This is a GQ?
Oh, wait, I get it.
Right. :rolleyes: This I gotta see.
You wouldn’t have a pic of your too-hot-for-HR foxiness, would you?
Khaki is totally out of fashion and has been replaced by camouflage. You can’t go wrong there.
First - assuming the clothes you already have are sufficient, make sure to 1) have them drycleaned before the meeting, and 2) have your shoes shined by a pro.
Second - a white shirt is classy and timeless.
Third - be careful about Dockers, etc. Cotton pants, even when drycleaned - just don’t look as professional as wool or woolen blends. If that’s all you have, then it’s probably worth investing in a pair of wool or blended slacks.
Finally - you didn’t ask but I’ll offer some unsolicited advice. In general, I try to dress at the same level, or just a bit nicer, then my boss. Like the old saying goes, dress for the job you want, not the one you have. It never hurts to present yourself in a more professional manner than your coworkers. And if your getting comments from your management, then you should probably improve your dress every day, not just for this meeting (at least if you want long-term success at this company).
I hear black is the new black.
You need to talk to your boss about it and make sure that you’ll get on the same page as him. Even if you think it’s stupid, if you value your job or ability to move upward in the company, you need to listen to things like this.
Others have given great general dressing well guidelines. I just wanted to say that “formal business attire” and “khakis” do not belong in the same sentence. Khakis are strictly business casual attire. There is a big difference between tan wool trousers and khakis.
I haven’t the foggiest of ideas where you’re from, but I suggest you check out discount stores like Marshalls, Ross, TJ Maxx, and Burlington Coat Factory. Also, Kohl’s has TONS of stuff at very, very low prices.
I’m a high school debate coach and it’s more or less a requirement that the kids wear suits (if they want to be moderately successful, that is). This, of course, creates a bit of a problem because not every family can spare a few hundred bucks (at least) for a nice, custom fitted suit for their kid.
I tell everyone- even the ones that can afford the nice stuff, to try the stores I first listed. You’ll find brand name stuff- Ralph Lauren, Express, Tommy Hilfiger, etc.- all at dramatic discounts.
And you know, I’ll say here that you’re at a tremendous advantage being male- I really think it’s easier for a guy to look professionally dressed on the cheap than a woman. Your stuff just has to fit and be appropriate. Well, I guess it’s the same for women in regard to those two items, but I still see way, way more appropriate stuff for men.
If you aren’t terribly fashionable, just pick up a pair of black slacks that fit, a nice shirt- that fits, and a tie that isn’t terribly dated. Then, make sure your shoes and belt match and you’re golden. You can pick up an entire outfit at any of those discount stores for well under $70- that’s pants, shirt, tie, shoes, and belt. They even have jackets- usually for $20-$50, depending on the quality. So, you might even be able to pick up a nice suit. If you’ve got time, pop over to a tailor and spend the few bucks to get your suit fitting perfectly.
Heck, you might even be able to get away without a jacket if everything else looks really sharp, but a nice fitting jacket is a good way to pull everything together.
Don’t know what looks good? Plenty of stores that sell men’s close have everything all laid out for you, because they know a lot of guys hate shopping and don’t know what looks good. In general, right now, bright shirts are very in and rich colors- like rich greens, blues, etc. look good on most folks. You can’t ever go wrong with a basic white shirt, though. As far as ties, avoid those yucky 80s patterns that still seem ever prevalent, just get something simple and classy that compliments the shirt. Heck, Express Men even has a shirt and tie combo thing you can look at.
Notice how well everything here fits- there’s no reason you couldn’t replicate this at a discount store.
Again, fit is key to everything looking pulled together- even a simple black suit with a white shirt.
I also second that khakis might be ok for casual Friday, but they don’t scream professionalism for the rest of the week.
Tell Michelle I said hi …
And he shops at Target? I don’t think so.
I have to agree with Spoons. Your attitude is definitely coming across. You should want to look good so you can make a good impression, not just because your boss mandates it.
AK, don’t take this stuff about your attitude to heart. I agree with you. Clothes are stupid and people who care about clothes – be it your boss or your client or your girlfriend or your mother – are being tyrannical assholes when they impose their sartorial values on you. The problem is that, so far, they have tradition and the majority on their side.
But the fact is that you can’t do anything about it. Just suck it up and treat is as just one more damn thing you have to do to get by, like paying taxes. Keep your resentment and nuture it. Someday, when you’re the boss or you’re the big client, you’ll remember how stupid you thought the whole dressing professionally thing was and you’ll have some small bit of power to start moving us toward a world in which people don’t care how other people dress.
Things have already changed a lot. Men are no longer expected to put on a jacket and tie just leave the house. People don’t wear suits to ride the train or an airplane. Restaurants that have dress codes are in a miniscule minority. Large, rich companies exist that don’t monitor employee dress. Even companies with dress codes have casual Fridays and business casual. People in the I.T. business laugh at you if you dress up for work or even an interview. We’re moving in the right direction.
Meanwhile, just do what you have to to get by. Ask your boss what he means by dressing appropriately and then do it.
And get a navy blue and a charcoal gray suit and keep one at home and one at the office, just in case.
Their clothes are from Macy’s, and that’s the bar they’ve set for you? You’re joking, right?
If they’re concerned about the impression you’re making on wealthy clients, find out where the wealthy clients shop.
We also have not looking like a slob on our side.
There is a quintessential attitude among IT workers that basically amounts to “screw the world”, “I’m going to do whatever the heck I want”, “the boss is a jerk” and “everyone else is a moron”. This stereotype is embodied in the Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons. I can only assume it comes from being a social outcast most of their life, having a relatively high paying skill that not a lot of people know how to do and constantly being at the beck and call of those people at work.
I strongly advise the OP not to take that path in life. They don’t seem that happy.
Let’s not take this too far.
For instance, I might not want my I-banker rocking up in, well, whatever the hell this is. Perhaps if you were playing Halloween dress-up as Andy from the office.
That said, just because you’re wearing clothing that’s technically at a certain “level” there are still wide variations in quality, stylishness, and what that clothing conveys to clients. Without knowing what field you work in the advice we can give you is limited, but if you want to share that and post photos of new clothing that you’ve purchased for your meeting, we could probably warn you off of any unmitigated fashion disasters.
You need to wear a suit.
Here’s the thing about suits–fit is more important than how much you paid for it. that being said, a cheap suit is going to fit like, well, a cheap suit.
My advice would be to go to an outlet store and find a suit that fits the best. You may need to try on several suits at several stores. Ask the salespeople to help you (which can be a mean feat at outlet stores, but try). The most important thing is that the jacket fit your shoulders–everything else can be fixed. Look at some pictures online of people in suits to see what it should look like.
Next, take the suit to a tailor to get final adjustments made. If the tailor says the suit doesn’t fit, listen to his recommendations and return the suit so you can buy one that does fit.
All of this running around can be shortcutted a bit if you go to a standard mall store (say, Brooks Brothers or Jos. A. Banks), but you will end up spending more (although probably only like $400-$500).
That is not a suit, that’s a casual summer outfit.
If we’re talking suits, wealthy folks do not *shop *for them per se.
. . . but only if the OP takes everything he buys at the discount store to a tailor. That shirt, especially–a shirt from a discount store would fit like a tent (even if the OP is rather gifted around the middle–most shirts today are just made really billowy around the middle for some reason). I seriously doubt that Express shirts off the rack even fit as shown in the picture–that dude’s shirt is probably pinned around his back.
I care about clothes. I find that people who either cannot be troubled to dress appropriately or honestly don’t know enough to do so, generally have socialization problems of which missing the mark sartorially is just a sign. I don’t care if your suit came from Ross or Nordstrom or Tom Ford, but if the occason calls for a suit, I do note whether or not you’re in one. And I think it’s hard to tell, if HR takes you aside for a private word about your attire, whether they are actually doing you a favor by bringing to your attention an issue that is negatively affecting the perception of you in the work place, or whether they’re just “imposing their sartorial values on you” because they’re a bunch of tyrannical assholes.
AK12345, the easiest way to figure out how to dress for work is to look at how the people one management level above you, of the same gender, dress, and dress that way. What would your boss wear to a meeting with suit-and-tie wearing clients? Wear the same thing. IOW, the obvious answer to “how do I blend in with the stuffy old farts?” is “Dress like a stuffy old fart.”
Frankly, you’re on the wrong track from the gate if you’re wearing black dress shoes with beige khakis, ever. Black shoes with black pants or dark blue pants. Brown shoes with brown or beige pants. Socks the same color as shoes. Dress shoes with dress slacks or suit pants only; not with informal slacks like khakis.
Men actually have it easy where dressing up is concerned (at least the fashion-challenged do), because you all have a uniform you can wear if you want. Go to a moderately priced store (like Men’s Wearhouse). Get a sales person to assist you. Pick out a moderately priced – not dirt cheap – suit in dark blue (black looks too funereal IMO), a couple new dress shirts, and a couple ties with understated patterns and colors. Wear the suit, shirt, and tie, with black socks and your black dress shoes, to your meeting. Problem solved. (BTW, moderately priced suits look nearly as good, and last nearly as long, as very fine suits. Cheap suits fall apart and, worse, look cheap. A hundred dollar suit looks like a hundred dollars. That’s not a compliment.)
As far as general work attire is concerned – sounds to me like you’ve been basically informed that what you’re doing isn’t working. Again, look around and see what the guys one level ahead of you, but in your same field are wearing. Are they in khakis and colored button-downs? If no, what do they wear? If yes, are theirs ironed and not worn, while yours are maybe a bit wrinkled and frayed?
Because it isn’t just the items you wear, it’s how you wear them and how you maintain them. Office work clothes should be clean, pressed, and in very good condition. The person in the clothes should be clean, shaved, and presentable.
As a last resort – dare I suggest? – maybe instead of being pissed at HR for “looking down on you” and disagreeing with them about exactly how “disgracefully” you dress, you might sit down with them and ask them what you’re doing wrong and if they have any suggestions for improving your look. If you can choke that out without being smothered by your own resentment – and in complete seriousness I acknowledge that may be hard to do – that really might be your best bet.
But for the meeting – go get a new suit. And a haircut.
A couple of guy friends have asked fashion-conscious female co-workers to go clothes shopping with them to help them improve their style. So if you know someone who’s already got good fashion sense, you might ask them to go to the mall with you.
Or you could just go to a decent department or men’s specialty store (Macy’s, Nordstrom, Men’s Warehouse) and ask a salesperson in the men’s department to put together a few sets of clothes for you. That can be expensive, though.
I had the dress problem on an ongoing basis at work. It was a combination of factors,
- I don’t like to wear shirt and tie
- I am naturally clumsey so tend to get stains etc on my clothes quickly (making htem look bad)
- I don’t like spending money on clothes (but I do like to wear “nice” clothes)
- I am a bit sartorially challenged in that I am not very good at matching colours and styles and recognising what looks good on me.
Eventually I just waited until a really good sale came around and then splurged on the (previously) expensive clothes in the combos the stores had set out - and this shut everyone up. Buying good quality clothes really does make the difference and should keep your boss happy - all the more so if there are the sort that has (discreet but recognisable) logos so people know hat you are wearing