Written By Caleb Moll

Photography By Hal Lueking

Modeled By Zachary O’Dell, Callie Gilbreth, & Ashton Diercks

Fall is officially in full swing! I don't know about you, but I personally get excited for a change in temperature, the beautiful autumn leaves, and the upcoming fall activities. Plus, it gives me the excuse to go shopping for new clothes and find new fall accessories! As someone that is a part of Generation Z, there are so many up and coming trends for fall– which makes it difficult to choose just one. Generation Z pushes out so many trends throughout the year that it is hard to decide what to wear each day, let alone for the upcoming season. Following trends is easy for our generation due to ready-to-wear garments. “Ready-to-wear garments,” also known as “RTW,” are clothing items that are pre-made to be sold in stores. RTW is much more convenient than creating our own clothes. However, one of my favorite trends for fall ‘23 is incorporating business garments juxtaposed with key fashion staples from the current fashion cycle. This trend is known as Relaxed Formal!

Relaxed Formal comes from the progression of ready-to-wear business garments becoming more casual over time. Originally, in the early 1950s, RTW business garments were essential in the workplace. The 1950s office wear was strictly professional and no RTW casual clothing was worn in the workplace. Traditionally, common pieces like dark suits, crisp white shirts, neck ties, knee length skirts, and stockings were worn in the office everyday. However, this began to shift during the 1970s. In this period of time, office RTW work attire began to change from the previous 20 years. Individuals in the 1970s started to step away from professional wear and began to dress more casual in the office space. Men ditched the suits and women traded skirts and dresses for pants. This demonstrates how society started to swing and reflect the current trends going on during this time period. Fashion started to become more casual and this includes fashion in the workplace. This is where the term “business casual” comes from!

Flash forward to 2023, Generation Z is snatching up casual and business apparel, from retailers and the thrift, and transforming them into fashion forward outfits for the fall. The trend of relaxed formal has many key elements you can use to upgrade your fall wardrobe. This trend incorporates key colors for fall 2023 such as shades of red, green, blue, brown, and values of grey, black, and white. This change in style utilizes key business elements such as blazers, sport jackets, button-ups, neck ties, and pleated trousers, giving them new life. To style an oversized blazer in the fashion of relaxed formal, you could pair it with a casual white button up, a loose fitted tie, wide leg trousers, and elements of leather. The addition of leather accents such as the blazer, loafers, harnesses, or leather handbags give the casual and the business elements an edge to the overall outfit.

Now, grab those business clothes and fall accessories tucked away in your closet… and let's get back to business for fall!

Below are some Key Items and Highlights of Relaxed Formal:

Key Garments:

-Top Coats

-Blazers

-Long Trench Coats

-Button-Ups

-Leather Jackets

-Wide Legs Pants

-Sport Coats

-Midi length skirts

Key Colors:

-Crimson Red

-Black

-Optic White

-Dark Oak (brown)

-Circular Grey

-Chalk

Key Accessories:

-Neck ties

-Leather belts

-Statement sunglasses

-Layered Necklaces

-Handbags

-Loafers

-Leather Sneakers

B2B: Back to Business For Fall