Ugh... Work Wardrobe

[ljmorgan]

I know that the ladies of pricescope are the most intelligent on the internet, and figured it anyone could help me out with this, it would be you. I have a problem regarding my work wardrobe -- typically my work environment is very casual, and I usually end up wearing jeans and some sort of casual top, maybe with a cute pair of flats -- although in the winter I am guilty of wearing my uggs!

In two weeks I am leaving for Alaska where I''ll be working for three months, and the dress code is more business casual. Usually what happens when I do trips like this is I run to the mall the week before and buy whatever looks nice, and end up buying clothes very similar to what I have now. I can still wear jeans but I need to pick up some nicer tops -- but I''m not used to the look and am not sure what to get. Can you ladies please recommend some basics that I should pick up? I''d like to buy clothes next week with SOME strategy as to what to get -- maybe 3 pairs of nice (read:not stepped all over and ratty at the bottom) jeans, maybe a pair of khakis, a few pairs of dress slacks. So I''d love any recommendations item wise and store wise for building a wardrobe to make me look more polished without being super formal. Thank you so much!

 

[brazen_irish_hussy]

I love express for my work clothes. They are not too expensive and fit well. I have 5 of their button down shirts which fit really well, are very comfortable and when untucked look nice but not too formal. I also love their pants, especially the editor style, they are about the only kind that fit me.

I have a few nice things for work from the limited and if you are willing to spend slightly more, Ann Taylor has some really nice stuff.

 

[AmberGretchen]

I''d try Banana Republic - they''ve had some super-cute stuff lately. I got a really nice pair of dark-wash trouser jeans there the other day (they come in petite and regular) - those plus a couple of brightly colored sweater tops (they had a couple of different styles, and some really pretty colors) with a cardigan or a blazer would be super-cute. They also had these really nifty cotton suits - sort of a khaki stretchy material, only nicer. It came in black, khaki, and white, and had both a skirt and pants. If you got the khaki or the black, you could easily mix and match the pieces with other pieces in your wardrobe to dress them up or down. For example, the blazer would look smashing over dark trouser jeans, and the skirt would look darling with a sweater set or cami and cardigan. Here''s links to some of the pieces:

BR Dark Trouser Jeans - SUPER flattering

One nice option for a sweater top - dressier than a t-shirt, and comes in lots of nice colors

Here''s the cotton suit in the khaki (sharp in the black too), with the pants (also has a skirt)

For nice cardigans/sweater sets, I actually am not impressed with Banana''s versions, but I adore J Crew''s Jackie cardigan - I LOVE the navy one I got and I wear it all the time, its really beautifully made. I can''t wait to get a few more colors.

It also comes with a matching shell, which would be a really nice sweater set.

Here''s the J Crew Jackie Cardigan - the navy, black, or shell are all classic neutrals, or you could branch out into other colors as well

 

[pennquaker09]

Okay, I''m not a lady, but I''m into clothing so I hope I can help.

How do you feel about wide leg trousers? Right now, Banana Republic and Gap have some great pieces that you would work into your wardrobe. I willing to bet that Gap has a denim trouser. It''s the best of both worlds, so I would definitely pick up a pair.

 

[laine]

I've been trying to shift my wardrobe from casual to slightly more professional as I near the end of grad school, so here are a few things that are working for me:

Khaki style pants (chinos, I guess?) in lots of different colors. In black, they look a lot like dress pants, but I'm much more comfortable. I can also wear them with slightly more casual shirts then would work with dress pants.

Polo shirts. Feels like a t-shirt, but that collar makes it look so much nicer. I get most of mine from Target.

Solid-colored fitted t-shirts without any printing on them. Simple, comfy, but look pretty nice. Throw on a blazer or cardigan, and you looked pulled together. I get these from Target as well.

Light weight sweaters. The fact that its a sweater makes it look nicer, but its still really comfy.


Things I don't love:
Dress pants--thats a whole new level of dressy that just doesn't feel right to me. I'm not used to it, so it feels awkward and I'm sure it shows. I only wear them when I have to.
Button-down shirts--I have trouble finding ones that fit comfortably. They feel stiff to me, get wrinkly, do the front gap/boob showing thing.

I think I look nicer in slightly more casual clothes in which I am comfortable and can look confident, then in dressier clothes that don't make me feel my best. If you're a jeans kinda girl, I'd guess you might be the same way.

If it were me, I'd get one pair of black dress pants, chinos in several colors (black, grey, khaki, olive), 2-3 pairs of nice jeans, a black blazer and a black and white tweed type blazer that go with the dress pants as well as the casual pants, a stack of polo shirts and nice t-shirts in multiple colors, one or two collared shirts and a few light sweaters. Everything goes with everything.

 

[ljmorgan]

Thank you all for your advice, I feel like I''ve got such great ideas now!

AmberGretchen, I loooove that cardigan. That got me to browse the rest of J. Crew''s site and I found a bunch of cute tops and sweaters. I am going to head to the J. Crew store near hear and see if they have that cardigan.

brazen_irish_husyy, thank you for reminding me of Express! Years ago I did have some cute pants from them, so I''ll have to check out your beloved editor pants. I will also definitely be looking into Ann Taylor, all of my straight up dress suits are from there.

pennquaker09, I will definitely check out Banana Republic and also wide leg trousers. I am petite so hopefully they won''t overwhelm me!

lain, I loved the idea of getting some basic tees at Target to layer under maybe nicer cardigans and blazers. I have honestly never owned a blazer that wasn''t part of a suit, so I really like the idea of checking out a more casual blazer that could be worn with jeans or nice khakis.


In general I am excited because this weekend I''m visiting my family who love in Williamsburg, minutes away from the Prime Outlets. They have outlets for Ann Taylor, Anne Klein, Banana Republic, J Crew, Brooks Brothers, BCBG, and so many more. Hopefully I can pick up some cheaper items from those stores, and then complete my wardrobe from their retail stores next week. We''ll see -- thanks again for all of the advice.

 

[AmberGretchen]

Lindsey - its honestly the most gorgeous cardigan ever. I''m trying to talk myself into getting two more colors even though its pricey. I''m loving a lot of J. Crew''s stuff right now.

Re: the wide leg trousers, the BR dark wash ones I posted worked really well for me and I''m pretty petite too - I wear a 4P in most of their pants, and the dark uniform wash and simple styling really made them look cute and tailored rather than overwhelming like some other wide leg trousers I''d tried on in the past.

 

[laine]

Lindsey, when you're in Williamsburg, you have to go get a snow cone from sno-to-go! Best snow cones ever!!! And good luck with the outlet shopping, let us know how you make out!

BTW, what kind of job do you have thats sending you to Alaska? That sounds awesome!

 

[steph72276]

Hi! You should go to anntaylor and anntaylorloft''s websites. They have a section called outfits and then work or weekend casual that would be right for what you are talking about and it helps you put the looks together before you go into the stores. Hope this helps!

 

[ljmorgan]

Date: 5/9/2008 9:48:58 AM
Author: laine
Lindsey, when you''re in Williamsburg, you have to go get a snow cone from sno-to-go! Best snow cones ever!!! And good luck with the outlet shopping, let us know how you make out!

BTW, what kind of job do you have thats sending you to Alaska? That sounds awesome!

Laine I will definitely have to check that out, I looooove snow cones. My parents rave about some place there, I wonder if it''s the same one!

I''m a computer scientist and I work for the Department of Defense, and there''s a military base near Anchorage. I feel slightly misled because my contact out there raved about the "warm" summers. I think the Alaskan cold has gotten to his head because I checked weather.com two days ago and it was 38 degrees -- I looked at June and July and it looks like it will be in the 50''s and 60''s the whole time. I''m very glad I found this out before I bought a bunch of cute sleeveless tops for work...

 

[ljmorgan]

Date: 5/9/2008 10:07:23 AM
Author: steph72276
Hi! You should go to anntaylor and anntaylorloft''s websites. They have a section called outfits and then work or weekend casual that would be right for what you are talking about and it helps you put the looks together before you go into the stores. Hope this helps!

Great suggestion steph, it''s funny you mention this. Last night my mother-in-law called me to check in on me (my husband is in Afghanistan) and told me she had a 25% coupon for AT Loft, and told me if I saw anything online to let her know. She has two sons and you can tell she''s obviously not had a daughter... otherwise she would never offer something like that

I definitely sent her an e-mail with links to everything that I liked, and she bought all of it. That was really nice of her and now I have a good head start on my wardrobe situation.

Yesterday I also received a 25% entire purchase coupon for Ann Taylor''s website, so I will check out the looks section that you mentioned! Thanks for the suggestion, hopefully that will give me some outfit coordination ideas.