Women Business Apparel. How to look elegant and professional?

Every woman wants to look stunning and elegant in her work outfit, but do you know how to make your business apparel look stunning every time? Let’s talk about that. 

Going to work is the kind of routine that sometimes gets us stuck in one place when it comes to fashion. With a limited garment choice, it is inevitable to start repeating outfits and treat dressing up for the office like a chore that you do automatically.

Read this article for some useful information about women apparel and learn how to always look flawlessly elegant and professional at work.

What does business apparel mean?

Business apparel is an office-friendly type of tidy clothing suitable for wearing at work, on interviews, at corporate events, and during business meetings. Typically, it corresponds to the dress code that a certain company demands the staff to follow. 

Neat dresses, tube or flare midi skirts, button-down shirts, blazers, and slack pants are the perfect examples of work apparel for women. As for the accessories, the business style requires a minimalistic approach to jewelry and belts and welcomes silk twill scarves and neckerchiefs. The proper shoes for work are clear flats, leather loafers, and comfy heels. 

There are various kinds of business-friendly work apparel that match different dress code requirements. We will talk about the difference between each dressing type in the next few paragraphs, so you can master the styling of your professional women apparel.

How to look elegant and professional – all in one?

When it comes to work apparel, the whole idea behind dressing up and showing up is to look neat, presentable, and make a good impression. 

But then why do some business apparel outfits look worse than others? Well, looking elegant and professional is all in the way you combine your garments and mix color palettes, the condition and quality of the clothes, and make the right choice of accessories.

The best way to master the polished look and embrace the flawless elegance is to follow these simple tips on business apparel:

• Wear classic styles of clothing
• Choose only clothes made of high-quality fabrics
• Make sure your garments work well together
• Aim for a subtle outfit instead of a loud one
• Avoid wearing revealing garments
• Stick to neutral shades (white, black, grey, beige, dark blue)
• Don’t be too bold with the accessories
• Match your accessories together
• Keep your makeup routine simple and natural
• Remove visible piercings and try to cover tattoos
• Iron your business apparel before you put it on
• Wash and maintain your work apparel as advised on the label
• Dress appropriately, according to the applicable dress code

5 great women business apparel ideas

Casual

Casual business apparel is a type of informal clothing that is suitable for both work and after-work settings. Many start-ups and tech companies are less demanding so they adopt the casual dress code to make dressing for work a bit less stressful. 

We advise you to wear everyday garments only if you already work at this type of company. If you are visiting for a meeting or have a scheduled job interview, you need to make an effort and dress a bit more formally to make an impression.

Outfit examples:

In an informal office environment, you will see the staff rocking everyday clothing such as T-shirts, tanks, and jeans. Some other appropriate casual clothes are button-down shirts, slim-fit blouses, sweaters, long or midi skirts, and blazers. Accessorize with a trendy belt, and a classic handbag. As for the shoes, aim for comfort. Low heels, sandals, and sneakers are quite appropriate.

Smart casual

When it comes to business apparel and work-appropriate attire, we cannot sleep on the smart-casual style. Smart casual is similar to the casual dress code, however, it completely overpowers it when it comes to style and elegance. The main difference is that the smart approach is more open to creating office outfits with the latest-trend clothing, instead of clothing basics. 

Outfit examples:

Smart casual business apparel is suitable for flexible and informal office settings. Classic shirts, denim clothes, sporty jackets, sweaters, and blazers, are popular smart casual outfit additions. The appropriate shoes are comfy flats and neat sneakers. You can further elevate the fit by adding a stylish watch, a thin belt, and a matching handbag. 

Professional

Professional business apparel is extremely elegant and sophisticating. But at the same time, it follows the most demanding and conservative dress code. Such attire is often associated with people working in government or law structures, accounting or banking companies, and financial institutions.

Business clothes for this type of strict work setting are always customized and tailored to perfectly fit the wearer. In general, dark hues are considered more professional, so we advise you to stick to the black, graphite, and navy blue colors. 

Outfit examples:

A professional business setting demands work apparel such as tube skirts, slacks, classic suits, tailored shirts, neat blouses, and dresses with no embellishments. Go full minimalistic with accessories such as watches, jewelry sets, scarfs, and belts. Complete the look with classic 3-inch heels or any elegant flat shoes.  

Business casual

Business casual is likely the most common work apparel for the office environment. Needless to say, this is also the safest outfit choice for a job interview. The style is all about the basics and the classic businesswear staples. But the best news is, it is very easy to make an outfit look right as you probably already have all the essentials in your wardrobe. 

Outfit examples: 

Some examples of business-friendly attire are pencil skirts, wide-leg pants, jeans, slacks, blouses, collared shirts, blazers, and plain tees. Sneakers, low heels, loafers, and boots work wonders with this business apparel. 

Business formal

Last but not least, let’s talk about business formal work apparel. Business formal is the best fit for corporate events, official dinners, cocktail parties, and award ceremonies. It’s like dressing up for a black-tie event but keeping up the professional appeal with a twist of elegance. 

Outfit examples:

Dark-colored suits with light button-down shirts, midi slim-fit tailored dresses, and elegant evening dresses are the epitome of business formal wear. You can complement the women apparel with statement accessories like a delicate jewelry set, classy clutch, silk scarf, and a beautiful headpiece. For the shoe choice, go for stylish high heels or stilettos.