John T. Molloy's New Dress for Success

Rating:
Summary: Molloy Hits the Mark, But An Update Is Needed
Review: After reading Dress for Success numerous times, I feel it is of great help in informing men on such topics as how a shirt should fit, how to tie a tie, how to get a suit fitted, etc. However, in the last ten-plus years corporate dress has changed more than in any previous period. The reader today has to keep in mind that the book was written in 1988 and as such should be considered in the proper context. Subsequently, it does not take into consideration the proliferation of casual attire in the business environment, and it predominantly considers how to dress like an executive, which may not be possible for an entry to middle level manager on a limited budget, even if clothing is bought on sale. The notion of borrowing to build a wardrobe also seems outdated. Today, society has become considerably more conscious of value and is less likely to drop large amounts on wardrobe. It is often hard to visualize what is meant by soft blue, light blue, midrange blue, dark blue, navy blue, etc. Some closeups of fabric swatches would help. As a college student, it would help if a whole chapter were devoted to college interviewing rather than a few pages.

All in all, the book is a great asset for any man, but an updated version would be of great benefit.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Place to Start
Review: After spending years in High-Tech in the suburbs, I recently took a corporate job in downtown. Upon accepting the position, I learned that the dress code was corporate, meaning suits everyday! I went home to my closet and let my eyes wander over my collection of khakis and golf shirts with software company names on them. The job started in one week. I found Dress for Success to be my saviour.

A lot of the criticism of the book seems to be that dress styles have changed over the years and the book needs an update, possibly a section on Dress Casual. Believe me, there are still many places where people wear suits everyday, and some of these people have a lot of power and money, and they have not gone out of business like the "dot-commers who wear sneakers."

Dress for Success helped me build a basic wardrobe. And I have received many compliments on suit combinations that are right out of the book.

Remember, Molloy is writing the book to help people dress for success, not fashion or fad. He has written the book for people who wear suits, not for people who work in environments that are dress casual and they never have to interface with anybody else.

I do agree with some of the other criticisms. He does gloss over some important things, (shoes, etc.,) and some of his methodology is sketchy. But after being thrust into the corporate world, I can tell you that his conclusions are eerily accurate. You can deviate from the general principles of the book, but I feel that you do so at your own peril.

Rating:
Summary: New Women's Dress For Success
Review: Although seemingly outdated, I found Molloy's advice on proper work attire to be interesting and beneficial. Molloy's book offers tips on business attire--jackets, suits and dresses. Ironically, now a days, casual seems to be the trend. Molloy does devote a chapter to the Casual Business Dress, but the novel primarily focus on the dressy look. Molloy's bottom line is, conservative is the key. Molloy explains when its most appropriate to wear suits or jackets and even more specifically which fabric makes a person look most professional.
I particularly enjoyed reading the chapter which talked about colors and the influence wearing, for example, red to a job interview opposed to blue. I found it interesting that red is the most powerful color and that most successful women in the country wear red jackets. Red attracts attention and shows authority, but if power isn't the look which is appealing, darker colors seem to represent authority. I also found it interesting that wearing pastels and traditional feminine colors wont attract the power, and is an "invitation" to be challenged by male co-workers.
Overall, I found this book to be interesting, yet I don't know how much of what Molloy writes I truly believe. Of course the conservative look is more appropriate in the business office, yet so many jobs are now transitioning from "traditional business attire," to comfy and casual a book specifically devoted to the casual dress seems needed.

Rating:
Summary: Get Success in Clothing
Review: Get Success in Clothing

Cheung Yin Fan (50266271),
City University of Hong Kong,
Department of marketing

Description of the book

The purpose of ¡¥New dress for success¡¦ is recommending an executive and success look for all people in order to have a success future. John T. Molloy, who is the author, believes that a success dress is a sign of competence and class. The success dress is a kind of nonverbal language to express you and affect how other people react. Moreover, the dress will affect people¡¦s authoritative, power, credibility and social status. Therefore, dress plays an important role on influencing people¡¦s future.

Due to the benefit of the successful dressing, John T. Molloy has suggested a different kind of clothing combinations, which include suit, shirt, tie, accessories and etc, for different purposes and occasions in business field. It mentions that people should pay attention on ¡¥color, line, texture and style¡¦ to coordinate their clothing. Not only in the business field, but successful clothing (sportswear) also reflects people¡¦s ability to work and classify their social status in social field.

Comment for book

The book describes and recommends some successful dressing codes very well; however, there some parts need to be improved.

Some parts are good

Good dress code

Well coordinate clothing to make the successful look, it have a well-organized dressing combination code in different situation and different purposes. For example, in the job interview, the book recommends to dress gray suits, blue shirts and conservative tie because it can establish power, authority and get success in job interview.

Concern the women point of view

As the new knowledge business era, most women play an important role in executive and decision making positions. Therefore it is necessary to dress success to get the women¡¦s preference. And I totally agree with John T. Molloy that color of clothing can attract women. For example, the bright red ties can reflect the sexy feeling. Indeed, ¡¥red¡¦ color is what most women likes, and it also get a numerous attention from women. Therefore, if a man need to cooperate with a team of women or women executive, they are better to dress the bright red ties in order to draw their attention.

Some parts need to be improved

Need evidence support

To avoid the statistic information was stolen, John T. Molloy reject to show the statistic evidences to support his opinion. However, clothing is a subjective matter, if you do not have any statistic support that it will affect the persuasive power. Therefore, it is necessary to give out some evidences to support his point of view. For example, the evidence may relate to how many executive agree his clothing combination code and the interview dressing code.

Concern the culture

John T. Molloy describes the dressing combination code as color, texture, line and style. But I think ¡¥culture¡¦ is also an element on dressing combination. Dressing not only reflects personality and own authority, but also reflect his own country¡¦s¡¦ culture as a character.

Learning Insight

After reading the book, I learn that different dress code reflects their personality in different occasion. A well dressing combination code can help us to get success in future. When people choose their clothing for special purpose, they should consider their clothing habit, the dress requirement of the occasion, and image that they want to project in front of the public.

Rating:
Summary: Following up my 1999 review
Review: I recently realized that my 1999 review is one of the featured reviews! Boy have I come a long way since then, but the concepts in Dress for Success have not changed a bit. It continues to be the best book to use to get started. I continue to advocate for the following adjustments though:

-Eliminate discussion of blends and only focus on natural fibers.
-Add a section on shoes.
-New photographs. Although some styles stay constant, some of the pictures are dated. Also, spread the photos throughout the book as the concept is being illustrated, rather than clustered in the middle. Perhaps some illustration of the wrong choices as well as the right ones would help.
-Broader discussion for college students.
-Updated price information.
-Some studies and information on business casual.