职业装的秘密：看上去很棒，感觉就很棒

我有一条既适用于严肃工作场合、也可以穿着享受家庭早午餐时光的Ted Baker粉色印花紧身裙。每当我穿上这条裙子，我就感到自己变得强大起来。若再搭配上4英寸跟的Manolo Blahnik高跟鞋，我便有了驾驭全局的气场。

我通常写的文章都是关于应对变化、领导力、内向人格或其他我感兴趣的商业话题，但我突然意识到很多跟我同龄的职场女性正因在工作中缺乏自信心和存在感而不堪其扰。因此，我写下了这篇文章，希望能帮助到我的朋友们。每个人都希望自己变得强大，其实在你每天早上上班前，当你走向衣柜时，就有很多种方式能帮你实现这一想法。

一言以蔽之，当我们看上去很棒，我们自然也会感觉良好。

打造一个合适的发型、穿一件合身的服装、挑一双令你身姿挺拔的鞋子、或搭配上一件要花掉你整月薪水的精美配饰，这些都令我们身心愉悦。相信我，你绝对不会后悔，这是已被多次验证的经验之谈。我们难以买到自信，但你却可以穿出自信。不得不说，拥有自信就是会让人看上去更赞呀。

你质疑职场的衣着打扮是否真的如此重要？当然重要！因为你的外在决定了别人对你认知的第一印象。你的衣着打扮表达了你对自身的定位，同时也在潜意识传递出需要别人以何种方式对待你。试想你希望自己给周围的人留下怎样的印象，再用你所具备的一切物质条件去将你的想法变为现实。

举例来说，人们总觉得我很高冷严肃。当我穿着黑色套装，就相当于贴上了“生人勿进”的警示牌。他们甚至会猜想我是不是要去解雇一位员工或者即将出席一场葬礼。所以，我会选择那条淡粉色带着花纹的Ted Baker紧身裙，让我保持强大气场的同时，也在无声地向想靠近我的人传达着信息——“别害怕，我不会咬人的。”我还有一条鲜红色喇叭裤，用来搭配一件看上去中式却又有些西班牙风情的法式钩边上衣。这套着装就像在告诉大家，“来，让我们各显身手，愉快地在办公室创造奇迹吧。”

你要找到属于你自己的Ted Baker紧身裙或红色喇叭裤。找出那些你在试衣间里爱到不行却从未在办公室穿过的衣服。光是着装上的改变就能大大的为你增加吸引力和关注度。

我们再来聊聊鞋子。请以你自身的感受为准，如果平跟鞋让你感到强大，那就放心大胆的选择它。作为一个身高仅有一米六三的娇小女性，高跟鞋帮我缩小了与身高一米八以上的瑞典男同事的高度差距。而这种“高度”不只限于生理上，也是精神上的。借助高跟鞋的帮助，我在生理与心理上得以与他们平等对话。我知道这听上去很疯狂，但却是真的。

我们需要有气场的职场着装，但也有些场合需要我们选择舒适的衣着。对我而言，如果在飞机上或者在周末，怎么穿着舒适才最重要。我当然乐意成为一个穿着剪裁合身的套装和高跟鞋、在机场健步如飞的职场女超人（天知道这些她们是如何做到的），但我实在不能理解这样的行为。我不在乎身边那些人如何看我，我只需要像我的水壶一般自如伸缩。而穿着职业装可做不到这样。在周末，我就像那些住在郊区的妈妈们一样，换上一身Lululemon。当你可以穿着舒适的长裤运动的时候，做不做瑜伽又有什么关系呢？

我知道我在文中提到了一些奢侈品的名字，但这不是重点。我也有很多J.Crew的衣服，穿上后跟Ted Bakers一样奏效，甚至他家的裤子更适合我。这不是说让你去立刻开始疯狂购物，我们的目标是让你从衣橱里找到能释放你内在力量的着装搭配，让你的衣着为你发声。

这种让你感到自己看上去像个百万富翁的力量，真的难以言喻。我希望我们都能变成自己的“神奇女侠”盖尔·加朵。衣着是我们人设的一部分。现在就去衣柜里找到那套能完美传达你的个人特质的战袍吧，穿上它，迎战生活吧！

作者为英孚教育成人英语培训中心首席运营官。

I have a pink floral Ted Baker bodycon dress. It’s appropriate for the office as well as brunch with the family. When I wear it, I feel strong. When I wear it with my 4-inch graphite patent Manolo stilettos, I own the room.

I usually write about change, leadership, being an introvert or other “business-y” topics that I am passionate about, but I realize that I have a lot of female contemporaries who struggle at work with confidence and presence. So, I am writing this for you, my friends. Everyone wants to feel powerful, and there are a lot of ways to give yourself that feeling every morning when you go to your closet before work.

Hear me out. (Warning: gross generalization ahead…) When we look good, we feel good.

We can feel good by the way our hair looks, our clothes fit, our shoes elevate us, or by the bangin’ accessory we just bought with our entire last paycheck. (Totally worth it. Now it’s a valuable heirloom. Justified.) It’s hard to buy confidence, but you can wear it. And damn, confidence looks good on us all.

Does it really matter what you wear to work, you ask? Yes, because how you put yourself together emits a signal to others. It shows what you feel about yourself and sends a subliminal message how to treat you. Think about how you want to be perceived—then use all the tools at your disposal to materialize your desired reality.

For example, people often think I am intimidating, cold, or very serious. When I wear an all black fitted suit, people don’t come near me. They assume I am going to fire someone or on my way to a funeral. So, my light pink floral, sexy, strong Ted Baker is my weapon to retain my strength while saying subtly, “It’s okay, I won’t bite. You can approach.” I have a pair of fire engine red flare pants that I wear with a French crocheted top which Chinese people think is Chinese and Spanish people assume is Spanish. That outfit says, “Let’s do this and have some fun and attitude while we make magic happen in the office.”

Find your own Ted Baker or red flared pants. Find something that is genuine to you that you looooved in the dressing room, but never wear. Something different alone can have a big impact and get you noticed.

Let’s talk about shoes. To each their own, so if flats make you feel strong, then rock those comfy shoes, lady. Personally, I find that runway height stilettos score me a few more confidence points. At 5’4” (163cm) and pretty small in general, I find that wearing heels closes a bit of the gap to the over six-foot Swedish men I work with. That gap is not only physical, but somehow truly mental. My heels are just what I need to bring me to their level. It sounds nuts, but it’s true.

Now, there is a time and a place for the power outfit and there is a time and a place for the comfortable outfit. For me, weekends and flights are meant for comfort. I would love to be the glamorous woman who waltzes through the airport in my heels and a fitted outfit (Who are you amazing women and how do you do it?), but I can’t wrap my head around it. I don’t care about the person in 12C or what they think of me (random opportunities of the universe be damned). I just need to be able to expand and shrink like my water bottle. You can’t do that in work clothes. And weekends… on the weekends, I am the Shanghai-dwelling equivalent of the suburban mom: Lululemon-me-up, baby. Who needs yoga when you can just sport the comfy pants? Am I right?

I know I dropped a couple of names of expensive brands, but that’s not where the magic lies, just to be clear. I have some J. Crew duds that work as well as my Ted Bakers, and the pants there fit me much better. But this isn’t about going on a shopping spree. This is about finding the combination in your closet that unleashes the inner power broker in you—the outfit that speaks louder than you do.

I can’t exaggerate enough the power of feeling like you look like a million bucks. I want us all to find our Wonderwomanesque Gal Gadot. The outfit is part of the persona. Go ahead and look in your closet for the dress that says whatever you want people to hear. And rock it.