This time I wanted to give you a few tips on how to pull office-friendly style pranks – as in, feeling fab without raising too many eyebrows, at least when it’s not your intent to raise eyebrows. Essentially, there are two basic approaches. One is the usual go-to for when you want to look smart but still be casual. The other is for when you cannot avoid looking fully smart and you need a twist or two to save you from death by mediocrity.
With these tips, you can build your looks in a way that even bold fashion statements like oversized accessories, half-crazy prints or unusual cuts will seem office-friendly.
Approach One: dressing up casual
You take your fave pairs of jeans (neat to half-destroyed), one of your smartest bags and add at least one of the following:
- A pair of smart flats or heels. Think classic Gucci style horsebit loafers, anything with pointed toes including lace-up flats, but the Valentino style studded flats or heels are still going strong too.
- A light shirt (no crinkles, mind you). The best right now are the lace-up front ones in white, black or summer-fresh blue white stripes. Equipment’s utility shirts from the past couple of years can also work wonders.
- A tailored blazer. An uber-posh suit jacket or a more casual and practical velvet blazer can be equally smart.
Approach Two: dressing down smart
My version of this is not my core style, to say the least, but still a fun way to start shaking/covering up a hugely traditional LBD look. Here, the basic item is a pencil dress. There are many options for what you can throw in for good measure, including:
- A crop top with either short or long sleeves – here I opted for a pale pink knitted logo sweater.
- Oversized knitwear or a cotton sweatshirt. Touches like metallic threads, motifs or logos optional.
- A casual but structured bag. A smart backpack in white or silver is a cool and neutral ice-breaker there, but since bags are rarely evident at meetings, you can go for the craziest bags you have (yes, even the Moschino).
- The cover-up can also be casual – wear a leather biker or a bomber jacket.
- Finally, the shoes: I went for pointed granny flats here but you can dress the look further down with loafers (classic or backless), brogues or even skaters, especially the ones with white contrasting soles.
Enjoy 🙂
jumper: H&M
dress: H&M
flats: New Look
backpack: New Look
bowler hat: River Island
Photography: Laszlo Kubak
