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So guys......what is "business casual" dress???

Spunger

Git yer dumb questions here
Feb 19, 2003
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I'll admit I don't think I've had to Iron anything in my life.......so that'd be a learning curve but like BV said......it's a hot surface, just don't leave it on for too long.

I like the shirts that have the longer drop to them so they tuck in better if I have to tuck in a shirt everyday. I have one shirt that is just sorta flat at the cut on the bottom and it sucks tucking it in. I always think it's comming out of my pants.

I have some baggy Dickies pants which I could already tell you isn't dress up enough for anything other than going out on the town but the ones that I have that aren't near as baggy fit just like my Tan Kahki pants. Except the Dickies have the crease down the legs (I'm assuming that means pleated but not 100% sure). As long as I get the length correct they really don't look all that bad.

I'll have to go and see what sears/macy's/robinsons has for this stuff.
 

narlus

Eastcoast Softcore
Staff member
Nov 7, 2001
24,658
63
behind the viewfinder
i must be spoiled by a lifelong career in biotech...the only time i've ever worn a tie on site here was when FDA or EMEA were here...jeans are still widely accepted, even though big brother corporate tried to put the kibosh on them (no polo shirts either...needless to say, that didn't get very far on this site).
 

Spunger

Git yer dumb questions here
Feb 19, 2003
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Del said:
When I go to a bank, I expect to see slacks, shirt, and tie. You're handling my money - you should look professional. Suck it up and dress up. It feels good to wear nice clothes to work. Even though I don't have to wear a tie to work I still do and I feel more professional because of it (even when I am posting on mesage boards instead of working).

Besides - it is a common notion that your clothes project a lot about you to your superiors and coworkers. Don't you want to project professionalism at work?
Here that varies alot. I've gone into my local bank (Washington Mutual) and 99% of their tellers are all in polo-shirts. I have seen them in Ties before as well, but most of the time they are in polo-shirts.....I think the larger bank branches might do this/might not in the area.

This place I got hired to work for has........14 employee's I think? Not many. It's the county's credit union (and the Hospital's) so there's enough to keep them busy. From their webpage picture there's 2 men and the rest are women. The men are dressed up in the slacks/shirt/tie deal while the women all have on women's suits I guess (or nicer shirts/skirts) etc....

I don't want to go spend alot of $$$ to get started. I just need some basic pants/shirts/ties that I can get by with. I might even see about shoes but at this point it's like do or die. I don't have enough $$$ to not work so I have to make it work.
 

ALEXIS_DH

Tirelessly Awesome
Jan 30, 2003
6,147
796
Lima, Peru, Peru
Spunger said:
Here that varies alot. I've gone into my local bank (Washington Mutual) and 99% of their tellers are all in polo-shirts. I have seen them in Ties before as well, but most of the time they are in polo-shirts.....I think the larger bank branches might do this/might not in the area.

This place I got hired to work for has........14 employee's I think? Not many. It's the county's credit union (and the Hospital's) so there's enough to keep them busy. From their webpage picture there's 2 men and the rest are women. The men are dressed up in the slacks/shirt/tie deal while the women all have on women's suits I guess (or nicer shirts/skirts) etc....

I don't want to go spend alot of $$$ to get started. I just need some basic pants/shirts/ties that I can get by with. I might even see about shoes but at this point it's like do or die. I don't have enough $$$ to not work so I have to make it work.
better to start too formal and then start loosing up.. than showing up in a polo shirt to have your boss commenting your outfit.

when in doubt, kenneth cole khakis + button down solid color ralph lauren shirt + tan shoes + blue tie = t3h win.
if you need to loosen up, get rid of the tie, if you need more formality, put on a blazer.

buy the stuff in an outlet mall.
 

chuffer

Turbo Monkey
Sep 2, 2004
1,573
914
McMinnville, OR
holy cow.

here I sit in my pleated dark brown slacks, black belt, tan running shoes, brown socks and yellow short sleeve dress shirt. All i am missing is the tie...good thing I run the joint.

to hear you all talk with so many fashion faux pas i should be happy that the sky didnt fall. (what is the plural of faux pas? faux pai?)
 

Cooter Brown

Turbo Monkey
May 30, 2002
1,453
0
Snow Hall, tweakin on math
I wear Dickies cell phone shorts and polo shirts to work. It's really nice working on the shop floor a lot, I get away with that everyday. My boss and other engineers have even told me they are jealous of me. But when the shop temp can reach 120 130* in the dead heat, there's no reason not to wear shorts.

I still have to wear khakis and nicer shirt for offsite work and meetings and crap, but for everything else it's shorts.
 

Spunger

Git yer dumb questions here
Feb 19, 2003
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You guys are too funny :)

I know that every office has a different "dress code" and none are the same. This place told me if I wanted to know if it was right to wear I could bring it in and show someone there if it was "in question". I wouldn't bring anything in that I even thought was in question because I atleast know that much. But it is amazing to see how many different takes there are on "business casual".

I can see how some want ties, some could care less......sucks for me this place wants ties but they didn't say they had to be fancy or anything...just a tie. I'm guessing some of your business casual's could add a tie to whatever you wear and be fine.

I'll check out the different Dickie's pants (just as they're cheap but I like em) and see how they match with the shirts/ties. If they look too out of place I'll stick to Docker type pants as that seems like you can get away with. I'll have to get by with the shoes I have until I can pick up some work only type shoes. And shirts & ties....ehhhh we'll get some standard colors and some ties that work well with all of them. I can see having a bunch of shirts that you switch in and out but a few pairs of pants. Makes total sense.
 

erastusboy

Monkey
Mar 5, 2003
470
0
Ridemonkey said:
Please...no pleats. A basic flat front chino, and a cotton button shirt is the way to go for business casual.
Ridemonkey FTW

Also same goes for short sleeve button ups.
 

stinky|Dan

Monkey
Aug 3, 2002
229
0
Spunger said:
What's funny is I never owned a pair either. My bro grew out of like 3-4 pairs of pants and 2 pairs of shorts so I said hey I'll take them. They were all in excellent shape so I had no reason not to take them.

They are my choice of pants/shorts now because they aren't my typical basketball shorts that I wear everywhere. The pants aren't too bad but when I was thinking of "docker" style pants they came to mind because they don't look that trashy or anything. Plus they're semi-cheap! :)
I wear those Dickies 874's (i think) for my work as a teacher. They are tough as and you dont need to iron them.

Dan
 

Spunger

Git yer dumb questions here
Feb 19, 2003
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Well went out last night and hit the racks at Robinson's may (now Macy's with Robinson's stuff) and had a nice rack of $9.99 shirts :) so I tried some on to find out what size I was. When I was measured I was a 17 1/2 and I think a 34/35. I tried on a 17 and it's way too tight and the 18 is a bit on the big side. So atleast I got that one down.

Until I find out if this job is going to be permenent I don't want to spend lots of coin on clothes out of all things. $9.99 for a shirt (or if I had to buy 5 or 6 of them) is doable. Spending $30 on a shirt and having to get that same volume I can't do. Hell even if I made enough money I don't think I'd do it. The pants we found were some basic Docker type pants.......$30 a pair I think. Again nothing super fancy, enough to get by for "business" dress I guess.

Tonight it's down to the other part of town to see what I can find. Hopefully the rest of what I need :) If not thankfully I only have to work 2 days this week (Wed/Thrus) and then go back on Monday at the regular times that I'm suspose to work (7:45/4:45) and go from there. As happy as I am finding and getting a job I just hope this one pans out. Being out of work for so long makes it hard to find decent work + I have to get back into that work routine and all that. Should be interesting.
 

TreeSaw

Mama Monkey
Oct 30, 2003
17,670
1,855
Dancin' over rocks n' roots!
I would think Dockers, Dickies, etc. with either a button down shirt (perhaps even the kind you don't need to tuck in) and a polo shirt? If you're really worried about it, stop in and check out what everyone else is wearing and go from there. At the credit unions and banks around me, no one is wearing a tie. I would also suggest shopping after your first week so you know what to stock up on. Not sure if you like their styles, but Old Navy is having some sales on dress pants and khakis too (Sq-earl needed a couple of new pair and they were $25 or less).

Edit--as for shoes, something pretty comfortable would be best. Perhaps oxford style shoes (Timberland style here: http://www.zappos.com/n/p/dp/5256022/c/69773.html ) or these Adidas ones are cool http://www.zappos.com/n/p/dp/17270764/c/64832.html We've had good luck with Zappos.com in the past...free shipping (and they usually bump you up to 2 day for free) excellent return policy (you have 1 year and they pay the shipping) and good prices!
 

Spunger

Git yer dumb questions here
Feb 19, 2003
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I wanted to say THANK YOU! to all you guys who helped me out on this. It means alot to have some different input on things other than MTB parts and suck :)

Please don't laugh, I am poor, cheap, and could care less as long as I met this "dress code". Went to Macy's (Robinson's May) here in town and picked up an onsale shirt for $10. It's a blue'ish one but I might go back and pick up 2 more even though they are the same color. For $10 I didn't think I could go wrong. The sucky thing is I have a 18/34/35 and I like the feel of the neck more probably because I'm not use to something around it......but I fit into 17.5 necks. I am loosing weight so I figured better play it safe and get the 17.5. I then went to Sears and got some ties (like $6 each I think) and 3 more shirts (for 3 shirts and 2 ties, might have been 3) it was like $75. I figured score......even though I did the sin and got short sleeve shirts but I sweat like a pig even in an AC cooled place. They feel cheap ($11/shirt) but I wasn't going to complain. My Dickies's pants got accepted and they said they'll do. They aren't baggy at all, more of a docker'ish type width but a little more room. I tried some Dockers and my legs/body just doesn't fit well with them.

Shoes we are working on. They told me I could wear my Etnies for the first 2-3 weeks or so until I have some $$$ saved up as they understand it's a new job. I thanked them as that was nice but at the same time not like anyone see's my feet. You stand alot so I figured if I need shoes they have to be comfortable ones. Dr. Martins it probably is.

I got lucky though as my girlfriend offered to help me out in the clothe purchases. I feel bad for being that broke where she has to help me but it's nice to have that hand there instead of bugging my parents (I'll be 25 this year) for money for this garbage. Plus for what they pay I couldn't justify spending $30-40 per shirt as that add's up way too fast. $10-15 works for me!

Again though guys Thank You. I have been on the internet for many many years, asking lame questions all the time, but sometimes it pay's to stick with a message board and ask questions as there's suck a wide spread of people on here. It makes me happy to know that in the course of a day I can get 4 pages of suggestions/tips/hints to all of this :)