Tuesday 21 June 2016

Office makeup: Is it really OK to wear what we want?




The other week an article in Stylist (one of my absolute favourite magazines) caused me to spit out the coffee I was drinking. You can read the article here. The main point it was landing was that "office appropriate makeup is over". I.e. all hail individuality in the workplace, regardless of industry.

I'm sorry Stylist but I categorically disagree.

I consider myself a feminist in a modern, 21st century kind of a way (on the subject of feminism someone once famously said something along the lines of 'Believe in equal rights for men and women? Then you're a feminist. It doesn't mean you need to go burn your bra or anything.' Hear hear! Feminists get such a bad rap these days)... I digress.

As a modern day believer in all women I fully embrace and support the freedom to express one's individuality. I just don't believe the workplace is the best (or most strategic) place to do so.

Is it really OK to wear what we want?
In their article Stylist gives four examples of women who are writing their own makeup rules in their jobs. The lady who appears in the picture above, whilst I LOVE her style, works on a trading floor, no doubt outnumbered by hundreds of men. I worry that the look she's opted for as her go-to office makeup look is the equivalent of a siren red lip: aka a sexual 'come hither'.

What I mean by the 'who cares' argument is that whilst women love the Holly Golightly look we need to remember that men see/process makeup differently to women. A classic flick draws attention to the eyes which arguably encourages stronger, perhaps more prolonged eye contact (an indicator - not always - but often, of sexual desire. I acknowledge here that I'm talking purely in heterosexual, male + female terms).

For me the power in a woman's business look comes from the appearance of 'vitality' and from looking presentable and professional. 

Alison, the banker featured above and in the article, herself comments:

"No-one has given me negative feedback, although one client recently commented in a morning meeting that I looked ready for a cocktail party - which I took as a positive."

If one of my clients told me they thought I was about to hit a bar I'd be seriously questioning my look. If we're being paid by a firm to do a job, or even if we're self employed and running our own business, surely we want to look like were 'ready to do the job we're being paid for' and not 'ready to hit the dance floor'?




The male equivalent
In thinking about my response to this topic (hours I tell you, hours) I thought about what the equivalent would be for men. Imagine a male lawyer who loves the Mod era. Would it be appropriate for him to turn up to work everyday with a Mod haircut and sporting mod fashion? In an advertising or communications agency perhaps, yes (everything and anything goes) but in a legal profession? How about in a hospital? In a school? (maybe).

Social constraints
Stylist is right though. There do exist social conventions that have dictated for years what men and women 'should' be wearing to the office (e.g. pinstripe suits for bankers, pencil skirts and heels for secretaries and front of house staff) and perhaps with the 'rise of the feminine' we should be questioning certain constraints, including the makeup we wear.

But I can't help but wonder whether the point of all this is not in expressing ourselves without boundaries but in our ability to intelligently respond to and reflect our environment.

We've all seen documentary film makers enter unknown villages for the first time, villages where their inhabitants have, until now, been unexposed to western civilisation. These film makers don't go barging in, flinging their iPhones or Fitbits around. They mimic the responses of the people they're visiting. They're respectful, humble. Likewise, in the workplace, one could argue it's important to reflect the values of the company we work for or the industry we represent.

No-one likes to feel ostracised, particularly amongst our peers, and in a world where individuality can be unfairly criticised and misinterpreted why would we want to run the risk of overshadowing our talent with a look that screams 'Look at me'?

It's all in the balance
You might be reading this thinking 'how unbelievably dull, to all look the same!'. That's not what I mean at all. There are always ways to hint at a bigger, louder stamp on the world, but shouting it from the rooftops cannot but detract from the thing we actually want people to see and respect: our capability.

One of the things I teach my clients is to recognise the power of 'the new femininity' in the workplace. Gone are the days (THANK GOD) of the power dressing of the 80s and 90s, where women (Margaret Thatcher is a classic example of this) would dress and even learn to talk like a man in order to compete/be heard. Today, subtle and feminine makeup, is the new power dressing. Successful and intelligent role models such as Angela Ahrendts, Christine Lagarde, even Angelina Jolie are all demonstrating empowerment through more overtly feminine styling and makeup. But notice they don't look like they're about to hit a cocktail party.

Angelina in particular pares down her look when representing the UN. I don't see this as a weakness in her at all but rather a sign of respect for the organisation she is representing. Angela Ahrendts on the other hand used to be a pivotal figure in the world of Burberry. Stronger makeup was therefore more 'of the world' she operated in and therefore, arguably more appropriate and representative of the company she worked for. To have worn a pared back look would have looked odd.

There will always be ways in which a woman can subtly hint at her personality at work, and makeup is of course just one way to express who we really are. What I ask my clients to consider are ways of 'hinting at our personalities' in a way that keeps them just under the radar. A 'nod' to something different but without it being the lead vocal. If being strategic in our jobs pays, who's to say being strategic with our personal appearance won't be just as effective?

A comment on this post:
I'm fully expecting to receive some negative feedback in response this post as I recognise the topics raised are both controversial and highly personable to many (including myself). I don't for a minute profess to be a journalist and I'm sure the way I've expressed some, if not all of my opinions is flawed in some way. All I can say is that I feel passionately that whilst I celebrate the freedom that comes with expressing one's own individuality and tastes I can also see that from a business perspective companies are looking for individuals to champion their values. And as intelligent women, why wouldn't we recognise this? I, for one, could not hire a makeup artist who I believed did not represent the kind of makeup advice my company specialises in (natural, considered, office/industry appropriate makeup).

All comments welcome!

Image credits:
Stylist
Tom Ford Fall Winter, 2015/2016