Wednesday: Business Wear for Men

Wednesday has rolled back around so it's time for a tip for the fellas. If you didn't see already we are doing business wear tips in honor of graduation weekend. Also, we know that some of you may have summer internships that may require you to wear business clothing. Now would be a great time to stock up on some because it always comes in handy.  As in the tips for ladies post yesterday, we will cover how to achieve 2 looks: Business Casual and Business Professional and put the interview etiquette at the end.

Look 1: Business Casual

Business casual means to dress or look professional, looking relaxed while still looking pulled together. Some appropriate pieces of clothing to achieve this look are:

 

•  A collared shirt (either a dress shirt or polo)

            
                 Paired With:

• Trousers (Khakis, Blue Green-Dark, Brown, or Black) 
• Belt
• Modest Shoes
• A blazer or business jacket can be added optionally.

Here are a few tips on how to achieve the business casual look:

Tip 1: A Dress Shirt and Khakis

Let's take this 1MX Button-Up from Express in the color resort blue. This shirt would look great with these Cotton Khaki Colored Pants with a Black Belt and some black dress shoes. The same shirt in the Bright Green with the same Khaki pants would look good with a Brown Belt and some Brown Shoes. You could add something like this Black Cotton Jacket, to the first option that is, that has a blazer feel to it or an actual blazer.
 

 

Tip 2: A Polo with Black Pants

Okay.. for the polo you could do this Light Gray Polo from Express with  Black Pants, a Black Belt, and some black shoes. You could also do their Striped Signature Polo in the coal color with the black pants, black belt, and black shoes if you didn't want to do all solid colors.

Tip 3: A dress shirt or polo with Gray Pants

I know gray wasn't stated in the bullet points above but it is acceptable and is a subtle color. Let's take these Charcoal Pants or even the Heather Gray color and pair it with this Red 1MX Button Up or this Water Blue Signature Polo , a Black Belt, and Black Shoes. If you didn't want to do just plain gray pants you could do these Pinstripe Light Gray Pants. The pinstripes are really subtle so that means you could get away with pairing a fairly bright colored button up like this "Wild Pink" 1MX Button Up or this "Pink Sorbet" 1MX Button Up. This also addresses the issue of wearing "feminine" colors as a male, these colors, the shirts, and the whole idea is alright with me! :-) Lol




Moving right along to Business Professional

Business Professional is pretty much self explanatory. Men should wear business suits, however, blazers can be worn with a pair of dress slacks or khakis with a tie. Sweaters with a button-up underneath paired with a tie may also be acceptable. Conservative colors like Black, Gray, Brown, Navy, and even Tan are okay!

Here are some links to some nice suits for your business professional look! Also a tip how to do a sweater, button-up, tie combo. :-)

• Light Gray 3-Piece Suit 
• Caravan (Tan) 2 piece suit 
• Dark Gray 3 piece Suit 
• Black 3-Piece Suit

Sweater, Button-Up, Tie Look:

Okay, let's take this Pitch Black V-Neck Pocket Cardigan and pair it with this Coquette Purple 1MX Button Up, Light Gray Pinstripe Pants, and Gray/Purple/Black Striped Tie. There are a numerous amount of ties to choose from on Express' website alone.

Express Men is a GREAT place to get both a business professional and business casual look from. You can even find casual clothes in there as well. Plus, they always have AMAZING sales!

 

 

10 Interview Etiquette Tips:

1. Hair, nails, and clothes should be clean. Clothes need to fit properly and be ironed/pressed.
2. Limit your cologne. Don't overwhelm them with the scent.
3. Make sure to arrive at least 15 minutes early. This shows that you are serious about the job and you can be taken serious. It also shows punctuality, good time-management skills, and organization.
4. Turn off your cell phone or silence it, don't ever pull it out to text or answer a call..(common sense)
5. Don't chew gum in the interview or use slang.
6. Give the interviewer a firm handshake and eye contact.
7. Remember your posture (don't slouch).
8. Listen carefully and pause before answering a question. This prevents you from rambling on and on.
9. Have a business card ready to give them at the end even if they already have your resume.
10. Do a follow-up/thank you letter. This shows professionalism and gives another opportunity to restate your interest in the company/position.