Welcome to the new year.
This is your chance for a fresh start not only in your personal life but in your professional life as well. In the first part of our series on bringing life to your office in 2017, we discussed three practical things you could do to upgrade your cubicle: a new Herman Miller chair, an HP keyboard and a Logitech mouse.
While the Herman Miller has some style, the mouse and keyboard are a little on the drab side. In this post, we’re going to tackle the fashion side of things and show you how you can bring new life to your personal appearance in this new year.
Want to Keep Up Your Accessories? Try a Subscription Service
Fashion has come a long way since eager shoppers flipped through the pages of a catalog to find out what was trending.
These days, the average office worker who wants to perk up their fashion accoutrement doesn’t have to browse a print or online catalog. You can sign up for cheap monthly subscription services that send you a box of accessories tailored to your preferences.
SprezzaBox
For example, SprezzaBox, a men’s subscription service, sends monthly boxes filled with the essentials of a man’s life. Their December 2016 box included a handsome fabric skinny tie, a leather cord holder, a pocket square, a pair of dapper sox and a pocket flask.
While the flask isn’t appropriate for work, the other accessories are. At $28 a month, it’s an easy and affordable way to keep your closet fresh with the latest trends.
Rocksbox
Rocksbox is a great choice for women who love mixing up their jewelry choices. You tell Rocksbox what your style and color preferences are and they send you a box with three pieces in it.
You can use those pieces as long as you want. If they’re good enough to buy, you get a discounted price. If you want to move on to something else, just send the jewelry back and they’ll send you another box with three new pieces.
Need Serious Upgrades to Fragrances and Watches? Head to Discount Stores
We always notice specific things about a person when we meet someone, whether it’s their facial features, their smell, their watch, outfit or shoes. It’s hard to say that one area impresses more than another, but we do know that certain choices about your fragrance and your watch can clinch a favorable impression.
Here’s the problem, though. Watches, cologne and perfume are expensive, and if you go for budget options in any of these categories, it will be easy to tell.
Fragrances
Enter discount stores like Ross, TJ Maxx and Marshalls. These stores feature robust fragrance sections where you can buy brand names like Calvin Klein, Vera Wang, Versace and Burberry for substantially less than you would at a department store.
Watches
You’ll also find equally good deals on impressive name-brand watches at discounted prices. Unlike their fragrances, which tend to be readily available at any time of the year, watches and discount stores come and go in waves. Sometimes the well will be plentiful – Invicta watches have been known to pass through discount stores – and sometimes the well will run dry.
If you’re looking to buy a watch from one of these stores, make a few preliminary runs about a month before so you can get a sense of what’s out there.
Looking Ahead to Next Month
New ties? Check. Beautiful jewelry? Check. A nice watch and memorable fragrances to go with it? Check. We hope you’ve been inspired to spend a few extra bucks to add a little style to your work wardrobe.
The first two posts in this series addressed material things – fashion extras and new cubicle company. The next two posts in the series will deal with the interpersonal side of office life: how to improve relationships with your boss and fellow employees, and how to improve communication between everyone.