Cocktail Dress Faux Pas Can Spell Trouble for Female Lawyers
Fashion experts caution female lawyers and other businesswomen that dinners and cocktail parties are difficult to navigate if their dress is too revealing. Some lawyers have learned that lesson the hard way.
Lisa Goldstein, a Pennsylvania lawyer and consultant, told the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) that a revealing dress set the wrong tone for a law firm leader when she and her husband dined with a male client and his wife. The lawyer was propositioned by the client, who “suggested that they swing together,” Goldstein says. The lawyer had discovered her dress sent “signals that were misinterpreted” and she had to consult with Goldstein about how to recover from the incident.
Stylist Patty Fox told the Wall Street Journal that professional women should never step outside the bounds of their professional style, even for a special occasion. Jonathan Fitzgarrald, director of marketing for Los Angeles law firm Greenberg Glusker, agrees with that assessment.
“If my attorney bills out at $1,000 an hour, I want them to look like a lawyer, not a celebrity,” Fitzgarrald told the newspaper.
