If you think you have nothing to wear to work… Read this!

The Four Cheat Codes: If you think you have nothing to wear to work… Read this!

Maybe your clients have wildly different styles. One day you’re meeting with investment bankers, the next day you’re sitting across from a tech bro who thinks jeans are formal wear. Here’s how to navigate it all.

Cheat Code #1: Your Footwear Is Your Common Denominator

Your shoes are what’s going to connect you to your environment. I even tell people who are traveling to just make sure their footwear matches the vibe of their venue or the person they’re meeting with if they don’t want to feel under or overdressed.

Want to feel polished but know the environment is casual? Go with your tailored separates and throw on a sneaker. If it’s the other way around and you want your look to feel slouchy and approachable because that’s just your vibe, then it’s that sharp shoe that’s going to do the work.

The pointed toe, the definition, the professionalism. Your foot’s covered, away you go.

Cheat Code #2: When In Doubt, Air on the Side of Formal

Confused about what are we supposed to wear to work for that networking event? No dress code communicated to you? I don’t mean show up in a three-piece suit. I’m just saying if you’re deciding between jeans and slacks, go for the slacks. If you’re choosing between a t-shirt and a blouse, pick the blouse.

A neutral look can still feel full of personality. The accessories, the cool boots, the sharp glasses, but those neutrals give it that sense of gravitas and seriousness. Add a tucked-in shirt, throw in a belt for a little polish, work with some tailoring in your separates. These aren’t groundbreaking moves, but when you combine them, they feel elevated and professional.

Cheat Code #3: Add Structure

If you’re feeling like your outfit is falling flat, if you’re feeling sloppy and you don’t know why, add structure. Structure is your best friend in a professional environment.

There’s a reason why psychologically, people in suits or well-fitted tailored separates are seen to have more authority in the workplace. It’s psychology.

As women, we have so many more options that don’t include tailored separates. Men have it really easy. They have authority baked into the majority of their options, right? Button-up shirts, polos, tailored slacks, sport coats, suiting. As women, we have to be more intentional about those choices.

But I’m not saying we have to show up in suits or even a blazer. Structure exists in so many places. A really sharp pair of glasses. A button-up shirt layered underneath a sweater if you don’t want to feel too sharp. Well-pressed trousers in a fun color like yellow. A pointed boot that adds structure and polish to an otherwise casual outfit.

You can even have structure in the prints you choose. A window pane print styled casually still gives you those sharp, clean lines that we identify with authority and power. All those fun things.

Cheat Code #4: Plan Your Outfit the Night Before

I feel like I could just stop here. You’ve probably heard me say this before, and it applies to all aspects of getting dressed, not just for the office. If you do anything ever again when it comes to getting dressed, just try this.

Even if it’s five minutes the night before, or if you take half an hour on the weekend to plan which general pieces you want to wear, that extra time gives you more space to be creative and intentional. The reason why we grab the same things all the time and we’re like, “I have nothing to wear. My closet is full of clothes, but I have NOTHING” – it’s not because we have no clothes. We’re not giving ourselves the time and space to plan.

I’m not talking about putting together an entire outfit the night before. A lot of us don’t have that kind of time. But even if you go into your morning routine thinking, “Okay, I’m going to wear separates instead of a dress today,” you’ve already given yourself a north star and direction on how you want to dress and how you want to feel that day. This means you’re starting a part of your day in clarity instead of chaos.

Unbasic Your Basics (Because Corporate Style Doesn’t Have to Be Boring)

What are we supposed to wear to work that doesn’t make us feel like soulless automatons? We might as well use this casual sensibility to play and have fun. Look for those classic pieces that we know and love, but with a twist.

Perhaps it’s a skirt in two tones. Maybe it’s a blazer with little extra ruching details, but you still get the structure and familiarity of a blazer. Maybe it’s a trench coat with an interesting panel or a pair of trousers with a bit of piping down the side.

Look for the elements that you know and love, that you feel good in and represent how you want to feel at work, but then look for these small details that are timeless and that don’t date.

You can also look for pieces in an interesting print. When it comes to prints, I find it’s better to go with something classic like a gingham. Super playful, definitely more casual, especially when paired with pink sneakers. Color is also a fun detail to play with.

However, I usually stay away from recommending a bright or bold color unless you know you won’t get tired of it. A lot of us get intimidated by wearing bright colors in general, let alone at the office, and we often get tired of these brighter or more interesting colors.

More Is More: Styling Bold Statement Pieces

If you’re one of those people who loves bold colors, here’s how you style them. More is more. It feels really contrary, right? When we see a bold color or a statement piece, we often think, “Okay, I’ve got to pair back the rest of the look.”

That’s cool, that’s fine if you want that piece to be the focal point. But oddly enough, when you pile on more colors, it actually softens that bold statement piece. It allows the eye to take in the entire outfit as a whole instead of zooming in on a specific focal point or jumping from cool item to cool item.

There are two ways you can do more on more. My personal favorite for the office is by making sure all the colors and interesting pieces are low contrast. Take a bright orange skirt, for example.

By pairing it with a blazer that also has orange and a bit of black, you tie in the black shirt, the crazy houndstooth colorful blazer, and the orange bag. If we put that bag with just the skirt and black top, it would feel awkward and clunky. But as soon as we add that crazy blazer, we’re able to look at the outfit holistically.

I also love going monochrome or tonal and going all the way in with shoes, socks, bag. When you use colors that are close together on the color wheel and prints that are grounded in the other colors in the outfit, you get a very colorful, very creative look that’s still soft on the eye.

Does Everyone Remember When Denim Was the Exciting Dress-Down Friday Thing?

Was that just me at my office? Anyway, I personally love denim for every occasion. But here’s how to wear it when you want to look good and also get stuff done.

Indigo is your friend. That deep, rich blue feels like a trouser but still has that rough texture of denim so you don’t feel overdressed. I love indigo denim in a barrel silhouette, but I’m also mildly obsessed with the high-waisted Sezane 70s pant in the same wash. I own these and I just love how they give that trouser feel.

I don’t think there’s one right silhouette for the workplace. It totally depends on you. For the office, I love a good bootcut because it feels like a trouser, but I also love a really nice wide leg and a classic straight leg. If you’re in a more creative industry, you could go for something like a boyfriend jean.

What makes a trouser or denim fit well is when you know YOUR proportions. Forget everybody else’s. Forget whatever is trending. When you know your waist-to-hip ratio, your ideal rise, and your ideal inseam, and when you choose denim based on those measurements, that’s when you’re going to look good and feel good.

In my opinion, it doesn’t matter what silhouettes are trending. If something is trending and it doesn’t look good on you, then it’s not trending for you.

One final thought on denim: if wearing denim pants feels too casual, you can inject a bit of denim and that casual ease with something like a chambray shirt. I love how it looks styled under a suit with a belt and a great pair of thick frames. Just pulls it all together.

Unexpected Work Wear Footwear Heroes

I mentioned this at the beginning—your shoes are the common denominator. But here are some of my favorite unexpected work wear footwear heroes.

Metallic shoes. Metallics are a neutral. They add such a punch of personality and go with everything. A pointed toe stiletto in silver or chrome can be a lot, so I like that styled with wide-leg tailored trousers. That way you only see just a little bit of the shoe and it’s not overwhelming.

Brogues. Brogues are so good with an easy cigarette trouser and a button-up shirt, but this could be a knit too. The brogue makes me think of Audrey Hepburn but a little bit wacky for 2025, and I think it’s great. Because of the rounded toe, they feel a bit more subtle, so you can get away with showing them. These are fantastic with skirts and with wide-leg pants.

Animal prints or croc-embossed shoes. My favorites are in a loafer. You can pair it with a number of socks. This croc-embossed loafer looks so good with longer hemlines because then they don’t feel so chunky. The weight of the shoe is evenly matched by the weight of either a cropped trouser or a longer midi to maxi skirt. It definitely feels a little bit Miu Miu-esque. I also love a classic leopard print. A flat might be a smarter choice because it’s not so bold, but look how good they look with a little yellow sweater.

Patent or anything shiny. If we’re shopping our own closets, we probably have a lot of matte textures, wools, poplins. That’s why a lot of our outfits can fall flat or we feel boring when putting together our work stuff. You see how a very neutral look in all the same texture with that patent, that shine, suddenly has edge and interest, yet it’s still super clean and polished. I especially love how patent looks with denim and wool blazers.

White shoes. If you’re someone who likes a lot of color and dressing with it, white is an excellent grounding neutral. A white shoe is an excellent neutralizer for contrast looks.

When Time Is of the Essence (Which Feels Like All the Time)

What are we supposed to wear to work when we’re running late? Here are some easy styling hacks.

Pick a set. Maybe it’s a matching top and blazer. Maybe it’s a suit that you just chill out with a t-shirt and sneakers. Maybe it’s a dress and a matching cardigan. The colors, fabrics, or prints don’t have to be perfectly matchy-matchy. You’ve just reduced your decision-making by a whole lot, but you’ll still look and feel thoughtful and intentional.

Add something personalized. This could be a really interesting brooch or name plate necklace. I love an oversized initial necklace on a really simple neutral outfit.

Choose one accessory and match it to a color in the rest of the outfit. I’m not saying your belt and shoes have to match. You’ve got a broader palette. We don’t have a lot of time. We just want one accessory to recall something else in the outfit. All this is doing is adding that sense of intentionality without working too hard.

I particularly love an orange shoe and jacket combination. They don’t have to be the same color orange. Choose the shoe that matches the shirt. Add a belt that matches your layering piece.