Advice Needed on "Business" Attire

[NL1720]

:( I am at a loss. I have been offered a job at a corporation (YES!!) but anyway... they said to dress business casual on a daily basis because I'll be visiting retail accounts BUT to dress in actual business attire for meetings. Ok, now I have not been in this type of environment EVER! What do I wear? WHERE do I buy these clothes...I don't think Walmart huh? If it helps you answer my questions, I am a plus size woman and not fond of skirts.

Geez, I better hit the gym and start on Seattle Sutton with my first paycheck eh? LOL

Seriously....help :rolleyes:

[Linus1223]

To me, business attire means a suit, which you can find at the Bon Ton, Kaufmann's, JCPenny's, NY & Co, etc.

[NL1720]

I'm on a tight budget

[annie169]

Walmart does have some nicer dress pants...like White Stag. Check Target too. A casual dress attire to me would be nice pants and a semiprofessional blouse. Something similar to this: http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00006BSV4.16._SCTZZZZZZZ_.jpg


I know summer is coming, so short sleeves, dressy shell tops will be in too. Forget heels if you're dressing casual and in pants..try something like this:http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00014CCV0.16._AA107_SCTZZZZZZZ_.jpg


Good luck!! I'm glad to work at home where I dont have to dress up anymore!!

p.s. I found these pix at Target.com. I read that Target is trying to lure more customers by upgrading their clothes so they're not the t-shirt, kick back kind of look that Walmart has.

[LunaChick]

When I used to work corporate, I would find suits at Boscov's for like 10 bucks. They are always running sales with extra % off. They have a pretty decent juniors dept.

[fatesfaery]

In any office setting I've worked, business casual meant anything short of jeans.....usually khakis or dress pants or a casual skirt, just about any type of top would work. To me businees attire would mean a suit.

I would try Goodwill, Salvation Army and your local consignment shops. you never know what you may find. I have 3 lg. trashbags of mostly Liz Claiborne clothes sitting in the garage, that I either need to decide I'm going to be a size 8 again or donate. These days my work atire is pajama pants and a tshirt, and hopefully it will stay that way awhile.

[justinenycole26]

I have a bunch of business casual and suit type things I would be willing to sell for sirt cheap before they go on eBay next week. If you want, you can PM me your size and I will tell you what I have. I have 18/20s and up.

I think in the business world, clothes are important, but things like neatness and grooming are just as important if not more so.

Clothes should be professionally pressed or at least ironed.

Nails should be manicured and if polished, it should be a very neutral color. Nails should not be too long, but short and ragged is even worse.

Make-up should be moderate and prefessional. You should not go to work in club make-up. Glittery and sparkly is out of the question. Colors should be subdued and natural looking.

Hair should be kept neat. You don't want anything too trendy (depending on job) but stylish is important. Hair should be kept trimmed and free of frizz and dead ends.

Jewelry should be worn to accessorize, not to blind your co-workers. I would say no more than 2 rings per hand, a nice gold or silver chain with or without a pendant, maybe one bracelet, small earrings. Everything should be either silver or gold, not both at the same time.

Don't forget your most important accessory, your SMILE! Sounds corny, but it works!

[schsa]

The perfect choice is what men wear. Khaki pants, a white or blue button down shirt and a navy blazer. That's enough to get you in and out of any meeting. You should be able to pick up every item from your local Good Will. You should also try on some of the men's suit jackets because they work just as well as the women's do.

Brown shoes, flats.

Business casual tends to be khakis and a polo shirt. Works well.

[halvarado]

if you have a burlington coat factory near you, they often have wonderful sales. also, any outlet stores usually have good deals. if you have ever watched "what not to wear" on TLC, they give these hints to every person no matter what. (these are not direct quotes LOL)
buy the basics (black slacks, nice jacket, good shoes) in a more traditional style. also, if you have to pay more for the staples and less for accessories or trendy stuff, do that.


you will probably not have to wear too many skirts, but you should get some nice slacks, button up shirts and a couple of jackets. heels shouldn't be too high. i would try a couple of websites like penneys, dillards, kohls, and type in business casual and see what comes up.:) then see if any thrift stores have something along those lines until you get a couple of checks so you can get more.:)
good luck!!

[NL1720]

Great ideas! Thanks

[JWWB2000]

This is what I wear to work and I have to wear business casual.....I have quite a few different pairs of slacks that range from pinstripe to plain navy. I also have a few jackets as well. I pair the pants with a nice button up shirt, a nice sweater, and even a nice quality tshirt (not one you would really wear with jeans, but you could). I have a range of shoes as well. I love sandles so I have a lot of open toe heels (these are maybe an inch), a couple pairs of clunky shoes (made by MUDD) that double as dress shoes, and a couple pairs of loafers. My heels I have I bought at Wal-Mart for like 5 bucks (they were not on sale either ;)). But you can always try and get the two or three piece outfits they have at Fashion Bug, Sears, J C Penny's, ect. I do however go to Ross, Marshall's, as well as other discount stores to get a lot of my clothes I wear for work. I have also found a lot of them in the thrift store we have here. One good thing I have figured out is when Sear's does have their sales, they are GREAT and you can get a lot of clothes for realtivly cheap!! I have bought a couple 2 piece outfits for ten bucks!!

Hope my rambling has helped you in some small way :) Keep us posted on how the job goes!!!