Business Casual?

[Ns1]

ITT: a bunch of managers expounding their usual drivel about something that makes absolutely no difference in actual business function

also ITT, people on a mission to NoLifer.

 

[Jeeebus]

3 of the first 4 responses here mention polos.

3 out of 4 ATOT nerds agree - not exactly a ringing endorsement. If you want to recognize a category of casual/smart casual, then polos would fit right in. Business casual has never included polos notwithstanding any attempted bastardization of the term.

 

[brianmanahan]

Business casual has never included polos notwithstanding any attempted bastardization of the term.

all the insurance companies and banks i've worked for included polos in their definition of business casual

 

[DigDog]

^what he said minus the kahkis.

derp;

can't leave a thread open for 5 minutes and not expect it to fill with great advice.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Polos and khakis are probably fine. I started a new position on Monday and the HR email said "slacks and button ups" but I saw people wearing polos so I am too.

LOL at all these idiots being fashion Nazis.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

It really depends on the company but my work is "business casual". I wear slacks, dress shoes, and the $15 easy iron dress shirts from H&M in all different colors.

I used to care about how I looked but I don't ever see clients/customers face to face and I'm not trying to iron my shirt every single night before work.

 

[Jeff7]

all the blue collar managers i know wear jeans and a t-shirt

ITT: a bunch of managers expounding their usual drivel about something that makes absolutely no difference in actual business function

Yeah, it'll depend on the kind of company.

Manager of a bunch of electricians: He may well be spending plenty of time on a job site, maybe up in a bucket truck or on a ladder, maybe in 100°F California heat.
Company t-shirt, jeans, steel-toe boots.
Got a meeting? Polo shirt or maybe a button-up shirt.
Meeting with technicians from another company for field work? Company, t-shirt, jeans, steel-toe boots.

Business casual where I work: Khaki pants and a polo shirt. I usually have on a company-logo fleece jacket. Fridays: Wear jeans if you want to.

My precious formative years were spent growing up in hick country so my spectrum of "dressing fancy" starts with "does the shirt have more than zero buttons on it?"
A polo shirt is as dressy as I prefer to get. Anything much more starts to feel silly and uncomfortable. ("This tie means I'm important. No, seriously, it's meaningful.")

 

[MongGrel]

Polo shirts are good in general I would think.

I have still several polo's that where even earned more or less when I worked for Honeywell Aerospace on various programs that are cool, the program would the made and give them out as rewards.

But I was still machining things there so I usually wore jeans and steal toed black tennis shoes.

I guess many wore button shirts and khakis/dockers types of pants and non steal toed shoes in management. A few did not, but in general most engineers wore button down shirts.

Some didn't, and wore polo. Almost no one wore a tie, in general.

We even had Hawaiian shirts that were color coded and embroidered for the department you worked in and were special made for some Fridays, after winning a global excellence award and handed out, was pretty cool.

 

[brianmanahan]

My precious formative years were spent growing up in hick country so my spectrum of "dressing fancy" starts with "does the shirt have more than zero buttons on it?"

same here, and i intend to spend %99 of my time in hick country once i get done working!

i actually hate button-up shirts - since the neckline drops and doesn't cover my throat like a t-shirt, i get this annoying feeling like i am going to get stabbed in the throat on and off throughout the day. it's weird but has happened to me ever since i was a kid.

if i could, i'd button up all the neck buttons, but then i look like a dork.

 

[brianmanahan]

We even had Hawaiian shirts that were color coded and embroidered for the department you worked in and were special made for some Fridays, after winning a global excellence award and handed out, was pretty cool.

haha i worked with a guy who loved his hawaiin shirts and would wear them every chance he got.

didn't matter if it was -20F outside, it was always 75 and sunny in his cube on fridays.

 

[TheSlamma]

So glad Colorado business casual is different from most places, I hate shirts with collars

 

[pete6032]

Business casual

 

[vi edit]

For button up shirts Express 1MX shirts are nice, especially if you aren't shaped like a milk dud. Athletic cuts, iron easy, and have a good amount of stretch in the shoulders and chest if you are remotely athletically shaped. With coupons & sales they can be bought for around $30 each and come in a lot of different colors and designs.

Oh and if you aren't used to wearing dress shirts/polos...invest in good undershirts. Let them take the abuse of your pit sweat and stains. Your shirts will last a lot longer.

 

[TheSiege]

Straight from the handbook "Dress
We are cool with letting employees at _______ dress comfortably and casually,
but keep it business casual and clean. If a client or fellow employee would be
embarrassed or uncomfortable with what you’re wearing, then it’s probably not
appropriate. "

 

[vi edit]

Ummmmmm yeeaaahhhhh.....that description is so impossibly vague and open to interpretation. Every "business casual" environment I've ever worked in was dress slacks and polo at a minimum. That description sort of contradicts itself.

 

[IEC]

It's hard to go wrong with slacks or khakis and a button-down shirt.

You can't be as boneheaded as a former underling of mine who showed up to a client site in shorts because he didn't understand what business casual meant... he must have missed that being called out at least twice during training.

 

[NutBucket]

Has it been asked what industry you're in? This definitely influences the suggestions you'll get. For reference I wear jeans and a polo 70% of the time. Fridays I typically wear a t-shirt and jeans. I'm an EE in the defense industry.

I definitely agree well fitting clothes make all the difference.

 

[TheSiege]

Has it been asked what industry you're in? This definitely influences the suggestions you'll get. For reference I wear jeans and a polo 70% of the time. Fridays I typically wear a t-shirt and jeans. I'm an EE in the defense industry.

I definitely agree well fitting clothes make all the difference.

PM in a Data Center for a web hosting company.

 

[SKORPI0]

 

[Homerboy]

Straight from the handbook "Dress
We are cool with letting employees at _______ dress comfortably and casually,
but keep it business casual and clean. If a client or fellow employee would be
embarrassed or uncomfortable with what you’re wearing, then it’s probably not
appropriate. "

To me that basically translates to "no t-shirts or ratty ass jeans"

ie: Collars are a must (polo or button down shirt)
NICE, well fitting, non-worn out jeans and or khakis.

Dress pants are going to be over-dressing.
If your client facing, then probably button down shirt.

 

[kranky]

I could get away with dressing down more and still meet the bar for business casual, but I found that if I am a little better dressed, it affects how people react to me (to my advantage). I always wear a button-up shirt with dress slacks and dress shoes (exception is black jeans and boots in bad winter weather).

No-iron shirts from Jos A. Bank when on sale (too expensive @ regular price). They have styles for different body types and exact sleeve lengths.
Dress slacks from Macy's when on sale + coupons in the mail
Shoes Rockport or Clark

 

[Triumph]

3 out of 4 ATOT nerds agree - not exactly a ringing endorsement. If you want to recognize a category of casual/smart casual, then polos would fit right in. Business casual has never included polos notwithstanding any attempted bastardization of the term.

If company says business casual but not including polos, then their policy is not business casual.

 

[TheGardener]

Our company was bought out by one Texas. After the CEO got caught in a sex scandal, the temporary heads of the company decided to make the dress code casual from suits and ties. They meant to say business casual, not casual. That caused confusion in the Northeast, where engineers and software developers showed up in tee shirts, shorts and sandals. It was summer. After a few months, clarifying definitions were handed down to explain business casual.

Funny thing was, that it was only the men who took this policy change to heart. Women wore what they always wore. If that was a high-end suit and shoes with heels, no one said anything to them. Kind of sexist I guess. The managers would never tell any woman that they did not meet the business casual dress code.

 

[TheSiege]

I think this place, by my house, has all the stores I need.

http://www.outletsattraversemountain.com/directory

 

[Strk]

It's hard to go wrong with slacks or khakis and a button-down shirt.

You can't be as boneheaded as a former underling of mine who showed up to a client site in shorts because he didn't understand what business casual meant... he must have missed that being called out at least twice during training.

This

Business casual is easy and doesn't require very much effort.