Work Clothes.....Totally Confused

[dinger]

Hi all.
I've just started my own architectural practice...
It's been a great start thankfully...the only thing is I'm not well dressed/presemted...ii can sit in the office for a week without having to meet anyone...with the odd time ,getting people walking in off the road to meet with me.
I'm dressed in old jeans, polo shirts an shitty trainers.

I've three options that I need dressed for :-
Sitting in the office
Out on site/meetings (as above with coat)
Office Meetings

Ideally I want to look cool...not stuffy looking, more carefree type of worker.
Bar looking like a surfer I've not a clue what I'm looking at wearing.

Can anyone help me please ???
I gettin busier an really want to look the part in what I do....
We're a young practice.....good at what we do... I want that to come across in how I dress.

If it helps the wife works in Next an can get me discount :-)..... Always a winner with me


Cheers folks
Steven

[Tom]

Good thing with being an Architect is you can be a bit aloof and get away with it, you should see some of the funny shorts people here wear in the summer!

For the site/home i'd stick with khaki/grey chinos and a tucked in button up shirt then you're free to add a jumper/coat/blazer or whatever as you please and the trousers won't look daft with boots on site like suit trousers would. If you need to jazz it up a bit then a nice watch, or a wool tie & tie clip will let people know you didn't drop by on your way to the pub. I think the footwear and accessories will require some attention for this reason, as you may be on site but will still need to look smart when the client turns up.

As for office meetings.. what kind of clients do you have?

[malti001]

how to choose the right suit | THE DETAILS | The Journal*|*MR PORTERt has some inspiration for an architect.

[dinger]

clients are mostly farmers....dont care what i look like...but the it seems at the min i'm getting more "joe public" through the door.
chino's was my option....just need decent trainers/shoes to wear with them.
before in an office it was shirt & tie...that was dead on as come the weekend or evenings i wasnt still dressed for work...
the wasy i'm looking at now will be more casual which might be the difference...just more of an excuse to change my "home" wardrobe lol

shorts have been worn to work....it's been ok behind the desk when i stand up...that's when people have a laugh

[Tom]

Well if it's not small developers turning up in Ferarri's expecting you in a £2000 suit and a £5000 watch, or a national housebuilder expecting you to turn up in an ill fitting suit from Matalan then it sounds like you can skip that altogether. It's just the local authorities you've gotta impress I guess and they're not exactly dressy folks.

TK Maxx have a good selection of brogues at the moment, and I was in Next earlier and spotted some plain looking brogues which could be good.

[dinger]

Your right there tom.
Bought a pair of tanned brogues and dark jeans from next...going to look at a few polo shirts/plain tshirts/Oxford shirts....hopefully this will help