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Clothing & Fashion >
Business Casual Womens Clothing. |
Womens Business Casual Clothing
& Attire that is Proper for Your Office's Dress Code
Business casual attire ranges from coat and tie to
well-pressed jeans, with the moderate range being
chinos and Oxford shirts. But those conventional dress codes
are for men: women usually look too casual in
chinos, and in trying to find a semi-professional
look, the proper business casual office wardrobe can become
a confusing quagmire of bad fashion choices.
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If you want to stay on the upper end of business
casual, your best bet is to wear skirts more often
than pants to work. As sexist as it is, people of
both genders and all ages still perceive women to
be better-dressed (and thus, more
professional-looking) when wearing skirts.
Business casual means you don't have to shell out
the big bucks for a suit-skirt: you can go with
slightly tailored chino, cotton, linen or wool
skirts. Like professional skirts, business casual
skirts should fall slightly below or above the
knee, with occasional forays into long skirts
being acceptable in autumn and winter. Mini-skirts
should not be part of the business casual
wardrobe; nor should midriff-baring tops, running
shoes, or anklets.
Colorful accessories can define your personal business casual style
In business casual dress codes, you can play around more with
color, but if you want to build a look that's
polished, save the ultra-trendy clothes for the
weekend. Bring bright colors into your wardrobe by
way of scarves, but keep your clothes in the
neutral range for maximum professionalism with
minimal economic investment.
Womens business casual looks don't have to mimic men's fashions
The recent trend in
fitted cotton-spandex blend tops (cuffs, lapels
and nipped-in waist), provides today's working
woman with a blouse that doesn't have to be tucked
in, that fits nicely and that looks tailored as
well. They're available in a range of colors, and
can be worn with skirts or pants. The most common
mistake with these tops is to wear them too tight,
which can look pretty tacky. If they fit well,
they create a put-together look without much work
or expense on your part.
Business casual shoes appropriate for the workplace
Loafers, low-heeled pumps, and strappy sandals can
all work in the business-casual environment.
(Don't pay attention to websites that list
flip-flops as summertime career shoes: they are
not.) Match your shoes to your overall look, and
if you wear sandals, make sure your feet and
toenails look neat. Boots are fine in cool
weather, and you may choose a style that comes an
inch or two below the knee, or shorter, ankle-top
boots.
Some colorful jewelry and makeup is okay for a business casual outfit
Jewelry and makeup can be a bit brighter and more
playful than it is in professional dress, but try
to keep your style consistent across each outfit.
I have a friend who spent some time at school in
the Midwest, and one of her overriding memories
was of university secretaries who wore
business casual skirts with holiday-themed
earrings, red plastic Santa's dangling from their
earlobes, or jack-o'-lantern pins stapled across
fuzzy, orange sweaters. It's easy to go wrong with
jewelry, but if you keep it simple and only wear a
couple of pieces at a time, you'll be safe. (I
said "no anklets, under any circumstances,"
already, didn't I?")
Key to Dressing in Business Casual at the Office
The key to a successful working wardrobe is to
dress better than your co-workers (and your boss)
without anyone really being able to say how you do
it. It's more about style than expense, and if you
start with a couple of skirts, a couple of
tailored-looking pairs of pants and a half-dozen
tops to match, you're on your way. Avoiding trendy
looks (boat-necks, three-quarter sleeves, anything
slinky or glittery) means you'll have an easier
time matching pieces, and the stuff you acquire
won't go out of season as easily. For major
wardrobe staples, staying with neutral colors
(off-white, chino, taupe, gray, brown, dark blue)
will help you create and add to your cache of
separates.
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Below are the top 10 shoe styles every woman should have in their closet for a perfectly balanced wardrobe.
