Thoughts on this dress for work?

[Hop27]

Corporate city role, bought a couple of dresses for work before Christmas.
One white, one red. I've worn the white one lots but I've not worn the red one yet (which maybe tells its own story) So now I'm doubting myself. (It's high summer where I live)

Thoughts?

RED

https://www.cue.com/au/Shop/Product/Asymmetric-Pencil-Dress-S93374-S22?gclid=Cj0KCQiA8aOeBhCWARIsANRFrQG5i6lwHat1kyQHogmXi1iRR9V11jiOM3kQU4CQNBPRlJo-DmENwQaAnyPEALwwcB

WHITE

www.cue.com/au/Shop/Product/Scoop-Neck-Dress-S93421-S22/501878

Lol no one wears that in the city

Black or navy dress and matching jacket if investment bank or loose trouser suit if slim / younger with silky type or pusy bow or 90s type shirt

Heels if short or fitted boots. Flat loafers jd over 5'6

Nobody would ever wear those colours or styles unless not banking / legal

There's enough misogyny in the City without making your life even harder for yourself by giving them a stick to beat you with.

This.

Love them both

I’ve always found red dresses will be remarked on in London offices. There’s an acceptable palette - navy, white, black, gray, brown, tan ( with a pop of a colour if you like that ) in winter is safe, in summer I think things are easier - or at least a bit more free re colour… but only 3 days of the year does it feel too hot to wear sleeves. The men still have to, so I do too. It’s temperate in London so clothes have sleeves.

I worked overseas in hot climates in very corporate settings for many years and most of my office clothes just haven’t translated at all - somehow too smart or not smart enough or the wrong colour or wrong cut.

also found this with changing jobs, in my new office people would ask why I was wearing heels and why I was so smartly dressed in the first few weeks, so then I bought boots etc but a year in, I’m back in heels and have smartened up a fair bit, because I prefer this feeling for work.

it feels to me that smart office clothes in london are either quite conservative (Hobbs, LK Bennet etc) or “angular” (masculine inspired tailoring and “architectural” cuts) (cos, arket, Samoe samoe etc). I don’t see many other styles in “smart” offices.

So don’t buy too much in advance, you’ll get the feel once you’re here.

Both your dresses wouldn't really be appropriate for my line of work. The white one is way too short for office wear, and the red one looks like a party dress.

I'm the same age as you OP, and I'm also a director, albeit in a more conservative role (finance).

Hobbs is my go to for work wear, although I am more selective these days about which dress I buy as I have found myself in the same dress as another lady at a meeting on the odd occasion.

Something like this would be similar to the styles you've listed, but more in keeping with the corporate wear: www.hobbs.com/product/tessa-dress/0123-5422-3531L00-CRANBERRY-PINK.html#navAjax=true&imageType=model&is=true&sz=60&start=60&cgid=clothing-dresses&isSecondPage=false&pid=0123-5422-3531L00-CRANBERRY-PINK&pos=109

So I'm in Australia now after a number of years in the UK, and unless that white dress is a LOT longer in you than the model then that wouldn't be appropriate, and our organisation has a pretty relaxed standard - unless your in Brisbane or further north? I swear some people in QLD think shorts and shirt dresses are the only acceptable attire...

In the UK the summer, floaty, flirty look is definitely not appropriate.

I'm in Australia too, and the white dress and playsuit wouldn't work in my sector. Too short, too casual. The red dress would be ok, and better with a blazer.

I think one of the estate agents in Selling Sunset has a similar orange dress but in black. For that reason it's a no.

The red one is semi appropriate, the white one absolutely not

They are both cheap looking 80s retreads and not workwear.

I wouldn't recommend wearing either of these in London. The red one perhaps if you had a jacket over it. Sleeveless isn't really the done thing.

I never realised my work wardrobe was such a car crash 🤣

Should have posted earlier..... lol!

Too dressy for work.

The link to Libby upthread I can see why you see them as frumpy but they really are typical office wear.

Generally no shoulders or knees on show. Some places do not allow skirts with bare legs and definitely no shorts.

You will probably be given a dress code.

I was a teacher, dress codes could be interesting to say the least. One school I had to wear a jacket unless I was actually in a class room.

Onw school did not allow heels, another you could not have 'sling back' shoes.

I like them both, the white is a bit too short and I wouldn't wear white in London just because it would get dirty quickly.

I really like the red one, the neckline does it for me. I wouldn't wear it out far too corporate for me. And I don't see a problem wearing red to the office not everyone wants to wear black or navy. Stick a jacket on and it will be fine.

I find Hobbs frumpy too OP and I'm 45.

i don’t understand the comments on no sleeveless 🤔I’ve only ever worn sleeveless to work as I only ever wear sleeveless full stop! With a jacket or cardi sure if temperature (often AC…) requires it and not strappy or showing bra straps, but still sleeveless…

I’ve worked in offices where dress codes (whether written or the unwritten culture) had varying levels of formality, but showing a lot of skin would be frowned upon in all of them.

Wearing playful clothes is ok but in the form of colour, prints or interesting silhouettes, not short hemlines, bodycon dresses or cleavage on display. Sure, you do get the odd person that dresses like that but it’s definitely been frowned upon.

It is more relaxed than it used to be. I haven't worn high heels since the pandemic. I wear smart trainers /pumps to work

My city lawyer friends do the same but maybe have a smart pair of shoes at work if they have very important meetings.

The Split threads we spent more time talking about Nicola's stunning figure / dress code/ how did she walk in those heels, than we did her cheating ways!

I think the problem is that different companies, sectors, etc. are all so completely different.

I've worked in and around the city for years and over those (25ish) years have gone from full on skirt suit with heels - pinstripes with white shirt etc. Through to smart skirt/trousers and smart top, and now where I work it's pretty much jeans or a "cool" outfit (I find the "cool" bit very difficult to figure out!). Men have gone from suit with tie, to suit without tie, to trousers with shirt.

The younger women are sometimes wearing stuff which might've seen them disciplined 25 years ago - ranging from micro skirts, to see through lace, to all sorts. But not in more senior roles.

Probably the best is to try and find some photos of people who work for your company, and see what they're wearing.

I've never seen any issues with sleeveless and the longer dress with the interesting neckline would be appropriate although chilly most of the year (even in the summer with air con on) without a jacket or something with sleeves over the top. But then I haven't worked in the legal sector, but from what I know of a friend who works for one of the big city firms, they're getting much more relaxed these days.

I've only been back in a few days here and there since Covid, maybe things have changed again, but walking around the City you see such a wide variety of outfits from mega super smart, to informal and funky.

Hard isn't it !

PS weirdly I worked in Oz back in 2000 and the dress code was way smarter then, than I was used to - no bare toes etc. Interesting how things develop and change!

Like the red one myself.

Perhaps as suggested ask an Australian forum. The UK is one of the most ill-dressed nations in the world in my opinion.

Eh? What's the point of asking the Oz opinion. The whole point is that OP is shortly coming to the UK, so needs to know the UK climate (and I don't mean weather).

Interestingly i arrived at a teaching job in Melbourne in a skirt suit and low heels- the staff and kids looked at me as if I was an alien from another planet! Teachers were all in shorts and tshirts or summer dresses I'd wear to the park. It was a total culture shock for me coming from a 'smart' school.

Dress code has changed here in the ensuing 20 years- staff can be much more casual (today I have on a high necked jumper dress and chunkyish boots) and our HT doesn't even wear a tie 😱, but I still would get away with how short that white dress is.