Guide to professional workwear clothing

A professional workwear wardrobe may take some time to curate, but once you get the jist of it, the techniques will stay with you for life. 

An ideal work wardrobe has timeless pieces which everyone associates with professionalism. You don’t need to go out and spend your entire savings on clothes, nor do you need to always purchase fast fashion items to try “keep up with the style”. 

The reality is, classics never go out of fashion. You can gain great ideas by researching uniform shops which only sell workwear and corporate work clothing. These uniform stores always hold the classics. 

You can find really amazing pieces second hand or at sample sales. Ensure you have a classic black blazer to dress up any outfit, a nice pair of leather flats, a white professional shirt with a style that you adore, a wool coat, and some tailored pants of any neutral colour. 

My advice is to find pieces with high quality fabric, and don’t shop at fast fashion stores. Not only are they low quality and bad for the environment, but you find these stores stock clothes that will go out of fashion. Check around your local thrift stores or wait for high quality fashion stores to have huge end of season sales, or sample sales. My best buys have been items with $300 price tags, and stunning fabric, which I was able to snap up for $40.

And, the great thing is, if you get sick of a specific piece, you can simply sell for an affluent price and rotate your workwear by purchasing a different version of the same piece. This way, each item has value in your life and you will feel professional every day at work. 

Care for your clothes

You don’t need to iron every item, but the ones prone to creasing should be ironed or steamed. What is the first impression you want to give? Professional, right? If colleagues, customers or clients see a scrunched up blazer, it’ll give them the impression you lack attention to detail.  

Steamers are more convenient due to the fact you’re not required to take the clothing piece off the hanger. In addition, they are more gentle on clothing. Workwear and corporate clothes are often made of material prone to creasing and therefore steamers are the perfect solution. 

Ensuring you have ironed or steamed your outfits before the work week ahead will save the stress during the week when you’re tired.

Those who adore knits and coats will benefit from a fabric shaver. It makes an old knit look brand new – saving you the need to repurchase!

It’s important to take delicate items to the dry cleaners to prolong their life. One wrong wash and you’ve ruined the item. 

Minimalism

With minimalism documentary series sprayed across Netflix, viewers have become even more influenced to be content with what they own. 

Essentially, the definition of minimalism is the act of only owning items that have purpose and will be used. This includes timeless items you can mix and match, that you love and will rest assured be worn instead of sitting there collecting dust. To be a minimalist, you have a small number of items for each season, and certainly aren’t addicted to shopping. 

Minimalist wardrobes are curated  to hold only items that bring joy, selling or donating unnecessary items – now famously labelled the Kon Mari method. For instance, school uniforms you no longer need can be sold which frees up space in your wardrobe – saving time and money. 

With minimalism, a benefit is that life becomes more convenient. It’s easier to put outfits together, to organise, and means you can purchase higher quality pieces you love. As a result, you will turn up to work more professional than ever!

We hope these tips make you feel like a brand new professional – confident, and ready to take on whatever’s thrown your way, all while looking stylish!
Olivia is a freelance writer who currently writes career and business content for The Uniform Centre.