To find it difficult knowing what to wear to the office?

[nahhowaboutit]

I recently started my first office job working in an advertising agency in London. My idea of office wear was quite dated - think black pencil skirts with a blouse.

I find it difficult to work out what is acceptable nowadays in offices as some people still stress like that/quite smart, whereas others are wearing trainers, blue jeans and hoodies.

Officially, my office is 'smart casual'.

AIBU to really struggle knowing what to wear?

A little bit, because Google is full of answers.

You can wear jeans, brogues and a nice shirt from Ted Baker if you want a starting point? Or a t shirt with a blazer.

Look at what other people in your office wear - middle of the road is generally safe. Smart casual generally means no scruffy clothes, tracksuits, etc but you don't need to be in a full suit. Trousers and a simple top (generally covering your shoulders and not too much cleavage) or a plain dress are good staples. Neat jeans are sometimes okay if work with nice shoes/shirt but that depends on the formality level of your office - are you at a casual trendy advertising agency or somewhere flashy and formal?

Ignore the other poster saying Ted Baker. You don't need to splash loads of money and wear designer to be professional, what a joke.

My office is a mix of everything from jeans and t shirts to full on suits. I tend to stick to what I feel are safe smart/casual options. Usually a longsleeve dress with tights and ankle boots, or black trousers with any sort of top that doesn't show too much skin. I do think in general though dresses are my saviour.....reasonbly smart but comfortable, can wear floaty midi/maxi dresses in summer/just one item of clothing to chuck on in the morning and it's a complete look.

It really depends on the company and even the team/department in my experience. My office dress code is officially ‘smart casual’ but the legal team wear formal business suits and IT tend to do hoodies and jeans.

I tend to wear black skinny jeans with Chelsea boots, plain jumpers and tops. Sometimes a casual skater dress but with black tights and boots. Strikes the balance well for me.

What are other people wearing in the office?

I work in a pretty casual office where almost everyone wears jeans. I like to dress a little bit smarter when I go in (mostly because I've spent 2 years at home in yoga pants). Yesterday I wore a floral print midi dress with black tights and flat chelsea boots, tomorrow I'll be wearing jeans with a breton top, a jersey blazer and brogues. Today I was at home and wore the yoga pants.

I live in jeans and trainers so will wear with a t-shirt and smart jacket or a blouse or smart jumper.
I'll also 'dress up' by wearing black boots.

If I wear a dress it'll be with tights and trainers again

Ted Baker isn’t designer

I’d go for smart jeans, a nice ish top and a boyfriend blazer with brogues.

Check what everyone else is wearing and if they’re all in trainers feel free to wear those with a midi dress etc

all work places are different - as a pp has suggested sometimes different teams within the same org will have different dress codes.
Guage it with what others in your team wear - you don't have to wear the same, but it should give a general flavour. Bear in mind that people may dress a bit more smartly on days thta they have client or other external meetings.

Smart casual is what mine is.

In summer I wear: trousers and t shirt or black jeans, but no rips or scruffiness, midi dresses with boots or trainers (white and clean), skirts and a cami.

Winter: dress tights boots, trousers/black jeans with a nice jumper and boots.

But I'm not client facing.

My office's official dress code is "smart casual" but this varies wildly based on department.

For example, the sales and recruiting departments are always dressed very smartly. But my department (software development) is 99% jeans, t shirts, hoodies, including the most senior managers and VPs.

Some people in my department will dress quite smartly just because that's their style. Sometimes I wear a nice dress and tights, other times jeans and a hoodie.