Dressing Appropriately for the Office: Summer Edition

With the weather beginning to turn, we were recently contacted by two clients who needed our help with dressing for two different work environments. Many of you might be seeing memos if you work in a corporate office setting regarding proper summer dress codes. What is acceptable to wear in hot weather outside of the office isn't always going to be okay to wear into the office. Style and appropriateness should not take a back seat to rising temps and humidity. Those mid drift baring tops or ill fitting mom-esque shorts have no place in your workplace. Let us help you with distinguishing between appropriate and inappropriate casual summer office-wear.

First, a good rule of thumb is if you're not exactly sure if what you're wearing is appropriate, it probably isn't. You don't want to risk getting written up or being sent home on account of a piece of clothing, especially in a corporate office.

Here are some clothing items that you should NEVER consider wearing to the workplace:
- Gym or beach wear
- Worn, faded, or torn attire
- Shirts or sweatshirts with offensive lettering/slogans/pictures
- Halter tops, tube tops, spaghetti straps, athletic tank tops
- Low cut attire
- Mid-drift baring tops
- Sweatsuits
- Wrinkled, stained,  or frayed clothing
- Shorts of any kind (even if below the knee)
- Hats or ball caps
- Slippers, sport sandals, shower shoes, or flip flops

Now that we've weeded through the bad, let's get to the good! If your office is more on the casual side, then you have many options to take you through the next few months. You don't want to show too much skin, so stick with dresses or skirts that are longer and tops that don't show much in the way of cleavage. If your dress has spaghetti straps or is cut out in the back, consider topping it with a denim jacket, cardigan, or linen blazer. Here's an example of what we deem appropriate for a casual office setting:

Other proper choices include:

- Khakis, linen pants, and slacks- can be ankle or capri length

- Maxi or mid length skirts and casual dresses

- Tailored, neat jeans (no tears or frays)

- Sweaters, blouses, sleeveless tops

- Boat shoes, dress sandals, flats, boots

- Proper undergarments (if your clothing is see-through, consider a slip or camisole)

You always want to put your best foot forward, and the right clothes give you a boost of confidence needed to excel at work and in life. If you aren't sure what your work dress code is, ask your manager or contact your HR department... or contact us! We can surely help you find the right summer clothes to wear to work!