After strong reviews for “Corporate Style” featuring Gabe Schulman, we decided to do a similar feature for all of our “business casual” readers out there.

As I’ve written in the past, because I work as a stylist, I am not bound by traditional dress codes. Therefore, to take an authentic look at “business casual” with style, I decided to feature one of my best friends Marwan Helal for the second time (to see his first feature, click here). From nine to five, Marwan, who is employed by a pharmaceutical distributor, keeps a great balance between professional and stylish.

In our shared opinion, business casual is all about treading the line between looking presentably conservative and expressively stylish. It’s a term that is thrown around often, and has a number of different meanings from one office to the next. Therefore, it’s very important to understand the expectations of your superiors, the strictness of appearance in your office and the overall culture of your place of business.

We shot Marwan going about his business in our hometown Windsor Ontario Canada, from Monday to Friday.

Monday

Windsor is in southern Ontario. It’s one of the most southern cities in Canada, directly across the Ambassador bridge from Detroit Michigan. Although we do get a good amount of snow and cold weather – it’s not a tundra (as some ignorant people often suspect).

“There are beautiful, sunny days in the winter here. The kind of days where a midweight wool cardigan is all I need as outerwear – especially since I’m not outside much, usually just to walk to and from my car. This is my ‘flying under the radar’ look. The concept (washed plaid shirt + cardigan + chinos) is simple and appropriate for just about any occasion, although the pants are an olive green (a neutral, versatile and underrated color that Dan often recommends) and the socks have a little pop (and a little King of Pop).”

Bonus Tip: if you’re going to try a statement sock at the office, make sure the shoe means business, like these sleek lace-ups.

Bonus Tip II: “I like the symmetry of a cuffed sleeve + cuffed pant”. (Yes, this is how much thought our crew puts into this sh-t, hah)

Bonus Tip III: Buttoning a three-button jacket: top sometimes, middle always, bottom never. Buttoning a cardigan sweater: top sometimes, bottom never.