Workwear Don'ts For Professionals
Fashion Workwear

Workwear Don’ts For Professionals

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

When you are a working professional, and you are a part of an office environment. The influences and norms of the office become the rules to follow for you to support and contribute to the office atmosphere. The workwear choices that you make will directly influence the immediate and extended environment positively or negatively. The clothes that you wear are a representation of your personality as an individual. It also depicts the sense of seriousness you imply towards life and the work you are doing. Hence your clothes are the salient and apparent features that communicate ideas about you as a professional and an independent person.

Workwear Don'ts
Workwear Don’ts

Let’s explore this phenomenon of what should and should not wear in a workplace environment. It is though a matter of common sense, but people sometimes overlook them casually. Such a free attitude can reflect on the definition of your professional ethics.

What Are The 5 Don’ts In Dressing Professionally?

At the beginning of this article, we have explained how you must select what you carry as workwear in a professional atmosphere. And how big of an impact it creates on your personal outlook and automatically extends to the professional environment. Here we are chalking down the big Don’ts that you should never ever do in a professional workplace.

What not to wear at workplace
What not to wear at workplace

Suggested Read: Corporate Workwear: Things To Consider During Selection

Unironed/Dirty Clothes

Unironed and dirty clothes are the big no in any situation or type of environment. I refer to the formal, semi-formal, semi-casual and casual work environment by the type of environment. It is usually misinterpreted that a casual environment means that it is an easy-going atmosphere. Even if it is an easy-going workplace, dirty and crumpled clothes can not be acceptable in any way. People who dare to wear unpressed and dirty clothes are actually showing disrespect to themselves first and then to their workplace.

Be vigilant and prepare your work clothes with care and concern. This by no means counts into your easy-going frame of mind. It actually reflects on your personality as overlooking essential things. No one needs a person at their workplace who can’t take care of themselves.

Unironed Shirt
Unironed Shirt

Stinky Clothes

Do not wear Stinky Clothes. The body odour and sweat is a natural process and experienced by all in the same way. But the conscious are those who take care of themselves and others around them. The bad stink coming from your colleague is a very unpleasant experience, but I totally count it into the category of ill- manners. You can smell your body odour from your shirt or blouse you are wearing for the third time without washing or dry cleaning. Not the best perfume or cologne will work on it. This belief that the cologne will hide your body odour is a lie. The perfume on a sweaty shirt enhances both the smell, and mix smell is the worst you can sniff.

Smelly Clothes
Smelly Clothes

Squeaky Shoes

Shoes that squeak are the most annoying voice one can hear in an office space. It is distracting and draws unnecessary attention without you seeking it. I understand that there are strict dress code rules in the formal business and corporate sector that you need to follow. But it would help if you looked for the padded sole shoes and heels to avoid the clattering sound on the office floor. Your awareness counts, and once you understand something as a problem, you can find a solution to avoid or get rid of it. Similarly, flimsy or very stringy shoes are not recommended based on aesthetics and sensibility of office workplace norms.

Squeaky Shoes
Squeaky Shoes

Also Read: How to Clean Smelly Work Boots? (7 Quick Fixes)

See Through Clothes

Revealing or seeing through clothes is a bad idea for both men and women to wear in any situation at a workplace. Avoid wearing translucent fabrics in the office space, and men who have a muscular body should not flaunt it by wearing cap sleeves or sleeveless shirts. Likewise, women avoid low cleavage, shoulder down or backless shirts or dresses. Also, shorts and minis must be avoided for both genders. Modest clothing in professional workwear is the right approach to follow, and the level of formality will refer to the categories of formal, semi-formal and casual workspace atmosphere. Even if your office is casual in work mannerism, casual does not mean shabby or oversized workwear.

See Through Shirt
See Through Shirt

Flashy Colours

Colour plays a very important role in the workwear outlook at the workplace. There are staple colour palettes that are associated with the formal, semi-formal and casual workplace identity and profile. This does not mean that you can not be fashionable about your workwear selection or experiment with fashion clothes integration into your workwear wardrobe. But you have to be subtle and graceful about such choices. You can wear almost every colour at the workplace except fluorescent or neon. Make sure you use bright colours combined with mute or darker tones that look subtle when worn together. Find out what colours suit your personality or depict your personal attributes as a colour of your aura.

Fluorescent Coloured Dress
Fluorescent Coloured Dress

Final Words

Professionalism and work ethics are the essential traits the employers keep an eye on mainly. In this premise, the workwear norms and standards are set by the organisations. But at times, you as an individual need to sense the level of formality attached to your work and select your workwear likewise. This article is focusing on the don’ts of workwear at any workplace. However, if you follow these basic pointers, you can’t go wrong in selecting appropriate workwear for your workplace apparel. So, have a happy day at work.

Image Source: Shutterstock

Also Read: