Are these two dresses dated for workwear?

[CoastOfXmasPast]

I know “if you like it, wear it “ but also I was loved the era of a power Galaxy dress, and would live in them for the rest of my working life, so need some perspective.

https://www.hobbs.com/product/meera-dress/0125-5237-9045L05-ZINNIA-PINK.html?utm_source=google&utm_source_platform=google_ads&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=NEST_Hobbs_UK_EN_BoF_Shopping_Brand&utm_id=22300217733&utm_content=agid_171138532490-ad_736662908342&network=g&device=c&targetid=pla-293946777986&utm_tpl=live&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22300217733&gbraid=0AAAAADC5o-KwGWjelOitcXVX5sd7rkULg&gclid=CjwKCAiAzOXMBhASEiwAe14Sac3hzLKfFRuXOlOBqVaIJQVk1lrUH-RBsTvlRqGi-flYMFJ-RP3vIxoCkeIQAvD_BwE

https://www.hobbs.com/product/hallie-dress/0125-5635-9045L00-HYDRANGEA-BLUE.html

😂😂😂 I’ve wondered why my cats often prefer my DH. Now I know…..lose the cardigans 😂

@Floisme . Glad you are feeling better. Thanks for confirming that the Roland Mouret dress is the Galaxy dress. My search wotsit had other ideas.

Thank you all for your comments, I was not expecting so many responses.

I work for a global stock market listed solutions provider to manufacturers. So, fairly conservative and male dominated. I am a senior manager for the region, and my direct reports are customer facing, so mainly wear corporate kit with logo. I work in the office and people dress to different degrees of smart. Managers (all men) wear a blazer with smart trousers. This has been my uniform too last year - dark jeans, kitten heels and a blazer, with a cami or blouse underneath. Or a leather skirt with a shirt or jumper. Do not like cardigans, never owned one. Have no issues with bare arms - they were acceptable for Mrs Obama, they will not raise eyebrows here. I am a slight pear shaped, petite size 8, and wide leg trousers do not suit. My best silhouette is full length straight trousers with volume and structure on top. I can wear most dress shapes, and for summer would love some bold colours and simple forms, feminine. To wear with nude, white, taupe or black kitten heels. The whole Scandi simplicity does not appeal. I have looked at the Fold but it also seems like pricey Apprentice / The Split solicitor vibes. Me+Em seems too long. So, what is a woman to wear to work in the summer?

I posted some links on Roland Mouret earlier in the thread, @HugoThatway - they’ll add a little history.

Thanks. I'll go back and look for them.

@CoastOfXmasPast I wear cotton shirt dresses in summer for work. You can still wear them with a jacket or blazer if needed but they look pretty smart on their own

100% disagree! I don't think you would be at all.

Is a gardening cardigan like a grandad cardigan?

Most interesting thing I’ve seen lately is MiuMius 70s sleeveless floral apron , complete with front pockets and frills, worn over thick bright jumpers , straight out of a Martin Parr photograph, it’s fabulous!

may not work for office but perfect for gardening I guess

Miu Miu Takes Back the Tradwife Apron at Paris Fashion Week

Perfect for work. Lovely dresses

Nope not unusual. “More formal than some” - mentioned because the lack of formality of techs workwear is a cultural reference point of some note.

The vast majority of people I work with (finance, commercial, R&D, BD etc) wear smart casual & that nearly always means a jacket/blazer of some sort.

Not a tailored suit as one poster has suggested but something more structured and with a bit more formality than a cardi.

It’s interesting to hear of trends/expectations in other workplaces - I attend a lawyers lunch monthly with friends who are working in a variety of different roles and I’ve always thought I was at the less formal end of the scale so this thread is enlightening.

I once worked as an extra (Supporting Artiste) in a reasonably well known film, in scenes set in a picturesque old Oxbridge College.

We were told to dress in beiges and light browns, colours I don’t usually wear. The makeup/ wardrobe people decided I was a college librarian so they scragged back my long hair into a bun, and told me to keep my glasses and cardigan on.

Having worked at the same place for 30 years, not meeting clients, this thread is fascinating to me.

I’m glad to see aprons are becoming fashionable. I have a wide selection but I’m not ready to wear them in public

I think they are smart and the colours would be fine for summer. Unless you work in an extremely conservative environment..

🤣🤣🤣

I think they’re both lovely and timeless

This whole thread is ridiculous!! I am reading it to the (bitter!) end, instead of peeling potatoes for dinner ...

Love this!

I love them both, if you try them on and feel fabulous then buy them!
To me, they seem classic? Not dated.

I rest my case

Depends on the office. Trainers would not go down well in mine and many women stolk wear heels.

They might not be fashionable but certainly induatries aren't places for fashion parades.

Fascinated reading all this.

And so bloody glad I'm now retired too. 😊

I wonder why this thread has attracted so many lawyers (I am another - work in tech). Most of my colleagues are smart/casual and would often have some kind of blazer but not as part of a traditional suit. I don’t really like cardigans but I think they just remind me of when everyone in the office had a cheap black one on the back of their chair to put on in the cold. I’ve had several written dress codes over the years but rarely seen them enforced, although my husband (city lawyer) recently witnessed a young (male) lawyer get a ticking off for attempting to head to a client meeting without suit jacket.

I’m afraid I find the original dresses posted very dated and don’t like the colours (agree re newsreader/politician’s wife from 20 years ago). That said I would happily wear a Galaxy!

OP, the dresses are little too power dressing to be fashionable. There is something patriarchal about them. Paired with a jacket and high heels, they remind me of MAGA-style Mar-a-Lago dressing.

Rather than signify status, it creates the impression of subservience IMO. As in what woman would choose to be trussed up for the male gaze if she could feel confident in a more relaxed and comfortable style.

I accept I am probably reading too much into this 😁

I would feel genuinely psychologically traumatised by the loss of my (numerous, cashmere, wool, alpaca, mohair or angora!) cardigans!!! They're pure comfort!

And I do not understand why they're seen as somehow dowdy/frumpy & unsuitable for office wear? I wouldn't wear one to a client presentation - but absolutely in the office on a daily basis. Luckily I'm now self-employed so don't need to worry about this kind of thing any more!!!

My cat is also a big cardigan fan - she has just appropriated a (once-beautiful but now old & a wee bit holey) mohair one that I was about to recycle as her latest "bed". She's a ginger tabby, it's emerald green - she loves it & they're perfect together!!