Business Casual

I was told that there was no official dress code, but general business casual attire was accepted. There is no term that confuses people more than "business casual". To me, the traditional business casual attire is dress pants, dress shirts, and sweaters. So for my first week of work, I wore exclusively dress pants, dress shirts, and sweaters.

Day one, I went with a ruffled collared dress shirt (not properly shown in photo), a shawl collared sweater (new, stolen from my sister), and a blue on black pinstripe pair of trousers. I really hope that they look better in real life than in the photo. Since I knew I'd be walking, I went with conservative black, casual wedges.

Day two, I started pattern mixing, which was a bit strange for me. I don't do a lot of pattern mixing at the best of times. However, I went with a collared green and white shirt with a glenplaid trouser that reads as a solid. I topped it with a black cardigan, and bottomed it with a very quintessential oxford with the twist - a heel.

I even ended off the week with trousers, collared shirts and sweaters! I had seen Cori of La Petite Vie wear a similar outfit and immediately filed it in my inspiration. It was the perfect opportunity to navigate the even more vague "Friday" of the "Business casual world". I felt so confident in this outfit, calling it the "Business casual three piece suit".

Double Wide

On the opposite side of the jean spectrum from the skinnies, we have the wide leg jean. There is, of course, the classic trouser jean I have worn plenty of times. It's a professional jean, if you believe in such a thing.

And of course, there is the super casual wide leg jean. These were another Mom purchase - $2 from Winners. Not always the most attractive, but these are so thin and comfortable, I consider them the fancy version of pajamas.

Cardigan Vs. Blazer: The show down

I laughed when I read Taylor of It's My Cardi's post which started out: "I cannot believe that until recently I was missing out on the blazer as a completer piece to any given outfit. I owned a couple, but typically preferred a cardi. (Hence the blog's name.) But for some reason I have been picking up blazers left and right as of late."

Being a blazer girl, I spent the week trying to prove the benefits of both.

I still advocate for the benefits of blazers. Why?

They add shape to a shapeless outfit. As Sheila commented last week, "I have to admit I struggle with cardigans, being a woman with curves and boobage. They can make me look very lumpy and saggy." While I don't have curves or boobage, I struggle for similar reasons - they lack the definition provided by a blazer.

Secondly, the simple addition of a blazer takes an outfit from "uninteresting and unpolished" to "posh and professional" in a way a cardigan just can't.