Final Fall/Winter 2012-2013 Office Wardrobe Update

i'm going to lay the whole fall/winter wardrobe challenge to rest today so that i can move on to what i want to put together for spring, as of next week. seeing as i was busy job-hunting, writing up "25 days of etsy christmas", redecorating three rooms in my flat (pictures of that are forthcoming) and working on the new shop, i didn't really give myself time to sew until now. that said, i did scour thrift stores and go through every piece of clothing i own (no small feat, i'll have you know!) and i did put together twelve basic, occasionally interchangeable outfits that are great for the office and that work for fall and winter. i've put together a few collages to give you the gist of these and, although the brands vary from those that i found and own (a lot of my pieces are vintage and i prefer lancome, dior and sometimes mac, when it comes to make-up), you'll get the idea!

i must say that the following h & m trousers were really well priced and are ridiculously comfortable.

i was so happy when i found a similar pencil skirt in this exact shade of purple, in verdun, secondhand, for $5!

my glasses have more of a cat-eye shape and, after buying a pair of cole haan chelsea boots online only to discover that they are too narrow for me, i came across a great pair of baxter boots at last year's swap team exchange. you can see them here.

even though i am a white girl with some arabic blood and probably shouldn't wear yellow, i can't seem to stay completely away. for a more casual work look, i've put together an outfit resembling this one and i like to wear it with a good 'ol fashioned french twist or by styling my hair with a slight, 60's bump at the crown, pinning up the side and letting the rest of it down and slightly curled at the ends. 

although i do my best to jazz up my office wardrobe, i'm usually seen wearing this combo or something quite like it:

a friend of mine bought this betty page clothing dress, never wore it and sold it to me for $20. i wear it with neutral panty hose or stocking and burgundy, suede mary janes that i also got from this friend but at a clothing swap. 

i was also lucky enough to come across a lovely, burgundy, a-line dress with leather pocket trim from lord & taylor. i bought it at my favourite verdun thrift store for $7 but most of their house brand dresses are between $110 and $300 so i'm quite pleased! i won't be able to shoot in natural light until next week-end and i can't find an image of the dress online so it'll have to have its own post, sometime soon!

this is the last time i'll be referring to this particular wardrobe, as i'll be focusing on the spring fashions i want and/or have, as of next week. the timing is great, too, because i go back to working nine-to-five in an office, tomorrow morning. 

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Fall/Winter Wardrobe Challenge

part of the reason i haven't liked my office jobs over the years is because i feel anything but stylish in business attire. i believe this problem goes deeper than that, though. i think my issue stems from the fact that, ever since i put on my thyroid weight, i've managed to inject style into every type of outfit i wear, except for the business one. first of all, i find most affordable, business casual clothing out there to be made for anyone but the short, curvy woman. wide-legged pants are one of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to this but i'll be sure to dedicate an entire post to pants in the very near future. 

i'll be returning to the office sometime in the next two months and, this time, i refuse to wear clothing that, make me feel dumpy, are dated, ill-fitting or even banal. i can sew, i host clothing swaps, i'm pretty stealth when it comes to finding great pieces online and i have a great selection of thrift stores in my neighbourhood. 

as much as i like to do all kinds of crafts and will surely keep that up, the next few months are going to dedicated to creating the perfect wardrobe for the short, curvy woman who works in an office and wants to look great while at it. i'm sure a lot of these styles will also work for taller women and i will touch upon that as i go along. 

to start, i have these two plaids i want to make something out of and i dug up these three patterns to pair them up with. i chose these not only because they are appropriate in this case but because they are simple enough and i don't have to perform much grading (a time and energy gobber, for sure!). 

i especially love this blue, grey and red plaid. it's light and soft and will look great sewn into almost anything business casual. 

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