Business casual attire is semi-formal as compared to traditional formal business dresses but still professional enough to be office appropriate most of the time. What is business casual for women? For businesswomen, it means a skirt or slacks, a button-down blouse, and closed-toe shoes. while for men, this typically means a button down shirt, slacks, and dress shoes. What does history say about it?
Do businesses allow casual attire? Business casual today is a hot topic in the world of corporate attire. There used to be so many questions, what to wear and how to dress up while going to the job. In these days, we can see that people are less bothered about these things. Well, casual attire is understood as the final answer to all those questions.
Why is business casual for women important? Just because of the ease and comfort. While conservative formal corporate attire is stiff, business casual attire strives to break the glass wall and bring in the natural body fluidity and allows comfort to rein over proper, comfortable gets an edge above stiff and tight.
Examples of business casual for women!
As discussed earlier, business casual for women can be a combination of skirt or slacks paired with a button-down blouse. A simple sheath dress is also preferred. A jacket or blazer can be added for special looks. Shoes are most preferably closed-toe, but businesswomen can wear open-toe shoes with heels.
The following infographics will show more details. Remember, you’re dressing for work. Dress according to the industry.
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Experts for men dress also want to give you their opinion!
Simple business casual attire for men and women!
Let’s see yet another example of a simple dress for work.
Business casual dress code for an interview would go like this!
Business casual for men:
What does business casual mean for a man? It’s a dress code to get right, especially with the decline of the business suit. For many men, business casual means a polo shirt, beige chinos and casual-footwear such as boat shoes. And for men, they have these dresses!
Also, the great thing about adjusting your personal style into biz casual is the fact that you can use much of what already exists in your wardrobe. While chinos make an excellent choice for business casual wear, jeans can also be a good option. Although they are inherently casual, the right pair of jeans worn in the right way can look entirely in place in an office setting.
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And more importantly, you shouldn’t forget that there should always be professionalism to your business casual looks.
To help solidify your grip on the men’s dress code, let’s get started with the basics. Specifically, here are some general “dos” and “don’ts” to help send you down the right path:
- Do wear a tailored blazer made of quality material(s).
- Don’t wear an overly fancy suit jacket.
- Do wear cotton, long-sleeved button-down shirt.
- Don’t wear a polo shirt or t-shirt.
- Do wear a tight fitting sweater or cardigan with a collared shirt underneath it.
- Don’t wear a baggy sweater.
- Do wear dress slacks, trousers (chinos, khakis, etc.) or tight-fitting denim of very high quality.
- Don’t wear shorts, casual jeans, street style jeans or any athletic type of pants.
- Do wear neutral, monochromatic colors, at least when you’re first starting out.
- Don’t wear bright colors until you’ve mastered your business casual wardrobe.
- Do wear straightforward patterns once you’ve become more comfortable with your attire.
- Don’t wear busy or loud patterns that beg for attention.
- Do wear dress shoes.
- Don’t wear informal sneakers, sandals, slip-ons or any other form of overly casual footwear.
Look at this!
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Let’s see a dress code for a woman through the best example we have.
Of all the conventional dress codes, “business casual” is probably the most complicated because it holds no clear and simple definition. “Part of the challenge is that ‘business casual’ is going to be a little bit different from place to place,” says Edward Yost, an HR business partner at the Society for Human Resource Management.
“What is acceptable in certain workplaces is not acceptable in others; that can be business culture-based, expectations from clients and customers or even geography-driven.” So when it comes to figuring out what your office’s requirements are, it’s best to straightforwardly ask your boss, manager or human resources to be sure. Yost’s former employer put it fairly simple: “Anything you would wear to the beach, don’t wear here.”
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How Business Casual Has Evolved?
Business casual is an ever-changing term because it reflects the conventions and attitudes of the time. Wilkins walked us through how the meaning of business casual has evolved over time: In the eighties, business casual consisted of khakis and button-down collared shirts. But once the office allowed “Casual Fridays,” it changed office attire. Life is less formal now, and the concept of office and work have fundamentally changed in accordance with the ever-evolving sources of technology, demographics, and consumerism. People are now having fun and integrating color and patterns.”
Difference between casual and business casual attire!
Do you know the exact difference between these two? Let’s recheck! 
Casual dress code policy in Companies:
{This Company} expects employees to dress suitably in business casual attire. Because of the work environment serves customers, professional casual attire is essential. Customers make decisions about the quality of our products and services based on their interaction with you.
Consequently, biz casual attire includes suits, pants, jackets, shirts, skirts, and dresses that, while not formal, are appropriate for a business environment.
Jeans, t-shirts, shirts without collars and footwear such as flip-flops, sneakers, and sandals are not appropriate for business casual attire.
Employees are expected to demonstrate good judgment and professional taste. Use courtesy towards coworkers and your professional image to customers as the factors you use to assess whether you are dressing in business attire that is appropriate. Employees who wear business attire that is deemed inappropriate in this work will be dealt with on an individual basis rather than subjecting all employees to a more stringent dress code for appropriate business attire.
A study from Northwestern University studied a concept called “enclothed cognition.” Researchers define it in their report as “the systematic influence that clothes have on the wearer’s psychological processes,” meaning what your clothes are saying to you, not about you. And how they make you feel.
The Bottom Line …
While biz casual is subjective based on different factors, there is also a fair amount of common ground when identifying the basics that can always pass. As long as you have the basic pieces of clothing, it’s easy to dress them up a bit or tone them down based on where you work or your type of business.
Here’s a parting tip that’s easy to remember: “business-casual is not dressing up a casual outfit; it’s dressing down a business outfit.”
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