Thursday, August 2, 2007

Office dresses

As i spend most of time at work, i am always in the research of nice office outfits.
Although my working environment has not a strong formal-wear policy, i will feel strange to go in the office wearing a strapless dress or a mini-skirt.

So, it is a real challenge to match nice outfit, not very formal, trendy, but still with a touch of business-like woman.

Although i like to pair a blazer with a nice skirt or a pair of pants (skinny or fitted, never loose) or even capris, i find myself with a real challenge - finding office blouses: elegant, but not too much, not too big, but also not too reveling, i yet failed in discover the perfect top in this category (i find shirts so boring, can't wear more that one a week).
That leaves me to dresses, and i am always in the search of nice, fashionable office suited dresses, for summer, spring or fall alike.

Here are some styles i find suitable and fun to wear at office:

1. Tweed
Tweed is always a nice option for office dresses. Casual and elegant in the same time, it gives you the right amount of business look, but with a hint of style.



Marc by Marc Jacobs Ava Tweed dress

2. Patterns
If you want to be original, and you love prints and patterns, why not an office dress like this. Floral prints may be too much for some office environments, but abstract prints are on borderline, and can make great business outfits.



Pictured above: right - Barney's short sleeves belted dress, extremely feminine; and in left a bolder, sexy choice: abstract print dress from Marc Jacobs

3. Dark colors
For some reasons, shops sell a lot of office dresses in black. I usually try to stay away from it, cause it's an aging color for business clothes, but somehow i still find myself attracted to beautiful dresses in this dreaded color.

*If you can't stay away from dark color clothes for your office wardrobe, maybe try another shades, like chocolate or navy blue



Pinwale-cord Linda dress from J.Crew, pictured here in a chocolate color, a nice option instead of the classical black

* Dark, but with style
The black dress can be boring and ageing, but if it has the right amount of nice details, it can become an extremely stylish add to your closet



Phillip Lim has some nice dresses like this: left - flutter sleeve dress with a nice belt; right - button shoulder dress

* Simple black may some times be the right for you
But sometimes, black can be the right color for some office dresses. Just picture those dresses bellow in a different color, just not right!



Left: Barney's blouson black dress; right: black silk, with self-tie bow at the neck (i think one of the trends for this fall) from David Szeto

2 comments:

Dana Stefanoiu said...

I hate shirts and love matching blazers and skirt/classy trousers with a simple cotton tank top. It freshens up the whole outfit and is casual enough for me not to feel too "grown up" and stuffy.
I can accessoize with a long, colorful necklace and enjoy the contrast while, at the same time, beeing undeniably "office".
Then, aat the end of the day, I can take off the blaze and go out for a drink straight from work.

(I make my own accessories, as I rarely find something funny and versatile enough for me, but that's another story. If this should prove lucrative enough, I'll resign the very next second and be glad of it, too :)

Loved the tweed dress and the David Szeto is gorgeous!

http://dana-stuff.blogspot.com/

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