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.

By: Danielle Gonzalez

When looking in a woman’s closet, most likely, it is filled with black; black sweaters, black blouses, black dresses, and black suits.  And though black does go with nearly everything and is a simple solution to most wardrobe questions, adding a couple colorful suits is a fresh way to add dimension and more outfit choices to mix and match with your professional wardrobe.  Shades of red are always a popular choice for business suits in the spring, don’t be afraid to find the right tone for you; coral, pink, and even peach are soft colors with a lot of professional appeal.  Navy is common also in the spring,  and should you be more daring, a softer blue can also be a lovely choice for a young woman.  But if you are more conservative when it comes to suiting colors, grey tones in tweed are an excellent choice.  When it comes to colorful women’s suits, make sure that you’re picking strong shoes in a color at least two shades darker than the suit, the idea is to look bold, not matchie-matchie. 

These suits from: Chadwicks and Barry Pace

By Danielle Gonzalez

In the ever present quest for appropriate work attire, it is an eventuality that some days will not include the omnipresent black power suit.   However dear shopper, this need give you no extra burden of stress; women’s business suits are leaving the popular arena in favor of something more individualistic, giving  each woman the opportunity to express herself in a more unique way.  And though this new development does mean you have the opportunity to spread your wardrobes wings and really get creative with your day to day outfits, there are a few guidelines along the way to keep your look polished and effortlessly chic.

Should you be more conservative in your buisness attire, now is a wonderful opportunity to mix and match suit separates for a vibrant and fresh take – don’t be afraid to pair that white blazer that only comes out in summer with your favorite fall wear navy slacks.  Multiple colors and textures appear creative, just be sure to keep it under  2 bright patterns to avoiding looking like a kaleidoscope.  Also, layers are essential to keeping the look sophisticated: camisoles, cardigans, sweaters, belts, and even t-shirts can all be implemented to add depth to an otherwise boring look.

Always remember; casual work clothes can mean items bought on the cheap, but it doesn’t mean it suddenly doesn’t need to fit. No matter how good the sale! And as a general rule, you want to be casual enough to be comfortable, but pulled together enough to still be appropriate should your boss’ boss call together an impromptu meeting.

By Danielle Gonzalez

Updating an office outfit can be as simple as adding a little white to give your business attire some pop.  White on black especially adds a modern and polished tone to any ensemble. To spice up the classic black suit, a crisp white blouse underneath always does the trick, but to give the woman’s business suit some flair, go for an off white silk, it’s unexpected glamour adds a soft femininity.  A dress with a bold white on black pattern is mature and fresh, paired with a black cardigan and black pumps makes its an understated power outfit.  And don’t forget about the white or creme jacket.  A long coat is more appropriate for dressier occasions and seen during the evening, but a cropped white jacket can be paired with any classic or trendy look in your professional wardrobe.  Even white accessories such as a purse, jewelry, or scarf gives a striking impression that is impossible to ignore in its intensity.

Look at right from The Limited

Wearing a turtle neck sweater under a business suit in a contrasting color, is almost like a means of accessorizing. Regard it the same way, as when you put on a scarf in a different color to accessorize your suit. Sometimes we ad interest to our business attire by adding a scarf around the neck, but another way to acheive a silimar effect, is to purposly choose a turtle neck in a color that sort of “accessorizes” the suit outfit. This red suit jacket is contrasted with  a black turtle neck, which also ties in with the black buttons of the jacket. The black/white speckled suit jacket is accessorized with a white turtle neck, that blends with the white spots in the jacket. And last, this gray business suit has a pink turtle neck that adds a little extra life to the gray. (This pink sweater is not a true turtle neck, but it has the same effect). The last two examples have a lifting effect on the business suit, whereas the first example gives a striking, dramatic effect to the whole image. Having at least one turtle neck in a color is a good foundation for a professional wardrobe.

How about a green suit jacket to alternate with your black suit pants? What color are you in the mood for today? Here are some examples of various ways to wear a green suit jacket, to mix-match career clothes and woman’s business suits. The first one has a long coat-like cut, and when worn indoors looks best if kept unbuttoned so that you see the blouse. The second is a short conservative jacket cut with standard lapels, which looks very cute with a basic white blouse under it. The third is also short, but has a more unique cut in that it is rounded at the bottom, has hidden buttons, and collar style lapels. (With this type of collar you would not wear a blouse showing over the jacket.) When building a professional wardrobe, take into account what type of suit jacket cut best fits your own personality. Which jacket cut do you think is more like your style?

Here are some ideas on how to create work outfits with white pants (without using the obvious white suit jacket). First we have a casual, cute outfit, with a tomato red jacket over a black and white print top. That outfit could work very well with a black jacket, but the red adds some spunk. This outfit would be good for casual work clothes. Second we have a very formal business outfit, with a pair of flowy white dress slacks and a light gray plaid blazer. The gray blazer has a very slight shine to it, which makes it look even more formal. This is a good business attire combination to have in addition to the other matching formal suits in your professional wardrobe. The third pair of white slacks are worn with a simple gray blouse, that has a light luster to the fabric which makes it look more dressy. This work outfit could pass for either business casual, or professional business attire depending on what type of black suit jacket is put with it.

These classic gray women’s business suits are brightened up with tops in bold colors, like pink and purple. Contrasting a gray suit jacket with a top in a bright color, like purple, is a great way to lift your mood if you are in a funk. You might cheer people up in the office with this type of work outfit. Pink and purple tops work well if the gray suit has an undertone of blue in the gray, but if the gray has an undertone of green, it might not. Match up the top with your business suit in the day light, if possible.

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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.

Excuse me, but am I the only one who has been told not to wear white pants after labor day? I saw several pairs of white pants on display at the mall. I gues that rule is of the past now. Well, in that case, maybe I’ll just go through the summer clothes I packed away for the cold season, and see if there is anything I can wear with my winter suits. I always did think that a pair of white slacks looks really good with a gray or black suit jacket.

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

Purposely buying business suits and work clothes where several pieces are interchangeable, and can be re-combined into new office outfits, is a clever way to plan a professional wardrobe. Here is an example of 8 garments found at Macy’s, which are all interchangeable, and can be mix and matched in many ways. These 3 suit jackets and 3 bottoms can all be worn together. And the 2 tops can be worn with all of the suit combinations. The trick is to not buy one piece of clothing at a time when you shop – instead you can save the money you would have spent on those single items, and go buy 8 coordinated items at the same time. Some stores purposely plan their collections to make it easy to mix and match items. By shopping for several pieces of work clothes at the same time, you are more likely to end up with a professional wardrobe where many of the garments re-combine into new business suits easily.

Here’s math riddle for you – how many work outfits can you create by mix and matching the pieces in the above photo?

The black power suit is a main stay of every professional woman’s business wardrobe. It is the basic foundation for business attire. But we can’t wear black all the time, and we need some variation to this staple. Mixing and matching black and white jackets, skirts and tops is a great way to add some pizazz to a wardrobe that has too much black in it. Use you black suit pants to wear with a top or suit jacket in black and white. Or wear your black suit jacket with a skirt in black and white. The mix and match combinations are endless.

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.

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.

A gray business suit can give a professional woman a very confident image. Compare these three examples of gray suits and get ideas for what styles you can create for yourself.

In the first photo the suit is worn with a very bright and contrasting top. This orange turtleneck top makes a statement of it’s own. If you feel that the gray color of the suit doesn’t enhance your skin tone, then this is a good way to put together the outfit – simply wear a top that you know is a good color for you very close to your face.

The second photo has a gray pant suit where the top is almost invisible. The business suit itself is the entire statement. The burgundy top underneath actually functions more like a subtle accessory, rather than a garment. Also the necklace for this suit is very subtle.

The third photo is a gray skirt suit. Some professional women just prefer skirts. This suit has black accentuated details that give it style, and therefore doesn’t really have to be added to or accessorized much. However, if a skirt suit, in particular, is completely plain, then accessories are very important (plain skirt suits can make you look like a flight attendant, if they have no detailing or accessories).

How bold can you get with your business suit colors? How far do you go with color? It depends a little bit on your personality. And on the field you are in. As long as you have your basic black pants covered, then why not get a bright pink jacket? Make a bold move. Cheer people in the office up. Let your professional wardrobe get a little wild once in a while. The rules of business attire are meant to be broken now and then. Don’t let the rules confine you; use them to express yourself.

Sarah Palin must have a quite large closet. The peach, off white, and red suit jackets she is wearing here is a great example of how you can create different professional outfits with jackets, once you have a pair of good, professional black slacks or black skirt that fit your body type well. Looking at a photo like this, we may get ideas about what bright colored jackets we could go out and shop for to add to our business attire. But women should keep in mind that, though the suit jackets look great, the black power suit the foundation here. Then a classic white blouse is added to it. And last, the bright colored suit jackets are added to the wardrobe for mix and matching. See below how to put together a Sarah Palin suits wardrobe.

What to buy to make a killer professional wardrobe:

1. A black women’s business suit, that comes with both a skirt and pants. (If it doesn’t, then buy a black pant suit plus a separate black skirt that matches). (talbots.com  bananarepublic.com)

2. A classic white blouse. This can be worn with almost any business suit, and always looks professional. (BasicBlouse.com)

3. Buy three different suit jackets that you can mix and match with the black pants and skirt from the first suit. (Get one suit jacket in a neutral color, and two in bright colors – red, for example is a great power color.) (anntaylor.com  macys.com)

(photo credits: Agia Presser, Carlos Barria, Tom LeGro, Dana Edelson)

While scouting the mall today, I saw three things: purple, gray and black. In several stores I saw the same thing: business suits, fall jackets, dresses, slacks in these three colors. Even black boots, gray boots and purple boots. It’s only September, but we are seeing some business fashion for fall already.

When planning a professional wardrobe it is a good idea, in general, to stick to 3-4 colors that all go with each other. This way you’ll end up with work outfits that match, where you can change around the gray slacks with a purple blouse, a purple coat with a gray dress, black pants with purple suit jacket, etc. Always think about how you can mix and match things together when you shop. Don’t be afraid to put color in your business attire. You can use neutrals like black and gray power suits, then add one bright color to the outfits – like purple for example.

A pair of gray pants is a standard in your closet, just like the black pants. It’s a basic, a staple, and it can save you when you don’t know what to wear. In some very formal business situations it is considered inappropriate to wear bold or “happy” colors. Professional attire doesn’t always have to stick to basic colors – far from it – but certain situations require a rather conservative look. You can get gray pants as part of a business pant suit, but also get a pair or two of separate gray pants. They match up with almost everything, but do pay attention to the fact there can be a slight blue, green or brown tone to the gray fabric. (It’s imporatant to keep that in mind when selecting the top.) Gray slacks can be worn with a classy white blouse, for example. Or with a stylish black top, as in the above photos. (These outfits seen at Banana Republic.)

Here Katie Holmes wears a nicely pressed navy suit blouse with gray slacks. This photo is from when she had a bob cut, recently she changed her hair style to a pixie cut. This type of basic blouse is so comfortable and easy to wear. It’s classy and never goes out of style. It goes with so many things – slacks, skirts, jeans. It can be dressed up with business attire, or it can be dressed down with jeans or casual work clothes. It can let you escape and be right in the middle when you can’t decide what you want to be (dressed up or down). This is a mainstay and a staple which every woman should have several of – at least a cuple of white blouses and then two or three in colors. They form, of sorts, a foundation in your wardrobe.

These gray slacks are also a staple that form the basic foundation in your wardrobe. Most women have at least one pair of black slacks to match up with various tops. But you should also have a pair of gray separate pants that come in handy, as they are a neutral that can be worn with almost everything, but not quite so black, if you know what I mean. Black pants is the first basic, gray pants is the second basic. Having these as a part of your wardrobe foundation, you can then get creative and build on with other unique garments. And doesn’t she look great?

(photo from davidouss Series-blog.fr)

Break off the neutral colors with a strong color. Many women’s business suits are in neutral tones, like black, gray and brown. You can brighten them up with a strong, happy color for the top. See these examples of orange tops with the brown and gray pant suits.

Create your own business suit look with separates that mix and match. Not all your business attire must be uniform jackets and pants. Some can be separates with jackets that can be worn with several pairs of pants. Maximize the amount of professional outfits you can make out of the garments in your closet, by getting blazers and slacks in harmonizing colors that can be recombined over and over. This is a less expensive and creative way to build on you professional wardrobe. These sharp, short sleeve suit jackets can be worn with several different colors of pants.

Just how far do we go with the tops and blouses sticking out from underneath the suit jacket? When is it OK, and when is it not? Sometimes it looks good, sometimes it doesn’t. Here below are some guiding examples for women’s business fashion 2008:

  These two pant suits are OK with the blouse untucked. The amount that it sticks out is just right – not too long and it sits straight and neat. The orange top harmonizes with the brown suit, and almost becomes an accessory, of sorts. With the off white pant suit the print top breaks off in a pleasing contrast. It adds interest and it looks planned.

   This outfit does NOT look good with blouse hanging out. It’s too long for the jacket. It sticks out too much, and it just looks sloppy and unpolished.

   Compare these two images of the same gray business suit with a basic white blouse. Tucking it in definitely looks best. With this type of blouse it just looks like you left the house in a hurry when it is sticking out. The effect of the blouse sticking out under the suit jacket does not add anything of interest to the look, and it does not look planned (it just looks messy).