Whenever I started a new job, I took a week or so to observe the culture of the office. I took in what the VPs were wearing and what my peers were wearing. Each work environment or office culture that I have worked in has been completely different and has spanned from business professional to casual. With the pandemic changing the world and each industry or office culture doing it’s own thing, I’ve listed a few of my best practices that I follow regardless how casual or professional the industry or office is.
Here are a few of the best practices that I follow for workwear:
Fits well - you’re spending 8+ hours in this outfit, you don’t want to tug at it all day
Is it appropriate? (Can you do your work (and all of your “other duties assigned”)
Skin barring tops are typically looked down upon (untastefully low cut, middriff barring)
No rips / frayed clothing or shoes
The last two best practices may be optional in startups or very casual work environments but I have never worked in those environments so I can’t speak to that.
Just for a little perspective, when I worked in a business professional environment, going into the office 5 days a week with a jeans day on Fridays - I had at least: one grey, black and white blazers, skirts and pants (trousers and ankle pants). I kept these staples because workwear is expensive but versatile. To spice things up and add in trends, I filtered in fun seasonal tops, sweaters and jewelry that added color and style.
WORKWEAR TIP: Invest in alterations. If certain staple items are hard for you to find that fit well, take it to a tailor or seamstress. You will get better use out of your purchases and feel more comfortable in your clothing when it fits well. Basically all workwear staples are hard items for me to find off the rack: work pants, skirts, blazers and dresses. I often pay extra in alterations to make these items fit correctly which means spending more on that one item.
I still try to make sure that I have a pair of black pants, white pants, a good pair of jeans and layering pieces but since I’m not going into the office 5 days a week nor am I in that professional of a setting I don’t need to have one of everything.
The majority of suiting options for plus have come a LONG way since I started.
Here are a few of my favorites:
Tips on Suiting: If you’re wearing a solid colored suit, make sure the colors match. Major eye sore is seeing a black blazer and black pants that don’t match. If that is an issue - bring in prints to avoid the mismatching.
Luxury | Button Down or Blouse
Professional | Button Down or Top
Trendy | Button Down or Top
Affordable | Button Down or Top
Athleisure | Button Down or Top
