No doubt, that Harvey specter from the series Suits gave us the perfect role model of how a professional and confident lawyer should look. If you take a closer look at the details of his outfits, you can find a lot of insights and guidelines that will help you not struggle in choosing your daily formal wear look that you need.
According to Business Insider, research shows that your appearance strongly influences other people’s perception of your financial success, authority, trustworthiness, intelligence, and suitability for hire or promotion. The way you present yourself will have a strong impact on a client’s willingness to share information with you, pay you a certain fee or hire you altogether.
Here are some tips to have a suitable wardrobe:
Beige/Tan suits help you to look more humble, approachable, trustworthy and honest. Great if dealing with people you have to convince to your side, perhaps a jury, or in a class action.
The charcoal suits exude power, dominance and conviction. Use them to show intimidation when meeting at negotiations which you anticipate to be hostile, or meetings where you know that you can bully down the opposition.
Blue/ Grey suits help you look smart, hardworking and energetic. These suits are best used in friendly encounters with corporate clients. The blue and grey suit is your baseline suit, and works best as your dependable everyday work horse.
Single breasted is ideal because they are the standard. Double breasted suits are very traditional and more formal; they also work really well for people who have a V-shaped body. A two piece suit is a good way to start if you want to be more formal, you can add a three piece suit using a vest out of a matching fabric.
White or light blue shirts are the best choice, barrel cuffs with buttons or French cuffs or double cuffs for cufflinks. If your face is round, ideally go with more closed collars. If you have an oval face, go with a slightly more spread collar.
You always want silk ties either printed or jacquard woven and stay clear of textured materials which are great for a casual wardrobe but not for a lawyer’s professional wardrobe.
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