Looks of the Week – Workwear Edition

I thought that I’d take our usual Monday Looks of the Week post and specialize it just a bit this week. Rather than including just the street style looks that catch my fancy, this week is going to be all about fashionable looks that you can try out at the office. They’ll run the gamut from power suits for you corporate ladies out there to great separates, and inspiration for working pants and pencil skirts into your work wardrobe.

Frequently my sartorial excitement is focused on my weekend and evening looks – those are the ones that I plan in advance and day-dream about. Unfortunately that can mean that on workday mornings I just throw on a black dress and pumps without giving my choice much thought, even though I’ll be wearing them for 12+ hours.

Sound familiar?

My goal with this post is to inject a little enthusiasm and inspiration into our how we dress for work. Why not add some spice to the pieces and outfits that you end up spending most of your day in?

The Pencil Skirt:

This is SUCH a versatile piece, a building block for an unlimited number of outfits and styles. You can try a retro silhouette, put together a traditional suit look, or spice things up with a printed or brightly colored version for a more fun spin.

Whatever you’re in the mood for!

Think stripes or prints wont work for the office? Think again. A subtle pattern can go a long way.

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Don’t be afraid of color! This is a great example of a stylish look that’s fashionable and fun, but still office-appropriate.

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The Wrap Dress:

A basic wrap dress is one of my favorites for the office. You can go with basic black, a fun color, or even a print like the one I donned below from Banana Republic during the Mission: Put Together 2012 challenge.

Printed Wrap Dress: Banana Republic, Shoes: Zara & Jewelry: JewelMint, Banana Republic, Forever 21 & Juicy Couture

The Slacks:

When you’re mixing separates like slacks, a button down, and a blazer, you have more freedom to be creative than with a suit or a dress. So take some chances and make the most of it by includes bold hues, mixing colors, or even adding prints & patterns.

Tired of basic slacks? Why not roll the cuffs? Or add a contrasting blazer? Or both? 🙂

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This is a gorgeous, colorful look. No need to stick to boring black this Summer, why not draw inspiration from this look and try out some fun colors?

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Wide leg trousers can be chic chic chic – Just see how The Glamourai spices hers up!

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The Suit:

Luckily the suit has come a long way from its initial inception, we’re no longer constrained to a boring, basic black pants and jacket blazer combination like we were in the past. These days there are an endless number of choices out there and all sorts of different colors, cuts, patterns, fabrics, and silhouettes to choose from.

Head-to-toe color is a great way to stand out. This chic emerald-green suit is phenomenal and I love that she accessorized with white rather than black.

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You don’t have to match your suit jacket to your pants, so why not wear slacks with a shell and pair the look with a contrasting coat?

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If you need some more workwear ideas check out The Everygirl’s Transcend The Office Dress Code With IFB, Harper’s Bazaar’s Fabulous at Every Age: Workwear Refresh, or my Workin’ That Tee or What NOT To Wear To Work.

Does this inspire you to try something that’s new for you, or add some color, prints, and fresh silhouettes to your everyday work outfits? Did this post give you some fun ideas for how to update your wardrobe?

July 2, 2012 | Categories: Fashion, Looks of the Week | Tags: All The Pretty Birds, Asos, Banana Republic, basic suit, blazer, brights, Burberry, Burberry Prorsum, Business attire, Business basics, business casual, business casual workwear, Button Downs, city fashion, Classy and Fabulous, Corporate workwear, Dorothy Chang, Dorothy Theater, Fabulous at Every Age, Forever 21, harper's bazaar, IFB, interesting work fashion, Italian fashion, JewelMint, Juicy Couture, leopard prints, Lookbook.nu, looks of the week, Menswear, Milan Street Style, Milanese style, mixing and matching, mixing separates, Model street style, Office dress code, Patterns, Pencil skirt, pencil skirts, Perventina Ols, prints, Real Girls Need Real Closets, refresh your wardrobe, ruffles blazer, Russian fashion, separates, Silvia Bergomi, Slacks, Street style, Stripes, Suit Pants, suiting, suits, T by Alexander Wang, Tamu McPherson, The Everygirl, The Glamourai, trousers, vintage jewelry, Viviana Volpicella, Wendy Nguyen, Wendy's Lookbook, What to wear to work, wide leg pants, wide leg trousers, work fashion, work pants, work slacks, Workwear, Zara, Zara blazer | Leave a comment