Cotton Business Casual Clothing? Fashion advice needed!

September 10, 2024 4:58 PM

I recently discovered that I am MUCH more comfortable wearing cotton clothing. Looking for cotton business casual style recommendations to keep an eye out for.

I'm slowly replacing my wardrobe with thrift store finds. Because I'm not buying new, I'm more looking for style options that often come in 100% cotton vs brand recommendations. I work from home, so can luckily just wear whatever I want most of the time, but the few nice tops I've kept for video or (rarer) in person meetings are not cotton at all.

I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed when it comes to replacing them because so far everything pure cotton I'm finding is very casual (t-shirts, plaid button ups, hoodies). I'm not super into "flowy" either, which I think narrows my options further. My regular (business casual) style would be something like this dressy tank top with an open cardigan like this over it and either dress pants or a skirt. I very rarely wear dresses and feel too formal in them. Same with outrageous patterns/styles, I don't like to stick out at work.

Anyway, I think I've rambled enough. If you wear cotton work clothes, what styles do you usually go for and how do you put them together? I feel like I've thrown out everything I know about what works for me, so links to people dispensing advice are welcome too.

posted by Eyelash to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (10 answers total)

You might enjoy The Vivienne Files blog. She puts together capsule wardrobes that are very practical and look relatively chic (although not necessarily fashion-forward) with separates mainly from L.L. Bean, Lands End, Boden and other natural-fabric brands. You can sign up to receive posts by email.
posted by Sweetie Darling at 5:19 PM on September 10

For 100% cotton, sweaters are probably easiest to find. You should be able to find 100% cotton cardigans if you want to keep the tank + cardigan formula.

Are you open to stretch cotton (just cotton and spandex) and/or other natural fibers (silk, linen, etc)? 100% cotton fabric often doesn’t drape like the tank you linked.

Quince is a brand that uses mostly natural fibers and makes a lot of business casual wear. I know you’re not interested in buying new, but perhaps looking through the tops would help you narrow down some styles to look for? For example 100% cotton; 100% cotton gauze; cotton/spandex; silk tops. If you see something you especially like, there’s a ton of Quince on secondhand sites, both used and NWT.

Are you buying secondhand online or just in person? If online, Nordstrom has really good filters so you can narrow to 100% cotton and not see any blends. It can be helpful to use Nordstrom’s filters to figure out what brands to search for on secondhand sites.
posted by maleficent at 5:43 PM on September 10

At Poshmark: Eileen Fisher Cardigan Sweater Long Sleeve Open Front 100% Organic Cotton, an EF belted cotton cardigan, EF Organic Cotton Tunic Top.
Eileen Fisher clothes lean natural-fiber with body-skimming silhouettes (check size charts). Since the clothes are generally well-made, there's a lot of it on the secondary market (thrift stores, eBay, Poshmark, Etsy (of varying vintage), and Fisher's own Renew arm; NWT items, too). You'll find all-cotton and all-organic-cotton office wear, including capsule options.
posted by Iris Gambol at 6:01 PM on September 10

Are you open to stretch cotton (just cotton and spandex) and/or other natural fibers (silk, linen, etc)? 100% cotton fabric often doesn’t drape like the tank you linked.

I'm not sure yet, I might need to experiment more! What I really like about cotton is that it's extremely breathable and not even slightly scratchy. That's good to know about the drape though, if other materials don't work for me I may just end up compromising for work because I think the drape is exactly what makes that tank look dressy/makes it a good professional shirt.

I'm only buying at thrift stores in person, it's important to me to try on and it's often cheaper too. Thanks for the answers so far, I really appreciate the advice!
posted by Eyelash at 6:09 PM on September 10

For what it's worth, speaking as someone who also values breathability and that soft, non-plasticky feeling in fibers, viscose/ rayon and 100% silk are good fabric options for a natural feel with a bit more work-appropriate polish and drape. Viscose is technically synthetic, but made from wood/protein fibers, not petroleum derivatives, so feels more like cotton.
posted by Bardolph at 7:38 PM on September 10

I recently thrifted a sweater and a blouse that are silk/cotton blends. I love them. They have the breathability of cotton and the drape/sheen of silk. Both my shirt and blouse are Talbot's brand.
posted by OrangeDisk at 7:53 PM on September 10

Viscose will often also be called rayon or modal. Super soft and drapey and pretty well breathable. Most will be some sort of blend, often with cotton.
posted by advicepig at 8:12 AM on September 11

Try cotton lawn or voile. They can be sheer though, fyi, and are quite summery.
posted by vunder at 10:37 AM on September 11

Also try gauze/double gauze.
posted by vunder at 11:21 AM on September 11

I buy lots of my clothing at thrift shops. I love fine gauge cotton sweaters. Sometimes I find one with colors I don't love.I've had great success dying them with plan old Rit dye, or with tea. Currently wearing a leopard print that was tan on white, is now dark blue on medium blue. So if something is an odd color, it may be salvageable. I have worn fine gauge cardigans under a blazer instead of a blouse, it's a look I like.
posted by theora55 at 7:02 PM on September 11