Seriously…you are NOT wearing that, are you?
What to wear… For some of us, this is an easy decision, throwing on a pair of jeans and a shirt (hopefully clean) and whatever shoes we stumble upon in the closet. For others, it is an exciting challenge to produce an absolutely fabulous outfit that rivals the runways. And there are those of us that find dressing ourselves a source of great anxiety, fearing we will look like a refugee from one of the fashion reality shows. Whatever category you find yourself in, now that you are in law school, you will need to “dress like a lawyer”.
We can debate until the cows come home about why we have to dress like a lawyer, why is it important what we LOOK like rather than what we can DO, and why we have to spend our scarce resources on a “lawyer outfit” when it could be better spent on tuition and books or food. All these are great topics for serious discussion and potential societal change. But after almost 34 years practicing law, what was true as a law student in the mid-1970s is still true today: YOU NEED TO LOOK LIKE A LAWYER when you do “Lawyer Stuff”.
Lest you think I am a completely superficial material girl, the reason you need to set forth the appropriate “lawyer image” is not what you think. You want to “dress like a lawyer” so that a judge, prospective employer, or colleague is NOT focused on your appearance. You want them to acknowledge, internally, that you are a polished professional and then move on quickly to focus on what you are saying. The last thing you want is for someone to be distracted by a plunging neckline, ill-fitting suit, or peach colored, double-knit, bell bottom pantsuit (yes, we had a friend in law school who had one of these!)
Painful case in point:
It was my second year and we were in the midst of on-campus interviews. I had signed up for a lot of them. It was admittedly hard to keep track of all the appointments, shoved in between classes and work. We had paper calendars. There were no smart phones to alert us of an appointment by a buzz or a ring or a cute cat’s meow. I was quite sick with another cold and really dragging. I had managed to pull myself out of bed, throw on my favorite jean skirt, some forgettable top, my fabulous bright colored striped knee high socks in multi colors (reminiscent of the wicked witch) and blue plastic clogs. At some point during my library studying, I realized I had an interview and I was late. I literally ran to the interview office, waited until the attorney-interviewer was finished with that interview and explained what had happened. With a red nose and dirty tissue in hand, I asked to be considered at the end of the day after I had gotten appropriately dressed, etc. Big time begging.
What happened next has painfully stayed with me to this day. I will never forget the look on that attorney’s face as he looked me up and down and focused on, what seemed like forever, my socks and shoes. It was a look of absolute disgust and horror. I was mortified on so many levels. I don’t know whether he was more disgusted by my missing the appointment or by what I was wearing, but the sock-stare seemed to indicate the latter. Needless to say, I didn’t miss another appointment and didn’t repeat the socks.
So, I learned to always dress like a lawyer from then on. Whenever I think about dressing the part, I am reminded of one of the songs my mom used to sing to me as a kid. It was a little “ditty”, as she called it, obviously based somewhat on the old cowboy ballad “Street of Laredo” and it went like this…
“I see by your outfit that you are a cowboy
You can see by my outfit that I am one too
You can see by our outfits that we are BOTH cowboys
If you get an outfit, then you’ll be one too!”
My next article will focus on how to find that cowboy outfit.
Virginia Hess
Virginia Hess offers a full spectrum of representation for the small and medium sized business. She is able to assist a business during its whole life cycle, from its formation as a sole proprietorship, corporation or LLC, to a possible sale or winding down. In addition to her background in working for for-profit business clients, Virginia’s passion extends to the non-profit world. Her experience in non-profit agencies extends beyond her lawyer skills and into the boardroom.
