11/24/22, 7:36 PM White coats to business suits: The tricky business of dressing for suc

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White coats to business suits: The tricky business of

dressing for success
Make sure when you walk into your home office or workplace that your morning outfit choice
isn’t getting in the way of your success.

[Images: Studio Romantic/Adobe Stock]

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11/24/22, 7:36 PM White coats to business suits: The tricky business of dressing for suc

BY M A RY M A S O N F O L LOW 
3 MINUTE READ
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For over 20 years, I have been running mini-medical schools for kids around the country and the world.
We always start our classes with a “White Coat Ceremony,” where the students learn about the history
of the white coat, why clinicians wear them, and what they symbolize. Like at the start of medical school
for future physicians, our mini-medical school students take a pledge and receive their white coats,
which they wear throughout the program.

Although the doctor’s white coat has a more significant history and meaning than the business suit, they
are similar in many ways. My mother used to say, “Don’t let the clothes get in the way.” As a child, I
would observe my pediatrician mother as she walked out the door to her office. Her white coat was
perfectly pressed and spotless, and she always wore a nice suit or dress underneath, even though she
knew her day might consist of running between patient rooms and the hospital for hours or a baby
spitting up on her.

When I started my career, I took her wise words to heart, followed her example, and filled my closet with
conservative business suits in shades of blue, black, and gray. I discovered that wearing a monotone
business suit to the board room meant that I fit in, and the content of my presentation or comments were
the focus of the meeting, not the wondering thoughts of why I might have chosen to wear a bright green
jacket for my business attire.  

WHY YOU SHOULD DRESS FOR SUCCESS

Depending on your business environment and culture, the “banker’s best” suit may be a thing of the
past, and acceptable business attire now lends to more comfort, creativity, and color. However, I believe
the image you portray and send with your work clothes choices impacts how you are perceived as an
employee, as well as your potential for more responsibility and leadership roles. 

In my experience, a doctor coming into a patient room with a white coat is comforting to a patient. As we
tell our mini-medical school students, it symbolizes that they are part of the profession with standards
and protocols. Imagine if your physician showed up for your annual visit wearing torn blue jeans and a
rock band T-shirt. Instilling trust in the advice and treatment plan your casually dressed doctor proposed
could be difficult. But that same message delivered by a physician wearing a crisp white coat with a
simple, conservative dress or shirt and pants can result in a much greater confidence level, even if they
offer the same course of treatment and advice. 

IT’S ALL ABOUT BALANCE

Whether a doctor’s white coat, a company-issued employee uniform, or even a school uniform, there is
much research on how having a dress code in places of study and work impacts overall work
performance. However, one of the lasting results of the pandemic is that “Casual Fridays” have evolved
into “Casual Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.” I am all for comfort, and quite honestly,
I am thrilled that after years of wearing boring blue, black, and gray business suits, I can now conduct
business in the same outfits I wear to the gym. But I believe there has to be a balance. I find an
advantage to “dressing for success” for the at-home Zoom meeting. I feel more confident and prepared.
And I’ve found co-workers and leadership do take note, even if you are not presenting.

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11/24/22, 7:36 PM White coats to business suits: The tricky business of dressing for suc

While the days of the three-piece suit are gone, try wearing a simple but well-put-together outfit for your
at-home Zoom meetings and especially for your in-person office meetings. EvenFifOjeans L LOW and tennis 
shoes are now the new business norm in your workplace, a well-put-together outfit can signal that you
take your work
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seriously and are N
WORK LIFE
“well-suited”
EWS
for greater
I M PAC T
responsibility
PODCASTS VIDEO
and leadership
IF360
roles. Don’t
FA S TClet
O WO R
your clothing choices be an obstacle in the way of your promotion and great opportunities. Just like my
mother wearing her white coat to her pediatric office, make sure when you walk into your home office or
workplace that your morning outfit choice isn’t getting in the way of your success.

Mary Mason, M.D., MBA, is CEO and Founder of Little Medical School, a children’s entertainment
franchise focused on health care careers. 

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