You Can Still Be Fashionable At Work

Sick of the same ol' khaki's and boring work shirts?

You can change this easily without spending a lot of money. 

All you need is a few things to spice up your work wardrobe.

Guys

Get black dress pants and a whole whack of white dress shirts.  White only lasts for so long before they start to turn yellow so it's important to always have a clean white pressed shirt around.  You can match black dress pants and a white shirt with almost everything.

• Get a pair of white, black and brown shoes.. Depending on if it's summer time or not, wear appropriate sandals and not flip flops because they are so unprofessional for the work place.


• If your a handsome gentleman then you will need some ties for those pesky dress up days at work.  Get ties that you think will match with a lot of things.. ex. blue, black and striped.


• Buy an expensive suit.  This is something that you must not cheap out on unless there is a huge sale.  An expensive suit will last you a life time.  Suits always come in handy too..


• Buy a briefcase if you carry a lot of papers back and forth to work.  Go to Fossil or someplace nice to get one.  It is important that you look like you have a lot of money even if you don't.. Especially if you want a chick.


• If you have casual day at work, buy a couple pairs of new jeans and neutral colored dress shirts or sweaters.  Just because it's casual day doesn't mean that you can look like a complete slob.


• Buy dress socks too.  There is NOTHING WORSE than wearing nice dress shoes with a bulky sport sock sticking out.  You can buy nice dress socks in any department store and they are comfortable too and cool for summer.


• If you have a job where you are working with equipment and you are on your knees a lot and you don't want to ruin your clothes then stop by Marks Work Warehouse or some place that has clothes that were made to work in.


• Buy some undershirts that you can wear with dress shirts.  It is so gross to see guys nipples through their nice shirts unless they have an outstanding body.  You can buy cheap dress shirts at some place like Walmart.


• Keep your hair under control.  Don't wait so long to get your hair trimmed that you have bangs.  Also keep clean shaven as it starts to get shaggy looking after a couple of days.  Buy some wax for your hair to keep those frizzies down.  You don't have to buy a top name brand for it to work.  I have heard that products like Fructis work well and cause no flakes.

Girls

We are lucky because there are a lot of sophisticated jewelry or purses to make an outfit look outstanding.  You can make a simple white dress shirt and black dress pants look classy with some pearls and a neutral purse color.

• Buy supportive under garments.  There is nothing worse than having a bra that is too small or your underwear lines sticking out from your granny panties


• Buy a couple of suits.  You should buy a brown, black and pin striped one.  If it's summer then buy a nice linen suit but make sure to get it dry cleaned often as it crinkles easily.


• Buy neutral colored purses.  They will go with dressy items as well as jeans.  Also buy a nice red or colored purse as it could easily spice up a nice black suit.


• Buy clothes that say a lot about you.  If you like hippy things than try and portray that in a professional manner.  No one is saying that you can't be who you are, but you just have to dress it up.


• If you are plus sized and you find it hard to find clothes that fit you, then go to Major Department stores.  They usually carry more than just a size 0.  I am plus sized and I shop at The Bay, Sears or Reitman's. 


• Always buy quality over quantity.  Sure it's nice to have tons of purses that you got on sale but when the zipper breaks after only a week then you will have to buy another one anyways.  Always spend more to get more.


• A great place to buy cheap jewelry is at Claire's.  Make sure that the pieces you buy don't look as cheap as they really are.  I do suggest you purchase real jewelry and not cheap as the silver look will soon fade and tarnish. 


• Buy shoes that are work appropriate.  Don't be wearing hooker looking heels to work or it will get people talking and they won't be saying good things.  Wear cute flats from places like NINE WEST or get low kitten heels as you can usually wear them all day. It's awful to walk all day in your painful high heels.


• Try not to bring the runway to work.  What is popular on the runway probably isn't work appropriate.


• Keep your makeup to a minimum.  Don't go to work with the newest MAC sparkle eye shadow on as your boss probably won't be very happy with you.  Keep your nail polish clean and chip free.  It always looks nasty when your finger nails look dirty.


• Do not wear flip flops to work.  I love them just as much as anyone but it looks trashy and unkempt.  Invest in some nice HUSH PUPPY sandals as they will last a long time and you can wear them for hours and they won't hurt your feet.


• If you have to take a lap top with you to work every day please don't use a plastic bag for it.  You can buy fashionable lap top bags at places like ROOTS.  That is where I got mine and it is still going strong after 2 years.


• Buy nice dress socks or panty hose.  As I told the guys:  There is nothing worse than wearing sport socks with work attire.


• Please do not wear running shoes on casual day unless they are brand new.  It looks super sloppy.  You can pick up flats that are more causal looking with cute detailing that are still comfortable or PUMA type runners that don't really have long laces that get in the way.


• Buy clothes that fit you.  Don't buy shirts that are too small and your button looks like its going to pop off.  You can still get attention from the hotties at work without looking like your wearing your little sister's club clothes.


• To dress up an outfit don't be afraid to show a little skin.  However it is very important not to show too much.  You will be talked about as the office slut so be careful how you do it.  If you are wearing a shirt than don't wear a sleeveless shirt unless it's casual day.  Wear a cute cardigan over it and it will look classy and cute.


• Lastly. .. Make sure your hair is professional looking.  If you are going gray please dye your roots cause it looks so awful.  Also keep your hair out of your face.  A great hair do for work is if you set your hair in hot rollers and when they are ready quickly put your hair back in a pony tail.  Also look for professional looking hair accessories.  You can usually buy them for cheap and they can really make a great outfit look even better.

I hope that my tips have helped you.  If you have any more tips for looking great at work, please email lesliestar@lesliestar.ca