Dress shoes and nice clothes

[nick__45]

I do realize that many folks here represent the same gene pool as the folks at my work in tern of work wardrobe but I still have to ask. Does anyone here wear nice dress shoes and button shirts to work. Of course, a great pair of jeans or slacks are great but good shoes and shirts tend to be the primary items people focus on in your wardrobe. I am beginning to dress better since my career is really going great and I am hoping for a big promotion soon. Looking the part is a start.

[kv968]

I do realize that many folks here represent the same gene pool as the folks at my work in tern of work wardrobe but I still have to ask. Does anyone here wear nice dress shoes and button shirts to work. Of course, a great pair of jeans or slacks are great but good shoes and shirts tend to be the primary items people focus on in your wardrobe. I am beginning to dress better since my career is really going great and I am hoping for a big promotion soon. Looking the part is a start.

I don't think I fit into your "gene pool" since I mostly wear scrubs at work but dressing nice isn't a bad thing. As a matter of fact it could help with the way you're perceived at work.

With that said though, dressing nice and dressing expensive doesn't have to mean the same thing. I would say maybe spend a decent amount on some nice shoes since you'll be using them all the time but I wouldn't go crazy with anything else. I'm sure some nice pants and shirts from Kohl's or JCPenny's would be just as good as Ralph Lauren as far as work goes.

[bones72]

Look the part, and you will start acting the part. Clothes, speech, and actions all define us to others. I forget who, but someone said,"Act as if you wish to be, and then you will". And after 25 years in sales, FIRST impressions are crucial.

[thekid]

I have a suit and tie type office job. I do business casual and plain casual whenever possible.

[disneysteve]

Does anyone here wear nice dress shoes and button shirts to work.

Obviously, what you wear to work depends greatly on what you do for a living.

That said, i'm a family practice physician. I wear a dress shirt, slacks and shoes. No tie. I'm not really sure what the point of your post was. Are you asking about costs? I buy my dress shirts almost exclusively at the Van Heusen outlet store, never paying more than $25/shirt and usually less. I just bought 2 yesterday for $22.50 each. For pants, I have microfiber slacks, also from Van Heusen, that run about $20/pair (bought 2 of those yesterday also). However, I am also fine wearing nice chinos. Bought 5 pairs of those at Van Heusen yesterday for $22.99/pair. For shoes, I like to be comfortable since I'm on my feet much of the day. I wear black Rockport walking shoes. They run about $60/pair.

[krantcents]

I always spend a lot on shoes! Quality shoes last forever and they are more comfortable. In my former profession (CFO), I wore collared shirts, khakis and dress shoes. I bought high quality clothes on sale or discount. They were mostly preppy (Ralph Lauren Polo)in looks.

[muexm]

Obviously, what you wear to work depends greatly on what you do for a living.

That said, i'm a family practice physician. I wear a dress shirt, slacks and shoes. No tie. I'm not really sure what the point of your post was. Are you asking about costs? I buy my dress shirts almost exclusively at the Van Heusen outlet store, never paying more than $25/shirt and usually less. I just bought 2 yesterday for $22.50 each. For pants, I have microfiber slacks, also from Van Heusen, that run about $20/pair (bought 2 of those yesterday also). However, I am also fine wearing nice chinos. Bought 5 pairs of those at Van Heusen yesterday for $22.99/pair. For shoes, I like to be comfortable since I'm on my feet much of the day. I wear black Rockport walking shoes. They run about $60/pair.

I agree with Disney Steve. My company also has a strict business casual policy. The Van Heusen Outlet has some amazing deals on really nice casual business wear. I signed up for Van Heusen's rewards card (not department store credit card) and they send me monthly emails with upcoming sales of up to 30% - 50% off the in store sticker price. You can also find some great deals at larger department stores like Burlington Coat Factory, JCP, Kohls, etc. One of the biggest myths in our materalistic culture is that you have to spend a lot of money to look nice. Just start of with basic (black, browns, blues, greys) universal colors and mix and match until you build up your wardrobe.

[bjl584]

Jeans and tee shirts here. I work in a warehouse. The shirts are free. The pants are from Kohls and were around $12.

[SeanH]

Nice clothes are great, but its really about how you wear them. Wear a belt that goes with your shoes. Don't wear wrinkled pants and shirts. You might as well be wearing jeans. I work for a large company and my boss is not in the office everyday. I make it a point of knowing when she's coming in or when I have meetings with other people. When she is in or I'm meeting others I'm wearing pressed shirts and wool slacks. Otherwise I look for good quality never iron clothes. Best clothes item I ever bought were a stellar pair of Cole Haan wingtips. I was fortunate enough to buy them for ~70% off. Turns out that Nordstrom rack frequently sells Cole Haan's in that price range.

[GrimJack]

I work in a phone center so comfort is important - I buy my tee-shirts from Duluth when they are on sale. I buy the pocketed ones that are nick-named 'crack-spackle' - they are longer and prevent 'plumber's-decolletage'; I wear genes or cargo pants and sandles.

What I like about the Duluth tees is how well-made and plush they are and they come in a wide range of colors.

[Like2Plan]

I'm retired now. At my old office we had an informal dress code. It started out dress shirts and ties (with jackets for meetings) for men and dresses (or suits) for women during the day and business causual for evening and midnight shifts. The dress code relaxed over time, but there were still some individuals that dressed to the nines with impeccable fashion sense (even on the midnight shifts). These individuals were promoted to management pretty quickly. Being a spiffy dresser wasn't the only criteria for the promotion, but I'm sure the image factor weighed in quite favorably as part of the whole package. When I started my career, the advice I received was dress for your next job. That advice still seems pretty sound.

[elessar78]

I think it's important to wear clothes that look nice but I won't pay retail prices for them. I get my dress shirts from Ross/TJ Maxx and I wince if I have to pay anything over $15 for them. I spend a little more for pants because they get more wear, probably 30-40/pair. I used to get my dress shoes off the sales rack at Macy's for 20-30. But now that's nowhere to be found, so I have to hunt more for shoes.

[jteezie]

In 2010, I spent $15K upgrading my entire wardrobe. Here are some of my lessons:

-It takes a lot of time to find the right cut that fits your body (mainly shoulders). I tried dozens of designers and stores, only to find 2 places over 5 months.
-You need to do a lot of research on proper attire so you know what to buy (I read 5 books, lots of online stuff, etc).
-It is worthwhile to spend more money for the iron/wrinkle free/easy care shirts because they save lots of time at laundry time. You won't need to dry clean nor iron them. If you read up on clothes (#2) you'll understand what I mean. Related to this; material/fabric and slim fit matters.
-People differ on their shoe preferences, however if you buy leather, expect to walk loudly (leather shoes sound like heels), but that's all part of showing off that you have leather shoes.
-I personally don't like to wear flashy things, so I lean toward the pricy non-logo brands (logo brand = big polo horse on the ralph laurens shirts).
-Quality shirts can last up to 70 washes, which may be as long as 5 years depending on how often you wash them. If you pick your clothes carefully, you shouldn't need to buy anything else for at least 3 years. Plan accordingly.

[elessar78]

As I was cleaning out my closet last night, I realized that I had more than a few dress shirts that I bought on the cheap. When I took them out of the package, they didn't fit very well or didn't look right on me. So now they're going into the donation bin. So maybe looking for bargains in this regard isn't much so because I have to buy them twice?