Dressing professionally as a creative entrepreneur

 Life as a full-time blogger can be somewhat unconventional and new. Especially when it comes to dressing professionally as a creative entrepreneur, the boundaries can be pushed. However, I still know that I’m representing myself and my brand, so dressing professional while staying true to myself, is  important! 

(similar in  & ) // // Belt (gently used ; ) // // Purse (vintage, ) // // // //

Prior to deciding to work for myself full-time, I worked in corporate America at an advertising agency and a real estate investment firm. My first job in advertising lent to a much more casual dress code. And a dress like would’ve definitely been a go-to in the day-to-day environment. However, the open shoulders wouldn’t have worked for a client meeting or pitch.

Creatives are known to be rather casual, and while myself and colleagues would mostly wear fun dresses, skirts and/or cropped pants with flats, the creative team was much more liberal with their dressing and wore tees and jeans to work.

Once I made the jump to the corporate real estate firm, heels everyday became the norm. Corporate dressing for business meetings (think suits and slacks) was something I did at least once a week. Needless to say, when I began working for myself, it was a huge change in terms of what I was wearing on a day-to-day basis as well as wardrobe needs.

Gone were the days of needing a suit or business appropriate dress and as an entrepreneur I was able to wear whatever I pleased. Since I began working for myself, I instilled a personal goal of trying to get ready and dressed as if I had somewhere to be, every single day. Not only has it helped me be more productive, but it also keeps me in check.

Working for myself, doesn’t mean I no longer have business meetings or lunchtime events, I indeed still do have these things, but just dress for them differently than in my previous industries. Today dressing professionally as a creative entrepreneur for me consists of a pair of heels and a , or a pair of with a and .

Some may read this and think, ‘wow, showing shoulders is a n0-go in my industry’ and I completely get that. Every work environment is different. But as a I previously mentioned, dressing professionally as a creative entrepreneur has blurry boundaries. The creative department at my former advertising agency dressed extremely casual, just like the tech employees in Silicon Valley. Every office environment is different and it’s important to take gauge of that quickly.

*Lauren Rathburn photography