You’ve secured your internship or job, and now it’s time to figure out the logistics. How will you get there? What do you need to bring each day? What are your hours? You’ll also have to learn the dress code. If you’re starting your first internship or job this summer, chances are you don’t have many professional outfits.
See what the dress code is on your first day. When in doubt, always dress up, not down because it’s better to be over-dressed than under-dressed. You can also ask your supervisor about the dress code before you start.
Dress code: Casual
If your dress code is casual, this doesn’t mean you can wear anything that you’d wear out on a normal day. Your dresses and skirts should still be close to knee length. If you’re wearing a sleeveless shirt, don’t wear spaghetti straps. Shirts also shouldn’t be too low-cut, backless, or too tight. Don’t wear jeans for the first few days, and see if other people wear them. If you can wear jeans, don’t wear ripped jeans.
Dress code: Business Casual
Photo credit: fashionista.com
This is probably the most popular dress code in offices today. Jeans are not appropriate to wear in this case. Business casual still reflects classic work styles, but it allows more freedom to play with colors and patterns. Your bottoms and blazer don’t have to match. You can also wear cardigans instead of blazers.
Dress code: Business Professional (or Formal)
Colors should be more neutral like black, gray, navy, and cream. In this case, your blazer does need to match your bottoms. You can buy skirt suits and pant suits so that you don’t have to worry about the shade of your blazer and bottom not matching. When you think business professional you should think simple and clean.
The most important thing when shopping for a new wardrobe, especially with professional clothes is to buy basics. It’s expensive to buy a whole new closet for your first office job. Mixing and matching are key. H&M, Zara, and Uniqlo are great places to shop that aren’t too expensive.
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