Boardroom Black

On tonight's episode of BBC's The Apprentice, I was struck by the uniformity of the business dress adopted by the seven remaining contestants. All the boys wore dark blue suits with blue ties: all the girls, black or black and white.  They were all very well-groomed and well presented, but the overall effect was funereal.  Is it really necessary to adopt a monochrome dress code in order to succeed in business?

There is nothing new about this.  I worked for many years in the City of London, where the prevailing dress code was indeed dark suit and white shirt for both men and women.  It took a break from work to have children to open my eyes to just how bad I looked in black and white, and an image consultant from Colour Me Beautiful to show me alternatives that were equally professional and far less draining to my face.

Business is hardly a fashion show, but people do succeed better in business when they look healthy and attractive.  Black can look stunning on people with dark colouring, such as The Apprentice's Liz, but fair complexions such as Stella's can look very pale in unrelieved black.  Blondes and redheads could try grey or light navy as an alternative to black, or break up the black with a light colour near the face.  Black and white create a sharp contrast which is great on people with striking colouring but less kind to those whose colouring is more subtle, who would look better in a mixture of medium-depth neutral colours.

Black, dark blue and dark grey are all authoritative colours that give the wearer gravitas and creates a trustworthy impression.  It is no accident that police uniforms are dark in colour! However, in business we may want to give other messages: for example, if you wish to seem friendly and approachable, for example in a situation where you have to work well in a team, then a combination of a medium-depth neutral with one of your best colours creates a friendly yet professional image.  

Most business suits are neutral in colour - it is a brave person, man or woman, who will wear a bright colour in a jacket!  However, that does not mean that no colour can be worn.  Shirts and ties (for men) and tops (for women) in a range of colours can be worn with neutral suits.  Many people favour blue in a business environment because of its calming effect - but if everyone is wearing blue, the mood can be calm to the point of depression!  Red livens things up and can be seen as aggressive - but in small amounts it creates warmth and energy, which can be particularly useful in a sales environment.  I am surprised that The Apprentice's contestants rarely wear red, since selling is so important in this programme: perhaps they do not wish to be viewed as "aggressive" by Lord Sugar!