How To Balance Your Professional and Personal Style

How can you create professional looks that reflect your personal style? These simple, easy tips will guide you.

Hello Lovelies! When we post our looks on Instagram, we get a lot of comments like “I wish I knew how to dress like that for work” and “I could never pull that look off”. Guess what?! You totally can! The way Sydney and I dress for the office is a combination of classic professional style and our own personal style. For everyone who doesn’t know how to capture the essence of who you are in your work-wear, this post is for you!

1. Start with the basics

There are certain pieces that should be staples in your wardrobe: a white oxford shirt, a pencil skirt, etc. These basic pieces are essential to laying the foundation for your looks. If you’ve purged your wardrobe and don’t know where to start, this is it. Invest in the aforementioned items plus a nice pair of work pants, a sheath dress, shell tops, a good blazer and black/nude pumps. You can create plenty of looks just with these pieces, mixing and matching depending on your mood or the season. These basic pieces are also safe bets for a more conservative office space. You can err on the side of caution with classic silhouettes but keep things interesting with patterned blouses. If you find something you really love, get it in more than one color. That’s an easy way to begin to branch out and add your personal spin to your looks. 2. Make it “you” Do you love bright colors? Bold prints? How about textures or pieces with intricate details? You can add any of these fun aspects of your personal style to your work wardrobe. The look I’m wearing today pulls together a classic top and a fun spin on the traditional pencil skirt. The look is simple and clean cut, but still speaks to my personal style. You can absolutely wear a classic blouse and pant combo but add a fun leopard print shoe to make it your own. Or layer in a bright colored sweater with your blazer and skirt. This is where buying that piece you love in different colors comes in handy. Classic pieces in bold colors still make a statement. A simple pair of straight leg slacks in a rich emerald green will have a different effect than the classic black or navy. There are many ways you can make a work look “you”. It just takes trial and error, so try different things and have fun with your looks! 3. Recreate looks from your style crush If you know what you want your style to be, but you don’t know how to execute it, reference your style crush. If there’s a celeb, blogger or TV show character who’s clothes you swoon over, you can use their looks as a cheat code to test the waters. Recreating looks from your style crush will create a template for your looks, and since you likely won’t find *exactly* what that person is wearing, you’ll find similar pieces that you like and build from there. It can also get your create juices flowing and open your mind to different style combos you didn’t even think of. Recreating looks is a great place to start if you’re just starting out in your career, as you navigate the company culture and what the dress code expectations are. I hope you all found this post helpful! Comment below with any more questions you have about adding more flare to your work looks! Until next time,