Do I have some fancier, better looking options for the office rather than just my every-shade-of-khaki pants and cotton shirts/sweaters? I like a few of my button-down polyester shirts from Express, but I’m not sure I would call them “professional.” I’m 30 and it seems like it’s time to start dressing like a grown up. But I’m still too lazy and casual to spend a lot of time or effort doing so.
What else would help? A trendier hair cut? A manicure? Some piece of jewelry? Make up? I like being ready in 15 minutes every morning, but I’m tired of looking like a government employee.
Also, what kind of shoes? I have some maryjanes and some earthshoes and some Clarks, all cute and comfortable, but not exactly eminating stylishness.
For starters, I’m guessing I’ll have to stop shopping at Old Navy and Target, but where are some places with snazzy clothes that are not overly expensive?
Not to be too harsh, but if you’re not willing to dry clean or even iron your clothes, any other effort you make will pretty much futile. That’s like the basics of the basics.
I like to watch “What Not To Wear” on TLC. For women, basic office wear is usually well-fitting slacks in a neutral color and a professional top - button down, knit, or twin set. They recommend heels, but understand that not all women wear them, so suggest stylish flats or kitten heels. Here are some professional-looking shoes that are practially flat. Or, these really are flat.
But if you won’t iron or dryclean, it’s going to be really hard to look nice. If you don’t have much time in the morning, iron at night and hang stuff up. Makeup always helps when done nicely, and a new hair cut can work wonders for your image.
I’m not sure about Old Navy, but Target has recently added more business-y clothing to their stores. You can get some good stuff there for reasonable prices.
Not necessarily- they both have cute casual skirts and tailored oxford-type shirts, as well as cute sweater sets and inexpensive shoes.
Of those two, Target will be your best bet for inexpensive, slightly more professional outfits. Old Navy is strictly for play clothes (for me, anyway).
This might be tougher with women’s wear … but with a lot of men’s dress shirts, you can pull them warm right out of the dryer and put them on a hanger. They won’t look wrinkly and won’t need to be ironed (unless a sleeve crease is desired, but that’s 30 seconds of ironing).
This generally works with pants, too, unless you want that front-of-the-pants crease, but that’s also quickly ironed in. However, with a lot of clothes, if they’ve gotten badly wrinkled once … you won’t be able to do the hang-'em-right-out-of-the-dryer trick – a thorough, starchy ironing will be required to recondition the garment.
Otherwise, do ironing in batches at night. Several pieces at a time.
Take a look at the Travelsmith’s catalogue and possibly The Territory Ahead (especially the online sale section). Travelsmith’s clothes are designed for travel, which boils down to easy-wash, drip-dry, wad-up-able. And some of the pieces look pretty spiffy, too. Only buy the spiffy ones, obviously. Sometimes J. Jill has some decent stuff. What is your general industry and/or work environment? If you wear glasses, get a new, fashionable pair – maybe a little edgy. I wouldn’t go too trendy on the hairstyle, but try something new and be sure it is a style instead of just a cut – an easy maintenance style, but a style. Nails don’t need to be professionally manicured, but they should be neat and maintained.
I’m sure someone will find fault with it, but my quickie make-up routine is concealer stick under my eyes and on any weird spots of any kind, then sometimes a little bit of creme blush, and a dusting all over with Neutrogena’s mineral sheer powder stuff. Sometimes I smudge some kind of shadow on the outer two thirds or so of my eyelids. I generally use a Burt’s Bees tinted lip gloss.
Earrings can be good because, like interesting glasses, they help people focus in the general vicinity of your face. Simple gold or silver earrings of moderate size – i.e., not dangly and no bigger than your earlobe.
I suggest a good, simple, leather purse, too.
I don’t do hose or heels, either. Good pants that fit well and aren’t all covered in pockets and zippers and stuff look fine on most women and are appropriate in most circumstances. And thin cotton or silk socks with good shoes look fine – or, in most settings, no socks in the summer in cute flats or sandals, as long as your feet and toeails are fairly well maintained. I like riding boots under three quarter length skirts in the winter, but some people have ill-expressed, but apparently principled, objections to this look.
A great, easy way to look more polished and still feel casual is to get a few wrinkle-free collared button-down blouses in various colors. Find a cut/style you like that’s relatively plain and grab about 4-5. You can pair these with skirts, slacks, capris, etc. It’s also nice to have a jacket or blazer or two in neutral tones that fit you well. I think the most important points when determining whether someone looks ‘professional’ are things that are pretty easy: do the clothes you are wearing actually fit? Do they show too much skin? Are the practical for the work you are doing? Are they distracting? I think those things are more important than a particular piece of clothing.
The trick is to keep the wardrobe simple with clean lines and solid colors, and use accessories to add some flair and personality. You don’t have to spend a fortune, either. Just pick out a few necklaces, rings, or bracelets that fit your personal style. I get a lot of my jewelry from Target or Old Navy. Most of it I got for less than $10.
As for a haircut, it doesn’t have to be trendy, but make sure you’re getting split ends trimmed frequently and it’s not hanging in your face. If you color your hair, try to keep from having roots exposed for too long between colorings.
The important thing about shoes is that they’re comfortable and clean. In general, open toed/heel shoes are viewed as a little less professional, but here in Florida nobody gives you any guff (it’s better than wearing sandals!).
I don’t iron and do very little dry cleaning, and I try to be within hailing distance of professional appearance most of the time. It takes some strategy. I agree with the travel knits advice. In addition to the brands mentioned, I find lots of good stuff at Chico’s, which may or may not fit your budget & style. Downy Wrinkle Release spray is a godsend for the non-ironer, because even if you don’t iron, you can’t exactly wear wrinkled clothes to work. Land’s End is another good source, including for wrinkle-free dress shirts.
I do wear heels. As a short person, it really makes a difference. You might consider trying on some solid, comfortable shoes with a thick heel. These can actually be quite comfortable, not at all like wobbly, sexy-type pumps. Or maybe heels really are 100% out for you, but I still recommend investing in good shoes. They go a long way toward making an outfit more professional.
If you have long hair, wearing it up is a good option. Learn to do buns, chignons, etc, not just ponytails. Once you know how, this is easy and comfortable, too.
I wear suits and coordinates to work for all but the occasional casual Friday. I cannot think of the last time I ironed. Just to be clear, these are of the blazer/skirt variety. I don’t wear pants to work.
Some of my suits require dry cleaning, however, many (most) of them along with the rest of my work clothes are the “hand wash” variety. In reality, this means that they are machine wash gentle and hang to dry. With the hanging they drip dry wrinkle free.
In my experience, when it comes to women’s work clothes these days you can pretty easily find low maintenance clothes that are professional. Even my fall/spring coats are machine washable and hang to dry.
I don’t get the ironing hate. I always give my clothes a quick press before wearing and it takes only a couple of minutes. I turn on the iron to heat up, go put on my make-up, iron and I’m good to go. I do have an over the door ironing board so I don’t have to deal with getting out and putting away a big heavy ironing board. I personally don’t dry clean anything, I’d rather machine wash and iron. (cheaper and better for the environment)
Being neat and well-groomed is a big step towards looking professional. Tidy hair, a touch of make-up so it doesn’t look like you forgot, well-cared for clothes (i’e’ they don’t look worn) that fit properly. And you can find great bargins at Target and Old Navy as long as you pay attention to the cut and the materials. There are other good mall stores that have inexpensive professional clothes like Express and New York&Co. Just stay away from anything too trendy or polyestery looking.
Skirts always have an edge over pants. Knee length tends to look more professional than either short skirts or very long skirts. If you do wear pants, make sure they’re a very conservative cut and not a trendy juniors cut. IME, it’s tougher to find cheap pants that fit well than cheap skirts.
For tops, I like woven shirts with collars or twin sets. If you do wear a knit top without a collar, make sure it doesn’t look K-marty. For winter, I wear sweaters over a collared shirt. I personally am not fond of jackets but they can make a less dressy top look more professional.
I never wear hose although I will sometimes wear black tights in the winter. I like heels but there are a lot of very cute and professional looking flats out right now. To look professional, a shoe should look sleek and not clunky or sporty. I a flat, a pointier toe will look more adult than a round toe which can look litte girl-ish. I think open toed shoes are not appropriate for the office but I seem to be in the minority nowdays. As with your clothes, make sure your shoes are in in good repair and aren’t ready to fall apart.
Re: Ironing. Check out JCPenney’s Worthington Easy-Care line. I have two shirts from that line that are wonderful for the days when I want something tailored but just can’t make myself iron (most days, at this point in my life).
Without dry cleaning or an iron you’re pretty limited to wash and wear cotton poly or other synthetic blend stuff, and it’s going to lose a decent crease or factory set press after a few washings without a touch up.
Without drying cleaning or an iron you will shortly look like a lower level government employee. Dry cleaning and ironing are the bedrocks of a sharp professional look. If you’re not willing to pay for that service, or do some ironing yourself you’re shortly going to look like a schlub.
You can do a “get by” look with wash and wear, but don’t kid yourself that you look truly sharp & “professional”. People that dress well can easily tell the difference.
Nobody looks bad in a suit. Conversely, if you’re not wearing a suit, you’re not looking as professional as you could be. Certainly few offices these days (except maybe in high finance) require suits on a daily basis, but everyone who works in an office needs to have a few nice suits, and needs to wear them more than once in a blue moon. And if thye have to be dry cleaned, that’s the price you pay for not having to work high iron.
Talbots has lots of wrinkle free women’s button down shirts in stores now. I’ve seen similar shirts at other retailers. I got some from Casual Corner last year. After a year, they’re starting to lose their wrinkle free treating, but they did hold up well for that first year. If you don’t like those, you should look at some of the knit tops they have now. Lots of mock turtle necks out for fall. The really nice ones are silk–which may require dry cleaning. But you may be able to find some in other blends if you look hard enough.
For slacks, something in a heavier weight with a bit of lycra will hold up well. I still like to iron them (I like the crisp look), but they’re passable without it. I love light weight wool blends (with some lycra) slacks, but they do require dry cleaning. Even so, in darker colors, you can wear them a couple times before they need cleaning (unless you spill something on them, really sweat, or smoke).
If you really hate dry cleaning, try the home clothes dryer kits. No, they don’t work nearly as well as a pro dry cleaner. They don’t get stains out (at least I’ve never managed to get it to work). However, they will help you stretch out your visits to the dry cleaner. I use the home dryer kits for the first two cleanings and then go to the pros for the third.
Lands End has some cashmere sweaters in lovely colors in their recent catalog and the prices are fantastic. They would require the occassional dry cleaning though (but, again, you can stretch time between visits with the home kits).
For shoes, there are lots of nice, thin penny loafer things shown in catalogs now. The latest Talbots catalog had some pretty dowdy clothes (other than the wrinkle free shirts), but they had some nice flat shoes.
Chiming in with the hardcore ironers/dry cleaners here, I do feel there are times when you need to “render unto Caesar.” By that I mean have a couple dry clean, tailored suits that fit that you can wear when your company has you doing something major. For some people, like sales and consultants, this is pretty much all the time, so they invest in the wardrobe. But for a lot of technical or behind the scenes folks, it’s overkill to dress like that all the time. But don’t try to “get by” with compromise clothes when they’ve got you presenting to the Big Cheese.
Get a good Harris tweed sportcoat, in a grey. Goes with everything. They run $300 or so new, $50 or so on eBay. Then, get a 1st quality blazer, from Nordstroms or similar. Either one of these, put on over “office” casual" outfits turns them into “relaxed professional”.
EBay’s a good place to get quality clothes along with some of the better “thrift” stores and consignment shops. Get 1st top (overpriced) quality shit, but get it cheap.
You can get quality white or blue dress blouses, 100% cotton, and have them laundered (as opposed to dry cleaned). That runs around $1.50 or so.
Bring two pairs of shoes- one heels and one more casual. Wear the casual shoes to work and to lunch and the heels around the office and especially to meetings.