It’s still early in the summer, but I’ve already found myself flipping between three basic Monday – Friday outfits. If you feel the same way it’s time for a wardrobe jumpstart! Summer internships are meant to make connections and build personal relationships that help collegiettes find careers. Don’t be that boring girl who wears the same thing every single day!
I feel like an excessively old woman bringing this up, but that maxim “dress for the job you want, not the job you have” applies to internships as well. Dressing a little bit more formally than a dress code requires or more formally than your coworkers does not make you look silly or stuck up. It suggests to everyone that you are put together, organized, classy, and a lot of other adjectives that describe an employable person.
Most workplaces do not have dress codes, and we simply judge what we should wear based on the full time employees’ outfits. In reality, the formality or informality of dress for summer jobs and internships ranges infinitely. For the purposes of this article, I’ve categorized the looks into casual and formal.
The Casual Dress Internship or Summer Job
You know you have one of these if your boss wears jeans regularly. If shorts are acceptable attire, you definitely fall in this category. Just because you can wear shorts, t-shirts, tank tops, and jeans does not mean you should. There is a wide world of comfortable, classier clothing out there. Here are some ideas:
1. Revisit the basics.
A solid colored t-shirt comes back to life when paired with a glitzy necklace. Mix and match bold colored shirts, with glass beaded necklaces, tarnished metal pieces, and funky plastic.
2. Reinvent your old dresses.
Pair a sundress with a chunky cardigan, colored blazer, or structured top to make a dress less girly, and more workable.
3. The jirt is back ladies!
For me, it never left. But it is now socially acceptable to wear jean skirts again. Avoid frayed edges. Go for new shapes like a high waisted flowy skirt, or skinny pencil variety.
4. Sneakers can be classy too.
Take a note from Taylor Swift. The current Keds spokeswoman dons her little white sneakers with dresses, skirts, and khakis all the time. Be sure to keep them clean, and you can rock them with nearly any above the knee hemline, or looser pant.
5. Don’t short on shorts.
Shorts of the looser fitting, high waisted variety can be made to look classy. Avoid denim. Try fun colors, and interesting fabrics like tweed, linen, or canvas.
The Formal Internship
If anyone in your office wears a suit, you belong here. Don’t worry, you need not don a pantsuits (sometimes called poots). Poots are a crime against femininity, especially the flared leg monsters still raging at ND internship fairs. There are so many more options out there!
1. Focus on the blouse.
Ditch the blazer. Thrift stores are full of old fashioned frilly blouses and silky button downs with fun collars. Tucked into an up to date skirt, or high waisted pant, and they’ll feel brand new again.
2. Cuffing is always cute.
Pencil trousers look adorable when cuffed. I have no reasoning or explanation, they just do!
3. Keep loafing!
Loafers and oxfords are still really trendy womens footwear. Wear them without socks. Coupled with a dark pant, you’ll exude tomboyish charm.
4. SYR dresses reborn.
A chance to rewear an SYR dress does not come by that often. If the dress is not too tight fitting or skimpy, pair it with a cute blazer and you got yourself another office outfit!