New employees can find it tough to know how to dress in the office. When you aren’t familiar with a place, it can be tough to know what is appropriate and acceptable in a workplace. Luckily, there are a few cardinal rules that can help get you through any difficulty with selecting the best outfit for your job.
Until you know, play it safe
There are very few things that could be scarier than showing up to work under or overdressed. Maybe you have had nightmares about this. Especially when you are new to a job, you don’t want to stand out for the wrong reasons. Because of this, you need to know the appropriate style of dress for your office.
For example, you never should go into an interview wearing completely casual attire. You could show up and realize that everyone in the office is dressed very formal and then feel very out of place. Beyond feeling out of place, you will also not make a good impression on your interviewer.
How can you figure out what you can wear?
- Look on social media
- Check out the company website
- Ask an employee, recruiter, or boss
In order to figure out what to wear to work, you need to know what the company culture is like and if the company has a dress code. Those methods listed above will be sure to reveal an answer to these questions.
Any of these tips will be great for finding out what is the most appropriate thing to wear in the office. It can be a little confusing at times when you just trust your own intuition. These three methods will ensure that you find out what is the best thing to wear in the office to ensure that you keep up with everyone else.
Know the different business dress styles
Now that you have done your research regarding the acceptable dress in your office, you need to take a look at the different styles and learn more about each to understand what will be appropriate in your workplace. When it comes to business dress, there are a few important categories of dress that you should know:
- Business Formal
- Business Casual
- Smart Casual
Business formal, as you might expect, is the most professional and formal style of them all. Smart casual is on the other end of the spectrum, with business casual falling somewhere in between.
Business formal consists of formal business attire like suits, pencil skirts, and button-ups. The colors of business formal are fairly conservative. This is what you have always imagined when you think of a big corporate office of white-collar workers.
Business casual and smart casual are much more relaxed than business formal. Despite this, they are still more formal than traditional casual attire. This style still includes button-ups, dress pants, and skirts. However, these can be more relaxed and their coloring can be a wider color palette.
The difference between business casual and smart casual can be a little difficult to decipher. The biggest difference is that smart casual is much more fashion-forward. This attire gives you the ability to wear more statement pieces. Be careful when selecting this style unless you are certain it is appropriate for your business. Otherwise, you could end up sticking out like a sore thumb.
Find a way to be comfortable
With both of these tips taken into account, you need to find a way to be comfortable in what you wear to work. As you might expect, this doesn’t mean that you should show up in sweatpants. However, you should find a way to match your business’s dress style while still being comfortable in what you wear.
Finding out what is comfortable will likely take some experimentation in testing what works for you and what doesn’t. Look for materials and fabrics that feel good on your skin. Find items that fit in a way that is most comfortable for you. No matter what, take the time to figure out what is best for you to ensure that you can feel and be comfortable. When you are comfortable then you aren’t distracted by itchy materials or tight-fitting items. This is what allows you to feel like your most confident self and that is really what matters!
At the end of the day, one of the most important steps is to do your research to ensure that you are prepped with the right attire for work. Once you know what is appropriate for your workplace follow these tips and you won’t go wrong. If you do all these things, there is nothing that can hold you back from being comfortably and confidently dressed for work! Best of luck!
