Back to Basics: Office Edition

I recently saw a meme on Instagram that said something to the effect of “I have lots of clothes but no outfits.” I immediately sent it to my friend, Casey, because earlier that day we had been complaining that despite having lots of clothes in our respective wardrobes, we had nothing to wear. Rain and cold temperatures hit fast this year, and the transitional pieces that I usually wear in October seemed obsolete. What was I to wear?

J. Crew shirt, Halogen pencil skirt, and J. Crew leopard print heels (similar here and here)

Then Brian and I took a trip to San Diego, California which allowed me to wear nothing but my favorite dresses and sandals and gave me some space to ponder my professional wardrobe. Criminal defense can be exciting but its wardrobe is not. Judges wear robes and attorneys are supposed to wear some version of a suit, or at the very least, something business casual with a blazer. When I look around a courtroom I see various shades of ill-fitting grey, black, and navy, and the sartorialist in me dies a little. (Sidenote: my friend, Casey, always looks stylish and is a constant inspiration).

When in doubt, go back to basics.

While in San Diego I noticed a lot of minimalist fashion: a white button up and denim. It was so simple. I can’t wear denim to court but I could apply that general concept to my work wardrobe. So today when faced with the daunting task of putting together an outfit, I went with a basic white button up, a black pencil skirt, and leopard print kitten heels (because I’m not a total minimalist).

My feet are feeling anything but basic right meow.

I couldn’t believe how easy it was to put this outfit together. And who knew black and white worked so well together? I felt polished, classy, and court appropriate. And how cute is that leopard print? It made me happy to look down at my feet and see a fun print.

Whatcha lookin’ at? This cute outfit? I just threw it together.

The sun has come out for the latter half of this week and the temperatures are supposed to rise just slightly, so I may be able to wear some of my transitional pieces, but it’s good to know that I have this basic template in my back pocket.