When attending a business appointment, take off your topcoat, and if someone offers to hang it up, surrender it gladly. If not, ask where you can put it, along with umbrella and galoshes on bad weather days. If there is no place to hang your coat, drape it on the back of your chair. But don’t wear your coat inside and don’t carry it around.When you’re in someone else’s office, keep your suit jacket on. If someone suggests that you remove it, you may, or you may decide not to. Taking off your jacket is sort of invasive: It looks as if you’re moving in. And if you do take it off, don’t roll up your sleeves. You are a guest in that office, and you should behave accordingly even if you are working there for a short time.
Don’t scatter things around. Keep files on your lap. Put your briefcase or handbag on the floor or keep it on your lap. Don’t put things or touch things on the other person’s desk.
Invitations to special business functions often specify the appropriate dress for the occasion in the lowerright corner. If you have any doubts about what to wear, you can call the host or hostess.
Here are the definitions of two types of business functions as described on invitations:
- Black tie formal means different things in different parts of the country. Black is always correct for men. White jackets are not. Women don’t have to wear gloves and never should shake hands in them.
- Informal or semiformal is slightly less dressy than black tie. Men should wear a dark business suit, a white shirt, and a dark silk tie with a quiet pattern. Women should wear a dressy suit in an evening fabric, a short cocktail dress, or a long skirt and blouse.
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