There have been reports in the papers recently that now only one in ten people wear a suit to work. A survey among 1,000 adults found that around only one in three wore even formal clothes to work and that was only when they had a meeting! Brightly coloured nails, adventurous hairstyles and even displaying tattoos was said to be part of the new attitude to Britain’s new workplace dress code.
Dressing for work used to be straight forward; a smart suit was all you needed. However, in today’s office environment the classic work uniform is a thing of the past and many offices are even seeing jeans being worn and having ‘dress-down Fridays’.
“It’s never been more important for workers to know how to dress appropriately in the office,” David Clubb, MD of Office Angels said, “inappropriately dressed employees often find themselves overlooked for opportunities including promotions and payrises.”
If you’re feeling confused about the dreaded and extremely unspecific ‘smart casual’ dress policy, worry no more as it’s easy to avoid the downfalls without actually having to sacrifice your personal style. If you’re ever unsure about an outfit, firstly trust your instincts- if you have a feeling it’s inappropriate then it probably is best to save it for the weekend! Invest in some staple items for your wardrobe- blazers, shorts, skirts and casual shirts all in neutral colours will add variety to your wardrobe. They’ll also save you money in the future as they are timeless and always in fashion.
When choosing items for your working wardrobe, make sure they give you the option to be able to mix and match. By adding accessories and colour to the equation such as a brighter top or an cool scarf you are refreshing an old outfit and making it feel new. Avoid wearing more than one print, colour clashing or over accessorising- the saying ‘less is more’ is highly applicable in the office scenario!
It's also important to pay attention to grooming, your hairstyles and the little details as they can have a great effect on your overall look and the impression you give to future employees or even your current co-workers.
Remember that in interview scenarios it's always best to dress professionally, even if that particular office doesn’t adopt a formal dress code - dressing formally shows you are serious about the position and have a mature approach.
Most important of all (to us at least) is to make sure that you don’t lose sight of your personal style - through your staple items and choice of handbag, accessories or shoes you can incorporate your own look whilst remaining perfect for the office.
We know fashion mags can be slightly different, but check out our Office Style Spy and Editor Style Spy, both updated daily, to show you how we dress for the office everyday...
