5 work dresses to improve your office wear style

Women’s workwear has had a massive shift – a huge revival and all of the previous ladies’ workwear ‘rules’ and guidance has gone out of the window. This is a huge positive for office clothes for women but seems to have created a negative ‘another thing to stress about’ vibe instead of celebrating the freedom and choice you now have.

Gone are the days of tailored work dresses and black dresses that hide all your gorgeous personality and deplete you of every ounce of energy past 4pm. Goodbye to stiff and uncomfortable office clothes for women and a big welcome the ‘smart casual, non-corporate’ women’s office wear friendly style. You could say… hello sexy office wear… you never know you might go back to your early 20s desk to disco vibes when the clocks change…

A question I am always asked is where to get work dresses? The sky is the limit so it can be so overwhelming for choice now that you can essentially wear anything you fancy. Work dresses are easier to style because you only have to think about one item of clothing for ladies workwear and they usually come with belts which save you time faffing with accessories when you are rushing in the morning. It’s just a jacket and shoe situ to sort out and you will be good to go.

Another positive is that we can now think about how to make summer dresses for winter and visa versa – hail the versatile work dress! Ladies’ workwear can be worn comfortably throughout each season and let me show you how with my 5 work dresses to up your non office wear style game.

Office dress 1 – the Bright work dress

Lots of women are nervous about wearing bright colours to work because they don’t want to bring any unwanted attention or look as though they are trying too hard. When clients tell me this, I always ask them if that’s what they think when they see someone wearing a beautiful bright work dress and the answer is always 100% no, they admire it and aspire to wear it. I guarantee this is exactly how everyone will see you too.

I recommend this gorgeous number to the medium to small bust ladies because the neckline will both make your bust larger and your shape look boxier if you have a larger bust. I also recommend styling it with a belt if you are blessed with a body shape that excels when extra cinching highlights that gorgeous waist of yours. You could clash it with a leopard belt or match it with a yellow or green – gorgeous. If you’d like to know more about your body shape, read my free ebook here

Id style this in cooler months with chunky biker boots or suede cowboy boots and a leather jacket (tights and even an extra top underneath too) and a gold sandal or white trainer and bare legs with a denim jacket in spring time.

If you are interested in the psychology behind wearing certain colours check out my previous blog which goes into detail about the amazing emotional benefits of wearing yellow and green.

Office dress 2 – the floral work dress

A floral work dress is a total crowd pleaser. Everyone gets on board with a floral and what’s so great about floral work dresses is that they can also be worn at the weekend for brunch, lunch, pub dates and even a spot of shopping!

This Ganni floral work dress is the ultimate way to begin wearing colour and experimenting with print but sticking to your black work dress roots. Again, this dress is mega versatile for all year round as it can be worn with thick black tights, knee high boots and a bright blazer in winter.

For warmer months a smart trainer, slip on mules, you could clash it with an animal print ankle boot and bare legs even! For both options I would belt the dress unless you have the slender/athletic or apple body shape so that you don’t hide your shape away.

To break away from the office wear vibe, pait it with leather leggings and chunky boots or with sky high gold platform heels for dancin’

Office dress 3 – The two in one dress

This dress takes womens workwear to a whole new level. Not only is it the perfect example of how a silkier fabric can be dressed down to wear throughout the day, it also comes with a detachable cropped jumper that you can restyle other ways for office wear for women. For example you can wear it with tailored trousers and trainers with a leather jacket or over a colourful collared Tshirt and skirt.

This smart dress will look super edgy for workwear if you tie a printed or vintage shirt over the top and layer a sleeveless long jacket over the top. You could also wear a clashing coloured block jumper or even a printed jumper to mix it up. When its hot in the summer you can wear the dress on its own over a printed tshirt to keep the dress more modest for work but also keeping cool.

Office dress 4 – The animal print dress

So long tailored work dresses and stuffy smart dresses, move over the new generation of office clothes for women. The animal print, particularly the leopard print dress isn’t going anywhere. This wrap style by rixo is so flattering for pretty much every body shape. The v neckline breaks up a bigger bust and elongates your frame. A maxi adds inches to our height and are so effortless and elegant.

This is easy to wear all year. A cosy roll neck underneath or chunky v neck cardi over the top – or both! With knee boots and warm thick tights for the cold months! For summer wear as it comes with sandals or wear it open like a kimono at a pool party!

If you want an edgier look for the weekend, wear with anything metallic or leather… or pops of bright red with blazers or a block colour heel for a wedding – perfect!

Office dress 5 – The mini work dress

So many people worry about getting legs out or looking like ‘mutton dressed as lamb’. As long as you can’t see your knickers and the length is respectable and it’s not too tight or revealing, get your legs out if you want to! If you want to feel more secure, I advise to cover your arms up to balance out the amount of leg, particularly in the office.

A fail-safe shape for women’s workwear dresses is a faux wrap style. Like I mentioned in the animal print dress above, the v neck is flattering for a busty lady (or any bust tbh) and the waist tie either creates a waist or adds structure in the right place or enhances your waist if you have one.

Experiment with harmonious or tonal colous when wearing a mini. This is an effortless way to use colour and creates a column shape up your body rather than a jarring high contrast. If you feel nervous wearing a shorter skirt than harmonious colours are much easier on the eyes so you are less likely to bring attention to your outfit. If you’d like to know more about wearing colour, check out my ebook on colour here.

There we have my 5 work dresses to up your office style. If you are unsure of which style would work best for you, check out my personal styling services where I can help you to find the colours that suit you, which work dresses will suit your body shape as well as what kind of office clothes for women will reflect your personality.

Happy shopping,

Stylish wishes,

Sian

Personal Stylist based in London. I am a colour analysis expert, wardrobe stylist, and personal shopper. I specialise in body shape style, wardrobe edits, and personal shopping for clients. I am also a virtual stylist. I do online styling, online style advice, virtual body shape workshops, virtual wardrobe edits and online personal shopping. Fashion Stylist in London. Personal Stylist in London. London stylist.

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