a guide to dressing business casual

Welcome to clipboard, a weekly newsletter about hospitality, clothes and Tāmaki Makaurau, by Reilly Hodson. This week: the way I filled my wardrobe for my new office job. FYI: Most of this was written before last night’s announcement of the new lockdown. I’ll think about doing some lockdown content during the week if people are keen (recipes? takeaways? what I’m wearing?), let me know.

As you probably know if you are a regular reader, or you follow me on Instagram, you’ll know that I recently started a new job. It’s my first full-time job, first job in an office, first job not in hospitality. It’s contained a lot of steep learning curves: how to self motivate without someone over your shoulder all the time, how to decide when to pack up at the end of the day, how long to spend getting lunch, how to make sure that the dishes and laundry still get done at home when my partner and I are both out all the time. Me being me, though, the most exciting challenge was about what to wear. The first question I asked after I got the job was about dress code, of course.

The office I’m working in is on Shortland Street, so I’m surrounded by law firms, and with them, ill-fitting suits in shiny navy fabric, paired with worn brown RM Williams boots. It’s a look that takes you from the cubicle to Ponsonby Social Club, and it’s an epidemic in corporate New Zealand. I was desperate not to follow that lead.

The first thing in my favour in my journey is that I don’t need to wear a suit to work, which meant I didn’t have to go out and spend a crazy amount of money on a wardrobe full of suits in various fabrics, although one day I’d love to do that. The second thing in my favour is that I care about how I dress, which as dumb as it sounds, is the key difference maker. Here’s how I built a wardrobe that will provide me at least a week’s worth of unique looks on a relatively reasonable, graduate-level-job budget, and the things you should avoid if you’re looking to do the same.

This issue may be a bit light on images, because I’m in the midst of laundry and ironing as I write it, but if you follow clipboard on instagram, this week will feature daily fit pics that show how all this comes together in my day-to-day, from home...

shoes

DON’TS: Shoes with orthopaedic soles (unless you need them), shoes with unnecessary details, square toes, Allbirds (even if you’ve convinced yourself they’re not ugly, they do not go with office attire. Maybe on casual Friday, or if you work at a start up.)

WHAT I WEAR:

The key things that I though about when choosing shoes for work are versatility, and classic silhouettes. The shoes I wear have been around for yonks, and for good reason, because they’re great quality and you can wear them with most everything. I prefer a black leather shoe to a brown, though I am looking at maybe a brown suede option (see more in next steps). I could wear just these three shoes every day to work for the rest of my working life and, a few resolings excepted, they’d stand me in good stead.

Dr Martens 1461 Mono: I’m on the record since way back as a lover of these shoes. They’re Docs, but they don’t look too Doc-y because they don’t have the yellow stitching, and if you polish them up they look a bit like they’re Prada. I wore mine with everything before I worked in an office: shorts, work pants, a suit when necessary, and so when it came to office wear they fit right in. These shoes, or shoes like them, should be in every person’s wardrobe (my girlfriend has a pair, too, sometimes we go out matching), especially if you have to dress in “business attire.”

GH Bass Weejuns: I’ve been on the fence about buying loafers for about five years now; all the cool menswear people I know in person and follow on the internet insist that they’re easy to style and that everyone should own them, but I couldn’t get past the Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face, Grandad vibes. Until now. I couldn’t just wear Docs every day, they start to wear poorly and attack my feet if I do too many days in a row. Luckily for me, the Iconic had a pair in my size at 30% off, so I didn’t have to break the bank too much for a pair. Weejuns are the original penny loafer, and they’re a classic, but obviously are a very Americana, Ivy prep vibe, so you have to be prepared for that. I like them with wider pants, too, otherwise you’re leaning a little hard into Michael Jackson territory (never good). If you’re buying a pair, size down a full size; unfortunately no one in NZ stocks them in person so you’ll have to gamble a little.

Blundstones: My Blunnies are my favourite, and only, boots. They’re pretty rugged and chunky, but they’re insanely comfortable, which helped when I got blisters from my new loafers, and when they’re clean you can definitely get away with them in the office, so long as you’re careful with how you wear them. Where the Docs are extremely versatile, the Blundstones’ sheer volume and size needs to be considered when you’re planning the workday fit. They’re definitely workable, and if you want a style that’s a bit more sleek, RM Williams does a version that is a little bit dressier (and twice the price) while not being the same pair that all the guys out on the town wear.

pants

Pants are maybe THE worst offender when it comes to the terrible way men dress in New Zealand. I wrote a big thing about this when clipboard first started, but here’s a reminder:

DON’TS: Skintight, drop crotch, elastic cuff, too tight, too bunchy, too saggy

My pants strategy for work was twofold. The first, and more traditional option was that I sought the help of my friend, tailor Paul Doran of Doran and Doran, New Zealand’s best bespoke tailor. Paul helped me with a suit when I needed one for my 21st at very short notice, and a couple of times that I’ve been in a shopping bind. His clothes aren’t cheap, but over the years I’ve picked up a few pairs of tailored trousers from Paul. Two of them came as part of a suit, one in a classic navy and one in green seersucker, and the other was a separate in black corduroy. If anyone wants classic pieces that fit just how you want them to, and are of the highest possible quality, I always send them Paul’s way. There’s more on pieces I got from Paul a bit further down.

The second thing I did, and which could probably cover most people’s needs at a very reasonable price point, was buy some Dickies. Again, it should come as no surprise to regular readers that I am a big Dickies fan, and they’re the perfect piece for a not-stuffy office wardrobe. I bought three pairs of 874s, for the price of one pair of pants at some stores, one each in black, navy and charcoal, cut off the Dickies logo from the back and cropped them slightly (well, my saintly partner did), so they don’t pool around my shoes. If you wear them with more dressy pieces, no one knows you’re wearing skateboarder pants, but you’re comfortable, the pants fit, and there’s no weird bunching or skintight sections where you don’t want them. Honestly, if you’re a guy and you only take one thing away from this newsletter, it should be that you should own, and wear, Dickies. They look good on everyone and they cost $100, win win.

shirts

Shirts have always been difficult for me; I’ve never really worn them until the past year, and all the shirts I owned when I was offered this new job, bar one, were quite fashion-y, with weird cuts and proportions that wouldn’t have worked in the uniform vibe I’m going for at work. It left me with quite a bit of work to do. Especially now, when I’m not wearing a jacket or a tie, the shirts had to do a lot of heavy lifting.

DON’TS: “Going out” shirts, busy patterns, too slim, massive collars, weird colours

WHAT I BOUGHT:

Samsoe Samsoe is a Scandinavian brand that fancy Britomart fashion store Fabric have just brought in. Clipboard day one Ambrose alerted me to their existence when I ran into him over a coffee at Annabel’s in Ponsonby, and I went nearly straight to the store. This shirt is the perfect amount of fashion-y for the look I’m going for: dropped shoulders but a mostly classic cut that can be worn untucked or tucked in, in a very easy to style fabric that would look at home on its own or with a classic suit. Plus, compared with the rest of the offering at Fabric, not too expensive. Size way down on this, if you’re looking. I bought a small (usually I wear a medium) and it still has an oversized vibe.

Working Style would not have been my first choice, but honestly because it’s right by my work and it hits a reasonable price point, I checked it out. The shirting options there are very broad but not all very good, but there are some goodies to be found with a bit of digging, and their service is excellent. I got a shirt with lovely thin blue stripes, which fits just bang on, which means that in the future I can go in and pick something up off a shelf and know it’ll fit just how I like it, a real benefit to these places which have stuck around for a while.

Asuwere gets a lot of love from me when I’m talking to my friends and family members who hate shopping. They have a great subscription product where you pay a monthly fee and get sent a new garment or two every month, in your size, in classic styles and fabrications that fit. It’s a great gift for your dad (or partner) if they dress badly. They also, however, do one off, off-the-rack purchases, at slightly higher but still reasonable price point. I went into their Commercial Bay store expecting to just have a look, and walked out with this perfect Oxford cloth button down in a classic baby blue.

I also have two classic white button down shirts from Doran and Doran, which are in a lovely dressy fabric but with some casual details like a chest pocket and button down collar which mean that they can be worn in any situation. Again, not cheap, but honestly if I could only own one kind of shirt, it would be these ones.

a suit

Classic menswear blogger, and podcaster, Jesse Thorn, says every adult man should own a “sincere suit,” and he’s right. Luckily, when I called on Paul Doran, he had one, in just about my size, lying around left over from a media shoot. I tried it on and he made some adjustments, and now I own a navy suit that fits, for whenever I need to wear a suit. Even though suits aren’t on the menu at work most of the time, it’s very comforting to know that when the time comes I’ll be able to tidy up and look sharp.

other

In miscellany, I bought this perfect chore coat from local menswear maker Thom Morison, with a voucher my parents gave me for Christmas. I’m excited to see Thom’s range grow and evolve, I have my eye on some shirting next.

My work socks of choice are either classic Uniqlo ribbed socks or these ones from Jiho Store. Widdess stocks a brand called Sokken that I love, too.

I also picked up a Kinto keep cup from my friends at Daily Daily for my morning commute cups. I’ve never been a takeaway coffee drinker before, really, but this was a must to limit the waste I’m creating on the daily.

next steps

I didn’t really think about socks when I was considering things that I needed to buy for work, but it turns out that I need a lot more block coloured socks that aren’t too thick. Most of my socks are white, and I wore white or cream socks all summer. They don’t work quite as well in the office, so I’m on the hunt for some grey, black and dark blue ones.

I now own enough shirts to get myself through a week without doing the laundry, but only just. That means that I’m going to be an extreme routine dresser, and although I can mix and match with my pants and shoes to keep things fresh, I would ideally like to have enough shirts for two weeks of no switch ups so that I get that new ‘fit feeling more regularly.

I don’t love casual Friday as a concept, but I would like a fresh pair of white sneakers to wear so I can give my feet a bit of rest at the end of a long week. Probably, it’s time to get a new pair of Reebok Club Cs that I can guarantee won’t get ruined by working in a cafe.

I still need a grown up bag to wear to work. In an ideal world I’d be the type of person with this Yu Mei beauty, but probably I just need a sturdy canvas bag for a notebook and a laptop. My partner just got one of Thom Morison’s studio bags, which Thom makes in house out of leftover fabric (if you head in store, he has them in more fabric options).

At some point, too, I’ll have to start thinking about stuff like knitwear and outerwear, and maybe an umbrella… As always, get in touch if you have any good suggestions!

clips

• It’s the last day of the Auckland Art Fair today! If you want to see what’s popping in the New Zealand commercial art scene, invest in a new piece, meet my partner or just look cool, grab a ticket and head on down!

• New Zealand’s most luxury brand, Yu Mei, just launched their new range, creating their iconic bags and leather goods in delicious brown, green and cream tones. I particularly love the Ch’lita bag, their wallets, and this Birkin-esque laptop-sized banger (if you have $1,000 odd burning a hole in your pocket, buy this bag). They also just opened a new store in Newmarket!

• Another Good Graphic Tee from our friends at Checks Downtown! Love the font.

• Good as Gold has some stock of the dad shoe, the New Balance 991 anniversary edition, if you’re a size 10.

one good thing: electric chicken’s fried chicken sandwich

Every week, clipboard features one good thing that I’ve eaten, bought or seen recently. This week, the fried chicken sandwich that’s become my default takeaway order.

The fried chicken sandwich is one of humanity’s best edible creations. Done well, a combination of classic fried chicken, a soft bun, lettuce, pickles and special sauce is one of the most delicious things you can eat, no matter the occasion.

In recent years the world, and Auckland, have undergone a surge in the availability of good fried chicken of all styles, whether it’s the dry, chilli-covered style at Spicy House, the saucy Korean Dak Gan Jeong I order every time I’m at my favourite restaurant, Ockhee, or the classic, Southern United States style at Good Dog Bad Dog. There’s even a crazy sell out fried chicken festival.

The most comforting fried chicken style is the classic sandwich, and the best place to order a fried chicken sandwich in Auckland is Electric Chicken, in Morningside or on Karangahape Road. They cook the chicken just right, their buns are delicious and just the right amount of sweet, and their sauce and condiments are bang on too. Plus, the price, at $13 for a single piece of chicken, is just where it needs to be. The best fried chicken sandwich I’ve ever had was at Lucky Chicken in Wellington, but Electric Chicken is a close second. It’s the perfect default takeaway or eat in, and their fries are delicious, too.

That’s all for clipboard this week, thanks for reading! I’ll be back next Sunday morning with another issue, right here, and you can follow me and clipboard on Instagram for to-the-minute updates on the happenings about town, and incoming daily fit pics that put my new work uniform to work! You can also send me an email whenever. If you enjoy clipboard, you can chip in a few dollars by clicking the button below. to help me keep making this every week, or send it to your coolest friends! The more, the merrier. See you next week!