Do you find yourself feeling uninspired with your current workwear and unable to find stylish outfits to wear to work?
Maybe you have neglected your work wardrobe for years or find that your current style needs upgrading to match ongoing career success. It could be that you’ve simply changed jobs to a more formal or casual environment. Whatever the reason, it’s important to review your wardrobe regularly as you could be making these 5 mistakes that are there are keeping your workwear in a style rut.
You are not detoxing your wardrobe regularly
Detoxing your wardrobe is the first step to building a capsule work wardrobe. If your current wardrobe is cluttered, packed full of clothes to the point where you can’t actually see what you own, a number of things will happen. You will stand in front of your wardrobe every morning looking for something to wear and feel frustrated. You won’t be able to create stylish outfits easily and quickly because you can’t see what items go together. You will wear clothes with the attitude that it’s the best you can do that day which may affect your confidence and how others see you at work. Lastly, you may end of shopping for clothes whenever something new comes up because you think you have nothing to wear.
You don’t have a functional work wardrobe
If detoxing your wardrobe is the first step to having an organised work wardrobe, then the second is ensuring that your clothes are coordinated for easy outfit creation. Each item of clothing you buy should complement at least 4-5 other pieces in your existing wardrobe. For example, if you buy a blazer, you know it can be worn with blouses, skirts, trousers, fitted jeans, boots, flats and heels. It’s essential to build your work wardrobe on key capsule pieces that will take you from season to season. This will ensure you get the most wear out of your clothes and then you can start to add other pieces to your collection.
Sticking to only one or two brands
There is nothing wrong with having favourites but not if you’re sticking with the same brands because you don’t know where else to shop or out of comfort. The disadvantage of shopping this way is that you end up buying the same style of clothing over and over again. This not only means a wardrobe full of similar clothes but you could also end up looking dated. This is a great time for professional women because there are lots of exciting workwear brands catering specifically to their style needs. It’s important to keep your look up to date by experimenting with unfamiliar brands and shopping in a variety of stores.
You are not buying the right clothes for your body shape
Identifying your body shape and correct bra size are two of the most important things a woman should know about herself. Not only will you be able to identify your best features and how to accentuate them but it will also determine where you shop and what you buy which will save you time and money. There are many women who don’t know their correct body shape which can leave them feeling frustrated because they shop in the wrong stores and wonder why the clothes don’t fit well. The result can be a wardrobe full of ill-fitted, unflattering clothes that is doing you no justice.
You don’t have the right ratio of clothes for different work situations
Nowadays, professional women need multi-functional workwear for different workplace scenarios. A professional wardrobe has to be able to take you to formal meetings, casual training days, networking events and socialising after work. It means that your work wardrobe is working harder than ever before because it has to serve different purposes. I use a 40/40/20 system with my clients. It means that 40 percent of your wardrobe should be everyday workwear and machine-washable to save time. 40 percent for day and night looks which is essential for networking and after work socialising. 20 percent is for those special moments when you have an important meeting or a big interview and want to pull out all the stops.
About the author
Esohe Ebohon is a London- based Personal Stylist. She helps professional women transform their corporate style and create an image that is classic, timeless and chic. She believes corporate women don’t have to default to dark suits and fade into the background at work and helps them create a signature style that will stand out in male-dominated conservative offices.
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