Argent's Sali Christeson on Redefining Workwear and Empowering Other Women

It wasn’t too long ago that the term ‘power dressing’ meant a lackluster 9 to 5 wardrobe of suits in monochrome shades. Luckily things are progressing forward with Argent, a fashion-forward brand that allows you to not only embrace your personality at the workplace, but to also do so in style. We talked to the company’s founder, Sali Christeson—who had a successful career in tech and finance prior to launching the brand—about what constitutes the perfect suit, knowing your value in the workplace and balancing work and family.

What inspired you to start your brand Argent?

I spent a decade working in tech and banking and was always frustrated with shopping for workwear as it was hard to find clothes that were bold, practical, versatile and professional. More simply, I found the category stale. When I talked to friends across different companies and industries, they also hated the experience of shopping for workwear. Women were spending so much time worrying about what to wear to important meetings, interviews, events, etc. taking away from the energy they were putting into their actual work. While working at Cisco in 2014, I read a study that women in the workplace are judged based on appearance, with a tangible impact on their careers and salaries over time (up to 20 – 40 percent) and I decided to quit my job and start Argent. Workwear is a major market with a $34.9 billion dollar annual spend, yet it’s highly underserved. I saw an opportunity to make workwear more fun and allow women to focus on their work while feeling confident in what they are wearing.

Above The New York store designed by Wall for Apricots located at 463 Broome Street in New York

What were you doing before you started your company?

My first job out of college was in Wealth Management. After a couple of years in banking, I pursued my International MBA with a focus on Operations Management and Supply Chain. Out of school, I was hired into the Leadership Rotational Program within Cisco’s Supply Chain Organization, which was a crash course in all of the major functions of supply chain. For almost two years, I worked on a joint venture with a Chinese state owned enterprise seeing the engagement through different functions of Supply Chain. I then moved into a role on the Cloud team, which was a new initiative for the Company. I was the Customer Advocacy Manager, responsible for managing a team of technical account managers and software engineers. Our team’s primary role was assisting our customers, in this case usually software engineers deploying their applications in our cloud environment. 

What’s the meaning behind the name?

My great grandfather was an entrepreneur and started a company in the Southeast called Argent Lumber Company. I kept coming back to Argent when trying to decide on a name as it was undefined, strong and had sentimental meaning.  

Argent’s Sali Christeson. Photography courtesy of the brand

In your time working in finance, what did you learn about the way women dress in a male dominated field?

My frustration with the state of women’s workwear definitely stemmed from a lack of options, accessibility, and guidance. Nobody was owning this category or giving it the attention (and style) it deserves, which blew my mind. And as the workplace has become more casual, males have a much easier time adjusting – tee, denim, hoodie... all good. But given the lack of clear standards, women would oftentimes emulate what men were wearing and wouldn’t always feel at their best. Alternatively, I saw women choose neutral options that they don’t love in an effort to blend in. Our point of view is that what we wear is a powerful tool that can serve as an extension of your personal brand. It’s especially important because we derive confidence from our clothes. We seek to serve as the tool that has been missing for working women for too long – an accessible workwear option offering versatile, quality and stylish options.

The Argent Instagram shares eye opening statistics about women in the workplace from asking for a raise to getting hired. What’s one piece of advice that you have gotten that has stuck with you that you wish other women knew?

Know your value — be able to communicate it and fight for it. Unfortunately, women oftentimes face much more pushback in the same situations as their male counterparts - e.g. when asking for a raise, going after a job they don’t have the exact experience for, when seeking a promotion, etc. - and they are sometimes pressured into accepting unfair outcomes. Experience is such a relative term — your ability, skillset, and attitude can be as valuable (in my opinion, it's actually more valuable) as your resume. 

What details do you think make for the perfect suit?

Fit, functionality (pockets!), quality, and versatility. I love wearing a suit knowing that if the environment is more or less formal than I expected I'll still fit right in (or better yet, if the vibe changes from formal to casual my suit can flex accordingly). 

The jackets are every woman’s dream—pockets and sleek compartments for everything from credit cards and lipstick to cellphones. What inspired the design?

Honestly, just sheer necessity. A place to keep your phone or your ID/credit card is such a basic need, and yet women’s garments have disregarded utility for so long in what was considered a tradeoff for style. But we’re proving that style and function can absolutely coexist. And of course our customers remain a constant point of inspiration for us. We like to keep open lines of communication with them in terms of what their needs are and incorporating that into our pieces when it makes sense. 

The brand has been worn by many powerful women including Hilary Clinton. Who is the Argent women?

We have a couple core customer segments, but overall she’s ambitious and unapologetically career-minded. She’s always in forward motion. A leader on her own terms, whether she’s managing a team of 100 or 0. She’s time-strapped and always looking to streamline her schedule. And she’s fun/funny, with an irreverent side.  

How has the brand evolved since you first began?

We still like to be high-touch with our customers, but we’re also figuring out ways to scale that. Our voice and tone have stayed fairly consistent, and if anything we continue to evolve and improve our offering to really deliver on our promise of better workwear for all working women. 

Tell us more about the store designs, which are feminine yet modern. Who is behind the design and what did you want the interiors to achieve? Are you planning on opening more of them?

Wall for Apricots is an amazing design team out of Los Angeles that we’ve worked with on our four locations. The design will continue to evolve in time as we expand (which is absolutely the goal in markets like Chicago, Boston, Seattle, Dallas). Ultimately, we want to create a comfortable environment for the busy working woman to escape to.

As an entrepreneur, how do you balance work and family?

The lines between work and family sort of disappear when you start your own company, especially when you work with your husband (which is the case for me). It’s great because there is so much flexibility. It’s difficult because you really can’t ever turn off work. Honestly, I derive so much joy and excitement from the brand and our customers that it’s not always a bad thing to be always-on. 

What’s next for the brand?

We will continue to evolve with the professional woman – marrying fashion, function, and tech – to meet her needs and bring ease and style to her work day. We will also continue to grow as a career resource providing unique, actionable information and resources to our collective of professional women and men. Locations are inherent in our model and we have planned expansion into key additional markets in the coming years.

SHOP OUR FAVORITE LOOKS