What To Wear When Working From Home

 

Time has moved on from the mandate to work from home.  However, many people still do, and I’m often asked by clients how to avoid feeling scruffy when they don’t have to get dressed for the office.

 

New ways of working, whether it’s fully remote or hybrid (splitting your time between the office and home) have involved an adjustment.  The classic workwear wardrobe has changed. And while many are enjoying the less formal way of dressing at a desk, it has resulted in a few challenges.

 

I’m often quizzed: “How do I avoid wearing sweatshirts and leggings daily?”  Another common question is:  “How do I go from feeling comfy to looking smart when I need to go out?”

 

So here are some of the key items I would suggest wearing.

 

Key Items for a working from home wardrobe

 

  • A knitted co-ord jogger set – soft to the touch, it still offers a relaxed approach to working from home, but will be way smarter than opting for a grey marl sweatshirt and pair or joggers.
  • Relaxed tailored trousers – these can be straight, wide leg trousers or tapered, but look for styles that have some stretch and/or an elasticated waist, for more comfort. Easily the comfiest to work in with a T-shirt, blouse, or jumper.  Simply add a blazer when you want to head out.
  • Dark blue wash or black denim jeans – if you’re splitting time between the office and home and can wear jeans to work these are the colours to choose. Giving you a smarter appearance.
  • Classic blazer – in black, navy or beige is the quickest way to smarten any outfit. Perfect for a smart-casual dress code and chic with jeans.
  • Choose layers – versatile pieces you’ll wear again and again include T-Shirts, white blouses, striped or patterned shirts, and longline cardigans.
  • Wear colour – nothing lifts the spirits like adding a pop of colour to an outfit. Whatever your favourites are, or, if you’ve had your colours analysed and know which suits you best, wear them.
  • Key accessories – include plain white trainers (they go with everything) and statement jewellery. Have a great necklace or pair of earrings in your desk drawer.  Putting them on will quickly elevate your look and complete your outfit.

 

My pick from the high street below:

 


Hope you like the ideas.  Meanwhile, if your wardrobe isn’t working for you why not try a personal consultation with me.  I offer a free call and we can have a chat about the challenges you want to overcome.  To set this up you can drop me a line at info@notgivinin.com or complete a contact me form here.

For more ideas on how to dress visit my Instagram page here.

Speak soon.

 

Gail x

 

 

4 Steps to Creating Your Own Style Mood Board

 

Creating a mood board is hands down one of the best ways to finding your own true style identity.  If you’ve ever looked in your wardrobe and wondered who the hell is the woman wearing the clothes in it?  Or you find that clothes are purchased on a whim only to be hung in the closet for the rest of time, then it’s likely they don’t represent the real you.

 

Don’t worry, we all get ‘influenced’.  It’s super easy to get caught up in following the trends or making rash purchases when you get an invitation to go out.  But what if your wardrobe is always prepared, always ready with smart choices that you love and wear with confidence.  It can be done.  You just need to know your own true style and stick to it.

 

One way to do this is by creating a style mood board.  It acts as a reference point to help you make wise choices, inspires you on days when you’re feeling a bit lost with what to wear, and is a constant source of inspiration to motivate and empower you to express your true self to those around you.

 

Style Mood Board Tools

 

So how do you create a style mood board?  Personally, I really enjoy using a cork board.  I bought mine for a couple of quid from an online shop and it was therapeutic to do a little cutting out and pinning.  I have the board in full view in my home office to refer to when I’m not sure what to wear.

 

Similarly, and great if you want to compile more than one board and have easy access where ever you are, there’s Pinterest.  A great app that you can download to your mobile, Pinterest offers oodles of fashion images from across the globe.  The options are endless here and it’s super quick and easy to delete and add at your whim.

 

Collating Styles You Like

 

If you’re going down the cork  board route, start by looking through magazines and pulling out images that inspire you.  You might have old mags in a drawer (or is that just me!) that you’ve kept because the looks in it inspire you.   Now is the time to dig out any scraps of inspiration you’ve held on to over time.   Also, go online and download pics from your favourite fashion websites.  You really need to draw together any looks that resonate with you.

 

4 Tips to Creating Your Own Style Mood Board - Gail Painter - Notgivinin.com

 

You’re looking for colours, patterns, cuts, items of clothing, and complete looks that appeal to you.  But also keep in mind that you are building a collage of styles you can/will want to wear so the looks must fit in with and support your lifestyle.

 

If you’re stuck on where to start with Pinterest, I would start by looking up your style icon/s.  There’s a reason why you love their look.  Perhaps you look similar, or love the way she/he wears their clothes.  You can then really deep dive into searching for more pieces. For example, I love Victoria Beckham’s style, which led me down a road looking for wide leg trousers.

 

Re-Load Your Own Style

 

You can also include pics of yourself.  Dig out pictures of you wearing your favourite outfits. My advice would be to look as far back in the photo album collection as you can.  You will likely spot a look that has got lost in translation over the years that you need to be drawn back to.

 

Your Fashionista DNA

 

Once you have lots of images to hand or pinned to a draft Pinterest board, it’s time to hone down what really resonates with you?  Is there a trend appearing?  A finite look revealing itself.

 

From mine you can see that I have a real penchant for denim.  Jeans are a big part of my wardrobe, but I didn’t realise how much, they’re all over the board.  I also like light, neutral colours, and there is a bias for black too and simple designs.  Accessories are a big love too.  Handbags have always been really important to me.  I change my handbag to work with my outfit, daily.

 

4 Tips to Help You Create Your Own Style Mood Board

 

Keep whittling down the images you have, it’s actually easy to do with a cork board as you only have a certain amount of space.  Gradually you will see a pattern forming, aligning with your style at its very core, this is true fashion DNA.  Casting to the side images that are on the periphery of what you like really helps to show you how you truly want to dress.

 

Keep it Handy

 

Keep your board handy.  Like mine, in the office, in sight.  If you’re working on a board online, download a screengrab to your laptop, tablet and mobile.  Refer to it every time you go shopping and especially before you consider following the latest trends so that you can stick to your fashion DNA.

 

Sticking to your true style identity when you go shopping can be very handy.  Your wardrobe should work more cohesively, a capsule wardrobe could appear naturally, and you won’t be wasting your hard-earned cash.

 

If you want to, and you’re enjoying getting crafty, you can build more boards to help plan seasonal looks.  Try building a board or two for spring/summer and autumn/winter looks.  Or, create a couple around the different areas of your life, work (you might have more than one career), life, hobbies, etc.

 

Happy pinning!

 

 

Gail

 

P.S.  If you would like a more personal approach to finding your style I work in Bristol and Bath, helping women and men discover their style and wear it with pride.  Find out more about my services here.