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Remember going back-to-school shopping? So many options! So few things your mom really thought you needed! SO much angst!
Or was that just me?
Shopping for new ventures — new school year, new job — can be overwhelming, because how do you know what you will REALLY need before you start the new thing? What if all the OTHER girls are wearing skinny jeans and you are wearing boot cut jeans? HOW WILL YOU EVER SURVIVE?
You laugh, but you know it’s true, and it is still true when we talk about shopping for a new job. You don’t want to be the only one in the office who wears a dress (or maybe you do, in which case more power to you! wear that dress! seriously) but you also don’t want to dumb down your style just to fit in. Instead, you want to find pieces that are appropriate for the specific environment of your office AND reflective of your personal style.
Yeah, it’s not any easier now than it was in high school.
No matter what your style or the office culture, there are five things you really ought to have before you head back to work.
Kate Spade Tarrytown - Quinn handheld tote, Nordstrom, $395.00
1. Trench coat. A trench is the perfect coat; it can run the full gamut from weekend casual to weeknight chic. Wear your trench with jeans and a tee on the weekend, with a wrap dress or tailored trousers during the week, and with your LBD for cocktails and dinner. Choose a neutral color (tan is always good, but black and brown, if they work with your wardrobe, are also acceptable) and a shape that suits your body. For colder climates, look for a trench with a zip-out lining, which can carry you through all but the coldest days of winter.
2. Basic pumps. Pumps come in various shapes and sizes; what you want to look for is a pair that you can wear with jeans AND with a dress. A pointed toe is more dressy than a round toe, and a heel, even a little one, will dress up any outfit. Keep colors neutral, but don’t default to black; brown crocodile or a subtle snakeskin are elegant without being flashy.
3. White shirt. I know, I know, you’re going to tell me that a white shirt washes you out and makes you look tired and old and all sorts of other things. But you’re not going to wear the white shirt alone, you know — you’re going to layer it under a sweater or a jacket, or pile on bright colored necklaces. The white shirt is the equivalent of flour in a cake mix: it is the stuff that binds the other ingredients together (or would that be the liquids? hmm). Choose a shirt that suits your body and your style — don’t limit yourself to a button-front menswear shirt. Look at tunics and upscale tees and light-weight knits.
4. Dark-rinse, mid-rise jeans. Unless your office has a suits-only dress code, you will most likely be able to wear jeans to work, at least some of the time. Jeans are a good investment, because they are so versatile; wear them for work AND on the weekend. Dress them up with pretty shoes and a fancy top, or down with slides and a tee (but don’t wear your long jeans with flat shoes — hem them to ONE length and then stick with the proper heel at all times, please). Jeans are also fantastic if your regular day requires you to be both an employee and a mom; you can easily move from one role to the other in a terrific pair of jeans. Consider spending more up front to get a really really great pair — after all, you won’t have to dry clean them, so in the long run even a pair that are a big splurge are cheaper than trousers that can’t go in the wash.
5. Tote bag. If you’ve been home with kids for some window of time, you have probably been hauling a kid-friendly bag of some sort. That’s great and all, but leave that bag home when you go back to work and replace it with something that has never had a sippy cup leak in the inside. Look for a bag that can carry what you need for work — if you will be hauling file folders, look for a bag that allows you to keep them upright, for example. If you will need to move your laptop around frequently, look for a really fantastic laptop bag, or opt for a cool sleeve and a beautiful tote to drop it in. Choose a bag that is sturdy but professional, and take good care of it. No sippy cups allowed in THIS bag.
Next week: Planning your shopping! You know, so you actually come home with USEFUL things.
This entry was posted on Friday, May 9th, 2008 at 6:36 am and is filed under casual office, basics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Tags: iron, jacket, jeans, Kate Spade, menswear, Nordstrom, pin, pumps, shoes, suit, sweater, Target, tees, tote bag
May 9th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
So many articles tell women how to dress and what is “appropriate”.
Society forgets that everyone does not feel and think the same way.
I like to be warm and comfortable, practical, and ready to go most anywhere and be active.
This means having all parts covered. Women can look neat,clean, pretty, whatever, without having things hanging out or looking half naked. Why anyone needs to wear heels I do not know. It looks foolish to have spikes on your feet, especially with pants. Comfortable flat shoes that you can actually walk in, and are not bad for your feet, look nice and allow you to be active. Legs should be covered below the kness, especially at the office. This goes for low cut or tank tops too. No one really respects women for dressing this way.
Most companies , thank God, allow more casual dressing, which is good for not fussing a lot with clothes, no time for that, and not paying a lot, and being comfortable in mostly cold, air conditioned buildings all day. Dry cleaning is expensive and bad for the environment. Fabrics can be washed by hand. People did it for centuries.
Things like huge tote bags, and trench coats are not necessary. All you need is a bunch of shirts, sweaters, jeans, and nice pants that you like, in colors and styles that you like. It’s too bad that the younger women are going back to the uncomfortable, ridiculous stuff that many of us tried to stop wearing a long time ago.
What we need is comfortable, well thought out and made underwear and bathing suits. Things that cover properly in different styles. Boycut legs need to cover your butt. Bras need to cover better, have covering over uncomfortable elastic such as underneath, and wide cushioned straps so they do not dig in.
We need more different inseam pant lengths for long pants for petites. Men’s come in all lengths and so should women’s. There are too many elasticized pants and not enough cool, regular waste pants. And get rid of the flood pants and cropped stuff. It is for the backyard or beach, not for work. They look foolish on most people and you don’t know what to wear for shoes/socks. Not everyone wants to wear bare feet and sandals a lot, especially to work. And flip flops are strictly for the beach, or home. They are not everyday footwear for work, etc. They are actually dangerous, coming off, etc.
For those who want to dress like sluts in public, fine, but not everyone does. There are nice things in all the new styles that can look nice depending on the person and what you choose to wear.
May 9th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Uh, thanks Pam — I think.
I agree that women’s pants should come in more inseam options, but I would also say that men typically assume that they will need to have nicer pants tailored (my husband has never once bought dress pants or a suit without tailoring, and he often has chinos and other casual pants tailored as well). Women are resistant to this, for some reason — theories, anyone?
And I respectfully disagree with you about the trench and tote — a trench coat and a nice tote make even the most casual outfit look polished and professional, and as much as we might hate it, that matters, particularly if you are juggling your career and your family.
May 9th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
Regarding women and tailoring: I can only speak for myself, of course, and being a short petite (under 5′), I really should get things tailored - but I don’t. I find it’s a combination of not knowing where to go to get it done well - and since most of the women I know don’t get it done either, not even knowing where to get recommendations I can trust - and an instant-gratification thing. I want to wear my new clothes ASAP!
Catalogs that include length measurements in their product specs are lifesavers, and some of them do offer free hemming on pants.
And Susan, about the white shirt - thanks for not insisting on the menswear/buttondown style. I have tried it, and it does not work for me (short neck, and a little too curvy). I love white shirts, actually; I just worry about spilling on them, because I am a klutz!
May 9th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
Susan,
I agree with your choices. These are some wonderful basics that finish off an outfit and bring together all the other random pieces I think we all have. Thanks for another article with some excellent suggestions! Oh, and I am devoted to tailoring. It has stopped me from overshopping, given the fact that my excellent but overworked tailor can take up to a month to alter something, and makes everything I wear so much better looking. I’m not sure I’d even be able to pre-order the right length on anything. I need to bring in the right shoes to have it done properly.
May 10th, 2008 at 10:32 am
While I agree that you do need the proper bag for work, I completely disagree that anybody *needs* a $400 bag!! I have a very nice one (Nine West) that I found for $30 at Ross.
I probably should wear more pumps, but I just love my boots too much! I will wear sandals with skirts, but since I usuallly am in pants for work, it’s not a big issue.
May 10th, 2008 at 11:30 am
I wondered how long it would take for someone to call me out on the bag …
Jaime is right — NO ONE needs a $400.00 bag. There are some fantastic work totes at places like Target, for WELL under $400.00.
But OMG isn’t that bag BEAUTIFUL? Admit it, it’s really really cool …