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I've worked at J.Crew for the past 3 years and totally started without anything. I'm a girl but it's much easier for guys. Linen button downs are great especially for summer. Get some darker chinos and then I would say spend the rest on button downs. You can get away with alternating pants and shirts a lot. Since you just got hired, you'll be able to use your discount as soon as you have orientation. You get 50% sale stuff so check there to see if there's anything good. You're definitely going to need a J.Crew tie too, depending on how strict your store is. The guys at my store were only allowed to wear our ties. I don't know your style but if you like sneakers, you should get some of the Nike's because you can also wear those. They're a lot more comfortable than dress shoes, especially when you're closing. Oh and check J.Crew factory https://factory.jcrew.com/index.jsp ! More on reddit.com

The way I see it, J. Crew is practically its own aesthetic at this point. It’s not trad or prep - it’s a little bit workwear, a little bit Japanese Ivy, a little bit 2010-2015 GQ. It’s fine for what it is but most of their stuff is not worth full price.

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What industry are you working in and do you have an actual dress code from your employer? So many industries that have tended to be quite formal and conservative have relaxed their standards around dress dramatically in the last few years, so it’s important for you to really understand what the specific current expectations of your industry (and niche, and employer) are. If you have started your job already, what are people in management wearing? I don’t think brand is important unless you’re in an industry where brand is important and people take notice. Fit is probably going to be the top factor in whether or not your workwear looks professional and polished. Good fabrics and construction are also important, but you don’t have to go to expensive brands to get those (and expensive brands don’t guarantee those.) Unless you’re lucky enough to find things that fit very well off the rack (which is ideal), I would save some of my budget for tailoring (which can be quite expensive for structured and lined garments, like blazers). What are winter and summer like for you? Your climate will have a big impact on what you should wear in different seasons, and may also impact what is considered appropriate professional wear. Wool can be an excellent year around fabric, though not all wool garments are going to be appropriate or comfortable for all seasons. If you’re looking at blazers and not matching suits then I’m guessing you’re not dressing for the highest level of formality. I would lean towards unlined blazers for the summer, and year round if you can. They’ll be lighter and cooler, and lots of unlined blazers can be machine washed, while lined blazers generally need to be dry cleaned. If you do end up with lined blazers in your wardrobe make sure that you have a dry cleaning budget and also invest in a garment steamer. If you don’t need high formality I would suggest looking for unlined blazers and pants made out of ponte fabric. It’s super comfortable, easy to care for, and structured enough that it makes great work wear. My suggestion for anyone on a tight budget would be to go to a variety of stores in person and try on a bunch of stuff. Figure out what sizes work for you, what cuts and styles work on your body, and note what various fabrics feel like to touch and how they drape on your body. Then buy some stuff second hand. Thrift locally if that makes sense or look on eBay or Poshmark. The shift away from formal work wear and the work from home trend means there’s a huge amount of nice work wear on the used market for barely any money. You can get really high quality, high MSRP garments for SHEIN prices, and then spend some money on tailoring and dry cleaning or just have more options in your wardrobe. I don’t know about the best time to shop JCrew, but they have sales often enough that I would never pay full price for anything unless I loved it so much that I would be filled with regret if I missed out. More on reddit.com