Working in a corporate office atmosphere doesn't always allow for much variation in your wardrobe. Essentially, nothing says 'in charge' or 'powerful' more than a business suit. However, it can get boring putting on the same basic pieces each day and only highlighting different color combinations. Fortunately, fashion designers are making their mark on women's business suits and changing them to meet the style demands of modern women by honing in on industry-wide trends and design elements. Before we even get in to incorporating trends into your tailored suits, let’s make sure that you understand what a truly professional and work appropriate suit should look like. Professional business attire should convey your credibility and competence, but also reflect some personality without going overboard. It is important to understand your office's cultural norms for both business casual and "client-ready" days, as standards differ across states, occupations, and offices.
Determining Your Office Dress Code
How you should dress in your office is largely dependent on your company's dress code and the cultural norms of your office, it would be a good idea to build your custom wardrobe around this dress code. Companies usually issue employee handbooks with formalized dress codes, and that is also a good starting point to understand what is appropriate to wear in your office. A good tip is to observe the attire of your supervisors and women who are similar in rank to you in your office for a week or two whenever you start a new job. It is important to pay attention to what they wear on days where there might be an important meeting (when you will typically see the most formal of attire) and ordinary days. Seeing what others wear is the best barometer in determining the appropriate level of formality in your office.
Business suits are the most basic building block of business formal attire and should always be a part of your custom wardrobe. They consist of a blazer and either a pair of trousers or a skirt in a matching fabric. It is best to suits in a neutral color, like black or dark grey, and in a fabric you can wear anytime of the year such as wool.
Suits should be well-fitting. Pay particular attention to details like:
Length of the sleeves on the blazer. The sleeves should end at your wrist without having down over your hands. How the blazer sits on your shoulders. It should fit snugly at the edge of your shoulders without hanging past. Length of the skirt and the slit at the back of the skirt, especially when sitting down or walking. The skirt should come at least to the top of your knees. Length of the custom tailored trouser pants, especially when worn with heels or flats. The trouser cuff should hit at the midway-point of either type of shoe, and may need to be tailored depending on your height and height of shoe you typically wear. Button closure in the front. Even if you plan to wear the jacket open, you should be able to comfortably fasten any front button. There should not be a lot of extra room when the blazer is buttoned. If you want the best possible fit you should go ahead and see a tailor.
Formal Tops
The buttoned-up shirt is sometimes described as the workhorse of a business formal outfit, because it comes in a huge variety of colors, patterns, and fabrics, and is suitable for all business formal occasions. Pullover shell blouses in lightweight fabrics can also be appropriate to pair with business suits. A cotton blend, rayon or silk top is often the best option. The color or pattern you choose should coordinate with your suit. Conservative tones like black, white, burgundy, hunter green navy are good, as are light colors, like baby blue, light pink, and white. Avoid neon tones or anything too trendy. Any neckline you prefer is fine, as long as does not plunge to reveal too much cleavage.
Now that you have a basic understanding of what is appropriate for work in terms of custom formal suits and tops, let’s take a look into some the easiest and best ways to Incorporating trends in to your custom suit design for your custom wardrobe:
Mixing Fabrics
While traditional suits will always be considered to be 'in,' designers are also mixing fabrics to create a more non-traditional look. This is truly a trend for all seasons since it works year round. Gone are the days of buying suits together as a matching set; you can now mix and match pieces and fabrics to create a more authentic look for the office. Just be sure to choose pieces that bring together a complete custom suit design because that is, and will always be, what's appropriate in the office
Play With Color
Traditional women's business suits focus around the colors black, brown, and navy. These are great colors to have, but consider them as just basics. Designers are now combining different colors, such as black skirts with a red jacket, as well as using different colors within the jackets and skirts themselves. This keeps the wardrobe more interesting and exudes a modern appeal in your attire and your custom suit design.
Play With Prints
Designers are using bold prints in custom suit design to bring attention to the otherwise more basic pieces in women's business suits. The proper way to flaunt this look is to choose one piece (blouse, skirt, or jacket) in a bold print, and then choose neutral colors for the other pieces. Your accessories should match the solid-toned pieces to keep the focal point on the bold print.
Get a Peplum Jacket
While having a small waist accentuates this trend, it is a hot one nonetheless! The peplum should start at your high waist and then flair outwards. It's a great trend for someone who wants to accentuate her hips or simply step away from a more traditional silhouette. Due to the attention-grabbing outcome of this trend, designers are typically featuring this silhouette in basic colors.
Try out the Urban Skirt
While basic pencil skirts are always on-trend, designers are introducing a looser skirt called an 'urban' style. This new trend offers a loose-fitted silhouette that flares over the hips. When you try out this trend, make sure the suit is accompanied by a slim-fitting blazer to balance out the looseness of the skirt.
Skinny Pants are always in
No matter which season it is, designers are honing in on skinny, tailored pants for the office environment. These pants come in a more fitted silhouette and almost appear to be cropped, as they hit right at the ankle. Some silhouettes are skinnier than others, but there are options for a looser fit that still falls into this trend category. When choosing a suit that highlights skinny pants, opt for an ensemble that includes a well-tailored jacket or fitted peplum embellishment.
Small Details Keep Suits Current
While the world of fashion is constantly evolving, women's business suits are staples that remain the same for long stretches of time and should certainly be a part of your custom wardrobe. Looking back, women will still pay a fortune whenever they walk into a vintage clothing store and come across the classic Chanel women's business suit because its classic look never goes out of style. However, paying attention to small details and updating pieces periodically will keep you current and on-trend at the office.