3 autumn workwear outfits
Autumn hails a time to refresh our wardrobe and also a new season of The Apprentice with it’s truly awful contestants and dull workwear. I mean, it’s 2018 guys, yet still the women are wearing block colour body con dresses looking like some kind of terrifying, over-ambitious weather girl whilst the men skulk around in too tight cheap suits saying things like “if you get in my way I’ll kill your family” - simply because someone sold more lollipops than them from a trestle table in Canary Wharf. It’s truly barbaric. Whilst I wouldn’t recommend a full fashion forward get-up in The Apprentice workplace, for fear of alienating Sir Allen, I totally would recommend standing out from the crowd in smart separates and perhaps gaining that all important edge over your fellow back stabbing contestants! What you wear is a way of standing out and we all know that feeling - when you leave the house in the morning with a kick-ass outfit on, full of confidence, knowing you’ve got it right.
Speaking of smart separates, this week the Duchess of Sussex wore what I would deem an office appropriate outfit for a whistle stop tour of Sussex and I’m taking her look as inspiration one of the outfits I’ve pulled together. I have been singing the praises of a leather pencil skirt and it’s wearability for some time! Megan paired her dark green Hugo Boss skirt with a smart camel coat - loved that colour pairing - and a £69 silk blouse from my favourite shop &Other Stories:
Outfit #1 - silk and leather
&Other Stories black silk shirt
Megan only wore the dark green Hugo Boss leather skirt this week but it’s already sold out as a result. So has my ‘go-to’ burgandy leather pencil skirt from Whistles. Reiss do a good range of leather including this smart Oxblood colour and helpfully it’s called ‘The Megan’.
Massimo Dutti - gorgeous camel coat
On my recent personal shopping trips with clients I have included these Whistles culottes below in my selection and they have worked like a dream on everyone! Even my two recent petite clients who have never worn culottes bought these. I’ve even bought a pair myself because they are just so so good and when you find something this good its worth snapping them up! They are made of crepe so hang really beautifully and are very flattering on the body. I’ve gone for burgandy here because I think they’ll look great with the colour of the season - lilac and I like a standout outfit! If this outfit is too out there for you then these culottes come in black too and you could swap the snakeskin boots for plain black ankle boots or black stiletto sock boots would be really good with this. When it gets colder you can wear knee high or over the knee boots.
Outfit #2 - this season’s top colour
The final outfit is inspired by the current 70’s revival going on. Have you noticed how much brown there is in the shops at the moment? Not everyone’s cup of tea but dressing head to toe in one colour looks elegant and makes you look taller and slimmer. Fact. Wear this outfit with the snakeskin boots above and the light beige mac or a black coat.
Outfit #3 - Autumnal tones
Matches Fashion cashmere jumper. Affordable cashmere version here
If like me you get too hot in jumpers then choose a silk or satin blouse in the same cream and brown tones instead. Wool and silk/satin together look and feel luxurious and will give you a really polished look.
Matches Fashion Rejna Pyo Lydia blouse
Joseph camel wool flared trousers
So there you have my new season work wear updates and not a block colour body con dress in sight. I will be watching the new series of The Apprentice closely in the hope there have been some sartorial improvements but am not feeling hopeful!
If you would like a wardrobe edit and personal shopping date this season I only have two slots available in November. Don’t leave it too late to get in touch!
