"Business dress" at 6th form - what do girls wear?

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DD is going to a 6th form that requires smart/business dress in September. She's used to wearing a uniform and likes not having to think about what to wear.
She's not into skirts or dresses.
If you have DC at a 6th form with a business dress code, what do they wear? Do they have to wear a jacket/blazer? Or would trousers and a nice top/jumper work?

At my private school years ago in 6th form it was still shirt and tie but with black jumper, optional jacket or cardigan and you could wear shorter skirts (it was the 80s) as long as you wore black opaque tights. Footwear was expected to be “sensible”. A couple of the girls wore Chanel shoes which I thought was a waste of money, my DM bought me Bally or Russell and Bromley shoes (quality).

After a few years of wearing an unflattering long grey pleated skirt with blazer, shirt and tie, it was a relief to wear the new option.

The nuns (it was a convent) also didn’t mind if you wore light makeup. They were still prepping us to be SAHM/W though.

I would pick up few bits from the h& m workwear section - blouse and trouser type thing and see what it's like in the first week.

This is really handy for her to wear to job interviews or in her first job. H&M do do some great workwear that’s on trend yet classic too. Next are similar.

But the school is trying to prepare pupils for work experience, interviews, first jobs, interviews for uni. It’s a step up from the actual uniform.

We were given a talk in our school (5th form) on what to wear for work experience, clean or lightly manicured nails. What hair style looked best. Some girls had no idea.

My son went to a school where a jacket or blazer was mandatory for both sexes. The kids were smarter than the teachers who didn’t wear ties, never mind jackets.

My daughter went to a school where the uniform rules say business dress but cargos and T-shirts were allowed. They had a fixation with kids not wearing jeans and were always suspicious of smart black trousers being black jeans.

How is this at all relevant to the OP's daughter in 2024?

Because I don’t think it’s changed much over the years.

Skirts were short then. We used to wear short black mini skirts.

The only thing that has changed is makeup and hair. Depends on school rules for both.

Most people go to uni interviews wearing jeans/cargos and converse/sambas. Most people go to job interviews in a pair of smart trousers and a top/polo shirt or casual shirt.

Uni interviews I can see that choice but job interviews?!

DD wore a black suit that we bought - it was actually a separate jacket and trousers but they went together. She is quite picky about clothes and also petite so it wasn't easy. Her school specified having the jacket with you always and no T shirts - so we bought a load of long and short sleeved tops as well (just Primark, nowt fancy).

If your DD likes a uniform she can regard this as one?

Agree tho that fewer and fewer offices were smart business dress today. But b be aware that those PP saying "just no jeans" are talking about their school. Schools vary. One local to us is fiendish about the suit - it MUST be worn and must not be any other colour than blue, black or maybe a very dark purple.

A school near here has strict 'business wear' and yes, it does look like a casting session for Ally McBeal, somehow far more dated and irrelevant than the school uniform.

I wrote to my dds sixth form to say exactly this. They wanted them all in weird 90s middle-aged women’s clothes e.g. “bootleg black trousers”

My other dd ended up going to a sixth form where there was no dress code, anything went. They had much better results.

Yes, but that's not relevant to the OP's request, is it?

The suggestions from pp sound good - H&M is definitely a good call, as is Zara and Monki.
Just a couple of pairs of trousers, matching jacket and mix it up with shirts or fine knits. Good to go.

It is very outdated, there’s a 6th form near me that I presume is business wear & the girls wear teeny skirts and blouses that I don’t think you’d see in a business/corporate role with flat shoes & the boys have suits. Yes as suggested drive or walk past to see what the girls are wearing

Check the exact wording on the school’s website. My DD was not allowed jumpers. She had to wear a dress, skirt or tailored trousers with a blouse or shirt and tailored jacket. Ankle boots could be worn with trousers but never with skirts or dresses. Jacket had to worn whenever moving around the school unless the “hot weather” announcement had been made which meant that jackets and ties could be removed. After one girl wore a cerise skirt suit the rules were amended to say that skirts, trousers and jackets should be a sober colour. 😆

Yes actually jumpers not allowed at DD's school either.

She looked fine in her trousers (not a fan of skirts) but I do recall a letter that went out from the school saying how smart the boys looked (they did tbh) but how some of the girls needed to up their game (ie stop wearing the skirt-belts).

DS2 went to the same sixth form and I recall him saying during Covid when school was closed "I actually can't wait to get back into my suit"!

Depends on the school- at our place it's business dress but interpreted fairly loosely, so eg smart trousers with a shirt or jumper would be fine.

Daughter had this at her 6th form, she wore the same 2 or 3 pairs of black trousers, and various tops and jackets. After the first year, she realised most were bending the rules somewhat so actually went into Ariat jodhpurs (which look quite smart) as invariably she was riding someone's horse immediately before or after school.

Definitely loiter outside the school and don't buy too much too soon as it varies so much from school to school and then even year by year. Depending on how prepared she is to do her own thing, it may also depend on which group you end up hanging out with. A friend felt pressured last summer into buying her DD some tiny tube skirts so she'd fit in as that's what "all" of the girls appeared to wear only for her DD to end up in the slouchy, wide legged trouser gang.

Thanks everyone. Lots of great suggestions.
I agree with everyone saying that it's dated. Hardly anyone dresses like that in the real world of work these days. However, it's pretty common at 6th forms round my way so we're going to have to deal with it, whatever we think about it!

Whatever anyone thinks about it, it does take the pressure of having to have the 'right' logoed items etc. My dd was adamant that she wouldn't stay at her school sixth form because of the 'business dress' code. She ended up staying for various reasons and, speaking to friends at sixth forms with more relaxed dress codes, she's glad of it now.

H&M is your friend. We went there the weekend after GCSE results last year, ans it was PACKED with parents and mid-teens browsing the 'work wear' section.

Agree with buy a few bits to start with and then add to them when your dd has sussed out what feels right to wear.