Elevating your style in the life you have - YouLookFab Forum

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Elevating your style in the life you have

Debbie

Veteran

I haven’t posted in awhile. I have missed everyone. I want to make some major changes in my style this year. I have become too casual for my own taste. I work in an office part time. The office is extremely casual. Think jeans (not nice ones) t-shirts and sneakers. This is not my typical look but I find myself thinking oh well no reason to get dressed up. I worked today and it is freezing here in South Texas. I wore a sweater, jeans and boots. For my office I was dressed up. I am going to continue to get back to my own look. Has anyone else let their environment take over the look.
, resolution this year is to elevate my style in the life I have!

General

36 replies

Latest reply was from Debbie

columbine(erin)

Veteran

What a great resolution and it resonates with me.

Emily K

(website)

Veteran

No one else has dragged me down, but I have devolved to the most casual me. I'm looking for ways to improve my style that seem authentic to me. (Being über casual has become authentic, so everything else is a little uncomfortable.) I'm going to try two methods: 1) To improve the parts of the outfit, e.g., exchange a plain tee shirt for a more luxurious one and 2) improve the outfits, for example, by wearing chelsea boots and a blazer instead of sneakers and a cardigan. I have all the outfit components, but many of them do not get worn because I keep reaching for the most casual item a hand. I keep taking about this, but little happens. Possibly, you shall be my inspiration and mentor!

annagybe

(website)

Veteran

You can do it Debbie!

deb

Veteran

Go Debbie!! I know what you mean. Retirement is having an effect on my wardrobe much the same way your office is. Maybe we can do this together?

Joy

Veteran

Debbie, I empathize with your situation and fight the overly casual looks all the time. In general, my new area is even more casual than my old one except that the casual clothes are expensive here. People make an effort even with casual looks. I try my best to stay true to my dressy tendencies and get compliments and appreciative looks, which is encouraging. I wear a dress or skirt to church and at least once more during a week. I am finding that I need to work on finding casual dresses and skirt outfits. That is a way to elevate my style in the life I have. I also spend 2-4 days a week with young grandchildren. This means time spent on the floor and with messy situations. Clothes need to be washable. Footwear needs to be easily removable but sandbox and garden proof.
Suggestions: wear great footwear, not casual sneakers. To start slowly you might go with fashion sneakers. It helps me that I am in an area where boots rule. Wear earrings and/or bracelets and especially scarves. They can elevate a tee and jeans. I hope to embrace the dress-over-pants look. This may also work well for you. I recently bought an EF merino wool dress in paprika color for this. It is to short to feel right alone, although ok with heavy tights and tall boots. Good luck and let us know what you do. Maybe up the quality and perfect fit.

The Cat

Veteran

Great resolution. And you know, someone has to be the first one. If you keep dressing a little dressier, your coworkers may feel inspired to elevate their own style.

Style Fan

Veteran

Love this resolution Debbie and I have been feeling the same way but for different reasons. I tend to 'save' my good clothes (and dishes, table linens, bed linens, you name it) for some imaginary event. And retirement is also impacting my outfits.

rachylou

Veteran

I’ve felt this pressure, and I resisted, for better or worse, because I was a contractor. I always thought it was important not to... forget myself, if you will...

Mainelady

Veteran

Yours is a great resolution, Debbie. As you dress to suit yourself, rather than the environment, you will be happier. I am not a fancy dresser, but still find myself more “dressed” than others in certain settings. I am aware of it, but happy with my own choices. If I have ever felt uncomfortable I have put a smile on my face and stepped forward with all the confidence I could muster.

Bijou

Veteran

Debbie, I prefer a dressy style and so even if I am wearing jeans and a t-shirt, I will tend to wear it with some strong accessories (interesting shoes, a statement bag, fashionable sunnies and a scarf or jewellery). It is amazing at how this really helps to pull the look together.

Chris987

Veteran

Great resolution! I'm thinking along the same lines.

kkards

Veteran

my office went to casual business over the summer--and i'm loving it...BUT...while i love dressing more casually, i've found i'm not putting much thought into my daily outfits....so i'm looking to up my casual outfits into more interesting and complete looks.

Aquamarine

Veteran

Yes, I am struggling with this too. I work from home most of the time. And when I do go into an office, it seems pretentious to show up dressed nicely since no one else does And this time of year, it’s too darned cold and snowy here to want to go out for fun things, so my nice clothes are not even being worn. It feels kind of useless to dress up to run errands too, since I have to wear a jacket/coat over everything.

Because I work from home, I can do house chores at the same time, so it seems silly to dress nicely while cleaning up, cooking, etc in between work calls/etc.

I think part of it is the January blues.

krishnidoux

Veteran

Lifelong battle for me...

unfrumped

Veteran

Great resolution!

Like many habit issues, I think it helps to find ways to make it easier and not just be fighting with my body of my true self. Comfort and fit are necessary. I have had a couple of pairs of loafers that were super comfortable and some jackets that were also, some with stretch or knit, darkwash jeans which made it easy to slip into those for
errands instead of track shoes and sweatpants.
Having outfits already worked out helps, and being willing to repeat formulas.
I like Emily K’s ideas too— elevating things within categories. I love T shirt style knits and it’s as easy and comfortable for me to wear a “ dressy T” that fits and drapes well and for me these layer well under a jacket, plus I run cold, so fits with adding the 3rd piece for weekend errands or casual dining.
Like Joy I’m having a new focus on grandchild- friendly outfits for several trips per year so want to have washable but stylish capsules and expect that to increase in a few years with retirement.

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

Agree that this is a great resolution. It takes people much less time than you might think to get used to a new standard so go for it!

Sisi

Veteran

One of my 2018 goals is the same as yours ! In my case it was not the work environment that influenced me (this did happen many years ago in another workplace) but a sort of laziness. Lately I have slipped into a rut of pullover-jeans-booties. Emily K, Joy and Bijou have some great suggestions.

Murph11

Veteran

Great resolution, Debbie! I work from home and rarely see clients, so a big part of my amped-up style is my outerwear. I may appear “overdressed” for grocery store runs, but it’s my thing and makes me happy!

Sara L.

Veteran

Makes sense - I think it's easy in today's casual culture to end up "too casual". I've been working on my weekend casual style since I first found YLF and I think I've finally got it figured out. Like others said, I try to wear interesting shoes and accessories to liven up simple outfits of jeans and tees.

Mary Beth (formerly LBD)

(website)

Veteran

I seem to go through waves - cycles of being, as Emily K said, "

devolved to the most casual me" (this is brilliant, by the way). And cycles of wanting to be well put-together, even in my casual stuff.

I sometimes complain about the casualization of our world, but then I think of this: I'm not vacuuming with my sharkskin suit + pearls on. I could if I wanted to. Instead, I'm in stretch denim, climbing ladders, hauling costumes down, schlepping gear around, doing my own work, getting my hands dirty, and it feels pretty good!

I'm often surprised how much difference a small dab of perfume and some different earrings makes to my entire outfit. Or just wearing some dressier shoes or boots with my casual stuff.

I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with your resolution - keep us posted if you can!

LaPed

Veteran

I think this struggle is how a lot of us end up here on YLF. I agree with LBD that a little perfume or lip colour or a good piece of jewelry can go a long way without getting in the way. The great thing about a casual office is you can experiment to your heart's content without worrying about being in violation of the dress code.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Fantastic resolution, Debbie. I hear you loud and clear since my own life is pretty similar in this way...

Christina F.

Veteran

This is one of my goals as well. One of my strategies is what Joy mentions, which is using fashion sneakers. I'm also making sure I have a nice collection of flat boots of various kinds, since I can't walk in heels around the city anyway.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Interesting counterpart to the old complaint about office dress codes requiring so much money and effort. If you step up your own game without saying others need to do the same, would anyone mind?

I can relate to feeling like I’m in a costume, not being myself, when I’m dressed up, but that feeling in very casual clothes, or feeling like the thing I freely chose is uncomfortably casual, hm, I can’t picture it. There have been many times I was the only one in a dress/skirt, simply because that’s comfortable for me. Sometimes someone will ask “why so dressed up?” But I never considered that to be pressure; it doesn’t take long for people to realize that casual dresses *are* my casual. If you don’t like to be that different, then your solution today—not dressier per se, still in jeans but more pulled together—sounds like a good one.

tanstaafl

My office has no dress code, and the range in what people wear is pretty wide. It does tend to correlate somewhat with a person's position in the management structure, but not all that much. It's enough for me to know that how I present myself does matter in how people perceive me and my work.

The undefined dress code and casualness of many does make it easy to just put on whatever. That is how I found this site, looking for help in how to dress for the office that is more polished but still both true to me and isn't too far out of the norm. I'm still struggling to figure out how to achieve the look that is only vaguely defined in my head, and how to get there without spending a ton of money on a whole new wardrobe.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

MISS YOU, DEBBIE. Sooo great to see you post again.

Love this resolution. Start posting pics again, to make yourself accountable to amping up your style quotient. I know you have the clothes. We support you all the way.

karen13

Veteran

Great resolution, and I’m in! I am so guilty of this, and didn’t realize how much lift a slightly more intentional but still casual outfit could give me until I began following YLF. I have been working on foot wear. Comfortable but stylish boots have been flocking to my wardrobe. I’m also finding cashmere sweaters to be an essential for me.

Winter will be easier for me than summer, because of the footwear, and sun sensitivity.

Emily K

(website)

Veteran

Murph11 wrote something that smittie also suggested to me in another context--amp up the topper (or outerwear). I'm still working on trying to make the basics a little less basic, but I definitely see how using a more interesting topper would amp up my style--and when it is so chilly out, it's the thing people will see first, as well, so that makes it a great idea for Winter.

Cardiff girl

Veteran

I think that this is a common “problem”.life in general has become very casual dress wise.Even things that people used to make an effort for before like going to a restaurant,the theatre,church,they don’t seem to bother so much now,so it is easy especially if work doesn’t demand a formal dress code to slip into a casual style rut.I find the hardest thing is to dress smartly but not overly formally.I can do casual .I can do smart but it’s the sweet spot of smart casual that I find so difficult.However like you I am attempting to smarten up my casual lifestyle.Good luck and I look forward to seeing the results!

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