Monday's dress-up

Another Monday and another borrowed dress for a client meeting! I once again raided my friend's wardrobe for something a little smarter and fished out this awesome flippy hem dress from Warehouse , it fit so much better than last week's borrowed dress that I'm actually thinking of getting one for myself when it's sale time. It's really hard to say no to a simple dress that is both comfortable and practical. I definitely felt slightly more comfortable wearing this dress than last week's dress which my friend has chosen, it was such a relief knowing I'm actually wearing something I liked!

If it ain't broke ...

There's nothing that makes me happier than sticking to a familiar formula when it comes to getting dressed. Some days I get up and have an incredible need for experimenting but lately, as I mentioned before, on most days I will just stick with what's familiar and comfortable and there's nothing more comfortable and familiar than a white shirt layered with a nice jumper or sweatshirt. I don't know why but it was one of those things I seem to have forgotten about when I got into a style rut and decided wearing black dresses is the ultimate solution for a simple outfit especially since my wardrobe is full of jumpers and sweatshirts just begging to be layered on top a nice white shirt. I was certainly relieved when my Monday morning routine was made slightly easier when I put on this outfit.

Monday

Slowly but surely I'm starting to fall in love with a blazer and button-up shirt look. I always thought this look might be too serious for me but I guess with the right kind of blazer and the right kind of white shirt it's the kind of easy and classic look that you just can't go wrong with.  I was planning on wearing something completely different this morning but then in the last minute remembered I had a meeting scheduled and as I was already with one foot out of the door I had to make a quick outfit change that didn't require too much thinking and planning and so it was, a white shirt, a blazer and a leather skirt. The perfect lazy, last minute ,Monday morning outfit. 

That's how I look on Monday !

I'm not a morning person, I'm not a Monday person, I can't get my head to think 'fashion' on a Monday morning. 

I blew up my blow-dryer which meant my hair looked even worse than it usually is and to add to all I started a new permanent job this morning after a few months of contract work. To save myself time and stress I decided to wear a simple black dress, it's the perfect item when you're not really sure what would make an appropriate outfit in a new workplace. I was so nervous I just couldn't focus on playing around with outfits or think of something more exciting. The best thing about getting dressed for my new job that I noticed today was that I'm working in an all male office, in my previous job, I was working in an all-female office and constantly felt there was a constant competition between all the ladies of who's going to pull out the craziest and most eye-popping outfit everyday. Honestly, I come to work for work and most days prefer to focus my energies on getting ready for the day ahead so just want to wear something practical and comfortable and luckily with an office full of boys, I think there's less to worry about when it comes to fashion and more time to focus on actually doing great work!

old favourites

It dawned on me a few days ago that as my search for a new job is progressing , soon enough I might not be able to carry with my habit of wearing whatever I want to work. Most of the recent places that I sent my applications for are more corporate than the workplaces I worked in and to be honest, although it's still a long process somewhere inside I'm both excited and scared of the thought that I might need to rethink how I'm dressing for work. Thinking about this made me seek comfort in some old favourites hiding in my wardrobe. This outfit is nothing to write about home and I've featured all of those items previously, but those three items might be the best representation of what casual work attire means to me and I think that in the next few months while I keep looking for a job I'll try to go back to my old favourites more often so I can celebrate the freedom of wearing whatever I want to work as long as I can.

Off to work

Today was one of those rare occasion in which I had to step it up a little for work. On most days I'm pretty much free to wear what I want but every once in a while it's the sort of day that requires to tone it down or polish it up a little and get into 'business attire' mode.  Luckily this time I had a chance to wear this cool jacket I borrowed from my friend. I actually borrowed it as more of a casual item but decided to use it today  as an addition to a simple black dress for a slightly more classic look. I'm kind of loving it how it turned out although the photos aren't really showing that , it's actually the sort of outfit I can definitely see myself wearing more often for work as recently I've been trying to get my outfits to be slightly more 'grown up' or 'serious' although so far not very successfully so this jacket and this outfit as a whole might be a slight sign of a new direction which I'm slowly trying to figure out.

Looking for inspiration - the job interview edition

'We have a job interview request for you' , that's what the overly excited lady on the line said to me when she rang me last Tuesday. When I heard that I lost my concentration for a moment as she was cheerfully reciting the details for the interview. I immediately felt the slight feeling of excitement followed by slight panic. 

The truth is I was really hoping this call would come, my new year's resolution was to find a better job so I can move away from where I live at the moment but things were going slow and I didn't really hear back from any of the places I sent my CV to since January. 

I had to get into interview preparation mode, which also meant trawling through my wardrobe to find my 'interview' outfit. Needless to say it was an uninspiring find and as I mentioned before 'corporate' is not really my favourite look which meant the last time I bought something that can be considered 'job interview worthy' was over three years ago! I had to figure out what I can do with what I have. Naturally instead of digging deeper in my wardrobe I chose to seek some inspiration on the COS and Whistles websites, which would have been my ideal work wardrobe choices, with simple styles and great classic cuts and some gorgeous prints. Unfortunately at the moment those will only stay my 'inspiration' outfits but luckily a good friend who's also a 'corporate' type has offered to lend a hand and pop-over tomorrow to help me go through what I have and hopefully come up with some nice outfit ideas. To be honest, I'm actually quite excited and I'll definitely be keeping those looks from Whistles and Cos as inspiration. Who knows maybe if I do get a job one day I'll be able to afford one of those? 

A practical bag?

Some days are just not good outfit days no matter what , Mondays come to mind when I think of days like these so instead of the outfit I prefer to focus on the accessory. This bag is a great example of a compact and practical bag that's also quite roomy. 

On most days I carry a giant tote around as it's easy for me to just stuff it with whatever I need without thinking too much but today I've spent most of my morning outside and wanted to carry a small and light bag with only the really essential things I needed. 

I found this bag in the Zara sale, I bought it because I thought of using it as a camera bag, but since I don't often carry my camera with me I debated whether I should keep it. This morning I made my mind when I realised it's actually quite perfect for days I spend outside, running from meetings to trains and whatnot, it's quite light and roomy so I can fit my notebooks and my tablet easily and I love  the fact it looks classic but a little edgy with the metal details on the straps and clasp. 

A simple dress day - working out business attire

Topshop peter pan collar dress

I work in a very casual and creative environment which means that on most days I can pretty much get away with anything within reason, however, every once in a while I'm expected to attend a business conference or meeting, this usually means everyone will be wearing suits and jackets.

I have in the past attempted to search for the right business outfit but always failed miserably, one of my last attempts almost ended in tears when I tried on a proper suit only to be told by the sales lady that I look like a kid playing dress-up in her mum's business suit. I can laugh at this now but at the time looking for items that will work well for me for all sorts of formal business affairs proved to be quite stressful, to avoid this endless stressful search I decided that I'll stick to what works best for me which meant investing in a couple of smart dresses that don't require too much logistics and thinking when getting dressed in the morning before an important meeting.

This morning I reached for this lovely black peter pan collar dress from Topshop, it's probably one of my favourite dresses for more formal days and it's light, simple and works well for a formal meeting. I do also like the fact it can be dressed down with a biker jacket for a more casual look. I find that keeping it simple when it comes to business meetings always works the best, the key to is making sure you're comfortable in what you wear and remembering that jackets are not always a necessity for business meetings, a clean and simple outfit you're comfortable and confident in can work ten times better in most business settings.

Friday grunge

This morning I decided to play around with the skirt I got as a Secret Santa present from my friend. When I first saw that skirt I instantly thought it would be a great item for a casual and slightly grungy outfit. I thought it would work really well with the plaid shirt I had so many doubts about previously. I have to say that the plaid shirt turned out to be one of the most useful additions to my wardrobe in recent months. Despite my initial reservations about wearing plaid I found myself wearing the shirt on a number of occasions recently, although I still prefer to have only a slight hint of plaid popping out when I wear it, I think today's look is probably my favourite look with the shirt. 

And yes, I know I might have gone a little overboard with the grungy vibe but there's nothing like wearing a casual and comfy outfit to work on a cold and grey Friday morning. 

Post-Holiday Recovery

It's back to work time, after an eventful and long weekend of festivities it's time to head back to the office. 

Somehow I'm actually happy and relived to be at work , I love getting back to work after Christmas although waking up in the dark to the sound of rain thumping on my windows wasn't really the kick of motivation I was hoping for. Still I managed to get out of bed early enough to actually try and dress myself properly for work today which made me happy as I was determined that I won't be piling on thermals and jumpers and picked up a shiny boucle skirt and blue contrast collar top. When I bought the contrast collar top my biggest worry was that I will have a hard time fitting it in to my wardrobe , I was never into blue colours but surprisingly I always manage to come up with a reasonable outfit when I wear this top , which is not bad at all considering it's pretty much the first blue items I ever bought. So now it's time for me to move and try and focus on some work, luckily , we're treated with a few extra days off for the New Year so a long weekend is just around the corner!