It’s Tuesday. You’re finished with your classes and are headed home for the day to relax. Wait! Your CEO Lecture’s today. You think about what you can wear. You rummage through your closet and find different blazers and pants but none of them match. You see a blouse and think can I wear a blouse? Is that business professional outfit? Clothes are all over the floor and the clock strikes 5:10 pm and you must miss it. If this is you, The Cardinal Closet has put together a comprehensive guide on what to wear to nail your business professional dress.  

CEO Lectures are not the only place that knowing the business professional dress guidelines is useful for. It is important to know how to dress business professional.

 Places to wear business professional dress:

• Interview
• Class presentations
• Formal business meetings
• Networking events

Business professional is about respect for the occasion and highlight professionalism. Anywhere that you want to make a good impression on, business professional is always appreciated. Whenever you want to make a good first impression, business professional is the answer. To master the look, it is important to remember that you want to look as sophisticated and professional as possible.

Men

The foundation of any professional business outfit is a suit. It is important to keep the suit solid and neutral in colors. Men should opt for collard, button-down shirts in a neutral color. They should be wrinkle-free. The tie should remain:

• simple
• solid colors
• but you can also use classic, conservative patterns and stripes.

For accessories, a simple watch and a simple cuff work perfectly. In the photos below, which one is business professional: figure 1 or figure 2?

Figure 1 is business professional. He has a suit with a matching jacket and a white collared button-down shirt with a tie. In figure 2, he is wearing a v neck shirt with no tie and sneakers. He is in business casual. As you can see the difference between business casual and business professional isn’t much, so it is important to know the difference.

Women

 For women, a pantsuit is a great option. You can wear:

• neutral black
• grey
• pants suit
• pencil skirt and blazer

Make sure to not wear any large, chunky jewlery, especially any that makes noise when you move. Make sure that the skirt goes below the knee and is not too tight. Try not to go over the top. If you think it might be too much, it probably is. All these photos below are images of professional business dress. For women, it is a lot broader than for men. It is important to remember to dress as elegantly and sophisticatedly as possible.

Accessories

When it comes to shoes there are lots of options to choose from. Remember to:

• Match your belt to your shoes
• Try to wear close-toed shoes
• When wearing heels, keep them under three inches
• Wear a classic style of shoes (loafer, flats, low heels, etc.)
• Match your shoes to your dress

So where does business professional fall? It is more formal than business casual and less formal than business formal. Business casual can be more expressive and include more styles you can wear. Business formal is “black tie”. If you are not sure how to dress, try to opt for the more professional side of the spectrum. It is always better to be a little overdressed than underdressed.

Common Mistakes

There are common, easily fixable mistakes people make when wearing business professional.

1. People overlook the importance of clothes not being wrinkled. A simple iron, steamer, or wrinkling spray can improve any business look.
2. Shoes the right size and in good condition.
   1. Shoes that don’t fit, match, or aren’t in good condition can ruin the outfit and be hard to walk in.
3. Too many accessories. Try to only wear the essentials and keep them simple.
4. Make sure that your nail polish isn’t chipped or don’t wear nail polish at all.
   1. When shaking hands and meeting new people, they can become distracted by ill kept nails.
5. Make sure your hair is washed, combed, and styled and facial hair is groomed.
6. Ill-fitting clothes. When choosing clothing, make sure it is fitted as properly as possible. Tailoring is ideal but not in terms of the budget for most.
   1. When choosing a jacket, make sure the seams fit squarely on your shoulders and the sleeves should show half an inch of your dress shirt cuff.
   2. For pants, the hem should be right at the top of your shoes.
   3. When choosing a skirt, it should be comfortable, but not too tight, and should not ride up when sitting.

Where to find clothes

Now that we have established what we need, there are many places that you can get this stuff from. For the more expensive store, you can visit Ralph Lauren, Ann Taylor, or Men’s Wearhouse. For a little cheaper, there are options such as Loft, Zara, and Macy’s. For your cheapest options, you can buy from TJ Maxx, H&M, or you can visit the free thrift store on campus’ pop-up drive. There will be clothing available for free on March 27^th, 2025, from 11am to 2pm at the Maloney Pavillion. Come stop by and grab some clothes!

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