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Dress Codes

When it comes to dressing in the workplace, four of the most common dress codes you may encounter include:

Casual

Business Casual

Business Professional

Business Formal

Casual – Casual but not sloppy. The casual dress code is usually the most “laid back” dress code in the workplace often for casual offices and workplaces without strict dress codes. The casual dress code can include polos or pullover sweaters, and slacks such as khakis or chinos. Dress shoes are not required. Although the casual dress code can be very lenient it still requires neat, appropriate and put together clothes. No one wants to see you in the office with sweatpants and a hoodie.

Business Casual – Business Casual is going to be the most common everyday dress code in the workplace. It provides a professional look without being too traditional and still allowing lots of variety. A business casual outfit should consist of a button-up with or without a tie. Dress pants or darker coloured khakis. Dress shoes or loafers are both acceptable so long as they are leather.

Business Professional – Business professional is the most traditional “business” dress code. Standard for most with still some room for flexibility. Business professional attire should include a button-up shirt worn with a sports jacket or knit sweater with a tie.

Business Formal – This is the highest level of professional dress codes in the workplace. Often worn by people in “high-level” position or for business meetings where executives are expected. Business Formal calls for a white or light-coloured dress shirt, suit jacket in a solid, neutral colour and a simple plain or patterned tie. This being the highest level of professional wear in the workplace, it is not about “standing out” or “showing off” focus on looking sophisticated and put together.

Any workplace can call upon any of these dress codes on any day. Different workplaces might expect you to come in with business professional attire every day whereas others may only have a casual dress code. The goal is to be ready and able to adapt to whatever the dress code is.

Reference: Curtis, J., Martucci, B., Quilty, D., Curtis, J. C. J., Curtis, J., Graves, S., … Bell-Metereau, M. (2018, August 29). What to Wear to Work - Tips for 4 Types of Office Dress Code Policies. Retrieved from https://www.moneycrashers.com/what-wear-work-tips-office-dress-code/.

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Workplace Uniforms

Not all workplaces require you to necessarily “dress up” sometimes a simple dress code is the key to success. Different workplaces will have different uniforms. Some may be provided while others expect you to just follow a dress code. 

Things to keep in mind if your workplace includes a uniform are:

Is the uniform provided?

What other components are needed for the uniform?

Is there any special equipment or clothing needed?

Brand loyalty – some workplaces (clothing companies/retailers) may not call for a specific dress code but instead for you to wear their own brand. Even if you’re just wearing an in-house brand, it is still important to keep in mind what is appropriate and presentable to wear.

Safety and special requirements – Other work environments may require you to wear specific clothes, shoes, or accessories. A lot of food related industries call for non-slip shoes, food safe gloves or hairnets as a safety precaution whereas construction industries may require helmets and safety boots. Employers in medical fields also require different attire more suitable to their job.

Although it can be commonly overlooked, wearing appropriate attire even when a uniform is provided is crucial for safety and success in the workplace.

Image Credit: DepositPhotos

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How much should you spend?

A common misconception when it comes to “dressing up” is that the price of your outfit is related to how “good” you look. We live in a day and age where brand names are common and often looked for. However, the beautiful thing about dressing for the workplace is that clothes without big and bold brand names are actually preferred.

Dressing in the workplace is about looking professional, and what makes you look professional? Well fitting, put together pieces. You don’t need the most expensive suit to look professional, key factors to looking professional include:

Fit – Wearing a suit that you’re “swimming” in or a suit that you bought years ago and have outgrown will not give you a professional look, regardless of how expensive the suit was.

How do you fix this?

Don’t expect a suit to fit perfectly right from the store  

Learn/know your size: suits come in a variety of fits (slim, regular) and a variety of cuts (short, regular, long)

Try on MULTIPLE sizes

Find a tailor

Tailoring - sometimes regardless of how many sizes you try on you’ll never find the perfect fit. Suits come in a variety but are not tailored to any specific person. That’s why finding a tailor can be a real lifesaver. Tailors can make adjustments as simple as hemming (shortening) a pair of pants to more complex adjustments such as slimming down sleeves.

A well-fitting suit tailored specifically to your body can make a world of difference when it comes to how you look.

Colour – This step is a little more difficult for some. You want the clothes you’re wearing to compliment your “look”. Pick colours that go together.

General rules of thumb

Black suits can be kept tradition (black & white) or spiced up with colour

Blue suits should be worn with brown shoes and belt

Grey suits can be worn with black or brown but shoes and belt should always match

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Our Goal

This blog is meant to inform you, the reader on many different areas of workplace dress codes, and to help you prosper in the workplace. It is meant to teach:

The value of looking good

The potential it can have

The benefits of standing out in the workplace

And More!

It is no secret that dressing for work, or a social event can be stressful. Not only that but it can be something people procrastinate on and only decide in the last minutes what to wear. This usually has two outcomes, one making the person’s dress wear to be sloppy or not as prepared as it could be, thus ruining its potential. The second is being late, as the person takes too long to decide what to wear. These outcomes both have a negative outcome as being late does not resonate well with superiors and coworkers. Similarly dressing sloppily does not end well for first impressions and meeting with new people. You don’t want to be the person everyone remembers due to his weird choices of socks and ties. 

To help you make great impressions and superior choices in dress wear we are here to ensure maximum class, and help you receive excellent feedback on your choices from friends and colleagues. We won’t have you looking “funny”, but rather admired by all around you, as they exclaim “who is that? And where did they find that outfit?”.

We wish you all the best with your classy dressing, and hope you continue to read our blog and pursue the art of dressing elegantly.

If ever in doubt click here!

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Dress to Impress

A huge part of looking good and dressing the part is knowing when certain outfits are a good idea and when others are, well better for another time.  

This can be a challenging topic as it’s hard to distinguish what outfit is better for which situation.  I will break it down for you so you will never show up under or overdressed to an event or job ever again!

Tuxedo: Oh, the tuxedo, a classy yet barely ever worn type of dress suit that is really only except-able for things such as: 

Weddings; if specified 

Black-tie events 

And any other event that specifically says WEAR A TUXEDO!

Side note: You also should never wear a tuxedo before 6pm, unless it’s a wedding as it is considered very formal, and most black tie events don’t start until after that time.

Suit: A suit usually a formal piece of business wear, is very classy and has a distinctive and clean look to it. You usually wear a suit to any number of these following occasions:

A wedding; unless tuxedos are specified

Business, business networking event related

Any event that specifies “business casual”

Legal representation (i.e. You are defending or representing yourself or business in a legal sense.)

Business oriented Job interview

Funerals

Reward ceremonies

Side note: If you still have unanswered questions about what to wear in your situation, click here for more in depth information.

A good rule of thumb is to think about how others will view you at the said event. If you are wearing a suit you are showing your serious and professional. If you are speaking in terms of weddings and funerals and more personnel events, you are sending the message that you show respect and conformity. 

Just remember that most of a first impression is based off of your social abilities, and appearance. So, Dress to impress!

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Your Appearance in the Workplace

Out there in the big world we want to look good for many reasons.  These reasons differ from field to field, and person to person.  Some fields require more an etiquette in dressing for the job than others.  For example, you do not need to worry about what you wear if you are a police officer, or a fire fighter because your outfit is already chosen for you.  However, in contrast a field such as business require you to have greater knowledge in dressing protocol.

Peoples reasons to dress for success differ, however everyone wants essentially the same thing, to look good and presentable. Some of these reasons include:

Workplace conformity

Making first impressions

Job interviews

First days at a new job

Meeting with clients

But above all to show that they care about their appearance. So, we invite anyone who can relate to any of these above points who wants some extra tips, and ideas in regard to dressing for success, or anyone who wants to impress their superiors, and coworkers.  Join us as we outline some key ideas and benefits to dressing well and making good impressions.  We will show you how to dominate the workplace with class!

You can click here to get a start on dressing well in the workplace.