As cliche as it sounds, no guy or girl can pass up a new coffee mug, especially if they are a coffee lover! My personal favorites are the ones with funny sayings or my initial.
2. Work bag
Most working ladies don’t want to carry a purse and laptop bag so a larger tote is usually a good compromise. Check out some of my favorites below.
3. Desk necessities
From one 8-5er to the next, there are a few desk necessities that after being in the office for a few years I can’t live without. Some of these items include picture frames (let’s make it a little homey in the office!), ceramic tray (for rings and other jewelry that might get in the way of a keyboard), and a docking station (to charge phone/ipad).
4. Wrap
For some insane reason that I will never understand, office buildings are always the equivalent of the North Pole temperature year round. I always keep a few different colored cardigans/wraps at work for this purpose.
When the weather starts to change so do my favorite pieces in my closet. Instead of gravitating towards my light weight pencil skirts and dress pants for work, it’s usually suede or corduroy for this girl. I picked up this skirt recently and have had so much fun styling it different ways for work.
Depending on how laid back your office is, another way to style this skirt would be with a pair of riding boots and a button down. Honestly the possibilities are endless which is a total selling point when you are purchasing an item. As long as I can think of at least 2-3 outfits that I know that I can make with the item, I can justify buying it.
Speaking of multiple functionality pieces, this sweater that you saw me wearing in my first styled look is the perfect length as it is long enough to wear with leggings and can easily be dressed up or down! My personal favorite way to style sweaters for the office is layered with a button down so that the collar and sleeve detail add in something unexpected. The star detail on this one adds in something special for the holidays that I couldn’t pass up!
While I wanted to share how to style a corduroy skirt, both of these looks could also be paired with corduroy pants as well. I have corduroy pants in grey, olive, burgundy and black. I’ve built quite the collection but I just find them so much more comfortable than slacks! If you are looking to add some corduroy into your work wear, here are a few other options that I am loving!
Hi friends! It’s been entirely too long since I’ve posted a Work Wear Wednesday look so I apologize! Since quitting my full time job, traveling the world and having major hip surgery it’s been hard to shoot looks for you but don’t worry there are lots of Fall/Winter looks and office inspiration coming to the blog soon.
A question that comes up a lot is always “what is considered business casual?”. I can guarantee that every person and company will define it a bit different. Handy dandy Google defines it as such: “relating to or denoting a style of clothing that is less formal than traditional business wear, but is still intended to give a professional and businesslike impression”. In my opinion this is still pretty darn vague. The obvious answer is that it is somewhere between business professional (think suits, button downs, the whole shebang) and casual (jeans and a tee shirt).
The great thing about business casual being that it is somewhere in the middle of the two is that you can buy pieces that could either be dressed up or dressed down. For instance, my top that I am wearing in today’s post is just a “fancy” cotton tee that I wear on the reg with jeans or leggings. It actually comes in 5 colors and is only $11 right now so if you are needing a few basic tees I would highly suggest stocking up! Then take these pants for instance. While I did dress them up with a pair of heels, they could easily be worn on the weekend with a pair of slides or even dressed up to a bit more professional with the help of a blazer.
If you are still stuck on ideas for business casual I urge to check out some of my other Work Wear Wednesday posts as almost all of them would be considered business casual. I would also encourage you to always err on the overdressed side if unsure. After all it is always better to be overdressed than underdressed. And as a last resort here are a few quick tips if you are still questioning business casual.
No jeans or leggings– While I do know a few companies that allow jeans at the office, technically jeans are not considered business casual. Nope, not even if they are colored. There are so many options out there that are actually more comfortable than jeans anyway if you just search. My hands down favorite pair of work pants are these stretchy ones from Gap.
Cover your shoulders– Wear a top or dress that has sleeves. Showing your shoulders in the office is considered unprofessional. That being said I almost always wear a sleeveless top but throw on a cardigan or blazer on top of it. This way you can ditch some clothing if need be when you escape the office.
Length does matter– If you are questioning if it’s too short, it most definitely is. Even if you think you can get away with it, leave it for another occasion because chances are once you are sitting at your desk or in a meeting, you are going to be even more self conscious and uncomfortable than when you were debating wearing it in the first place.
When in doubt, thrown on a blazer- Time after time blazers have come to every girl’s rescue. If you aren’t feeling your outfit or think it might be just a tad too casual, throw on a blazer. It will instantly bring your outfit up a few professional points. Trust me on this one 🙂
Since work wear is my most requested topic, I would love to hear topic ideas that you are specifically wanting to hear about. Feel free to leave a comment, message or email me with your suggestions.
Since I always get SO many questions about Shein, I wanted to remind all of you that I have an entire post on what you need to know before buying anything from their website. The post can be found here.
Long story short, the answer is YES- they are reputable. That being said, make sure you read my post before purchasing anything just so you know what you are getting yourself into. I have several pieces from Shein that I absolutely love. Most of you think of Shein when you are wanting trendy, weekend wear pieces, but I’m here to tell you that they are also great for work attire if you aren’t wanting to spend an arm and a leg. I have several dresses, pants and tops that I wear to work on a regular basis. My one tip for work wear since the quality is not the absolute best is to try to wash the garments as little as possible aka only when actually needed.
If you like this dress as much as I do, I encourage you to check out some of the other Shein dresses that I own or are on my wishlist for work below!
Over the years working in a corporate job, I’ve accumulated a LOT of work clothes. Something that I have come to find as of recently is that I have far too many items hanging in my closet that only serve one purpose. Either they are strictly for the office or strictly for the weekend (aka there is no justifying making it office appropriate). I don’t have a happy medium of outfits that could swing both ways which is both annoying and not efficient. The solution? I’ve started buying items that can serve more than one function. I’ve found that a pretty safe bet to know if it passes the test, is if you know it can take you from work to happy hour without having to swing by the house for an outfit change.
After going on the hunt for items that could fit both of these scenarios, I had a couple of takeaways I think anyone looking for work wear should do as well. First off, you can make almost any sleeveless, strapless or even backless dress work appropriate by throwing on a cardigan or blazer (I list a few favorites here). If you do not have at least a few staple color cardigans, you are doing it wrong! I have cream and black colored cardigans in my car at all times. You know for emergencies and what not. This way depending on my outfit, I always have a sure source of coverage or an Antarctica (because what office isn’t?) protector if need be.
Secondly, shoes can totally change the occasion of any outfit and make it more wearable. My favorite way to take a dress from work to drinks is to throw on a strappy pair of heels. Want to wear the same outfit for a more casual look? Throw on a pair of sneakers. As long as you have at least one pair each of pumps, strappy heels, sneakers and maybe a pair of flats. You are set!
Don’t forget that the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale is still going on and there are lots of items still in stock, including lots of work wear! The sale ends August 6th!
