Putting together an attire is one of the most time-consuming tasks to ever exist and there isn’t much room for argument when it comes to dressing for the occasion. When it comes to dressing in business casual it’s important to always make sure that the attire is appropriate. Today’s topic- Business Casual for Women.
Trying to understand what the proper business casual is in today’s work environment can be rather challenging, nevertheless, we can always decipher the way we want to dress in formal attire. A business casual mostly depends on the environment or the vibe of the company you work for. If you work for a fashion-related corporation you would be saved a lot of time because fashion would have no bounds in such companies. But unfortunately, it isn’t the same for all companies. Some companies might find a little laid-back attires accepting while some might expect you to dress in crisp shirts and dress pants. If you are too stressed out about figuring out your business casual we got your back, carry on with the article to find out more details and some bonus styling tips.
As mentioned earlier your business casual outfit may or may not be approved by everyone but either way, it’s always a must to make sure you dress up in a crisp, clean, well-fitted, and pressed outfit. These types of outfits usually convey that your business casual game is on the good side. This might be stereotypical but it’s always safe and risk-free to dress the standard way despite whatever it conveys.
What exactly is business casual in the first place?
To define business casual, one can say semi-formal or formal but laid back. It is like dressing for business but not over the top at the same time not too casual, it’s the perfect blend of formal and casual.
When you hear the words “business casual attire for women” the first thing that would strike your mind is an outfit with a crisp shirt and dress pants paired with dress shoes and a sleek blazer.
Typically tailored blazers, fitted formal shirts, khakis, wide-legged dress pants, button-up shirts, knee-length skirts or A-lined fitted skirts, formal shoes, loafers, toe point heels are some of the standard clothes which are reliable no matter where you work, live, your profession or even the season.
A lot of people would prefer their business casual outfits to be neutral colors like beige, white, off-white, gray, and more earthy tones. However, these are the basics and you can always discover your styles and statements once you are confident that you got the grip of managing to put together an outfit.
If you live in cities like New York, Seattle, Washington, or any metropolitan city with multinational companies all you need to do is step out in the morning and take a look at all of the busy people taking off to their work, this will give you an idea of what a business casual outfit is.
How to shop for business casual type outfits?
Shopping for business casual can get hard sometimes. When you are shopping for quantity most of the time you might be disappointed by the quality and when you are shopping for quality you might be disappointed with the quantity. But there are surely some places where you can find the perfect balance of quantity and quality. Some of them are Poshmark, ASOS, Banana Republic, and Target. We do hope that you keep sustainability in mind and don’t fall into the hole of overconsumption.
Always try to align your shopping spree when there is a sale, a lot of brands would put business casuals on sale frequently because people would not shop for them throughout the year. If you’re shopping only use discount codes if possible. Don’t rush yourself and buy outfits that are a year’s worth of budget, the trends change so buy small amounts now and then, this way you can stay trendy and stay within your budget.
You can always thrift for your formals, a lot of cities have thrift stores for business casual outfits, you might find some nice vintage picks to pair up with your casual tops or bottoms. Also, be sure of what you’re going to buy beforehand. Don’t get carried away by something which isn’t essential.
Five things to remember while shopping:
- Always choose what makes you comfortable over what looks fashionable.
- Choose outfits that make you confident in yourself.
- Try to invest in basic shirts or tops to mix match later rather than restricting yourself about buying strictly formals
- If you are confused or feel like you don’t have enough knowledge, seek help from people you think would know better.
- Don’t overlook sustainability and be determined to not cross your budget unless it feels like it’s worth it.
To be more detailed, here are some in-depth suggestions on what to pick for your business casual:
Tops:
Necklines: wearing plunging necklines while work is a big no, you should rather choose modest ones like boat neck, collared, crew neck. You will not have the time to check on your outfit the entire day while working which is why you should choose something that would allow you to pay more interest to work and makes you comfortable.
Hemlines: choosing ruffled, over-decorated, off-shoulder necklines would not come across as professionalism, the same goes with skirts, choose hemlines with simple seams and stitches. The length of your skirt might worry you as well, the ideal length would be knee-high, higher than that would make you concerned throughout the day.
Sleeve length: you can have total freedom in choosing your sleeve length, in the end, all that matters is your comfort. We would suggest you wear long-sleeved shirts or blouses or tops in winter or cold seasons and short sleeves are ideal in summer. Three-fourth sleeves suit mostly everyone and you might have to confirm with your office dress code about wearing sleeveless tops.
Bottoms:
Pants: the best pants for a business casual would be straight, fitted, wrinkle-free dress pants of fabrics that would look classy. The cotton, polyester, silk-crepe mix would be ideal. Pants are the most comfortable and reliable choice for bottoms in a workplace. However, they don’t always have to be dress pants; you can also choose types of denim that look formal. We would suggest wide-legged, high-waisted, flared rather than skinny jeans for business casual attire.
Skirts: the undeniable winner would be a perfect-fitting A-lined skirt for formal wear. They allow you to move freely and work comfortably, on top of this they can be easily paired with a normal button-up shirt or a blouse. Next would be flared or pleated skirts, they might not look as professional as A-lined ones but they are more comfortable for sure and are easier to pair. Never forget to choose a comfortable and less concerning length for your skirt.
Dresses:
Dresses that are well fitted, made from flowy fabric are the ideal option. Some professions may require you to wear a dress majority of the time. The top suggestion would be a dress with a modest neckline which is Simplyknee-length. You can also pair it with a jacket or an oversized blazer.
As always the first rule to remember is choosing something that wouldn’t concern you throughout the day and helps you move and work freely. You will be very occupied with hefty loads of work. It would be best for you to not add more work for yourself by choosing an uncomfortable outfit. Just ensure you pick up appropriate dresses that are A-lined, wrapped, or pencil fitted.
Footwear:
Shoes: it’s become pretty normal for people to pair up formal outfits with sneakers. When you think about it, the idea wouldn’t seem too bad, you would be comfortable and look fashionable. But the classy shoes would always be loafers. They are available in a wide range like matte, glossy, leather textured, Etc.
Heels: choosing heels for your business casual can be a bit tricky, you would want them to counter your outfit perfectly at the same time you would also want them to be comfortable. It’s for the best if you choose wide heeled ones with lesser heels rather than pointed ones which would require a lot of patience while working. It’d be nice if you keep your heels 3 inches that, high at maximum.
Flats: flats are hands down the best type of footwear to ever exist and they are also the best ones to pair up easily with a work attire after shoes of course. Simply designed flats would go well with straight and sleek pants as bottoms. It wouldn’t be a great choice for a first interview but it’s always a safer option.
Boots: Boots are a very nice option too. Our top recommendation would be Chelsea boots, they are comfortable, fashionable, affordable, and would perfectly go with formal attires. There are a lot of different boots like knee-high boots, ankle boots, flat or heeled boots. You can choose any of them except for knee-high boots because they are the exact opposite of the whole concept of business casual.
Accessories:
Handbags: no one can go wrong when it comes to choosing their handbag. Medium-sized leather handbags have been the standard for a lot of time now. However, you can always go a bit adventurous while choosing your handbag. You can try sling bags, tote bags, Etc. but it would be comfortable for you to choose bags with a lot of space and a color that would go with most of our fits.
Jewelry: wearing flashy, over the top or intricately detailed jewelry would be a big fault when it comes to business casual, they would contrast the whole outfit and sometimes stand out more than you would like for them to. The best would be wearing simple and sleek chains or earrings to compliment your outfit. A thin sterling silver chain with single stone studs with your blazer would always look better than a heavy metal chain and earring set with your blazer.
Watches: you can pick a watch that would go with both your casual and formal outfits instead of buying multiple of them. Belt watches are the standard, metal watches are the revolution and digital watches are game-changers. There’s a misconception that watches should be complicated looking to counter your formal outfit perfectly but the watch doesn’t play a major role because most of the time it’s the way you carry yourself not the way you carry your accessories.
Belts: belts are one of those accessories which are not that necessary but you would end up buying them anyway, because who wouldn’t like to step it up in fashion. so when you buy them keep in mind that you can’t buy bold or vibrant colored belts, as always go for neutral-toned ones which would perfectly blend in with formals.
Scarves: scarves aren’t really essential but when you buy them remember the basic rules and choose the fabric of your scarf wisely. You can easily pair your scarf with any type of outfit with just a little knowledge from the internet. The task is to buy the perfect scarf for yourself.
Is smart casual the same as business casual?
This is a very common confusion for a lot of people. Let us break it for everyone that they are not the same, smart casual is more on the exploring side while business casual is on the traditional side. To be more detailed business casuals include normal standard clothing like fitted bottoms, long-sleeved button-up shirts of neutral tones with a sleek blazer. Smart casual includes tops with flashy patterns, vibrant blazers, statement jewelry, Etc. Trendy clothes turned casual are smart casual.
When you are an amateur in fashion and are unsure of what to choose between the two it would be best to choose the traditional one. It will be easier for you to decide the pair-ups but you can always explore when you get familiar with your office dress code and guidelines.
How to choose business casual for the season?
For summers you can take a break from the well-fitted trousers and shirts. You can wear wide-legged pants or skirts to make it less humid for yourself and choose light-toned colors so that they wouldn’t absorb the heat and wear heels rather than boots or shoes. You can also skip the blazer for some days and choose to wear pressed cotton shirts.
For winters you can try layering your outfit with cardigans or sweaters or vests. You can also wear thick clothing to keep yourself warm. The winter is the best opportunity to use your scarf rather than any other season. You can wear boots to go with your outfit and the season, but you can also wear any type of footwear according to the certain temperature in your localities. It wouldn’t be a great idea to wear heels if it snows so that is how weather affects business casual. For bottoms, you can wear fitted and heavy pants or types of denim.
For monsoon you have to be extremely careful while choosing your outfit because it is the most problematic season of all, choose heels with moderate heels to avoid splashes onto your pants. You can still follow the same tips for monsoon as you did for winter. Your umbrella doesn’t have to blend in with your outfit because that would be a task.
Business casual for conference meetings:
It doesn’t have to be complicated to decide on an outfit for a conference, you can just wear your normal business casual clothing according to the context of the conference. If the conference is a different destination from the usual, be sure to pick your outfit according to the weather and temperature of the place.
If the conference is for more than a day make sure to pack your clothes already paired up with subtle accessories and make sure you pack two more blazers rather than just one. If the conference is semi-formal with events then you can make some fancy choices like statement jewelry or bold colored tops and bottoms, but don’t overdo it.
How to improve my sense of dressing in business casual:
It’s not very hard to improve your dressing sense. You’ll slowly get the hang of it, you might often find yourself debating over things that have to be paired up in your outfit, you don’t have to worry about it too much. Everyone goes through this phase. You can take suggestions from fashion professionals or the staff at clothing stores.
Pinterest is the perfect place to explore something you don’t know, go through pins on Pinterest and save things you want to have, or try pairing up things on your boards. The next time you go shopping you can look for similar things.
The most important point to remember when trying to improve your fashion sense is when you see or imagine an outfit you should be able to see yourself in it, if you feel like you can pull it off then go for it. If you feel otherwise then search up alternatives. Believe it or not, your confidence is usually high when you are happy about your attire or you will feel insecure and less confident.
What types of clothing is not business casual?
When you look at a piece of clothing and feel like you can’t wear it to your workplace at any cost it is not business casual, anything too comfortable is not business casual. For example low-rise pants, leather pants, joggers, sweatpants, yoga pants, body-con dresses, tops or dresses with plunging necklines or thin straps, shorts, athleisure, baggy clothes, Etc. These are just some of the examples. There are a lot more than these.
A business casual attire should show the professionalism of a person, this genre of fashion is not the best one to explore your style in. It’s not that all of these are scripted or government-issued rules, but there are some hard and fast rules of what not to wear and it would be of less trouble for you to follow the traditional ways at times.
How to dress in business casual for a first interview:
When you are trying to assess a person in less than twenty minutes their attire plays a major role in first impressions, your outfit is indeed oblivious to your professionalism or talent but a lot of people think otherwise and it might not be the best to dress boldly for a first time interview. So here are some tips: Buy a dark-colored suit for a first-time interview (black, navy, or charcoal) with matching separates, don’t forget to rip off any vents, and also cross-check if all the stitches are closed.
You can rather have a dry cleaned button-down formal shirt or save the dry cleaning expenses by wearing a full-sleeved top under your blazer. Look for something that would go well with your blazer. If you don’t have a button-down shirt, you can go for a nice pressed plain neutral-colored t-shirt.
Traditionally a lot of people would choose skirts to go with a blazer for a first interview considering it the most conservative option, don’t forget to check the length of the skirt which should be a maximum of one or inches an inch above or below your knees. Also, make sure the slit isn’t too high. If you choose pants look for trousers, not ankle-length pants.
Wear minimal accessories like a classic round chain or a string of small pearls and a watch that conveys that you are responsible. Wear stockings if you decide to wear a skirt.
Wear heels that would allow you to walk comfortably for at least two blocks, make sure they are polished, clean, and free of scuffs. Carry a bag that is big enough to hold a folder of your resume, you can also consider carrying a pair of flats, a light snack just in case, and light makeup. finally, be confident and make sure to do your best.
Styling tips for business casual attire:
- Wear crisp, ironed, solid-colored clothes.
- Button-up shirts are a superior choice.
- Limit jewelry to three pieces.
- Remove your piercings if anyone set of earrings is the norm.
- Don’t overdo your makeup and hair, keep them simple and conservative.
- Choose neutral-toned clothing.
- Handbags should be of moderate size and should match your footwear.
- Trim your nails neatly and paint them with a clear base or natural colors.
- Wear light perfume.
- Footwear should be well maintained and polished.
- Don’t doubt your choice of clothing and be sure of yourself.
Conclusion:
All of the above-mentioned style tips, details, and insights are according to the traditional definitions of business casual. The world has changed a lot since the first interview or the first business meeting happened so it is okay for you to be a little bit bold here and there but we suggest you keep it low for the first time or first few months. After getting familiar with the style and the tips no one can stop you from dressing however you like. All of these would go down the drain if you don’t wear the attire with confidence, you have to believe that your choice doesn’t affect anyone else’s life except for yours so why not dress for yourself.
Frequently asked questions:
- What kind of bottoms do I wear for business casuals?
The pants should be well fitted, they shouldn’t be too loose or too tight, don’t wear figure-hugging pants like skinny-fitted jeans. Low-rise pants are an absolute no. Always choose high-waisted trousers with the flow, don’t wear ankle-length pants or skirts or trousers.
While picking skirts, always choose an appropriate length according to your workplace, weather, and temperature. Choose A-lined, pencil skirts over flowy or flared skirts, and wearing a stocking would be the best choice.
- Are jeans business casual?
Traditionally no, they are not but a lot of corporate offices now allow jeans. But some of them still don’t if you are not sure you can always check with their guidelines and other employees working there. If your profession leans towards the creative sector you can explore your dressing to no limits. If you are working on the conservative side be sure to choose a normal top with wide-legged types of denim rather than skinny jeans.
- What is power dressing?
Power dressing is a way to express your strength and the position you hold through your attire. When a person is power-dressed they are trying to show that they are authoritative and competitive. The most common piece of clothing in power dressing is a double-breasted blazer which is usually well fitted and tailored. The 1970’s books for dressing guidance like ‘The Women’s Dress for Success’ popularized the concept of power dressing.
- How to balance business casual?
Choose a perfect blend of clothing, pick your clothes in a way that they counter each other. To balance a business casual outfit pair up plain solid-colored T-shirts with blazers and well-fitted trousers. You cal also try to pair up wide-legged denim with a button-down formal full-sleeved shirt.
