Since we’re still just students, professional clothing may seem scary — it makes post-grad life feel real. A lot of professional clothing is plain and doesn’t have a lot of personality to it, which makes it more difficult to feel confident in the clothes that we’re wearing. Having professional clothes that you feel confident in is extremely important for your career because how you feel about yourself impacts how you present yourself, especially now when we are trying to break into our industries and find what our passions are. I, personally, have experienced the discomfort of wearing business clothing that just didn’t feel right and didn’t express my true self because I looked exactly like everyone else. Because we’re all tuition-paying college students, price typically has to come first, making it that much harder to find the right fit for an interview. I’ve had a look around, and I was pleasantly surprised to find business clothing in stores I already shopped in. Here’s a look at what I found.
On a budget
A common place for college-aged students looking for professional clothing to shop is H&M. It has a variety of cute, professional clothing, so you won’t feel like you’re just wearing the same thing every day. H&M’s professional clothes are also on the cheaper side, so you won’t have to spend too much money when you go there.
A store for trendy professional clothing for women on a budget that may be surprising is Forever 21. It may not seem like this store would have professional clothes, but you can find cute blouses and sweaters that could work for professional clothes. Target is also a great option for professional wear. It has dresses for mixing up the everyday pant look, as well as blouses and pants that would be perfect for the next career fair.
Here are some examples of the stylish professional clothing you can find at these affordable places:
V-Neck Blouse ($24.99 at H&M)
Piped High-Rise Pants ($17.99 at Forever 21)
Women’s Bi-Stretch Twill Dress – A New Day ($27.99 at Target)
Worth the splurge
Pricier places for those who like to indulge include Express, Banana Republic and White House Black Market. All are perfect examples of stores with great business clothing, but they will come at a very high cost.. These stores are where you full-send at the checkout counter. Your dream job is worth it, right?
Here are some examples of the kinds of fashion choices available at these stores:
Satin Choker Neck Gramercy Tee ($39.99 at Express)
Bi-Stretch V-Back Dress ($129.00 at Banana Republic)
All-Season Pencil Skirt ($89.00 at White House Black Market)
It’s definitely hard to find professional clothes that you feel confident in and that show off your personality, but stores like these provide a variety of options, as well as a choice between affordable and expensive item if you’re willing to pay more for your professional clothing. After a quick shopping spree, you’ll be ready to nail that internship!