Tuesday Twirls: Work Wardrobe

I get more complaints and questions about what to wear to work than anything else.  Yes, dressing for work can get a little boring and it’s extremely easy to get in a bit of a work wardrobe slump so for my first official Tuesday Twirls I’m going to offer a few bits of advice on how to update your work wardrobe and have a little more fun with your work wear.

1. Play with color! Most of us have the black pants, black dress, black blazer, black pencil skirt staples in mind and that’s all we reach for when getting dressed for work.  Step away from that mindset and have a little more fun with colors when shopping and even getting ready in the morning.  First try working in a bold colored trouser, pencil skirt or blazer into your wardrobe.  Need help shopping? Here are some of my favorite brights of the moment:

2. You can still wear your cute dresses to work! Love that new, cute dress you bought to wear to your best friend’s birthday celebration? Most of the time you can wear it again.  I love dressing up some of the most simple dresses with a fun blazer and a cute pair of heels! You remember this dress?  It’s definitely not work appropriate on it’s own but paired with a crisp white blazer and nice heels you don’t notice it’s a cotton dress. Afraid it’s too short? Wait until tights weather and wear some black opaque tights.

3.  Update those “black pants” ASAP!  Ok you all know what I’m talking about, those black, stretch, flared pants that everyone thought you had to have for work or anything to look professional.  If you’ve gotten rid of yours, good for you, if not get rid of them now! Update them with some black cigarette pants, trousers or high waisted, wide leg flares.  In my personal opinion as far as black pants go, you should either be able to see all of your shoes or not see them at all.  Some of my favorite work pants are the J.Crew Minnie in black, shown here along with a few other options:

4. Blazers are your best friend!  We all love a good cardigan but blazers can always make you look instantly put together and literally go with everything.  If you don’t have a blazer yet I would suggest a black boyfriend style first.  If you’ve already got a black blazer try out a fun color to add to your collection. You really can never have enough! Polka dot, pink, cobalt, grey, whatever you like or whatever color you like to wear, get it in a blazer, you won’t stop wearing it! I found this one and this one at Piperlime that come in lots of great colors and are both at great price points, perfect for experimenting with colors.

5. If you’re really ready to spice up your work wardrobe try mixing prints! Mixed prints have been, and continue to be, huge on the fashion scene. I know they’re not for everyone but I think it’s definitely fun to at least try pairing a stripe shirt with a polka dot or paisley scarf for some basic print mixing. Then, if you’re ready to get crazy, try mixing florals with polka dots (like I did here) or stripes and plaid (like I did here).  (Tip: the key to mixing prints is to stick with a color scheme for your prints as I did with pinks in the first link and navy blues in the second.) Right now I’ve got my eye on lots of great ASOS printed pieces for fall which are just asking to be mixed and matched!