Workwear orientated fashion blogs?

[snowgirl1]

I lot of the fashion blogs I've looked at tend to be more 'school gate' fashion - great for inspiration for weekend wear, but I work full-time and would really like some inspiration for workwear. I follow twentymumthings blog as that's got some workwear, but are there any others that you could recommend?

I like this one:

www.theclassycubicle.com/

They are thin on the ground which is a shame. I suppose they don't have as much time to blog as SAHMs might?

I just favourited that blog.

Gorgeous!!!

ooo, any more?

This one

www.outfitposts.com/

twentymumthing does a mix of work and SAHM clothes.

I agree, OP, there are bugger all. I follow TwentyMumThing already but will have a look at those other ones recommended.

There's Wearing It Today, but she works for a fashion mag, so what she wears to work wouldn't really cut it in my office (leather chinos, anyone?)

9to5Chic wears some worky stuff, but she's American (never heard of the stuff she buys) and a bit spendy.

FashionMumOf40 also posts the odd workwear outfit.

There's a definite gap in the market. If you're interested, I'm wearing a stripy tube skirt c/o Tu at Sainsbury, and a yellow cardigan from the charity shop. I look fabulous though I say so myself.

I've been looking at www.theclassycubicle.com for some time now.

Who on Earth takes these fab shots of the bloggers?!? Do they have a photographer just handy every day?

I found the classy cubicle an interesting read as I'm bemused by the way women dress for work compared to men. I work in London a few days each month & have a 30minute walk from the station to work & yesterday I tried to spot one man on his way to work who didn't have smart looking shoes & a decent jacket or coat. I failed - in comparison the average woman on her way to work nowadays seems to wear an anorak or equivalent and scuffed suede or leather boots or ballerina shoes with the sides flattened. In the offices I visit it is also common for the men to look a lot smarter than the women - even when the workwear is jeans, the men wear a smart shirt whereas the women go for something very casual. Women often have a pair of office shoes to change into but that seems to be the only smartening up that they do.

And I'm wearing a purple Cos drapy dress layered with lilac t shirt and stacked clarks heels

www.cosstores.com/gb/Shop/Women/Dresses/Draped_front_dress/46881-12554205.1#c-85342

www.cosstores.com/gb/Shop/Women/Tops/3_4-sleeved_t-shirt/46885-1424871.1#c-13337149

It looks better on me, honest!

Djangor

I find it is a LOT more difficult as a woman to dress for her career.

Men can find suits anywhere. They are also all flat chested … so will often look OK in their suits.

I find it difficult to find suits that work for me. We have a business casual policy at work, and male colleagues simply go for what I call the school boy outfit: trousers, shirt, v-neck pullover.

That look does not work for most women.

If I go into a normal shop, I don't find many nice clothes for women to wear at her workplace. I mean if you look at the classy cubicle, she does not exactly shop at normal shops either - virtually all her clothes have a larger price tag.

I have since come to the conclusion that with women's clothes, you get what you pay for. If you want something better, you have to pay.

Men are really lucky.

Completely agree Snowbells. 2 years ago I went into Next on a quiet day & tried on 8 different styles of work trousers. I'm curvy & not one pair fitted - the poor assistant was desperate to find me something to fit & eventually produced a pair of jeans that fitted perfectly. Why do so many retailers produce jeans to fit a multitude of shapes, but with the majority of women able to wear trousers for work, they don't bother to do smart work trousers to fit different shapes. If you do manage to find decent trousers you then have a struggle to find shirts which cope with curves. I could rant about the lack of decent workwear which isn't dull as ditchwater (eg Boden's offerings) for ages.

Oh, thanks everyone.

I follow the twentymumthing blog already - but her blog was the only one I'd found that seemed to include any workwear. I'll investigate the others - thank you!

Any more suggestions for UK blogs would be great - the US ones are good to look at for inspiration, but it's always nice to know you could buy the item if you saw something really great.

Djangor

If you have a big purse, the Maria Grachvogel magic pants are meant to flatter most women. I met the designer ages ago (as was interested in one of her customized dresses - that I didn't end up going for, and I'm still annoyed about it!), and what she was talking about back then sort of made sense. Loads of well-to-do women I knew at the time wore those trousers.

Maybe we should start UK-centric blogs!!! Lol...

The classy cubicle - like most features on workwear - seems to assume that we all work in a corporate environment. I work for a charity that operates on a shoe string and I need to look smart, professional, creative but also approachable. The last thing I need is to be mistaken for a city lawyer (unlikely I admit).

Floisme

But wouldn't that limit the amount of people looking at your blog? Most fashion blogs are simply that - maybe people working in the creative arts industry can get away with wearing that sort of stuff. Others look at it as some sort of inspiration for their weekend/off work look.

I think the group of people who are interested in fashion blogs specifically aimed at career wear… are corporate people. Basically, the type of people the classy cubicle targets.

I do have friends working in the charity sector. They might look at 'proper' fashion blogs like in the first example. BUT NOT career wear blogs. I think the charity sector in particular is one of those places where if you dress up a little too much/posh, people can be quite flippant.

You're probably right, SnowBells. The charity sector is a bit of a tightrope where you're expected to look smart but not too smart (and there are some days when you're not on public view and no-one really gives a toss). I'm kind of living in tube skirts and ankle boots at the moment and I guess I was just hoping for a bit more inspiration but never mind.

I think even city environment's are less "corporate" than before. Hardly anyone in my office wears a suit unless they are going for meetings but everyone looks smart. I think I have worn a suit twice since going back to work after mat leave a year ago - and I work in what would be considered a very corporate environment.

I tend to favour skirts and shirts or dresses and cardies/jackets and try and introduce a bit of colour. But a bit of inspiration would be great. Today am wearing a yellow Banana Republic skirt, Mango shirt with birds on it, grey cashmere scoop neck jumper and brown knee length boots.

Thanks, I've had a look at the suggestions and have some more blogs to add to my favourites now, although I'm not sure many hit what workwear is like my office! There's a definite gap in the blogosphere isn't there? Particularly for UK blogs. Any more suggestions gratefully received.

For what it's worth, I was wearing a pale pink fine knit sweater with an embellished neckline, charcoal trousers, and asymmetric snake skin flats

Try Capital Hill Style, another US blog but she includes loads of different price ranges.

www.caphillstyle.com/

No outfit posts though.

Thanks for the tip on the magic pants, SnowBells. Out of my price range at the moment but I'll keep hoping as 15 years ago I thought I'd never be able to afford Brora. Luckily last year I found trousers ideal for work which cope with curves & flatter me at Jigsaw, Me&em & Brora. Does anyone know where I can get smart navy blue leather flats - brogues (provided not clumpy), loafer style or similar - something other than ballerinas.

Djangor

Look on the Kurt Geiger site. They currently have 25% off full-priced items with code kgmarch25. They have loads of loafers.

Really interesting thread. Thanks OP.

I watch this lady although her budget is waaaay beyond mine. But I enjoy how she puts things together.

Also this Americn one; I need a UK version of this.

Djangor have you looked at shoes on Boden? You may have done as you mention them upthread but they have a few navy flats (brogues, loafers and pointy slingbacks) and some are on offer at the moment

This is an interesting thread and yes, there's a chasm in the market. Dressing for work has become a lot more fluid and the blogsphere and magazines aren't keeping up. Maybe we could ask Ambernectarine to do a feature on stylish, non-corporate workwear?

I think the main dilemma is that if you work FT in a field that's not fashion you don't have time to blog, take outfit pics or shop beyond a couple of staple outfits - not enough fodder for blogging. (Plus many career women feel that any spare time they might have is better spent either with family or networking. And a fashion blog might also undermine one's credibility at work - if someone notices my outfit at work it's always a backhanded compliment. Plus blogging means giving away content for free - if you are focused on billable hours, that's not a smart investment of your time, unless it's somehow connected with your business.)

Work dressing is incredibly culture-specific too, most of my friends are working mothers (fairly well-paid independent professionals) but they are not interested in fashion and don't seem to have a sharp work/weekend divide. There are definitely people who need to dress very formally for work, but surely they are the minority?

I'm fairly career-oriented (shouldn't even be here but MN is my water-cooler / coffee break plus I'm procrastinating on a horribly dull task). If you are career-focused, outfits play a tiny role in your life unless fashion is your hobby. A corporate friend has a date with a personal shopper twice a year and that's it. I've only been more interested in fashion blogs post children after I started working mainly from home and needed to find new clothes for a new body and lifestyle. When I work in an office environment and focus on advancing my career, I sales shop twice a year and dress on autopilot even though I love fashion