The everyday dress baseline in most of the world is neat casual, but the definition of neat shifts by country and that is what newcomers misjudge. In much of Europe, Latin America, and urban Asia, people put visible effort into errand-running clothes, and gym wear, flip-flops, or rumpled loungewear outside the house reads as sloppy; in North America, Australia, and some other places, athletic casual is unremarkable. Watching commuters and supermarket shoppers your own age for a week tells you exactly where the local line sits.
Work attire spans from formal suits in conservative banking and government cultures to relaxed smart-casual in tech and creative sectors, and it is always safer to overdress your first day and adjust down. Climate shapes everything too: hot countries favour loose, breathable natural fabrics with more coverage than visitors expect, since covering up is often both the modest and the cooler choice.
In conservative regions across the Middle East, South Asia, and parts of Africa, everyday modesty norms mean shoulders and knees covered for both genders, with cities typically more relaxed than rural areas. The reliable formula anywhere: clean, unwrinkled, a touch more covered and put-together than your home default, and adjusted by observation within your first week.