Professional wardrobe

[xctsclrx]

I am new in the professional (as in clothes), world. My pervious jobs were either factory jobs or had a uniform to wear. What are the basics that I will need to get through a work week. Right now I have two pants and very few shirts. Any tips or suggestion of what to wear or even what not to wear would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[psutexan]

What the exact dress code? Is it business casual, business profession, or business formal? I can better answer your question after I know the dress code for your work.

[k3am]

At any given time, my basic wardrobe consists of the following:
1-2 pairs of slacks that fit, neutral colors. (I have one grey, one black)
7-9 shirts/blouses/sweaters. I hate button downs, so I mostly lean towards sweaters. Most of them are neutrals (cream, black, navy), but I have a couple that are bolder colors.
1 blazer/lightweight jacket that I can wear to "dress up" if I need to meet with a client.
2-3 thin/lightweight infinity scarves to dress up any outfit or add variety.
Statement necklaces. This one's pretty new for me. I've never been a fan of jewelry before, but I love the idea of using them to dress things up or add something a little more unique to my wardrobe
2 pairs of dress shoes - flats, heels

I have a bigger wardrobe than this, but it's what I tend to fall back on and wear consistently.

While you're growing your wardrobe, I would try to stick with neutrals or classic cuts that you can wear multiple times without really standing up and bring in accessories to jazz it up a bit. As time goes by, you can add more pieces if you feel like it.

As far as what to avoid, nix anything uncomfortable, that doesn't fit properly, and that isn't easily launderable / holds up well with wearing. If it can do double duty for a club, you probably don't want to wear it.

[xctsclrx]

My boss prefers business professional except Fridays which are business casual

[xctsclrx]

I actually laughed out loud about the club comment. But thank you that is really helpful. What about purses? NBD or make sure it looks the part too?

[k3am]

Your purse should look the part too. I'm a big fan of my Miche bag - it looks structured and polished and it's really easy to swap out cases to have different colors, but I found I was using the same one all the time.

Also, for your Friday "business casual" make sure you have a good idea of what "business casual" is.. For most of my industry, business casual is dressed up jeans, but it's not the case here.

[psutexan]

So for business professional, you can probably get away with separates (jackets/blazers with slacks or skirts) vs full suits. I think business appropriate dresses topped with a more tailored/finer material sweater or a blazer/jacket also work.

However I would invest in a good black or navy suit with both the pants and the skirt. You can then split the pieces up with a few blazers/jackets. I also have found over time to pick one "basic" color per season then a few "accent" colors. So for example, my fall/winter wardrobe is anchored with black/gray as the basic color then because of my skin coloring I add jewel tones (red, deep purple, teal). For spring/summer, I anchor on navy and add whites, tans, corals. By picking colors, you can assure more versatility/mixing/matching. I think you should always pick basic colors for your bottom pieces (pants/skirts) if you are just starting your wardrobe. You can add patterned/lighter pieces over time.

I echo k3am about using scarves/statement necklaces as a way to accessorize. They tend to be less expensive so you can add more right away.

So here's the shopping list I'd start with,
Black three-piece suit (jacket, skirt, slacks)
navy and gray slacks (tan if you like them but I hate how they look on me)
At least one good fitting (not too tight but fitted) white button down shirt
3 layering pieces per season (tanks in summer, three-quarter/long in winter) -- these can be light sweater material, or stretchy but not club attire
1 patterned blazer per season (I have a black and white houndstooth in winter weight fabric and a navy-cream stripe in summer weight fabric)
1 dress per season (tailored sweater dress in winter, ponte knit dress in summer)

And as k3am said, buy the best quality and not trendy so these basic pieces last.

[CoverGirl82]

I also laughed about the "club look," but mostly because we do have some women in our department who think leather pants and sparkly leggings are ok for work (HR department for a healthcare company; I'm sure leather pants and sparkly leggins would be ok for someone who works in the fashion industry).

[RiseAndWine]

Don't forget about the wraps or cardigans! I can't live without my wrap sweaters and cardigans. I keep a black one in my office and I wear one almost every day that I don't have "big meetings."

[2chatter]

Great advice so far.

Try the local resale places near you (and there are some online too, but I haven't tried them).
I found a shop with Ann Taylor + Loft, Banana, Gap, Chicos, Express, etc.

Recent scores:
Brown velvet blazer (Banana, $15 or so)
Ann Taylor classic black lightweight wool blazer ($18)
Grey cardigan (open weave) (Banana, $8)

I also find tons NWT. Great way to build a wardrobe; I also use it to take inexpensive risks (like a lemon yellow patterned blouse I wear with jeans and boots and I ended up loving).

[k3am]

I would use caution buying from threadup. In theory, it's great, I loved all the stuff I bought the first go round. The second order, however, nothing FIT. I ordered from a couple brands I wasn't as familiar with, and while everything "technically" fit, it was too tight for my tastes. They have a return policy, but you have to pay for return shipping. (Prior to my first order, the CEO of the company said free return shipping if you order via mobile. The policy was subsequently changed)

So if you're confident you know your size in whatever item you're ordering, it's a great option, but if not, be aware you're on the hook for return shipping.

[xctsclrx]

I don't know my size anymore. I have an 11 week old baby and haven't gotten down to my prefence pregnancy size (who knows if I will) so this will be my first shopping trip with my new body so I'll be going in the stores to see how everything looks and fits. I used to shop almost exclusively online because I new my sizes. Thank you so much the advice and tips. I wrote down the basic shopping list for my initial trip. I'm excited to buy new clothes!

[xctsclrx]

Pre pregnancy. Not sure how to edit on here yet

[ss265]

If you are looking for stores to shop at, I have pretty good luck at Express for dress slacks and Ny&Co for tops. It depends on how well their sizes fit you though. I used to be a devoted Ann Taylor fan (as in 95% of my wardrobe was AT) but their style has changed over the last few years and no longer suits my taste. Maybe take a look online at Banana Republic, AT, Express and NY&Co to get an idea of which store matches your style.

[psutexan]

Jan 30, 2015 15:52:46 GMT -5 privacy said:

I didn't realize you had such a little one. My advice changes a little bit because of that. Your body is likely still changing and will continue to do so for awhile.
In the early post-ML return I found dresses worked a lot better and were wearable longer than pants and blouses (because your stomach still shrinks, and so did my boobs)

ITA... get some basic color, stretchy dresses and accessorize until you level out.

[sunbutter]

Jan 30, 2015 15:36:28 GMT -5 xctsclrx said:

I don't know my size anymore. I have an 11 week old baby and haven't gotten down to my prefence pregnancy size (who knows if I will) so this will be my first shopping trip with my new body so I'll be going in the stores to see how everything looks and fits. I used to shop almost exclusively online because I new my sizes. Thank you so much the advice and tips. I wrote down the basic shopping list for my initial trip. I'm excited to buy new clothes!

You've gotten great advice so far. I would add, consider using a Nordstrom personal shopper for your shopping trip. It is free and was a huge help to me transitioning out of "postdoc" wear into a more professional look.

[Deleted]

Since your body is still changing, I suggest dresses. They are more forgiving in terms of changing sizes. Pants aren't as forgiving when they become too big.

I really like the BSlim dresses from Macys. They are flattering, affordable and classic styles.

I really like this style of dress as well... m.macys.com/shop/product/inc-international-concepts-boat-neck-printed-shift-dress?ID=1801006&choiceId=cidKA0011-6b1b0ede-fdcc-48cb-97a2-abc97431693d%40H5%40you%20might%20also%20like%20...%245449%241801006

A huge bonus is this material can be washed, dried and doesn't wrinkle. That's huge when you head back to work.

[Deleted]

Jan 31, 2015 6:36:06 GMT -5 @marlasinger said:

Since your body is still changing, I suggest dresses. They are more forgiving in terms of changing sizes. Pants aren't as forgiving when they become too big.

I really like the BSlim dresses from Macys. They are flattering, affordable and classic styles.

I really like this style of dress as well... m.macys.com/shop/product/inc-international-concepts-boat-neck-printed-shift-dress?ID=1801006&choiceId=cidKA0011-6b1b0ede-fdcc-48cb-97a2-abc97431693d%40H5%40you%20might%20also%20like%20...%245449%241801006

A huge bonus is this material can be washed, dried and doesn't wrinkle. That's huge when you head back to work.

I totally agree. A year later, and my body is still weird. Dresses are a good option.

[xctsclrx]

It is really hard to answer this question without seeing exactly what other people in your office are wearing because "business professional" and "business casual" can really vary greatly between industries and regions.

If you don't already have a suit, I would not buy one unless you're in a position where you will be wearing it (ie visiting clients/giving presentations). If you're just trying to look like you belong in the office, I think sometimes a suit can make you look like you're trying too hard, if no one else is wearing it. And I am not a fan of wearing the pieces as separates because over time as you dry clean those pieces, I think the different wear and cleaning starts to show.

I think you need:


- 1 basic structured dress - black or grey, or another classic solid



- 2-5 bottoms (depending on how often you wish to laundry/dry clean) This can be a mixture of skirts and pants, but only do skirts if you think of yourself as a 'skirt" person, otherwise I find people don't wear them and just default to the pants anyway. I'd make sure you have at least 1 quality piece, and then you can fill in with some cheaper pieces and replace with quality as needed

- 3 shells/blouses - that are meant to be worn as an under layer under a blazer or cardigan
- 3-5 top layers - Blazers, jackets, cardigans depending on the office.<br/>


The problem with the company is that there is everything from jeans and t-shirts to full suits any day in the week. In my department they only wear suits for meeting clients/customers but the guys wear dress pants button down shirts and a tie. I am the only female in the department. On Fridays it is khaki's and a polo.

[xctsclrx]

How do you reply to certain post? I can't seem to do it correctly yet.


I have never heard of Nordstrom before. I'll have to look into that. Thank you

[mommyatty]

I second Macy's in general. They have great sales on suits. I have to wear suits a lot, so that's a big deal for me. (And I must find the BSlim! Haven't tried those yet.)

If the guys aren't wearing suits, and you're the only female, you can certainly get away with wrap dresses and heels. I love those. They flatter almost everyone, are super-comfy, and are forgiving. I wore my non-maternity wrap dresses virtually all the way through my pregnancies. And I get really cute necklaces at Kohl's. Some of the ones I get the most compliments on we're under $15 on clearance at Kohl's. Those really give an upgrade to a basic wrap dress.

Also, you need a lot more shirts than bottoms. Pants are hard to fit on me, so I almost always wear skirts or dresses.

Resale is great. Resale plus a fantastic tailor is even better. You'll build a great wardrobe for cheap but it will look like you spent a ton.

[ajaan113]

Don't forget shoes. Good shoes. Nordstrom's shoe department is great.

If you need petites, Ann Taylor, The Loft, and Banana Republic have a great selection.

A good tailor is a must.

Remember to look at the cleaning instructions. Dry cleaning can get expensive. If you work in an office then you can get away with wearing it several times before it needs to be clean.

edit: spelling

[beevol]

The slacks at Express fit me the best and do not need to be dry cleaned.

My office is business casual so I mainly wear slacks, a tank top and a buttoned cardigan.

[callmeKD]

I've had good luck with the worthington brand pants at JCPenney. they are usually on sale for about $25. I've gone down 4 pants since having G and being back at work, so I was glad to not spend a ton of $ on dress pants until I'm in a size that I'll be in for a while.

[2chatter]

For dresses like @marlasinger posted I always find great ones at Francesca's if you have that store. I prefer the ones that are lined because they smooth out bumps a bit.