In high school, my two best friends Kelly and Morgan used to make fun of me because I loved looking nice for school. I was not content with the ripped jeans, Ugg boots, and Hollister hoodies donned by my classmates. I was all about blazers (If they were as commonplace as a simple jacket, why would they have their own name?), colored pants, cuffed shorts, and skirts. My friends called it my “business cas” look, and still to this day they laugh at my workplace-ready clothing choices (I still don’t see what’s wrong with wearing a collared shirt and J.Crew sweater to a petting zoo!).

Well, joke’s on you, Morg and Kel, because while I am aware that I am severely lacking in most adult skills, even at a young age I knew how to dress for success, which is a skill that I (and you) can LITERALLY take to the bank. 

Whether we like it or not, how we look affects what kinds of jobs we get. Since we can’t control whether or not we look like Jennifer Lawrence, something that we can all do is dress the part.

Dressing for success does not have to mean you wear a ball gown on a daily basis. It doesn’t even mean you have to give up the beloved Nike Shorts and big shirts. It just means you need to understand the balance of a casual wardrobe and a professional wardrobe.

A while ago in my Basic Speech class, right before our first speech presentation, we were told to “dress professionally” for our speeches. I distinctly remember one girl turning to her friend and loudly whispering, “What? Who has professional clothes?” I couldn’t help but get a little annoyed.

As a college student, you are preparing yourself for a career in today’s modern workplace, so you've got to choose your major -- and something that goes along with every single major is a sense of professionalism. I don’t care if you’re going to be a professional lawyer or dog walker. I don’t want someone interviewing to walk my dog in ripped jeans.

You don’t need to dress up every single day, but at this stage of your life, you should have yourself a collection of business casual clothing. For me, that includes a LOT of blazers. But it could range anywhere from a collared shirt and capris to a pencil skirt and heels. You most certainly don’t have to surrender your identity, but you do need to surrender to the professional workplace – and that includes dressing the part.