Working Wardrobe

[Teresa Pitman]

To carry on from the posts about budget places to get clothes for work, I'd like some tips about what a working wardrobe should include. I mostly work from home, but now I work two days a week at a university and also have to attend some client meetings at other times. I am plus-size and have difficulty finding clothes that look at all good on me. At home, I wear t-shirts and cotton pants or sweats.

I've mostly been wearing black pants with coloured blouses or shirts to work. Often I wear a tank top with an unbuttoned, long blouse over top. I've noticed, though, that most of the others are dressed more formally than I am - wearing jackets with dresses or suits. I pretty much never wear a dress or skirt (because I don't like my legs, and a long skirt makes me look even shorter).

So - what would you say should be the components of a good wardrobe for work? How many tops, skirts, pants, etc. would you have? Do you think dark colours (I notice some of my co-workers always wear black) look more professional than the brighter colours I tend to like? Any tips about how I might rework what I have now into a dressier wardrobe without spending too much money? I have a couple of jackets but don't really like how they look on me.

Teresa

 

[kimnvbva]

When I was in the workforce (and when I was plus sized), I wore a lot of trousers. I would buy the nice light wool and polyester pants. They washed nice so you didn't have to spend a ton of money on dry cleaning. I also liked to wear a darker color on bottom (pants) and a nice bright color on the top. I loved twin sets, short and long sleeve and nice pretty blouses. Just because I was plus sized, I still liked to look pretty! I would look into JCPenney or Kohl's. I work for Kohl's now and the plus size section has gotten much better. I have also heard that Christopher A. Banks was good too. They are kind of like Lane Bryant but more classic pieces. That is probably want you need. Lane Bryant tends to be more trendy with clothes. I did wear some blazers and jackets. They weren't my favorite. I didn't feel comfortable in them. I hope this helps!

 

[jedijill]

I had good luck with buying nice classic pants at Lane Bryant and Kohls and then finding nicer blouses and sweaters at Kohls and Macy's. I sometimes found more classic pieces at Lane Bryant.

I am also plus size and refuse to wear a skirt. I have a couple pairs of black and camel pants and then buy a variety of blouses and sweaters. I wouldn't wear an unbuttoned shirt as that looks more casual but found blouses/sweaters that didn't need to be tucked in.

Not sure how much sense that makes.

HTH

Jill in CO

 

[Justsyd2]

I work at a university. My work attire consists of dark rinse jeans with heels, tanks, and jackets, and cotton pants with tanks and sweaters. I don't wear bright prints or flashy colors.

 

[patsal]

Plus sized teacher here, much of my wardrobe is from kohl's , lane bryant, fashion bug, dress barn, and CJ Banks with some COldwater creek thrown in! I collect up my coupons from all these stroes--if not already, get on the mailing lists. right now I have a $10. off $25 from Fahion Bug tha printed at the checkout and a $10 offf $30 from the mail--I will be using both (2 transactions) on Wednesday for pants. Fashion Bug has the newer 1-2-3-4 etc. body shape pant for a great fit--be sure you have time to spend trying on to get your best fit.
I usually have 2 pair black dress pants, 1 pair grey, 1 brown and one Navy. Mix and match tanks and jackets, sweaters and twinsets as well as blouses that do not need to be tucked. I have four suits--fashion bug and Catherines clear these out frequently--check websites for the items. Skirts are a pain and the longer they are the shorter and plumper I look, dresses again too much work at 530 am!

 

[koima]

I have the book "Working Wardrobe" and it's outdated (from the 80's) but the concept is excellent. It puts together 10 or so pieces into 40+ oufits, called the Capsule concept. Everything goes with everything else, so you have a coordinating capsule that you can easily mix and match. You can get it used for $.01 on Amazon.com - it's worth it!