I am about to start my second year of college at a somewhat “preppy/conservative” school in the Midwest. My first year I was a science major and dressed pretty casually, as most days involved labs or other outside activities. Jeans, tennis shoes, casual shirts that could get dirty were encouraged. I changed my major at the start of summer and I am now studying business. I have noticed the business students dress a lot nicer on a day to day basis - button downs, nice colored pants, no tennis shoes or flip flops, etc. I have also noticed there are many occasions where they need business professional attire - blazers, suits, heels, nice blouses/jewelry. I will be doing many more presentations, meetings, networking events, etc. than I did as a Biology major and I want to look the part! I have very few of these “nice” business clothes - in high school, a pair of black pants and a nice top or a nice dress could be worn to every interview or formal occasion I had.
I would really appreciate suggestions on how your students created a more professional wardrobe. I am a female and am looking to buy a suit, a pair of good heels (I own 0!), blazers/nice tops, and some long pants. Things that are easy to wash, with minimal ironing, and can survive a dorm room environment are preferred. Also, things that fit into a college students budget - I will be using some money from my summer job and birthday money to get these things. If you think some items are worth the splurge I am willing to spend a bit more. I would appreciate suggestions of stores (online shopping works too) or specific pieces that have held up well for your student. Thank you!
Are there any nice consignment or resale shops near you? My kid has gotten some nice business outfits there…really nice. i would start there if you have a limited budget.
Suits and blazers pretty much always have to be dry-cleaned. So it’s a good idea to try to keep them as clean as possible so that you can wear them many times between dry cleanings.
I had a job once where I needed to wear suits or at least outfits with jackets. I quickly learned not to wear sleeveless shells under them. It was better to wear a blouse with sleeves of some sort because less sweat would get on the jacket. And it was important to choose blouses that were machine (or at least hand) washable.
My D had a similar problem with an internship at a bank this summer. She found a lot of nice colored pants and collared shirts at Old Navy. We shopped all the large dept. store sales racks and found a nice dress and a pair of ankle boots that she could wear both with dresses or pants, and she got a blazer on sale from WHBM. We spent maybe $300 and it was her wardrobe for 3 months.
Last year, D found dresses and skirts for an internship on surprisingly good sales at Ann Taylor Loft and Madewell and tops at TJ Maxx. Shoes at Nordstrom Rack. Consignment can be great, but you have to be lucky.
If you’re buying pumps to wear to business-y campus events, they will last longer if you wear your sneakers when you walk across campus to the event and carry them in a bag. Then, you change shoes just before the event. Dressy shoes do not stand up to large amounts of walking, especially in wet weather.
Also, although your generation hates it, dressy shoes will last longer if you wear hosiery under them because they won’t get as sweaty.
Skirts may be less expensive than pants because you don’t have to pay to get them shortened. You can wear them at whatever length they are when you buy them off the rack. However, skirts may not work at cold-weather campuses where the very thought of wearing a skirt in the winter would turn you into a popsicle.
Scarves are cheaper than good jewelry and make good business-casual accessories.
Neutral colors are very useful. My sister lives almost entirely in white blouses, which can be worn with pretty much any skirt/pants and jacket/sweater. I wear black pants most days for similar reasons.
My D is a bit of a fashionista, and helped several of her classmates with their wardrobes. If you have a friend like that, ask them to help you go shopping!
If you are trying to save $, in addition to advice already offered, consider the Worthington line at J C Penney. They also have a Liz Claiborne line that can have some professional style clothes. My D also found some nice items on sale at Talbots.
This dress is universal and can be worn to both parties (blinged out with jewelry) and business events (under a blazer, which is what I wore to one of our BPCs). It is made of synthetic jersey and survives washing well - just hang it on a hanger to dry. You can often find it at TJMaxx or at Macy’s on sale for $50-60:
Ross is clearing out a lot of their dresses and have a very nice selection now in their stores. They have quite a few Lauren dresses by Ralph Lauren similar to the one posted above. Most of the Lauren dresses were $50 in HI Ross. If you shop with Simeon over 55 on a Tuesday, you can get an extra 10% off at Ross.
They also have some blazers and other pieces. I ditto wearing a blouse or dress with sleeves under any blazer so it lasts much longer between needing dry cleaning.
Costco and Sam’s Club even sometimes carry decent washable blazers–I’ve picked up a few over the years. I agree that it’s helpful to pick out neutral colors like black and white and have scarves for accents and to give pops of color.
My D has great luck at discount chains --she got a lot of nice things very reasonably at H&M if there is one near you. She sometimes gets lucky at stores like Marshalls and TJ Maxx but it is hit or miss.
Having just spent a bunch of time with relatively recent hires at a few major firms, I’d say this:
Emulate. They all dress pretty much the same. Men dress this way. Women dress this way. It doesn't take much effort to figure out what types, if not brands of clothing they wear and then find that wherever you can afford it.
Improve. It's very easy to fit into the horde: this is how the analysts dress; this is how the admins dress; this is how x dresses. But most don't do it very well. I'm not talking "dress for success", but about simple, rational ways to look better than the general group you're otherwise in. That means: better fit, which may mean finding a reasonable tailor, and a bit more flair. So for example, out of say 100 young analyst types, I saw a handful whose shirts fit - and nearly all simply wore dress shirts - meaning the plainish ones under a suit jacket - as their work shirts. Their bosses, meaning junior managers, wore better fitting shirts and they were generally dressy shirts that weren't what you'd just wear under a suit. Women's clothing is harder to categorize because it's so varied but what I see is essentially the same thing as you go up the ladder: it isn't how much something costs but whether it fits well and coordinates well. You see lots of poorly fitting and poorly coordinated outfits, which is why the advice is generally true to stick to variations of similar colors. A piece that stands out is, from what I see, seen as more feminine in what is still a very male dominated work world. So for a male, I'd say flair is finding shirts and pants that don't look like they're part of a suit and for a female it's more coordinating pieces in a subtle and thus powerful way.
As a note, a relative is a high ranking executive at a big company and dresses in layered outfits. They aren’t especially expensive but they fit and they coordinate very well. This extends to jewelry: wearing jewelry is a good thing but it has to coordinate. She wears more than one piece at a time but all are subtle and the layering, I’ve noticed, conveys a sense of power through care and control. That is sort of the lesson: you can fit in pretty easily but you stand out by putting extra care and thought into your wardrobe. That doesn’t require money, just that you realize this fits and this works well together, which says that you are capable of thinking about these details.
Yes, our S has become very careful about fit AND ironing his shirts, even when he’s with only us, his family. He is a tough size to fit but has things that fit him very nicely. I think it is very helpful to him in conveying authority, especially as he is often consulting with much older clients. All of his garments fit well or he doesn’t get them. He’s even invested in a nice watch that fits his thin wrist well, even tho he mostly relies on his phone for time.
Second Ann Taylor Loft , TJ Maxx and Nordstrom Rack. D2, just starting a job about 5 months ago in which she needs to dress professionally. She has found great sales on line at Ann Taylor Loft. When they do not fit properly, they accept returns at stores. If, when returning the item, you find the proper size at the store, they will give you the on-line price which is often better than the store price.
She also found a nice Tahari suit at Burlinlington Coat Factory. I do not usually like this store, but you never know.