What Is Business Attire?

What Do Employees Wear to Work?

 
By Susan M. Heathfield
Human Resources Expert
 
 

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PNC/Digital Vision/Getty Images
Updated April 27, 2015.

Business attire refers to the clothing that employees wear to work. Depending on the
workplace, various levels of business attire are expected and the norm. The dress
codes range from traditional and formal to smart casual, business casual, and casual.
Employees who want to fitwell in their workplace, wear the standard clothing that is
expected, and often dictated by a written dress code. But, you don’t need an official
dress code to understand what constitutes appropriate business attire in your
workplace.
Look at what your boss wears. Observe what other successful employees wear to work.

If you’re a new employee, ask when you receive your job offer what employees are
expected to wear to work. Start out a new job by dressing just a little bit better than you
believe is the norm to make a good first impression.

CONTINUE READING BELOW OUR VIDEO 

Appropriate Interview Attire For Women
0:13

2:18

 
First impressions are significant and you want yours to be memorable for its positive
predictive message.
Workplace success guide books have suggested that employees need to dress for the
job they want to have, not the job they have. I’m not sure how valid this is, but even in a
 business casual environment, executives usually dress slightly more formally. The total
impression that you make on colleagues and bosses has implications for how you are
viewed in your workplace.

How you dress is so simple to modify that career success and advancement should be
more important than your need to express your individual, quirky personality at work.
Business attire is important because it sends messages about you – fairly or unfairly - to
customers, clients, bosses, company executives, and coworkers.

People do judge you by your appearance.

Degrees of Formality in Business Attire

Traditional business attire consisted of:

Women: skirt suits or pant suits with formal business blouses or tops, stockings, closed toe and
heel leather shoes, and appropriate business accessories including a brief case, leather folder for
pads of paper, and a conservative pen. Women were encouraged to keep jewelry, makeup, and
perfume subtle and elegant.
Find a detailed dress code and an image gallery that illustrates traditional business
attire.
Smart casual business attire, just a step down from traditional, consists of:
Men: sports jacket with tie, dress pants, button down or traditional business shirt or nice turtleneck,
dress shoes, and attractive accessories as described in traditional business attire.
Women: jacket or dressy sweater, dress pants or skirt, blouse, shirt, top or turtleneck, hose, dress
shoes, and accessories as described in traditional business attire.
Find an image gallery that illustrates smart casual business attire.
Business casual attire consists of:
Men: khakis, dress, or Dockers-type pants, shirts or golf-type shirts with collars, sweaters, vests,
occasionally an informal jacket and tie, and attractive leather shoes and accessories.
Women: nice pants or skirts, blouses, tops, sweaters, vests, occasionally an informal jacket, and
attractive leather shoes and accessories.
Find a detailed dress code and an image gallery that illustrates business casual attire.
The business casual attire dress code emphasizes what is inappropriate, which is
helpful.
Casual business attire consists of:
Men: casual pants and jeans, shirts with collars or not, sweaters, vests, sweat shirts, casual shoes
including sandals and athletic wear.
Women: casual pants, skirts, and jeans, blouses, tops, sweaters, vests, sweat shirts, casual shoes
including sandals and athletic wear.
 

Find a detailed dress code and an image gallery that illustrates casual business attire.
The casual business attire dress code emphasizes what is inappropriate, which is
helpful.
By following these guidelines, you can look professional in your selected business attire
in your workplace. Just understand the standard that is expected, dress according to
these guidelines, and assemble a wardrobe that is attractive and comfortable.

Avoid looks that you would wear to a party, the beach, an athletic competition, house
cleaning, or a club. Professional business attire doesn’t define an employee’s
competence, but it goes a long way in influencing the impression of your boss,
coworkers and customers about your capabilities and professionalism. Professional
business attire is a must in any workplace.

Feel comfortable in your clothes. Your clothes should reflect your true self—don’t pretend. Just
because you think you’re the next Mark Zuckerberg, doesn’t mean that hoodies and Adidas flip-flops
are for you. You should feel comfortable in what you wear. Clients and co-workers will notice if
you’re a sartorial con artist. 

Dress to impress on the job hunt. If you’re looking for a full-time opportunity, err on the side of
caution. Step it up a bit with something slightly more formal that shows a dash of personality, but
nothing that overwhelms the situation. For men, it might mean colorful socks or a pocket square for
your sports coat or suit jacket. For women, it might be how you choose to accessorize your outfit.
That said … 

Accessorize carefully. Some say the ability to accessorize is what separates us from animals.
Leesa Butler said it also has the ability to overwhelm. “One day I wore these fabulous bangles that
seem to take a life of their own,” she recalled. “They would rattle incessantly. In the middle of a
corporate meeting, I quickly realized what a distraction they were and took them off immediately.” 

Fit the culture. Butler said she once worked at an agency with a casual environment, in which they
always dressed fashion forward when meeting a client. Why? “Because that’s why the client chose
us—they liked that as part of our package,” she explained. Former beauty executive Jenny
Frankelsaid the same thing works on the client side. “I always read the environment of my agency,”
she said. “If they had a more relaxed dress code, then I would dress accordingly.” 
Follow the leader. Barbara Laidlaw, senior vice president and partner at Fleishman Hillard in New
York, suggested employees take a cue from their boss when attending client meetings. “If he or she
is normally business casual in the office, but wears a suit or other more formal attire when visiting
certain clients, do the same,” she said. “No one has ever been looked down upon for dressing up a
bit or dressing slightly more conservatively.” 

Dress your age. If you’re the “veteran”—that is, older than 25—in your office environment, you don’t
need to dress down to fit in. But do dress your age. For men, that could mean a sports jacket or suit
with an open collar. For women, it can be tempting to have fun—but not too much. If your teenage
daughter is wearing a mini, please don’t assume you can pull off the same look. Even if you do have
legs like Heidi Klum. Oh, and guys, lose the flip-flops. They’re for the beach, or a public shower, not
the office. “In most offices, your wardrobe should absolutely not be the same as you wear to the
beach on weekends,” said Laidlaw.