Polished Sportswear Look — Here's How To Pull It Off

December 17, 2019

Sportswear Can Look Polished — Here’s How

Currently, it’s 8:38 PM, I’ve just put the baby to sleep, and I’m settling in to write this to you from beneath a blanket (this blanket, to be specific), with a human space heater next to me on the couch. (His name is Rich.) But even as I write this from the coziness of home, I know that soon, very soon, I will have to go… outdoors. [Cue horror movie scream.] It’s freezing you guys, and because the weather does not take our need for employment into consideration, it’s freezing on workdays, too. The nerve.

Trying to stay warm while also attempting to maintain a level of professional dress is not easy, but it is possible. Sometimes even your thickest wool coat doesn’t seem up to the task, so you look longingly at your ski gear hanging in the closet and start trying to rationalize the wearing of snow pants to your workplace. Unfortunately, I still haven’t come up with a way to make snow pants office appropriate, but a chic black belted ski jacket? Watch me work…

In this case, the ski jacket is a particularly adorable cropped version from Topshop that I found at Nordstrom. To be specific, this is Topshop’s SNO Water Repellent Faux Fur Trim Ski Jacket with a waist-defining removable belt (the real MVP) and removable faux fur hood trim and lining. It has front pockets and also a very sneaky arm pocket perfect for subway cards. The fact that it’s belted is what’s really adding to the polish and professionalism of the overall look. An unbelted ski jacket or puffer would come across as too sporty, if not marshmallowy, (mmm marshmallows), and will feel like you’ve lost the professionalism of your attire, which kind of defeats the point.

I also love how this coat falls just below the hip, and doesn’t feel like it’s hiding or obstructing the skirt beneath it. There is head-to-toe balance here, with the added bonus of insulating me against hypothermia. Win.

: TOPSHOP
SNO Faux Fur Trim Ski Jacket

Underneath this magnificent jacket, I’m wearing Topshop’s Crystal Studded Turtleneck Sweater, because if you can cover your tops in crystals, you really should. I’ve paired it with the brand’s Pleated Faux Leather Midi Skirt (also discovered at Nordstrom), which is working here for a variety of reasons. First, a pleated black midi skirt is as essential to your professional wardrobe as clothing can possibly get. Second, its faux leather texture is rich and substantial enough to work for wintertime. You’ll definitely want to include your most trusted tights or hosiery, and then the professional pump of your choice to give good balance to a skirt of this length.

You don’t have to agonize over warmth vs workwear. It is entirely possible to have both, you just have to aim for the perfect belted coat that’s subtly sporty, maximally warm, and perfectly professional. If it just happens to also join you on your next ski trip, so be it.