What business casual looks for women actually work?

It is one thing to define the rules of business casuals for women, but within those rules what areas can we afford to play, and where does professionalism need to be the end goal.

Business casual is a very loosely defined term and it is often interpreted as an opportunity to insert a touch of flare and fashion into our wardrobes, but does age play a part in what is corporately acceptable. Does business casual for young women stand for something different than business casual for ladies. 

Regardless women want to play with their style and fashion when they are not bound to the pants suit, but does there become a point where being fashionable and feminine becomes too sexy for the workplace. I am not talking about going as far as the stereotypical sexy secretary that is clearly looking for a promotion in the wrong way. When the female suit is not there as a crutch to guide you it is hard not to dress at least somewhat sexy because it makes you feel good, but where should the line between sexy and professional be drawn. 

Women's business casual attire is a sort of tricky subject, what styles work to your advantage and what styles should you avoid?

Take a look at the Top 5 forms of business casuals which will help you put your look together http://bizfashionpros.blogspot.ca/2013/06/top-5-forms-of-business-casuals-for.html

Black tie dinner attire, I would recommend.

So, what is black tie attire for women?

Black tie dinner attire involves taking those trendy cocktail dresses, elegant flowy gowns and dressy evening shoes for a spin to a formal event in the evening. These events can be corporate, private or public and usually involve allot of dancing and food.

When I say “Black tie attire for women” there could be a million styles running through your head based on your tastes and preferences.

First, if you are like me, you probably have nothing but cobwebs sitting at the back of your closet as you waited a little too long to trim down or simply never thought that you would be attending a formal event. Nevertheless, here is how you should go about planning your attire and look for the event:

Figure 1.  Black Dress. [Photograph] by Jon Howson, 2010,
Adapted from http://www.flickr.com/photos/jowaho/4297412604/

1. The initial step would be to calm down and make a list of stores and items you would need for your black tie dinner attire. 
2. Ensure that you have key accessories and items like stockings, scarves, red lipstick and black or red nail polish at your disposal.
3. While shopping for the perfect dress, ensure that you are looking for something that reflects you and your fashion sense. 
4. Try to be specific to your event and office requirements. 
5. Match jewelry, shoes and accessories a day prior to the event.  
6. Try not to be over-dressed and definitely not under dressed. 
7. If there is going to be a lot of dancing involved, ensure that you stay away from gowns, as they would disrupt your flow on the dance floor. 
8. Consider throwing on a classic black dress and match some elegant accessories to top off your edgy look. 

At times, it can be challenging to figure out what constitutes as “Appropriate black tie attire for women”. To understand the answer to this question, we need to analyze what constitutes as inappropriate business attire for women. Would you like to share your opinion on types of black tie attires, which could be considered inappropriate for women?

Here is an example of inappropriate black tie attire http://bizfashionpros.blogspot.ca/2013/06/the-importance-of-choosing-appropriate.html

How Fashionable Business Attire for Women can actually make them look unprofessional.

Fashionable Business attire for Women is something women have been investing into for years, but they fail to realize that they need to draw a line between their fashion and their mind

Last year I had the prestigious opportunity to be interviewed by Microsoft Canada for a Marketing Co-op position at their headquarters in Mississauga. As every interviewee, I was incredibly nervous to the point where you spin into infinity and are unable to get rid of those bouncing butterflies hammering you from the inside.

My nervousness got the best of me and the events that followed my day are definitely something that I was not proud of.

Figure 1.  Business Tweed skirt suit. [Photograph] by SalonMystique, 2009, 

Adapted from http://www.flickr.com/photos/40684919@N07/4171254132/ 

3 hours before my Interview: I grabbed onto my “only” pair of Business dress pants in an effort to get rid of the ragged ends, grabbed a huge pair of scissors and chopped them down. After a failed attempt to revive my business pants, I decided to achieve the “trendy business attire for women” look and threw on a Business dress.

2 hours before my Interview: I stuffed myself into a pair of pump shoes, as unfortunately my Business heels were just too shiny and cheap for an interview with one of the Fortune 500 companies… Hey, call me Ms. Obsessive, but if you were in my 120$ Zara pumps being interviewed by one of the best companies to work for on the planet, you would perhaps end up going through a similar scenario, especially with your heart pounding repeatedly like a ticking time bomb.

1 hour before my Interview: I hopped onto the bus, which would take me to my destination: Microsoft Canada – A company that I had been dreaming to work for since I was 14 years old.  My interview however, was an utter disaster. The bus driver decided to guide me to the wrong bus stop and I ended up waddling about in my very stylish business attire for women look for 30 minutes; until 10 minutes to my interview a bus finally arrived to pick me up in my lost state of mind.

My interview was a complete mess. I was too tired to think straight, and walking for 20 minutes in my huge pumps looking for the entrance to a mammoth of a building did not do me any good.

Would you like to share any stories about issues with your business attire dress code, which you felt was an embarrassing scenario?

If you are an intern and would like to learn more about interview attire for young interns then check this out http://bizfashionpros.blogspot.ca/2013/06/how-to-choose-right-internship.html