As some of you may know, I’ve been spending most of my summer working as a social media intern at ServeMinnesota, a great nonprofit that works to meet Minnesota’s needs such as increasing children’s literacy rates and helping new Americans find work. While my internship has been a great opportunity for me to learn and gain experience, I found myself in quite a predicament: I had absolutely no idea what to wear to meet my company’s dress code policy while retaining my personal style. I even got in trouble once because my denim skirt was too short! As a poor college student, I really didn’t want to fork out a large sum of money and buy an entirely new wardrobe just for work, so I decided to get creative. In this blog post, you’ll learn my tips and tricks on how to build a wardrobe for work on a budget as well as how to dress business casual without losing your sense of self. Before we get started, thank you to the talented Brian Nguyen for the beautiful photography used for this post. Please check out his Instagram for more amazing work!
Adding Statement Jewelry
Business casual is one of the more common dress codes in the US. Organizations that have a business casual dress code allows employees to add personality to their wardrobe as long as they still look professional. In a business casual setting, you can definitely personalize your attire through using jewelry. I’ve been obsessed with statement earrings lately, especially ones that have cute detailing such as metal stars, chain links, or fringes! If you’re not much of an earring person, a nice watch, rings, bracelets, or a dainty necklace would also be perfect for adding a personalized touch to your outfit. I would try to keep it minimal by limiting yourself to three pieces of jewelry max. While adding statement jewelry is great to personalize your outfit, you also don’t want to overdo it and look like a saleslady at Kay’s Jewelers!
Owning A Comfortable Pair of Shoes
Confession: I own about 15 different pairs of heels but in reality, I only wear one of them. The sole reason that I always come back to this one pair is because they’re comfy! I can’t stress enough how important having comfortable shoes is while you’re at work. Personally, I bus to and from work and home so I usually have to walk a few blocks everyday from my bus stop and destination. I couldn’t even imagine walking around Minneapolis with uncomfortable shoes. For work, I love these black cut-out heels that I got from Marshall’s because they’re not too tall, have a chunky heel, and support my feet because of the ankle strap. I suggest finding one really nice pair of shoes for work. Whether you decide on heels, sandals, boots or mules, you should find a pair that won’t kill your feet and can match numerous pieces in your wardrobe!
Layering Outerwear
My company’s dress code includes policies which prohibits wearing halter/tank tops and baring too much skin. If you’re like me, your summer wardrobe consists of many strappy dresses, tank tops, and off-the-shoulder shirts– which aren’t acceptable in the workplace. This is where outerwear comes into play! You can definitely get away with wearing a tank top or strappy dress as long as you have a jacket to layer on top. Denim jackets, bombers, leather jackets, and blazers are all acceptable for a business casual work setting. No matter what, I usually always have a light-weight jacket on hand to keep warm in the office. We usually have our AC blasting!
Putting it All Together
Although your attire is only a small part of being an employee, it definitely is important! Whether you’re dressing up for an interview, a presentation, meeting, or just to adhere to your company’s dress policy, wearing appropriate workplace attire is essential to working your way up and becoming a #LadyBoss.
This concludes this week’s post, I hope you’ve found some tips, tricks, and inspiration for your own workday wardrobe!
The Clothing Statement 