Men's Business Dressing Etiquette

Times have changed, and this outfit might look silly at an online startup company.

"Demographics and your particular field of business define the appropriateness of what you wear to work," writes Dana May Casperson in "Power Etiquette." A dot-com and a law firm are two different entities, with much different etiquette in style and dress.

Package

Casperson describes a person's dress, grooming and style as part of someone's "packaging." Thus, an outfit can say, "I am management material," or "I am young and represent your target market."

Distance

Beverly Langford in "The Etiquette Edge" points out that both overdressing and underdressing put distance between a man and his coworkers, and so advises leaning toward "the dressy side of casual."

Extremes

Langford advises against nose rings, torn jeans and low-slung pants, no matter how casual the work environment. These may be acceptable to coworkers, but less so to investors or customers.

Moderation

T-shirts are for play, never for work.

Langford advises that seemingly acceptable street wear, like flip-flop sandals, blue jeans, T-shirts and athletic gear, are also unacceptable in the work place.

Basics

A man can never go wrong wearing a suit to an interview, a board meeting or a formal business function. For business casual, he need not wear a necktie, but should wear a shirt with a collar, casual but not athletic shoes and less-formal trousers (like Dockers) but not blue jeans.

References

• "Power Etiquette"; Dana Mary Casperson; 1999
• "The Etiquette Edge"; Beverly Y. Langford; 2005
• "Business Etiquette In Brief"; Ann Marie Sabath; 1993