How employees dress greatly impacts the company. Most office attire significantly communicates who a company is to their customers, prospective clients, and community visitors. Therefore, supervisors and/or human resources personnel should determine the proper office apparel for the business.

If that is the case, how can an employee express their individuality without compromising the professional image of the business? How can these two things be intertwined and achieve positive results? Read the following important information and be better able to determine the appropriate office attire.

Business Professional Image vs. Personal Image

Workers should convey business professionalism to clients and customers at all times. Supervisors, or the company’s human resource staff, have an important role in determining what is appropriate to wear in the office while keeping in mind the comfort level of the employees. All of this must be taken into consideration when projecting a professional image to the public. Maintaining the projection of confidence and experience could be the advantage over competitors and bring about a greater success rate of closing deals with clients or customers.

Casual Office Space

If a company is establishing a workplace with casual office apparel, each employee needs to exert certain judgment in their choice of clothing. There should be a designated human resources person who establishes the guidelines and then enforces those guidelines by making sure that workers dress according to the set standard.

Generally, the following types of clothing are considered as acceptable casual office apparel: slacks, pants and suit pants; dresses, skirts, casual suits, dress shirts, sweaters, tops, turtlenecks and golf-type shirts; walking shoes, conservative athletic shoes, clogs, loafers, boots, flats, leather deck-type shoes and dress heels. It is important to note that not all casual clothing is suitable for the workplace, so a clear set of guidelines is very important.

Clothing that is generally not appropriate for office attire includes any clothing that reveals too much of any person’s back, chest, stomach, cleavage or underwear. Clothing should also be pressed, wrinkle free, and clean. It is also necessary to remember not to wear something that has words, pictures or in any way depicts something that may be offensive to other workers.

Formal Office Attire

Formal attire is for businesses whose environment demands that its employees project an image of being knowledgeable, trustworthy and professional in their field of expertise. This category includes apparel such as suit jackets and pants, suits, skirts, or professional-type dresses. Certain companies may allow one day during the week to be a "casual" day (usually Friday), although this casual apparel must be appropriate for the company’s image.

How to Choose Appropriate Office Attire

The following may be helpful insights when choosing appropriate workplace apparel:

• Consider that company’s style and business character and then set the standards for any attire worn in the workplace.

• Observe and evaluate what other people in that line of work are wearing. Be fashionable and try to dress up-to-date.

• Coordinate with co-workers type of attire, especially those who hold top positions. This will require observing how others are dressed in that workplace.

• Observe those who visit the company. It is always important to leave a good impression on clients or customers who are associated with the company. A helpful tip is to keep a business suit at the office just in case there is an important meeting or interview scheduled with short notice given.

The next time anyone dresses for work, it is important to think about how that apparel will impact the customers or clients encountered every day. The personal appearance of employees will say a lot about a company. So don’t just dress for work; invest in the image necessary to accomplish the business of the day!