Graduate Job Workwear

[tiramisufiend]

Hi all!

DD22 has just graduated university and will be starting a graduate role in September at one of the Big 4, training to be an accountant and also working in Audit alongside; she has no idea what to wear!

Her internship role had a very casual dress code, and the last time I worked in an office was many moons ago so my styling suggestions aren’t being very well received. Budget isn’t huge but could stretch to a few nice investment pieces, and she’s also conscious that they were told they’d be in office 4-5 days a week so wants comfort as well as smart.

Any styling, shop, brand suggestions will be gratefully received (particularly links!) :)

Ds at PwC London 3 month placement wears smart M&S trousers and a shirt. A smart skirt and top / unusual colourful top/blouse will be fine. Then she'll suss out what everyone else is wearing.

There's some really good accounts on TikTok who put together some capsule wardrobes - lot of stuff from H&M, M&S and Zara.

vm.tiktok.com/ZGevJtraG/

A black knee length skirt and a top?

The men wear smart chinos/ trousers and shirts so women could wear similar. I would buy a couple of outfits ( black wide leg trousers, a skirt and a couple of tops) and see what everyone wears after the first week or so.

I would buy a few key peices like a blazer and some good trousers and a coordinating pair of shoes. Then you can play around with the tops. For winter I often wear a roll neck top with a blazer, or classic white shirt for more formal occasions. I like the TU clothing workwear range, if you have a big sainsburys nearby.

If dresscode is formal, I like a dress as no need to match anything something like this.

www.next.co.uk/style/st199076/c28209#c28209

It's dress for your day isn't it? Plus will be at client site if auditing where you don't want to look too formal generally.

I wouldn't get too much until you suss out what everyone else is wearing.

It also depends on her personal style.

I don't think she can go too wrong with a pair of black/navy/camel crop trousers (wide leg are good if they suit her), a boxy silky shirt in neutral colours and a bright blazer in a colour she likes then some decent flats if that's her style.

She will still need some jeans and decent trainers. Pretty much her own clothes. She'll be out at college won't she?

It's easier in winter as then you can just wear boots. I hate summer footwear as I do wear a flat white trainer but I prefer to look a bit smarter.

Think quite low key smart casual. Guys will uniformly wear navy or beige jeans or chinos with a white or blue button down and a half zip. Mix of brown boots and white trainer plus a suit (no tie) for very formal meetings. That's them done. It's so unfair!

I wear shirt dresses mainly with ballet flats. I always think a dress is nice for an evening networking but it's really down to what she likes to wear.

M&s is good for work wear. You don't need to spend a fortune.

What's her usual style?

Thank you all for your responses!

@Oblomov24 thanks for the insider info and @gingersnappz that’s a really useful link, I’ve forwarded it to her.

@ThePoetsWife the watchful waiting is a tried and tested tactic! I’ve suggested similar. @Luhou thank you for the Sainsbury’s idea, I hadn’t thought of it myself but we do have one with a big Tu range nearby so will send her there!

@ZenNudist we were thinking it might be more black/neutral suit, light coloured blouse (maybe pushing the boat out with a patterned/bright shirt once in a while!) Dd would never have thought a bright blazer would be appropriate for a new graduate, she thinks too flashy for her possibly- not keen to stand out prematurely! She has quite a classic, simple style in normal life, straight leg blue/black jeans, knitted sweaters, so those should be fine for college days. She is open to new styles and quite likes the formal aspect of typical ‘workwear’ but has limited imagination for formal clothing beyond the strict ‘business smart’ dress code of sixth form which insisted on matching, plain, dark coloured suits, collared and button down shirts in neutral colours and Clarks brogues!

I’m passing all these ideas on to DD, who now has a long list of sites to scour after getting overwhelmed in-store at Zara !

DP works in financial audit and manages a fairly large team including a graduate trainee. He says the trainee is currently wearing variations on wide leg trousers, smart t-shirt/shell top, and sandals or leather trainers. He said also a skirt “like mine” with a top and sandals. When pushed he meant a silk/satin midi slip skirt, black, with a black and white striped t-shirt.

They do a lot of overseas audits often in hot countries, and the female staff are more likely to wear midi or maxi dresses then - sometimes accounting for modest dress codes so higher neck/covered shoulders.

He’s not big four but mainly wears a shirt/smart trousers and very rarely a tie/jacket. He tends to WFH on a Friday but if he goes in it’s jeans/t-shirt/trainers, very casual.

I'm in my 40s (so this might be way off!) but I'd recommend Arket for work essentials. I recently bought these, and am very happy with them:

wool twill trousers

linen trousers

Arket is part of the H&M group. I'm a H&M member and managed to use the birthday discount - 25% - on an Arket item bought via the H&M website.