What IS Business Casual – for Men

Okay, the invite says business casual, but what does that mean?

You put on what you think is business casual but when you get to the event you find that people are dressed in everything from soup to nuts (or suits to nets).

Obviously, business casual means different things to different people and different industries.

We read a very good article on LinkedIn from Richard A. Moran called What IS Business Casual?

Tongue in cheek

He had some good advice and a few tongue in cheek suggestions for new, more specific categories that he would like to see at the bottom of invitations.

Here are his fun business casual dress codes for men:

• Dress like Steve Jobs – Blue jeans, mock black turtleneck and hip eyeglasses. Works in most places.
• Dress as if you are going to the gym – Sweatpants, hoodie and cool Nike shoes. Good with very early stage start-ups.
• Business attire – Sometimes business casual really means business attire which still means wearing a tie and wingtips. Good at banks and oil companies.
• Dress like you are meeting Ralph Lauren for lunch – Wear the best clothes you have (no polyester) and no tie.
• Dress like you are a game developer – Wear a T-shirt with an old Atari logo, ripped out jeans and Converse hi-tops.
• Dress like you are not sure of the definition of business casual – Khaki pants and a golf shirt will be the default outfit.

I’ve taken the liberty to add a few more tongue-in-cheek business casual dress codes that I would like to see at the bottom of invitations.

Terry’s fun business casual men’s dress codes:

And the invitation says…

• Dress like Justin Bieber – jeans must be one of the following: skater-type, spray on, formfitting, crack revealing, groin revealing, too long,  too short, faded, worn, holy, or shredded (sequins optional)
• Dress like you came from the gym – gym wear garnished with perspiration stains and odor (non-natural fabrics are especially good for this)
• Business attire from five years ago – dress like you believe men’s styles never change
• Dress like you are meeting the mafia or rappers for lunch – load on 20 lbs of bling or as much as you can carry
• Dress like you are body proud – tight clothing in any style (it doesn’t say that you have to be in good shape it just says that you have to be body proud)
• Dress for success on the Bizarro planet – figure out what standard wear is for your industry, occupation or profession and dress totally opposite

Our 7 top business casual tips for men (really):
If the invite says business casual –

1. Business casual rarely means a suit – the highest level is usually sports jacket
2. Dress to fit in – unlike females, males like to dress similarly to the majority of the males at the event
3. Be true to your profession – people should still recognize you as a professional
4. Your business casual should not be drastically different from your standard business wear
5. Even if you’re a game developer – un-scruffy & unwrinkled will gain you points in business & with women
6. Business casual bare minimum – dark jeans, polished shoes or good-shape sneakers & clean pressed collared shirt
7. Never be the worst dressed in the room or even the 2nd worst dressed (someone has to be… but not you)

Dress for success bonus tip  & advice – All your visual brand and especially your business casual should at the same level as the top dressed 25% of your peers or colleagues.

Other Articles:

How important is business dress to your successful personal brand

Posted by Terry Pithers – Canadian corporate image consultant and business dress decoder

P.S. I’m going to see if Joanne can do a light hearted business casual list for women in a future post. In the meantime here is our Top 10 Business casual Tips pdf