As I mentioned in my previous post, I just got an internship. (Yay!) I was told to wear business casual. This term probably covers the widest range of clothes. In some cases, this could be fairly casual khaki pants and a nice blouse, but in other companies this could mean just a step down from a full suit.
At school, I pretty much wear jeans and t-shirts all the time. I decided I needed to do some research to figure out what would be good for the office and look appropriate for someone my age. Below are some of the helpful sites that I found. I was looking for things that would be stylish, without being too fashionable for me. For example, my shoes are simple classic black heels that have a rounded toe. None of this fashionable extremely-pointy-toe and excessively-high-heel business for me! So the sites listed here are based on that side of shopping: practical, but still attractive pieces. I also expanded it to include ideas for men. Maybe I'll be able to expand this list in the future. Feel free to comment with your suggestions!
Young, Polished, and Professional - This is a wonderful site. It offers great tips for someone just starting his or her career or a new job. The author wrote a post that was very appropriate for me: a business casual starter kit. As I mentioned before, I'd been wearing mostly jeans and t-shirts. I had some nicer clothes, but not too many pieces that would qualify as business casual. The post gave me great ideas about certain pieces I should make sure I have, like a cardigan that goes with multiple outfits. (Cardigans are also great, because, even though it's summer, the office is still very cold sometimes.)
Corporette - I have spent less time here. It seems to offer some good advice, but is focused on a older and/or more fashion savvy demographic than mine. This site did have a good, light-hearted post about proper etiquette during your summer internship.
Dappered - I'm not familiar with this site, but found an article about how to look good in the required dress code that could be otherwise downright boring or ugly. For example, "pleats on pants worn on the hips are pointless. Like trailer hitch on a Geo Metro pointless."
_______.edu - If you are in college, check out your college's career page. They will likely have a good section on what types of clothes fall into the various workplace dress codes. In my initial searches I found several other colleges' sites to also provide good advice.
And to close, here is an article on Forbes.com about how wide the spectrum of business casual can be. Because of this huge range, I recommend paying attention to what the people around you are wearing during your first week of working. If you have enough clothes to get by for a few days, but still need to fill out your wardrobe some, waiting a few days could help you have a much better idea of what is expected and appropriate.
Update: This article was published today and touched on the same topic. It also appears to feature clothes meant more for winter.
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