Dress to Impress, Otherwise Known as Business Casual

In which, I admit that I'm only going to put a short post up today and hope you will hang on until I can post something longer.

I am attending a scholarship weekend (actually Friday and Saturday) at a college that has offered me a...well, scholarship. Besides having to navigate my way their with only my mom (and she's terrible with directions), I'll have to do interviews, essays, tours, and *shudder* banquets.

Apparently, I have to dress "business casual" for one of the meals. After I learned that, I immediately googled "business casual outfits." Because, seriously, what the heck is business casual? The two words completely contradict each other.

So my post today is in case you ever need to wear a business casual outfit and you have no idea what to wear (I'm still a little iffy on that point to be honest).


Tops
Blouses, plain shirts, cotton shirts, sweaters, turtlenecks (I strongly discourage use of these. Unless you like them. I don't.), vests, and sleeveless shirts. Apparently, monotone is standard. Unusual patterns are okay though as long as they're not too wild.


I narrowed down my choices like this:
Blouses
Plain shirts
Cotton shirts
Sweaters
Turtlenecks (They make my neck itch.)
Vests (?? Nope.)
Sleeveless shirts (Hello? Cold?)

Pants
To me, pants are the easiest. You wear dress pants, khakis, corduroy pants, or linen pants. No jeans. Not even your nice pair. I know, I groaned too.

After checking out each of the types of pants, I chose to wear dress pants because 1) I already had a pair and 2) they're classy. But mostly because I already owned a pair.

Skirts/Dresses
This isn't even an option right now where I live. It's freezing. I am not going to sacrifice myself to frostbite because a business skirt might look more professional. Not happening.

But if you were to wear a dress or skirt then...

• You're crazy. Make sure your dress or skirt is knee-length or longer. 
• No high slits, okay?
• Stay away from skin-tight dresses and skirts.
• You can't wear sundresses either. 

Shoes
Leather shoes, flat trouser shoes (These are pretty ugly. In my humble opinion.), high heels, and open-toed shoes.

Accessories
Dress socks are a must apparently. I'm not wearing them...nobody's going to see my socks. That would be very weird.

Light jewelry! Simple and elegant. Don't break out the feather earrings quite yet. I'm thinking maybe studs. Or...something.

A simple purse. Which is why I don't think my favorite blue tie-dyed one is going to cut it. I'm going to define a simple purse as one without too many pockets or colors or patchwork of materials.

Happy dressing up!