Do you feel restricted by having to wear a business suit for work every day? Well, if you are bound by business attire they way to express your very own fashion style is with jewelry. Accessorizing with your very own unique style of jewelry is where you can take license and be very creative. There are hardly any rules. Try to find your own style with a necklace that makes your suit pop.

Accessories is an important part of your professional image. They can make or break an outfit. They can make an old business suit look new. Someone said that the rule to have matching shoes and purse no longer have to be followed. It’s true – that isn’t a strict rule anymore at all. However, it still looks good. So if you see a pair of hot shoes with a cool matching purse – grab ‘em. Add some color to your professional wardrobe.

Here are some examples of simple but classic plus size dresses that would work really well with the “suit dress” look. These dresses have clean lines and simple cuts, and would make a great work outfit. Put a classic black suit jacket over this dress and you’ll have a really nice casual business look. Your business attire wardrobe should consist of casual work clothes as well as formal women’s business suits. And having a couple of simple but classic dresses like these to wear under a suit jacket, gives more options to what you can do with your business suit.

I found these pretty dresses at OverStock.com

Some days you just don’t feel like wearing a conventional woman’s business suit. One alternative would be to wear a “suit dress”. Put on a straight, “pencil skirt type” dress, with a pair of smart pumps. If it comes with a matching suit jacket, then buy it too. If it doesn’t, then throw on a jacket from one of your standard woman’s business suits, and wear the jacket with the dress as suit separates. Black or charcoal gray suit jackets could be your reliable staple for this “suit dress look”. Accessorize with a pretty necklace and you are ready to go make things happen. This is a great way to vary your professional image.

Another version of this business look is the skirt with a long jacket (above).

You should get more skirt suits for your summer wardrobe. Don’t forget, a classic woman’s business suit can have either pants or a skirt. And for this season, why don’t you get a couple of gray skirt suits. If you work in a place where you have to maintain a very professional image, and stick to traditional women’s business attire, you can wear a charcoal gray skirt suit as an alternative to the classic black business suit. Personalize it with a bright, pretty necklace that expresses your personality, so you don’t loose your identity in the corporate business attire dress code. Add your own signature with an accessory.

Stay cool in the summer with women’s business suit in white or off white. Business attire in white gives a very crisp and clean look. A pant suit in white can be made more lively and chic with a blouse in a bright color, like chartreuse. Or if you want to stay within a little more conservative business attire, you can wear a striped black-and-white blouse. However, business attire for women is not as strict as for men, so you have a lot more licence with what colors you choose. Also, a woman’s business suit in white can be complemented with a separate jacket in a bright color, like coral or chartreuse. This way you can create a new look with the same white suit pants.

Note the pocket details before buying the suit.

If the seams pucker, don't buy the suit.

Make sure the buttons on the sleeve are neat, and have no loose threads hanging.

Inspect the general details and stitching, before buying the suit.

There are several things you should inspect when you buy a woman’s business suit. Just because the price tag is high, it may not be the best business attire for you. It goes with out saying that the suit should of course be fully lined. And super cheap quality lining will sooner or later rip, so stay away from that. Check the wrinkle factor of the suit material by grabbing  a part of the suit with one hand and crunch it all up with your fist – when you let go and the fabric falls out of your hand, you will see how wrinkle prone the material is. (Wool blends don’t wrinkle much; linen wrinkles a lot.) Inspect the seams at the lapels and the pockets – if anything looks less then perfect, don’t buy it. If you see a loose thread, pull it and see what happens. If there are too many loose threads, don’t buy it. Check the suit’s seams for any puckers (especially around the shoulder). If there are any puckers at all, ask the sales associate to steam them out – but if the puckers can’t be steamed out easily, it means the stitching was not done right to begin with when it was sewn, so don’t buy it. Inspect the buttons at the bottom of the sleeve to make sure they are neat and straight. Last, when you wear the business suit, look and see that the lining doesn’t poke out lower than the hem line at the edge of the  sleeves or at the bottom of the suit jacket.

Spring is here and it’s time to update your professional wardrobe with something white. Get a new crisp white woman’s business suit for your business attire. If you live in a warm climate, like Florida or Southern California, then you could get a suit with a short sleeved suit jacket. A white skirt suit will keep you cool, and looking good. Accessorize it with silver or gold jewelry.

For women who don’t look good in starch white,  a beige skirt suit may be an option. Like this suit below:

Evan Picone Women’s Skirt Suit

Finding the good, reliable basics for your professional wardrobe is important. These classic, black or gray women’s business suits, are the first things anyone building a stylish work wardrobe should buy. But even for us who have many of these suits as our business attire “building blocks” – they do wear out sometimes, and we have to get new ones every now and then. If your get black business suits with jackets, pants and skirts that are interchangeable, then you can create more work outfits with the same pieces. And if just the jacket wears out, then you will be able to wear the pants or the skirt with another one of your suit jackets instead of having to toss  out the entire suit. You actually save money by purchasing more than one suit at a time – the total amount of that purchase is higher, but you end up spending less on your professional wardrobe budget annually, if you plan it that way.

I recently found a good on-line source for women’s business suits called  JKL Clothing. They offer a wide range of women’s business suits,  leisurewear and also embroidered clothing. I thought it might be a good idea to try getting a white blouse embroidered with my initials for example. It has been a thing that men do with their shirts, but I think I may try it with two or three blouses for myself.

While browsing around Nordstrom’s we found a couple of examples of nice casual work outfits in plus sizes that are very accessorized well. For plus size outfits we recommend long necklaces as accessories.

TOP: This work outfit consists of a staple black skirt, with a casual cardigan over a classic white blouse. This ensemble would have worked well by itself, but accessorized with the lime green multi string necklace it gets a completely different feel to it. Don’t under estimate how just one accessory can change the look of a professional attire outfit.

BOTTOM: The blue cardigan set is rather plain by itself, even though good quality. In this image it is the necklace and the purse that makes this work outfit what it is. Accessorize a plain work outfit with two accessories that don’t necessarily match, but that add spunk and class. When using un-matching accessories limit them to 2 – if you use 3 or more un-matching accessories, it will look messy.

Adding cardigans to your professional wardrobe is a good idea. It’s very simple to add a cardigan to a woman’s business suit. Cardigans are usually not so bulky that it looks weird wearing it under a suit jacket. One of the most chic ways to wear a cardigan is to have a basic, white blouse under the cardigan, with the collar sticking up and folded over it. A basic blouse, in traditional white or other color, gives a classy feel to any work outfit. In normal weather, you may have your classic business suit with a white blouse, but in chilly weather you just add a cardigan over the blouse, and it looks quite polished while keeping you warm at the same time. And in order to get maximum warmth, get a wool blend. If the cardigan is going to be thin, so as to not bulk under the suit jacket, it should be as warm as possible and then your best bet is wool. Or cashmere.

Here’s in interesting task – how do we take advantage of a subtle hue in a plaid fabric? In the first photo we have a argyle print stockings with a very thin mustard yellow stripe. The skirt is is in the same shade of yellow as in the stockings, and it’s worn with a traditional black suit jacket and black shoes. The second photo is gray plaid skirt with a very slight line of mustard yellow. That subtle hue is matched up with a suit jacket in the same color. This could be worn with black stockings and black pumps, or perhaps tall black boots. If you have the colors carefully planned out, you can create some good work outfits by mix-and-matching suit separates. Any other suggestions on picking up hues from the readers ?

No tights with business attire, please. Puh-leeaas! I don’t care how popular they are right now, you can NOT wear tights to work. On the mannequin in this photo somebody made an effort to make these tights look more formal and dressy by putting them with a blazer. No way. That just does not work. Maybe for a party, but not for a work outfit. It doesn’t matter if you try to turn a pair of tights into a business casual outfit by wearing them with a suit jacket. It looks terrible. (I seldom use blogs to simply rant, but today I couldn’t hold it back.)

  The standard white, gray and black business attire can be brightened up with some color – for example pink! In the first photo we have a basic white blouse with a subtle pink stripe under a cute gray cardigan, with a basic black suit skirt. Second we have a classic gray buisness suit (skirt suit) with a basic white blouse, however it is layered with a pink unbuttoned cardigan – this is a great way to mix in some color into your professional wardrobe. In the last example we have work outfit consisting of a gray suit jacket with a taupe pencil skirt, brightened up by a classic blouse in mauve. This style of basic blouse in different colors is the staple of most women’s business attire and can be worn both with suit separates, as in this photo, or with classic business suits.

Don’t miss your chance to wear open toe shoes with your business suit. For is who like to show our toes, now is the chance to squeeze the last bit of fun out of summer. Wear your open toe shoes while you can, soon it will be too cold for that. If your black power suit need some spice, then wear a pair of bright turquise pumps. and perhaps with a matching shawl or scarf.

The buttons on a woman’s business suit is part of what gives that particular suit it’s style and look. Some business suits have buttons that stand out, as in the case with these suit jackets and coat above. Some suits have inconspicuous, or even hidden buttons. When you look a business suit over, pay attention to what kind of impression the buttons give. Some women like big buttons, some don’t. You can even repalce the buttons if you like. One way to improve your business attire and upgrade the image of a business suit is to go to a fabric store and buy some more classy, expensive looking buttons and sew them onto your suit jacket. These days some women don’t know how to sew, and if that’s the case you can turn it into a dry-cleaning place that does alterations. If you find a buisness suit that has a cut that looks really good on you, but the buttons are cheap looking plastic buttons, it may be a good idea to have new ones put on. The buttons can be considered part of the subtle image of your business attire.

Does your black power suit bore you? Break it up with some bright yellow jackets. Business attire doesn’t always have to be dark to create a professional image. Buy a bright yellow suit jacket to wear with your favorit black suit pants.  Don’t let business attire dress codes restirct you in terms of color.

Here are two dramatic examples of black business suits with red tops. The first one is a black pant suit with very wide lapels, and black top under neath that creates a dramatic contrast. The second is a business suit with a skirt and a suit jacket that has ruffled lapels. It is also contrasted with a red top that shows in the wide opening of the suit jacket. Both of these power suits have lapels that are unique.

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.

With the implementation of casual Friday and the overall relaxed feel at offices, jeans are now being seen around the cubicles with increasing frequency.  Each office environment is different and it is up to you to decide if your office can handle the casualness of jeans. Though a general rule that can always see you through and make sure you look professional is this: dress for the position a level higher than yourself.  If you never see your supervisor wearing jeans, it’s a good bet it would be inappropriate for you too.  But if you can wear jeans, the difference between casual chic and casual is a good fit and wash. Dark denim in a bootcut will never steer you wrong; some great brands that instantly slim and offer full coverage are: Sevens, Joe’s and Citizens (all of which can be found at Macy’s for one stop shopping).

When wearing denim to the office, layers are important to keep the look professional.  Blazers are especially sleek since they are unexpected, and paired with a lacy cami and slim cardigan makes the look feminine and effortless.  With jeans, jewelry can play a huge part: necklaces and bracelets are a great way to be eclectic and boho chic.  Denim can be a fun break away from the usual office attire and remain sleek and styled.

 By: Danielle Gonzalez

Outfits by Ann Taylor and Anthropology

How about adding some green to your work wardrobe? Pep things up a bit with a bright green top or jacket. You can mix in a green top with business suits in black and white. Or brighten a brown women’s suit with a green silk top that has a very slight shine to it. What about creating a casual office outfit with a green separate suit jacket to wear with a blouse, and your favorite black or white slacks? Perhaps balance it with a subtle green bracelet.

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.

Plus size women can find some really nice styles for business outfits at Harper Greer in San Francisco. The Harper Greer collection ranges from size 12 10 size 26, and they use very pretty, high quality fabrics. Harper Greer is a great source for clothing in bright colors – they have a remarkable collection of materials and textures. This is a great store where plus size women can find some really unique and posh items to add to their professional wardrobe.

If you have a few women’s business suits in black or gray, you can find some nice career blouses and dressy tops here to make your suit reflect your personality. If you usually wear jeans to work with business casual outfits, you can find the popular jeans brand ”Not Your Daughters Jeans” here.  I recommend selecting a couple of tops in a slightly shiny material – it still feels comfortable, but looks  a little more dressy. Bring your favorit business suit to the Harper Greer boutique and spend the afternoon trying it on with a bunch of tops in different colors, and varied accessories. They are located at 522 Sutter Street, San Francisco CA. You can also order directly from them on-line here: HarperGreer.com