Corporate dress codes have evolved significantly in recent years and wearing casual clothing or uniforms has become more common. With this evolution, wearing formal attire is becoming less common and companies are adopting a more casual dressing code to follow contemporary trends and be perceived as a company in harmony with the times, in tune with the times. 

While casual attire can have its benefits and appear more attractive to new employees and customers alike, uniform, professional attire at work has many benefits and is a great option for reinforcing your company brand. 

What are the advantages of wearing standardized clothing in the workplace?

From creating brand awareness, building loyalty, building team spirit, creating a professional brand, protecting employees and eliminating all dress code dilemmas, the uniforms have many advantages. 

This detailed guide has been designed to highlight the benefits of wearing uniforms and to answer your questions. Depending on your company's sector of activity (hotels, restaurants, banks, event agencies, etc.), wearing a professional uniform can really help to strengthen your brand image and strengthen cohesion within your team.

This guide outlines the benefits, as well as some psychological concepts, behind work uniforms and what they mean for your business.

Create notoriety through professional attire or uniform

In many cases, the uniform is often used as a means of advertising to increase awareness of a brand or company. This means of advertising can be used for small businesses as well as for companies with an established reputation. Particularly useful for new businesses, uniform marketing is a way to make your brand known and get your employees to increase your brand awareness.

It is also an advantage for large, world-renowned companies like Apple, which uses these garments to reassure and support its customers, by promising expertise. Could you recognize the emblematic outfits of McDonald's or the FNAC advisors? Certainly. 

Uniforms and branding

The effect that branding can have on a business is incredible and professional attire or uniforms play a vital role in this branding. An established brand becomes recognizable to customers and provides trust that can create loyalty to the company. 

An identity can be created through visual supports, the logo, company messaging but also through distinct professional attire. Customers log in through this corporate identity. They can establish an instant connection with a company if the brand image is reflected in the uniform worn by employees. Having a uniform company-wide look can lead customers to see the brand at every point of interaction and promote the brand at every available opportunity. 

Promote your business or brand

Some companies prefer to invest in classic uniforms displaying their logo and others focus on more modern outfits in order to make an impression and offer a fashionable corporate image. Whatever the choice made, uniform clothing helps staff feel professional and presentable to management and the public. However, you must make sure not to overdo it and remain subtle in order to positively promote your business. 

Company logo, brand colors and employee names can quickly turn these into mobile ads. You don't have to go for a full outfit. For example, more and more restaurants and hotels choose outfits from Mademoiselle Grenade's business wardrobe and do not display any logo. These outfits are chosen simply to be in line with a modern atmosphere, a stylish establishment or even to differentiate a little the waitresses from the hostesses. This strategy can be even more powerful than turning employees into sandwiches in head-to-toe advertising uniforms. 

Create a professional image

Some companies are sometimes worried when their employees wear inappropriate clothing, not professional enough, too casual. These companies then fear for their image. Standardized clothing for all employees or based on positions held can eliminate this worry and provide a simple solution to all employees looking for daily clothing that is presentable and meets the expectations of both the company and its customers. 

Furthermore, if the uniform conforms to company expectations, an employee will feel professional and will transmit this professional image to customers. For example, a top chef's uniform should be stylish and look clean (for obvious food hygiene reasons). White is therefore the ideal color to bring this notion of freshness and cleanliness. 

A person working in retail should have a smart uniform (even a simple shirt). However, the employee will not feel comfortable if their outfit is too elegant compared to the items on the market. It is therefore necessary to adapt the outfit to the products and services offered. Regardless, employees wearing standardized uniforms are often perceived as professionals and give the impression of being well trained. 

A consistent appearance

Creating a cohesive appearance is one of the main benefits of a uniform, professional outfit. This works both individually and in groups. It can be helpful to create a cohesive appearance among a group of employees, where everyone feels equal and no one is overdressed or too casual. It is also possible to reproduce a hierarchy within your company's uniforms: management can have a different uniform from other employees, which will allow everyone in the company to be dressed in the same way.

Creating a cohesive appearance will also make it easier for those who have difficulty getting dressed in the morning or creating stylish outfits to dress according to management's choices. 

Foster company pride and loyalty

Not all companies provide specific clothing to their employees. Some choose to give a basic dress code and leave it up to their employees to follow it or not. This strategy can in some cases cause a somewhat inconsistent overall look for the brand strategy. Some companies therefore prefer to provide uniforms in order to ensure a coherent and understandable image for their customers.

Depending on the strategy chosen, some are content to take a polo shirt or a blouse, others, like large hotels or restaurants, opt for a change of outfits and spirit season after season and others finally use a standardized outfit over several years. 

Regardless, it is important to choose clothing that employees will wear with pride and enjoy wearing. If employees look professional, they will feel professional and be more confident. 

Of course, opting for standardized professional attire depends on the sector of activity. In a traditional office, it is not necessary to have a particular uniform. A simple  explanation of the expected dressing code will suffice. If your business is required to receive customers then a specific uniform may be considered in order to avoid any concerns about consistency and inappropriate outfits. 

Regardless of your industry, you need to consider the needs of your employees and remember that you won't be able to please everyone. If you encounter complaints or suggestions, do not hesitate to highlight the advantages of the change while explaining that you are taking the comments into account when choosing future uniforms. 

Promote team spirit and unity 

Wearing a uniform, whether for work, sports, school or social activities, can really help promote team spirit and help those who wear this standardized outfit feel part of a group . Incorporating a uniform into your business can help build team spirit, boost morale and is often the key to success. 

Wearing a uniform can not only create unity within a group but also contribute to a feeling of equality. All employees wearing the same clothing can feel equal, which further strengthens team spirit. It's a virtuous circle.

Workplace dress code

The workplace dress code is a great way to enforce dress rules without having to wear a specific uniform. It is an excellent compromise between the needs of the employer and the employee. It is particularly suitable for office environments, where uniform clothing is not essential. A dressing code can be a set of rules to encourage staff to look their best and present themselves as professionals without having to be told what to wear on a daily basis.

Dress for success

Your clothes really do impact how you behave and feel. Some make you want to exercise, others help you feel professional, and others, like pajamas, help you feel ready for bed. High heels make you feel glamorous and ready to dance the night away, while a suit will put you in professional mode. Dressing for success is a matter of psychology. 

When you feel good in the clothes you wear, you exude confidence in yourself and your behavior will be felt by those around you.

When it comes to work clothing and whether to opt for a uniform for your business, it's essential to figure out what your employees want and give them options, especially if it's a uniform that they will wear on a daily basis or in certain conditions. An employee who feels elegant and well dressed for the situation in which they find themselves will help promote confidence, seriousness, professionalism and availability.

The uniform can therefore play an important role in the success of a company and its brand image.