guys and office wear

The season of career finding and networking events have already started and I have way too many of my engineering friends wearing office/formal wear and damaging people's eyes and think that its okay.

Come on, guys beyond the age of 21 are over the my-mother-ask-me-to-go-home-early or the my-mother-say-cannot stage. If you are still in it, you get a free embedded 'LOSER' label on your forehead. Its time to grow up and get your own stuff.

Why all guys my age MUST own at least ONE set of good formal wear or office wear.

What is formal/office wear?
1. A clean crisp formal shirt
2. A pair of fitting business pants
3. A matching tie
4. A leather belt
5. Black leather Shoes
6. Blazer (optional)

The problem:
"Oh I don't need formal wear because..."
1. I can borrow from my brother/father/uncle
2. I am not wearing office wear for work
3. I seldom wear it

1. If you want to wear oversized, over-washed with fading colours, white-turns-yellow clothes, yeah sure, go ahead and borrow from your whoever. Not only will you look like them, people around you will think you are them. Never ever borrow whoever's clothes, old or new.

This not applies only to office wear, when you know you are going to stay somewhere cold for a while like 2 months in California, Berkeley, never just have ONE single jacket for 2 months or even worse, your brother's old ugly grey oversized adidas jacket that looks fake. Heh.

2. Unless you are your own boss or you don't wish to get promoted to a manager next time, you are probably NEVER going to miss wearing formal office wear. Meetings with the directors, meeting customers, awards ceremony, just to name a few.

3. If you sound like this, you need a life. You probably don't get invited to friends weddings (don't get me started on how broke I am) or to friends'/company's celebrations or parties.

How to choose?
Shirt must be fitting. Not tight, not oversized, shoulders lines and arms width very important.
Pants cling on to your waist and legs, not too tight or baggy.
The first rule is that your shoes must be the same colour as your belt.
Larger sized people, as usual, dark colours has slimming effects and vice versa.
If you need more height, vertical stripes.
For classic, white shirt, black pants, black shoes and belt and a coloured/pattern tie.
For more information, look at magazines.




Where to buy?
Shirts and pants are easiest, in increasing prices, there's either off-the-rack like G2000, Uniqlo, Zara, or custom-made or high-ends like Zegna or Boss.
For blazers, I don't trust those far-east tailor-made shops. For normal sized people, I'd rather get it off the rack - Topman, Zara because they offer various fits like slim-fit.

Studies have shown that how you look during an interview occupies a large 85% on whether you will be employed by the company. You can talk well, have good results but if you don't wear well during interview, you lose out to people who wears better.