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.

 Too short.  This is a good length for the office.

Don’t push it with the short skirts. Work is still work. When you have to wear business attire the skirt shouldn’t be shorter than just above the knee. Even in warm weather. The gray skirt with a contrasting jacket on the right, is a good look for a professional woman. The skirt out fit on the left is cute, but just a bit too short to give a strictly business like impression. You can wear a matching skirt suit, or a skirt with a different jacket. Both work just as well.

Be a smart girl and get the most mix and match outfits for your shopping money. Think ahead. Don’t just jump on one lovely garment, that you just must have. Look around and see what else goes with it. Sometimes the designers make it easy for us by purposely creating outfits that that meant to be re-combined, like these classy ensembles of dresses with suit jackets from St. John. But other times we have to search around the store to match our business suits up. Do bother the sales staff to help you match things up – they usually enjoy helping shoppers creating outfits.

The suit jacket doesn’t always have to be the same as the pants or the skirt. See this example of two beautiful Armani suits with gray tones that match and blend so well. All your business suits don’t have to be completely uniform. You can mix and match different shades of gray suits, for example, and come up with some very stylish professional outfits. The first photo has a pair of charcoal gray slacks with a suit jacket that is almost blackish gray, and a loosely tied scarf in a very ligth shade of gray.

Split your business suit up in half. Wear the skirt with a white jacket or white blouse. Wear the jacket with a with skirt. Mix and match your suits with other jackets and skirts you already have. When you buy something new, always do a mental inventory of your closet to think what you can wear this new office outfit with. Get more mileage for the gas – or more outfits for the bucks, by planning professional wardrobe purchases out so that you can have the most amount of outfit combinations possible. (These stylish outfits seen at Bloomingdale’s.)

We all have reason to be optimistic, as some sectors continue to grow despite slow economy. The health care industry grew by 36,000 jobs last month, and Uncle Sam is looking to hire 200,000 employees, according to Fox News. The top 5 growing job markets are #1 Salt Lake City, UT, #2 Wichita, KS, #3 Austin, TX, #4 Atlanta, GA, and #5 Fort Worth, TX.

So what professional clothes should you wear to the job interview? Don’t dress to casual for the interview. If you aren’t sure what level of professionalism your interview outfit should be, keep in mind that it’s always better to over-dress, than to under-dress. You won’t be criticized for being too well dressed. Wear a professional pant suit or skirt suit, with a  pressed blouse. It’s tried and true, and can’t go wrong. If it turns out that this place of work allows casual work clothes, you can always wear that later when you start the job. But the interview is your only chance to make that first impression, so don’t under-dress for it. Here are some examples with suits and blouses from Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, and Bloomingdale’s.

A tried and true look for casual work clothes, is the skirt and the blouse, as seen in these examples from Banana Republic and Bloomingdales. Pick a nice, fun skirt (not too short), and wear it with a simple blouse. When you shop, gradually build a collection of a few nice skirts, then add some casual blouses that you can interchange. Another option is a fun skirt with a sweater, as in the navy blue cowl neck sweater above. This look is less formal than the standard suit, more free in expression, but still a bit dressy. 

While visiting Ohio, Hillary Clinton wore a great combination of red and black. A very striking look. Here are some pictures with suggestions for red and black women’s suits from Ann Taylor. Some days you feel like wearing all red, some days you feel like wearing all black. But you can also mix match suits, switching the jackets over the skirts. If you make sure the suits match each other when you buy them, you now get more milage with your fashion budget since you now have four outfits instead of two.

 (Hillary photo from http://tryingtounderstandtheworldaroundme.blogspot.com/)

As an alternative to the traditional woman’s business suit, you can wear a dress or skirt with a long coat over it. If the situation makes you want to feel a little more dressy, this is a great way to alternate your looks. But you may have to keep the coat on for most of the day, because if you take it off you may not look so professional in just a dress (especially if it is sleeveless). So keep that in mind when you plan your day in the morning. The long coat can be worn with pants as well, and you may want to check that you have a pair of pants that will go with it, when you buy it.