Lately, we’ve been talking a lot about how to get more style miles out of your wardrobe including creating your own style and finding your own style. Keeping with this theme, let’s look at that most dreaded place for women to face their fashion dilemmas – the workplace!
As women, we always are conscious of the fact that some will judge us by our appearance. In the workplace, this is a particular problem since you will see the same colleagues day in, day out so they’ll soon know every outfit of workwear you have. Sure you could keep on buying more and more skirt suits, but if you’re anything like me, the idea of spending your life so that you can earn enough to do the same thing again in a different color blazer the next day isn’t much of a life.
Enter the savior of the working woman – Jewellery.
Jewellery is the one item of work wear that you can change daily. It can completely alter the feeling and emphasis and outfit brings, making a small collection of mix and match office wear basics seem far more diverse than it actually is. It takes judgmental eyes away from what you’re actually wearing and refocuses it on a symbol of status. And best of all… you’ll never get up and find you forgot to iron it in time for that big meeting!
Let’s look at three tried and tested rules for workplace fashion:
#1 – There are only two things you will be appraised on
Of all the many choices jewellery gives us, only two have a relevance for workplace dressing. The office is no place for fancy hair clips. Bracelets may be acceptable but often become covered by clothing and rings, no matter striking, will never disguise the fact that you’re wearing the same blouse as yesterday. So the only two items of jewellery you can wear to consistently make it look like you have a bigger wardrobe are necklaces and earrings, especially if they’re a matching set.
#2 – Workwear is a Blank Canvas
Let’s face it, most work wear is bland. A white blouse or twinset matches up with grey, navy or black skirt, pants and blazer. This makes it a great opportunity for the creative fashionista to create a great and lasting impact. Outside of Friday dress codes, it’s good to keep things fairly conventional and fussy but do consider wearing larger pieces than you normally would. Chunky beads or pearls make sensible choices for everyday use as they mean you can keep your statement pieces for the day you have to pitch an idea at your boss and want to know you’ve caught his eye.
#3 – Glasses make you look smarter; Italian Jewellery makes you look greater
Jewellery has been a status symbol for women for thousands of years and you can easily use this to your advantage by borrowing from established traditions. For example, the Romans loved to bejewel their ladies as a way of visually setting them apart from slaves and barbarians. To this day a legacy from their Empire remains and Italian made jewellery remains synonymous with power, wealth and status.
Look for earrings that resemble a standard bearer’s cascade, hammered metals and cameos and you’ll instantly find that job interviewers automatically assume you’re more successful than perhaps you are.
Look for earrings that resemble a standard bearer’s cascade, hammered metals and cameos and you’ll instantly find that job interviewers automatically assume you’re more successful than perhaps you are.