Business Casual Office Wear in the Summer - YouLookFab Forum

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Dressing

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Business Casual Office Wear in the Summer

Tanya

Veteran

I will be doing an internship in an administrative office this summer part time and I am super excited! This is an important opportunity when it comes to choosing my future career (as I plan to leave the bench), and I will doing both real administrative work such as organizing workshops and small conferences as well as directly working with under-privileged high school students: tutoring, mentoring and some lab demos.
I have never worked in a place with business casual dress code before and I am also very excited about it, as I get to wear skirts, dresses etc. that are not allowed in my usual lab. I will be working in that office for about
30 total work days and I plan to and try and have as much fun as possible with those 30 outfits. I need some advice and general thoughts on that though. I am hoping to strike the right balance with some modern classic and trendier looks and leave a good impression.
In my couple of visits to that office, I have noticed that the dress code is fairly relaxed, and that there is a wide range in the levels of dressiness. The office is mainly female and while some ladies wear the more typical BC: blouses, blazers, pants/skirts and heels, most of them were fairly casual and wear outfits such as casual khakis and polo-shirts, and the head of the office even wears blue jeans, but she is the boss. It is very hot and humid here in the summer, and the office has a strong AC.
I am planning not to wear blue jeans at all, I want to dress more formal than that. I may wear white jeans depending on if I manage to find the right cropped white pants to wear as substitute. In general, how dressy do you think I should go? Would you wear other denim items (not jeans), such as denim shirt with pencil skirt or denim jacket with a dress? Would you dress differently for work with high school students and for the administrative part? I am all ears and open for suggestions. Ideas (and visuals) of BC outfits that would suit my style would be greatly appreciated.
I will be mainly shopping my closet - I have some potential bottoms on order and will be buying a white cardigan and perhaps cropped white pants, but that is about it. I have a nice selection of tops, shoes, toppers, and decent amount of skirts and dressier pants in my wardrobe already, as.
I would also like to warn you that is post is the first in the series of them on various BC topics, so feel free to skip the series Future posts will be more focused, and will be mainly on how to style a particular type of bottom for the office setting.

Dressing

20 replies

Latest reply was from Tanya

Sara L.

Veteran

My office is business casual so you could look at any of my posts to see how I dress. I generally stay away from blue jeans except on casual Fridays although I'll wear colored denim and denim skirts. My office doesn't have an official dress code so I wear what I would feel comfortable wearing if I had to meet with any of my clients at the spur of the moment.

Laura

First off, congrats on this career opportunity to work with under privileged high school students! This job sounds like it really allows you to make a difference.

As for attire, I see you prefer to avoid jeans for the dress business casual environment. Do you have black dress pants and fitted slacks? Those would work very well with various colour blouses. A pair of ankle boots with chunky heel works wonders with dress pants and fitted slacks.

Please do let us know what you ended up going with

Tanya

Veteran

Thank you very much for your input, Sara and Laura!

Sara, I have looked through your office outfits and you are an inspiration. I am glad to hear you regularly wear colored denim and denim skirts.

Laura, thank you very much for the kind words - I am very excited about working with the high students too! Yes, I do have black dress pants, both flare and skinny, but I think that I am going to stay away from the black slacks - too expected. I may wear flare pants in navy or pattern. The black skinny pants will probably get lots of wear.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

How exciting. YAY, and congrats. Very happy for you, sweet Tanya - my first LSS (Little Style Sis). No doubt you will make a good impression.

*rubs hands together with glee*

Lets build some fun capsules! Some upfront thoughts:

You might find tomorrow's post on "An Easy Business Casual Outfit" helpful. The foundation combines dressy copped pants with ankle accentuating footwear - and the rest. The cropped white pants in that post are GREAT. Find below.
Wear white jeans as the most casual. Perhaps wear denim shirts and jackets over dressy BC pieces.
Bring jackets and toppers for a/c. Always.
Dresses can be VERY cold in a/c without hose and boots. Perhaps wear them over cropped skinny pants (see this Friday's ensemble post. You know I'm telepathic).
Have fun with the NON-denim stuff in your Killer wardrobe as you rarely get the chance to wear them. Start with THOSE pieces, and lets build capsules from there.

I'm very exited to see this all come together.

Bi-Stretch Riviera Cropped Pants in Marisa Fit

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8

kimlee

Veteran

I work in an office where the dressing style of my coworkers ranges from casual (jeans and tees) to business formal (suit and tie). I have happily settled somewhere in the middle with business casual. I tend to only wear jeans on Fridays but I incorporate other denim items into my looks. The other day I paired my denim jacket with a sleeveless blouse and pencil skirt. I think that on the days you are working with the high school students you could got a bit more casual.

ClaraT

Veteran

"In general, how dressy do you think I should go?"
I'd say err on the side of more dressy. No stockings/suits necessarily; I think bare legs are OK if the dress is appropriate; no open-toe sandals (or maybe peep-toe OK). Ballet flats (or booties) look nice but not too formal. I think dressy shells (bare arms) can be OK though you'll need a sweater or jacket for the AC. Higher necklines.

"Would you wear other denim items (not jeans), such as denim shirt with pencil skirt or denim jacket with a dress?"
I think dark wash denim can be BC *if* the make of the item is dressy (e.g. yes to a dark wash blazer-ish jacket but not the classic over-a-graphic tee denim jacket). Faded denim rarely (never?) looks dressy unless it is light blue throughout (chambray-looking) without dark blue bits.

"Would you dress differently for work with high school students and for the administrative part?" Not so much--you can dress up and still look accessible. That is, dress young but not necessarily casually...

DonnaF

Veteran

IMHO, high school students are more likely to keep track of and remember what you wear, lol. You may want to dress slightly more formally so that others in this new environment don't mistake you for a student. Sounds like fun and a great opportunity!

Sal

Veteran

This is cool Tanya. I am delighted for you.

I think your looks are totally on track and I am sure you will be perfectly attired.

I agree this is a chance to wear things that you don't normally have the choice to because of your current dress code.

My advice is:
- Shoes that allow you to walk quickly and comfortably. This means different things to different people but I don't wear high spindly heels to work or during the day.
- dress for the job that you want and don't be afraid to dress more smartly than many people, but cater for the audience too. I hope I can explain myself clearly here.

As an example, in my role as Board Chair (just finished) for our local primary school, I always wore smart, trendy but conservative clothes (no cleavage, knee length or longer skirts, not too ostentatious). This was because many families at the school were struggling, and many were religious (Christian, Muslim). I didn't want to stand out for my clothing, but at the same time I wanted to look smart, modern and up to date for my peers, and people reporting to me.

You will nail it and I look forward to seeing your great choices.

Tanya

Veteran

Angie, thank you so much for all the pointers, they are incredibly helpful I can't wait to see tomorrow's and Friday posts, what perfect timing. I already wore a BC outfit today with cropped pants and blazer (will post later) as I was attending weekly staff meeting in my future summer office.
I was incredibly disappointing wit the dressing though - seeing all the 20 or so ladies at the same time in the same place made it very clear that the office was very casual. There were lots of blue jeans, even hoodies and athleisure pants. I could dress smart casual all the time and be among the dressiest people in the office. So my white jeans will probably be more than fine, though I will keep those white Loft pats on the back burner. And speaking of Loft pants, my tomato red cropped kick flares have just arrived and the fit is perfect. I am so incredibly happy with them and need to build a nice capsule around them.

Kimlee, thank you very much for your input, I plan to do exactly as you - wear items somewhere in the middle of all dressiness levels.

ClaraT, I really appreciate your advice, those were exactly the precise answers I was looking for.

DonnaF, thank you for pointing that out, great point. I have never worked with high school students before so I would have never known.

Sally, that is such helpful advice, thank you very much! I intend to dress in fashion forward way, but very covered up: higher necklines, skirts to the knee and longer, though I will wear some sleeveless tops in the hottest days,

Petite Bi-Stretch Kick Crop Pants in Marisa Fit

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5

UmmLila (Lisa)

Veteran

Looking forward to seeing the red crop flares!

Chris987

Veteran

one more thing....don't be afraid to be a bit more dressed up than others if it turns out to feel right for you.....if that's really what works for you others will get used to it.

Gaylene

Veteran

Standing in front of an audience means you'll be on display, so keep your outfits polished from the front--and the rear! I've always found it useful to keep my outfits a notch or two above whatever the audience is likely to be wearing--that way you'll look professional but still relatable. Wear comfortable, but interesting, shoes so you can move easily but still look stylish. Ideally, you don't want to think about your clothes when you are working with students, so avoid anything that requires fussing or adjusting during the day.

One trick that I've used in workshops is to wear a jacket at the start while I am forging a connection with my audience--especially if I'm working with a group who don't know me or might be "difficult". Audiences respond more positively to a stranger if they feel they are in good hands, and jackets help in creating a cool, competent image. Removing my jacket after I've established my "connection" subtly transitions into a more informal, "let's work together" mode for the rest of the workshop or, in my case, the rest of a semester. Establishing my right to be leading the group early on keeps the focus on the content and what we can accomplish together.

Finally, something else to think about:
Angie dresses in a way that makes her clients trust her judgements and opinions; they want to have what she has so they listen and learn from her. You want the same kind of response, but your field and your audience won't be focused on fashion and wardrobe overhauls, so you need to get inside your audience's heads to figure out how to dress so your group will trust you and will want to have what you have to offer. Your wardrobe tools might be totally different than Angies's, but, in my books, at the core, that's really what "professional" dressing is all about.

Dee

Veteran

I don't have any advice, because I'll be in the same boat in another year or so, but I wanted to say good luck with the internship! And that I'll be following these threads avidly for future reference.

Windchime

Veteran

High schoolers, especially girls, are certainly noticing (and evaluating) what teachers and other adults wear. I have a hunch your great style will help build bridges between you and the students! They will appreciate your style, even if they never tell you.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Wise advice from, Gaylene.

Tanya, you'll probably want to set the stylish standard, but feel your way with your audience as Gaylene suggests. Looking dressier in this instance is a good thing, as you need to command a certain amount of authority. Looking over dressed can be intimidating, so watch for that too.

LOVE the new tomato red pants. Which size did you get? (I was suggesting exactly the same in white actually. Great minds....).

Tanya

Veteran

UmmLila, I am going to try and take some photos of the pants tomorrow evening; thank you for the enthusiasm.

Chris987, those are clever words, I really appreciate them.

Gaylene, you are very wise as always. I am definitely going to use your jacket trick, especially since today I learned I will be spending a couple of whole days with the kids. The structure is lectures in the morning, lab demos/experiments in the afternoon, so it sounds brilliant to wear the jacket to teach and remove it to do the practical stuff.

Dee, thank you very much, and I hope that my threads are helpful.

Windchime, you are so right about that, I forgot that I was in high school once too. I will try to be very conscious of it.

Angie, those are also very wise words. It would be impossible to look intimating in the office setting, since I will be the intern on lowest on the hierarchy scale, but I need to be much more aware of the dressiness levels when teaching. I got the pants in size 2P, and it was a risk, as they were final sale with no return or exchange possibility. But they were ridiculously priced at $12 so I figured the risk was worth it. Miraculously, they fit really well - the rise was plenty high so even in petite they come just a little below my belly button, and the length is also perfect for my short legs, I'd say they are about 3" above the ankle bone. I think they are the same as the ones you suggested other then the fact the mine flare a little, and your suggestion is skinny.

JAileen

Veteran

I graduated from high school 40 years ago, but I still remember a student teacher who dressed very oddly, as if she were pulling random pieces out of a bag while blindfolded. We all wondered what was going on. I believe she had been a nun, and maybe she was like Maria von Trapp, wearing clothes no one else wanted. My point is that high school girls will indeed notice what you wear. I'm sure you'll make an impression, but in a good way. Best of luck to you!

Joy

Veteran

When student teaching we were told to dress in colors so that we would not "blend in with the blackboard" (which was actually black in those days).
Working with students, I always wear a cami or tank. You will be bending over more than you may realize.

aly

Sounds like great fun and a fantastic opportunity!

Gaylene's comments are very valuable. As a young, short, blonde female who can come across as very stern, I tend to wear soft/inviting colours (warm toned and light in colour) when lecturing/tutoring or advising to build rapport but I keep something formal and strong on hand for laboratory tasks when I may need to lay the law down. Wearing a lab coat makes it a bit hard - but sometimes a collar/scarf/dark coloured notebook is enough to subtly remind difficult students who is boss. Its an interesting study in behaviour - I'm never sure if the effect is acting on me or my students!

Just something else to think about

Tanya

Veteran

JAileen, Joy and Aly, those are all great points and I will keep them on my mind. Thank you very much for your contributions!