the loft – the Spiff

I’m a firm believer in the old adage, “Dress for the job you want.” Sure, it might be more comfortable to wear jeans and a sweatshirt to the office, but staying comfortable doesn’t elevate you and your career. Staying comfortable means staying in the same place, and I want to go higher! *Fist in the air

That whole diatribe popped in my head because today I’m showing you how to style this sweater for a “Business Casual” party. This dress code calls for something you’d be comfortable wearing to the office.

The office I work in is pretty relaxed. In fact, if I were to wear this outfit people would wonder what spiffy event I was going to. Our clients are scattered all over the country, so we don’t “entertain” them in the office. This translates to a wide range of office attire – everything from sweatshirts to button downs.

I will admit there are days when I’m very thankful I can wear jeans or go in a little more relaxed, but for the most part I like to dress up. It elevates your thinking, how you carry yourself and how you are perceived.

When going to a party, I always err on the side of fancy. (Unless it’s at someone’s house, then my top priority is to be able to move around in the outfit without looking uncomfortable since I’ll be getting up and down from the couch, squeezing past people for the bathroom, etc). I like going a little fancier though, because even if you show up as the dressiest person there, it just looks like you’ve either come from or are going to another event. Fancy pants.

I fancied up this sweater by adding this great black, white and gray knit skirt from The Limited, and booties I practically stole at Ross for $20.

If you want to instantly elevate an outfit, carry a clutch. This great big silver clutch is from Express. I love this one because it fits all my stuff.

See how to style this outfit for a dressy casual party here, then check in on Friday to see it styled for a “festive” dress code!

You want to hear the tale of my Christmas program outfit? It involves intrigue and a tulle skirt – as all great adventure tales do.

So at the beginning of the year, I listed in this post that one of my goals for 2014 was to rock a tulle skirt. I was so very serious about that, and when the opportunity arose for me to be in the Christmas program at my church, I thought what better time to wear one then for the program!

What a great idea! So I hunted one down and ordered it. Exactly six days before the program I checked on its whereabouts only to find that it was still hanging out in Hong Kong. Uh….That’s a long way away.

Cue the panic.

Thankfully, I had a back up plan. So let me pause and say how important it is to have a back up plan when you’ve ordered something online. Because that really saved me here. Most of the time for special events I’m locked down to one look and one look only. But it was truly the grace of God that I had another look in mind.

It was also by the grace of God that I was able to get both of these pieces on sale. Truly, I thank God for that.

So here are the deets…the pants are from White House Black Market and the sweater is from The Loft (it’s actually a petite size because that’s all they had left, so I went a size up and it worked which is good to know). I knew I wanted sparkle pants (I was also hoping to generate a nickname with them ;) so I went to this website – ShopStyle.

When you’re searching for something specific, this is the website to use. All you do is input a description of what you want, you can narrow down the price and add other specifics, but it generates a listing of that item and the stores in which it can be found. I do this, then look for the stores that are in West Town Mall, which is how I found the sparkle pants. It’s 1,000 times easier than running around the mall in a frazzled panic – which is exactly what I wanted to do when I first saw my skirts whereabouts.

I knew that since they were so glittery I could go with a toned down top, so I started out searching for a simple gray sweater. Then I found this one. And it was love at first sight.

When buying special occasion clothes, I’m all about how many wears I can squeeze out of them. Unfortunately, I don’t think these pants will get as much use as say a classic pair of black pants, but they’re instant fun, and who knows, I may get more use out of them then I realize.

The sweater, Lord, I’ll wear that whenever I can get the chance!

So that’s the end. I may have heightened about the level of intrigue at the beginning of this tale, but let me just say that when you see the words “Hong Kong” at 8:30am, that’s all the “intrigue” I can handle.

One Sweater – Three Outfits Part 2: Business Casual

Tulle Skirts and Sparkle Pants – An Intriguing Tale