So we've talked about what we wear outside of work-- what about what to wear at work?

JCbride2015

So as I've mentioned, I'm starting a law firm job in about six weeks (eek!)  I have some clothes to start with, from when I worked there last summer, but they are obviously summer clothes and won't last me far into the fall.  I have a couple of decent suits and I plan to use the individual pieces from those.  Our office is just a notch below business formal: we aren't expected to wear a suit every day, but we are expected to look very professional and dressed-up.  Chinos and flats won't cut it.

My staple store for work clothes is J. Crew, but I'm feeling bored by their stuff right now.  Banana's "stylish work" shop includes mostly pieces with leather (huhhh?) and I've never loved them much anyway.  I did just buy a couple of button-up shirts from The Shirt, so I'm happy about that.  I just don't know what I will put them with.

Who else has to dress up for work?  Where do you shop for good-quality wool dresses and skirts?

wandajune6

If memory serves, you're a skinny little thing. I'm not so I shop in both average and plus size sections.

I love Nordstrom and Nordstrom Rack. I have done great with their house brand suit separates. Plus, they have great work dresses.

Macy's can be great for work dresses as well. The Calvin Klein work dresses are inexpensive and easy to accessorize. The downside is that the fabric looks cheap on many of them- you need to look around.

I wear a lot of cardigans as well. They're more comfy than blazers and can look quite dressy. Fun jackets are also very handy.

That's all mostly memory-- these days, I only pull these things out for client meetings or work events. I mostly wear jeans, cute flats, and random tops these days. Today was means, gold Cole Haan wedges, a black cardigan, and a white eyelet tank. That makes me dressy in our building!

WinstonsGirl

I can't help.  I wear the same thing to both - Lulu, Nike, Under Armour, etc.  I teach PE, and there's no way I'm coming home to get changed out of my work clothes to put on a nice dress and heels.  And I'm too lazy to get dressed up on the weekends too.  Sadly, I don't really own nice clothes anymore.  

RebeccaB88

Scrubs. Not even fun scrubs. Boring, badly fitting, sandpaper soft, company issued scrubs. Powder blue. They're vile.

beethery

I work with my parents and wear yoga pants, t-shirts, and hoodies almost every day. Sometimes I wear maxi dresses. I'm a good stylist but I dress like I'm about to go to sleep.

hellohkb

I work with kids so as long as my crack is covered, I'm pretty good no matter what I wear. They always compliment me when I actually put effort into my outfit, haha.

I would check Modcloth! The majority of the website is a little too quirky for a law firm but they have some seriously nice staples.

KytchynWitche

Most of my jobs have been casual dress code, so jeans and t-shirts mostly. I did work at a law firm once as secretary to the director, and that was mostly suit pants and knee-length skirts with nice tops, with jeans and t-shirts on Fridays. I wore high heels for the first couple of days, but seeing as my office and the director's office were on opposite ends of the building, I switched to flats pretty quickly. I wore a lot of black and a lot of grey.

jenna8984

I'm accounting so business but I work at a manufacturing plant so we are pretty business casual, not as business as an accounting firm. 

I wear dress pants from H&M, NY&Co, and sometimes skinny corduroys from Old Navy. I love pencil skirts and blazers from H&M, and button down shirts from there because who can beat $20 for a button down blouse?! So basically all my work clothes are from there but I also have flowy satin type shirts from NY&Co and cardigans from Old Navy. 

I love to mix & match, like I'll wear a $5 basic striped tee from Old Navy under a $50 pink blazer from H&M. I never wear "dress" shirts under the blazer or it gets way too dressy for my company. 

arrippa

Most of the time, I dress business casual. I have some slacks from Gap and Banana Republic and I usually wear LOFT or Ann Taylor tops with it, unless we have big wigs or clients in (rare). In that case, I will wear a suit.

lurkergirl

Ann Taylor! I'm not an attorney, but I worked as a paralegal firms for much of my twenties. Both my firms sound like yours in terms of dress code. Before I started, mom took me on a shopping spree (it was my first office job), I got two suits from Ann Taylor (one jacket with skirt and pants, charcoal), plus several nice blouses, nice sheath and shift dresses for the office, and a pair of khaki dress pants (not chino material, but a wool/suit-type material), and a couple sweaters. The Loft has some cute tops and skirts from time to time, but they tend to be a lot more casual. Good luck, and happy shopping!

climbingsingle

I am of no help. I wear jeans to work every day. But I'd check out Ann Taylor Loft and some department stores. Years ago when I had to dress up for work, I did a lot of shopping at Express. I'm not sure if they still have the same type of work clothes. 

Chipmunk415

Fellow attny- we have to wear business casual but be ready to go to court if needed. Ann taylor, ann taylor loft, and jones new york all have good quality professional clothes that aren't completely boring. The limited is a good option too. Pro tip- look for button down shirts that are non iron. Makes life much easier in the morning rush.

A lawyer I know in south florida has about 6 blouses and 12 Black suits, all with a slightly different style or cut to the jacket, but not much difference in the skirt or pants so she can mix and match.

When you get to that office, scope out what other female attnys tend to wear. Start with basic black/brown/ navy suiting and simple muted blouses (white, gray, etc) before adding touches and pops of color. Example : black suit with kelly green blouse and simple jewelry, professional hair, makeup , shoes. Feel free to pm me.

ElcaB

Ann Taylor & LOFT are amazing for office apparel. A lot of their stuff can be easily transitioned from day to night, too. 

New York & Company is also great. 

theartistformerlyknownas

I work in an ad agency so I wear jeans every day. When I had to dress up I loved The Limited and dress shirts from Express.

cupcait927

Another vote for LOFT, Ann Taylor and The Limited. All of my pants are from the Limited (and they do full suits as well - I have a couple of theirs). LOFT and Ann Taylor are great for tops, blazers and cardigans.

lurkergirl

Oh, and of course Brooks Brothers is amazing for professional wear.  Might be something to save for when you start earning attorney-level paychecks, though

PineapplePopsicles

lolo883 said:

I work in an ad agency so I wear jeans every day. When I had to dress up I loved The Limited and dress shirts from Express.

@lolo8383 i'm jealous of your life

theartistformerlyknownas

PineapplePopsicles said:

lolo883 said:

I work in an ad agency so I wear jeans every day. When I had to dress up I loved The Limited and dress shirts from Express.

@lolo8383 i'm jealous of your life

Haha thanks! :-p

emmaaa

I like some of Banana's tops and J Crew's wool skirts. However, both stores have been disappointing me the past few seasons.

I will also add to what Ps said about Ann Taylor and LOFT, love it! Alos, NY&C has some nice tops and dress pants. I have really wide hips and short legs. NY&C has the best dress pants because they're the only ones that aren't wide leg (which make me look huge because of my hips) that I really like.

I also like Dillards for dresses and shoes.

I work in Parks and Recreation but since it is Governmental we are a notch below business casual most days. I wear dresses a lot because it is too hot and I am too lazy for pants. 

PineapplePopsicles

lolo883 said:

PineapplePopsicles said:

lolo883 said:

I work in an ad agency so I wear jeans every day. When I had to dress up I loved The Limited and dress shirts from Express.

@lolo8383 i'm jealous of your life

Haha thanks! :-p

@LOLO883

ughhh i've been tagging you as "8383" & just realized it is 883.  ooops. how long were you gonna let that go?  were you just sitting & laughing?  i thought we were friends.  you can't be in my wedding now. give me back my robe & hanger.  I'll find someone else who will appreciate the honor. 

theartistformerlyknownas

PineapplePopsicles said:

lolo883 said:

PineapplePopsicles said:

lolo883 said:

I work in an ad agency so I wear jeans every day. When I had to dress up I loved The Limited and dress shirts from Express.

@lolo8383 i'm jealous of your life

Haha thanks! :-p

@LOLO883

ughhh i've been tagging you as "8383" & just realized it is 883.  ooops. how long were you gonna let that go?  were you just sitting & laughing?  i thought we were friends.  you can't be in my wedding now. give me back my robe & hanger.  I'll find someone else who will appreciate the honor. 

Hahaha I didn't even notice! Honestly it used to be 8383 and I changed it. 

You have to put me back in the wedding, what am I gonna do with these cowboy boots I bought?!

PineapplePopsicles

lolo883 said:

PineapplePopsicles said:

lolo883 said:

PineapplePopsicles said:

lolo883 said:

I work in an ad agency so I wear jeans every day. When I had to dress up I loved The Limited and dress shirts from Express.

@lolo8383 i'm jealous of your life

Haha thanks! :-p

@LOLO883

ughhh i've been tagging you as "8383" & just realized it is 883.  ooops. how long were you gonna let that go?  were you just sitting & laughing?  i thought we were friends.  you can't be in my wedding now. give me back my robe & hanger.  I'll find someone else who will appreciate the honor. 

Hahaha I didn't even notice! Honestly it used to be 8383 and I changed it. 

You have to put me back in the wedding, what am I gonna do with these cowboy boots I bought?!

Wellll... maybe by the time my REAL wedding rolls around in 2017, you'll be a better friend by then!  You can wear them in that wedding, since my theme is Gatsby-inspired rustic-glam. 

sarahufl

Another vote for LOFT. Just don't ever pay full price there- they ALWAYS have sales.

Brooks Brothers no iron shirts are my jam. They are great collared shirts, nicely tailored, and are machine washable AND don't require ironing. Can't beat them. Go to the outlets (Woodbury Commons is nice) and they are only about $35-$40 a piece.

I haven't seen this in the thread yet, but A LOT of my work clothes actually come from Target. They have great pencil skirts, dresses, etc and are super affordable. Most of the stuff I get the most compliments on come from Target.

cupcait927

@sarahufl I agree with you about Target. I've managed to get a few dresses and skirts from Target that look very nice without breaking the bank. I also have cardigans from there that I like for layering (because my office can get SO cold).

theartistformerlyknownas

I actually found a pencil skirt I LOVE at JC Penney. They've stepped up their game lately.

Oh and blouses from ModCloth.

southernbelle0915

Business casual is our dress code.

I wear dress pants/skirts on bottom. On top, it's a button down with/without a cardigan or blazer. I like the Limited and Macy's for stylish/trendy stuff and Brooks Brothers for splurge stuff and long-lasting staple pieces.

FutureMrsN3312

My last office was "business casual".  I could get away with yoga pants and a shirt.  My new office is very much business casual so I had to do some serious shopping when I started here.

Almost my entire work wardrobe is NY&Co.  I stock up when they have sales which are always awesome.  Like PP said Target has a lot of nice options.  Especially the types of shirts I wear under a cardigan.  (I occasionally have to break out a blazer.)  But for cheap I get a shit ton of shirts and if they get ruined I'm not upset about it.

emmaaa

I look like a hooker when I wear a pencil skirt. They just don't fit and are way too tight in my hips and butt. When I buy a size bigger and have the length altered, it just makes me look stumpy.

sarawifenow

I typically wear nice slacks and a blouse with a cardigan or a blazer. I also wear dresses a lot. Heels are my footwear of choice.

 

I like to shop at New York and Company a lot for my work clothes. They have dress slacks that are shorter, so they fit my crazy short legs.

climbingsingle

I've previously found some cute stuff at Target too. 

buttercup1958

It depends really. On "science days" when kids come to my college museum I dress up wearing slacks and a nice blouse. I'll most likely add a layering piece like a blazer or cardigan when it's cold out. I pretty much "business causual" at another museum I work at since I don't get really dirty and I'm interacting with the public. The natural museum though I just wear jeans and a tee shirt since I'm in the lab/collections so it will get really messy quick.

The stores I shop at Modcloth, Francesca's, The Limited, New York and Company, The Loft, and The Limited.