Quick Tips.

- No Jeans, once you are more comfortable maybe Dark Jeans but look to avoid initially.

- Patterned or Non-white dress shirt. (Full arm length - you arent Dwight)

- Dress pants / Chinos / Slacks. And avoid 5-pocket pants (that little front pocket inside a pocket thing)

- Dress shoes or leather shoes that have a thin contrasting sole.

- A leather belt that doesnt have a cowboy belt buckle.

- Match the colour of your leathers.

- Dont wear browth shoes with black pants.

- Undo ONLY the very top button of your dress shirt.

- You can wear a suit jacket or a blazer to make it slightly more business smart.

Dress shirt with top button unbuttoned, dress pants, dress shoes matching with belt. Simple as that.

Slacks/well fitting khakis, a belt that doesn’t clash, nicer preferably leather shoes that match the colour of your belt, and a button-down shirt tucked in. Tie optional, jacket not required. Personally I like a khaki coloured pair of pants and a light blue button down shirt with a light pattern.

Not a dude, but my business casual outfits at work are pretty unisex so: black slacks, black belt, plain well-fitted t-shirt tucked in, black or grey blazer, all-black non-laced shoes.

Business Casual for me is dress pants and dress shirt. No tie. Open shirt. Dress shoes.

Yep, I've been in the same boat. Had to donate half my clothes.

Marshalls, Costco and TJ Maxx for collared shirts.

Target Chinos are pretty decent.

Bonobos, J Crew and Banana Republic sale items.

Banana Republic has been my go to for years and years....still doesn't disappoint to this day

If you have a Uniqlo nearby that can be good for stocking up on basics.

When I’ve been in this situation I’ll usually just find an outlet mall that has a Nordstrom Rack and a Polo, J Crew, or Banana Republic outlet. The clothing isn’t necessarily had high quality as the regular stores but can be good in a pinch when you’re looking for more of a bulk buy.

Nordstroms rack. Congrats on the new job.

It might sting a bit financially short term, but I wouldn’t recommend buying budget options for business casual office attire unless you’re in a really tight spot. Cheaper business casual staples (for menswear at least) tend to look cheap, and the fit is probably not going to be confidence inspiring just starting out at a new job. Huckberry “best sellers” would be my starting point. If you need more formal options, I’d go with Suitsupply.

Chinos and a Oxford Cloth Button Down (OCBD). Both need to fit very well.

You can check out r/malefashionadvice, they may have some ideas.

I usually just wear dress pants, dress shoes, and a tucked-in button up. I'll add a blazer if it's cold.

Here is a fairly good guide on business casual dress.

Get some chinos they are nice in between from jeans to dress pants. Still look good with a button up and dress shoes, but looks more casual.

If you can convince enough people to wear togas at the same time and say they heard it was ok it will be come acceptable

Business casual differs from place to place, but usually if you're in a place that manufactures something khakis and a polo shirt are good.

If you're lucky, jeans and a polo are accepted, that's the ideal work getup imo

Wear a suit. Guarentee you wont be underdressed. And it will give you the psychological advantage of not being worried about your clothes so you can focus on the interview. If on the very slim chance you get there a truly feel like youre overdressed, you can always ditch your tie real quick. A nice suit with no tie and top shirt button open is a very sharp yet more casual look. Also wear your suit out for a few hours the day before your interview, youll feel more comfortable in it on interview day.

Edit: Ive been on the hiring comittee at my dept the last several years

Go with the suit.

You will never be wrong wearing a suit.

But there's always the potential that your definition of business casual is a lot more casual than the chief's. That's a mistake you don't want to make.

I’d imagine you would be fine with slacks and a polo or a button up with dress shoes.

You could wear a jacket if you like, but a tie may be too formal.

Clean, pressed, and in good repair.

I would suggest khaki pants and a polo shirt with a decent pair of shoes. And a haircut!

When I hear business casual, I generally think of slacks and a polo, with semi-dress (non-sneaker) shoes. Can be khakis but no jeans or shorts.

Can you share what geographic region you’re in?

To my eyes that is on the dressy side for biz casual, but you can always take a tie off if you feel overdressed, so not a bad move.

In my region, you’d go for trousers, not jeans. Chinos are fine, or dress trousers without matching jacket. Button up shirts that could be plain, striped, plaid, or even patterned (fun prints mostly in summer or around holidays). Tie optional. No jacket. Shoes nicer than sneakers but not necessarily dressy dress shoes (could be boots, chukkas, loafers, etc). Socks either blend in/dark or fun/patterned but not white.

Some regions would probably require the tie. Others would be ok w smart (new looking, dark wash) jeans or more yoga-inspired pants, even. Depends on local culture.

Colourfulness also really depends on region/culture. In some regions men are expected to wear basically black, gray, navy and white, another regions more colourful fashions (tan, green, burgandy chinos; blue, pink, patterned shirts) are completely work appropriate.

Business casual to me is a plain polo, pants, and some plain dressy sneakers.

Doesn't business casual usually imply no tie? And colors other than black for pants/shoes? Pic 1's shirt with no tie and khakis would be business casual. The tie and black color is more formal than 90% of business casual offices.

Number 2 is spot on, lol. He also left his checker-banded trilby on the bus.

No they aren't. These are more considered, white collar business attire that would be seen as overdressed in a casual setting. A tie is overkill.

Imagine an untucked button down, or polo shirt, chinos, and casual sneakers or boots.

I'm in Boston and one of my favorite aspects of this over priced place is that no one gives a shit about fashion here.

My dress code is business casual. I wear a polo or button down, usually short sleeved in nice weather, and J crew pants, sometimes colorful like I'm going to a trendy restaurant date and sometimes muted. Sometimes tucked in with a belt and sometimes not. Sometimes with sneakers and sometimes dressier.

I agree these are much more business than casual on the spectrum. If this is what you like to wear then do it. Where I am, this is the primary dress for middle management try hards or guys trying hard to get to that spot. I'm not in finance, though, where I think this is probably on the lower end of acceptable.

Pic 1 is interviewing attire for a place that dresses business casual. 

I'm in the NE as well, exec level @ F500.

You're getting a lot of bad advice in this thread. Do not wear a tie wo jacket. You'll look like you work in a cell phone kiosk.

Grey wool pants or cotton chinos. Blue or white button up shirt. Plain is best, vertical pinstripes are acceptable. Button cuffs. Socks matching your pants as close as you can get. No patterns on your socks, no argyle. Medium brown leather oxfords or derbys. Soles should be plain black leather or rubber. Belt matches your shoes.

^ That is NE USA business casual, if you stray from that you are gambling and you don't have the experience to do that yet. Your boss is watching, not the time to get cute.

While you are on a buying spree grab a blue blazer, conservative cut,(Brooks bros  Regent/Madison) to throw on when you need to meet an important client.

I work in a business casual office in the northeast as an intern and playing it safe would be chinos/dress trousers, dress shoes (not sneakers) and a button up shirt.

Depending on the group there are people in jeans, sneakers, T-shirts, you can see how your group tends to dress, but for my office business casual would generally be as I described. The people in jeans etc tend to be engineering groups, I am in a consulting group and we lean more towards what I described.

The amount of people saying polo shirt is NOT FINE is wild. Almost every guy in my office wears a polo shirt with chinos and sneakers on business casual Fridays. And I'm in banking with an office in Central

Where is the office?

No Khakis. It should start to get warm in Hong Kong, so navy/black pants and white/blue shirts semi starched, either with wing tips or cap toes for the first week. You're an intern, you are supposed to be invisible until called upon, so just dress smart, neat and tidy.

If in doubt, bring a matching blazer and take it off once you settle in your office.

This usually means suit without tie and modest coloured or white shirt.

G2000 is your friend

I think it depends on the industry, the culture of your company and your manager too.

So its impossible to know unless we know these information.

So best advise is, dress on the up side (navy/ black trousers, white shirt, no tie - but carry one in your suitcase / backpack just in case, with matching colour jacket, dark shoes), then adjust on your second day, based on what you see on your first day.

My business casual wardrobe is built around the trad/ivy-look and could be reduced to some chinos, OCBDs, a few dress shirts, gray wool trousers, a sportcoat or two, and at least one suit (navy or gray). I do most of my shopping online at Spier & Mackay (wool trousers & OCBDs/dress shirts), Banana Republic (chinos), and eBay (misc sportcoats and outerwear).

Budget: Uniqlo

Semi-budget: J. Crew (especially on sale), Spier & Mackay

More expensive but not luxury: Todd Snyder (especially on sale), Proper Cloth, Howlin', Meermin for shoes.

I personally like long sleeve polos and oxford cloth button downs better than s/s polos (too casual) or dress shirts (too formal).

Once you get your basics and measurements down, you can start picking up really nice stuff on eBay and other resale sites.

My advice here - buy a few outfits to get you through your first week. Business casual means different things at different companies in my experience so you’ll want to settle in and understand the vibe before investing in a bunch of new stuff.

For your first week - For day one, wear a navy or charcoal suit your first day (no tie). The rest of the week plan on a few pairs of nicer chinos / slacks with white or blue button collar dress shirt. All classic items you won’t regret owning even if your new job ends up being more or less casual.

Charles Tyrwhitt, Banana Republic, Spier & Mackay. 

Depends on your budget, but im a huge fan of lululemon's dress pants (a bit expensive). Uniqlo has alot of lower priced, high quality stuff.

Some cost efficient stores would be H&M, Ross, Marshall’s, TJ Maxx. Can find quality business clothes here for good prices. Also Hollister has nice fitting and cheap khaki pants

Chinos without a crease, such as BR rapid movement chinos. Various shades of khaki, navy, and grey are good.

Get well fitting shirts with button down collars. Get them tailored if needed.

For shoes, go with wingtips, derbies, or Chukkas in brown/tan/oxblood. Matching belts.

I work in an office environment in a relatively conservative field, and I encourage you to not shy too much away from dressing like a dad in this context, at least not at first.

Depending on your industry, your outfit can help or hurt you fit into the workplace culture. The norms for office dress code are unwritten and subtle, and most office workers will laugh at you if you suggest that there is an informal dress code, but trust me, there is definitely a subconscious dress code in effect, and it’s to your advantage in dealing with your coworkers if you figure out the norms and not go against the grain too much at first.

For example, in my industry, the lower ranks of the workers will wear khakis and patterned button down shirts or polo shirts, the front line managers will opt for dressier slacks and solid-color OCBD shirts, and the executives go for suits without the tie. Top-level executives may or may not wear a tie with their suit, depending on context. If you try to dress above your station, so to speak, your coworkers will start giving you crap over it. Back when ties were in fashion, I tried here and there to wear ties as a young employee, and would get called “tie boy” and be jokingly asked when my interview was. I had an acquaintance who would purposely dress up every day, including what he called “suit up Fridays” as his own little protest to dress-down Fridays, and his manager pulled him aside one day to coach him about seeming distant towards his coworkers and not being a team player (that guy wears a suit every day now as he is customer-facing, and all his practice wearing one makes him look good in a suit now, but still...)

There are certainly ways to make yourself look really good and still stay within the norms of your workplace, but I caution you to figure out those norms and follow them. If interns are expected to look like dads, look like a dad. You can certainly look like the best-dressed dad, but don’t go around looking like grandad just yet.

I strong agree, but it’s a matter of taste. Boat shoes have always felt too preppy for my “look”. Also, I think that going sockless is a risky play for a new work environment.

OP may also be fine with a pair of nice, clean sneakers. Not running or basketball sneakers; I think the genre I have in mind is sometimes called “fashion” sneakers. I have owned multiple pairs of this affordable and comfortable Steve Madden sneaker, only $60 at DSW and often on sale. I wear these to work and have no trouble getting into clubs or passing at arts-culture events.

The definition of business casual has gotten much more casual over the last 15-20 years. Depending on the workplace, it can even include dark wash jeans (especially for women). OP should err on the side of more dressy for the first week, get a sense of what the standard is, and then aim for that. But also, keep in mind it’s just one summer, so buy things you think you’ll use again in the future.

Non button down collars are more formal than button down

I personally only do slim fit non button down collars/suit with or without tie depending on what I have going on.

Depending on how strict the business casual is, you can get away with stuff that’s a bit more interesting and unique, too. Personally I’ve worn various leather and suede Chelsea boots, wingtip brogue boots, suede drivers, wool derbies with chunkier Vibram soles, etc. (awesome for going on long city walks during lunchtime) and the only comments I’ve ever gotten have been positive. I also have tan brogue Oxfords that I wear and love, but brown wingtips have really started to become the generic business casual “dress shoe” for people who aren’t into clothing at all, and it’s fun to break away from that a bit.

I consider button down collars to be more dad-ish and conservative. That doesn't mean they aren't popular now. While regular non-buttoned collars are used in more formal shirts, they are also used in more casual shirts as well. The lack of the buttons is not an indicator.

Agree with this. If you just go to JC Penny and buy a rando dress shirt, they're going to billow out the sides and back like crazy, giving you that "i like to look nice, but i ain't got time to look sharp and trendy" (aka, a dad).

Stay away from fleece, 3-quarter zips, ill fitting down jackets, and running shoes disguised as business shoes (very tacky).

Definitely don't do suit bottoms without the jacket (get pants actually designed to not be paired).

Get a couple of linen blend blazers, gives more freedom for combos (just understand basic colour theory).

You don't have to spend heaps, just spend thoughtfully, buying mountains of garbage is never gonna work.

>buy clothes that fit

This isn’t really good advice for someone who might not have an idea of how they’re supposed to fit.

Edit: I guess I should’ve offered more help. Clothes should fit in a way that accentuate your features. For men this generally means exaggerating your shoulders and shrinking your waist. Slim fits are preferable and you want things to be relatively form-fitting (but not hugging you to death) so your shirt isn’t billowing out of your pants when tucked in (assuming you have to do that).

Shoulder seams should end at around the end of your clavicle. Sleeves end at the wrist. Pants should rest at around your ankles or the top of your shoes, one break (fold in material) is general recommendation for how baggy they should be at the max. Waist shouldn’t crumple when belted. Slimmer cuts are preferred and will make you look younger but this dependent on your leg shape. You shouldn’t look like you’re swimming in your clothes.

As with any “rules” there is wiggle room to play and as you get more confident you know which ones you’re comfortable breaking and still look good.

I think there is a Polo Ralph Lauren UK. They have quality but pricy big and tall items. It might be too American heritage brand for your liking, but they are definitely business casual appropriate. Also, isn’t Johnny Bigg a UK company? I have a few things from them and like them pretty well.

DXL is on the pricier side but most of my business casual workwear was purchased there. Been on an off/on weight loss journey for a few years, so I’ve ranged from 6XL 60” waist to currently 4XLT 54” waist. I love Reebok golf polos and golf shorts. For a more “business” look I like chinos and a button down shirt. Check out their clearance stuff too, usually get good deals on out of season items. For shoes I like Rockport brand, but day to day I’m allowed to wear sneakers so I stick to my Nikes or New Balance. I know it’s spring/summer time now, but I live in a pull over or sweater when I can during the fall/winter. Hope this helps

I'd recommend Golf Polo's or Oxford cloth button down in long or short sleeve. Chinos or tech/golf pants, I'd recommend Lululemon ABC Pants. Shoes I'd say a business sneaker or Oxford from Cole Haan.

In the UK, Peter Christian would a good option.