Dressy bermuda shorts for business casual

If you’re tired of wearing dress slacks and don’t feel comfortable in skirts and dresses at the office, you might like to try a pair of dressy Bermuda shorts for Spring and Summer business casual dressing. Dressy shorts combine the practical comfort of slacks with the breezy, playful and more alluring elements of a knee-length skirt.

Choose a style in a dressy fabric like a cotton spandex with sheen, or silk and linen blends. Keep the waistband wide and alter if need be. Since the item is for a professional setting, keep the length either on the knee or just above it and no shorter. Go for styles with flat fronts because they’re definitely more flattering than side entry pockets with annoying linings that peek through.

I adore the look of shorts with heels like pumps, peep-toes, sandals and cage sandals. So modern and sassy. But dressy flats will also work if heels are not your thing. Combine dressy shorts with tops, blouses, shirts, jackets and accessories the same way you’d dress up a pair of dress slacks. All you’re doing is baring your lower legs but with a little extra coverage than if you were wearing a skirt.

As a fashion stylist, dressy Bermuda shorts absolutely work for my dressy yet creative business casual style. What do you think? Are they a Summer substitute for dress slacks and skirts in your business casual setting?

Halogen Bermuda Shorts Palmer S Bermuda Shorts Petite Check Bermuda Shorts

A selection of dressy Bermuda shorts. Black gets my top vote as the dressier colour, but brown, caramel and grey are nice options too. You’ll need to use your imagination with this item. The pictures aren’t very attractive and the shoes that they’ve used would not be my first choice. But I assure you that the product can work when matched with the right items.

Jumpsuits and rompers: yay or still nay

All-in-one jumpsuits and rompers have been a fringe trend for a few seasons and they’re still trending. I’m definitely seeing more people actually wear the look both casually and in dressy ways than I did a year ago, but they are still few and far between.

I haven’t worn a jumpsuit since I was eight years old and I don’t see that changing. While I don’t loathe the look — it has a certain glamorous disco 70’s James Bond and Charlie’s Angels charm about it — I still vote nay for practical reasons. I cannot get my head around the the laborious effort of taking it off every time nature calls, not to mention the chilly draft.

How do you vote?

Heel height hostility

A recent post on the reasons that high heels are fabulous yielded some interesting comments. Most readers agreed that wearing high heels makes them feel and look fabulous. A few of our readers went on to bring up the topic of occasionally feeling “high heel hostility” in the form of comments from total strangers like:

“I used to wear ridiculous heels like that until my knees gave out”

“your feet must be killing you”

“how do you walk in those?”

“you can’t possibly wear those all day?”

“beautiful shoes…hope you don’t break your neck”.

I’m intrigued by the notion of this hostility. In the fashion and style world, fashion experts, catwalk shows and magazines constantly encourage us to wear high heels because they make outfits look better. High heels lengthen the leg line and make calf muscles look shapely. They offer height and prevent us from looking and feeling dumpy. In fact many trends go hand in hand with super high heels at the moment, to the extent that without them you won’t achieve the same look.

In light of the above, I was surprised to hear about the “high heel hostility”. If anything I’ve felt quite the opposite. As a fashion stylist who enjoys wearing trends, I often have to bypass a look because I can’t wear the high heeled footwear that finishes it off. That’s why I mentioned in the post that as a stylist I dare to be different by wearing flats and very low heels most of the time. I guess I feel “flats hostility” instead of high heel hostility.

I’d like to live in a world that is accepting of all heel heights. In the name of fashion and style there is a place for flats, low heels, three-inchers and skyscraping platforms. The choice is yours as long as you can comfortably and confidently get on with your day. Have you felt or noticed heel height hostility? Do you feel antagonistic towards high heel wearers?  Do you feel hostile to those who wear flats?

Roundups

Simpler Items

This week's list of top picks list is about basic pieces.

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Assorted Items

Items for Summer, both in and out of air conditioning.

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Casual Summer Vibes

This week's top picks are good for a casual Summer vibe.

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Summery Earth Tones

These items are for those who like to wear casual earth tones in warm and hot weather.

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Hints of Spring

Some tried-and-tested winning items to refresh your style for Spring.

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Dressier Items

An assortment of dressier top picks might be just what the doctor ordered.

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Winner: Dansko giveaway

Wow! There are many, many Dansko footwear lovers out there. When forum member Sandy reviewed a pair of Dansko clogs for us, we received 189 comments in two days. That’s a record for a YLF giveaway. Thank you Sandy for writing a heartfelt and entertaining review. You’ve definitely inspired others to look as fabulous as you do in a pair of Summer Dansko clogs.

Congratulations Megan L.! The random number generator chose you as the winner. We will contact you to arrange the receipt of your Dansko clogs. Enjoy!

5 reasons why jackets are fab

I don’t mean coats and trenches that are designed to keep you warm outdoors. I mean any style of casual, smart casual or dressy jacket that can be worn indoors as well as outdoors. So we’re talking from the most modern classic tailored blazers to the spunkiest biker styles, and everything in between. Knit, woven, bright, neutral, long, short, lined, un-lined, structured, un-structured, heavy, lightweight – and the list goes on.

Here are five reasons to build your collection of jackets:

  1. They offer warmth: No-brainer. Even in hot and humid weather I carry some sort of jacket to combat arctic indoor air-conditioning.
  2. They achieve an instantly polished look: A woven tailored jacket gives your ensemble instant structure and a refined edge, whether you dress up the look with heels or stick to Converse sneakers. A jacket defines the upper body and works it’s magic over for most ensembles.
  3. They conceal extra midriff bits: A jacket is hands down the most effective way to do this.
  4. They add layering interest: So often the right jacket completes an outfit.
  5. They communicate your fashion persona: A jacket can make a huge statement about you or your mood. Trapeze styles are vintage and fun, pinstriped blazers are androgynous and business-like, ruffled styles are romantic and girly, boyfriend blazers are playful and trendy, while biker jackets are tough and edgy. Take your pick.

Unfortunately (fortunately?) a relatively cool temperature indoors or outdoors is a prerequisite for jacket wearing. Without it these fab reasons fall flat.

Are you a jacket wearer and do these reasons resonate with you? Or are you jacket-resistant?

Lane Bryant Boyfriend BlazerHalogen Boyfriend JacketPlastic Island Gala BlazerLane Bryant Asymetric Crinkle JacketLane Bryant Cropped Denim Motorcycle JacketWilliam Rast Quilted Leather Jacket

The boyfriend blazer, biker jacket and strong shouldered silhouette are still tops as far as jacket trends go. But there are so many jacket styles at our disposal that you can happily bypass these trends and choose a look that’s more to your liking.