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 ?

  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.

Belts can be a great accessory for a business casual outfit. You can accessories with belt both for skirts and pants. First we have a skirt and white blouse with a thin belt. Next is an example of a work oufit with a wide black belt accessorizing a pair of white slacks with a short sleeved blouse. Last we have a business casual outfit accessorized with a belt in a contrasting color, simply resting over the cardigan. A belt, as an accessory, can say so much.

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.

How about breaking up your regular black power suit and wearing the pants or skirt with a suit jacket that has contrasting trim at the edges? This is a great way to create new work outfits, by mix and matching women’s business suits. The fundamentals of business attire for women is to build a wardrobe with classic matching pant suits and skirt suits. But after that you can add various suit jackets with design details that makes women’s business suits into whole new suits. When you go shopping for women’s business attire, don’t just look at the suit – look at what other work outfits can be created with it.

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

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

It’s fruitful to pay attention to details as you stroll by the clothing racks in the stores. While hastily browsing through what I thought was a row of conventional business suits the other day, I noticed some amazing details on these skirts, pants and suit jackets. These images are of business suits made be English designer Karen Millen. She never sticks to traditional when she creates suits.

Notice the stitching on the pocket detail.

 

This gray skirt has a lot of design detail on the pocket flaps below the waist band, and also on the flaired part at the bottom. It came with a matching gray suit jacket, but can also be mix and matched with black jackets.

Check out the these two examples of a woman’s business suit in black: one is formal and the other is casual. Which do you think would be a better work outfit for where you work? The first one is a very traditional and formal black skirt suit, worn with a purple top (from Bloomingdales). This is definitely a power suit, and is a great piece of business attire.

The second photo is a black skirt suit, worn with an Argyle sweater over a basic white blouse (from Benetton). This suit, although also a black skirt suit, is pretty casual and would not be a power suit. There are subtleties in these two work outfits that make a difference.  Both of them would be good for a professional wardrobe. The second one is a very cute, youthful and energetic look, which would work very well for business casual attire.

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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.

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.

Feeling bored with your conventional business suit? Then the thing to do is to put on a bright, colorful top. If you are in the mood, then put on a top that is almost oboxiously bright, like this orange one. If a women’s business suit is pretty conservative, you can balance that out by wearing a top that almost screams hello. Corporate dress codes tell you what business suits to wear, but not really what tops to wear. That is one area where you can choose your own style and express your mood. It does have to match the suit though, but staying within that limit, why don’t you push it a little and see what you can get away with (put not if you are brand new on the job).  Creating business attire outfits can be more creative than you think – it does have some rules, but you should still express YOU. A professional wardrobe should of course have a few basic blouses in it, but don’t stop there – go out and find at least one really bright top for each of your business suits. Who knows, you might cheer people up in the office.

Theses outfits from Bloomingdale’s.

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?

As the snow descends on us we ought to bundle up in the office. The malls are full of sweaters, but don’t select one for comfort alone – pick out a sweater that is warm, but also gives your body a nice fit. You may as well get a sweater that looks good with your office outfits, as well as keeps you warm. If it’s too bulky, it doesn’t fit in with your professional wardrobe. And why not accessorize it with a  necklace. Wear the skirts you wear the rest of the year, just with thicker stockings, and choose a sweater that looks chic with it, not bulky.

To avoid bulk, get sweaters with as much wool content as possible (at least 70% wool). Or cashmere. If the sweater is made of wool or cashmere, it will keep you warm, even if it isn’t super thick. If it is thin, you can also wear it under a business suit, without it looking bulky. Don’t buy sweaters made of 100% cotton or 100% acrylic. The cotton sweaters look bad after just a few washes, and they aren’t that warm anyway. And acrylic will inevitably accumulate fuzz balls in short order. Stay way from acrylic sweaters, no matter how pretty they are, because they will get fuzz balls pretty soon (unless it’s a 60/40 acrylic blend with wool or cashmere).

When you wash them, remember that wool shrinks and must be washed in cold water. Don’t ever wring a sweater – gently squeeze out the water without wringing, and lay them flat to dry on a towel on the bathroom floor. If you put sweaters through the washer, use a very gentle cycle. The dryer will usually shrink them. Hand wash or dry-cleaning is best.

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).

Skirt outfits are fun to wear. They can be worn as suits, but it is also fun to mix and match, and put together different combos with jackets and skirts. Here are some ideas for office outfits. Skirts and jackets can be either casual work clothes, or formal business attire, mostly depending on how formal the suit jacket is. The two work outfits on the right are more formal because they are solid colors. The two skirt outfits on the left are more like “business casual”, as they are a bit more free and fun with the prints.

Enough about Sarah Palin suits – what about her shoes? Is anyone really paying attention to her feet? Well, I had a look and discovered quite an array of shoe wear. She doesn’t only stick the basic black high heel, but also wears a surprising amount of red shoes. The plain red high-heeled shoes that she wears in the photo below with her daughter, is a great mate to the basic black. A black business suit with red pumps makes a great contrast.

The dark gray high-heeled shoe, lined with a thin stripe of black accent, is really great for business attire. It can go with almost every thing, and looks very formal. However, those sandals she wears – the red sandals, and the black and white sandals, are not formal at all. But she pulls the sandal look off quite well with her skirt suits. Some real estate agents I know wear sandals like that with their professional attire, because they have to take their shoes off a lot when they show a home.

Then we have the black medium heel shoes, with the buckle on the front, that she wears with the brown business suit below. If you look closely at the close-up photo of that shoe, you can see that it’s actually a sling back. In an earlier blog post about shoes I wrote that sling backs weren’t appropriate for office outfits, I guess that trend has changed now.

My personal favorite is her red high heel open toe shoes, with the buckle in front. They are imitation snake skin in patent leather, and worn with that black skirt, they make a major fashion statement if I ever saw one.

So, apparently there are very few rules on what pumps can be worn with the Sarah Palin suit. Hope this gives you some ideas of what shoes to add to your professional wardrobe. What I’d really like to see is Sarah Palin in some animal print shoes! Please comment on which of her shoes do you like the best.

What to wear when it is so hot? Dying of heat stroke in a business suit, is not a price a professional woman should have to pay, for looking good. Choosing a summer outfit for the office is hard without crossing the line of casual work attire. We have to face it – it is almost impossible to follow formal business attire if we are going to stay cool. There is no easy way around it. When the temperature goes over 90, the pant suit will have to go. For a few days anyway.

My suggestions is to simply wear a nice skirt, with a crisp white blouse. It’s simple and good. Easy to put together, and looks very proper and chic. If you want to, you can also wear a sleeveless dress with a conservative cut. Some companies don’t allow sleeveless at work, so check first. And don’t wear a low neckline. These work outfits in the photo to the left from Ann Taylor, are some examples of what you can wear in the office in the summer when it’s hot. (And they easily convert to winter work outfits, by wearing them with a black suit jacket or blazer, thicker stockings and boots.) A note of caution though – don’t wear skirts that are too short, or casual spagetti strap dresses to the office.)

Is black considered a power color? When choosing a business suit, consider where you are going, whom you are going to meet, and what impression you want to make. Lighter colors, or neutrals like beige, tan, and light gray women’s suits are considered approachable. Darker colors, like navy, burgundy, dark brown, dark gray, and of course black, give a more authorative impression. It has nothing to do with professional image; if it’s a good quality, nicely pressed pant suit or skirt suit that fits you well, then it definitaley fits within the rules of business attire. The color is your choice in how you want to be perceived. Black is definitaley a power color, whether it’s a pant suit or a skirt suit. We shouldn’t wear black every single day, but every woman should have at least a couple of them.

We usually don’t see Katie Holmes like this – in a stylin’ business outfit. Here she is striding down the street in a black skirt with a white sweater, complimented with red high healed pointy toe shoes and a large red bag. That bag is as much part of the outfit as the clothes. Some people say black and red are considered power colors for business attire. I think I would have to agree. Who could doubt she is the one calling the shots when she is wearing those red shoes? Black and red together makes for a very dramatic effect. Any black skirt suit or pant suit can be made more dramatic by adding red accessories. This photo is from before when she had a bob cut, she recently changed her style to a pixie cut.

(This photo by fashionbubbles.)

Belts are often an underestimated accessory. Adding a belt to your outfit changes the look. Those extra little details create a more polished impression. Accessories like belts, scarves, purses and jewelry may not be the thing that strikes you first when you look at a business woman walking down the street. But if she didn’t wear them, you would notice that something was different without knowing why. Those extra little details can turn an other wise plain business suit into a highly individualized outfit, expressing who you feel you are.

In the left photo the mannequin wears a wide belt that markedly separates the classic white blouse from the posh pencil skirt. I slightly dramatic style. In the right photo the mannequin wears a thin blet, casually resting on top of the white suit jacket. This accent is adds just a very subtle touch to the pant suit. Both of these belts sit rather high, pretty much right on the waist. The fashion rule of always placing the belt resting low on the hip is no longer a fast rule. (The hip belt is not out of style, but the waist belt is comming back.) These ensembles from Banana Republic.

A shocking discovery in the world of business fashion! Who would have thought? Trading out the jacket of a woman’s business suit for a leather jacket – what a great idea! Look at this ensemble with a conservative gray fitted pencil skirt – this would normally have a gray suit jacket made to go with it, but it has been exchanged for a gray lether jacket that mathces the tone of gray in the skirt. The top is a knit with gray and burgundy stripes. This outfit looks quite professional and stylish, in fact, it almost looks like a skirt suit – but it’s not. This is an excellent way to get variety out of your business wardrobe, and mix and match your suits. However, there are limitations to what type of situations in wich you could wear this; I wouldn’t recomend it for a corporate board meeting. And don’t toss out your regular suits all together, keep the leather jacket to alternate on days when you feel you can get away with it.

Warning: Not all leather jackets are made equal. Don’t get a leather jacket that looks “funky” or “cool” for this particular look. Inspect the grade of the leather. Choose a leather jacket that still has a cut that is similar to the cut of a suit jacket.

Summer is here – what to wear. Use a pair of white or off-white slacks and a white skirt as your basic and add jackets and tops in pastels. Wear cream pants with a salmon jacket. Buy women’s business suits in white, cream and a light pastel. Then break your suits up and mix and match the jackets and the pants. Make sure a little bit of the blouse shows under the jacket. Pull the collar up over the lapels, and let a bit of the blouse show under the edge of the suit jacket, if it is a short jacket. (Don’t mix in black with these ensembles, but possibly a very light brown or taupe.)

These ensembles from Ralph Lauren.