There’s a difference between an appropriate work outfit and a fantastic work outfit. Of course, you want to be noticed for your hard work, given the return offer, promoted for your ability to exceed expectations. But adding onto my earlier notes on European fashion, you dress up to make yourself look more polished, because you have self-respect to get up in the morning and not wear sweatpants and lounge around all day. And it’s a superficial reflection of self, sure, but it shows where you choose to shop in your free time, if you’re bold or basic (totally fine and acceptable at work – I branch out in style after I clock out), and if you notice the finer details, like how a notch blazer is less showy versus a peak blazer that’s more defined.
I’ll limit my scope here to women’s fashion, since that’s what I know best. Although – digression – if a guy dresses nicely, it stands out, like a nice turquoise polo on a summer day, and I love a salmon pink Oxford shirt and navy slacks combination. I guess no one wears cufflinks anymore, or ties, even, but I think the accessories, for men at least, is a nice touch of individuality and taste in an otherwise ubiquitous sea of office suits in Midtown.
Let’s start with the obvious. All black makes you look like you’re attending a funeral. Ridiculously oversized makes you look insecure or very unattuned to social cues, unless maybe it’s casual Friday and you’re digging out boyfriend jeans. Although I could never wear balloon pants, as a rule – if Vogue says they’re in style, they need to fire the industry fashion plants that voiced that absurd opinion in the first place.
I think that polyester vests that button down the middle look tacky. Polyester clothes are tacky, period, but the vests in particular with the little divot at the bottom that shows off the navel is really kind of revolting. J. Crew used to have such nice cotton basics, and now whenever I walk into the store, I’m touching plastic, and, shamefully for the brand, I don’t know if it’s the mannequin or the clothes she’s wearing.
White and cream don’t look good together (say, a pencil skirt and a shirt) in almost all cases – it just looks like you didn’t have the exact matching color, and rather lazily tried to pull a matching set off. I do think that Mary Janes make you look like you’re five years old.
Work dresses are a bit of a grey area for me. I’ve realized, through my own observation, that they can be pulled off well, or they can look frumpy or cheap, and it’s tough to strike a balance. Long work dresses, especially those with a tighter waist and made with synthetic fabrics – sometimes even linen – remind me a bit of Laura Ingalls Wilder. With a short work dress, you run the risk of it being too short, but they do generally are easier to wear without tailoring. Work dresses, because they tend towards the slouchy, is an item of clothing I’d break my never-all-black rule, because making a black outfit look frumpy is more difficult (even though it does make you look a little morose, I think.)
Now onto what makes you look nice.
At a recent work gala, with an evening dress code, I noticed a few nice Zimmermann dress, a yellow Maje silk dress with a rhinestone collar, two light blue long button down linen dresses, in steel blue and cobalt blue, that looked sharp and yet mature and appropriate (probably worn straight from work). A couple of pink and light blue dresses from Nana Jacqueline as well. My favorite look, besides the Maje rhinestone dress, was an baby-blue asymmetric empire dress, maybe from Anthropologie, and generally I’m not a huge fan of that brand (too “clean girl,” no whimsy), but it was such an eye-catcher and conversation -starter!
For the office, all navy is a classic. I have a navy Tahari blazer that I adore, maybe a little more business-casual based on the cotton material, but defined by tiny gold buttons down the middle and white edges that line invisible pockets on the waist. Aritizia’s not my favorite – it’s overpriced, and the materials are pretty low quality for that price – but I have a pair of navy chinos from there that fit me like I’ve gotten them tailored. Pleated pants are adorable and classy – I have a grey pair with the faintest stripes going vertically (stripes should almost always go vertically!)
Speaking of pleats, the long skirts with many little pleats look adorable – polka dots were in style last year, and I wish they’d make a comeback. Cherry red was the “in” color last year, and I dearly miss it, because it’s just dashing and so fun. I am just itching to go out and buy a fit-and-flare top for work in either a cherry or a burgundy color, but I’ve got to hold myself back after my Ralph Lauren eBay spree (my favorite life hack for discounts, because I’ve never found anything that looks nice and fits me in an American vintage store).
On matching colors: a woman that sits near me wears a light pink blazer with matching heels, and I think it’s fantastic and so simple to do that. The French and British women go even further and match their belts to their shoes and blazer, which is just top-notch coordination to me. I love an Oxford long-sleeve polo (bonus if it’s striped) under a knit crewneck. Frilly high-neck collars with bows and ruffles may seem like they’re in the same first-day-of-kindergarten type of outfit, but with artful design and parameters of “good taste,” I really do think they make a top stand out in a positive way – especially if it’s a neutral color.
I could go on at length discussing color combinations, fabric layering, and accessory pairings that I’ve seen, walking down the street, that are more creative than any work-related ideas that Pinterest or Instagram could serve up for me. In a way I’m glad I haven’t curated my feed enough – it leaves me to notice the details in-person, because, at my core, I’m distrustful of everything I see online. Who knows if the influencer that pops up was paid to promote a product, and then you’re subconsciously influenced to buy that brand that’s got this particular brown suede skirt in stock? The model – or the clothes on the model – could be AI-generated, for crying out loud! Being online is a poor substitute for seeing an outfit in-person – I’ve been duped too many times, and I refuse to give another dollar to a store that’ll ship me plastic imitating something that could be worn on your body. SO seeing the people in real-time in FiDi and Midtown – going about their day with steely looks and an air of confidence – drives me, a little bit, part in a competitive spirit (I think to myself– I can work just as hard as her!) but also part from my own interest in cultural anthropology. Hell, my style improved just in the first four weeks of my internship for that reason alone!
Sunbleacht 
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