Combining Western with Business Casual
June 21, 2017 6:25 AM   Subscribe

As a country gal who's always in cowboy boots and jeans, I need to start dressing business casual for a temp office job that I'll be returning to for several months to pick up some extra cash. I HATE slacks and the stuffy look/feel of business clothes. Help me keep some semblance of my typical country/western dress while conforming to business casual dress code.

I'm not allowed to wear "blue jeans" but am allowed to wear denim pants in any other color. I'm thinking the jewelry will play a big part in keeping some of my personality in my outfits in this environment, but what do I WEAR? I have some nice silky button up western shirts, maybe pair those with a colored skinny jean and booties? Dresses with booties? I don't know, I'm way out of my element here but refuse to lose my personal style feeling like I'm dressing for somebody else or buying a bunch of new clothes just for the office that feel more like a costume. Help me figure out how to make this work.
posted by Malleable to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (8 answers total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
My first thought was definitely rock nice Western shirts if you have them. It depends on how conservative the office is otherwise, but I'd probably pair them with black or gray skinny jeans—I feel like more colorful skinny jeans plus Western shirts might look too over-the-top. But that's just me! Others who work in an office more regularly could probably speak to this better.
posted by limeonaire at 7:45 AM on June 21, 2017 [3 favorites]


Denim and Chambray dresses, in almost every imaginable style, have been everywhere over the last year, some of which have been very professional looking. Unless you're working for a company that requires blazer/pantyhose levels of formality, I think you could probably get away with wearing, say, a denim shirt dress with booties (or leggings and booties depending on office temp). Then at the end of the day you could roll up the sleeves, slip on your cowboy boots and you're ready to go.
posted by thivaia at 7:47 AM on June 21, 2017


(On preview: That particular dress just an example. There are a ton of other styles at a ton of other stores. Most not terribly expensive)
posted by thivaia at 7:49 AM on June 21, 2017


I feel your pain--I dress like a construction worker when left to my own devices, and I fail to see why anyone else cares what kind of fabric I wrap around myself every morning. So anyway, I've found that black jeans hide a multitude of "sins," and I think you can find Western style shirts pretty easily at Sierra Trading Post. You could probably get away with black booties and black jeans as long as the boots are fairly plain. And what about a prairie skirt or or something similar?
posted by scratch at 7:52 AM on June 21, 2017 [1 favorite]


Best answer: It really depends on how conservative/mainstream the office is, but could you wear fancy Western wear? Cowboy finery can be amazingly ornate, which reads "dressy" in the right context. Embroidered Western shirt, black jeans, tooled leather boots and belt, silver jewelry (skip the hat), and you could be the best-dressed person in the office.

For an example of some really fancy cowboy finery - and some great blues/roots music - check out Justin Johnson's videos.
posted by Quietgal at 8:48 AM on June 21, 2017 [2 favorites]


I stress a lot about looking professional (not that it does me much good) but I've found that the key to looking "professional" has nothing to do with clothes and has everything to do with styled hair and makeup. Yes, clothes should be clean and fit well, but most everything is excused if your hair and makeup are done (which stinks for me because I hate makeup).
posted by raccoon409 at 11:00 AM on June 21, 2017 [1 favorite]


Have you had a chance to see how people dress at the office that you will be working at? I think I would take my cues from there. If you haven't had a chance to observe your future coworkers, I would dress as conservatively as possible on the first day - plain slacks and blouse, or a simple dress with some jewelry, and flats or pumps. Then change up your outfit based on what seems acceptable from studying your coworkers.
posted by needled at 11:22 AM on June 21, 2017 [1 favorite]


Best answer: I think cowboy boots and western-inspired jewelry are amazing for adding personality to business casual! Just don't wear them with western clothing, because in an office environment, it will look like a costume rather than looking normal the way it does on you currently. It's the difference between looking unique and looking like a fish out of water. Make the rule be no more than two western items.

Here are my suggestions.

Slim-fitting ponte pants with long non-western blouse untucked and cowboy boots. Silver western jewelry.

Plain jersey wrap dress with cowboy boots and flowered scarf or big western necklace.

Pearl-snap western shirt with ponte pants, plain pointed toes shoes (which give the slightest hint of boot-ness). Non-western jewelry.

Calico/ditsy shirtdress with sandals and subtle western necklace.

Colored jeans tucked into cowboy boots and very plain dressy tee. Non-western accessories.

Plain jersey tank dress with patterned western shirt over the top, knotted. Office shoes, subtle western earrings.
posted by Knowyournuts at 2:35 PM on June 21, 2017 [6 favorites]


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