Friday, April 27, 2012

30







1. Karen Walker dress & blazer, Triwa watch, Pointer loafers
2. Luella cardigan, J. Crew blouse, Karen Walker skirt & belt
3. Striped singlet, Topshop jeans & boots
4. Karen Walker blazer, Zara skirt
5. Topshop heels
6. Karen Walker bracelet


Work attire. After getting asked a question about the types of things that I wear to work on Formspring, I thought I would elaborate a little further here. I've always felt that the clothing that you adorn yourself with every day in its own way, is a mild reflection of who you are as a person. In this respect, I've been lucky that I've only worked at one establishment where a strict corporate form of dress was required, and admittedly, I felt stifled by it.

Last year, I had the privilege of attending a Youth Leadership Workshop in Taiwan, which was an eye-opening experience, and one that I will never forget. One of the smaller things that I noticed while on this trip, was that the other girls in similar positions to myself in Australia adhered to a much more refined, and what I consider to be a corporate style of dress in their workplaces, which encouraged me to re-evaluate what I would wear to work.

It probably took me a little longer than I would like to admit to realise that yes, there is a too short for work; Yes, certain garments are only appropriate for weekend wear; and yes, cozy cardigans can sometimes look a little dowdy when paired with the wrong thing.

On the whole, I tend to adopt a more relaxed style of dressing for work, which is "put together", and not scruffy. I occasionally pair blazers with loose silk blouses and skinny jeans, delicate dresses with a cardigan or a jumper thrown on top, or a blouse tucked into a skirt. I've realised that pencil skirts with a stiff cotton shirt tucked in doesn't work for me, and I'm still trying to find the right pair of work pants that I feel completely comfortable in. While it might seem painfully simple to some, it creates a canvas where a chunky necklace or interesting bracelet can take centre stage.

Footwear is a little more varied, and with a considerable number of suede shoes, often leaves me with little choice on rainy days. It tends to range from black ballet flats or loafers, to Isabel Marant dicker boots or black Chelsea boots, or a more sensible pair of heels at a medium height, depending on the type of day that I am expecting it to be.

I wonder if I had been asked this question a year ago, how drastically different my response may have been. Since then, my wardrobe has undergone quite a transformation, and my heel heights have dropped considerably. I think that while it's important to retain who you are in what you wear, it's also important to project who you want to be, and where you want to be in the future. Every workplace is different, and what works for me, doesn't necessarily work for everyone. Enough from me, happy Friday!


18 comments:

  1. The fantastic bracelet! Brava!




    http://designer2078.blogspot.com/

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  2. lovely items!beautiful floral skirt!

    Polly with love
    follow)

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  3. LOVE all these looks! That Karen Walker skirt is awesome :D
    As for work wear you do such an amazing job! Sometimes I look HORRIBLE at work...oh well
    http://www.closet-fashionista.com/

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  4. You always have such great classic yet youthful/fun outfits! Yours is the style that I'd most like to have for myself. Always so well put together xx

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  5. Great post! I'm transitioning from grad student clothes into more professional work wear and it can be sticky to navigate sometimes.

    Courtney ~ http://sartorialsidelines.com

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  6. the bracelet is one of a kind ;)

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  7. great advice! and I absolutely love every single one of your outfits, I would wear them any time, not just at work! :)

    I can never think of any outfits too creative during the week so I tend to live in cigarette pants, silk shirts/blouses and flats. Super easy and still looks like I tried :P xx

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  8. Great detail shots!

    www.kimgodschalk.com

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  9. Very good advice.. you have externalized a complicated situation of mine! Thankfully I also work in a pretty casual place.. but yes, there is still too short, too see-through, and only appropriate-for-weekend. I also find it hard to work my shoe-closet as mine too is mostly either suede or too high as well! I end up wearing a lot of flats, or ankle boots with a very-very low heel.

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  10. I adore the Karen Walker pieces, espec. the floral skirt and the bracelet!
    I wish I had more work wear, I think my wardrobe needs to grow up a bit.

    x Stace
    tee+fame

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  11. The bracelet is amazing - I adore your style!!

    I'm one of your new followers, would be great to follow each other!

    xx

    http://girlonbroughtonstreet.blogspot.co.uk

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  12. Your work style is so fun - lots of print, colour and cute accessories. The print on the first dress looks really nice, glad to see you didn't ditch all of your lovely Karen Walker stuff in your cull!

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  13. Gorgeous! Love your blog <3

    cocovanabeauty.blogspot.com

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  14. I love that bracelet! So so cute!!!

    http://www.beaute-camp.com/

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  15. Those heels in picture 5 are absolutely stunning! Do you know if they still sell them? I checked the site but couldn't find them :(

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Thank you for your comment, I always enjoy reading every single one :)