Casual dressing in a business environment is extremely different from a casual outfit that one would wear in non-work settings. Business casual attire is often worn in creative industries and on ‘casual Friday’ days. It is sometimes referred to as smart casual.
Dress Pants
Trousers that are bought separately from a suit will become a central piece of your business casual closet. They come in a variety of cuts: curvy ladies might enjoy bootcut trousers such as those in Old Navy’s Mid-Rise Boot Cut Khakis, whereas smaller ladies might prefer the more tapered Mid-Rise Skinny Everyday Khakis.
Depending on your office culture, it might not be appropriate to wear colored and patterned pants.
- For more conservative offices, stick to pants in a solid neutral, like black, navy, or camel.
- For ladies in more creative industries, you might be able to wear pants in jeweled tones and with subtle patterns, though neon colors and loud prints should be avoided.
Skirts
Pencil skirts and A-line skirts are the most appropriate options for a business casual environment. JCPenney carries a nice selection of Worthington and Liz Claiborne pencil skirts and Macy’s has a great choice of A-line skirts from brands like Charter Club and NY Collection.
- It is best to choose a wool blend or cotton-blend skirt to minimize wrinkling.
- Printed and colored skirts have become increasingly popular in recent years as well.
- A denim skirt would not be appropriate for the office.
Appropriate Blouses
In general, blouses appropriate for the workplace have sleeves and are not sheer. Talbots is a great place to shop for work-appropriate blouses. If you would like to make a sleeveless blouse work for the office, wearing a cardigan or blazer over the blouse would be ideal.
There is a huge variety of blouses out there, but the ones universally appropriate for the workplace are:
- Silk or rayon shirts in solid colors
- Bow-tie blouses
- Cowl neck blouses
Dresses
Work dresses should not be too tight, too short, or overly revealing in general. Old Navy has a nice selection of affordable business casual dresses. Many of their styles can be paired with blazers and cardigans for the colder months, as well as for a polished look throughout the year. Dresses worn in warmer months should have sleeves, as sleeveless looks are generally too casual for most workplaces.
Denim
Jeans are sometimes appropriate for business casual offices, like during ‘jeans Fridays.’ Before showing up at work in jeans, though, make sure they are acceptable in your office. In general, if jeans are allowed at work, it’s best to stick to a darker wash and jeans that are free from rips and tears. The best styles to wear to the office are bootcut (such as Mid-Rise Dark-Wash Kicker Boot-Cut Jeans), tapered (such as Amanda by Gloria Vanderbilt), and straight cut (such as Levi’s 505).
Skinny jeans that are skintight and boyfriend jeans (oversized denim) would not be appropriate for the office.
Chunky Jewelry
Statement necklaces and earrings have become increasingly popular in recent years. They add a pop of color and personality to outfits, but should be worn with care that they do not overly distract or make sounds when you move (for example, avoid bells on your earrings). Retailers like Belk, Icing, and Macy’s have affordable costume jewelry pieces inspired by current designer collections.
Fashion Handbag
You can opt for a more relaxed fashion purse to pair with business casual apparel than the basic black leather style best suited for positions that require formal professional apparel. Avoid going with anything that is too casual, such as an oversized canvas tote or a particularly blingy style. Other than ‘over the top’ looks like those, you can be creative when it comes to selecting your business casual handbag. Organizer purses are a particularly good option. You can find a variety of affordable styles from eBags.com.
Shoes
Business casual outfits can include a little more personality than more formal attire. For example, opt for a pair of colorful flats (such as the Pirassa Ballet flat) to wear with black pants and a cream shirt, or select a pair of shoes with some studded embellishment, such as Calvin Klein’s Owena Bootie. The key is to keep it simple and not delve into ruffles, frills, or glitter – these are too casual and do not give a good impression of your competence.
To sum up, there are some hard and fast rules on what not to wear when as we talked about business casual dress code for women. Keep it classy all the time.
