can sheer be professional? - YouLookFab Forum

Category

Dressing

About: Link Love: The Sheer of Spring

Welcome! Read about what to wear and how to wear it on the YLF Blog. Join the YLF Forum to ask specific questions or just chat about fashion and personal style. Or check out the curated list of things we love in YLF Finds.

Outfits Ensembles Trends Advice

can sheer be professional?

Adelfa

Veteran

I just can't convince myself that it is. Not even subtle sheer, not even when everything's covered up. It's alluring, it's pretty, it can be modern and architectural. But I wouldn't wear it to work. Totally would wear some pieces out to dinner or a show, though.

You?

Dressing

38 replies

Latest reply was from

anne

Veteran

I think it'd be okay with a cami

MsMary

Veteran

In my field one wouldn't wear sheer even with a cami. At least, not unless the cami were some sort of tank top with a very modest neckline and substantial shoulder straps -- say, two inches wide. No cami's that are underwear, for sure.

CocoLion

(website)

Veteran

I wouldn't wear a sheer top, with cami underneath, at work. I would feel self-conscious at my age, to be dressed like that. My work is professional in a different way, it's way more casual. Jeans are fine. But sheer… no. Semi sheer or a sheer panel here and there would work. When you say sheer I think a totally see through white blouse.

Diana

Veteran

With a cami, I think it's perfectly fine. But I don't work in an office setting.

I have given talks in sheer-ish blouse + cami + blazer though. The combo of blouse and blazer is WAY dressy for my field anyway; I think a slightly sheer blouse keeps it from looking too corporate (which is like the only fashion sin in academic science, LOL).

Eta: I'm not talking super sheer things though. More like the cherry blossom blouse in my recent k/r.

catgirl

Veteran

I was going to say no, but I like this:

http://www.us.allsaints.com/wo.....tegory=502

And I think I could wear it to work in summer. But I don't think a completely sheer item is appropriate.

VINTREND

(website)

Yes sheer can still be professional with a blazer.

MsMary

Veteran

Una, I would wear that sweater to work! Gorgeous!

Joyce B

Veteran

I think it depends on your line of work plus your comfort level. If you have a conservative job, sheer would not be appropriate. I would not wear sheer for work, either.

Anonymous

I wear coloured sheer with a substantial cami like Mary K described. For some reason, coloured sheer blouses look less provocative to me. I work in finance but back office. My clients are fellow bankers. I do make sure arms are covered, neckline is high. it's not a 'to the bar' blouse

kkards

Veteran

i do think sheer can be business appropriate, maybe not for the most conservative banks or law firms, but i think it could work in most business casual workplaces. i think its all in the detail and the taste level. for example, in the pieces in the Refinery 29 link, the blue blouse from Massimo Dutti , with a cami or tank underneath, the ASOS sweater, the alice and olivia sweater, and both of the shoes would completely work in my office.

Adelfa

Veteran

Anne, Diana, Vin, A, kkards--I don't think you're alone. In fact at my last job the dress code actually said sheer was okay with a cami!

Mary, Denise, Una, Joyce--I wonder if for some of us our age is mediating our response?

I have two silk blouses that are not sheer per se but that on close inspection are not 100% opaque either. One of them, a cherry blossom pink, I wear anyway. The other, an ivory, I'm getting uncomfortable about without a blazer.

I do think the sheer trend is super pretty though.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

I think the item Una showed would be acceptable pretty much anywhere, except it might not be formal enough for some offices. But I would love it, myself!

Joyce B

Veteran

No, Adelfa, it is not b/o age, it's because of the type of work that sheer would not be appropriate. As I said, it is fine if your work is less conservative.

Transcona Shannon

Veteran

I think sheer can be appropriate with the proper under layer. In fact, I have worn items that are too sheer without a tank-type cami and have felt fine at work. And if you pop a blazer on top, even better. But of course, it all depends on the office attire norm.

El Cee

Veteran

I wear semi-sheer blouses in a professional setting in the warmer months. I always wear them with a tank in either a similar color or a flesh tone. In the end, all that really appear sheer are the arms and part of the neckline.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

IMHO, all sheers are not created equal. I have had -- and still do have -- blouses that are sheer enough to require an under layer that I would wear in a professional ensemble. For instance, my patterned green Equipment blouse with a black tank underneath. That shirt is subtly sheer. But I can think of other tops that would not make the cut because they are *too* sheer, even with a tank or cami, and those I would save for either more casual wear or for an evening out. I think it depends on the overall style, cut, color, print, and level of sheerness. Something with a print often appears less sheer than a solid, to my eye.

ironkurtin

Veteran

I wear sheer-ish items a fair amount because it is so hot, and I layer. So to me, an opaque camisole with a sheerish (but not totally see-through) linen sweater is fine.

But like others, I work in a more casual environment.

Thistle

Veteran

I work in a business casual environment in the conservative Midwest. Sheer would not be appropriate for work, even with a cami or tank. Sheer is pretty, and frankly, a bit sexy, even if nothing is shown. That would not be an appropriate image for me to convey in my company or in my profession.

Date night, I would wear it for sure!

rachylou

Veteran

Not with a camisole, I say, but with a tank - something more substantial - I think that's ok. The sheer top is actually serving as a topper. I agree, too, that this still requires a fairly casual office. If you're in an office where sleeveless is not OK, this is a no go.

Oh, I have another caveat. I think the style of the sheer matters a lot. If it's something "sporty" like Una's link, that works. If it's more "polished" or "ladylike" in styling - say like a tailored button-down - I think not. Ironic, but I think that formality makes you look cheap. It's misplaced.

unfrumped

Veteran

For these types of considerations, I usually ask, "why", as in, why sheer? What is the point? Sometimes that helps answer. Sheer shows more body parts, more underwear parts, so, why? And culturally at least, sheer fabrics are associated with more provocative intent or plans, usually. Why is that more desirable than,,, not? In a typical work situation, that is.
I'm thinking more of overall sheer garments and not, say, a decorative band or some other non-revealing construction.

The same "why" question might be applied when someone asks, can't I wear my skirt 5" above the knee, or in the opposite, casual direction, can't I wear distressed jeans?

Maybe I'm too into psychology, but I think there's always a message in clothing, whether we acknowledge it or not, and we partly want to separate "them"--meaning someone who says we can or can't--from "us" which is, why do we want to wear these things in the first place? So at one level you only don't wear something because the dress code won't let you, and at another level you set your own standard for your message.

Kind of like the schools having to make a dress code to forbid teachers from wearing sweatpants and flip-flops (among other things) to work. Sorry, I would never have expected that to have to be policed!

Glory

Veteran

When I travelled to an office daily no version of sheer would be acceptable. Even now, when I travel for business it would not be ok. Size and thickness of cami would not be a factor. It probably depends on the type of business one is in.

Makrame

Veteran

Interesting. I have three somewhat sheer blouses in various patterns that I wear to work often with a cami under. They are not super-sheer but thin enough where I would not wear them without a cami, even for a non-work occasion. It has never occurred to me that they were not work-appropriate, at least for my work environment (I have probably worn them on teaching days, too). On the other hand, I would never wear a light-colored, sheer blouse (white or ivory, for example), because I would worry that it was too see-through.

The reason why I wear these blouses often is because they are fluid and go well with slim trousers and also because they are non-wrinkly and great for travel.

Here is one of them, just as an example.http://www.lyst.com/clothing/p.....l-digital/

Echo

Veteran

Unfrumped makes a good point, I think. In general, I don't think sheer is office-appropriate - at least not for any office I have worked in. The nature of sheer is to be sexy, I think, which makes it somewhat questionable in a professional environment. Clearly, each person knows their own work environment better than any outsider, though.

I do have a semi-sheer blouse that I sometimes wear as a substitute teacher, and the reason I wear it (going back to unfrumped's question) is because it is patterned and almost opaque. Worn with a full coverage tank underneath, it actually allows me MORE coverage than a regular tank or short sleeved blouse would provide (peplum and 3/4 sleeves), while not being too warm in a building without air conditioning.

Emily

Veteran

I have a couple of printed chiffon tops that I wear to work. I always have something substantial underneath (a tee or tank/shell rather than a camisole with spaghetti straps - absolutely no bra strap exposure) and I usually layer a cardigan over top.

Kristin L

Veteran

I think I'd wear one. I'd do it like Diana described - with a cami underneath and a blazer over it.

MsLuna

Veteran

In a smart casual environment, I think it can be acceptable, as long as a modest cami is worn.

rabbit

Veteran

What is puzzling me a little is that I always thought of heavier silk chiffon blouses (until very recently) as predominantly for office wear.

It's true that back when I was in an office they were only slightly transparent and some came with a built in underlayer if they were not designed to be worn with a cami.

Either I had a skewed sense of office wear based on what I saw at places I worked, or chiffon is just reading completely different now because it's more transparent, hmm...

Diana

Veteran

I agree with Echo. I've always thought of sheer blouses as a way to wear long sleeves in the summer without dying. So it's actually more modest than what I would be wearing otherwise.

But again, not an office-dweller here.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

It depends on 2 things:

Wear is the sheer?
How conservative is your work setting?

12