Your parents and grandparents have been probably been shaking their heads in disdain ever since you went to a high school dance without a corsage or shoe shine. Your wardrobe has likely continued to evolve into today’s “anything goes” style as a college student. In the blink of an eye you’ll be polishing your post-graduate resume and heading out into the professional workplace. The time is now to get a handle on how to dress for various situations in today’s melting pot world of fashion.
You don’t have to lose your identity just because you leave the hoodie behind in favor of a stylish sweater or jacket. The first thing to consider is what time of day you are dressing for and where are you going? One more thing, unless you are going to the gym or hiking up a mountain, leave the sweat suit and sneakers behind. Put together an outfit that is appropriate for the situation. A great rule of thumb is to put a dressier top with a pair of jeans or dress pants with a clean, crisp tee-shirt.
Once you’ve graduated and found your first career job, every day matters when it comes to how you dress. Even very casual work environments require that you show respect for yourself and others; dressing well is a good way to start. Shine (or repair) your shoes, iron your slacks and always have clean hair. Remember to present yourself professionally and not as if you are on your way to a bar or a sporting event. Retail stores are full of budget-friendly attire so you don’t have to break your budget as you build your career wardrobe.
Social situations: consider the venue. Restaurants are for eating; not flashing what your mama gave you. While jeans may be perfectly fine, torn ones simply are not. Cocktail parties (other than the ones on college campuses thrown by your peers) are a time to shine a little more. Leave the cardigans and hoodies at home and iron what you plan to wear. Sport some bling and brighten up your color palate if you feel inclined. As for weddings, the invitation holds lots of clues. Evenings are dressier, of course, and even the beach wedding begs for something more impressive than what you’d wear to the beach on a normal day. It wouldn’t hurt to ask the bride how casual she is going to dress and follow suit.
Unless you’re laying low and staying home, you should continue to put some effort into your weekend attire as well. While it’s become commonplace to shoot off to the supermarket in yoga pants and ball caps, consider upping your game whenever possible. You just don’t know who you’ll run into, right? Even one nice accessory can take you from rumpled to ready.
Dressing with style after college doesn’t have to mean that you blow your budget. Today’s tight economy is certainly being taken into consideration in retail stores and style can be yours at every level. If you’ve gotten this far and still don’t know what kind of style you like, take some time and look through magazines before you head out the door.
Marjorie Jones has writtten more than 200 articles on subjects which include online degrees for learning disabled adults and financial aid for online college graduate study.