What to wear in office for 2025

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I am changing jobs soon. My current job has a dress down policy and so I haven’t worn my corporate office clothes in many years. As I am changing jobs (and the new job has a corporate dress code), I tried on my old work clothes and none of them fit! I have had a couple of children and so this is no surprise.

Anyway, as it has been 10 years since I last bought office clothing, I have no idea what is on trend. What do people wear in corporate offices now? I get the impression that high heels and pencil dresses are out.

Also, where is good to buy office clothing now? Karen Millen and Reiss are just not what they used to be.

My advice would be to dress up on your first day and see what others are wearing, I think even in a formal office the dress code is much more relaxed than 10-15 years ago.

I try to mix up smart and casual, as I work in a relaxed sector but in a senior role. For me this means I wear jeans (dark wash) but never with trainers, and will add a blazer. Or I will dress down tailored trousers with trainers (always clean, and fashion trainers not running shoes!). Works for me

on the first day I would wear trousers and a blazer (not a suit) and a top or blouse. And pumps. Then I’d see what everyone else is wearing.

Also if it’s not impractical could you go and have lunch in your local city centre before you start, so you can do a bit of people watching to see what other office workers are wearing?

I have a smart dress code at work, although I only go in twice a week. “Smart” definitely looks more casual than it used to pre Covid.

I tend to wear:

Midi or maxi skirt from with heels and a T shirt
A statement dress with trainers (or heels for meetings)
Tailored trousers and a shirt with trainers

Footwear - trainers are acceptable but should be immaculately clean. Heels tend to be lower than I used to wear.

The shops I have most success in (I’m 42) are Reiss, Jigsaw, The Fold and Zara. M&S has also really upped its game these days.

Have you thought about asking someone there if your new manager is a woman? Or your buddy if you’ve been given one already (I do that for new hires so they have someone to ask all these sorts of questions to!” I did that before I started my new job recently. Glad I did otherwise I would have spent a lot of time/money on things I wouldn’t have worn.

I sometimes wear wide legged trousers and a silk tshirt or a long column skirt and a shirt tucked in - these are for the days I’m going to an in person meeting. Smart but not overly formal and they still feel like ‘me clothes’ if that makes sense. I’m not comfortable being formal and it’s totally not required in my role.
When I’m not meeting anyone though I’m in jeans and sweatshirt, dress with trainers, very casual!

When I go into head office, I wear smart trousers now, boot cut or capri, white clean trainers. (Or gold). T shirt and blazer. Necklace. Feels great.

A blazer makes it feel smarter immediately. And looks good.

Tapered or barrel trousers, ankle length with top tucked in and belt with loafers.

Midi skirt and scoop neck
Midi shirt dress
linen barrel trousers and t shirt on very hot and can be casual hot days
footwear is flatform sandals or loafers
Large leather tote
(wide legs trousers look ridiculous on me )

Wide leg trousers all round at my workplace, M&S do loads of styles and leg lengths. Usually worn with tops, good quality knitwear or nice ironed t-shirts. Footwear is definitely all flats, brogues, loafers, boots and lots of smart trainers.

This week one day. I wore Boden 7/8 trousers in navy with a navy White Stuff t-shirt with a collar. With it I wore white loafers and a blue and white candy stripe jacket from Wrap.
The next day was the same with a white crisp t- shirt. White stuff again.
Then lastly a buff colour long skirt from Uniqlo with a mint coloured jumper again Uniqlo and mint trainers from Tu.

It’s hard to answer precisely for your office as every workplace has its own quirks, but I agree that even smart corporate dress codes are much less smart than pre-COVID. My office is fairly smart, full of elegant European ex-pats and corporate French chic.

ChatGPT has catalogued my wardrobe and is really helpful at suggesting outfits and evaluating potential purchases (it’s also assessed my colour and Kibbe type). I buy a lot from Vinted as well as buying new, my favourites are Cos, Me+Em, The Kooples, Maje, Sezane and Claudie Pierlot.

Recent office outfits include:

• Me+Em stretch midi skirt (lower calf length)
• The Kooples slouchy silk shirt
• Studded ballet pumps

• Cos white balloon hem maxi skirt
• Ninety Percent draped black jersey top
• Zadig & Voltaire cropped black blazer
• Black ballet pumps

• Cos striped silky maxi skirt
• The Kooples silk camisole
• The Kooples black blzer
• Suede loafers

I suit skirts and dresses better than trousers, but there are lots of wide legged trouser outfits in the office. Also, there are generally blazers on the back of chairs as the air conditioning can be unpredictable and arctic blasts aren’t unusual.

thank You for all your answers. It does seem more casual now. What a relief that high court shoes are not really worn now. I have also noticed that the length is longer. Lots of maxi lengths. This is all good news to ears.

I like the suggestion of people watching one afternoon. I might try that if I get the time.

Also, how does one use chat GPT to catalogue a wardrobe?

It depends if you really need true formal corporate wear or not. I don't think many jobs insist on that these days.

If it's more of a relaxed corporate vibe, then I like dresses from Hobbs, Whistles and Jigsaw. Get them on Vinted if you can. Hobbs can be a bit old fashioned but some of their plain shirt dresses are good - nicely cut and can look smart or slightly more casual depending on what you pair with them.

I don’t claim to be an expert user on ChatGPT and there might be a better way to do it, but I give it links to or photos of what I’ve bought (even a link to a Vinted listing is fine), tell it what it is and ask it to add it to my saved wardrobe. It then offers to create outfits from it.

Because it also knows my colours and I gave it photos to assess my Kibbe body type, it gives advice on whether something is likely to suit me before I buy it. It’s surprisingly good at this, the other day it told me to think seriously about whether I would actually wear the skirt I was considering, or whether I would just admire it hanging in my wardrobe. It was right, I wouldn’t wear it despite it being beautiful.

Sometimes I also take photos of me dressed for the day and tell it to save the pieces or remember the outfit. If I ask it to it will also assess an outfit and give me tips on improving it.

It has taken a few months to get the hang of my style, but now I find it really helpful. I can tell it the weather forecast and how formal my week is and it will create flat lays for a weeks worth of outfits.