| Topic Name: |
what's business casual? |
| Message Name: |
Business Casual depends on industry |
| Date Posted: |
09/16/2004 |
| In Reply To: |
According to sources there are at least 4 levels to "Business Casual" and depending on the industry in which you are working you will need to decide "how casual" that is by making your own judgement. You should always dress for your "next" position, not for the one which you currently occupy according to some image consultants. Level 1: Slacks/skirt and blouse/sweater, hose, and dress shoes; Level 2: Slacks and silk T-shirt with sweater or jacket (depending on the industry, should not wear tops that would distract a customer from your face) you want your co-workers and superiors respect and pay attention to you, not your clothes, unless you are working in the art or fashion industry); Level 3: Polo/golf shirt/sweater and khakis (khaki skirt); Level 4: Totally casual; T-shirt with company logo and pressed jeans with athletic shoes. Your orientation session at the new job should make you aware of what acceptable dress is for the company and it should also be mentioned in their company Human Resources policies and the Employee Handbook. Also, the trend in business attire has started to swing back to the more formal after years of casual wear (this may have something to do with the demise of the dot coms and businesses that used to cater to them). If you do a search on any prominent search engine you will find that there are many articles of late concerning this topic. |
| Message: |
I agree with several of the posters here that how casual you get depends on industry and company. I work in the IT field in Atlanta and have worked in offices where business casual just meant no ties but still wearing a suit; however most of the time there are "different rules" for IT and everyone in my department wears khakis with a polo shirt or a long sleeve button down. Being female you also need to be careful about looking ??too good?? or too much like a ??girl??, especially if you??re going to be working in a mostly male office. One of the reasons I stick to khakis and polo shirts is because it makes me look like the guys I work with instead of drawing unwanted attention from a bunch of (usually) single men by standing out as a female.
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