Lately, I’ve been reading up on what exactly business casual means.  I’ve come to the conclusion that business casual means very different things to different people.  On one hand, you have the “banker type” who wears power suits 5 days of the week.  In this industry, and many other corporate environments, one must adhere to business formal wear every day of the week – there’s no such thing as “casual Fridays”.  When you dress professionally, you come across as more credible and confident and in many industries, this can convey the message that you have a high level of expertise. On the flip side, some professions don’t fit into this category – the marketing expert, the trades company owner, the IT guru, the teacher, the restaurant owner, the government employee, and sooooo many more.  In some of these industries (and MANY more), business casual could mean anything from yoga pants to jeans to khakis (and everything in between).   One would have to use their judgement, depending on the industry they are in, as to what is appropriate and what business casual actually means. Here’s my opinion.  Overall, I think a business casual look should be classic, not overly trendy (unless you typically have a chic sense of style) and should flatter your favourite features.   Here are some quick thoughts: Jeans are perfectly fine for a business casual look BUT you really need to think about the colour and cut of the jean.  Opt for a dark-wash jean that comes in more of a straight-leg cut.  You don’t want to wear jeans that are too loose (this can look sloppy) or too tight (this can bring you the wrong kind of attention in a work setting) in the event that you bump into the big boss. Although business casual is an opportunity to dress down, don’t take it as an opportunity to dress under.  Regardless of your profession, you still want to come across as the expert so always focus on dressing just one step above your counterparts.  That might mean wearing a casual dress shirt rather than a golf shirt or adding a blazer to jeans and a shirt. Show your personality through the use of colours, patterns, accessories and garment silhouettes.  You don’t have to adhere to a “cookie-cutter” look. Think about what your likes and interests are and look to play these up.  Perhaps you’re really into the arts.  Think about highlighting this side of your personality by accenting your look with blouses or skirts with interesting, non-traditional cuts, patterns and textures. Regardless of what we choose as business casual wear, always remember that our style (personal or professional) is a representation of ourselves.  Whether we like it or not, people judge us all the time based on our appearance (and let’s be honest, we judge them too).  Think about making the right impression rather than the wrong one.  Here are a few things to steer clear of to help you make that “right” impression: Ladies, make sure

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A good friend of mine inspired this piece.  In her professional life, Melissa (we’ll call her) is an engineer – a field, she says, that is typically dominated by men.  On one of our more recent visits, she admitted to me that she wears “the uniform” to work.  “The uniform?”  I asked.  Yes, “the uniform” – a basic pair of dress pants, a dress shirt (un-tailored, I’m sure), a blazer, hair in a bun or ponytail, and a pair of glasses.  That’s it!  THAT’S what she wears to work every single day in her professional life!  I didn’t know if I should be offended by this or sympathetic towards her!  How awful, how boring…. how unfeminine.  Hmmm, WHY does she dress this way to go to work?  I’ve seen her many times outside of work looking attractive, approachable, drop-dead gorgeous and always, ALWAYS feminine! As I thought more about why she does this, I started asking myself: do women – like Melissa – suppress their feminine side in a professional environment?  Is this particularly true in a workplace dominated by men?  Do women feel that they NEED to appear less feminine to succeed and move up the “corporate ladder” or is this something that, while unspoken, is a cultural norm? Since this is a topic that would probably attract differing opinions, I decided to start asking others (both men and women) what they thought.  Here are some of the responses that I’ve heard (of course I’m paraphrasing here): Feminine attire can be somewhat ambiguous – to some people it means dressing more like a lady and to others it means portraying a sexy appearance. Some women don’t want to stick out.  They think that if they blend in their work will speak for itself. When a corporate dress code refers to the “female equivalent” for proper work attire, what does that mean exactly? If a woman dressed at all feminine in the workplace, she could attract the wrong kind of attention both from colleagues and clients. Women are not men – we shouldn’t have to dress like them (men)! As a style consultant, whose goal is to empower people through the use of style, here are my thoughts on this topic: Women can be in professional roles and dress like a lady.  It’s about being confident and comfortable with yourself first. As my mother always told me, if you look down and can see your cleavage, your blouse is just TOO LOW for the office!  Being feminine in the office does NOT mean that your lady-friends get to say hello to everyone at work. Understand the difference (and appropriateness) between dressing feminine vs. sexy in a professional setting.  You always want to attract the ‘right’ kind of attention at work! Know your audience.  By this, I mean that you should always wear appropriate attire for the client-situation you are in.  This doesn’t mean that you should dress like a man if you’re in room full of men, but rather look

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