For years you've been wearing a suit to work and suddenly, your employer changes the dress code to 'business formal', 'business casual' or 'smart casual'. It's a minefield - suddenly you've gone from the security of being able to chuck on a suit every day (so easy) to having to look polished and professional in a much more casual way. 

This relaxed way of dressing at work started in silicon valley dot.com boom that started back in the 80's. Relaxed dress codes are seen by many as allure and are a perk of the job. Being restricted in a suit in navy, grey or black isn't required anymore and even more corporate organisations like Goldman Sachs are have turned their backs on formal work attire. Now we're coming out of months of working from home and become even more used to dressing down this is going to continue. The thing to remember is just because our workwear has become more informal, it doesn't mean there's no need to look professional at work.

But how do you get it right? Sportwear is out, as are jeans and flipflops. I run through the items you can get to make sure you always have the right thing to wear in a formal workplace that now has a relaxed dress code.