What does business casual mean to you? - Topic of the day 1/11/25
Every work place has a different meaning of business casual or smart casual. Do you think you fit the mold? Do you routinely wear what people consider to be business casual out? What are the intricacies of this style.
13 Replies
possibly controversial hot take: i think 'business casual' as an official dress code counterintuitively made it harder for people, especially men, to dress for work
in my singular mind, it's less formal than business professional (actual suit, dress shirt, dress shoes, tie) and more formal than casual (t-shirt, jeans, athletic sneakers) and that's about it
https://discord.com/channels/1116793467654381685/1117803378521673768/1240355583538761901 this is relevant - lots of variance in specific clothes depending on the person/industry
dress shirt, nice slacks, belt and suspenders. idk about shoe choice i don’t dress this way very much
Button-up shirt, chinos, and leather shoes. Depending on the workplace: "nice" jeans may be OK, "nice" sneakers may be OK, a blazer might be a good idea.
for most it just means look put together
I think it means "You won't know what to wear until you observe for a bit". It's a HUGE range and that has only become more extreme post-pandemic. e.g. Five years ago it was pretty much a given this did not include jeans. Now.... not always?
I think it depends. Jeans and a blazer feel very solidly bizcaz
I kinda feel like bizcaz has become a shorthand for dressing badly though, because in practice more often than not its an ill fitting suit jacket thrown over a pair of jeans and a polo.
I feel like there‘s no clear rules like with Black tie or sth like that and that‘s what makes it so hard?
Especially bc I feel uncomfortable in everything that‘s „classic“ business casual I usually just go business professional and accept being overdressed
Yes. I agree with Zeo that it's an enforced dress code without clearly articulated rules, which is the absolute worst.
i think if you are absolutely unsure of what business casual is in your specific workplace (and unable to observe), this is one use case where the basic bastard may make sense at first - solid ocbd, chinos, loafers, maybe a blazer and tie in case
frankly working can suck though, especially if it's not a passion or if it's a restrictive environment, and finding more enjoyable ways that you can dress for work can make the day easier
goona stick my nexk out and say these are "business casual" somewhere (you could also not wear ties lol)
To be honest I dont dress much different when I'm going to the office https://discord.com/channels/1116793467654381685/1116800072093532191/1326935216987570260
https://discord.com/channels/1116793467654381685/1116800072093532191/1316867543427715072
https://discord.com/channels/1116793467654381685/1116800072093532191/1296488612279488522
https://discord.com/channels/1116793467654381685/1116800072093532191/1276536959556390983
I think it's something we say but like has been said, don't understand.
In my office, if I wear a tie they'd ask why i dressed up. Still can, and would, but it really depends on your business.
my office isnt rly strict with it, so i mostly wear sweaters in the office when i can get away with it. I also have some flannels I wear sometimes, but I've been trying to move away from that because wearing them in the office made me associate them with bizcaz
i work in engineering and most people don't dress very well, so as long as I'm not wearing a t shirt or something I wouldn't really catch flak
for me it's this
