What to wear for Fall 'Casual Fridays'?
Let me preface post by first letting you know that I don't believe in a 'Casual Friday', per se. I think it causes most of us to be lazy in our dress and ultimately knock ourselves out of line for promotion. Take a look around at your office today. How many people do you see in sneakers, flip flops, too tight or too lose clothing? It brings down their personal brand. Who knows which day the CEO will decide to pop down from the '15th floor' to say "hi" or if that potential client will have an extra 30 minutes in their day to meet with you? You gotta be prepped and ready to present yourself at ALL times (except for Saturday hours between the hours of 7am and 10am when I'm going from Zumba to the grocey store...I scare myself during those hours). Lemme gie you guys a little bit of what I consider 'casual'.
Now y'all know I'm a Florida-girl, tried and true, so I'm ALWAYS gonna to bring something colorful to my look. With this casual number, I paired a red duster with a floral cami and will cinch the waist with a beautiful accented belt. Pair with a jean (if your business/office allows for jeans...if not, substitute with a black skinny pant) and low-heel boot and you're ready to go.
I LOVE the look of an oversized sweater and legging, especially off the shoulder with a belt. HOWEVER, it's not the kind of look you can pull off during the work week. For the office, pair your sweater with a scarf and skinny belt add a little shape to the voluminous sweater. Corduroys or a skinny pant will give the look of a legging without the letter from HR regarding professional dress HA! It's Fall, so I KNOW you've invested in a beautiful leather handbag that you'll be rocking all season, so pair it with a leather boot of similar hue. You want all attention on this fabulous look you put together, so keep the makeup light with browns, nudes and light pinks.
This look veers on the traditional Monday-Thursday look. However, depending on the material of the skirt and the colored tights, it can be dressed down. A jean skirt (if the office allows) or one in in ponte? Be careful with the skirt length and remember, we want no higher than 2-inches above the knee. I always like to dress up a more casual outfit with one of my heirloom bags, so I have included my dream heirloom bag from the Burberry Autumn/Fall 2014 collection. Isn't it fab!
Okay, so however you dress today, remember the committment you made to yourself some 10, almost 11 months ago to prepare yourself for promotion. The year isn't out yet and there is still a few unfilled positions that you can be applying for before the year is out. Ditch the ill-fitting looks and use your casual Friday to show your coworker, boss and potential clients that you mean business EVERY day!
Besos,
Dionne