You may have thought the days of cruising up to Old Navy to make it rain in the back to school aisle were over, but if you are perhaps a sophomore preparing for the never-ending cycle of sundresses that is punch, or a senior preparing to step into the real world in your kitten heals, you may already know that back to school shopping has not in fact ended. But gone are the days of anguishing over which pair of UGGs to get, and upon us are new days of navigating the perils of “business casual” and “casual chic”.
To many here at Harvard, myself included, the two or three carefully chosen descriptors at the bottom of an invitation present quite the challenge. How casual is “casual”?! And how many asymmetric hemlines do I need to reach the realm of “casual chic”? It doesn’t even end there – once you think you may have mastered “casual chic” or perhaps even “cocktail attire”, Lucifer himself throws you a fiery curve ball in the form of “picnic chic”.
If you are anything like me, you measure your level of formality in the amount of shiny things you are wearing on your body. If this is you, feel free to keep reading.
While I am no Anna Wintour, I may actually have more friends than her. So, I have enlisted their help and compiled a dubious, yet potentially helpful, guide through the ambiguous and sometimes oddly specific dress codes of the Harvard student. For your convenience, I have organized common dress codes into three themes, in ascending order of formality (and as it turns out, amount of jewelry).
1. Casual
Now before you pull out your Juicy tracksuit a la Kim Kardashian circa 2007, I have gathered from my expert sources that “casual” probably requires a zipper on your pants.
A safe bet: Jeans, a nice T-shirt, sneakers or sandals, and some everyday jewelry. Generally anything goes, so just be you.
However, when recruiting-related events are deemed as “casual”, don’t be fooled. It is always safer to dress a few levels up (“casual chic” most likely) to be respectful. Besides, there is no “being cool” in the recruiting process. Recruiters can smell desperation wafting from your resume. So, throw on a blazer overtop your sundress, switch your sandals for closed-toed flats and chances are you’re set.
2. Casual Chic
My extensive research on the subject has led me to a definitive conclusion. “Casual chic” is basically the same as “casual”, save the addition of a couple more pieces of jewelry. If you have a bomb dress or pair of sandals that everyone compliments you on, now may be the time to whip them out. When in doubt, throw on a LBD and a shiny necklace (I still stand by the power of shiny jewelry).
3. Business Casual
You may read the words, “business casual” and wonder how you are supposed to dress appropriately for recruiting events and maintain some semblance of your individuality. Welp, if you’re not one to dress “clean”, business casual may be quite the stretch. As a gainfully unemployed person I have done some research (aka scouring the OCS Pinterest page) so you do not have to.
Some common themes: All dresses, skirts and pants should look neat, tailored and ironed; shirts (more appropriately, blouses) should be tucked in; neutral colors are always a safe bet; blazers can save your life; if you do plan to wear heels, toe cleavage is not encouraged, and walking more than six blocks in those heels certainly is.
4. Cocktail Attire
Ah, the most convoluted of the dress codes. This is your chance to put on your fanciest mid-thigh length dress and hold a (probably virgin) cocktail in your right hand while throwing your head back and chicly brandishing your left hand in the air. For reference:
While I hope you found this somewhat helpful (maybe even just in knowing you are not alone in the struggle), the most important rule of thumb, especially in regards to social events, is the following: DRESS HOW YOU WANT. Everyone else can deal.