Does your wardrobe meet your employer’s expectations? Is your favorite basketball jersey appropriate business casual attire? Over the next several weeks we will explore what business casual means, great tips for looking presentable and where to find affordable work clothing.
Part one explores four general rules for business casual work attire:
All clothing must look and smell clean.
Every Sunday, look at your work wardrobe and plan when you have to do laundry again. Never wear the same socks, underwear, under shirts and shirts in the same workweek without washing them first. (We have all had those days, when wearing yesterday’s socks seemed like a good idea at 6:00 in the morning.) Use your own discretion on pants, if you only wore them for 3 hours earlier in the week they are safe.
What you wear to the night club/ballgame/family picnic/ is not work casual:
In a business casual environment, rule out any clothing that exposes too much skin. This includes tank tops, short shorts or skirts and shirts that do not cover the stomach or back. The jersey you wore to Thursday’s ballgame or last summer’s family picnic is also not appropriate. Hats and caps can be worn when entering or leaving work, but should be moved prior to starting your shift.
Avoid distressed, tattered and faded clothing.
Distressed clothing is a big NO for work. Even though you spent $100 dollars on those great new jeans, giant rips or tears are not okay for a workplace. Ripped jeans are very trendy, but keep in mind everyone has a different taste in style. In your mind, you may be a trendy hipster, but to others you may come off as the sloppy new coworker that cannot afford “whole” jeans.
An Iron should be your new Best Friend.
Never show up to your workplace with a wrinkled shirt or pair of pants. Showing up at work in an un-ironed shirt looks sloppy and very unprofessional. Hate ironing? No problem. There are many wrinkle release sprays you can purchase for about $3-$5, and can transform your wrinkled pants into tomorrow’s work pants. Do you not have enough time to use the spray? Many clothing manufacturers like Dockers make “Wrinkle Free” clothing. If you cannot purchase wrinkle free clothing, simply hang your clothing in the bathroom when you take a shower. The steam from the hot water will remove the wrinkles.
