Business Casual in Florida (warm weather)

I work for a large engineering firm in Florida. Dress code here is VERY lax...the majority of engineers wear jeans and a casual shirt, you'll even occasionally see tee shirts and sandals. There's a few people who dress closer to true business causal, but they're mostly higher-level employees. You don't see any sort of suits or blazers AT ALL until you reach VP level. Or unless we're entertaining customers.

And Florida is pretty warm. Summer here basically lasts from March - October. Being that I sweat somewhat more than your average joe (or at least it feels like it), I'm looking for help on keeping cool while increasing style. I've always been a brand-junkie, a stylistic novice - evolving from Old Navy/Abercrombie/American Eagle when I was younger to Banana/JCrew (still like their style - it's much nicer than what I've ever bought before). I'm much more interested in classic than trendy.

So...I need recommendations on what would look classy, doesn't involve suits/blazers (I'd look very out of place, esp. considering I'm the low man on the totem pole)? At the moment, I'll wear anything from jeans and sneaks all the way to dress pants/shoes/shirt without a tie.

Dave

P.S. I have a couple pairs of linen pants and a few linen shirts...love them in the hot weather. Question though: should I iron them after every wear/wash?

Depending on your age and desired look you should check the "what are you wearing now/today" thread in MC or SW&D. Lots of members from hot climates post in those threads and look good while keeping comfortable. You could probably find a lot of information on good fits there and members frequently post what they are wearing in terms of labels, etc. Now would be a good time to look as it is the end of the summer and posters all over the northern hemishpere have been coping with the heat for the past couple of months.

Florida's tough. You get to break out a sweater about 6 weeks of the year, and forget about a sport coat unless the dress code calls for it. I would advise you to look into more linen. Aside from that, you can get away with some tropical weight wool trousers and light weight cotton button downs if you're just going from your car to an air conditioned office and back I would think. Buying only great-fitting items on sale seems like obvious advice, but it'll go a long way towards getting you a wardrobe you like every piece in and not wasting any of your disposable income. If you're going to wear them to work, getting a really quality pair of jeans (5EP, Rag & Bone, Sugar Cane, etc.) in a dark indigo wash will make any outfit instantly better over their cheaper counterparts. And since you have fewer options because of our lack of need for any layers down here, have a tailor correct anything that they can that isn't perfect on the items you are wearing.

And definitely check out the WAYWT both in this forum and over in Streetwear. Looking at what other people are wearing will give you ideas about what you like and don't like and what's out there and goes together that you maybe didn't even consider. While 90% of it will probably be inappropriate for your office, certain elements like the jeans or shoes may stand out that'll make you realize what kind of outfits you want to put together.

When it's just way too hot, think guayabera. Especially if you're young and Anglo.

Originally Posted by rick1977

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When it's just way too hot, think guayabera. Especially if you're young and Anglo.
I think that a guayabera would be an excellent choice for Florida business casual. For a top flight maker, I would recommend Ramón Puig on Calle Ocho in Miami.

Originally Posted by blueguitar322

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P.S. I have a couple pairs of linen pants and a few linen shirts...love them in the hot weather. Question though: should I iron them after every wear/wash?

Consider investing $60ish in a portable steamer so you can steam the trousers. The shirts should be laundered after each wearing.

Originally Posted by Tomasso

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I think that a guayabera would be an excellent choice for Florida business casual. For a top flight maker, I would recommend Ramón Puig on Calle Ocho in Miami.

Listen to the man! Being a Miami native myself, I can say that's where you want to go. He's not called the "King of the Guayaberas" for nothing. I have two.

Is most of your job inside? Or are you ever outside. I would definitely stock up on some short and long sleeve guayas, but overall, khakis and a knit polo are the best way to go, imo.

Wow, thanks for all the good thoughts!

I'd browsed the "What are you wearing today" threads before, but after the first few pages with sparse pics, I stopped. But I went back and started reading them backwords...many more pics, there's some quite stylish people here and I did get lots of good ideas. Of course 25% of the stuff I saw, I hated, but that's probably true for anyone ;-)

I forgot to mention...fwiw I'm 24/white/6'3"/200lb

I've seen recommendations for Guayaberas before (for salsa dance clothing - cool and stylish) and was intrigued. I'll have to look into it further. Funny thing is...I've never noticed anyone wearing them in this part of Florida (Melbourne) before. Go figure...

Dave

Originally Posted by blueguitar322

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I've seen recommendations for Guayaberas before (for salsa dance clothing - cool and stylish) and was intrigued. I'll have to look into it further. Funny thing is...I've never noticed anyone wearing them in this part of Florida (Melbourne) before.

Well, Brevard County isn't exactly the fashion capital of the world. Or of Florida, either. But most of the guayaberas I own I thrifted from Value Thrift on Babcock St., so there are definitely people wearing them down there.

I live down here in Brevard County as well (Titusville), and I have a job that will take me outside of the office to a job site or two.

I usually wear Chinos and a knit polo or maybe even a button down.

I maybe get to break out the sweaters and jackets two months out of the year.