At half past five, a friend sends you the restaurant's location. Under your desk is a bag holding the spare shirt you brought from home. The shirt has been folded for ten hours, and its creases now form a neat grid of squares across the chest. Not to mention changing in an office toilet cubicle with a wet floor.
That shirt can stay in the bag. For dinner after work, you rarely need a change of clothes. Just change one part of what you're already wearing. The fabric and cut of your clothes will tell you which part.
If You're Wearing a Blazer or Cardigan, Just Take It Off
The outer layer is usually the piece that looks most like work. Take it off, then drape it over the back of your desk chair or fold it into your bag. The shirt and trousers underneath are already fine for dinner, so nothing else needs to change.
If the restaurant is known for being chilly, bring the layer along and put it back on once the air-con starts to bite.
If It's Just a Shirt, Look at the Fabric and Collar
Without an outer layer, the two easiest moves are rolling up your sleeves or undoing the top button. You only need one.
Sleeves rolled to just below the elbow instantly make an office shirt look more relaxed. Unbutton the cuff, fold it up by its own width, then fold it once more. A roll like this holds longest on slightly thick, textured fabric such as oxford. On thin, slippery fabric, it has usually slid back down to your wrist before the food arrives.
If your shirt is thin, go for the collar instead. Just undo the top button you've had done up all day. This looks neatest on a button-down collar, the kind whose points button onto the body of the shirt. The points stay anchored, so they don't stick out in all directions. The navy oxford shirt, for example, is made of fairly thick cotton and has a button-down collar, so you can pick either the sleeves or the collar.
Tucked or Untucked? If It's Been In All Day, Leave It In
Untucking your shirt seems like the quickest way to look relaxed. More often, it just looks messy. The part that has been tucked into your trousers all day is usually the most creased, and once it's out, those creases end up right where everyone can see them.
Length matters too. Office shirts are often cut long so they don't come untucked when you sit down or raise your arms. If the back hem covers your whole backside, the shirt was made to be tucked in. A shorter shirt that doesn't crease easily is fine to wear untucked.
Your Trousers and Shoes Can Stay as They Are
Dark office trousers already suit most restaurants. Chinos, cotton trousers that are more relaxed than dress trousers but neater than jeans, are among the easiest to take from one setting to the next. Neither the black Chino Workpant nor its coffee-brown version looks out of place, whether in this morning's meeting room or at tonight's restaurant table.
Leather shoes are fine too. If you keep a pair of sneakers under your desk, you can switch into them, and that already counts as your one change. Your shirt's sleeves and collar can then stay just as they were this morning.
One more thing doesn't count, because it isn't optional: take your office access card from around your neck before you walk into the restaurant.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I change if the restaurant is fairly formal?
Possibly nothing. Neat office clothes are exactly right for a more formal restaurant. Keep your shirt tucked in and your cuffs buttoned. If you wore a blazer today, keep it on.
What if I have to wear a tie to work?
Take off the tie, then undo the top button. Together they count as one change, because a collar buttoned right to the top without a tie looks as if you left the tie behind.
How do I dress down a short-sleeved shirt for dinner?
A short-sleeved shirt is already casual by nature. Undo the top button if it has been done up all day. If it's already open, leave it. That shirt is ready for dinner as it is.
Do I need to change anything if I wore batik to the office today?
You don't have to. Batik is already appropriate for dinner almost anywhere. If your batik is long-sleeved and the setting is relaxed, you can roll the sleeves up twice, just as you would with an ordinary shirt.
Dinner is at a street food stall. Anything I should do first?
Roll up your sleeves before you sit down. It looks more relaxed, and it keeps your shirt cuffs safe from the sambal and the soto broth.