I’m a Gen Z writer who finally received a chance to work in a physical office for the first time recently. I’ve never worked in an office full-time, even my internships were all remote. The pandemic took away in-office experiences from me. Now, I’m two years post-grad, and many offices are calling employees back to a routine that consists of three days a week in the office. I’m used to wearing a T-shirt, sweatpants, and my bonnet while working. As a fashion lover, this sounds like a faux pas, but I’m working to dismantle this, I’m taking it one day at a time. Many of my friends are also working towards wearing proper attire in the office and at home for professional calls. It’s been interesting figuring out how to dress as I’m amongst my colleagues who are accustomed to dressing a certain way for their entire careers.
I’d like to think that I have a distinct personal style, but I wasn’t sure what would be appropriate for the office, even though it’s filled with really cool co-workers–you just never know. My objective while getting dressed each day was to give polished vibes while wearing what’s true to me. That led me to embrace power suits, heeled boots, coats, and vibrant colors. Since I’m still kind of growing up, my style is growing with me and I’ve been enjoying that journey.
If you’re looking for some inspiration on how to dress for the office, come along my little journey and see what I wore my first week as a full-timer, below.
The Power Suit
I was inspired to wear a black suit by ‘90s shows like Living Single and Girlfriends. Maxine’s style with suits particularly made me want to buy my own. Suits have grown in popularity over the past few years, you can wear them oversized casually with sneakers or you can go full business sans casual like I did. I thrifted my pieces while I was visiting my family in Florida last year. The blazer’s detailing was too good to pass up, it was designed by Liz Claiborne and was the perfect fit because it came in a petite size. The side panels are made of ruched black satin and the buttons are oval shaped with tiny faux diamonds in the middle of them. My pants are from a menswear brand called Umberto Bonelli and fit me perfectly. I’m obsessed with the single pleat down the middle of each leg. My shoes are my trusty black leather boots from Camper. For accessories, I went with a pair of earrings from Mejuri shaped like flowers and a Fossil clock ring in silver. With all of these pieces, I felt as confident as Maxine in Living Single, ready to take on the day.
Crop Tops In The Office
Listen, I’m not saying that your belly button should be seen, but I am saying that as a Gen Zer, I am most certainly wearing cropped tops in the office. Depending on how strict your office is you can get away with it too. I wore a green hoodie that my mom bought me, just because, and the same black trousers with my Campers and a black wool Carin Wester coat that I bought from a closet sale months ago. My jewelry for this day was the Mejuri and Luar collaboration from last year. I elevated the look with the coat, trousers, and boots. Otherwise, I could’ve worn some baggy jeans and sneakers, which is also a norm in the office at times. I wanted to look elevated so that’s why I opted to go with more dressier pants and shoes. You can do the same with a cropped T-shirt or even a regular-length hoodie. This look felt the most me, in it, I felt like I was in my element.
Keeping It Casual
For my third day, I wanted to go a more casual route without looking too casual. The goal with this look was to be able to meet up with friends for drinks or dinner without having to go home and change. I succeeded by wearing pieces that I would honestly wear anywhere: a blazer, graphic T-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. It’s the perfect recipe that has yet to disappoint. The blazer is a thrifted find that I always go back to when I need to look pulled together. My T-shirt is from Telfar, I purchased it on Grailed. The jeans I’m wearing are Uniqlo’s wide-leg jeans which I had to cut with fabric scissors because they were way too long on me. I was hyper-fixating on these Wales Bonner and Adidas Sambas for months before I finally bought them for way too much on StockX. I also wore silver Madewell earrings that matched my sneakers. What makes this look more fun is the yellow T-shirt and the shoes being an eye-catching silver. You can copy this look with a myriad of variations like a white T-shirt, a black blazer, lighter wash jeans, and white sneakers. The options are all yours.
