professional/work wardrobe

[Riverdong11]

I'm hoping you fabulous ladies will have some recommendations of your favorite work clothes. I used to work in a very laid back environment, where jeans a t-shirt and sneakers was acceptable. I have a very promising job lead in a business environment and I do not have the wardrobe to support that at all. Since I'm completely starting from scratch it's a bit intimidating to figure out where to start. I appreciate any kind of help with this! I have been looking at pinterest, but since I'm not really fashion savvy it's hard for me to find similar items to the inspiration pins. 

[justbeth]

I love Ann Taylor Loft, Limited and Banana Republic. I can usually go into any of those and tell a sales lady what I need/want and they can help me find something that works and usually give me suggestions of other items to pair it with.

[cbear]

Most of my work clothes are from Banana Republic and honestly I got the majority from their sales rack! I love their shift dresses with a nice cardigan and cute jewelry. Or I wear a pencil skirt with a nicer top! I like Loft too

[britbratjf]

When I worked I got a lot of my work clothes from Banana Republic, Loft & White House Black Market. I wore a lot of dresses with cardigans, slacks & skirts with cardigans. I've never been a big fan of blouses (on me) so cardigans worked well. Do you need to wear a suit on a regular basis? I love the WHBM suit jacks but they are PRICY - see if you have an outlet near you. You can usua get nice pieces at the Ann Taylor & Banana Republic outlets too to save money.

[roo1582]

Most of my work clothes come from Loft, Limited or Banana Republic outlet. I'm mostly a pants kind of girl, so I have several pretty basic pants. I have black, gray, brown, etc. I try to liven up my outfits more with some nice tops and cardigans (which I wear year round because my office is always cold). I will sometimes wear some fashion jewelry. I do have a couple pencil skirts but I tend to wear those on the days I have presentations or meeting with the higher ups. I like these stores since they have quality clothes and they tend to have really good sales, so I can get the clothes at a decent price

So in short, I basically just have basic dress pants and then a whole bunch of nice tops that I can interchange.

[Riverdong11]

I won't have to wear suits regularly, just when presenting to or meeting with high level people. I'm mostly a pants person, but I want to start incorporating skirts and dresses into my work wardrobe.

I live close to a couple of outlet malls so I will check to see what's available near me. It sounds like I should start with the Loft and Banana Republic. Thanks!

[jodielyn10]

So for a basic work wardrobe, I would reccomend:
3 Pairs of slacks: Black, Grey and Brown/Khaki/Tan
A black pencil skirt
2 shift dresses: a black and a print
3 or 4 cardigans: tan, black or grey, and bold color
Several neutral colored cotton or knit shells
Several oxford/button down shirts

Pick pieces that mix and match and you've got a complete wardrobe with around 20 pieces.
I agree with PP on Banana Republic and Loft. I'd say about 75% of my wardrobe is Banana Republic!

[Riverdong11]

Thanks jodielyn10 I will be using that as my shopping list!

[britbratjf]

I miss work clothes. How pretty is this?? m.whitehouseblackmarket.com/store/product/julep-green-fit--flare-dress/570135087?color=&catId=cat6219285&fromSearch=true

You should buy it

[paddyb]

Riverdong11, puttingmetogether.com has a nice section on building a wardrobe.

I agree with jodielyn10's list. Although if you don't like button downs (or they dont fit you well) replace those with additional nice shells/blouses w/o buttons - maybe include a print or two.

[jodielyn10]

Apr 29, 2015 7:11:04 GMT -5 paddyb said:

Riverdong11, puttingmetogether.com has a nice section on building a wardrobe.

I agree with jodielyn10's list. Although if you don't like button downs (or they dont fit you well) replace those with additional nice shells/blouses w/o buttons - maybe include a print or two.

I don't know if there is a Belk where you live@riverdong11, (they're mostly in the South) but if so, they have an in-house brand called Crown & Ivy that makes impossibly cute printed oxfords in fun colors.  I have 3 - white with black trees, green with lighter green trees, and black with pink birds.  They're having a big sale event saturday and I plan on buying a TON more!  They're great layred under crew and v-neck sweaters in the winter and on thier own with rolled up sleeves in the summer.

[laurski81]

I agree with jodielyn10's list as well. I am also a fan of Express and 95% of my work clothes are from there. I like their pants because they are long enough for me and if you hit the store at the right time you can usually find some good deals.

[summergirl1211]

I don't have anything to add to the store list already provided, but I wanted to say good luck with the job prospect Riverdong11! I know you've been anxious to find something and I hope it works out for you! GL!

[trixi282]

I haven't read the other responses yet, so I might just duplicate advice...  but I would say to start, regardless of where you shop, get some good basics that mix and match so you can build on it over time.

If you think you need one, a simple suit can be very versatile as long as it's a nice neutral (black, navy, brown... I prefer black)

Get a few pairs of neutral pants: Black (I probably have 5 pairs of black pants in various styles because I'm cray), Grey, Brown, Tan/Khaki, Navy.  Starting off I would stay away from any patters or pinstripes unless you get enough pairs not to re-wear the patterned pants too often... plain black dress pants I can wear 2 times a week without anyone noticing

Then build up a few shirts that can go with those pants:  a couple of blouses, and I'm drawn towards random short sleeved and sleeveless shirts that can be worn with a suit, a cardigan or even on it's own and still look nice with dress pants.  Nice sweaters can also be plenty professional when done simply with dress pants.

Keep it simple so it's easy to add to later on!  For some of the really basic stuff like that you can do Kohls, JCPenny, Macy's, etc.  For seasonal stuff I shop at Target even for 2-3 more 'trendy' pieces that are cheap... heck I have 2 cute jackets and a handful of cardigans I have from Target that I wear to work all the time.

[pinkluna]

Other than what's already been mentioned, check out Jcrew outlet as well. I like their cardigans and necklaces for work.

factory.jcrew.com/womens_clothing/weartowork.jsp

[aimeefarrahfowler]

I wear a suit almost daily. I buy all my suit pieces at the limited, which can be expensive, but they have lots of good sales!

I buy most of my blouses at kohls, h&m or old navy. I prefer to spend more money on my pants and jackets, but blouses I like to have a good stock of so I buy them a little cheaper. Like, no one will know if I wear the same black pants twice a week, but they'll notice the same blouse if I wore it twice. I have a hard time with button up shirts, so I usually wear a blouse with a cardigan if I don't have my blazer on.

I'd say a good start is: 2 pairs black pants, 1 pair gray pants, 1 brown pant, 1 black blazer, 8-10 blouses/shirts, 1 cardigan, 1 shift or wrap dress, 1 skirt.

[Riverdong11]

You ladies are awesome! Thanks!

[cookiesandwine]

jodielyn10 and aimeefarrahfowler have great lists! If you're building a brand new work wardrobe, I'd stick with black and grey for now to avoid buying black shoes and brown shoes (I can't tell you the last time I wore brown at work; strictly black and grey here). The Limited is great, sign up for their coupons - mail and email. If you can swing it, I'd sign up for their credit card too. Even better coupons and rewards, plus you'll save whatever percent on your first (assuming it'll be big) purchase. My favorite color for a suit is charcoal; so versatile and just a little brighter than all black.