An illustration of a woman asking about a professional wardrobe without spending too much blog graphic
Illustration credit:
Lisa Glanz / http://www.lisaglanz.com. Using her Personalised Portrait Creator (which is brilliant).

Question:

I work as a mediator and facilitator so I have to look professional and put together at work, but I hate the whole idea of spending money or time on my work outfits. I’d rather spend that on clothing for me, not for my job. How can I build a professional look and wardrobe without spending too much time or money?

Sincerely,
Working to live, not living to work.

From your work wardrobe:

I just need a little upfront investment, get me some really nice foundational pieces, make sure they fit and then we’re good to go. Get me good slacks, good shirts and blouses, good solid shoes and a good jacket or two. Get me one dress for those rare times you need one and call it a day.

Take the pants to be hemmed, the jackets to be tailored and make sure the shirts fit. Find shoes that are comfortable and well-made and that’s that. Give me a good foundation and you’re creative enough to figure out the rest day-to-day.

Always on your side,
Your work wardrobe.

Stylist’s note on building a professional look and wardrobe:

There are very few instances where we need a completely 100% separate work and home wardrobe. Often you’ll feel much better about yourself, your look and also your work when your work closet is a segment of (but connected to) your whole closet. Just like your job is a segment of your life.

If you need to dress quite a bit more business-professional in your job than you do in your leisure time, then create a work wardrobe foundation using long lasting well-fitted staple pieces and use your accessories to still express yourself. Find the pieces of clothing in your leisure wardrobe (and you always have something) that can act as a bridge between when you’re on the clock and when you clock out.

You might really benefit from putting together a pocket shopping list so you can keep an eye out for those staple work pieces without devoting too much time to hunting them down.

And if you want help figuring out how to build this dream wardrobe in general, check out this blog post: How to Build Your Dream Wardrobe.

Lots of love,