On those rare days that you don’t go into the office (you lucky girl) yet still wish to appear pulled together you can find yourself quickly lost in weekday fashion; somewhere between suits and sweats. Since you’re not in the office, there’s no need for the full hair and makeup: gloss, mascara, and blush are all you need at the most. For hair that’s done but not done up, dry your bangs with a round brush and simply pull the rest back in a loose ponytail. On days like this, linen, cotton, and organic cotton are a wonderful choice since they will move with you and the fabric will breathe well. Thin belts are your best accessory choice on these days since they can be that fun color add on and define your curves. Boots are always a great idea; brown flat riding boots with a small metal embellishment are not only popular this season, they are also hugely comfortable and can go with anything from skirts to Bermuda shorts to denim. This can also be a fun time to wear short sleeve jackets in colorful options and even white pants, it is spring after all.

By: Danielle Gonzalez

When you shop for a woman’s business suit, think ahead and plan out what else you can wear it with. Perhaps you have other suit separates at home that your new wardrobe addition can be mix and matched with. If not, you could look around the mall for other business suits, or separate jackets that can be worn with it. Don’t just buy one piece of clothing because you like it, think of how it can be recombined to make as many work outfits as possible.

Here are some examples of women’s business suits and suit separates in red, gray and white that can be mix and matched and recombined into many various work outfits.

We could show our appreciation for spring by accessorizing our work outfits with colorful pretty scarves. You can hang one long and loose around your neck, laying flat over your business suit. Or you can wear a smaller scarf, tied into a pretty knot around your neck, accentuating your suit jacket. Adding a scarf can make a work outfit look less bare, and more put together. Do you prefer solid scarves, or scarves with a pretty print? If your top or dress has a busy print, you might want to stick to a solid scarf. Accessorizing with scarves can be a rather inexpensive way to add flair to a business suit.

Working women are buying a lot of business suits in light colors for summer. Work outfits with suits and separate slacks and jackets in white, cream, bone and taupe is the order of the day. Here are some examples of how to accessorize light colored business suits with coral and orange. Short necklaces with big coral stones contrasts nicely with a cream suit jacket. Career blouses and casual tops in organge and coral creates a lovely spring office look. Combining work outfits by alternating long gold necklaces, beige bags, big buckeled belts and a few bright orange or soft coral tops brings your light colored suits to life.

Choose a trouser sock in a neutral tone with a subtle design for your pant suit.

DO NOT wear bright colored trouser socks with your pant suit.

When you wear pant suits and flat shoes, like loafers, etc. there are many options for your trouser socks and knee highs. You can wear socks in neutral colors that have subtle patterns or designs on them. This gives an individual touch to a woman’s business suit. It’s sort of like viewing the sock as an accessory. If you wear trouser socks or knee highs in a color, it should be the same color and hue as either the slacks or the shoes. Never wear socks in a contrasting, bright color with your business suit - that breaks up your leg into three segments – and also it draws attention in a unnecessary way. The idea is to add something subtle to your business attire that makes your look more individual. For short women, it could give the optical illusion of having a longer leg if the socks or nylons are the same color as the pants. You can also wear textures socks or knee highs with pumps and high heels if the sock is about as thin as a nylon.

A tip: Before I throw my socks in the washer, I fasten the pairs together with a safety pin. That solves the problem of ending up with ONE stylish sock whose mate is missing.

While wandering around the malls yesterday, I noticed a color combination for suit separates that I haven’t tried before: orange, navy and beige. In two different stores I saw mannequins dressed in business outfits combining these three colors. I think it’s doable for a casual work outfit, and I might try it myself – it had never occured to me before to try orange and navy together. In the left photo we have a orange suit jacket, beige pants with a navy top. In the right photo we have a beige suit jacket, navy slacks with an oragne top, accessorized with a two layer silver necklace. This may not work for a super formal business meeting in which you have to wear strict business attire, but I think it would be a fun and spunky casual office outfit.

What should you wear to create a work outfit with brown pants? With pants in a warm brown tone, like in the first photo, you can wear a rich golden orange suit jacket. This suit jacket has a slight silky sheen to it, which gives this outfit a formal look.

With pants in a cool brown tone, as in the second photo, why not wear a purple blouse and a long off-white jacket. This makes a nice casual work outfit.

In the last two photos, we have the same pair of brown pants: once with ruffle blouse in a white and brown hound’s tooth design, accentuated with a bold brown belt. And again with a brown top and a casual off-white suit jacket. These last two are comfortable office outfits that can be mix and matched. A pair of brown pants that fit you well is a good basic, that creates a solid foundation for your professional wardrobe.

Brighten up the drizzly weather with some color accessories. If you don’t want to buy new business suits, then renew them with splashing shoes and purse sets. Why not urge Spring to return early by putting on a pair of hot pink peep toe heals and matching pink purse, with your black power suit? Or if hot pink scares you – why not a big, roomy medium blue bag with matching blue pointy toe heels in a fun animal print, like subtle snake skin? Either of these sets would accessorize a woman’s business suit in a new and fun way. Wear the hot pink or lime green shoes for casual work clothes, and the olive or blue pointy toes for more formal business attire. (And the rules about no open toe shoes with work clothes have been cancelled, in case anyone is wondering.)

The accessories from: Nine West and Bakers

By: Danielle Gonzalez

Wearing a dress to as a casual work outfit is a timeless tradition that never goes out of style, it’s feminine and classic.  While the weather is still cold a sweater dress can be a perfect fit due to the warmth that it creates and the ease of accessorizing.  However, the sweater dress can automatically become too casual an office outfit for the workplace because of the large use of knit fabric which can be bulky and shapeless.  To keep the look clean cut, black nylons quickly do the trick to avoiding exposing too much skin and keep you warm while it’s still cold out. To avoid the bulk, a thick belt in a different color adds an hourglass figure; a patent leather belt adds a touch of youth and sex appeal.  For a more mature finish; ballet flats, an imprinted patent belt, and a strong bracelet are an easy way to round off a simple, comfortable and casual work ensemble. 

Dresses by: Chadwicks and Net-A-Porter.

Be original with your nylons and stockings. Individualize your professional wardrobe by selecting textured nylons and stockings. All professional women don’t have to wear the same plain nylons, choose some that express your own style. Consider it as another way to accessorize your business suit. For pant suits you can wear pretty much any design as long as it doesn’t clash with the color of the shoe or the slacks; the nylons don’t have to match exactly, but they shouldn’t be in a color that breaks off too much or draws attention. For skirt suits, stay away from bold patterns like the big floral designs and choose some nylons that have a very subtle, yet interesting pattern. The idea is not to draw attention to the textured nylons so that they stand out, but to add something to the complete look of your business suit that expresses your own fashion style. If you must follow corporate dress code, you won’t get around wearing a woman’s business suit, but you should personalize that suit and make it your own.

By Danielle Gonzalez

When it comes to jewelry accesorizing many women are of the school of thought “Less is More”. And in some instances, this idea is a good standby, especially when wearing a work outfit that is very intricate and detailed. You want your outfit to have a theme, to make a particular statement, and too much of even great jewelry can take away from the look. But in most cases, more jewelry is simply that: more! Don’t be afraid to stand out with some eclectic and big jewelry, even costume jewelry is hugely popular in all social spheres. When trying to add on to a conservative professional wardrobe, oversized jewelry is a fast and fun way to instantly add drama to an otherwise blah look.

Tyra Banks showcased (at the President’s Inaugural Ball January 20) that a plain black blazer can become a wonderful frame for interesting and eye catching jewelry. And throw the notion that the items much match each other perfectly out the window; it’s all about pairing differing colors and shapes. It keeps the look fresh and youthful to go for something unexpected, like pearl and silver chains, gemstones and colorful beads, and even adding silver and gold together. Going a little overboard with jewelry while keeping the rest of your business attire subdued adds that extra “oomph” to any look!

Kara Ross New York, LLC
http://www.kararossny.com/press/celebrities.html REUTERS/Mitch Dumke

Some professional women don’t wear jewelry or accessories with sweaters because the bulkyness of the sweater can make the necklace disapear. The solution is to accessorize with long necklaces. For both casual work outfits and business attire, use necklaces that are at least 24” long, but perhaps up to 34″. If the sweater is thinner and has a tailored fit, you can use thinner necklaces, like chains. But if it is a thick sweater, like in these photos, you should use necklaces with big chunky beads or pearls. The size of the necklace should balance with the size of the sweater.

These necklaces from Ann Taylor and White House Black Market.

Leopard print shawl, necklace and purse.

Here are 4 rules for accessorizing a woman’s business suit with leopard print accessories:

1. The various leopard accessories have to match each other. Just because it’s all leopard print it doesn’t necessarily mean they will look good togehter. They don’t have to be a “set”, but compare the brown tones in between the spots of the leopard print and choose the accessories that harmonize.

2. Limit the amount of leopard accessories you wear at one time with your business suit to 3-4. If you wear too many, it may look like you escaped form the zoo. This type of “over accessorizing” is what makes people wonder if it’s a good idea or not, but it’s just fine as long as you stay away from over-kill.

3. You ought to have a few items in brown tones that match the browns in the leopard accessories. It’s not necessary to wear anything brown when you wear leopard (as in the example of the black power suit above), but it’s good to have handy in your professional wardrobe, as it gives you more flexibility in creating work outfits. For example, get a brown blouse, a brown belt, a brown scarf, etc. Note: It is much easier to select leopard accessories first, and then look for clothes that has a similar shade of brown, than first buying brown clothes and then trying to find a leopard print in that tone.

4. Experiment with gold. Try on a gold belt. If you wear leopard jewelry, try layering it with gold jewelry.

Here you can find some leopard jewelry at Macys: http://www1.macys.com/search/index.ognc?SearchTarget=*&Keyword=leopard+jewelry&KEYWORD_GO_BUTTON.x=15&KEYWORD_GO_BUTTON.y=15

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Here are four completely different examples of how to wear a cardigan with a work outfit. They are four different colors, four different styles, for four different women with different personalities. Which one is your personality?

1. The first is a long gray cardigan with a fun print top, over white pants. This will do well for a casual work wardrobe. It’s comfortable, but more dressy than jeans.

2. The second example is a little more formal, with a light purple cardigan over a nice blouse and brown pencil skirt.

3. And more formal still, the third example is very conservative, and you migth even say a bit of a strict look. A red cardigan and a crisp white blouse with the collar sticking up over it, over nice black slacks. This look will work well if you work in a very formal place.

4. And last, a very bold, unique look, that takes some personality to pull off – a very bright striking yellow cardigan, belted over a white top and black suit skirt. This look does fit within what one might call a professional wardrobe, it just takes some boldness to make a statement like that. But making statements is what fashion is all about – even business attire.

If you wear a cardigan with a business suit, make sure that it is not longer than the suit jacket – unlike blouses, it doesn’t look good if you see the cardigan sticking out under the jacket.

These outfits from: Banana Republic, Macy’s and Bloomingdales.

While it’s cold, wear a turtle neck sweater under your woman’s business suit. Transform your regular business outfits to winter outfits, by finding turtle neck sweaters that have high wool content – this way they’ll be thin enough to be worn under a suit jacket without looking bulky. Sweaters made of cotton or acrlylic yarn are not as warm, and therefore it takes more bulk to generate the same heat as a wool or cashmere sweater would. Bulky sweater are not suitable for a professional wardrobe. If you are cold at work, create winter office outfits by layering yourself with a comfortable cotton t-shirt, then a wool turtle neck sweater, then the suit jacket. If that doesn’t do it, you could accessorize with a shawl. If you wear turtle neck sweaters without the suit jacket, accessorize it with a long necklace. (Short necklaces don’t look as good with turtle necks.)

Photos: This is an example of how you can create two different looks with the same gray suit jacket, by changing red and white sweaters with it – can be found at Macy’s. The first phot is an example of how to accessorize a red turtle neck sweater with long necklaces – can be found at Ann Taylor.

To belt or not to belt? Here are a few examples of skirt suits worn with belts over the suit jacket. Accessorizing these skirt suits with a belt, gives the suit a new look. It adds style, and can make you look a bit thinner. Not every business suit looks good with a belt; you have to experiment and try a few different ones to compare. A belt can re-new and old office outfit. Why don’t you go down to the mall wearing your best professional suit, and bring your camera. Then try on ten different belts with your suit and take pictures of each look. Later go over the photos with your friends and get their input.

One thing to keep in mind about accessorizing suit jackets with belts, is that you have to make sure the end flap of the belt doesn’t stick out. With pants that have belt loops, that isn’t a problem. If you find a belt you like, but that is too long, ask if it comes in a shorter size – often they do.

Howie Mandel was taken to the hospital for a heart problem while working on his new show “Howie Do It”, and we wish him speady recovery. Here is a photo of a model named Aubrie from the Howie Mandel show “Deal or No Deal”, showing another great look for a casual work clothes outfit. Abrie is wearing a crisp white blouse with a 3/4 sleeve. She wears her white blouse untucked over the jeans, with a quite wide contrasting brown belt. This is another way to make jeans work for an office outfit – it looks casual but professional at the same time. She doesn’t wear a necklace, her only accessories for this outfit are the belt and earrings. You can see more of Aubrie’s personal style here: http://www.nbc.com/Deal_or_No_Deal/photos/models/#cat=401&sec=1688

All you busy business women should take advantage of the extra leap second we get this year. And we thought 2008 was almost over – but our year is being extended to stay in sync with the universe. To us, that leap second means one more second to get our business wardrobe ready for 2009.

Some of you may have some gifts to trade in at the mall. Then why not continue to build your winter wardrobe with some warm accessories – scarves. We should make sure we are nicely accessorized inside and outside of the office. Having a sharp coat is good, but it needs to be accessoriezed with the right scarf.

Some of us love our suits, but some women feel restricted by having to wear a business suit every day. To some, business attire feels confining. And if so, a great way to express your own individual style is with jewelry. There are very few fashion rules that apply to jewelry – your neck, earlobes and wrist is pretty much an open and free canvas where you can say what’s on your mind. Stick with your professional wardrobe if you must, but accessorize your business suit with a unique piece of jewelry that reflects YOUR personality. I had the pleasure to meet a few San Francisco jewelry designers at recent eWomen and NAWBO events, and here is some of there work you might want to ask Santa for:

Express yourself with a bold crocheted cuff bracelet, by Keren.   http://www.kerenjewelry.com/store.php?crn=66

Make you suit jacket pop with an elaborate floral silver necklace, by Liza Sonia.  http://lizasonia.com/womens_finesilver.htm

Add some spunk to you office outfit with swirly earrings, by Kris Nations.  http://krisnations.com/earrings/earrings1.html

Keep nature close to your heart with a real oak leaf plated with real gold, Anna Yee.   http://www.ginkgo-designs.com/naturalleafnecklaces.html

Holiday Office Party Wardrobe Plan:

Bring in your purse 1) dressy jewelry, 2) evening make-up, 3) dressy shoes or sandals. Buy a couple of dressy party tops for your professional wardrobe, that you can wear under a business suit.

 Compare these two photos of the same black business suit accessorized in two different ways. This same classic black power suit with a basic white blouse, gets a new personality by changing to a new set of accessories. The key to good accessorizing is in sets. When you see a pair of shoes, or an accessory you like, look for other items to go with it to complete the set – that way it is quick to whip together a chic professional business outfit when your off to a meeting.

Some accessories are meant to go together, like the gray snake skin pointy toe pumps with the matching bag. We put them with a gray shawl that matches one of the gray tones in the animal print, and then added a silver necklace to the blouse. Black and gray are good basics for business attire.

Put the accessories in the set doesn’t have to be “matchy-match”. On the right we picked roomy purple leather bag, and we put a pair of purple round toe shoes with it. The shoes are in a slightly different shade of purple, but they are close enough that they look good together. And for jewelry, we put a striking purple necklace to contrast with the collar of the white blouse. You ought to have some color in your professional wardrobe.

(These accessories from Nine West, Bakers, and Bloomingdale’s.)

How is this for an expression? Spend a little time searching for a coat for your professional wardrobe that is a little bit out of the ordinary, like this leopard print coat. Then pick out a pair of leopard print shoes to complete the theme, for example a pair of sling back pinty toes. This is an expressive way to build on your business suits. This leopard coat is worn with the faithful black slacks, and a classy top that matches one of the brown tones in the coat.

When you wear animal print shoes or clothes, it is easier if you first pick out the animal print item, and then after that match up one of the brown tones among the leopard spots when you select tops and the rest of the items. When you look at this outfits, it is the leopard coat and shoes that strikes you the most, however, the fact that the top matches so well with one of the brown tones in the animal print is what makes the whole impression complete. That is what makes it look classy, instead of just loud. The proffessional wardrobe needs to have both reliable basics, plus a few out of the ordinary items that suit your individual fashion personality.

Changing the accessories can make a women’s business suit look like a completely different suit.  The purse is actually part of the outfit as much as the shoes are. If you already have black shoes and black purses, then build sets of accessories in colors. The word in emphasis here is “set”. When I see a pair of shoes in a color I like, I look for a purse and other things to accessorize my suit with, that all go together – shoes, purse, and perhaps scarves, belts, necklaces, bracelets earrings. It’s best to buy all the accessories in the same trip, at the same mall (if possible) because then you have them all together as a complete set, ready to go.

If you have three completely different sets to accessorize your business suit with, then you can wear the same office outfit three times, and make it look like they are 3 different outfits. A stylish purse can add good flair to your professional wardrobe. Accessorize your business suit with items that suit your personality, and add to your professional image. If you are buying your business attire on a budget, then spend most of the money on a quality suit, and less money on the accessories. You can find things that enhance your look on sale – if the accessories match are combines well and look good together, it doesn’t matter much that they didn’t cost as much as the suit.

A set should have at least 3, but not more than 6, matching items in it. For example:

1. Shoes, purse, necklace, and perhaps also a bracelet and a belt.

2. Shoes, scarf, belt, and perhaps also a bracelet and earrings.

3. Shoes, purse, belt, and perhaps also a necklace.

It’s getting chilly and it’s time to buy a coat. Look at these white, long coats. There are many colors to choose from, but white (or off white) is very classy. I recommend getting one coat in a color, and one in a neutral, like white.