Work Wardrobe Essentials

I have read many articles with regards to this and over time they have evolved into "the ten things a man needs to have in his wardrobe" and they are all geared towards looking great when you go out. But I ask you this - what about all of the other facets of your life that you need to be clothed for. I am going to go through some simple things that every man should own. For this first article I am concentrating on work attire. This is important as this is the thing that will fuel your lifestyle so lets get it right from the start.

Work Attire

Now, most guys that read this are probably on the professional side, so I am going to stick to that and if you have any questions about other industries please don't hesitate to let me know.

Depending on the attire required by your workplace what I am going to suggest can be dressed up or down - the option is entirely there - however treat this like a job interview. You need to look the best that you can and in saying this, you need a suit.

Many people will think that they need more than one suit for their work attire, however, unless you are going to buy suits that are drastically different, my suggestion is a good quality two-pant suit in blue or a dark grey pinstripe. The pants are the things that get worn the quickest when it comes to suits, so you can get more mileage out of your work attire by going with this method. Your jacket probably sits on the back of your chair or on the coat rack for most of the day and only gets worn when you head out to a meeting. So this is number one - numero uno - a good quality two-pant suit in blue or dark grey pinstripe.

To wear with this suit, and to change up the look from day-to-day, you are going to need shirts and ties. My suggestion is to go with crisp white business shirts. French cuffs, for cuff links, are optional, and depend on how formal your workplace is. Make sure the collar is stiff and the cut is slimline. A slimline or tapered cut ensures that you look as fit as possible by accentuating your shoulders and tapering in at the waist. Three should do you well for the average work week (washing once a week and on the weekend) however if you're a busy guy, then get 5 shirts and just wash them on the weekend.

Ties - minimum three ties. Don't have too much fun with the ties. No boss likes someone coming in with Daffy duck under their jacket. Also, don't be tempted to wear a school tie - they are for a keepsake, not a fashion statement.

With ties I recommend a nice diagonal striped in bold (not fluorescent) colours. Red, light blue and yellow are great. These colours combined with ivory and black stripes can look very sophisticated. A single colour mixed with shades of monochrome is a fantastic extension to a nice dark suit and crisp white shirt. A red tie will make you look authoritative, blue makes you approachable, and yellow makes you believable, so this is a good combination of ties to own.

Shoes. There is a rule here, and many choose not to follow it. Don't wear loafers to work; loafers are more casual and bring down the look of the whole suit. So remember, no loafers. What you want is a clean, simple pair of black lace up shoes which are easy to polish and keep looking new. I personally am not a fan of leather soles on shoes. They sound great when you walk, but they are a lot of maintenance and probably not a great idea for your "every day" pair. With more and more people catching public transport these days and walking from train to work and from work to meetings, a good quality rubber soled shoe is the go here.

Socks - 5 pairs of black socks. Wear business socks for business. In winter, you may be tempted to don the footy socks for warmth, however they really don't make that much difference, so to look professional make sure you have business socks for business and leave the footy socks for kicking a ball on the weekend.

So for work we can summarise:

1 x two-pant suit in dark blue or dark grey pinstripe

3 x crisp white business shirts

3 x ties in red, blue and yellow

1 x pair black lace up shoes

5 x pairs of business socks

The pricing for all of this stuff varies a lot, and therefore I am not gong to go into it, however I do have one suggestion: Dress to your salary. No-one expects the office-boy to be wearing Armani, however the partner in a law-firm should be.

Now there are accessories that people expect you to have and that are rarely included in articles like this. I have one for you- only one and not complicated.

Buy a good quality watch.

A watch should really define who you are and what your lifestyle outside of work is like. Currently I wear a Seiko Flightmaster Chronograph. It was about $1,200 (Australian dollars) when I bought it and I have had it for the last 4 years. I scuba dive and surf so this is a great watch which looks professional with a steel band and bold white face, yet it caters for my lifestyle as I can wear it diving and surfing as well. As it is, I never take it off. It's one of those things that I feel naked without.

You don't need to spend this much on a watch. I have a passion for them and therefore I don't mind indulging - I think my next one will be a Tag or Omega. I think I've earned it.

I have some suggestions for you, however first there are rules:

• Digital watches went out with the Delorean
  
• Rubber bands are not an option
  
• Cluttered faces can be a hassle - so make sure you get something that you are comfortable with
  
• Watches are not about features, they are about longevity, beauty and quality
  
• Fashion designers are not watch designers
  

Citizen BF0540-51E RRP: Au$175

Citizen are watch makers from Japan. Watches don't have to be Swiss to be good. This is a great, simple and stylish watch at a low price. It's got a bracelet strap and is water resistant to 100m, which means that you can wear it in the shower, at the beach, or swimming in the pool. I like the face because it's simple without being boring. Great colours and easy to read. This is a truly great watch.

Tissot Seastar T19.1.485.31 - RRP $US450

If you want something a bit more "bling" with the goods to back it up then this is the watch for you. Gorgeous large face, 200m water resistance which can be used for diving and surfing and a Swiss brand which has been making watches for 150 years. In terms of value, this is my pic of the week.

Tag Heuer Aquaracer Chronograph CAF2110.BA0809 - RRP AU$1400+

This is the beginning of indulgence. Tag Heuer is one of the most recognisable brand names in the watch game. They have been making watches for over 150 years and have had a number of firsts in their game; namely the first chronograph to be accurate to 1/100th of a second back in 1916, and more recently the first chronograph to be accurate to 1/1000th of a second in 2003. They have a massive range, including the Carerra and Monaco models, however what I have for you here is their entry-level Aquaracer. This is a beautifully simplistic watch with a well sized easy to read face and 300m water resistance for the more robust and daring individual. This is the kind of thing that you can wear in the boardroom and not have to worry about changing it as you race down south on a diving expedition.

So, I think that you have some food for thought here. You now know what you need to wear to the office to look great every day, and one single accessory on your wrist to let people know that your time is precious (to you).