If you’re a nurse, then on the job you’re wearing scrubs, but that doesn’t mean you can’t look good too. It’s not the 1960s and scrubs aren’t those baggy old green OR scrubs of yesterday. Today you’ve got a wide variety of cuts, colors, designs, styles, and more to choose from.
Want a slim, flattering tapered cut? They’ve got them. Want sporty, athleisure wear look?
Get yourself some joggers or yoga pants style. There’s more, but you get the point – you’ve got options.
We’ve got 5 simple ways you can look cute and chic for the ladies and GQ smooth for the guys. But remember, when it comes to your work uniform, you’ll always have to stay within the guidelines of your employer. So let’s get to those fashion secrets to looking good in your scrubs.
Choose The Right Colors
The right color gives you a warm, healthy look and complements your skin color – while the wrong color can make you look like death warmed over. Choosing the right color to complement your skin tone is one of the most important fashion tips.
How do you know what your skin tone is? Easy, here’s what you do:
- Hold up a white sheet of paper next to your face
- Warm skin tone: you look yellowish, greenish, or light brown
- Cool skin tone: you look pink, rosy, or blue
- Neutral skin tone: you look gray or ashen
Next, flip your hand over and look at the veins on the inside of your wrist:
- Cool skin: your veins look blue or purple
- Warm skin: your veins look green
- Neutral skin: it’s difficult to see a difference
Ok, now that you’ve got your skin tone down, here’s what colors will look better on you:
The best colors for warm skin tones: cream, coral, honey, olive
The best colors for cool skin tones: blue, rose, lavender, grey
The best colors for neutral skin tones: red, jade, white, medium blue
Get The Right Size
Even if you’ve got the right color for your skin tone, if your scrubs don’t fit right, you’re either going to look sloppy or like a sausage that’s about to burst.
Even if you think you know or know you know your size – measure yourself anyway. Get a cloth tape measure and take your measurements.
- Measure around your chest
- Around your neck
- Down your inseam (top inside of your thigh to your ankle)
- Around your waist
- Around your hips
If you’d like some in-depth instructions on how to take your measurements, you can look here.
The right fit and size can make almost any kind of scrubs look flattering for your body type. But besides looking good, a proper fit looks professional too. And once you have your measurements, you’ll have a better idea of what style of scrubs will look the best on you.
A good fit is the number one way to look good in your scrubs – but, you can also feel relaxed in these most comfortable men’s scrubs.
Find The Right Style
Scrubs have come a long way from the baggy old OR scrubs that fit like a potato sack. Today you’ve got choices of fabrics, cuts, fits, and accessories. Here are the common cuts and styles you’ll see and a little bit about how they’ll fit.
Classic Fit
This is the classic cut that is generally what you think of when you think of scrubs. They’re a bit baggy with a straight cut that gives you a lot of room both in the top and the bottoms.
These are roomy and great for comfort and ease of movement, and depending on your body type may fit a bit lose.
Modern Fit
All the rage and the cut that most brands are going to. The modern cut tapers from the chest to the waist giving you a cute and flattering, form-fitting look. The pants are also tapered for a closer, more fitted cut.
Also, when it comes to pants you’ve got choices of many different styles that are super cute, like yoga pants, joggers, boot cut, slim leg, cargos, and more.
Modern fit scrubs are perfect for smaller and more slender body types who may find classic scrubs too baggy.
Accessorize
Your facility’s uniform policy is largely going to dictate what kind of accessories you can have, so that’s your first consideration. But here are a few ideas that can really take your scrubs from basic to chic.
- Undershirts (short or long-sleeved) with complementary colors and patterns
- Small, understated pieces of jewelry
- A custom badge reel, stethoscope charm, or name tag
- Hair clips and headbands
- Colorful socks (even if everyone doesn’t get to see them)
- Cute (or cool) shoes (nursing shoes come in all kinds of styles, colors, and patterns)
Don’t Forget Your Hair
If you’ve got long hair (no judgment here), there’s nothing wrong with a clean bun, or depending on your hair type, some solid braids.
But it’s high time for the high fade, buzz and yes, even the baldies can proudly sport their hairless heads. So, if your uniform policies allow it, how about a beard?
Nothing says MAN like a great chin rug. Neat, lined and clipped, or a lumberjack who’s been out in the wild for months, whatever beard style you choose, just remember to properly care for it with beard oils, balms, and regular trimming.
Just because you work in scrubs doesn’t mean you can’t look great on the job. Use these five tips to find your color, your fit and your style. To top it, you may want to check out what are the best scrub jackets.
And when you’re on the floor, taking vitals and giving out that superior quality care the way that only you can, everyone can watch you walk by and think,
“How do they make those scrubs look so good?”
