Great Lakes Chic
Fashion and Style for Business Men
(and Women)

You can get away with wearing that old Metallica T-shirt if you are a 22 year old programmer pulling an all-nighter of coding and pizza. But in today's competitive business marketplace, the entire package that makes up "you" is scrutinized and dissected by employers and clients (not to mention members of the opposite sex.)

You can debate the injustice of it but first impressions do matter and people are judged by what they wear and how they look. Especially in the business world.

You've also heard the advice that you should dress for the job you want, not the job you have.

The Great Lakes Geek feels your pain. Fashion hasn't even registered on his Things To Do radar. But even the Geek has to admit that wearing the proper clothes for the occasion and being well-groomed and aware of the basic social graces can be important.

The intent of this section is not to turn you into a GQ model but to give advice and answer your questions resulting in a significant upgrade to your business and professional appearance and demeanor.

We are fortunate to have some experts helping out and explaining why a Dilbert T-shirt is not appropriate for "business casual" even though it's about business (Dilbert) and it's casual (ah, the comfy T-shirt)

Have questions? (We know you do)
Send them to us and our experts will help you out.

What to Wear Now
Kelly offers some basics for your business & casual wardrobe

Do you wear a watch?
Kristen gives some tips for proper watch wearing

What Women really look for in Men
Wendy shares the secrets of good grooming.

Men and Color
Chosing the proper color clothes

The audio interview with fashion and style expert Kristen Kaleal from November 15, 2006 is 9 minutes and 25 seconds long and full of information.

Listen to this interview for answers to nagging questions such as

• What color suit to wear?
• Should socks match shoes or pants?
• Should men wear jewelry?
• and more