Corporate Goth, Help...

[Gothic Muffin of Doom]

I just need some ideas, I got a job with a business formal dress code (Yay me? and also weird since it's Multimedia design related) It just feels weird, I would like some ideas on how to make thing look a little personalized, because now I feel like a Japanese employee (I'm a girl).

Other info:
-The company is an American one working in my country.
-I have waist long hair and no bangs, I wonder if you have any ideas of what I can do with it.

I now need all the fashion advice I can get, because having nerdy tendencies comes with bad fashion choices, and listening to my mom will make me look like an old woman.  

[MortSanglant]

Oh! This will be fun! Seeing as I work in the most conservative of businesses, I can give a lot of advice here! And the great thing about business formal dress, you can never go wrong with black! Perfect for us, eh?

Anywho, since I don't know your exact style, I'll list for you the tips that I follow.



Hair:

1. Simply leave it down.

2. Headband [I'm wearing one today!]

3. Pull it back into a low ponytail.

4. Try dressing No. 3 up with a barrette.

5. Pull it back into a single braid.

6. Pull the sides back into a half pony - leaving the rest down - this serves to keep your hair off your face, yet give you the relaxed look of leaving your hair down.

7. Pull it into a bun.

- Having long hair, there is so much you can do regarding styling. And so much of it would be work appropriate.



Attire:

1. Fitted jackets - try to find velvet or military style jackets to give you that bit of workplace edge you crave. I have two or three military style jackets that I wear frequently. And two velvet ones. One of my velvet jackets is actually a riding jacket. So experiment with jacket length too.

2. Pencil skirts. Pencil skirts. Pencil skirts. You can never have enough of these. Not only do they scream corporate hottie, but they aren't drab and boring - as most suit-type skirts seem to be. Avoid boxy looking skirts.

3. A-line skirts. If you don't like the feel or look of something so form fitting as a pencil skirt, A-line are feminine enough. For both these skirt suggestions at-knee or below-the-knee are the length you want.

4. Floor length skirts. These are a good way to keep your gothic edge too. It really hits both sides of the field. They can't really say anything because what sort of code is it really violating? It's not revealing. But it definitely makes you look mysterious - dare I say, like a witch? I stopped wearing my floorlength skirts to work though because trying to move a casket with one on always results in stepping on the hem!

5. Dress shirts. This is really where you get to play. I have a few button down dress shirts that are black and white striped. These are great because they have that Tim Burton/Beetlejuice appeal. I also like to find button downs that feature ruffles - think pirate or poet - either on the bust or on the sleeves. Definitely gives the outfit a pop.

6. Dress pants. These are kind of blah no matter what. I prefer skirts. But the great thing about pants - and the floor length skirts - is that you can wear combat boots and no one would know the difference. Another great thing about the pants is that you can wear crazy socks - I wear rainbow striped socks on funeral days. It's so fun knowing you have something entirely unprofessional on and no one is the wiser.

7. Hosiery. This is another fun area. For example, today I am wearing black and grey argyle stockings. I mix it up with the stockings. Wal-Mart really has a lot of good solid stockings for a good price. I think the brand name is George. And they hold up really well. I really enjoy wearing opaque white stockings with a black skirt, and a Mary Jane inspired heel. Gives just a little bit of that school girl look without being too obvious.

8. Shoes. Like I mentioned you can get away with combat boots pending you're wearing dress pants or a floor length skirt. But there's nothing wrong with a little dressy heel. I have a pair of black and white wingtip heels with a T-strap. They are a hit actually. I always get compliments on them.

There are a lot of things you can do with your wardrobe to give it personality and a gothy edge. Like I said, it really helps that black is never a bad choice in the business world.



Makeup:

Be careful here! While you may want to keep a bit of your gothy style, you'll most likely want to tone it down in a business environment.

I stick to a very classic look when it comes to makeup - outside of work too. So it's easy for me to avoid this as an issue.

If you're one to wear a lot of crazy colours and really lay on the black liner: don't!

There are ways to use colour and make it look appropriate. If you've never seen The Devil Wears Prada, then watch it and pay close attention to Emily Blunt's character - who happens to be named Emily. She pulls of the use of colour in a business setting very well.

You can always pull out some colour when it comes to lipstick.

And sometimes you may just need to make the sacrifice and tone it down while at the office and then crank up the volume when you get home.



Jewelry:

You can really display your personality here. Just make sure you don't display it all at once! Go easy on the amount of jewelry you wear. I stick to a pair of earrings, a necklace, and one ring. Though there's nothing wrong with more rings. Just don't wear one on every finger!


Over all though, you should play it safe the first week or so, but as you get comfortable you might try testing the waters and seeing what you can get away with. I wore a pair of St. Patrick's Day green stockings to work once. I didn't get scolded for that one! So just take small risks and see where they get you. This is a really good tactic, especially if the company hasn't given you a specific dress code - aside from "business formal".

Be creative and experiment with developing your own business style.

I would definitely relate mine somewhere in bordering on corporate pinup - especially with the pencil skirts.

I'll be glad to help you out more if my post didn't help!

Good luck. And congrats on your job!  

[Gothic Muffin of Doom]

Thanks a lot, this is really helpful.
I laughed at the part with the rings, how did you know that I wear a whole set of rings?

I guess, I'll have to experiment then, maybe I'll try wearing skirts, And about the shoes, heels will be a must which is kinda weird for a job that has 8 hours of computer work.

I'd love to experiment with military jackets but that will be offensive so I better play safe.
I forgot to mention something, I don't live in the states.  

[Tactical Wombat]

A good thing to keep in mind is that a formal dress code is not a big deal, as long as you don't dress like a complete jackass in your everyday life.

I remember when my school first started it's strict dress code policy. Everyone was all upset about their individuality being taken away.
But about a month afterwards, everyone just decided to suck it up. And a lot of people realized that they really had more of an personal style showing through once they weren't always in the same t-shirts and jeans as everyone else.
You can also consider this a chance to not wear the same 'goth approved' attire as everyone else in the world who considers themselves goth. I don't know if that's an issue for you, since I don't know how you dress. But this thread as goth in the title, so I'm saying it.

So that is my advice. Don't panic. It's so much easier to dress yourself if you don't treat each nice blouse like a miniature identity crisis. You will always look like you. If you wear things you like, it is personalized.
This is also my only advice, since pencil skirts was taken.
Keep buying and wearing things you think are great, but realize you can look all cool and fancy and adult while doing so.

And never, ever get bangs.  

[MortSanglant]

Gothic Muffin of Doom

Thanks a lot, this is really helpful.
I laughed at the part with the rings, how did you know that I wear a whole set of rings?

I guess, I'll have to experiment then, maybe I'll try wearing skirts, And about the shoes, heels will be a must which is kinda weird for a job that has 8 hours of computer work.

I'd love to experiment with military jackets but that will be offensive so I better play safe.
I forgot to mention something, I don't live in the states.

Because I used to wear rings on every finger too. I think we all do it at one point! Haha.

When I say military jackets, I don't mean go to a surplus store and buy a military issue jacket.

There are jackets out there which are military inspired. This means the cut and tailor, along with some of the decoration is meant to appear military-esque.

I'll post a few examples for you.

Ein

Zwei

Drei

Vier

I have a jacket that is extremely similar to the first one. Only mine doesn't have the gold trim. I wear it a lot.

As you can see these jackets look like something someone in the military might wear. But they are tailored to suit a woman and are not real military issue jackets.  

[Hyena_Queen]

I love being selfemployed.
I also love those jackets.  

[Whisper Gently]

heart

 

[Gothic Muffin of Doom]

I love those jackets, some of them might work but others won't, the job actually involve real military people.
I've worn a whole set of rings for about four years now, but that won't work now.
@hyena: I don't like being self employed, it's not disciplined enough for me.  

[Hyena_Queen]

That is exactly why I love it so much.
I don't have to answer to anyone. I can dress how I want. I don't get crap for my tattoos.
I'd die in a corporate/unartistic job  

[Gothic Muffin of Doom]

Who said my job isn't artistic? I'm a multimedia designer, I mainly do 3D modelling/animation and make Flash games, but I do other things too.

I think a corporate work is fine with me, it's not laid back but it's not bad either.  

[Sugar Tree]

MortSanglant

Because I used to wear rings on every finger too. I think we all do it at one point! Haha.

When I say military jackets, I don't mean go to a surplus store and buy a military issue jacket.

There are jackets out there which are military inspired. This means the cut and tailor, along with some of the decoration is meant to appear military-esque.

I'll post a few examples for you.

Ein

Zwei

Drei

Vier

I have a jacket that is extremely similar to the first one. Only mine doesn't have the gold trim. I wear it a lot.

As you can see these jackets look like something someone in the military might wear. But they are tailored to suit a woman and are not real military issue jackets.

Agphaaslkdfj - where can I buy the first jacket you posted?!
I WANT.

I love military-style jackets.



Gothic Muffin:
The only thing I can suggest is this site: Corporate Goth
Best of luck!  

[MortSanglant]

Sugar Tree

Agphaaslkdfj - where can I buy the first jacket you posted?!
I WANT.

I love military-style jackets.

Not sure. I just Google-imaged "military style jackets for women," and that was one of the results.

The jacket I have that is almost identical to it minus the gold trim I got at Forever21. But I don't know if they have it anymore.