really dress up, it will give you a confidence boost. It’s sad but true that you will be judged by what you wear in a masculine environment like banking.”

3. Sleeves, you need them

When you’re shopping for seasonal clothes to wear to work in banking,you need to remember that every season in the office is fundamentally the same thanks to air conditioning. It’s just outside that’s different.

“The summer work wardrobe is a real challenge – it’s freezing in the office and boiling on the Tube,” says Hart. All her dresses have sleeves to allow wearers to survive the office micro climate.

4. Cleavage must be constrained

Don’t even think about displaying cleavage. A v-neck top with a tiny “hint at cleavage” is fine, says Hart. Too many people go lower. “You see a lot of men oggling at women’s cleavage in meetings. As a senior woman, that will undermine you.”

5. Heels are your friend

Think Teresa May. “I’m pro-shoes,” says Hart. “The higher the better. The extra height gives you gravitas and a better posture.”

6. Skirts should be of a decent length

There’s no need to show some leg. “If your skirt is a bit short you will spend your whole life trying to pull it down,” says Hart. “You shouldn’t be worrying about what you wear all day long. You want to look at good as you can. It’s all about looking amazing whilst looking demure, that’s the key.”Read more at:prom dresses london