Tackle it Tuesday: What is Business Casual?

Welcome to Tackle It Tuesday, a social media series where an autistic employee at AAoM (yours truly) writes workplace tips to better cope with the stresses of a working world not built for neurodiversity.

While creating the latest entry for AAoM’s social platforms, I realized that social media alone isn’t the ideal archive for all the past Tackle It Tuesday entries, as it shares space with all the other important work AAoM does. So, this blog companion was born!


This Tackle it Tuesday is on Business Casual, or what it is and how to work the unspoken rules of this fashion style in your favor.

An image with a sliding scale between casual, with a T-Shirt, business casual with a dress shirt, and formal with a full three piece suit.The image says " Tackle it Tuesday: What is Business Casual? Many white collar jobs will ask their employees to wear business casual on the job. But what does that mean?"

An image with a pile of clothes in the center of the image, with question marks superimposed on top of it.The image says "Tackle it Tuesday: What is Business Casual? We know business casual is between casual and formal wear, but what clothes count as business casual?"

The image says "Tackle it Tuesday: Business Casual: Shirts" as its title.Below are different clothing items with labels as to what each item is. There is a blue polo shirt, a black turtleneck sweater, a white dress shirt with the label "dress shirts and blouses", a red cardigan, and a dark green sleeveless dress. Underneath, there is text that says: "Materials like linen, cotton, wool, silk, and some synthetic fibers are common for these shirts!"

The image says "Tackle it Tuesday: Business Casual: Shirts" as its title.Below are different clothing items with labels as to what item is appropriate or not. There is an X by a polo with a logo on it, with text that reads "No logos outside of your own workplace" There is an X by a polo with a graphic on it, with text that reads "Stay away from graphics" There is an X by a polo cropped to show the stomach, with text that reads "don't reveal too much skin" There is an X by a transparent polo, with a text that reads "No transparent clothes" There is a polo with a floral pattern on it, with text that reads "patterns can work" There is a yellow polo, with text that reads "Any color works!" Underneath, there is text that says: "Always test out clothes beforehand to make sure they work with your sensory needs!"

The image says "Tackle it Tuesday: Business Casual: Bottoms" as its title.Below are different clothing items with labels as to what each item is. There is a pair of black dress pants, a pair of khakis, a navy blue pencil skirt, and a maroon long skirt. Underneath, there is text that says: "Most common colors for pants/skirts: Black, Navy, Dark Grey, Khaki/Beige"

The image says "Tackle it Tuesday: Business Casual: Shoes" as its title.Below are different clothing items with labels as to what each item is. There is a pair of black dress shoes, a pair of brown loafers, a pair of white flats, and a pair of black short heeled boots. Underneath, there is text that says: "If all of these shoes sound uncomfortable, you can get away with a neutral looking sneaker/shoe you’re comfortable in." Underneath, there is an image of a foot wearing brown dress pants and black dress shoes walking, with text on the side that reads "Also, break your shoes in before bringing them in to work! It’ll save a lot of grief. "

This image has the same sliding scale between casual, business casual, and formal. There are two points, one that states "you are here" closer to the formal end of the scale, and "you could be here" closer to the casual end of the spectrum. The image says: "Tackle it Tuesday: Still Confused? Every workplace will have different minor rules. If you’re still confused, dress more formal. Then you can gauge what other people wear and change accordingly."

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