Pegasus Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 DD was invited to join an honor society at her community college. Induction ceremony is next weekend and the students were directed to come dressed in "business casual." DD is considering wearing a colorful patterned skirt with a matching solid polo top OR A black skirt with a solid red sweater top I'm never really sure what is meant by business casual. Would one of these outfits better meet business casual? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linders Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 I think of business casual as solid bottoms (slacks or skirts) and solid top (for men, a button down shirt or nice polo, women same or a solid color modest sweater). The patterned skirt would not cut it for me - too "cute." 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThisIsTheDay Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 I think that patterned skirt would be fine. By "business casual," they are hoping to avoid shorts. Based on previous experience, you'll see shorts anyway. It's a college campus. At dd's orientation, *parents* were requested to dress "business casual." My personal thought was, no, thank you. I wore jeans, and I fit in perfectly with the other 50% or so of parents who were also wearing jeans. Just my perspective. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hikin' Mama Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 When my son was a senior in high school, he got the opportunity to interview early for a well-paid mechanical engineering internship, which wouldn't actually begin until his junior year of college. A parent was invited and we were to dress business casual. I stressed mightily (overthinking is my superpower) as this internship was/is a big deal. I wore black dress pants and a nice short-sleeved blouse. He wore nice black pants (not jeans) and a long-sleeved, light blue button up shirt. He looked incredibly handsome, if I do say so myself, and more professional than some of the other young people there, who leaned more toward the casual. I wasn't interviewed, obviously, but there were many engineers there from different fields mingling with the parents. He got the internship. :) I'd probably go with the black skirt/red sweater option. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MercyA Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 Black skirt, red sweater. Good for her! :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldberry Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 I think the patterned would be okay. I don't think a patterned skirt is inappropriate for a business environment. Length and cut are more important than pattern in my book. I agree with the poster that said they are trying to avoid shorts - and jeans. DD attended a hospital orientation, where they said the dress was casual. But this was a JOB ORIENTATION at a hospital. There were teens there with too-short shorts, as well as ripped jeans. Not a good impression. DD wore dark, solid color jeans and a nice shirt. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted October 13, 2015 Author Share Posted October 13, 2015 Thanks, everyone! I think you are right that they would like the students to dress a bit better than ripped jeans, shorts, or flip flops. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigMamaBird Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 Black skirt, sweater top sounds like business causal to me. The other one sounds nice, but maybe the skirt would be a bit too "fun" for a professional event? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 I would choose the black skirt and red sweater. Solids are generally more serious than prints, so I err that way. ETA: you don't often go wrong by being dressed more modestly/conservatively/simply, but it is really easy to be dressed too casually, especially in American culture. "We" dress very casually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 Since she has both outfits, the second choice would probably be better. If she only had the first outfit, it would be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsuga Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 I need a location. Business casual in New York is one thing, another in Florida, yet another in LA and still another in Seattle--not to mention, Minneapolis. Yes, it's academia, but location makes a difference. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 I would not have hesitated to wear a colorful patterned skirt to the office, lol, so I vote that either one is just fine. It's not even business casual in my world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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