Need your opinion asap: Are these looks business casual? - YouLookFab Forum

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Need your opinion asap: Are these looks business casual?

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

My thread on the “business casual” dress code received great responses and I plan to tackle the topic at length this year. I find myself wearing biz casual more and more often so I’m especially interested in it at the moment.

http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....ual-anyone

The most interesting part about the dress code is its diversity, and it’s often subject to interpretation. Biz Casual means different things to different people and different industries. Look at these outfits:

http://youlookfab.com/2009/09/.....uch-boots/

My question here is about the impact of my footwear. Do you think that these are biz casual outfits, or not? The foot wear is 100% casual, but the rest of the outfit is dressy.

Over to you.

General

50 replies

Latest reply was from Kristine

Sarah

(website)

Veteran

These outfits would classify as biz casual to me BECAUSE the casualness of the shoe is contrasted by a dressy dress and accessories. In my particular line of business, I would probably only wear the middle and maybe the third dress due to length. I try to stick to no shorter than the top of my knee cap and only with legwear.
I have a unique situation in that I do not have a dress code and I am the only female in my office. So "business casual" will have a wider definition to me. Right now, anyway.

Sihaya

Veteran

hi Angie - the clubs where I've been informed of a business casual outfit before going specify in their byline - no denim. So by that definition, these would definitely be fine. I personally would be totally comfortable wearing all 3 of those to a business casual setting. I would be comfortable wearing the first one with the taller boots to even a more formal setting.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Interesting. I'll give you my 2 cents much later....

Vani

Veteran

As far as where I work now, where I've worked before and what I have seen of others, these would most definitely fit into business casual, all the while even elevating your style quotient. Maybe if the boots had studs or were in brighter colors it might be an issue.

Joy

Veteran

They look business casual to me because of the boots. Otherwise they would look business, I think. However, Sarah makes a good point about the shortness of the dress in a business situation. The first one looks a bit too short.

medusa

Veteran

I would say yes, because they are dresses. But I'm not very good at this labeling thing.

Tricia

Veteran

I'd say yes except for the length of the dress in the first picture. For my office, anyway.

shiny

Veteran

I would say no - and for two reasons:

1) Hemlines are too short. There's too much leg showing for the office. It may look okay standing, but as soon as you sit down....the hem is half way up your thigh! Maybe not your thigh, Angie, since you're so slim. I would find myself squirming and yanking at my hemline all day long, and feeling self-conscious.

2) The shorter boots are too trendy. Here's my theory: I tend to think when an office dictates "business casual," that's code for "you don't need to wear a formal suit, but we still prefer that you dress conservatively." So the shorter boots, to me, are too trendy. I'm afraid that they are like the footwear version of denim!

The taller boots are okay - they strike just the right note. Just a hint of slouchy trendiness, but not pushing it too far. But the dress still needs a longer hem, I think...

Business casual to me = timeless classics

Can't wait to read your blog post on this topic! I'm sure you'll stretch my mind on this...

Kristen

(website)

Veteran

I think my reaction is still the same as on the post; for my conservative, business-casual work, the boots tip it over to "too casual", not because of the slouch but because the height of the boot. The amount of skin between the bottom of the skirt and the top of the boot is too much for my situation. The taller boot on the left feels more accepatable to me, or wearing any of those with opaque hose/tights. That's why I avoid the mid-calf boot in the first place. Love the slouch, though; I get away with tall slouch boots, no problem!

But I literally work with nuns so my boundaries are much tighter than most BC office workers.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

And the plot thickens....Kristen you crack me up.

CK

I think those outfits are probably fine for a creative industry like yours, Angie. In the more conservative workplaces I've been in, the boots would be viewed as too trendy and casual, and the first dress in particular would have too short of a hem. Some places even frown on bare arms and you would need a sweater or jacket. Lots of variable depending on the workplace!

Dashrashi

Veteran

I don't do sleeveless at the office, so none of these are really reading "business casual" to me. But I agree with Kristen about the amount of leg showing--the look on the left reads the most bus-cas of the three, I think.

kimlee

Veteran

While my first instinct is to label these outfits as business casual, I do not think that I would feel comfortable wearing this look at my office. Like a few of the other posters, I think it has to do with the length between the hemline and the boot itself. However, I could probably wear this look on "casual" Friday and feel fine.

shiny

Veteran

Except with the short boots you are still showing less leg than you would with a pump!

So it's not the amount of leg. It's the amount of thigh showing, and the trendiness of the boots. Trendiness is not the same as casual, and the opposite of trendy is "classic"...

shana

Veteran

I'm with Shiny on this - none of those looks reads business casual to me. But like you said, this might vary widely according to industry. In my mind, for a traditional business office - engineering/manufacturing firm (more like corporate HQ rather than the lab), insurance office, a consulting firm, some financial & legal offices (most are business formal) for example, the short skirt would be a no no as are the slouchy boots which are a bit too trendy. I can imagine that this might be completely different for a creative industry - PR firm, graphic design company etc.

Angie, what is the spectrum? I'm sometimes confused by the different terminology...is it casual-smart casual-business casual-business formal?

marianne

Hmm my first reaction is that I wouldn't wear sleeveless back in my business casual days. The boots I am not sure about - I think the first 2 pairs work, although not in a hyper-conservative environment.

RoseandJoan

Veteran

I require a certain level of sobriety and formality in my business casual uniform, it would be difficult to face a client and explain why their pension is 20% down on last year if my outfit was commanding too much attention. I need to look professional whilst not wearing a suit.

In a creative profession I would consider the outfits shown to be 100% business casual.

Kristine

Veteran

I think these would be business casual in some fields but a little edgy, although still not inappropriate, for more conservative offices. I recall reading that the Wharton School of Business recommends no higher than 3" above the knee for skirt lengths (with hose). That's actually fairly high! I've never felt comfortable going sleeveless at work, I'll wear a cap sleeve at least. But I think these looks are nice, especially in a creative field. So yes, business casual but with an edge.

Audrey

In an academic setting, some elements of these outfits would work. In outfit #1, the dress is a bit short, but the dress and tall boot combination would work. Outfit #2 would work with different boots. The slouchy boots are too short and trendy, and I (personally) would feel too much like a student. Outfit #3 would not work the way it is accessorized, in my opinion. It looks more like a nighttime outfit to me. The jewelry is too shiny, and the boots don't seem appropriate for work. That dress with more conservative shoes and a jacket or cardigan would seem more appropriate. All of this might be different in a more artsy department than mine (say, Art History or English).

But my husband says I am too conservative in how I dress for work, so maybe this is a problem that I have. However, I feel that if I showed up to work in a skirt that went above my knee or shoes that looked too trendy, my older male professor colleagues would not take me seriously.

Sarah

(website)

Veteran

FWIW, I used to be a no-sleeveless in the office gal too, and then I realized that I just wasn't comfortable with sleeveless *knits* at the office.
I usually don't wear sleeveless now because the A/C is entirely too chilly for my taste. But in theory.

Maya

Veteran

I'm writing this from my biz casual office right now (naughty Maya) and I have to be honest and simply say I don't know. This is actually pretty close to what I wear sometimes though. But it has so much to do with my environment. There's a guy who wears jeans and fashion sneakers, so it's not a terribly serious and uptight kind of atmosphere. It's a museum! If you can't be creative here, good luck being creative anywhere else.

I'm also short and feel quite comfortable with a smidge of thigh (Max. of 3" above the knee when sitting). Maybe height and age play into it, though I know ylf would likely not approve. I have a feeling that the ylf standard of business casual is going to run much more dressy than what I see when I look around. Casual footwear (unacceptbly casual) is abundant, likely because we are all commuters. By comparison, the slouchy boots seem pretty dressy.

I don't necessarily agree that biz casual MUST be classic and not trendy. A bf blazer or cascading cardi seem perfectly acceptable to me.

shana

Veteran

Thinking about it there are even more factors that come into play - your position in the office for example and location. Business casual when I lived in CA seems different that business casual here on the east coast. In one company where I worked, the admins were the best dressed women in the office (of course this was a very male dominated setting where the engineers often worked in the lab). I can imagine getting away with more as an entry or lower level employee versus at executive management levels.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Champing at the bit to respond.....

Laura

(website)

Veteran

In those photos, simply for the sake of wearing dresses, you actually look much dressier than most people who dress "business casual," which seems to translate to "Dockers and scuffed up brown shoes and blue oxford cloth shirts or polo shirts" in many offices. So yes, you are definitely business casual. That said, I think you'd need to cover your arms. Then you'd be perfect

Laura

(website)

Veteran

In those photos, simply for the sake of wearing dresses, you actually look much dressier than most people who dress "business casual," which seems to translate to "Dockers and scuffed up brown shoes and blue oxford cloth shirts or polo shirts" in many offices. So yes, you are definitely business casual. That said, I think you'd need to cover your arms. Then you'd be perfect

marianna

Veteran

My initial reaction is that only #2 would be business casual because the sheath is more classic. Although, I am not sure I would classify any of the boots as business casual, rather a funkier take on business casual. I doubt you would see hip ensembles like yours in most office settings!

Kristen

(website)

Veteran

Hmmm, Shiny, you've made some very good points, especially about the amount of thigh showing. I am okay with shorter skirts sometimes if I am in boots and tights, but still even then I am too self-conscious all day about whether it's appropriate.

Also, the concept of the boots being too trendy is probably a good one for a conservative office; I stick with classics so it's not something that comes up much for me.

Srujana

Veteran

I find it hard to define BC in words. Its more of a feeling with me, a sense that is evoked by the overall effect of an outfit. Something that is decent and respectful, yet fun and maybe a little playful. Obviously it depends on the field of work, and I have more leeway than most, but I've only ever worked at my current place of employment and it runs the gamut when it comes to clothing, so that's not much help in defining my outlook.

That said, I tend to only show one patch of skin at a time at work (i.e. no leg when wearing sleeveless, or covered up shoulders when wearing skirts) so while I think that all three of these outfits are edgy and trendy...I'd say that I'd probably only wear the first one at my office. That seems the most BC to me, probably because of the proportions and it being within one color family. I can totally see the middle outfit being BC for another field...but the third to me is too playful...I'd definitely wear it going out with friends, but somehow its a bit much for the workplace, I think...

Christie

In my not-so-expert opinion, its the trendy boots with the sheer hose and the shorter hemlines that tilt these looks out of the office.

I don't work outside my home, so am not the one to ask about what people wear in their offices. But I wouldn't wear these outfits, beautiful as they are, to church. Dinner date with hubby, yes ... but not church. So maybe my business casual ideas line up with "church-casual." LOL

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