Panicking - what do people wear in City offices now?

[wheresmymojo]

I have a new job starting in a month's time - so able to leave mediocre white male dickhead boss - yay!

However, I have worked in 'wear whatever you want' offices outside of the City since way before the pandemic.

What do people women wear in City offices these days?

I'm 40, not massively bothered about being bang on trend but don't want to look 5-10 years behind either(!)

On a bit of a budget and a size 22 so having to stick to M&S really...

Huge boobs so anything very high neck and blazers are out.

Help!

No need to keep up to date with trends for the office - classic is good. I’d pick good quality fitted dresses, knee length, with a blazer or cardigan. Avoid loud patterns - I’d actually just stick to plain neutral colours. If on a budget, get a single pair of quality leather shoes that go with everything. Have fun with bags and jewellery.

So far I've got these in my bag...

Wide leg black trousers
Crew neck long sleeve tops in tan and black
Midaxi print skirt
Cashmere khaki crew neck jumper
Silk blend white shirt
Navy suede loafers

What type of work, and what were the interviewers wearing? (I assume it was over video?)

It varies so hugely now. If you possibly can, I would suggest actually visiting the office building and seeing what people going in are wearing.

id look for a black wrap dress.

Do you mean an office in a city, or in the actual City?

Assuming the latter, the print skirt might be a bit frumpy (sorry) and/ or informal. I’d make sure the long sleeved tops are good quality, slightly structured fabric not jersey or too floaty.

PP’s suggestion of smart ish dresses (or smart, plain trousers and tops) sounds a good one.

Shops will be open once you’ve started, so I’d get some basics then suss out the style.

Good luck!

It varies hugely! I like big floaty dresses from Monki that can be dressed down with smart trainers or up with proper shoes/boots, covered with big slouchy cardigans or very rarely with a jacket if I want to be slightly more presentable.

What industry? I work in finance in the City and in an office outside the city and would say things like fitted dresses would come across dated in both offices.

The printed skirt would work more for outside the the City offices but would look a bit casual in Canary Wharf. The wide leg black trousers and silk shirt sounds like a killer look- go along these lines- work wear styles but in more relaxed fits and shapes. Your colour palette sounds ideal, the thing I always notice from city/ non city is that the colours people wear are always more conservative so yes to tan, white, black, olive etc.

i would definitely through in a few dresses but definitely not a fitted/tailored style- go for a more relaxed fit- I have wrap dresses or some kind of twist front on an unstructured fabric (also have large boobs) and these with black tights + loafers is a good look.

Check the dress code. Lots of people dress very casually in the City now. It really isn’t the same as when I started out 20 years ago.

(I work in the City in a job which when I started was all pencil skirts and blouses and blazers and heels. It's gone informal very quickly! It does depend on the role though: generally the more senior women seem to dress less formally. I do find I have to make more effort with eyebrows/nails/hair to avoid looking scruffy but that's a price I'm happy to pay to wear trainers most days!)

Everyone in my office wears dresses, from youngest to oldest. I've got about a dozen and rotate them. Brand Alley is great for dresses. We have casual Fridays and everyone wears jeans, top and trainers.

It entirely depends on your role - I work in The City but for a charity so everyone dresses like they are homeless

All the other offices near us women still seem to dress in fitted skirts and blouses, fitted dresses or tailored trousers suits. I think your shopping list sounds great and I am envious!

It depends on your workplace. Helpfully and equally unhelpfully a lot of places have migrated to “dress for your day” so you’ll be in a lift for the same floor with one person in jeans and trainers and one in tailored formal office wear, depending on job role and whether you’re client facing.

As a rule it’s less formal than it was 10 years ago. I’d start with some trousers, loafers and a couple of blouses to see you through the first two weeks.

I work in corporate law and it’s a lot more relaxed nowadays. Some women still wear suits and fitted dresses but that tends to be when they are seeing clients. Generally, most women either wear maxi or mid-length dresses, often with white trainers, or cropped trousers or smart jeans with a top and blazer. As long as they look smart and we’ll put together, the actual clothes don’t matter as much. Though the past week before Christmas there have been a lot of hoodies and sweatshirts in the office!

I find it tricky to dress for work these days. In general, everyone tends to be more casual. But there’s a huge amount of variety and the “rules” aren’t as clear as they used to be. That’s probably a good thing for you though because there’s a wider range of clothes which are considered acceptable.

The biggest difference I notice is that hardly anybody wears heels now! Also that matching things is out. Back when I started lots of the women would wear matching skirt or trouser suits, nobody does this now. I do sometimes see women wearing a dress and jacket but the colours will be contrasting and the jacket will be oversized.

As long as you don't wear trainers or jeans you can wear whatever works for you. I tend to wear knee length dresses in either a muted block colour or polka dots.

I work in the City. Nobody in my office wears trainers except in dress down days, not even smart ones. Pleated midaxis (either skirts or dresses) are much worn. Loafers are good. Smart printed skirts are good in theory, but once you've worn them twenty times you'll be sick of the sight of them. Black trousers and a variety of blouses sounds irreproachable although I don't like trousers myself (pear shaped)

The men are all in suit trousers and open necked formal shirts with polished shoes and a jacket and tie to hand for formal meetings.

I'm about to start a new job in the City too. My wardrobe consists of many patterned dresses from Hobbs, usually paired with a black blazer.

As I'm at a senior level I think it's important to look well dressed, and I find fabrics from there tend to be heavier and the majority of the dresses are lined.

No crew neck tops or dresses if you have big boobs.

The Hobbs sale definitely worth a look.

Really depends on your role/firm. In my City office, it is relaxed but then not many people are client facing. Definitely more casual since lockdown and very very few high heels nowadays.

I generally wear midi skirts (and yes, a lot have pleats!) with flats, have swapped to boots for winter. Sometimes cropped trousers, occasionally smart culottes in summer. Basically I feel my weekend and weekday wardrobe has pretty much merged since lockdown...

My advice would be not to buy too many clothes until you actually start and can suss out formality level. You may not actually have to buy too many new pieces!

It’s definitely more relaxed than pre-covid but there’s a big trend at the moment for wide legged trousers and sleek blouses, lots of lovely colours too

It really depends on the workplace. Pre Covid tailored dresses and jackets were the norm in my office (law firm in the City) but post covid it has got more casual. The younger women are mostly wearing midi dresses and trainers. As a senior woman I found it quite tricky as I didn't want to be quite that dress down when many of the senior men were still in suits. I've just moved to somewhere everyone is casual unless they are in court and am wearing wide legged trousers and jumpers and jumper dresses and boots but still figuring it out really!

I work in M&A and I wear jeans and sneakers in the office. As others have said, it really depends on the company! I wouldn’t go crazy buying new outfits. Wear something safe day 1 and suss it out.

I work in the city. I wear shirt dresses with blazers and loafers. I wear trainers on then change.

I'm big busted and I find mint velvet fits well although I occasionally have to sew in one of those tiny poppers to stop gaping. I've bought quite a few on vinted. Fitted styles are fine too but I find them more hit and miss on the fit. Some jersey dresses fit well and can be quite conversative, plain or small geometric patterns rather than floral.

I stick to a pallet of navy, tan/beige, pink and green so everything coordinates.

M&s wide leg trousers are also flattering and modern. I wear with jigsaw scoop jersey tops and blazer.

Blazers are usually super cheap on vinted so you can pick up some bargains.

Would add that there aren't many women in my office so I can sort of wear what I want but I prefer to err on the side of being smarter.

Definitely worth not buying too much before you start as it depends on workplace.

I personally prefer a blazer over cardis as I feel they look unflattering on me.