Who else poured over fashion magazines growing up? You better believe I had a stack of magazines in my room at all times. They were my favorite. Not necessarily for the featured articles and stories but for the fashion inspiration and images. I would take old magazines and cut them up to create fun and inspired collages, this was one of my favorite things to do growing up. When I had to clean out my childhood bedroom I found dozens upon dozens of old collages.
Okay I am getting off topic. Where I am going with this is that before I would cut up the magazine, I was sure to check out my favorite layout which was taking five, eight or ten pieces of clothing and creating a variety of outfits just using those pieces. Today we call this creating a capsule wardrobe but back then it just viewed it as magic and was always trying to re purpose my clothes to make it look like another outfit. Which brings us to today’s winter capsule post!
As you all know, I love traditional styles and classic pieces. Not everything shown is a recent purchase, a few of these items were purchased last season but something similar can be found in the stores today. I was able to style these eleven looks to create my first ever capsule wardrobe using the following pieces.
- Navy Sheath Dress
- Camel Crew Neck Sweater
- White Button Down Shirt
- Navy Floral Print Blouse
- Herringbone Blazer
- Navy Blue Wool Blazer
- Burgundy Work Pants
- Navy Blue Work Pants
For those of you who are still building out their professional wardrobe, the items listed above are must have basics (in my opinion). Even better, I’m about to show you how to take these seven pieces and create eleven distinct and unique looks. While I am only styling eleven outfits to showcase outfits that I can wear in a professional office environment, the number of combinations are endless.
Navy Sheath Dress
A tailored sheath dress is a staple in any professional wardrobe. If you getting ready to purchase your first (after reading this post of course!), I recommend starting with a black or navy sheath dress. Once you have your neutral colors covered, then you can begin adding other colors based on your personal style.
Outfit One
Outfit Two
Outfit Three
Outfit Four
Wearing the same Sheath Dress as the base to create the illusion of a navy pencil skirt in the next two looks.
Outfit Five
Burgundy Work Pants
Work pants are a must, especially during the winter months here in Chicago. I am making the assumption that most of you already own black work pants so my intention was to mix things up to show you all how to incorporate a beautifully colored work pant into your office wear.
Outfit Six
Outfit Seven
Outfit Eight
Navy Work Pants
For those of you who have been following me for the past year, you might have noticed a shift in my color philosophy. Black is one of my favorite colors to wear to the office year round, especially during the winter, but this year I have challenged myself to incorporate more navy into my wardrobe. And guess what, I don’t hate it! Navy might be my new favorite neutral. As you can see from the looks above, it plays wonderfully with many colors. My personal favorite colors to pair with navy are burgundy and blush. These three colors also look amazing together to create a real standout look.
Outfit Nine
Outfit Ten
Outfit Eleven
I could keep going but will stop for now. This was such a fun post to create but I must admit it was a marathon pulling these pieces, creating the looks and snapping these photos. I’m pretty sure my pup thinks I went mad running around our apartment in multiple outfit changes.
I hope you all find this post helpful whether its building out a professional wardrobe, identifying color combinations that pop or creating your own capsule wardrobe that you could take on a work trip.
Happy Styling!
