business casual dress

One of the most confusing phrases in a career woman’s experience is “business casual dress” because these three words simply do not go together. Business is, well, business. We really don’t picture casual attire with this term. The word dress immediately evokes images of cocktail dresses or evening gowns in most women. Somehow sticking the term “casual” in between makes the whole thing too confusing for those of us in the work force.

I always have a struggle on casual Fridays. Finding out exactly what business casual dress is was a long and difficult process. That is, until I worked for a fashion company. Even though my position was in payroll I learned a lot about business casual dress and I have taken some time to jot down the information I have obtained.

First of all, never look to the television for inspiration for your business casual dress wardrobe. You and your coworkers will probably be left in tears. Remember that television is a dream world. As a career woman you need to be grounded in the real world to be taken seriously.

When choosing pants and skirts make sure that the items are comfortable. Business casual dress should never be tight and confining. Just imagine sitting through a long meeting with a pair of pants that pull and bunch. Even worse, imagine a skirt that literally binds you and prevents you from breathing. Neither will help you appear confident.

Along with comfort you also need to consider appearance. Clothing that is too loose or wrinkly will only make you look unprofessional. Business casual dress should be comfortable but this doesn’t mean that you can wear pajamas to the office. You do want to communicate that you respect your self as well as your associates.

The length of your pants and skirts are important as well. If your cuffs on your pants tend to rise up a little too much then they need to go. If your skirt slides up you may want to put this clothing item to rest. After all you don’t want to do an impression of Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct at the office. This business casual dress will get you nowhere.

Your tops should always be cleaned and pressed. Save cleavage for happy hour. Your business casual dress shirts should always be professional and appropriate no matter how relaxed the atmosphere is. We love watching Sex and the City but we don’t want to adopt the fashions on the show into our business casual dress.