Dressing for our professional lives has, at least in the last two decades or so, become increasingly personalised. In generations past the professional man’s wardrobe was easy; a suit that fit, a crisp dress shirt and sombre tie (school ties on a Friday if you went to a certain type of school). But the old rules and dress codes are now out the window and men today have the opportunity to flex their sartorial muscles and express their personal styles.
This new focus on personal expression doesn’t come without risk; while dress codes have relaxed, professional standards and expectations have not. Knowing your environment becomes increasingly important when you’re expressing your personal taste and simultaneously climbing the corporate ladder; your clothing choices become expressions of who you are as a person and those expressions influence how your colleagues view you personally but also professionally. Essentially what I’m saying is, if your office dress code is business casual and you interpret that as a tent sized polo, dad jeans and sneakers that have definitely been used at the gym; not matter how good your work is nobody is going to trust you to run the show.
Here are a few tips on how to sidestep any possible sartorial catastrophes.
Know your fit.
Nothing tanks an outfit quicker than an ill-fitting garment; suit jackets with drooping shoulders and that hang to your knees, shirt cuffs that are somehow touching knuckles and pants with hems pooled and bunched around shoe heels. No matter how expensive your clothing is, if they’re ill-fitting you’re just going to look sloppy. Finding your perfect fits might not be as easy as it sounds, we’re not all models with perfect shoulder to waist ratios so trial and error will come into play. Take some time to fit on different sized jackets, shirts and trousers to find what works best for you because once you have your fit down, everything else becomes a lot easier.
When deciding on what the perfect fit of trouser is for you, your primary objective is to get the fit around your waist and derriere right. You do not want to be walking around looking like you have the behind of an octogenarian. If the legs of the trousers end up being too long, that’s fine; that’s why needles, thread and Youtube were invented.
Getting the balance of you outfit right is as important as its fit; you don’t want your look to come across as too casual or too staid and stuffy. If you’re going to rock a pair of denims to the office, pair them with a smart shirt (tucked in!) and blazer. Similarly a polo shirt is immediately smartened up when teamed with a perfectly fitted pair of trousers and leather shoes (expertly polished, of course).
The building blocks for professional dressing.
Once you know your fit, it’s time to start building your new professional wardrobe. The best way to start building your wardrobe is to start with pieces that are easy to mix and match. Here are some key pieces to start out with.
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Blazer
As I’ve said, when starting out buy pieces that are easy to interchange, and in the case of the blazer you’re going to want to choose one in a navy or shade of grey. These two jackets are not as sombre and formal as a black one and are able to smarten up any look. If you work in a more casual environment it’s always handing to keep an emergency blazer on hand just in case you need to be more professionally presentable for a surprise client meeting, dinner or drinks.
If you’re thinking of getting a suit or two to be able to interchange the separate pieces, there’s one thing to keep in mind; if you wear your jacket or trousers at a different rate, they will wear out at a different rate. The last thing you want is to want to wear the complete suit one day only to find that the jacket and trousers are faded differently. Instead choose standalone jackets and trousers and mix and match them accordingly. You’re going to spend a good chunk of your hard earned cash on a suit, so save it for when it’s really required and can make maximum impact.
Shirts
When it comes to shirts there are two important things to remember. Firstly, know your fit (I know I’m repeating myself but it’s damned important); if you button up your shirt and find yourself having trouble breathing or can’t fit at least one finger comfortably between your collar and neck, your shirt is too small. Secondly, don’t ever leave the house in a creased shirt! Seriously, ironing your shirt is super simple to accomplish and if you’re not quite sure how to do it, learn.
Solid colour shirts are the easiest to mix and match with white and light blue being absolutely no-fuss options. Don’t be afraid of prints or patterns either, one-colour stripes and ginghams are easily dressed up or down.
Trousers
When it comes to trousers for the office, chinos are usually the first choice. When choosing a pair choose ones in a navy, caramel or heather grey in a fit that is slim but not necessarily skinny and definitely not baggy. If your chinos look like they could be worn by the hero of a mid-Nineties skater movie, they’re not the right fit. This autumn be on the lookout for some corduroy pairs as well.
Patterned trousers are also a great way to smarten up a look, especially if you’re not going to be wearing a jacket. Prince of Wales and windowpane checks should be your go-to patterns this autumn. Also, don’t disregard a great pair of jeans to the office, but for the love of all the style gods please leave the rips and heavy fading at home and please stick to a rich indigo or black in a slim fit.
Shoes
Getting your shoes right is vitally important to get your outfit right and deserves an article in their own right; which is why we have one here. The essentials to know are that oxfords are the go-to formal shoe when trying to impress and don’t need to make an appearance at the office everyday; derby, loafer and monk straps are excellent everyday shoe choices while Chelsea and lace-up boots (that don’t look like they’re ready for the hiking trail) are great autumn and winter options.
If sneakers are appropriate for your office, try to stick to smarter pairs especially ones in a rich leather. White sneakers are also an option if they look like they’re newly out of the box.
Autumn Essentials
With the coming of the colder months, knitwear becomes increasingly important. If you’re looking to use your knits as a replacement for a shirt, choose options in a slim fit and a fine and soft fabrication. Roll-necks and crew-necks are great options as a shirt replacement but V-necks should only be worn over a collared garment; your colleagues do not have to see your chest hair poking out of your neckline. On days when it’s not quite cold enough for your knitwear, long-sleeved polo and henley T-shirts are a great alternative.
Now that we know what the basics are, we can look at how they can be chopped and changed to suit different office environments.
The Suited Office
While dress codes have certainly relaxed in recent years, some offices and work environments still require their men to be suited. The classic suit, shirt and tie combo would certainly not do you wrong but shouldn’t be necessary every day. On days when you won’t be having presentations or client meetings, swop out the shirt and tie for a long-sleeve polo shirt and finish your look off with a pair of brogues or laced-up boots.
The BUSINESS-casual Office
This is the type of office where guys still wear a blazer but not necessarily a full suit. This is the environment where more contemporary tailoring makes its mark; look out for suits in corduroy or in bold checks or plaids. Roll-neck jumpers make are a suitable replacement for the shirt in this office while monks straps and Chelsea boots will reign supreme as the shoes of choice.
The business-CASUAL Office
Collared shirts and chinos are the usual uniform in this office, but why not mix things up a little by swopping out the chinos for a pair of patterned trousers and sneakers. Since suit jackets and blazers would not be the norm in this office opt for a Harrington jacket, pea coat or something similar instead. Alternatively you could choose to keep the chinos and swop out the shirt for a long-sleeved henley T-shirt instead. The main thing here is to keep everything balanced, if your top half is more casual make sure your bottom half is more formal and vice versa.
The Casual Office
This is the domain of the tees-and-jeans to work crowd. Once again balance is important here to maintain some sort of edge of professionalism to your look instead of looking like you’re off to your local watering hole. Throw a more casually tailored jacket over your tee and jeans and swop out the sneakers for a pair of casual laced shoes (definitely not a pair of oxfords).
When dressing for any sort of professional setting the important thing to remember is to dress not only for the environment you’re in, but also for where you’re trying to go within that environment. If you’re working your way up the ladder it’s important to not only show that you can do the work for the next rung on that ladder but to also look and comport yourself like you’re ready for that next step.
Should your office however just be you at home with your laptop then I have no styling advice except for this; you do you. But maybe wear some pants.
Looking for style advice? Check out our What to Wear Guide for more.
