WSJ: "What if the men in your office changed for dinner and came bare-chested?"

When Michele Royalty [from Amgen] wore a simple black strapless gown to a black-tie business dinner for her pharmaceutical company, she says, "I saw the CEO's eyes drop to my cleavage."

"Once a CEO is startled by seeing your cleavage, an image is set in his mind that is not going to disappear," says Ms. Royalty, who recently retired as an executive at the company. "I never wore that type of dress again."

Exposed skin speaks louder than annual revenue growth, even to a CEO. "What if the men in your office changed for dinner and came bare-chested?" asks Dr. Brizendine.

Jonscott Turco, a psychologist and consultant with Partners In Human Resources International, says he would prefer not to see women in revealing clothes at business events. "They're thinking it's an empowering thing that they can be sexy and professional," he says, "but guys don't see it that way. If she's dressed sexy, that's all they see."

Full story in WSJ.