Tips from Tammy: Jackets

(video transcript)

Today's tip is about jackets. A client wrote,

"Hey Tammy,

I'm a jacket person. But thanks to everyone else getting comfy in their sweats during the pandemic, jackets are NOT DONE any more at work. My colleagues either think I'm desperate for a promotion, or interviewing somewhere else. I work in academia, where polar fleece and Birkenstocks are the norm. That's not my style.

So how can I adopt, I'm sorry adapt my Signature Look so that I stay true to myself and still feel like I belong?"

The answer is Fabric, Texture and Shape.

Number one — Fabric.

You can instead of having a stiff, woven fabric, go for a knit, have more stretch. It makes it look softer and less formal.

Or you can change up the fabric into a denim, right? Denim is considered very casual, but I think you would agree this is a more conservative, traditional shape. But because of the fabric being denim and also some of these details with topstitching, it's is considered less formal looking.

Number two is Texture.

I'm going to zoom in here. You can see this jacket — instead of a smooth wool, for instance, fabric, this is also stretch, but it has a texture
which looks less traditional, less formal.

Number three is Shape.

This jacket used to have shoulder pads in it, which made it look more boxy and a little bit more stiff. So I just took out the shoulder pads — easy to do, and the thing you could do with the collar... This is traditional collar shape. You can also sometimes, if the collar's up it's a little stuffy, but this worn down looks a little less formal.

And last bonus tip.

I'm wearing a t-shirt underneath, which is obviously less formal than a shirt with a collar. It's again, knit, less formal, as opposed to a stiff dress shirt underneath.

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