Happy New Year. Â Hope 2015 has started off wonderfully for you. Â Energised and enthusiastic after as lovely break, I’m excited for what is ahead, especially the many style articles I will be publishing this year which I hope you’ll find inspiring and helpful.
The start of a year is a great time to rethink your wardrobe and your style, giving you confidence and enthusiasm for the year ahead of you.
I wanted my first post for 2015 to be all about fresh looks for work. Whether it be in the office, meeting clients, giving a presentation, attending a function, it is always important to look stylish and appropriate. Part of my job as a fashion and image consultant is to guide women(and men) to dress in what suits them as well as helping them to push their comfort zones with style. If I can make a suggestion to add to your new year resolutions, then I say make this year a promise to yourself to take yourself outside your ‘comfort zone with your style.’ One step at a time and within a short amount of time, you will be shining inside and out giving yourself the style confidence you desire.
Some of the collages below will hopefully give you some courage to do just that.
Although it is currently summer in the southern hemisphere, this is also for those in the northern part of the world looking for inspiration in the coming months.
Enjoy.
The Neutral Effect:
Wearing white/beige to work, especially in summer is a chic look. Yes it all depends how you wear them. Wide leg pants and a silk blouse like the above are a fabulous combination.
This is a stunning white ensemble from Toni Maticevski. I adore the versatility of something so simple, yet edgy at the same time. Either leave the blouse out or tuck it in. I’m adding citrus coloured shoes and accessories for the fresh summer feel. The fun handbag is from Paula Cademartori who is the one to watch in terms of young creative handbag designers. I love her work.
Take yourself out of your comfort zone and wear a white dress with interesting sleeves to work. This style dress is also ideal for a work function. You don’t need to add anything else except some bright accessories and printed handbag to break up the all white. This stunning dress is from Roksanda Illincic found on net-a-porter. Hand bag is Valentino.
Wide pants are big this summer, thankgod! They are flattering and stylish for work. Beige pants with white jacket is smart. Again add colour with accessories and make a little statement with animal print shoes.
Trousers:
Yes navy  flared pants and silk blouse are a lovely summer look. And I might add, contrary to what many say, flared pants are flattering on most body shapes.
The jumpsuit is still one of my favourites for work attire. A flattering cut like this Thurley wrap style doesn’t date. Adding blue accessories gives black a summer burst. Again suitable for a work function.
As you can see, more wide leg and flare pants. Both these styles as I have already mentioned are flattering on most body shapes. I’m guessing you may already have a few straight leg pants in your wardrobe, so add a different cut for variety. Go for wide stripe pants and an interesting cut blouse to mix up your wardrobe. Flared and wide leg pants are best worn with mid or high heels to have the slimming effect.
If you are in a very conservative corporate environment, wearing culottes may not be acceptable. However generally speaking if they are worn in a sophisticated manner, you can get away with this fabulous summer style in most corporate offices. This  Roksanda Illincic ensemble found on net-a-porter  is most definetely up there with stepping out of your comfort zone if you dare.
A simple, safer approach to wearing culottes. Wide leg Fendi pants found on net-a-porter  can be worn with a soft silk blouse such as this Vionnet top also from net-a-porter. With culottes being a cropped style,  I suggest wearing them with neutral colour shoes with some height so not to make you appear short/er.
Skirts:
There are so many lovely A-line skirts out there. Â If this feminine style suits you, then go for ones such as these block coloured skirts. Wrap tops or camisoles/blouses that hinch in at the waist are best worn with an A-line skirt to avoid bulky-ness at the waistline. Â These colour combinations work well together. Orange skirt is Christopher Kane and the blue is Alice and Olivia, both found on net-a-porter.
I keep saying this to clients: pink and orange are such a happy combination for work. Â The midi length skirt with a high waist is easy to wear and can be worn with many style blouses and jackets. Such as blouses that can be tucked in or wrap style like the above. Tapered or cropped jackets look great with it. I say go bold and mix the two colours together and have some fun.
You can have some fun with the classic pencil skirt too. Like the straight leg pants, you may have several pencil skirts in your wardrobe and no doubt they are black, grey or navy. Well for summer add a new colour, print and cut to the mix just like these two, to freshen up your wardrobe. The print skirt is Burberry and the assymetrical coral skirt is Juan Vidal, both from Matches.  Mix and match prints with the shoes and handbags to add more vitality to your work wardrobe. Especially this Paula Cademartori handbag that just seems to make an outfit pop.
Dresses:
If you can pull it off, this Alice and Olivia dress would be a standout at work or corporate function. Again depending on the corporate environment you are in, this can give you the confidence you require.
The classic pencil dress is a popular style for work. I suggest adding bold prints such as this Sportsmax dress or block coloured such as this orange Roksanda dress both from Matches. They say stylish, chic and understated.
You know I can’t go past the wrap dress. The most flattering and comfortable dress for almost every body shape. Wear fresh summer colours  such as this fabulous ISSA dress found on Matches or the sleeveless number from the ‘wrap queen’ Diane Von Furstenburg found on net-a-porter.
And my final collage.  If you are going to stick to black or grey, why not make them stand out by wearing something as interesting as these knotted pencil dresses. They are also  flattering as they hinch in at the right places.  The grey is a lovely Zimmermann number and the black Isabel Marant found on Matches. Jazz them up with colourful shoes and accessories.
As per usual I’ve had loads of fun putting together these collages. They take quite some time to compile as I endeavour to mix it up a bit to make it interesting for you in the hope you become inspired and a little ‘daring’ with your work attire. If you would like further advice or enquire about personal or corporate styling sessions, please don’t hesitate to contact me on stylebygessica@gmail.com.
In all of my posts I don’t give details on every single item I source simply for the reason that I like to give you ‘ the look’ as such rather than dictating that you buy a particular item. Below are a list of where most items were sourced from. If you do have something in particular you would like information on, for example jewellery, shoes, blouses etc that haven’t been mentioned, then email me and I will be more than happy to send you the details.
Shoes sourced from: Net-a-porter, Matches, Nine West, The Outnet, The Grand Social
Accessories sourced from: SoniaM Designs, Toni May, Anton Heunis, Polyvore
Handbags sourced from: Paula Cademartori, Matches, Farfetch, Nine West, Net-a-porter
The remainder of the clothing items not mentioned throughout the post were sourced from Net-a-porter, Matches, Farfetch, Alice and Olivia, Polyvore.
I would love to hear from you with any feedback. Â My next post will be quite sexy! stay tuned.
Ciao for now.
Gessica
