Office work and business meetings can be quite busy and hectic, but you would still have to look your best even if you are already tired or haggard before, during, and after work. One of the best ways to look punctual in the office or in business meetings in other cities and countries is to have the best business attire.
Dressing for business may look simple in hindsight, but creating the perfect business attire outfits can be challenging if you don’t know how to match clothing pieces, what to buy for business shirts online, and how to choose the correct fit for clothes. If you want to learn more about how to assemble the perfect business attire, here are tips for dressing the best for business.
Determine Which Type of Business Attire is Suitable for the Office
There are many kinds of business attire that you can choose to wear in the office, and the one that you pick is usually determined by the appearance of the office, the nature of the office’s work, and the office’s dress code. Here is a list of the different types of business attire that are popular in many offices around the world.
- Smart Casual – is a relatively informal business attire where you can wear jeans and sweaters. However, smart casual clothing should be fitted.
- Business Casual – is a common type of business attire where men can wear slim-fit jeans, dress shirts, and brown leather shoes. The dress shirts are usually tucked into the jeans for a more professional look. For women, the business casual can have a long dress or a cardigan with a relatively long skirt.
- Business Professional – is the most formal type of business attire for regular office days. The business professional attire is composed of a fitted suit, a pair of slacks, a necktie, and a dress shirt. Women can wear business professional attire with tidy and form-fitting dresses, a blazer, and high heels.
If you want to look professional but don’t want to overdo it, you can just wear a business casual outfit. Luckily, a lot of online stores offer high-quality dress shirts, jeans, and slacks that are perfect for business casual attire. However, if you want to wear a dress shirt, make sure that the shirt is ironed properly for a cleaner and sleeker look.
Get Your Clothes Tailored
There are clothing pieces that have different shapes and sizes, but most of them would usually not fit a person’s body perfectly since those pieces cater to the average sizes instead of the unique ones. What we mean by that statement is that not all people’s bodies are shaped the same, so a specific medium size coat may not look suitable for him even if it is his correct size.
The best method to have clothes that fit your body perfectly is to get those clothing pieces tailored. Tailoring is a process where an experienced tailor will take measurements of your body and alter or modify clothing pieces so that they would fit your body better.
The process of tailoring can be quite expensive, but if you are going to wear business attire for months or years, we would say that tailoring your business clothes is definitely worth it. A lot of people would just get their formal clothes tailored, but if you are a person that wears business attire almost every day, then you should get your pieces for business outfits tailored so that you would look more professional and sophisticated for business travels or while in the office, which would then enable you to get respect from your co-workers, bosses, or employees.
Stick to a Safer Color Palette
Neutral colors like brown, beige, black, and white are often the safest colors to wear for business attire, as bright colors can often be inappropriate for certain office environments. So, as much as possible, you should stick to a safer color palette that has solid colors instead of patterns like stripes or blocks. However, you can choose to partner a neutral pair of pants with a dress that has a loud color like blue or red, although the color shouldn’t be so oversaturated that it appears too bright on you.
Avoid Clothes that are Too Revealing
Business casual attire allows you to wear dress shirts that are a little bit loose and have their buttons undone at the top part, but wearing your shirts that way may not be appropriate for the office environment. So, it would always be best to avoid clothes that are too revealing or just try to button up almost all the buttons of your dress shirt except one at the top for breathability if you are wearing business casual attire.
The same could also apply to women, as it would always be better if they could wear dresses that don’t reveal much of their skin, and if the dress is sleeveless, they can opt to wear cardigans or blazers along with the dress.
Follow the Dress Code
Underdressing and overdressing for the office can be embarrassing for some of us, as we may look out of place compared to our co-workers and even the bosses in the company. So, it would be best if you could check out the dress code of the office so that you won’t overdress and underdress. You should do the same thing for business travels or meetings in other offices so that you won’t really stick out like a sore thumb while at a table with other employees or executives.
Don’t Accessorize Too Much
Accessories are often worn with business attire to elevate your looks a little bit, and if you wear too many accessories, it may be too much for your outfit. As much as possible, you should only wear one or two accessories, which can be a necklace, a ring, a silver watch, or earrings. In addition, those accessories shouldn’t be too large too so that they won’t be the emphasis of your business outfit.
These are the best tips we can provide in dressing the best for the office, for business travels, or for meetings. Always dress the best so that you will look professional, respectable, and punctual, which would then help you build confidence while at work.