Casual Apparel In The Workplace

Casual Apparel In The Workplace!

 

Hello Business Communication class,

my name is Amber and I will be blogging about Casual Apparel In The Workplace!

Some of the topics I will be discussing will be;

* How to dress for success

* How to dress business casual in your workplace
* What is not considered business casual for your workplace
* How to avoid the casual look and how to dress up your casual clothes

* For women: How to deal with a bigger bosom

So stay tuned to find out the best ways for you to look fabulous and steering clear of casual apparel! I myself dress very VERY casual, so I hope to learn a thing or two about dressing more business professional.

My first topic will be "How to dress for success!", showcasing the best possible ways to dress appropriately for your workplace. I hope these future blogs will enlighten anyone who reads it and also get me a good mark for my class ;) 

Over and out!
Amber

How To Dress For Success

How To Dress For Success 

 

Hello readers! Okay in this post we will be discussing how to dress for success. In other words, how to dress appropriately and cleverly for a business professional workplace. I have here some tips from Alison Doyle who writes for About.com. Some of her suggestions include:

1. Wear a solid color conservative suit with a coordinated shirt or blouse
2. Wear moderate shoes
3. Make sure your hair is well groomed and neat
4. Don't overdo the perfume, makeup, cologne or after shave
5. Limit your jewelry
6. Make sure to try on your outfit BEFORE the day of the interview

Tips:

1. Your clothes are your image, check the mirror and see what others see
2. It is better to be overdressed than underdressed

For more information about Alison and for more of her tips on how to dress for success, visit her About.com page HERE    (Click the word HERE to be taken to her About.com page)

 Personally I agree with Alison and what she has stated on her About.com account, I believe in order to dress for success you must put effort into the way you look. Now I'm not saying to the ladies out there that dressing successful consists of a ton of make up and push up bras. To much cologne and aftershave is also a bad idea guys.

Nowadays it seems like companies do not have very set in stone policies on how to dress for work. So what should the new employee do when entering the work force? I say if you don't know exactly how to dress for success, then always go good old traditional.

Traditional clothes consist of primarily a combination of Alison's suggestions. Depending on the corporate culture of your new work place you need to dress accordingly. Better to over do it than under do it!

Do you think that dressing "for success" works? Or do you believe it is the person that counts, not what they wear? 

Thanks for reading!
Amber

How to Dress Business Casual in your Workplace

How to Dress Business Casual in your Workplace

Lets say you wore a short skirt and low-cut dress to work, will this get you attention? Probably. However will it be the right kind of attention. Probably NOT. If you want the right type of attention then the above picture is the kind of clothes you want to wear to your workplace. Dressing appropriately is essential for entering the work place. Now some companies may have a casual dress day, most of the time this day will be Friday, this does not mean to wear short short and open toe shoes. We will look into possible casual wear that is appropriate for the workplace!

According to Susan M. Heathfield from About.com, "No dress code can cover all contingencies so employees must exert a certain amount of judgment in their choice of clothing to wear to work". Here are some suggestions she gives on what type of clothes to wear for these casual days;

Bottoms - Slacks, Pants, and Suit Pants

Slacks that are similar to Dockers and other makers of cotton or synthetic material pants, wool pants, flannel pants,dressy capris, and nice looking dress synthetic pants are acceptable.  

Tops - Shirts, Tops, Blouses, and Jackets

Casual shirts, dress shirts, sweaters, tops, golf-type shirts, and turtlenecks are acceptable attire for work. Most suit jackets or sport jackets are also acceptable attire for the office, if they violate none of the listed guidelines. 

Others - Skirts, Dresses, and Skirted Suits

Casual dresses and skirts, and skirts that are split at or below the knee are acceptable. Dress and skirt length should be at a length at which you can sit comfortably in public.

Footwear - Shoes and Footwear

Conservative athletic or walking shoes, loafers, clogs, sneakers, boots, flats, dress heels, and leather deck-type shoes are acceptable for work. Wearing no stockings is acceptable in warm weather. 

Jewelry, Makeup, Perfume, and Cologne

Should be in good taste, with limited visible body piercing. Remember, that some employees are allergic to the chemicals in perfumes and make-up, so wear these substances with restraint.

So overall this is excellent advice, if you would like to read more by Susan click HERE! Ultimately you may use your judgement depending on what your workplace asks of you, however the above mentioned will help you make informed and appropriate decisions. 

Here are some questions to ask yourself - 

What is the casual work policy for my workplace?

Who can I ask about this policy?

Are there "casual work days" at my office?

These are just some of the many questions you should be asking yourself!

Thanks for reading!

Amber

What is not Considered Business Casual for your Workplace

What is not Considered Business Casual for your Workplace

So now that we know what is considered to be a good choice of work attire for the workplace, now I will share with you what typically is a bad choice of casual apparel for the workplace. Again we will be citing About.com with Susan's help once more. For more information about Susan and About.com go to www.About.com

Here is what Susan has to say about what is not considered business casual for your workplace:

Bottoms - Slacks, Pants, and Suit Pants

Inappropriate slacks or pants include jeans, sweatpants, exercise pants, Bermuda shorts, short shorts, shorts, bib overalls, leggings, and any spandex or other form-fitting pants such as people wear for biking.

Tops - Shirts, Tops, Blouses, and Jackets

Inappropriate attire for work includes tank tops; midriff tops; shirts with potentially offensive words, terms, logos, pictures, cartoons, or slogans; halter-tops; tops with bare shoulders; sweatshirts, and t-shirts unless worn under another blouse, shirt, jacket, or dress.

Others - Skirts, Dresses, and Skirted Suits 

Short, tight skirts that ride halfway up the thigh are inappropriate for work. Mini-skirts, skorts, sun dresses, beach dresses, and spaghetti-strap dresses are inappropriate for the office.

Footwear - Shoes and Footwear

Flashy athletic shoes, thongs, flip-flops, slippers, and any shoe with an open toe are not acceptable in the office. Closed toe and closed heel shoes are required in the manufacturing operation area.

Do you think it is appropriate to wear any of these items to your workplace? Does it depend on what type of job setting or job you have? What do you think?

Susan's suggestions are right on the ball, you do not want to give off the wrong impression to your co-workers or more importantly to your boss(es).

Depending on your work dress code or policy (this can be acquired through your Human Resources department or simply ask your supervisor or manager) you will have to dress to meet the standards. Do not meet only the minimum standard, rather go for the gold. If you wear any of the above mentioned clothing you may be asked to change. Penalties can also arise if the standards are not met.

So anyway, do your best to dress like a queen...or a king! Use these tips and advice to better your working apparel.

Thanks for reading!
Amber

How to Avoid the Casual Look by Dressing up your Casual Clothes

How to Avoid the Casual Look by Dressing up your Casual Clothes

This post is all about how to avoid looking too casual and how to dress up the business casual look without going over the top.  Some basic rules that we will be discussing are as follows:

1. Make sure your clothes fit you and your body type

Coming to work in something to big or too tight is not good for your overall appearance or your job, don't you think? So first and foremost you want to make sure that, no matter what kind of body type you have, your clothes fit you properly. We want to avoid the baggy, soggy, wrinkled look and eliminate the tight spandex look forever! How can we accomplish this? Antonio from his Business Casual website offers us this piece of advice:

The point to understand about proper clothing fit is that your clothing should have a defined shape as it drapes over your body. Even if you’re a bigger [person], you want clothes that don’t billow and sag. It is a common misconception that loose clothing makes a large [person] look better or provides a higher degree of comfort. In fact, the opposite is true. Clothing that is too loose is made to fit a different body type and will restrict movement.

2. Don't be afraid of colours

I see it a lot, and actually do it myself. Black, brown, black, dark blue, black, black and more black. I'm pretty sure it is a myth about black making you slim. So that being said, don't be afraid of colours! According to Cindy Busch and her article How to determine the Colors that are Best for You!, choosing a colour scheme is a tricky matter. Her advice is as follows: 

Your Coloration has a  "Icy Nuance, Intrepid  and distinctive" Winters are intense and rich in their coloring and have the best profile for power dressing because they look great in all the power colors black ,navy,  charcoal.

People with "Winter" coloring are usually brunette's, although natural white-blondes may also be winter's. Winters often have porcelain white or very pale skin, or olive skin (with a yellowish tinge)... the latter often look good in the deepest winter colors. People of color may also be winter.

This is just a small sample of her colour advice, visit her site to determine what colour best suits you HERE

3. The kind of fabric you buy is important 

Antonio has some fantastic advice about fabric types:

Know the basic “feel” of the fabric that you’re looking for. Wool garments can range from the coarse, hairy texture of rough tweed to a very smooth worsted finish or a soft, fluffy flannel. Cotton varies depending on thickness and the cotton used–it can be very thin and flimsy-feeling or quite heavy. Varying the textures of your fabrics can help keep your outfits unique from day to day. And, of course, you’ll want thicker, coarser clothing for winter and very light, smooth fabric for summer clothes.

If you would like to read more about Antonio's advice you can visit his Business Casual site HERE

 4. Jackets aren't just for winter

Some of your casual clothes for work might look a little too casual, so to dress them up you can do a few different things. You can add a sweater vest, a blazer or jacket, a collar or a nice tie. 

5. Accessories can make or break you

Since I'm not an expert on how to accessorize I found this great article on www.eHow.com called How to Accessorize Your Casual Wardrobe. This article gives great advice for us, read it HERE

Do you think dressing up your casual clothes with accessories will make you look more business casual? 

I hope this helps everyone on how to avoid being too casual by dressing it up!!

Thanks for reading! 
Amber

For Women: How to Deal With a Bigger Bosom - Casual Wear

For Women: How to Deal With a Bigger Bosom - Casual Wear

Casual wear is for everyone including ladies who find it hard to casual it down and finding properly fitted clothing. After all my research on casual apparel in the workplace, I have noticed that some women don't like it because the more black tie they dress the easier it is to hide the bosom. For example blazers, jackets and big busty blouses seem to be the clothing of choice. I say no! These women have the power to wear business casual clothing to work and casual clothing of their casual days without worrying about the bosom. 

If you wish to "down play" your bra size here are some good tips by Bridget Webber:

Polo neck garments can make large breasts seem enormous. While they can be nice and warm to wear in the winter, they really should be avoided at all costs, apart from by flatter chested women. Instead, opt for a V necked jumper which will automatically draw the onlookers eye to your neckline, rather than to your breasts. Finish off the look with a beautiful scarf to keep out winter chills, and to add even more interest to your neck area.

Blouses with frills or details right at chest level, will increase the appearance of an already large chest. Frills and fussy details, while physically and visually extending the size of the garment in the crucial area, will also attract visual attention to your breasts. When it comes to fabrics opt for those which are smooth in appearance, and have substance to them. Not only will they provide the best support, but they will give you a sleeker appearance.

If you wish to read her whole article click HERE

Next I have found a YouTube video that better explains the process of playing down a bigger cup size:

 

I hope this helps some ladies out there! There are a lot of resources that are available for us out there, and this blog will help point you in the right direction!

Thank you for reading,

Amber