Archive for the ‘Fashion’ Category

Heading to the Office

Monday, December 21, 2009
posted by Warren Buckley

Heading to the Office

Upon graduation from college, many of us prepare to enter the work world to live life in an office. We go through the job search, the interview, and hopefully land that dream job in corporate America. With luck, we do not have to drive too far to get to the office. Before that first day on the job, there are a few things you should do to prepare. Going to work looking like you are ready to work will impress the boss much more than showing up ill prepared.

If you have a job where you work with documents, travel, and give presentations or business meetings, a solid briefcase is a must. A good briefcase will look professional and be functional at the same time. It will have compartments to hold your important documents, your laptop (if you have one), and important personal items. You can use it to carry your identification and credit cards, which allows you to avoid having a bulky wallet in your back pocket. The briefcase should be brown, black, or some neutral color that will not clash with any of your outfits. It should be easy to carry, easy to travel with, and easy to stow next to or under your seat or desk. This will be the case that you carry with you everywhere you go, so you should make sure that it is a comfortable fit and looks good when you are holding it.

Proper business attire is a must. When you meet supervisors, co-workers, and clients, the first thing they notice is your appearance. A slovenly appearance is one of the quickest ways to make a bad impression. Depending on the type of office you work in, you want to make sure that you have several outfits for business casual and business formal wear. Most offices are business casual from day to day, meaning that a nice pair of slacks and a nice shirt are the uniform of the day. Ties are optional, usually not worn. Jeans and t-shirts are too casual, and are not to be worn except on a noted casual dress day. You should have several pairs of pants, ranging from tan to darker brown or green, with several button-up shirts that will go with more than one pair of pants. This will allow you to mix and match, keeping your look from getting stale. You should have a good pair of brown shoes as well as a good pair of black shoes, and should make sure to learn which pant/shirt combinations go best with each color shoe. You will need a good leather belt to complete the ensemble, always make sure to wear a brown belt with brown shoes and a black belt with black shoes. For formal events, you should have at least two suits to wear. Client meetings, important business functions, and other events often require dressing much nicer than you do on a normal workday. A couple of dark suits will work well. You can buy different colored shirts and ties to wear with the suits to make sure that you do not look the same every time.