Work Attire

Tomagotchye

A guy. Got a job. It has a semi-formal attitude (even though it's not customer facing which peeves me). I own two pairs of pants: Jeans (not allowed) and a grey suit pant (huzzah!). That's grand. It's all I need.

Problem is that I like colour in my life, always have. I love shirts and jumpers but I'm loathed to buy something new for work unless I can get a while out of it. However, I have only one shirt and it's purple. Fine, I pull it off because well I ooze "purple." Ah no, seriously people, what colours can I go wearing with grey pants that doesn't look crap? I seriously cannot be in the white and grey categories I see at work...it's way to 1950's TV for me. Grey is a useless pants colour really but I was worried to get black for a similar reason.

I mean red is too flamboyant for work...I'm not that cocky and in fairness where do I find a red shirt? Greenish seems ok but it's not for everyone. Yellow is a no-go because I'd rather die. Am I overkill on this? It's hard like.

Qualitymark

Or maybe just think of it like a school uniform and wear what the others do during work hours, and relax into your own taste after hours? I know it's mad, but humans are pack animals.

amdublin

It really upsets me when I hear people calling trousers "pants". Even worse are "pantses". It sounds like you are talking about underwear!!

OP try looking in Debenhams or somewhere like that for smart (but colourful) work clothes.

Bored_lad

Work eitre is a tricky one to show your personality in especially when everyone seems to wear the same thing and you have the issue of not wanting to stand out.

The first thing I'll say you should to us make sure that everything you wear fits perfectly as this will make you instantly look better and far better than the majority of people with ill fitting clothes. I know you want to put in colour but fit is extremely important first.

Secondly I'd advise you get a few different pairs of trousers in navy and charcoal I know they are not exciting colours but its still better to have a few different colurs. I have also seem people with wool trousers with different textures in the past which look great and show personality.

Another way to inject colour into your outfits is by using different color ties if you wear ties. Again you have different materials to add texture to your fit.

You can also use different cufflinks to add colour and personality to your fits. Lastly you could use different watches you can get some great vintage watches and also new ones. The guys over on the watch forum on here are great I'm a long time lurker over there.

I know you were asking about colour but bright colours for your shirts aren't the only way to add fun and personality to a fit.

Dial Hard

Tomagotchye wrote: »

A guy. Got a job. It has a semi-formal attitude (even though it's not customer facing which peeves me). I own two pairs of pants: Jeans (not allowed) and a grey suit pant (huzzah!). That's grand. It's all I need.

Maybe I'm reading this wrong but are you seriously saying you're planning to wear the same pair of trousers five days in a row, every single week?

baby and crumble

Chinos, shirts (plus ties) and cardigans are your new best friends. All come in lots of colours, all can be combined and all are semi-formal work appropriate (in my opinion). Penneys have a great spread of all these if you don't want to spend loads, but think of upgrading to the likes of M&S, Debenhams etc for longevity.

Have a look at Primer magazine for inspiration. Their "The Getup" section has loads of sample outfits for various occassions. (http://www.primermagazine.com/tag/the-getup)

And you need WAY more than 1 pair of suit trousers, for hygiene reasons at least. If nothing else, you'll ruin the ability to wear your suit as a suit if you wear the trousers a lot more than the jacket. You're basically wasting it.

Tomagotchye

Dial Hard wrote: »

Maybe I'm reading this wrong but are you seriously saying you're planning to wear the same pair of trousers five days in a row, every single week?

100% I've been doing it for years now. I can't remember a time where I needed more than one to be honest. There's no hygiene issue if I don't roll around in filth and go doing sweaty work...it's an office, not a builders yard?

They're suit pants alright but there's no jacket so I don't really care about wearing them out or anything like that.

Thanks for the advice though. I'll look more specifically for fit now and might give a cardigan a try too while I'm browsing!

baby and crumble

Tomagotchye wrote: »

100% I've been doing it for years now. I can't remember a time where I needed more than one to be honest. There's no hygiene issue if I don't roll around in filth and go doing sweaty work...it's an office, not a builders yard?

Tbh man, yeah there is. But hey, up to you. I'd certainly advocate having a couple of pairs to rotate, at least then they won't wear out as fast.

amdublin

Not changing your trousers is akin to not changing your sheets imo.

Forget major sweat or anything your skin secretes, plus sheds. You may not smell it yourself but I'd imagine they smell.

I wouldn't mind wearing the same trousers for a few days even a week but 5 years!!!!

Meauldsegosha

Wearing the same pair of trousers 5 days a week and washing them each weekend they will start to wear thin and lose their shape pretty quickly.

Neyite

Yeah. You'll change your mind about having only one pair of trousers when you are trying to press them correctly every Sunday night. :pac:

Or when the toner explodes on you on a Tuesday and you've still three more workdays left, and they didn't dry overnight.

Grey is a neutral colour, so any colour will go with it. Navy is also a nice neutral to have as a wardrobe staple when you decide to stretch to owning more than one pair of trousers if you really want to avoid black.

meeeeh

Op, all you need is a waist coat and you will successfully channel the cocktail waiter from eighties look. Get yourself at least another pair of throusers (dark blue or something) and then pick some shirts that go with them. I think light colours tend to be better choice than bright. Btw you said jeans are not allowed but are chinos? That would give you a bit more freedom.

Btw if you insist on wearing only one pair of trousers then stick to white only shirts (or same type of light blue) then at least you won't draw attention to your clothing and the fact that you wear only one pair of trousers.

lillian770

amdublin wrote: »

It really upsets me when I hear people calling trousers "pants". Even worse are "pantses". It sounds like you are talking about underwear!!

OP try looking in Debenhams or somewhere like that for smart (but colourful) work clothes.

Love your pants comment !!!