Trail Blazer: 4 Tips for Dress Up Your Casual Look

This morning I'm up bright and early for a meeting and I thought I'd grease the wheels and lift the spirits of all those night owls who had to drag themselves out of bed so early today by bringing coffee.  It doesn't hurt to bring an assortment and to stop at a locally owned place that serves amazing coffee just in case you have a coffee snob or two in the crowd.  And, rest assured,  I say “snob” in a loving, respectful way because I admire anyone who has distinguished tastes and truly knows what they like.  But this meeting isn't the only thing I've got on the agenda for today and everything else is going to require me to be free to move and to be a little more casual.  There's lunch with my niece at the pre-school, taking the dog to the park, and then a soccer game this evening.  I won't be playing soccer, but I will be doing a lot of jumping up and cheering.  While I'm sure I could do any or all of those things in a skirt and heels, I thought it best to wear something that is at once dressy and casual.  A lot of women today find themselves wearing many hats as we juggle work, family, and fun and I'm no exception, so today I thought I'd share some easy tips for creating a great dressy-casual look.

 1.      Ditch the graphic, but keep the tee.  T-shirts are soft and comfy and it's easy to see why we all love them so much.  The trouble is that tees can be too casual for work.  My office has a rule about no graphic tees and that seems to be common in the business world.  So, if you love the comfort of a tee then keep it, but look for solid color or classy print like my polka dots.  Another way to dress up that tee is by choosing something other than a crew-neck.  Polo collars, scoop necks, Vs or this square neck like I'm wearing are all dressier alternatives to that crew.

2.  Keep the Jeans.  Wearing jeans is something that a lot of places reserve for Fridays only, but with a stunning fit that's right for your shape and a dark wash there's no reason that jeans can't look office appropriate any day of the week.  I'm wearing some high rise flared leg jeans from FemmeLuxe with my top tucked in and a belt for a more clean cut look.

3.  Add a Blazer.  FemmeLuxe has some wonderful blazers to complete your professional outfit and make you look fierce.  A great, well fitting blazer is something everyone should have in their wardrobe.  For this look I chose the Black Rolled Sleeve Collared Jacket-Madison from FemmeLuxe and you can see that it really is the key to dressing up this look.  It is the only black blazer that I own and the only one that I think I'll need.  When it comes to blazers think of them as the whipped cream on the sundae.  Without the jacket, this would still be a stylish look, but not necessarily career wear.  Blazers adds polish and panache that just wouldn't be there without it.

4.  Kicks, Heels, or Flats.  Here's the part where you have some options.  Depending on your day and what you'll need to do and how you'll need to present yourself choose the foot wear that's right for you.  I'm wearing heels to the meeting, but I brought along a pair of black ballet flats for everything else going on in my day and there have been plenty of days when I've left both at home for a pair of burgundy converse that have been well loved, but still have  lot of miles left in them.  All of those options look great with this sort of outfit, it just depends on how polished you need to look and what kinds of activities you'll be doing that day.  When in doubt, stick with ballet flats that you've worn before so that you know you can be on the go all day without getting blisters.

I'd better dash off now to the meeting before the coffee gets cold, but I'm feeling confident and comfortable and relatively stress free about it all.  Funny how the right outfit can boost all those positive feelings and make you ready for anything the day has to offer.

Outfit Info:  Jacket from: FemmeLuxeFinery, Top from: SHEIN