Formal dress code for women in US

Hi All,

Please let me know the formal dress code followed in software industry ( US) ?

whether salwar can be used ?


Thanks !

Are you looking for formal office wear or regular office wear? In US, people in software industry are very casual except when you are going to meet a client or address a formal meeting. For regular office wear, you can go for jeans, trousers, skirts etc. If the company you are visiting is flexible regarding its dress code, you can consider wearing salwar kameez. You will get some ooohs and aaahs, with others admiring the embroidery or the colors of your dress

Salwar is not considered formal office wear in US. If you are going there to attend some formal meetings, better avoid it.

-Lakshmi

I might travel to US for a Short term.

It's a business visit.

Really concerned about the dress to wear in office.

Since Salwar is also considered to be a formal wear in India, I have mostly the salwars and only 2 pairs of formal wear.

For a month, How much pairs of formals(pants) should i carry ? And what type of shoes can we wear to formal pants

Pls advice.

If your office is ok with it, you can wear salwars occasionally. You can also wear jeans. If you are planning for a month's visit, i would suggest you to take atleast 5 pairs of office wear, if you can mix and match them. Optimum would be 10-12pairs so that your dress will not seem repititive.

Regarding footwear, the ones with opening near the toes are considered casual/party wear. Ones with toes closed are formal. You can try google images for ladies formal footwear to get a better idea. I am attaching a picture for an idea. It can have heels or be flat heeled.

-Lakshmi

There is no dress restrictions here..But usually girls from India too dont wear salwar's to work place so you may feel little odd..So try to puchase atleast a set of jeans and short salwar tops, which you can wear them in India also..You can also wear all the slippers and shoes which you wear in India based on the climatic condition of the place.. Dress casual..Try to puchase a sweater to go with your salwar tops because it is already fall..

Thanks Lakshmi and Lavanya

I have bought a Leather jacket. Is that enough ? Should I buy sweater too ?

Apart from dress, Can you provide me tips for the items which i have to carry ? That is Food...

Should i carry cooker and other stuffs ?

The winter clothes you need to take depend on the place you are visiting. For my canada visit, i packed the following: thermals, sweater (didnt find the need to use it), padded jacket, muffler, gloves, scarf.

Regarding food, i took lot of MTR heat and eat packets (flavored rice, desserts), microwave popcorn, tinned soups . I was given a microwave in my hotel room. So i used to reheat and have the food when i didnt feel like eating the restaurant food. On the last day, there were lot of packs left. So i reheated all

Before taking a cooker, check whether it is allowed to cook in your hotel room/accommodation. Some hotels do not allow that due to fire safety norms.

-Lakshmi

Yeah I agree with Orion with MTR food packets it help me a lot when I went on a tour. You can take a little rice cooker with you. Atleast you can cook rice without the lid on..Pack some rice and dhaal for a week..And also some tamarind mix and bottles foods that can stay a long time like pickles, dry chatni. It will take time to get used to and go shopping.. Dont pack plenty of salwars and sarees for a 1 month visit..

Mrl, Regarding the formal wear, it will be a better idea to get inputs from people who have been on the same trip. Because I came for a shorterm visit from a Indian S/W Company only, but still, I was asked to striclty follow the clients' place dress code, which was Formal Pants/Formal shirts with Blazers.
Only on fridays I can wear Jeans.

Just my 2 cents..

As some others suggested, the dress code differs from company to company. I know some of my friends wear salwar to office while in my office its a strict no.

To be on safe side, you could get 2 formal pants in dark colors, 1or 2 casual pants like cotton pants or carduroy in neutral colors and 1 jean. Most companies will have casual Friday when u can wear jeans. You can also use the casual pants and jeans for weekends. If you will have lots of business meetings, you can skip the casual pants and buy all full formal pants.

If you wear skirts, you could buy formal skirts. As people dont wear formal skirts in India much, it would be a good opportunity for you!!!...I love wearing the formal skirts here :)

Tops as others suggested, kurti's should be fine, just make sure they are not too bright / glittery...u might feel like u stand out. If you have more number of tops you can always mix and match with your pants and you wouldnt feel/look repetitive. You could get a couple of regular shirts too just for variety.

If you are travelling to one of the colder places, leather jacket may not be sufficient. You might need some extra sweaters/jackets/thermal wear.

Also if you will be in a colder place(most of US will be cold around this time anyway!!!), you will need good shoes and woolen socks.

Utensils and food depends on where u plan to stay. Some Inns have complete cooking facility with cooking range, Microwave and Fridge while others might not have any of these. Rice cooker is definitely a good option. You can always heat water in it and cook/heat the heat-n-eat stuff even if you dont have a MW.

Will add more if i can think of anything. Shoot your questions if you are looking for something specific.

Regards
Ramya