Tuesdays can be awkward in the grand scheme of weekly planning. They’re after dreaded Mondays but before the nice midpoint of Wednesdays, so they can feel like a sort of limbo. This applies to outfit planning, too; you can’t be too casual because it’s still early in the week, but you don’t want to be too serious and boring.
Luckily, we’ve compiled our best Tuesday outfit ideas to help you style yourself in this limbo day of the week—and added some tips to make Tuesdays feel less liminal. If you need help with Tuesday outfits, we’ve got your back.
What to wear on a Tuesday?
If you need a bit of a TL;DR section, the short and sweet answer is to wear what you find comfortable and feel confident in. Tuesdays are just like every other day; you want to feel good in what you wear because confidence will do more for your look than any outfit or clothing piece.
If you need quick guidance, you want business casual/work-appropriate attire that helps you look serious and intelligent while also being approachable, comfortable, and confident.
Chinos and Shirts
The first outfit idea—and this one can be a real catch-all—is to wear some nice chinos with a shirt. The shirts depend heavily on your work environment and what your plans for the day are, but the chinos are the real centerpiece.
Chinos are the better-looking sibling to jeans while being far more comfortable than khakis. Getting a few pairs of chinos can revolutionize your fashion across the board, and Tuesday fashion is no different. If you need Tuesday work outfit ideas, chinos are a must-have. Get some pairs that are well-fitted and stylish and you’ll feel and look better, no matter what work events may be planned for the day.
One of the other benefits of men’s chinos is that they can go with a wide variety of tops. We simply said “shirts” because chinos can go with everything from t-shirts to dress shirts, which means you can wear the same chinos with different shirts and shoes to have outfits ranging from casual to professional.
If you’re a fan of men’s tees, chinos are the best option to pair with them. Since chinos are more professional than jeans, they allow you to wear the more casual option of T-shirts with them. But, you can’t just wear any tee. You need t-shirts that fit you well and look good, so be sure to check out Perk’s Feel Good Tees.
Jeans and Jackets
Jeans are still bread-and-butter options for men’s casual clothes. You can wear them out on the town or to the office and look good at either; however, you need to know what tops to wear with your jeans.
If you’re not working on Tuesday, then you can wear simple T-shirts or casual button-ups with your jeans. Style yourself based on how you want to look at whatever date or hangout you plan on going to.
If you are working, you need to be a little more attentive to what you wear with your jeans. As we mentioned above, jeans are pretty casual, so you might need to shore up some professionalism with your tops if you’re wearing jeans to work.
To this end, you’ll want to break out the classic business casual look: jeans and a sports coat. The jeans make you look casual and comfortable while the sports coat helps you look classy, intelligent, and focused. Then, you can modulate the outfit towards professionalism or casual wear depending on what shirt you wear under your coat.
Need to look more classy for a work function? Wear a dress shirt or polo under the sports coat. Feel like you’re professional enough already? You can wear one of the well-fitting T-shirts you got with your chinos. The main benefit of jeans and jacket outfits is that you can easily customize how casual or professional you are with a simple change of shirt or shoe.
Khakis and Polos
You might cringe at the thought of wearing a stereotypical business casual outfit like khakis and polos, but don’t worry: for one, khakis and polos are stereotypical for a reason, and two, there are plenty of ways to break the mold with this outfit while maintaining the business casual aesthetic it excels at.
On the first point, things don’t become a stereotype or trope out of the blue. Khakis and polos are the banners of business casual because they work well for that style. If you need some Tuesday work outfits, don’t block off this excellent option just because it’s a bit of a trope.
On the latter point—and building off the first—there are plenty of ways to embrace this classic look while changing it in modern and stylish ways.
The first thing to think about is colors. You’ll look stereotypically business casual if you wear a light khaki with a baby blue polo. You can probably imagine the Abercrombie and Fitch ad right now. However, if you change up the colors—like wearing a dark khaki and a green polo, instead—you can master the business casual aesthetic while still looking unique.
Alongside colors, consider accessories. Maybe you don’t like the boat shoes look. That’s fine! You can go as professional as Oxfords or as casual as sneakers with khakis, so experiment. The worst thing you can do with these types of outfits—and your fashion across the board—is feel like you can’t try things out.
Fashion is no different than anything else in life. You can research fashion tips all you like, but you’ll never figure out what you want until you try things out yourself. Guides like this article only exist to give you a roadmap; you have to plot the path yourself.
Other Tips
If you need one thing to keep in mind for all your outfits for Tuesdays, think about this: you want to keep your week cruising without being too casual or too serious. If you work in an office, this probably looks like chinos and a nice button-up. If you work somewhere more casual, then whip out the jeans.
The most important thing is to keep up the momentum in your fashion. Don’t let Tuesdays feel like a liminal space in your work or personal life. If you think about your Tuesday fashion with intention, you’ll have outfits that keep your Tuesdays feeling fun and fresh—because you will feel confident and comfortable.
On the other hand, you don’t want to slip into the later-week casual style too quickly. Tuesdays should feel focused and professional, but not as intense as Mondays. Break out your Feel Good Chinos and Tees, dust off your white sneakers, and feel good about your Tuesdays.
If you want even more men’s fashion tips, be sure to check out the rest of Perk’s blog!
