Work Attire for the Recent Graduate

Ah, graduation … mine was filled with fears, beer(s), and tears—in that succession. While my unease was severely diminished once I secured gainful employment (just a week before G-day), this only led to more anxiety about entering the “real world”—replacing my jeans, flip flops and strapless tees for proper office attire. While my workplace is about as business causal as possible (without wearing jeans Mon-Thurs), I needed to revamp my wardrobe to convey my unrelenting ambition, fierce personality and impeccable taste while on the job.

I’d forgotten all of that pre-work world preparation until a few weeks ago, when my boss explained to my coworkers and myself (we are all young women in our 20s) that he wanted to purchase a gift certificate for his niece as a graduation gift, and needed suggestions on which stores we considered “one stop shops” for office attire. I was impressed with his thoughtfulness; after all, I spent most of my grad gift money on clothing for work anyway (before you go off and berate the men in your life for not being as thoughtful, keep in mind that my boss is 1) gay
and 2) already fashionably inclined … wait, that’s redundant).

My coworkers, who are generally a style-savvy bunch, threw around some ideas, and we agreed on some of the best stores for work clothes (for a casual office environment):
1. Nordstrom

Nordstrom is the store my boss ultimately decided to go with, mostly because it has so many options. (above: Nanette Lepore, Nanette Lepore, Trina Turk, Ella Moss, Theory)

2. Zara

Zara is the European wellspring of classic yet modern clothes has great options for the young professional.

3. BCBG Max Azria

An upscale option for trendsetters, BCBG’s (pronounce it in its proper French: “Bay-Say-Bay-Jey”) collections always feature designs that the working girl can also wear while off the clock.

Stores We Considered, but Declined to Recommend:

1. Banana Republic. All of us are former Banana loyalists who have recently become wary due to what we’ve perceived to be declining quality.

2. Ann Taylor. The consensus is that one can find a few great pieces at Ann Taylor, but its target audience is a slightly older set than the recent college grad crowd, and so wouldn’t make a good “one stop shop” for work clothes.

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