Business uniforms have a stereotype of being restricting, conforming, and often boring. There’s a reason Casual Fridays is a thing; it’s a reaction to week-long blandness.
It doesn’t have to be this way though and you can still maintain a sense of professional uniformity that elevates your business brand.
Take care to watch for these 5 signs:
No Sense Of Style
Your uniforms are just plain boring to look at. We’re not saying you need to hire a stylist, but pay more attention to the cut, texture, and color of the clothing.
Compare a plain black polo shirt to a sharp black button-up with a striped vest. The second outfit is stylish, while the first is uninspired. How about a solid-colored dress versus a patterned one?
Utilize complementary or analogous colors to provide some visual excitement. Consider textured ties to draw the eye. Try to avoid overly tacky ones for your day-to-day uniform; save those for holidays and special occasions if at all.
Fashion is a huge industry with seemingly endless inspirations and designs to draw from. Don’t be afraid to strut your stuff a little.
No Team Spirit
Your uniforms don’t adhere to the brand image. Your restaurant may have a certain color palette used in logos, decor, or marketing materials; get cohesive! You can add color pops that match your brand with ties, undershirts, fringes, or elsewhere. Color is a powerful thing; it evokes emotional response and connects your employees.
Don’t be afraid to add your logo to clothing either. You’ll likely want to avoid it emblazoned over everything, but a subtle integration will literally brand the uniform. It will separate it from a similar article of clothing, plus benefit you in other ways like free marketing.
No Individual Personality
Your uniforms are too…uniform. Don’t forget that your employees are individuals with their own personality. Allowing employees to express themselves will help them to enjoy wearing the uniform and add diversity to the overall look.
By all means, keep it within reason; too many changes and you lose the point of a uniform. Let your dress code have a little breathing room though and your employees will fight the visual boredom without you.
This could be expressed with jewelry, pins, hairstyles, buckles, shoes, and any other personal article of clothing that doesn’t overpower the entire uniform. The balance depends on your brand’s image, but individualism is part of that happy equilibrium.
No Originality
Your chefs should look like chefs and your servers should look like servers, right? Big floppy white hats and aprons? Not always.
There are, of course, classic styles that are tried-and-true; if you’re an old-school Italian restaurant, maybe stick to the expected. If you’re a Fusion-style restaurant or a Tech company or any other forward thinking business, don’t be afraid of trying something new.
No Change
Your uniforms always stay the same. Boredom sets in when things are expected and unchanging, so mix it up a bit!
This could mean seasonal uniforms or just the occasional upgrade; just don’t get too complacent. The strongest businesses adapt and change with the times, let your uniform project that too.
That’s the real power of a uniform, it can say so much so you don’t have to. Let it speak!
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So say it with us: NO MORE BORING UNIFORMS!
Contact us and we’ll revitalize your uniforms from the ground up.
