As businesses continue to look at opportunities to cut costs and reduce expenditure, the relationship between business casual clothing and business productivity is being reassessed by many companies – and the subtle changes in requirements are catching out many employees who are finding their clothing choices are being highlighted in their annual review. Knowing this, here are the new rules for business casual and personal success:

1. Understand your organisation’s requirements. Some kinds of casual are more casual than others: a brokers office will have a different requirement to an oil company headquarters and a firm that manufactures bicycles will have different standards to one that creates bespoke furniture.

2. Remember that there are different standards within clothing: a pair of jeans that are pale and worn almost to the threads is a completely different prospect to a pair that are navy-blue, crisp and tailored. A white polo shirt with a crisp collar, worn with smart trousers is almost a business shirt, while a creased polo shirt in orange, worn with those faded jeans, is almost barbecue garb.

3. Don’t flash or flaunt flesh: for women in particular, too much skin on show is unhelpful – bare midriffs and deep cut tops or camisoles that reveal the cleavage do little for promotion prospects and may even cause a lack of unity in the workplace as the mixed messages can be detrimental to harmony and productivity.

4. Avoid anything that can cause offence: T-shirts with words or images can easily be misinterpreted, shorts and sandals may reveal areas of the body that other cultures, or even other individuals, would rather were kept covered.

5. While casual is open to interpretation, it’s important to bear in mind that the workplace is where work is done, and while you may be at your most productive in an old hoody and a pair of sweatpants, your clothing choices may disincentivise those around and could affect your chances of receiving the recognition your work deserves.

This year is Olympic year and there’s no doubt that London will be packed with people wearing sporting gear, even if they are not, themselves, sporty. Designers are clearly being influenced by the combination of Cool Britannia and sporting fever, and designers such as Lacoste, Marc Jacobs and Michael Kors are all getting hot under the collar.

Performance fabrics, such as poly-cottons or poly-elastic-cottons are very much in evidence along with sports styling such as ultra-long vests worn over leggings for women and layered T-shirts in primary colours for men.

A lot of dropped crotch cotton trousers turned up on the catwalk again in the spring collections, and it will be interesting to see if they actually make it into the high street this year – last year the harem pant style was very much in evidence in the collections but not very prevalent in the shops.

One difference this year is in colour. While male luxe sportswear is still focused on bright colours, the female palette is much more subtle, with bronze, grey, heather, cream and stone appearing as basic tones. This makes dressing in luxe sports clothing much more accessible to the average women both financially and in terms of body shape. While most of us can’t contemplate pearl coloured leggings and a sheer panelled vest, we can imagine wearing a gold or silver vest or camisole, under a grey zip-up hoody, with dark jeans or leggings. To get the look, focus on a good leather slouch bag, or even better, a leather backpack which looks properly sporty and consider jogging bottoms worn with heels, ‘sporty’ hairstyles like pig-tails tied with wool, gymnast-style, and neon detailing like earrings and shoe-laces.

Starre Varten, author of the Eco-Chick Guide to Life, writing at Mother Nature Network poses the question – is it acceptable now to wear pyjamas all day?

Surely not. And yet the trend for stay at home mums to turn up at the school gate in their nightwear is increasing, and teens have been seen shopping on Sundays in their PJs.

Of course the trend towards casual clothing has accelerated, and women now feel completely comfortable to walk around all day in leggings and yoga pants, where a few years ago such clothing would have been gym attire only. And as Varten points out, casual clothing breaks down class and income distinctions and allows everybody to be treated equally. In the days when rich people dressed one way and poor another, social distinctions were clearly made on sight – now that we all wear jeans and T-shirts, even the President of the USA (on his days off) wears hoodies, we’re told – we all have the opportunity to interact without barriers created by clothing judgements.

On the other hand, there’s no doubt that overly casual attire will still lead to social isolation. The mothers who don’t get out of their sleepwear to collect their children from school may struggle to obtain employment or other opportunities when they seek them if their habit of dressing down has become ingrained because it can suggest to others that these are people who have no interest in achievement and little desire to emulate others.

So where do we draw the line? The answer may be simple – don’t wear your PJs in the street, instead, wear your streetwear to bed! A camisole top and shorts, for women, or short sleeved T-shirt and shorts for men, can be as comfortable as nightwear and if you really can’t be bothered to change your clothes, allows you to leave the house without earning yourself a reputation for idleness.

Clare Balding, BBC presenter, has said in the Radio Times that, ‘Female faces will dominate the British medal haul in 2012’ in reference to the London Olympics. Balding pointed out that women’s ability to take part in codified competitive sport is nearly 900 years behind that of men, but that women are likely to lead the medal tables for Britain.

The impact of sport on wider society is easily seen through sports clothing: the hoody, once the preserve of boxers, the rugby shirt and polo shirt and jogging bottoms or trackies, worn originally by track athletes, have all become part of mainstream casual clothing.

This new freedom to play sport and wear sporting clothing has given many women a new freedom to invest in their bodies as competitive instruments and that has led to a change in their approach to clothing. Many more women now wear what is called Sports Luxe and it is a key feature of the West Coast Cooler Fashion Week in Belfast. Sports Luxe is clothing with a dual purpose: looking good and feeling good in times of activity. Designers such as Marc Jacobs, Hugo Boss and Philip Lim have made this particular style their own by using rich colours and unusual fabrics: plum coloured jogging pants or tuxedo shirts that wick away sweat, for example.

For those who can’t afford designer clothing a stylish women’s polo shirt worn with jeans or jeggings and a pashmina, or casual trousers or leggings teamed with a cashmere top and designer trainers both work as Sports Luxe statements.

Many of us have to fly for business, and it can be quite difficult, as a new traveller, to get to grips with how to pack and what to wear, especially if you have to get off the plane, sometimes after a long flight, and get straight into a meeting, conference or negotiation.

Here are a few tips to help the novice business traveller look right and feel right and hit the ground running:

Carry your jacket onto the plane. It’s difficult to keep a formal suit looking good on a long flight, but certain kinds of jacket were made for business travel: tweet is pretty well uncrushable and looks great with a smart white cotton shirt. When you take it off and put it in the overhead locker, make sure you fold it carefully and lay it on top of your case, not beside it, or your jacket will end up crushed at the back of the locker by somebody else’s bag.

Wear a shirt with a top pocket – this can hold your passport and travel tickets but never put pens in shirt pockets because they tend to leak under cabin pressure and that’s the end of a good shirt and the way to make yourself look like a geek in a business meeting!

Put a plain white T-shirt in your carry on luggage. On a long flight you can take of that good white shirt and pull on a plain T-shirt to travel in. That means your shirt, neatly folded into your hand-luggage, stays fresh and you can relax and drop your meal down the front of your T-shirt without worrying that it will be seen by the people meeting you at the other end! And if the worst comes to the worst and you are trapped in an airport, you’ve got a change of clothes with you.

Wear zip up or slip-on boots. This means you can get your boots on and off easily for security without the hassle of laces for trainers. They look good enough for a business meeting too.

We seem to be cycling through a pattern of snow, rain, snow, rain … it can be difficult to know how to dress in this weather, particularly if you’re planning a long winter journey and/or needing to take part in social events when you get there. Other people’s houses often seem too hot or too cold to us.

While it’s appropriate to dress for comfort and safety, it’s also important to ensure that your clothing works for the situations you may find yourself in.

Car journey – make sure old and young have layers of clothing that they can put on and take off. This allows them to keep warm without overheating. Gloves and a hat and scarf really help them to balance their temperature during a long journey. For yourself, wear something comfortable and rugged like jog pants, so that if you have to get out of the car you can get wet or muddy without ruining your clothes. Remember to put your good trousers or skirt somewhere handy so you can change as soon as you arrive.

Trains, planes and coaches – once again, layering is vital. Remember that you may be delayed so you should pack a spare clean T-shirt to put on for sleeping etc. Smart-casual polo-shirts are a better bet than t-shirts for mass travel, because if there are upgrades on offer, there’s a psychological trait in all of us that makes us more likely to upgrade the more smartly dressed individual.

Cycling, walking – a fleece jacket is one of the best investments you can make. It has wonderful insulation qualities, is reasonably waterproof and lightweight.

The party season is here and whether you love or hate it, you have to show up and show willing with your colleagues. It’s becoming more and more popular to offer the clothing guidance ‘business casual’ – but what does that mean for a party?

For men it means trousers, not jeans. Chinos are acceptable with a formal shirt but not with more casual clothing such as a jumper. A jumper can be worn with formal trousers though. Polo-shirts and T-shirts are not usually acceptable for men to wear for a ‘business casual’ party or dinner, but ties are not necessary and shirt sleeves can be long or short. Jackets are usually formal, not casual, and worn with scarves and gloves and overcoats if necessary.

For women it’s a huge problem because it can vary between a casual (cotton) dress and leggings to formal dress and pearls, from suit with silk blouse through to smart black jeans with a sparkly top. A skirt can be worn with a T-shirt and either long boots or enclosed shoes but not sandals or peep-toes. Clever women will put a dressy scarf, pashmina or shrug in their handbag along with hairpins and a sparkly hair accessory so that if they arrive and feel underdressed they can run straight to the ladies and smarten themselves up with an up-do and posh wrap.

Women’s jackets for business casual events should be fitted or fun-fur, more casual jackets are not considered acceptable. Of course if the venue has a cloakroom you may be able to get away with your warm but casual fleece.

According to one author, there are three levels of business clothing:
1.    Traditional
2.    General
3.    Casual
And if you’ve never been sure what made business clothing and just ‘work clothing’ different, it’s all about the game, apparently.

Knowing which of these is appropriate for the business you work in is empowering to you and in the USA, at least, you can be coached to find the right way to dress. If you think your business clothing could do with a boost, there’s no need to hire a coach. Use our simple guide to work it out.

Traditional – business suits, of course, with collared shirts and ties. Women get to wear both trouser suits and skirt suits, leather shoes (no open toes for either gender) worn with socks or tights – no bare legs even in summer! Basically it’s the kind of clothing that should be worn to a business awards dinner – what we in the UK would call posh, and the Australians call a ‘frocked up’ event.

General – still requires a tie and formal shirt from men, but can mean wearing a tailored jacket and trousers rather than a full suit. Women can now add businesslike dresses (nothing floral or floaty) and smart trousers if they are worn with a tailored jacket.

Casual – finally men can ditch the tie, but they need to stick to wearing suit type outer garments with sports shirts, knit shirts like polo shirts with formal trousers, and smart jumpers over a collared shirt. For dress down days, chinos can be worn. Women can now wear trousers with formal shirts, skirts with blouses without a shirt, two-piece knitwear with tailored skirts or smart round-necked T-shirts with a formal skirt and tailored jacket. Peep toe and sling back shoes are still unacceptable, even in dress down days.

In the past year, Indian shoppers have got into buying clothing online in a big way. The division by gender is around 70% male to 30% female, with retailers focusing on social media to reach out to women who are a growth market for all forms of retail in India. Global clothing companies are rushing to get into this market, especially to bring their retail expertise to many customers who live in small towns, villages and the hamlets or rural India.

Casual apparel has the second highest seller online in India: ahead of books and DVDs. India’s ‘internet population’ has moved into e-commerce with ease: the nation has around 10 million online shoppers, a market that is growing at 40-45%, compared to the global rate of around 8-10% growth. eBay India retails a garment every seven minutes – many of which are sports shoes and clothing with Adidas and Reebok featuring highly in the popularity stakes.

Children’s wear is also a rapidly growing market with Indian mums investing in clothes and shoes, along with feeding bottles, buggies and toys. Menswear is growing too:one company that sells work shirts at under 900 rupees each has sold 2,500 shirts since it launched in August and is expecting to sell 5,000 collared shirts a month in 2012.

Personalised workout clothing is a big seller, with monogrammed hoodies and polo-shirts being a regular purchase by individuals and as presents or to commemorate work events such as promotions or anniversaries, which are popular celebrations in Indian culture.

Budgeting for clothes is difficult: one person may feel it’s worth spending half their income on new garments, another may think that less than 10% of their take-home money should go on clothing. For some people it’s important to have a lot of clothes and always look in fashion – if you work in retail or the media, for example, it’s really vital to look like you have a fashion pulse! For a geek, a classic wardrobe of jeans, T-shirts and a polo-shirt for visits to grandparents may be the entire outlay … and that’s cool too.

What’s important is that clothing be durable, comfortable and pleasant. That means pleasant to wear and pleasant for those who see you wearing it: saggy, baggy, stained and smelly are not pleasant, so clothes that lose shape, hold stains and odours or are too expensive or complicated to launder really don’t fit with a limited budget. Cotton clothing, whether in the form of smart collared shirts or simple plain T-shirts, is an ideal choice.

Cotton garments are easy to wear and always easy to wash and dry – whether you’re a fashionista who presses everything with starch or a casual dude who simply takes stuff off the line or airer and wears it, creases and all.

Cotton clothes are also very versatile. Shirts can be teamed with contrasting T-shirts to get a wider range of clothing choices and hoodies can be worn over T-shirts to give a soft, relaxed feel.