This post is part of a series on dressing for new (or temporary) office jobs. See the whole series.
I’m wrapping up my series on dressing for a new work environment this week, but before I do, I wanted to share a few of my favorite links from around the web on both building a work-oriented wardrobe and on staying true to your identity and sense of style at the office. This list is by no means exhaustive, but a few things that have caught my eye and inspired some good thinking on my part — and not necessarily because I agreed with all of them!
- Sally’s fabulous recent posts on “intermediate style” and dressing down your work wardrobe at Already Pretty.
- Kat Griffin of Corporette’s guide to wardrobe essentials for the summer associate or intern. This list is pretty prescriptive and YMMV outside of big New York institutional office jobs, but it’s worth thinking about and interrogating yourself.
- Likewise, Kat’s list of what *not* to wear in these settings is worth a look.
- This thread from the Careerist on the class implications of office dress—and what messages your clothes do or don’t send to your employer about your professional goals, with all its somewhat disturbing implications.
- Academichic’s collection of posts on interview attire.
- Amy of BiblioMOMia’s post on dressing with power, confidence and originality while presenting at a professional conference.
- Rosel’s love letter to one of her work wardrobe essentials, a pair of black trousers that were initially outside her comfort zone.
Have a favorite link I should add to this list? Let me know! Leave a comment below, or send me an e-mail or a tweet!
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This post is part of a series on dressing for new (or temporary) office jobs. See the whole series.
Last week, we talked about navigating the office dress code in a new environment, including the often-mystifying differences between the “official” dress code and the on-the-ground sartorial norms. This week, we’ll talk about what to do with those guidelines: some thoughts on shopping strategies, accessorizing, and “essential” wardrobe items.
First, a few things to consider:
- Your time horizon and repeat tolerance: If you’re just acquiring a few things to get you through a summer job or internship, your perspective on what kinds of things you should have and what quality they need to be will be different than if you’re starting a permanent job after leaving college or graduate school. Likewise, the size (and fashion-awareness) of your office, the number of people you come into contact with every day, and your personal preferences will affect the percentage of the time you want to spend wearing (or feeling like you’re wearing) different outfits.
- Your budget. This goes pretty much without say.
- What the dress code in your office is really like.
- Other considerations that restrict the size of your capsule wardrobe. For example, my dear friend K. commuted from New Haven to D.C. every week so she could see her husband on the weekends while we were working over the summer, and didn’t have access to anything you could meaningfully call a closet for much of the duration. It didn’t prevent her from having great style, but it did place some obvious restrictions on how many pieces she had in her rotation.
- Any particular rules in your office regarding accessories. Your office may or may not allow peep-toed shoes, dangling earrings, etc. Accessories rules tend to be ones that can be bent more easily, but your mileage may vary.
A few truly essential pieces:
- Your interview suit. Should be as basic as can be (and therefore almost endlessly remixable). Ideally, you have multiple pieces (e.g., pants and skirt that match the same blazer, or a skirt and a shift dress).
- For goodness sake, a pair of sensible shoes. This is just common sense, but particularly true in the law firm/consulting summer program context. People will take you places, you will walk a lot on terrible city sidewalks, and there is nothing professional about desperately sore feet or heels that have been demolished in sidewalk grates. (Take it from someone who ruined a pair of brand new heels on the first day of my summer program as a 1L walking halfway across the city to go to lunch with my mentor. Sigh.)
- One, possibly two, pairs of basic “office” pumps. These are the shoes that match your interview suit and, hopefully, virtually everything else in your work capsule wardrobe. Maybe not the most exciting pair of shoes ever, but the ones that will be unobjectionable in virtually all settings in which you think you’ll find yourself.
- A day dress (or two) in a solid fabric that you really, really love. There are two schools of thought here about neutral or colored, but this is another question for common sense and good judgment about where you fit in your professional universe. Ideally, this is also a dress that can go under a blazer of some kind, or a cardigan, or be worn by itself when the occasion calls for it.
- In a more formal office, a second and possibly a third suit. How many suits you need will depends on the availability of suit alternatives in your office and your closet, other things that might be considered business formal, and how many pieces you’re able to acquire in a given suit.
- In a business casual office, a few key separates that hold up well and play well with a variety of colors. Depending on your preference, this may mean more skirts or pants, but should probably also include one additional blazer, perhaps in a more distinctively colored or textured fabric.
Different approaches to building a work wardrobe:
- The cohesive capsule. If you’re really starting from scratch, and you’re confident about the dress norms in the office you’ll be working in, and your budget permits this approach, you might consider acquiring a capsule wardrobe that all more or less fits together all at once. Personally, I tend to struggle with this one, mostly because I like being able to react to changes in my circumstances (and my mood!) as I get used to a new environment.
- The gradual approach. Just like it sounds, this one works best if you know your closet better than you know the environment you’ll be working in: figure out what you’ll need for the first week or two, and then fill in the gaps as you get to know the environment and what your peers and superiors are wearing.
- The not-so-conformist approach. Riskier, but an option when you’re (a) working in a smaller office and won’t be part of a large, identifiable peer group, (b) already have a significant stable of workplace-appropriate items in your closet and (c) have a longer time horizon. Edit a capsule of items that fit these genres, but don’t necessarily all fit together quite so tightly. Want to try to be a little nonconformist but still blend in where necessary? My favorite place to start is with your shoes.
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This post is part of a series on dressing for new (or temporary) office jobs. See the whole series.
Almost every office has one.
No, not that slightly nosy coworker who somehow manages to know everything about everyone’s lives (those too, though). A dress code. Unfortunately, for a document that’s intended to provide clarity of expectations ahead of time, the average office dress code is riddled with unwritten (and often unspoken) rules and norms. So, how do you develop a strategy for navigating appropriate dress in these muddy waters? Here are a few questions to consider in assembling a “capsule wardrobe” of work essentials.
- Does your dress code define office dress as “business casual” or “professional attire” or ”business formal”? Obviously, you’ll have greater flexibility in a business casual environment.
- If the dress code says business casual, does it really mean it? For example, at many law firms, the dress code will say something along the lines of, “our office is business casual, but many attorneys prefer to wear formal business attire most days.” Pay attention to the norms that appear to apply to your peers, rather than the blanket guidelines for the office as a whole.
- Even if the dress code is business casual, will you be in situations that otherwise require more formal attire? Even in a business casual office, if you’re a lawyer, you have to go to court sometimes. Or if you’re a consultant, you have to meet with clients. Or [insert important outside-the-office obligation here]. How often do these kinds of settings come up? Do you usually know ahead of time, or will you need to keep an emergency suit stashed in your office?
- How does your office define formal business attire? In some offices, formal business attire would include a dress (usually with sleeves) on its own, without a jacket or other topper. If this is you, consider investing in a few (remixable) dresses that can be worn on their own. If formal business attire means you’re wearing a jacket but not necessarily a suit, consider what kinds of suit alternatives might be appropriate.
- If you’ll be working during the summer, does your office support the Right to Bare Arms? If it doesn’t, is it just a “no tanktops” rule, or are short sleeves also considered inappropriate? Are jackets and cardigans equally acceptable arm coverings?
- What are rules about footwear? Are peep-toes permissible? How high is too high? Are flats famed or frowned upon?
Like what you just read? You can subscribe to Narrowly Tailored via RSS or bloglovin’, or follow me on Twitter to be the first to know what I’m up to.
This post is part of a series on dressing for new (or temporary) office jobs. See the whole series.
I love suits. Really. For professional women, suits are easy, confidence inspiring, and—in the case of the right suit—pretty neat to look at. For many younger women early in their careers, however, the truly great suit can be financially out of reach, or if you have one (for example, an interview suit), odds are you don’t have enough of them to get by on suits alone. Whether you’re pregnant, frugal, or just otherwise uninspired by the idea of wearing The Same Black Banana Republic Suit every day, here are a few of my favorite “suit alternative” strategies, aimed at those days where some kind of topper is required, but you don’t absolutely have to wear a suit. These are organized in decreasing order of formality.
The Dress + Blazer
Probably my favorite category of suit alternative, particularly for comfort’s sake. It’s also the closest to putting on a suit in terms of how easy it is to put together while you’re running out the door. As my bump expanded, I tended to choose flowier styles for the dress underneath, while relying on blazers to preserve a sense of crispness and proportion. It’s also a great way to dress up jersey for the office: you may feel like you’re wearing something as comfortable as your PJs, but odds are few folks will be able to tell. While your office may vary in terms of allowable brightness levels, you want some level of contrast between dress and jacket: remember that the first rule of trying to get away with not wearing a suit is not looking like you’re trying to get away with wearing suit pieces that don’t quite match!
The Specialty Jacket
A slightly more advanced suit-faking strategy, but still one of my favorites. This is probably the second most “formal” suit alternative, and like the dress and blazer combo, can work even in settings where a full suit would be required (this is clothing you could wear to court, at least sometimes). For my two cents, it works best with the kind of blazer or jacket that never matched anything to begin with, the kind of standout piece that will elevate relatively tame, basic separates (for example, black slacks or a skirt and a relatively simple top or shell). If you think of a suit as normally involving a package of expectations about color, texture, pattern and shape, I like to think about upending one or two of these at a time, rather than all four.
The Dress-As-Business-Formal Option
The availability of this option depends almost entirely on the dress code of your office (other applicable forum), but if you’re lucky, it’ll include language describing a dress as “business formal” or “professional attire” for women. Though the informal rules tend to vary as to whether or not your office supports the right to bare arms, it helps to proceed with caution on this front, wearing either a dress with long or 3/4-length sleeves or a cardigan over a sleeveless dress. While this option typically won’t work if you have to go to court or a job interview, in the right circumstances, it can be an easy, reliable go-to option for office dressing.
The Cardigan
Though it only works for those times when you really, really don’t have to wear a suit, or in a predominantly business casual environment, but where it’s consistent with your office dress code, a cardigan can be the glue that holds separates together and makes a short sleeved or sleeveless shell or tee appropriate for the office. Again, it’s usually not appropriate attire for court or for a meeting with a non-business-casual client, but can work well for a day spent predominantly at your desk doing research, going to lunch with peers or folks only slightly more senior, or routine, in-office meetings with senior folks you aren’t meeting for the first time. It can also be a nice way to experiment with the boundaries of acceptable color, texture and pattern.
Do you work in a suits-every-day office, or one that’s more casual? What’s your go-to suit alternative?
This series is just one of several I have in the works for the coming weeks, supplementing our regular daily style content. Got additional questions or ideas you’d like to see me address in more depth than a regular outfit post? Let me know! E-mail narrowlytailored at gmail dot com, leave a comment or tweet @narrowtailoring.
Congratulations! You landed your dream gig for the summer, or full-time after graduating [insert form of professional school here]. You’re moving to [City of Your Dreams] for [the next ten weeks/OMGtherestofyourlife]. The catch? It’s a sartorially conservative environment, and you’re meeting new people every day.
While plenty of people have put together lists of what to wear (and what not to wear!) in such a situation (like Kat Griffin’s list from Corporette that made the rounds a few years ago), I wondered if it was possible to come up with a list of more lived-in style suggestions…and ones that didn’t seem to require buying a whole new wardrobe for a job I was going to have for a relatively brief period of time. While, as always, your mileage may vary, this series focuses on incorporating the pieces—and the preferences—you already have, and dressing appropriately for what is often a complicated-to-navigate stylistic environment while dressing like yourself. To that end, over the next few weeks, I’ll cover topics like…
- My own wardrobe essentials list (to be taken with the appropriate grain of salt!)
- Some thoughts on navigating the office dress code
- Suit alternatives for when you do — and don’t — really have to wear one
- Dressing for work-related social events
- Business casual dressing, with a few thoughts on the emergency suit
- Red Cardigan: Vintage Michael Kors, mommed
- Striped Tee: Old Navy Maternity, via oldnavy.com
- Navy Wide-Leg Pants: Olian, via eBay
- Nude Cork Wedges: Jones New York, via DSW
It’s…my birthday! (Or should I say, in this outfit, mon anniversaire?) After an eventful few weeks, I’m better rested, less overwhelmed with projects not of my own making, and back to the blogosphere (finally!). Thanks for your collective patience while I was away. While I’ve very much missed this space and creative outlet, I needed a little break to retool, recharge and take care of some of that “life” nonsense that keeps happening while I’m making other plans.
So what can you expect from the blog now? The usual outfit posts (which now look increasingly like there really are two people in them!), with some additional, more “reflective” content on personal style for specific moments and circumstances (personal and professional). A little more on the “lifestyle” side of this life-and-style blog, from DIY projects to thoughts on pregnancy and postpartum fitness (that do not constitute medical advice) to notes on the life we’re juggling around here. A graphic face-lift, at some point soon. And while I’ll still be semi-anonymous, there may be even a little more sharing: you may catch the occasional picture of baby when she arrives, or learn the occasional fact about me along the way, like that the birthday I’m celebrating is my 27th. Not a shift in focus so much as a slight broadening of horizons: our mission has always been and always will be about the aesthetics and politics of personal style, I’m just tinkering with the edges a little bit. As always, I’d love your thoughts on what you’d like to see going forward.
Also new? More social media. For example: you can now follow me on Twitter!
That said, a bit about this outfit: remember how I was complaining that I had no pants? Oh eBay, you maternity lifesaver, what would I do without you? While these Olian wide-legs are a bit of a funky silhouette for me, I snagged them on eBay for a veritable song, and they are SO, so comfortable I don’t quite know what to do with myself. They have a fold-up-or-down panel waist, which allows me to either have a little more coverage and security or a little more breathing room when I need it, and they’re a lightweight enough fabric that I’ve managed not to absolutely drench them in sweat during our string of 100+ degree days. And though I’m teetering on the edge of costume territory with this vaguely Parisienne look, I loved the whimsy of stripes at the office and the chance to look relatively pulled together while wearing something that felt distinctly like my PJs!
One more thing: while I said I’d love your thoughts on the blog’s future plans, I also need one more thing: your help! While I won’t be gone long, and I’ll have plenty of “evergreen” content planned, I’ll likely be taking a couple of weeks’ “maternity leave” from blogging after baby arrives, and I’d love to feature your work as a guest blogger while I’m gone. Interested? Leave a comment here or e-mail me at narrowlytailored at gmail dot com.
Thanks again for your patience while I was gone, and as always, your thoughtful feedback. Let’s face it: it would be way less fun without you.
Big giant internet robot hugs,
S.
- Blue-Grey Dress: Gap Maternity via gap.com
- Navy Pinstriped Blazer: Calvin Klein via Filene’s
- Blue Necklace: Forever 21
- Nude Cork Wedges: Jones New York via DSW
I’ve reached that point in the summer where I feel like I’m living dog years: the individual days are packed, but the weeks go by almost too quickly, and I feel like I’ve only just blinked and here I am, 1/3 of the way through the second of my two summer jobs! I’m back at the firm I was at last summer until the end of July. It’s been wonderful to reconnect with former (and potential future) colleagues. Sartorially speaking, though, it’s been a slightly more challenging environment, for at least two reasons. First, it tends to be a more formal office (in a lawyers-wear-suits kind of way), and second, well…I’ve run out of pants.
Early in my pregnancy, maternity pants (and my be.band) were my saving grace, and somewhat unexpectedly so, since I tend not to be much of a pants person where circumstances and activities don’t require it. As my bump has grown, though, I’ve once again found pants to be a struggle. The “real waist” styles I loved earlier on don’t fit my third-trimester belly quite as well, and my hips have finally started to change shape in ways that make pants fit awkwardly. Low-rise styles, which tend to have a thicker, but shallower panel, still seem to work well, but can be aesthetically challenging, because they leave a visible panel line and can, well, create some unwanted muffinage. I have a few pairs of maternity bermudas and other shorts that work well for the extremely casual weekends we’ve been having lately (dominated by house and garden projects), but pants have basically vanished from my working wardrobe.
In their place have been, well, a lot of outfits like this: dress and blazer combinations that glam up jersey till it’s office appropriate without destroying the comfort of soft, stretchable fabrics. Here I’m using shades of blue and grey to try to keep this visually interesting, shades I’m hoping are distinct enough that it doesn’t appear I’m not sure that these things don’t technically “match.” And of course, I’m still living in wedge heels, without which, well, I’d be shorter (and more noticeably swollen). This pair hasn’t held up perfectly to the extensive use they’ve been getting, but they’ve kept me feeling like me far longer into my pregnancy than I would have thought possible.
Moms and pregnant gals, have you noticed similar evolutions in your pregnancy wardrobe over time, things you loved at one point in your pregnancy that just didn’t work later on? Did the pendulum ever swing back around? How did you fight the tent-like feeling that can come with wearing dresses late into your third trimester?
- Modern Floral Print Dress: Gap Maternity via Gap.com
- Red Cardigan: Vintage Michael Kors, mommed
- Pearls: inherited from mom on my wedding day
- Brown Peep-Toe Wedges: Naturalizer via Amazon.com
With only ten-ish (or should I say, somewhere between seven and 11.3) weeks to go in my pregnancy, I’m pretty much done acquiring new maternity items, but I made an exception for this dress from Gap’s maternity line. Interestingly enough, it’s actually the first floral dress I’ve owned in my adult life, though I realize this is a pretty tame sort of floral. It’s really floral mated with Andy Warhol’s Marilyns . . . though that could be stretching things a bit.
Abstract comparisons aside, I love the mix of elements here: the demure, ladylike florals and pearls with the modern wedge heels and the bold red cardigan. The woven fabric is a little outside my typical wheelhouse of bump-hugging attire; even with the waist definition provided by the tie belt, it conceals a little more of what lies beneath than I’m used to. This isn’t an outfit that celebrates or emphasizes the “me” “beneath” my pregnant state, but I appreciated all the ways it wasn’t one of those. Instead, it represents the more creative and experimental side of my pregnancy style: the part of me that tries new things and pushes outside my comfort zone, and that makes the most of dressing a changing body with playful attempts at new proportions and a slightly irreverent approach. And at seven-plus months pregnant in 90-degree-plus heat, that may well be a side I’d do well to continue to cultivate!
I’m curious, though: what do you think about the explosion of florals this spring, particularly in office-oriented looks? How do you feel about the messages florals may or may not convey about gender, power and authority? Are those implications different for a pregnant gal?
- Green/Teal Dress: Liz Lange for Target
- Charcoal Doubleknit Blazer: Halogen via Nordstrom’s
- Necklace: Filene’s discount bin
- Brown Peep-toe Wedges: Naturalizer via amazon.com
Remember my obsession with coral this spring? I have to confess my love for yet another color this season: teals, turquoises, and other bejeweled shades of green. Even though I normally associate jewel tones with fall and winter, I’ve had a new appreciation for these kinds of shades this season. I love the way they pair nicely with a variety of neutrals, particularly grey and navy, and the way they allow me to get my brights fix while still feeling office-appropriate, even in a fairly subdued office environment.
This outfit is essentially a variation on one of my favorite maternity looks, with a different, but equally bold dress (although, wow — even though I obviously see pictures of myself most days of the week, the view from several months ago is relatively stunning!). Even though my clothing preferences have varied substantially throughout my pregnancy, the dress + blazer combination has proved a surprisingly effective one throughout, even as my body has changed. The blazer provides a structural anchor and keeps the look polished and sufficiently “formal.” As my bump grows, it also fills another increasingly prevalent need: masking the tent-like effect that flowy dresses can have in profile!
What’s been your favorite bold tone this spring and summer? How have you been wearing spring’s brights at work?
- Polka-Dot Tunic: Japanese Weekend via eBay
- Red Cardigan: Vintage Michael Kors, mommed
- Nude Cork Wedges: Jones New York via DSW
- Black skirt: induetime via eBay
- Necklace: David Yurman, gifted
Here’s something that isn’t news: I have pretty pale skin. Even in the summer, when my upper body at least manages to get a little tan, I’m still pretty lacking in the pigment department. It wasn’t always this way, actually. When I was a kid, I was one of those people who never burned despite some somewhat lackluster sunscreen habits and a great deal of time outside. Then, sometime in my early twenties, around the time I started expressing more of my mother’s genes for no apparent reason, my skin just . . . got lighter. I got a sunburn for the first time, decided I’d really rather that never happen again, and started being, well, rather aggressive with the sunscreen.
For a while, this bothered me, and admittedly there are still moments in early spring when I’m, well, rather stunned by my own paleness. But like my shoulders, my quirks and my unusual name, this too is something I’ve grown into with age, and something I’ve come genuinely to embrace as time has worn on. My pale, sunburn-prone skin is a constant reminder to be more careful (or at least, as careful as I should be) with my skin in the sun. It’s led me to experiment with garments that wouldn’t ordinarily be high on my list (read: sunhats). And unexpectedly, I’ve found my pale skin to be . . . somewhat dramatic. Today, I’m highlighting that drama in an outfit that breaks all the rules for pale-skinned gals (and particularly, those of us who also have dark hair): I’ve gone black and white and red all over, anchoring the look with nude pumps that allow all the visual “weight” of the look to remain above the knees. It flirts a little with Dita von Tesse for summer, but the relatively airy fabrics and nude shoes keep the look from seeming too out of season. And as with all my attempts to “dress my best” this week, it reframes and celebrates something that’s sometimes been a struggle for me to embrace.
Do you dress your skin tone? If so, how? How have you experimented with or challenged the “rules” for someone with your skin tone?
Hi! I'm S. Welcome to Narrowly Tailored, a blog about life and style from a law student and new mom. In short: work and life gets dressed; balance mostly gets amused.Follow Along
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