How to Dress at the Office

Your work wardrobe shouldn’t just project an image of professionalism and seriousness to others, it should also help you feel inspired and ready to take on the day. Mohan’s Custom Tailors offers some tips on how to choose work outfits, including suits, separates and other options, to fit in with your office’s environment and to make you look and feel your best.

Understand Your Office Culture

First, it is very important to become familiar with the norms for dress — more formal (suit and tie), business casual, fully casual (jeans, khakis, casual shirts, sneakers) — for your office. In New York, many require full business dress, which means you will have to determine whether this means that you can only wear suits with fully matching jackets and pants, or if you can wear dress shirts and ties with mixtures of wool or other similar dress pants and blazers or other separate business jackets. This will enable you to prepare to initially have several cornerstone outfits in your wardrobe, which can be accessorized with different dress shirts, ties, pocket squares, socks and shoes. Other offices may be more relaxed, so a few blazers and dress shirts worn with jeans or khakis, or just the shirts, open or with ties, may be adequate for a business casual office culture.

Office Dress Essentials

Flat front and slim fit trousers are universally appropriate in all offices with business casual or more formal environments. Solid blue or white custom shirts are important wardrobe benchmarks. Getting your clothes custom made or tailored can ensure a more comfortable fit for sitting or standing at your desk, in conference rooms and at presentations.

Choose Conservative Colors

In an office environment, choose your colors carefully. Solid white and blue shirts are always a safe bet, as are navy, gray, or black trousers. A pop of color or stripes in a shirt every now and then are also acceptable.

Custom Menswear

Men look their very best in more formal or business casual office attire when it is custom made and/or, at least, custom tailored. Investing in a few key pieces — a 100% bespoke suit, a custom jacket and pants combination, several custom-tailored blazers and shirts — to have as wardrobe benchmarks, and to mix with other items (e.g. in business casual work environments, to mix a fully bespoke business shirt with a crisp pair of jeans), lets you stand out at the office. It always, as stated above, enables you to feel your best in your clothes, always able to move properly, with the clothing ready for all work situations.