"business attire", anyone?

[amietron]

what the hell is "business attire" for a chick?
yes, me. i need to wear "business attire" to work.
and i demand variation.

help, guys!
i gotta look professional.

no jeans
no khakis
no t-shirts
no slippers

[deez nuts]

Dress pants, blouse/shirt and dress shoes.

My woman says go check out j-crew or banana republic, they have a decent and affordable selection and is a good place to start.

[amietron]

should i just get lotsa dress up clothes and say, if i have to work after school, just wear work clothes to school? or change before i work?

dress pants and dress shirts. yes, i've got 'em. but i need color variation. the multiple pairs of pants i've got are all black, and the tops are all white. boring, don't you think?

[deez nuts]

[quote:c7a2c70abf="amietron"]should i just get lotsa dress up clothes and say, if i have to work after school, just wear work clothes to school? or change before i work?

dress pants and dress shirts. yes, i've got 'em. but i need color variation. the multiple pairs of pants i've got are all black, and the tops are all white. boring, don't you think?[/quote:c7a2c70abf]

I have this overwhelming urge to flee now.

She says try khaki colored and baby/light blue colors work too.

[Barbs]

those little sweater sets are very convenient tho i get bored with them. i'm in a kind of conservative profession so i have to indulge myself by wearing nice shoes. flattering trousers are always nice.

i personally find slightly sheerish blouses with lacy bras very very sexy at work. as long as u wear a jacket over it, it's fine.

most work places these days are quite flexible about "business casual."

[krissy]

Actually, my understanding of "business" attire for both men and women is a suit (namely, matching jacket and pants/skirt). But I guess it depends on how your firm defines it. It also depends on what the other people in your workplace are wearing. When I go to clients that are "business" or "professional" dress, I always check out what the women who work there wear to see if I can get away with anything less than a suit.

For nicer business casual, I agree that BR and J. Crew are good places to shop. In addition to dress shirts, you could probably also wear finely knit sweaters - I have quite a few of these w/different sleeve lengths - in black, pink, navy, charcoal, lighter grey, and of course, red (my favorite color :)). Twin sets are good too if it's not too hot (in which case, opt for cotton over cashmere or wool). I do have several dress shirts in light blue and light pink - sometimes dress shirts with subtle stripes or different textures are more interesting too. I'm partial to khaki/tan and charcoal colors for pants, but wear black as well.

[Faithless]

This probably has little to do with this topic, but found it an interesting link

http://www.dressforsuccess.org/
Dress for Success solves the "Catch-22" dilemma that confronts low-income women trying to enter the workforce: Without a job, how can you afford a suit? But without a suit, how can you get that job?

Each Dress for Success client receives one suit when she has a job interview and a second suit when she gets the job. Many Dress for Success affiliates actually provide more than just those two suits, such as extra silk scarves, blouses and other interview-appropriate clothing items. Our goal is to provide a sharp-looking interview suit to help land the job, and then enough items to mix-and-match for a whole week's worth of work attire.

Women are referred to Dress for Success by a continually expanding array of not-for-profit and government agencies including homeless shelters, domestic violence shelters, immigration services and job training programs.

Every client who is referred to Dress for Success receives top-notch attention from one of our volunteer Personal Shoppers, who helps the client select an interview outfit.

Interview Suits provided through Dress for Success are not a reward or prize; they symbolize our faith in every woman's ability to succeed.

[SynRG]

dress pants and dress shirts. yes, i've got 'em. but i need color variation. the multiple pairs of pants i've got are all black, and the tops are all white. boring, don't you think?

Business Attire is supposed to be boring! Duh!! :wink: :biggrin:

Nah seriously.. I'm not even sure what the proper business attire for women is. Us guys are pretty damn easy- suit, collared shirt, tie.

As far as colors, if you want to get away from black, go for blue. There are lots of different shades and you can mix and match for the two/three-tone look. I'm currently getting a suit made that's dark blue w/ real subtle light blue pin-stripes... looks pretty pimp.

Aside from blue and blue/grey.. um. There's not much else. I'm pretty sure "earthtones" (green, brown, burgundy, etc) are "out" these days...

For ties I'm all about fatty stripes now. If I can't have fatty laces, I might as well have fatty stripes. "The Executive" is my sh*t for ties... next down is G2000.