Happy Friday lovelies! I have had quite a busy work week! First off, I’m trying that new Bedtime feature in the Clock iPhone app, and I had it set to only go off on the weekends for some stupid reason, so I woke up two hours late on Monday and one hour late on Tuesday! Then I went to a blogger party at the Society Hotel on Thursday after working a 10 hour day at my day job! Now it’s Friday and I’m actually waking up on time and I’m back at the office training doctors and putting out fires, so I thought it would be a good time to share with you guys some tips that I’ve learned for dressing for the office! That was a super random segue, I realize that, but just roll with it mmmK?

Tip #1 – Office attire doesn’t have to be boring!


One thing that always irks me, is when people have this idea that if you have an office job, you should always wear black/grey/brown slacks, a blouse, and cardigan (OK, yes, I do wear this sometimes, but I know people who literally wear this combination to work every day). If this is your personal style and it’s what you like to wear, then great, rock on with you bad self and wear it, but my point is, you don’t have to stick to these pieces if you don’t want to. Just because you work in an office, doesn’t mean you to have to stick to this one particular style of dressing!

For me, since I do like to wear slacks sometimes and my personal style is mainly pants and a top (I don’t wear dresses as often as I wear pants *coughleggingscough*), I like to wear a more fitted trouser, instead of the traditional wide legged slacks. This pair is one of my favs because it is stretchy and comfortable and I feel like I’m wearing a nice comfy pair of dressy leggings, but they are still really good quality. They’re actually a thicker and sturdier material, but still stretchy. These are actually from H&M and I got them for —- $7.00!!!!!! Here are some very similar styles – floral print, leopard print, black.

Tip #2 – Don’t be afraid of color!


I know what you’re thinking – “Brittany, you wear mostly neutrals…” Yes yes, be that as it may, I do like to add a pop of color (nothing to crazy now!) to an outfit when I’m feeling frisky (the good thing about having a wardrobe that consists mostly of neutral pieces, is that anything I buy with color is going to go well with 90% of my closet 😉 ).

These pants are great to pair with neutrals and colors, which is what I did here with this chambray button up from Old Navy (available here). This button up adds just the right amount of color, but it is still toned down so it really fits well with my personal style. It’s also a classic “office attire” piece, but it’s extremely comfortable and it’s a button up that you could also wear on the weekend.

Tip #3 – Accessories can make or break your look!


Seriously, this is so true, but not in the way you might think. I always thought that I had to wear certain pieces of jewelry for every look – like if I was wearing a scooped or v-neck top I needed a chunky necklace to fill in the space, and if I was wearing a chunky necklace then I could only wear stud earrings, and don’t forget the perfect assortment of bracelets! It was actually kind of exhausting worrying about what accessories to pair with each look! I started realizing that wearing that much jewelry, plus different pieces that I didn’t wear that often, made me feel kind of fake and almost…cluttered? And since the #1 most important thing to me no matter what I am dressing for is comfort, I decided I had to stop making myself crazy with all the jewelry.

So now what I do is wear 1 or 2 pieces that pair well with the outfit, but that are still comfortable (meaning I can crawl around on my hands and knees figuring out why a computer won’t work and my jewelry isn’t flopping around my neck and getting tangled with computer cords…). Like here, I just decided on my Apple Watch (available here) for a more business look, and a neutral leopard print structured Miche bag to add some fun details. ***Side note, if you guys have never heard of Miche Bags before, you should totally check them out here! They’re really cool; basically you start with a plain bag structure and then you buy the covers for them. They have tons of different styles and colors, and the perk is that you can switch up your purse without ever really having to change purses (hallelujah!).

Tip #4 – Be nice to your feet, they put in a lot of work for you!


Seriously, unless you have an inch of callous or feet of steel, save the 5 inch stilettos for the weekend. Whenever I see someone at work with sky high heels, my mind instantly moves from “she looks fabulous” to “OMG how is she not limping?” That isn’t to say you can’t wear heels to work though! Just find a nice comfortable pair of heels that can go from day to night and don’t kill your feet 😉 These black flats from DSW are super comfortable and they have a gold detail on the side to add some detail! Similar here and here!

Tip #5 – Just be you!


My last tip is to never put aside your personal style for someone else’s opinion of what “office attire” is. If you hate slacks and want to wear leather leggings to work, then freaking go for it (I mean, don’t show up in a red leather bodysuit or anything…you know, keep it tasteful). If you’re a vampire like me and your mom calls your style “blah” because you’re allergic to anything brighter than beige, and your husband constantly asks whose funeral you’re going to, WHO CARES. Seriously, none of that matters. If you feel fabulous and comfortable in all black, in bright colorful patterns, in slacks and loafers and sweaters all day every day, then that is what you should wear. Style isn’t about conforming to someone else’s view, it’s about being true to yourself and expressing who you are, even when you’re dressing for you job 🙂

I hope you guys enjoyed these 5 tips on how to dress for the office! I’m going to be doing another rendition of this look on Monday, so stay tuned! And please let me know in the comments how you express your personal style when dressing for work! Love you guys!

Xo,

B

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