Men's Minimalist Wardrobe For Office Casual: 8 Smart Looks To Try

It’s important to maintain continuity when you are creating a men’s minimalist wardrobe for office casual. When it comes to office casual dress, your approach can be slightly different than business casual. In the office, you’re moving away from a more luxury, tailored look with a blazer into a more performance-based, casual look without the blazer. Office casual dress includes light-weight, blended fabrics that make up the shirts, trousers and knits. It’s designed and engineered for performing in everchanging work and social environments.

When selecting your office casual wardrobe, you should be making decisions no differently than if you were selecting garments for a business casual or business wardrobe. Give equal care to considering the quality and construction of each garment. Find a style that speaks to you, not one that feels forced and in turn leaves you feeling insecure or inadequate. Office casual does not mean that you resort to chinos, jeans or your favorite sneakers. You want to create a style that allows you to maintain the level of confidence and professionalism expected of you.

Beware also of the office casual wardrobe’s limits. Men will often confuse office casual dress with their weekend wardrobe. They’ll also wear things merely because others in the office wear it and get away with it. (Just because you can wear something and get away with it doesn’t mean you should. Remember: there are sheep and shepherds in life, and a good employer is not looking for sheep.) If you work for a company that has not set any defined dress standards, then let the following be your guide.

What is office casual? Office casual dress constitutes four basic elements:

Trouser – Solid colors.
Knits – Solid colors in a polo, crewneck and turtleneck—preferably long-sleeve. (Short sleeve are certainly appropriate.)
Casual Shirts – Solid color, jacquard or micro print with a spread collar. Button-down collars are for your weekend wardrobe.
Shoes – Loafers replace the monk strap and tassel loafers of the business casual wardrobe.

While it’s not implied in this article, it’s still important to always have a blazer in tow. In the event you’re called into a managers’ meeting, a board meeting to represent your department or even lunch with your boss, you never want to miss an opportunity to present yourself in the best possible light.