Call it the “Mark Zuckerberg Effect.” Office dress codes have, in general, relaxed to the point where seeing the founder and CEO of a multibillion-dollar company sporting a hoodie is no biggie.
But as offices scale back restrictions on clothing — allowing jeans, tank tops and that well-loved pair of Converse sneakers — the line between business casual and weekend comfy has become downright blurry.
“Things used to be so much easier,” says Lindsey Pollak, author of “Becoming the Boss: New Rules for the Next Generation of Leaders.” “We used to know pretty much that, in most business or professional environments, you wear a suit.”
But relaxing the rules creates more opportunities for sartorial slip-ups. When an office green-lights jeans, do leggings also get the go-ahead? How about keeping in that nose ring? Or flaunting those tattoos?
In the topsy-turvy world of casual dress codes, the answer is usually: “It depends.”
Here’s what to know about enjoying a laid-back office without sacrificing your professional reputation in the process.
Remember: It matters. Some workers may view the company dress code as old-school and out-of-touch. They may argue that they should be judged on the quality of their work, not how they dress.
Be a realist, experts say. In the real world, professionals are evaluated — whether consciously or unconsciously — on the clothes they wear. Don’t let your outfit be the reason you don’t succeed at work. “You don’t want to be judged on the basis of something so silly as dress,” says Alexandra Levit, author of “Blind Spots: The 10 Business Myths You Can’t Afford to Believe on Your New Path to Success.”
Blowing it with a casual dress code can have a bottom-line impact on your career prospects — leaving your paycheck threadbare, says Joanne Blake, founder of Style for Success, a Canada-based business etiquette training company.
She tells the story of a woman who worked in accounting and always dressed casually. One day, she set her sights on a promotion and began to upgrade her office wardrobe. “At that point, it was too late,” Blake says. “Management had already observed her in a certain light.” She didn’t get the promotion.
Consider what you do. If your office has a casual dress code, think about your daily duties. If you’re traveling on sales calls, a jacket and tie might make you more presentable at a range of workplaces. If you’re typing at a desk all day, jeans and a sweater might be fine.
“Being client-facing or not client-facing may have a large impact,” Levit says. “If you are out visiting clients, it’s going to be a different scenario entirely.”
Follow that cliché. Dress for the job you want, not the job you have. That age-old career advice still holds true in today’s more casual office environment — sort of.
“Look at that individual whose position you’re gunning for,” Blake says. If the company superstar wears tailored slacks and smart blazers, you may want to stick to more formal outfits. If the office standout wears a hoodie and jeans, you may be able to relax your style.
One important caveat: If your office idol is the only one wearing a hoodie and jeans, perhaps she’s earned that luxury through years of proving her brilliance, and you aren’t there yet.
Ease in. If you’re interviewing at an office with a casual dress code, don’t let that affect your interview attire, experts say.
“For interviewing, you still wear a suit,” Levit says. Once you land the job — well done, by the way — you can blend in a little more. But keep it polished during your initial weeks on the job, experts say. You might want to cover up tattoos and remove edgy piercings. And take off that chipped nail polish. Err on the side of formal, and you can always remove a blazer or tie if you feel overdressed.
“You never want to be on the casual side of what your company culture accepts,” Levit says.
Keep it clean. Sometimes a casual dress code really is casual. “I’ve seen it where the CEO would not care one iota if you wear flip-flops,” Levit says.
If the office culture truly, truly, truly has no place for formal dress — goodbye, pantyhose, hello, yoga pants! — aim to look put-together, at the very least.
“You’ll always be safer if you’re a little more neat; polished,” Pollak says. “If everyone in your environment wears a hoodie, you still don’t want to wear a hoodie with a mustard stain on it.”
More from U.S. News
10 Ways to Perfect Your Personal Brand
The 8 Stages of a Winning Job Search
Don’t Blow It With Your Office’s Casual Dress Code originally appeared on usnews.com