What Should You Wear to Affiliate Summit?

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As a mentor for every Affiliate Summit since they started the program, the question I am most frequently asked is about what people wear to the conference. This is both an easy and a hard question because I have quite literally seen people wear everything from bikinis to tuxedos. I don’t really recommend either but rather something in between. I’ll try to break down the sessions and parties and throw in some pictures from my Facebook account as demonstrations. Because, after all, it’s most important what you want to look like on Facebook because you will be tagged in all of those pictures before the conference is even over. And then they will be on your Timeline for the rest of your life.

Sessions: Dress in something that is comfortable both physically and mentally. You’ll be doing a lot of walking through the halls so wear something that you are not constantly tugging at or that is too hot or too cold. I usually think it is cold in the conference rooms so most days I wear layers. From a mental perspective, wear something that is YOU because you want to focus on being yourself and not worrying what people are thinking of what you are wearing. If you are usually a casual person, dress casual. If you enjoy getting dressed up, dress up. I usually dress up a little bit more on days when I am speaking than when I am not.

I think this picture is a good illustration. Marty has on a jacket as the moderator. Carolyn has on a sleeveless dress as a speaker. Kristen and I both have on sweaters and slacks as speakers. You can see audience members in t-shirts, sweaters, and button down shirts. Really a mixture of different types of clothes.

Parties: This is where things can get a little tricky depending upon which parties you are attending. Some of the clubs in Vegas do have dress codes. You will want to check out individual events if you are going someplace like that. But for the most part if you are attending the Shareasale party and the Affiliate Summit Karaoke, your dress does not need to be much different than what you wear during the day.

This is from one of the evening events held at the hotel. Andrew is known for sporting the hip-by-being-un-hip t-shirts. Todd did the “casual shirt but dressy jacket” thing. My mom and I both wore the standard LBD (little black dress) with basic accessories. I actually think I take that dress to every Affiliate Summit just as a fall-back outfit. Others were wearing jeans and polos, slacks and jackets, and dresses.

A lot affiliates work from home so we do not have the standard “work clothes” that people in offices have. Although you can certainly use Affiliate Summit as an excuse to buy new clothes, you can work with what you have. Nice jeans, slacks, a couple of basic skirts. Church clothes. Or even just dress up what you have with a couple of new accessories to update classic outfits to be a little more contemporary. Just don’t bring too much with you or you won’t have any room in your suitcase for all the exhibit hall junk you want to take home.

If you are really worried about what to wear and fitting in, you can check out the Affiliate Summit photostream on flickr. There are thousands of pictures on there from all different types of events at the various Affiliate Summit conferences over the years. But what you will see is essentially this–wear what you like, what you feel confident in, and what you want others to see as representative of you. And what looks good on Facebook.