When most employment lawyers advise businesses about work-related attire, it tends to be of the short-shorts-are-not-appropriate-for-the-office type pep talk.
Yet with Americans – especially women – looking for fresh business opportunities abroad, Florida attorneys Jennifer Roeper and Olga Pina increasingly find themselves being called to help globetrotting female executives dress for international success.
Indeed, so great was demand for such extra-legal counsel that they recently teamed up with Saks Fifth Avenue to begin offering sartorial seminars. Their (click here for video from BocaRaton.com) latest “How to Dress for International Business Success” seminar was held at the Saks Fifth Avenue Boca Raton last Thursday.
Part legal colloquium, part fashion show, this presentation included tips on what to wear (and not) at business meetings in countries as physically – and culturally – distant as Brazil and Botswana.
To be sure, a seemingly innocent fashion faux pas can signal more than a lack of cultural awareness. It can even undermine a fledgling business relationship. For example, that summer-weight white suit may beat India’s heat, but white here is typically reserved for funerals. And while that smart red purse may project confidence and style in the U.S., in Taiwan, it screams bad luck.
Local businesswomen and professional models strutted their stuff at this event, and Jennifer and Olga emceed.