How to Be the Best-Dressed Man at Work

OK, you had your fun, working from home in jogging bottoms and throwing a shirt on top for Zoom calls. But if you’re in the corporate sector, chances are you’re being cattle prodded back into the office now.

Needless to say, you’ll have to rethink your weekday wardrobe, which means goodbye sweatpants; hello freshly ironed shirts and trousers. And if you’re going to upgrade, why not go the whole hog and make sure you’re the best-dressed guy in your workplace?

It might sound like a tall order, but thanks to most men being sartorially indifferent, it’s a lot easier than you might think. In fact, you can achieve office attire enlightenment by simply making a few tweaks, adjustments and additions – little changes that go a long way.

Feeling ready to upstage your boss? From creative layering to picking the correct timepiece, here are nine styling tips to take your work outfits from basement to boardroom.

Don’t Scrimp On Shirting

In casualwear, your T-shirt is the foundation of your outfit. They must fit perfectly to set the framework for any outfit you choose to construct on top.

The same is true of button-up shirts in the workplace. They should be crisp, steamed/ironed, and well-fitting at a bare minimum. If you really want to hoover up those style points, spend the extra cash and go made-to-measure.

This one simple move will likely put you leagues ahead of your coworkers.

Cut To Perfection

Reiss

Likewise, if your job requires you to wear a suit, don’t just pick something up off the peg and assume it’s the best fit you’ll get. Best case scenario, it looks OK, but we guarantee there’ll be areas in which it can be improved to complement your frame better.

A good tailor can spot these immediately and alter the garment accordingly, turning a relatively inexpensive suit into something that fits like it was made bespoke.

Master Tie Matching

Calm down, Saul Goodman. No, the orange tie does not look good with the pink shirt. Certain colours work together, while others look wrong and jarring. Your shirt and tie combos should always fall into the former category.

If in doubt, use a colour wheel to see what colours work together and choose your shirting and accessories based on that. As a rule of thumb, you want to be aiming for either tonal (sky blue shirt with a navy tie) or high contrast (white shirt with a red tie). Avoid clashing colours at all costs.

Experiment With Separates

A suit can look stuffy in the wrong context. If your workplace needs you to look sharp but doesn’t require a full lounge suit, one solid option that allows you to strut your sartorial stuff is to opt for separates instead.

For the uninitiated, this simply means a tailored jacket and pants, but not cut from the same cloth. You can vary the colours and textures between top and bottom to create interesting, characterful looks, just make sure the colours work well together.

If in doubt, we’ve written a guide that will help you to get it right every time.

Know Your Dress Codes

Thom Sweeney

Business casual vs. business formal. Do you know the difference? How about smart casual? The first stumbling block when dressing for any office environment is naturally the dress code (if there is one).

Make sure you understand these terms thoroughly before attempting to pull an outfit together or you could find yourself overdressed, or, worse, underdressed. If in doubt, seek confirmation from the higher-ups.

Layer Creatively

Hackett

Layering is the cheat code to dressing well. Master it and you’ll unlock a whole new level of style.

On the most basic level, every outfit should have at least three layers on top. For the office, this might be an Oxford shirt, a cashmere sweater and an unstructured blazer. On colder days, throw an overcoat on top.

The key is that the colours and fabrics work well together, so get that colour wheel out again and don’t forget to use textured cloths like corduroy and chambray to create depth and separation.

Accessorise Accordingly

From the right pair of glasses to a scarf that doesn’t shout too loud, it’s often the smallest details that really pull an outfit together, and that’s no different in the workplace.

Pick accessories that are refined, subtle and high quality. That means a big fat no to chunky chains and sovereign rings, and a resounding yes to a classic dress watch and some low-profile tortoiseshell specs.

If you have accessories that serve as talking points or have a story behind them, that’s even better. It might give you something to chat about with a new coworker or a potential client.

Time For Work

Void

Speaking of which, make sure you get the watch right. Sure, there’s an argument to be made for a Casio G-Shock being a design classic, but does it belong in a corporate office? No.

Instead, go for something classic and understated. A simple dress watch on a black leather strap is always a safe bet, or something more utilitarian like a diver elevated with a silver bracelet is a good option too.

Office-Friendly Fragrance

Creed

Save the room-filling eau de parfum for date night. In the office, fragrance should be approached with a greater degree of subtlety.

A nice cologne will suffice, but make sure it’s appropriate for the time of year – think rich, woody and musky scents in winter and crisp, zesty, floral scents for the summer months. And two sprays maximum, please.