Fashion Details:
There are three things I truly love in this world. My family, traveling, and getting dressed for work. Sounds a little crazy, but I love getting dressed for work. Their is something about putting on a work dress and feeling great day after day. Over the years my style has changed, but for the last 5 years I’ve really defined my work-wear style and simplified getting dressed in the morning. I’ve found the one work dress that every woman needs to have in her closet.
Before I truly defined my work wear style I struggled. First, I had a hard time finding pants that were the right length. I’m 5’9″ and I like to wear at least a 3 inch heel (like this pair, which is in heavy rotation, because the block heel provides great support all day long). I still have flashbacks to being in the fifth grade and my pants being too short. I’ve always been the tallest girl in the class, I swear I’ve been 5’9″ since the fifth grade. Finding pants for a kid that tall is not easy, but my mom always had me in the most stylish outfits. They were just always capris.
The second reason I struggled with my work wear style is that I didn’t have a ton of money as a young adult. I had to make my purchases go farther. I couldn’t afford the expensive blouse from Banana Republic, I had to settle for the knock off from Target. While I loved it and love finding a deal, I have to admit I had clothing envy walking down the street looking at other women dressed so nicely.
It wasn’t until I was about 28 that I really starting coming into my own with my work wardrobe. I spent more time investing in quality pieces slowly and less time buying trendy pieces. I figured out that a black dress could be worn multiple ways and no one would even know it was the same dress. Recently I took 5 pieces to create 5 outfits with them. Talk about really stretching your money! You can see the full post here. I also started to make a little bit more money and could afford the expensive dress (with a coupon of course) and wear it with pride and excitement. Shopping for work clothes became fun.
Building a Work Wardrobe
Given that I spent most of the week in my work clothes I focused on building my work wardrobe. Don’t get me wrong, I love jeans (I’ve been living in my $68 Everlane Jeans currently, you can’t beat that price) and a t-shirt, but give me a sleek dress and the right shoes and I’m a kid on Christmas. As anyone I work with will tell you, when we get to wear jeans on a Friday, I’m a little disappointed. I’m the girl that got fully dressed every day in college, no matter what time my class was. No sweatpants for me! I thought if I dressed and looked good I would do good in class, and it became a personal motto, “Dress Good and I’ll Do Good.”
So now I spend a lot of time shopping for work clothes. I’m super decisive and know what I am looking for so it’s easy to spot a good work outfit when I see one. I’ve narrowed it down to three things to look for in the perfect work dress.
Length
A dress that hits right above the knee or even a dress that hits mid calf is perfect. With this length you can comfortably sit in a meeting and not have too much skin showing. It also creates a beautiful silhouette when paired with a higher heel.
Fit
The work dress needs to be the right fit for your body type. I’m a firm believer that size doesn’t matter as long as it fits. I actually don’t know what my true size is, probably an 8 or a 10, but I have no problem sizing up if the dress fits and is a larger size. You shouldn’t be afraid to size up and have it tailored to fit you perfectly. A few darts in the sides of a dress can completely change the look and fit of the dress.
Silhouette
The style, silhouette and the color of the work dress should be classic and timeless. I tend to stay away from super trendy dresses, as I like to invest in quality pieces. You can wear a classic style dress for years and accessorize it to make the dress more trendy. I also stick to black and deep rich colors like maroon or navy.
Finding these dresses isn’t something I accomplish in one shopping trip. I constantly keep my eyes peeled for a work dress. It’s usually when I don’t want to spend money that I find one. I have great luck finding dresses at Ann Taylor, LOFT and Banana Republic, but my go to is MM La Fleur. If you’ve been following me for a while you know that this is my go-to brand. I literally love everything they make.
About MM LaFleur
They create stylish, sophisticated functional pieces for working woman. They take the guess work out of getting dressed in the morning. These dresses are truly investment pieces. They come in at a slightly higher cost, about $250 per piece on average. But they are completely worth it. The clothes were made for the working women, as they travel and wash like a dream.
Yes, I said wash. MM LaFleur have several items that are machine washable! These items are also wrinkle resistant which is a huge plus when traveling on a plane in your outfit all day or stuffing it in a carry-on. The dresses are also season-less, and you can wear them in the winter or summer. So investing in these pieces will go a long way.
The Masha Dress
This is it ladies, this is THE dress you need in your closet! It fits all the criteria and looks impeccable! It has a classic silohette that is fitted and tailored. The top portion of the dress is looser, and allows room for larger chested women without accentuating the bust. The sleeves are also looser, so they don’t sit directly on your armpit. This is a huge selling point for me because I sweat a lot 🙁 and I don’t like fabric to touch my armpits and create wet marks that eventually ruin the garment.
The bottom portion of the skirt is a classic pencil style that is longer, with a slit in the back. This fit is classic and looks impeccable! Did I mention it has pockets? Yes, pockets! You can fit your cell phone, lipstick and a other small items in these pockets. This makes it a perfect dress for work conferences and meetings. I don’t normally carry a purse around a meeting or conference, however, I need to have my phone and business cards with me and have my hands free. This dress is perfect for these types of events.
The dress is so popular that they recently expanded their color selection. Check out all the color options.
No matter where you find your perfect work dress, if you follow my guidelines above, you will always have a piece you love wearing. Remember “Dress Good and I’ll Do Good.” It’s a motto to live by!
What are you favorite work dresses? What are your top 3 must haves when picking out a work dress?
You killed it! You know I love pieces that fits perfectly well and your descriptions is what work outfit should be all about,great post.
This dress is so cute I love it for work and after work if you have any sort of activities it’s perfect! Love how you styled it with the accessories and purse❤️
Yes Roxie, you can easily take this from day to night.
This dress fits you perfectly. And you’re not the only one who loves work clothes! Or the only one who had #tallgirlproblems growing up. 🙈 I may have laughed out load reading that part!
Finally someone who can relate to tall girls problems! They never end!
That dress looks great on you! I also love shopping for business casual clothes, but they tend to be more expensive! 🙁 I wish we had more affordable, trendy options.
Your styling is so chic.
A LBD is a LBD always. It suits you very well! And I bet you can style it for different occasions and mood. I used to dress up back when I was working for law companies in Romania.