One of my favorite funny blog posts comes from Bay Bird Inc., a public relations agency in San Diego, California simply entitled the “A Publicist’s Uniform?”. Peyton Robertson, Founder/President, and Ashley Netzband, Publicist came to work in pretty much the same attire–black shirt, skinny jeans, and Tory Burch flats (personally I rotate three pair of Tory Burch flats from this season religiously since if I’m not behind my desk, I am usually running around like a chicken with her head cut off–the latter is where you will usually find me). This made Peyton question: Is there a dress code for publicists?

Every woman has their own style and it doesn’t stop by profession. Each publicists has their own sense of style. Do we all dress like Sex in the City’s Samantha Jones ALL the time? Most likely not. Whatever we are wearing, we must emit professionalism and effort because if you don’t care about your image, your clients may not think you care about theirs.

These are my 6 Do-or-Die Pieces for the communications professional:

1. A great pair of Jeans – They can be from Target or they could cost a car payment. As long as you are comfortable and you can either dress the jeans up or down, a great pair of jeans is a must. From those Saturday morning pre-event planning I’m-on-my-hands-and-knees-doing-what moments, a great pair of jeans can be your saving grace. Oh, and make sure they make your bum looks good in them and aren’t “Mom Jeans”. I can write an entire post on that alone!

2. A tailored suit – My grandmother had many fabulous, tailored pieces. I never understood why she was so adverse to “buying off the rack” but little to my knowledge (hey I was young) she sometimes bought off the rack and had it tailored to her fit. I have learned that tailored items make the woman. Nothing says LOVE like sliding into a suit jacket that fits you perfectly and doesn’t make you look like you are about to HULK out of it or are playing pretend in your mother’s dress clothes.

3. An umbrella – Who wants to look like a drowned rat at a client meeting? Wait, who wants to look like a drowned rat period? Purchase a small umbrella that is convenient enough to tuck into your handbag or briefcase. Technically an umbrella isn’t a wardrobe necessity but an accessory. Trust me, an umbrella is a must or at the very least a poncho. Ok, scratch the poncho idea.

4. Little ” ” dress – For me, a little black dress is great but a little ” ” dress is fabulous. If you want to wear color, wear color. Wear what you feel comfortable in but just make sure it looks professional and sophisticated but most importantly feel like a million dollars in.

5. Classic white shirts – I used to loathe white clothing. Abhor it! But as of late, I have come to realize the versatility of a classic white fitted tee or a white button down shirt. White shirts can be worn under blazers, under sweater, or by themselves. Pick out a few white shirts–they don’t even have to be “classic”.

6. THE HANDBAG – Or the briefcase. Make your personality shine with a statement piece or go classic. If you are usually a bit more conservatively dressed, hit them with a killer handbag but make sure it is useful and not totally for show. You are going to need it to fit in things for your arsenal (smart phone, tablet, etc).

Peyton ended her blog post with:

That said, glam or not, I can usually spot a Publicist from a mile away. He/She is usually the one wearing all of the hats.

I couldn’t agree more. What would you add to the do-or-die pieces of the publicist’s wardrobe? What is in YOUR daily wardrobe?