dressing well at work

Just_Hilts · Apr 5, 2011

Anyone ever have trouble actually dressing the way you want (ie, suits, ties, etc) in a casual work environment? I've recently developed an interest in this sort of classic clothing and find it tough to summon the courage to stand out. My work environment is pretty casual"”especially the men"”and one really does look different/get comments if one "dresses up."

Anyone else experience this? How do you handle it?

sho'nuff · Apr 5, 2011

i just dress casually. you see, dressing well doesnt only comprise of 'men's clothing' attire like ties and suits and braces and stuff. you can dress down casually and still look really slick. have a sub-wardrobe on each type of fit: tailored, casual, business casual, night out, lounging, etc.
you can still look apart from others by dressing well in that genre, but not sticking out like a sore thumb by dressing apart from them.

tacobender · Apr 5, 2011

Doesn't matter what industry, unless you sell tailored clothing, if you step your game up and wear clean clothes that actually fit, you are going to stand out. Dressing up could be your hobby, as long as you don't mind being over dressed, I doubt anyone else will. I often wore a suit when most wore a polo and khakis in another job I had. My co-workers didn't really care. I was the one with the dry cleaning bills not them.

Just_Hilts · Apr 5, 2011

That's good advice, and it's what I end up doing. Thing is, I suppose, I'd like to wear the suits, ties, braces and so forth but my work environment doesn't really support it. Maybe I should just change jobs.

NAMOR · Apr 5, 2011

If its really conservative, new shoes one day, new shirt another, etc. After a few months you arent even thinking about it anymore and are wearing what you always wanted to wear. I work in a very casual work environment and I am beginning to think that my dress has improved the dress of my coworkers (i.e. i have seen a few more shirts tucked into the pants since I started working there)

NORE · Apr 5, 2011

I did it by wearing good fitting jeans with shirts, sweaters and shoes. Then by swapping out the jeans for wool pants. Then a SC when the weather calls for a light jacket.

The only times I wear a full on suit is if I'm interviewing for an open position (I'm the interviewer) and then I have an "excuse". Other than that, the name calling abounds by the sartorially challenged.

Quadcammer · Apr 5, 2011

who cares.

If you're comfortable in what you wear, the comments will soon die down.

TRA8324 · Apr 5, 2011

You can dress nice and still be "business casual."

Well fitting clothes and nice shoes are what are most noticeable in my opinion. Wear slacks everyday instead of chinos, and throw in a sportcoat every once in a while and you'll be set.

MyOtherLife · Apr 6, 2011

Originally Posted by NORE

I did it by wearing good fitting jeans with shirts, sweaters and shoes. Then by swapping out the jeans for wool pants. Then a SC when the weather calls for a light jacket. The only times I wear a full on suit is if I'm interviewing for an open position (I'm the interviewer) and then I have an "excuse". Other than that, the name calling abounds by the sartorially challenged.
+1 This is very good advice. Make the change-over gradually. In less than a year, you'll be wearing whatever you like and your co-workers will have gotten used to it. Interesting how women can wear any dressy outfit they want, whenever they want, and they receive nothing but compliments, but when men do it, the dumbed-down co-workers assume an interview was involved.

tesuquegolfer · Apr 6, 2011

Originally Posted by Just_Hilts

Anyone ever have trouble actually dressing the way you want (ie, suits, ties, etc) in a casual work environment? I've recently developed an interest in this sort of classic clothing and find it tough to summon the courage to stand out. My work environment is pretty casual"”especially the men"”and one really does look different/get comments if one "dresses up."

Anyone else experience this? How do you handle it?

I just started wearing SCs to work where most people wear jeans and some pretty pathetic stuff, and I catch a lot of **** for it. It seems to have tapered off a bit over time. I usually make some joke like, "I have an important conference call today" or "I have to clean up my act sometimes", which usually catches them off guard. Another good one they ask is, "Did you get it... the job?" What bothers me is that I don't see a lot of people and sometimes I feel like I go unnoticed. I dressed up for a recent trip to DC and got a lot of compliments, which was really nice and meaningful coming from people that understand style and see it on a regular basis. Go for it and you'll probably get some nice compliments along the way.

Stylego · Apr 6, 2011

I wore a sport coat to work recently to my office where the dress code is on the down side of business casual. The men in the office gave me guff, the ladies loved it.

The whole "taking your attire up a notch" has been a bit of a struggle. I think the point regarding fit is amongst the most apropos. This is likely the area I'm typically most unhappy. Then followed by a lack of cohesiveness. (likely the result of near exclusive shopping from the sale rack.)

GloStiX · Apr 6, 2011

In some parts of the country, wearing more than mesh basketball shorts and a tee shirt gets your sexuality questioned.

Azzurri · Apr 6, 2011

Originally Posted by GloStiX

In some parts of the country, wearing more than mesh basketball shorts and a tee shirt gets your sexuality questioned.

Exactly. The pain of trying to be well-dressed..

Ianiceman · Apr 6, 2011

A great barometer for men's style - or lack thereof - is people watching at airports.

Today I have been in three airports and I can confidently say that we as a species are doomed!

tombrokaw · Apr 6, 2011

I have this exact issue. Only two other guys in the office ever seem to wear ties and they are at the very top of the payscale.

But luckily I don't have a huge yearning to wear a proper suit anyway so I dress up and down different pieces (sportscoat with jeans, etc.), mix it up so it doesn't look too stuffy and rather more fashion forward.

I can understand not wanting to stand out too much, but at the same time those of us who put energy into our clothing do want to express ourselves, so don't let the environment stifle you entirely. There's a balance you can strike.

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