Did they provide any other parameters? What did you see other men wearing when you visited?

I don't have to wear a tie and I can't wear jeans. I saw no other men when I was interviewed.

Old Navy is your friend. Try to find outlet stores where there are brand name outlets with nice stuff at big discounts. There is also no shame at shopping at Marshall's or TJ Maxx.

Eddie Bauer. Chinos and button shirts in the colors you mentioned. Polo shirts for Friday.

Ooh, outlet shopping. Good call. The nearest one is an hour from here. Roadtrip!

I usually have great luck at ExpressMen, but it is so friggin expensive.

You might also just try big department stores. Most of them will be running Christmas sales now, and they'll probably have the widest selection of brands/cuts/styles to try.

As I've stated before (with much exposition, I'm afraid), you'll be better off if you avoid pleats in your business casual pant purchasing.

That being said, a great resource for good pants is Gap. Old Navy will do in a pinch, particularly since they share the same headquarters (Banana Republic, as well), but Gap's khakis (referring to all of their casual pants line, not just the one color) are of a slightly higher quality that will maintain their shape, size and color through repeated laundering.

If you like darker colors, get a navy pair, a black pair, perhaps a grey pair. An olive pair will help as well. The cut you'll want at Gap is called "Hudson," I believe.

Now, you've got pants covered, what to do above the belt? Others might tell you to go with a selection of polo shirts, but I wouldn't. Polo shirts can get ratty quickly and they rarely look all that good, as they can accentuate the worst of anyone's shape. If you must wear them, keep the colors solid and avoid stitched on logos.

Instead, go with long-sleeve button down shirts of various colors. The color of these shirts is where you can get creative a bit. Those black pants will go with a red shirt, a white shirt or even a striped grey shirt. Where to find them? Gap again, but also Express For Men, Banana Republic and big anchor stores at the mall like Macy's, etc. If you've an outlet mall nearby, hit the Arrow, Van Heusen, Polo and Ralph Lauren second shops. You'll be buying last year's hotness, but this is for work, not for the sake of fashion.

Oh, and wear an a-shirt (aka wifebeater) under that long-sleeve button-down. Even during the summer, that's going to leave you much more comfortable than a shirt on your bare skin. If you think the long-sleeves will be too hot, think again. Sleeves roll up and still look good.

I may be male and rubbish at this kind of thing, but brown does seem to be in at the moment and a nice, dark/dark-ish shade looks really good and goes well with quite a few other colours. So my vote would be for some comfy dark brown Chinos.

Also, how soon do you need these? The Christmas market is so cut-throat at the moment (in the UK at least...) that people are dropping their prices in mid-to-late December. If you can hold out a few weeks, you could well pick some some cool sale stuff.

wow! grabbingsand. I totally agree with you. I personally dislike pleats on men's pants. I find them ummm, too conventional, too oldguy. I also like donf's idea of brown, dark tan or something.

I hate pleats as well, so I'll fall into the Gap sometime this weekend. I also hate polo shirts. What about shoes? What dressy shoe fits like a sneaker?

I had awful experiences with Old Navy pants. Unless things have changed dramatically in the last couple of years, I think their quality is lacking. My Mom has forbade my father or brother from buying any more Old Navy pants because they were so difficult to care for.

It's a little pricier, but I've had nothing but GREAT experience with Brooks Brothers clothing. These non-iron chinos are great--I've never had to iron them and they always look good. Their non-iron dress shirts are also great. They are the best performing non-iron material I've seen and are incredibly durable--I have a few shirts that are going strong into their fourth year. The downside for me was that if I bought a patterned shirt, I'd always run into someone wearing the same shirt.

Shoes? Clarks. Amazon's having a sale, too.

What do you mean "fit like a sneaker"? If you just mean fitting comfortably, well I think it's just a matter of quality. My Allen-Edmonds and Alden shoes are the most comfortable shoes I own, including my sneakers. It's because high-end shoe companies make a variety of lasts and widths, so you can find something that truly fits. For these brands, you'll spend something like $300/pair. But you can have them re-soled and refurbished every few years and they'll last forever. It's a cliche, but if you splurge on anything, splurge on shoes. I have a pair of these in dark brown that I love.

And to totally contradict the above, I also have a pair of these J Crew suede boots that I also love. Not sure if you want to go that casual though. But they are comfortable.

When do we start the flamewar over the use of the term "wifebeater"?

Well, it is a lot more...uh...colorful than the term a-shirt.

Sorry about the "wifebeater" reference. I hate the fact that we've come to associate such a crap nickname to a decent article of clothing, but here we are. I could say just a-shirt, but not many know what that is. I could call it a vest, but that's a primarily British term, one that I've not seen since spotting an ad in the London Underground for Diehard on DVD in 2002. Showed just Willis's undershirt with requisite bloodstains, using it as some kind of identifiable outfit for a hero. Tank top? Feh, still fails.

So yeah. Ignore the bad name and embrace the good underwear.

About shoes ... DSW is a nice go-to, should you have such a store around you. Lots of selection and plenty of room to try on. Again, these are mostly last year's run, but to outfit for work, they'll do. I've got three or four pair in the work line-up. Right now, I'm wearing leather black cap-toe lace-ups from Kenneth Cole. Good for casual, but also in case you do have to throw on a suit. My favorite work-friendly pair of shoes are some black leather Borns with a thicker sole. They look a lot like this. They work for after-work, too. Great with jeans. And really, really comfortable.

Both pairs mentioned are shiny-ish leather and black. I've a brown pair as well, some lace-up Merrells, but they don't get as much use. Black works with most anything.

And suede? If your typical climate is dry, go for it. If there is a chance of hitting a puddle or two, maybe not.

It was a joke. I guess we have lots of non-MeFi people here so sometimes MeFi references fall flat.

I don't know how you can make jokes when men all over the world are wearing these sartorial tributes to domestic violence.

Even though I've not bought men's shoes, I have found a way to buy shoes that appeals to both my inner frugalness and my external delight in well-made goods. eBay. Hit up a really nice shoe store, try on a variety of brands. Find one that fits you well and that you like the general styling of. Then go to eBay, select your size, color, etc and voila! Good savings! I just bought a brand new pair of Harley Davidson shoes for $30 including shipping. I'd seen them in a store for $125. Returns can be hard if they're an irregular fit and you have to wait a while longer. But four pair of brand new shoes later and I'm only out $85. And I still have a pair of ankle boots I bought from Harley Davidson in 1998 that I wear all the time. With quarterly trips to the cobbler they look great and are still in great shape. I may have to get them resoled soon though.

And if you get brown pants, make sure you have brown shoes. You can cheat and get shoes that have brown and black on them together. But please, no black shoes with brown pants or vice versa.

And if you really wanna save money on clothes, buy enough to get by till 2nd week of January. That's when stores have to do inventory and sales are the best.

And matildaben, I see your rousing comment and I raise you one bitch slap.

I can probably slide to the 2nd week of January easily on what I already have. eBay for shoes is an awesome idea!