Make sure your business casual dress

Is there a bigger workplace faux pas than showing up seriously underdressed for work because you had a different idea of what “business casual dress” meant than everyone else did? Well, yes, there probably is, however that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t concern yourself with staying on the right side of this potentially tricky issue if you’re not in a position to formulate clear written guidelines yourself.

How casual is your organization’s business casual policy? The answer varies from company to company, of course, and, alas, not all companies develop formal written guidelines for the benefit of employees. One thing is for certain, though. You will never get in trouble for being too underdressed in a business casual arena if you follow this simple rule: Change your regular professional attire by only a single garment.

For example, men, if your organization’s culture requires that you wear a suit on “business professional days,” wear a sport coat when dressing business casual. And for women, swap that conservative blouse you wear on most days with a knit top that is compatible with your blazer.

By following this simple (and, yes, conservative) rule when dressing business casual, you’ll still be able to go to a last-minute client meeting on a moment’s notice—without having to apologize for how you look. I’ve been asked many times whether it’s acceptable for women to wear slack suits on dress-down days in professional environments where this would otherwise be considered inappropriate. The (frustrating) answer is: It depends on the culture of the organization for which you work. The safest standard is probably to keep an eye on what the highest-ranking woman in your organization does and follow her example.