After a winter-induced neutral binge, it felt great to bust out some color yesterday. My cobalt blue sheath dress and coordinating cobalt coat packed the one-two punch needed to brighten up even the dreariest of San Francisco days. For formal, conservative professional environments, I always find that a monochromatic look can present a really nice alternative to the traditional suit—offering all the formality with a higher style factor. Win-win for the good guys!
If you’re anything like me, you typically buy a new item of clothing with a specific outfit in mind. Then, too often, the item only emerges from your closet if and only if an occasion arises for you to wear that exact outfit. The result? Some of your favorite pieces endure a level of neglect that can only be compared to Harry Potter pre-Hogwarts invitation.
Today, I’m excited to launch my “Triple Threat” series of posts where every couple weeks, I’ll explore multiple ways to wear one of my favorite seasonal staples. First up today is this beautiful blush cableknit cropped turtleneck sweater, that can go from workweek to weekend without a hitch. This piece encapsulates three of my favorite trends: (1) cropped silhouette, (2) chunky turtleneck style, (3) and blush hue.
Click directly on the individual images above for product details or see bottom of this post.
The cropped silhouette is likely the hardest thing to get over, since, let’s face it, the likelihood that I turn into Kendall Jenner and walk out my front door with eight inches of stomach showing is roughly equal to the likelihood that my Green Bay Packers win the Superbowl this year—nada. Both things make me sad, but both things are true.
Per the montage above, high-waisted bottoms and long layers are the crop top’s BFFs. For the office, this high-waisted pencil skirt serves as the perfect classic companion, and the coordinating blush pink coat offers a chic, monochromatic finale. For Saturday shopping, the high-waisted flare leg jeans and fur vest present a great 70s vibe, complemented by this bucket bag and brown booties. And, saving the best outing for last, layering this long button down (or this awesome tank if you want a more casual layer) with boyfriend jeans, this cool bomber jacket and sneakers makes for the perfect Sunday brunch ensemble.
Cropped turtlenecks, you’re about to get a whole lotta love.
I’ve lived and worked in the San Francisco start-up world for a full year now, and am continually amazed at how casual many professional environments are here. While the Zuckerberg hoodie is still nowhere in sight for me, it’s still surprising how many of my business meetings really demand a more relaxed denim look over anything remotely business formal. Of course, it always depends on the day and the meeting, but there are many instances where a casual outfit like this one is actually more professionally appropriate due to company cultures here.
So what’s a pant-suit-loving boss lady to do, you ask?
Move back to New York where they dress like real people.
I kid. It’s flipping freezing there right now. Also, more importantly, we just painted the apartment a couple months ago. There’s literally no way I’m going to allow the ten hours of my life that I spent applying painter’s tape to 8,765,937 inches of crown molding to be thrown away.
Priorities, y’all.
While business formal environments certainly present their own set of challenges, business casual offices often get disregarded as “easy” environments where you can “wear whatever you want!”
False.
As I’ve learned from working in both environments for long periods of time, they’re actually both extraordinarily challenging for women—especially women that have an interest in hanging onto their sartorial souls while simultaneously looking work appropriate.
In a business formal environment, if you’re really desperate, pretty much everyone knows you can throw on a dark suit and be safe. But in a business casual environment—certainly one in the San Francisco area—you’d look crazy coming into work on your first day at Google or [insert cool start-up here] clad in Brooks Brothers’ latest wools.
So, for the start-up or otherwise casual workplace, what’s a girl to do?
To be honest, there’s no cut and dry answer. For me, it all comes down to that intangible element of polish. The look featured today is a casual outfit that I sported for a work day filled with casual meetings last week. Even though I’m wearing trendy, faded wide-leg denim, I’ve offset that casual element with a more tailored cable knit turtleneck sweater and loose curls. My pointed-toe brown leather booties are bookended by this brown leather moto jacket, gratifying my inner love for a touch of the matchy-matchy, and really uniting/finishing the ensemble.
Whether its curled hair or a neat top knot, a fresh cable knit sweater or even a crisp tee (like the one in this post), there are so many ways to finish off a “casual” outfit to make it look really polished… and thereby more professional. This might mean abandoning those sweaters that are covered in pilling, those t-shirts that are all stretched out at the neck, and those jeans with hems that are frayed for days. It’ll really help your professional rep, and you just might be surprised by how much it boosts your performance as well.
Plus, it’s a good excuse to go shopping… Amiright?
JEANS: 7 For All Mankind | SWEATER: Zara (old, but similar HERE, HERE and HERE in blush) | LEATHER JACKET: c/o Bernardo (on sale! and also very similar HERE) | BOOTS: Steve Madden (similar HERE) | BAG: Phillip Lim (black version HERE and other colors HERE) | LIP: Neutrogena (Warm Caramel – my favorite nude!) | SUNGLASSES: Retro Super Future c/o Ditto
In case you missed it, I did a Q&A answering all of your questions about my favorite beauty products from yesterday’s post on snapchat last evening (username: maryorton). Thanks for all of your great questions and feedback on the post! I’m so thrilled to know that you found it helpful and look forward to sharing more posts like it!
I’m off to Breckenridge today for a little ski action, and this look (plus one seriously warm coat) will be on repeat. These high-waisted faded black skinny jeans are easily the best addition to my denim collection of late, and are actually the same style as the blue jeans featured in this post. They both have that awesome ankle zip action that can really mix things up when you’re feeling bored of your skinny jean game. Both of these styles are almost sold out, so I’ve linked to some very similar ankle-zip options below…
Neutrals are always great investments. Grey slacks, navy coat, white tee, nude pumps, nude bag. They’re safe. You’re not going to get tired of them. They go with everything.
But, sometimes I look at the more neutral-heavy sections of my closet and wonder, where’s the oomph? The surprise? The sartorial excitement? Where’s the Lucy to my Ethel? The Joey to my Ross?
Just before I throw my hands up and/or decide to overnight a pair of neon gauchos to my apartment to give myself the much-needed sartorial kick in the pants (pun intended?), I sometimes manage to conjure up an unlikely medley of neutral hues like the ones today that quietly surprise me.
I love the effect that these tensioned-filled pairings create: warm nudes and cool greys, navy blues and jet blacks, ivories and bright whites. These actors that typically win in the “best supporting” category, taking center stage and hitting it out of the park by foiling and amplifying the other.
For me, the result is some sweet fashion feels that are anything but neutral.
Happy Wednesday!
P.S. Does anyone say “slacks” anymore? Like, other than my grandmother?
P.P.S. By popular demand, I’m sharing all the details on my beauty routine here tomorrow! See you then!
DRESS: c/o St. John (similar HERE, HERE and many more favorites below) | JACKET: St. John (old, similar HERE, HERE and many more below) | BELT: c/o St. John (similar here) | SHOES: Saint Laurent (similar HERE) | SUNGLASSES: Miu Miu c/o Ditto | TIGHTS: DKNY | LIP: Makeup Forever (#28)
I was feeling a bit under the weather last week when I sported this outfit, and as always, these classic yet super comfy pieces managed to give me the boost I needed to make it through the work day. The fit-and-flare silhouette is a super flattering shape on anyone, but knit fit-and-flare dresses in particular are such wonderful alternatives to more structured pieces that don’t quite have as much give as you’d like on days when you’re struggle-bussing. So, if you don’t own a dress like this, you should probably get to correcting that via the montage of knit fit-and-flare dresses below. Your future “why am I at my desk and not in my bed” self will thank you. Also, your “I swear that’s not a baby bump, that’s just a double cheeseburger” self will thank you as well, but that’s arguably beside the point. Just kidding. That’s entirely the point. All hail knitwear.
DRESS: c/o