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Dress code is "business casual" with "tie highly recommended".

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#21 ·
Bump said:
I agree it is a contradiction in terms to have business casual with a tie.

Wear what you saw everybody else wear. Do not complain or go eccentric.

Since many social conventions have dissolved, group conformity has become more important. Almost paradoxical, but such is my observation.

I would tend to wear white or blue button down Oxford shirts with a blue or grey blazer, penny loafers, and possibly knit ties, but more likely traditional striped ties, and avoid bow ties, unless the environment is consciously arty. If nobody else wears a jacket skip it. I would go with khakis if others wear them. Wool pants are hard and expensive to maintain. Imitation wool (synthetic dress) pants have come a long way so you may find some that suit.

The details are important. The trick is to wear the same thing as everybody else yet still look better. This can be done by being better looking, by instinct, or by paying attention to the details.

No short sleeved shirts unless accompanied by pocket protector.

You can get decent inexpensive ties at tiebar.com, I believe.
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Business casual with a tie was in vogue in the early 1980s when people went to the bank on a Saturday.
 
#23 ·
Mute said:
If you're going to specify "business casual" what's the point in recommending a tie? Seems like an odd choice.
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Today it absolutely seems weird, but within my memory, going to work in a sport coat and tie was considered casual. Heck, it was not that long ago (within the memory of people I knew) that a dinner jacket was considered casual!
 
#24 ·
During my final working years, I adopted a look that I considered "high end business casual': Jacket and tie, decent slacks and good shoes. I've always regarded tie clips as rather nerdy. An exception would be if you ride a Harley to work in your business attire. Then they are functional. Men who ride big bikes don't have to worry about being perceived as nerdy, as a general matter!
 
#25 ·
JLibourel said:
I've always regarded tie clips as rather nerdy.
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Meh. Pocket protectors are nerdy.
If they made pocket protectors in silver or pewter or gold or brass or cloisonne like the tie bars I have, or with the art nouveau designs or the ivy, the pine cone, the pine tassel or the little tiny lobster one, then pocket protectors wouldn't be nerdy either.
 
#26 ·
When I worked in the corporate world, suits were the norm. People in that world were often called "suits". Separates, as in a jacket and trousers, were casual. Either way, a tie was still expected. When Michael J Fox appeared at a meeting in blazer and khakis in "The Secret of My Success" someone asked why he was going casual. He said he was testing a new product.

In England and Australia, the countries of my most recent experience, many children start wearing ties from a young age and continue until they leave high school. I figure if my boys could manage it when they were 11 or 12, most of us can adapt with minimal effort.
 
#28 ·
Street_Remote said:
I am about to start my first office job and the dress code is business casual with "tie highly recommended". When I was in for my interview, all males were wearing ties. Some were wearing dress pants+dress shirts+ tie, and some had on khakis+dress shirt+ ties. So I am going to go with ties are less so recommended but required. I have never heard of a business casual with tie as a requirement, I've always just thought of business professional is suit and tie, and business casual is without.

I kind of hate the look and feel of ties flopping around, but also I am like in my 20s, and never had a job with a dress code beyond a polo shirt. So wondering if people on here had any recommendations?
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Eight months and many helpful comments later, and you never bothered to check back to the thread you began (with your first and only post) nor did you thank anyone for their help. Whether or not you wear a tie is the least of your problems...
 
#29 · (Edited)
Melanie222 said:
I noticed that "business casual" has changed with time. A lot of men wear sneakers with suits, and almost nobody wears ties.
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I love sneaker/suit combination, just don't have an office where i can wear it. For more than two years i work from home and communicate with our clients only through microsoft teams sms, so no need to look smart/elegant or even change my pajama during the working day. From one side it is much easier as i don't need to buy any new clothing, on the other hand - i don't have much social life anymore.
 
#30 ·
Street_Remote said:
I am about to start my first office job and the dress code is business casual with "tie highly recommended". When I was in for my interview, all males were wearing ties. Some were wearing dress pants+dress shirts+ tie, and some had on khakis+dress shirt+ ties. So I am going to go with ties are less so recommended but required. I have never heard of a business casual with tie as a requirement, I've always just thought of business professional is suit and tie, and business casual is without.

I kind of hate the look and feel of ties flopping around, but also I am like in my 20s, and never had a job with a dress code beyond a polo shirt. So wondering if people on here had any recommendations?
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"Tie Highly Recommended" means you gotta wear a tie. Sorry. If you don't wear a tie, then I suggest you wear a sportcoat and a nice pocket square.

I'm assuming your going in the office 5 days per week

Your ideal wardrobe:
  • 5-10 dress shirts (10 so you don't have to do laundry every week). I'd recommend buttown-down oxford cloth in white, blue, pink, university stripe (blue, green or pink).
  • 5 pair of wool dress slacks (gabardine is ideal). Navy, light grey, mid grey, charcoal grey, olive, tan (solids). If you want to have fun, go with some glen plaid, herringbone or houndstooth patterns. You can press them as often as you like, but only dry clean them once or twice a year at most.
  • 3 pair of chinos: khaki, dark/british khaki, stone.
  • 5 ties: foulard, paisley, regimental stripe
  • 3 sport coats: solid navy blazer, grey herringone, brown/tan houndstooth, plaid patterns are nice too.
  • 3 pairs of leather dress shoes. black, burgundy, brown
 
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#32 ·
smmrfld said:
Does anyone even bother to look at the OP date and other info before wasting time on a reply? SMH.
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I really do not see the problem with replying to old posts IF they posed a good question and you think you night have useful information to contribute. New generations of users of the site and old users who now search for the subject will probably benefit most. Even if they don't, new replies can be fun to read.
 
#35 ·
Vecchio Vespa said:
I really do not see the problem with replying to old posts IF they posed a good question and you think you night have useful information to contribute. New generations of users of the site and old users who now search for the subject will probably benefit most. Even if they don't, new replies can be fun to read.
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Spot on. The more useful info the better.
 
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