Getting dressed for the office doesn't mean leaving your personal style behind. Find out which looks give you a polished, professional look and which fashions can be a career killer.

Cynthia Nellis

Your goal to getting dressed for work is to project a professional, competent image, regardless of your employement level or career path.

The styles, colors, lengths and fit of your fashion choices will speak volumes about your ability to do your job. If you are concerned about your career, you'll be more concerned with looking professional than looking cute or trendy.

In general, the more distracting a piece of clothing or jewelry is, the less appropriate it is for office wear.

More guidelines to looking polished:

• Color plays a big part in professional image. Traditional career colors include red (aggressive), navy (trustworthy), gray (conservative) and black (chic). Most of these colors work well in pantsuits, skirts and shoes and mix back with softer feminine colors that are appropriate like ice blue, lilac, soft pink and ivory. Loud colors like hot pink and wild prints are much riskier in the office, but some creative types can still pull them off.
• Jewelry that jangles (chandelier earrings, stacks of bangles) is distracting. Opt for stud earrings or single bracelets.
• Slouchy handbags look sloppy. Choose structured styles that project an organized image.
• Most of what constitutes a polished image is in the details: manicured nails, run-free hose, scuff-free shoes, neat hair.
• Fit is everything when you are talking about tailored work clothes. Pants should be fitted, but free of visible panty lines. Skirts, especially straight styles like pencil skirts, should be loose enough to sit down in comfortably. Jackets should be able to be buttoned. And blouses shouldn't gap between buttonholes.
• Designer labels are great, but heavily logoed clothing and accessories look cluttered and frivolous in the work place. A small designer bag is fine; a logo trench coat looks ridiculous. Choose well-made items that are free from obvious designer labels for the most professional look.