Business leaders often dismiss fashion as frivolous. It’s not.
After more than a decade covering fashion for Fast Company, I’ve come to see clothing as an underestimated business tool. Before we say a word, our clothes tell people how we see ourselves, and how we want to be seen.
The people on this year’s Best Dressed in Business list understand this intuitively. They come from many backgrounds—they’re athletes, media executives, and startup founders—but they’re all fluent in the unwritten codes that govern what we wear. They have a sense about what a silhouette signals, what a color conveys, what reads as too casual or too formal. This isn’t innate taste. It’s knowledge they acquired through years of paying attention.
Every outfit tells a story. What sets the people on this list apart is that they are very clear about who they are and the mark they want to leave. Every morning, they dress to communicate this to the world.
So, the question is: What are you trying to say? —Elizabeth Segran
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