I’ve mentioned before that my new office is on the more casual side – jeans, capris, unfussy tees and polos – especially compared to where I previously worked. As the pastor, I’m aiming to appear polished but not make anyone feel under dressed in comparison (not that there’s too much danger of that since I run by the church in my sweaty workout clothes all the time…), so over the last few weeks I’ve played with translating my rather dressy wardrobe staples into my new style environment.
I’ve kept in rotation my collection of blouses to bring more casual ensembles up a notch, and added my trusty blazers to dresses in need of a little warmth or formality. But I’ve stashed my pencil skirts and wedges in favor of pants and sneakers/sandals; kept my sheath dresses mostly under wraps in favor of my more casual dresses; and left my trousers in the drawer in favor of chinos and jeans. I even wore shorts to the office once, gasp!
I don’t plan on donating my dressier dresses and skirts, since I love them and since they’ll come in handy for Sunday mornings and formal occasions. I’ll share some of those Sunday AM outfits in another post, but here’s a few examples of where I’ve landed for weekdays filled with office work, pastoral/hospital visits, and practicing communion choreography.
First up, a variation on what I wore my entire first week: jeans + blouse. Please note the authentic office decor including a not-yet-mounted-but-already-drawn-on-by-office-children white board:
Blouse: no label, thrifted
Jeans: Paige, thrifted
Sandals: Saltwaters, retail
The best thing about this blouse – besides the delightful colors in the floral pattern and the collarless neckline – is the hem. It draws the eye pleasingly upward instead of chopping me in half horizontally:
And the toes! Can’t forget to showcase the nail polish matching the shirt:
This is a level of coordination I rarely achieve.
Basically all last week I wore these jeans plus a similar top. E.g. these:
Banana Republic Heritage, Loft, Chico’s, Old Navy.
Here is another work outfit, on the even more casual side, which I posted last week:
Shirt: Kenar, thrifted
Jeans: Paige, thrifted
Shoes: City Sneaks, thrifted
Each day I chose sneakers or sandals depending on the morning’s briskness. I added this blazer one especially cool morning:
Mercer & Madison, a new thrift find already coming in handy.
This week I was feeling the need for something fresh, so I broke the outfit mold – and found a place to take decent outfit pictures! (Now I just need to work on focus and exposure, ha.)
Behold, my shabby chic garage siding, and a dress/blazer combo:
Dress: J. Crew, thrifted
Blazer: Charlotte Russe, thrifted
Cuff bracelet: Monet, thrifted
Sandals: Saltwaters, retail
^^I wore this for staff meeting and some office work.
The day before I sported this outfit for office work & pastoral visits:
Top: Jacqueline Ferrar, thrifted
Pants: Banana Republic, thrifted
Belt: J. Crew, thrifted
Cuff bracelet: Monet, thrifted
Necklace: street vendor, Washington D.C.
Sandals: Saltwaters, retail
Love that pop of leopard and gold showcased by a little t-shirt tuck.
Where do you fall on the formal/casual divide? How do you dress something up or down as the occasion/setting requires?
