Defining and Refining My Style

The author standing in her office wearing a black dress, light gray blazer, and black pointy-toe flat shoes
An outfit from the capsule wardrobe I’ve been wearing this fall.

I have about two weeks left for this fall’s capsule wardrobe, and I’ve reached the point where I’m getting pretty tired of wearing the same few outfits over and over again. It’s nice not to have to put much thought into what I’m going to wear, but on the other hand, I’m a little bored. I’m craving more variety and missing some of the items I packed away. Now that the weather has gotten cold, I’m wishing I had more sweaters to choose from. I’ve also had to attend more trials than usual this fall, and wearing the same two suits week after week is getting old.

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20 Things This Former Fashion Know-Nothing Has Learned About Dressing for Work as a Professional

The author standing in her office wearing a black blazer, tan skirt, and green blouse
One of my recent work outfits

Anyone who knew me when I was younger would surely tell you that I did not have an innate interest in fashion. One of my good friends from high school followed all the trends, knew what brands celebrities were wearing, idolized Carrie Bradshaw, and aspired to a career in fashion merchandizing. I occasionally picked up bits of knowledge from her, but otherwise, I was pretty clueless. I bought most of my clothes from the clearance racks at places like Kohl’s. As a result, I often dressed more like a grandmother than a stylish teen or 20-something. When I interviewed for my first post-college job, I wore a too-tight ivory suit from Target, and one of the interviewers kindly told me afterward that I had neglected to clip the “X” of thread at the back hem of the skirt that held the two pieces of the slit together. When I had to attend business professional events in college, I didn’t own an actual suit, so I paired non-matching black pants with a black blazer in a completely different fabric (although in retrospect, perhaps they were different enough that I actually pulled this off despite not knowing any better). Read more