Is a striped shirt formal?

It’s the age-old question we’ve wondered a lot ourselves here at the Breton Shirt Company: is a striped shirt formal?

You love your stripes to death, but can you wear them to the office? To a fancy event? To your brother’s wedding?

While striped shirts are a bit too casual for fancy parties and even the smallest weddings, they can certainly be formal — in certain situations. And that’s key.

In this blog post, we’ll briefly explore some of the situations where your striped Breton shirt could definitely pass as formal wear. Read on…

Casual Job Interview

It isn’t all the time that you get a heads up about a company’s dress code, especially not when you’re still in the interviewing process. But if you know for sure about the dress code, then you’ll know whether it’s appropriate to wear your Breton-striped shirt to the interview.

Some companies might ask already-hired employees to wear formal clothes to work, but for interviewees, more casual outfits may be accepted. In this case, throwing on a Breton-striped shirt and dark or khaki trousers can go a long way to leaving a good first impression on your interviewer.

Creative Jobs

If you’re a graphic designer, a digital marketing whizz or a copywriter, chances are that casual office wear is very much on the table. Virtually any job where you can be described as a creative is very likely a job with a less strict business dress code. In this kind of creative work environment, then, striped shirts will be the new formal.

Business Casual Workspace

If your company explicitly states that their dress code is business casual, whether you’re a creative or not, then guess what — striped shirts are in! Optimally, aim for a striped shirt with a collar and go for neutral-coloured slacks. Don’t be afraid to show a little colour with your stripes, though. Red (below) or even green striped shirts sure put the ‘casual’ in ‘business casual.’

Casual After-Work Event

So your company has a strict business dress code in the office. No problem. If your place of work hosts any casual, post-5pm event outside the office — think a brunch social or a happy hour — then it’s fine to break loose from the formal suits and ties. At these after-work events, a striped shirt can help you look casual without being informal — call it ‘informal formal,’ if you will.

Work From Home Jobs

Lastly, it goes without saying that when you’re your own boss, or when your work is either temporarily or permanently remote, dress codes can be far more lax.

Not the ‘pyjamas and slippers’ kind of lax (though you can definitely get away with slippers on video calls!), but the ‘striped shirt’ variety. Your Breton stripes won’t be too formal, but they also aren’t extremely casual, making them an excellent in-between shirt choice for work from home jobs.

Now that that burning question of whether striped shirts can be considered formal wear has been answered, there’s only one thing left to do, yes? And that’s to go out there and rock your Breton stripes!

Until next time…