Comfortable, Professional Work Clothes: How to Be Comfortable at the Office

Your alarm goes off and, grumpily, you can’t believe you have to put anything on your body that resembles work clothes.  You dream of working from home and being able to lounge around in your jammies all day, or at least a pair of over-worn yoga pants.  “Dress codes suck!”, you think, and, before you have even placed your little toe outside your warm, cozy bed, you start coming up with all the comfortable, professional work clothes you own, while wondering if anyone will notice if you spend the day at your desk wearing your favorite Snoopy pajama bottoms.

Comfortable, professional work clothes is like an oxymoron, as if, in order you be professional you have to compromise comfort, or to be comfortable at work you will have to compromise professionalism.  Yet, it doesn’t have to be this way.  There are some ways to have the best of both worlds.  For today’s post in this series, here are my tips.

Look for comfortable fabrics

The first tip is to look for work pieces in comfortable fabrics.  In this day and age with fabrics out there like ponte, matte jersey and other professional knitwear options, it’s easy to get some stretch and comfort while looking professional.  Ponte is a great beefy fabric that is not only forgiving but tailors beautifully.  (Read more about ponte, here).  Matte jersey is another forgiving fabric that drapes well, hides a multitude of sins, feels great on the skin and lends itself well to tops, dresses and more fluid skirts.

Look for tailored pieces in comfortable fabrics

Not all knitwear is appropriate for the workplace.  Knits can be very clingy or casual looking if they are in the wrong silhouette.  The way to work around this is to seek out pieces, like knit blazers, for example, that will give you a professional look while offering  stretch and comfort.  Tailored dresses, pants, skirts in knits offer you the best of both worlds– professionalism and comfort.  If you’re old enough to remember the old Easy Spirit, “Looks like a pump, feels like a sneaker“, of women playing basketball in pumps, you will get my point.

Drape and structure

It’s great when you can find a work piece that drapes in the right places, like ruching, that offers coverage and ease.  However, you have to be careful.  Too much drape can start to look sloppy and too casual.  Look for structured pieces that offer the right amount of drape to give you comfort while not giving you too much ease.

Upgrade via accessories

Lastly, the best way to upgrade more comfortable work pieces is to go heavy on the accessorizing.  For example, a simple cardigan, that acts as such a comfortable jacket replacement, will look more elegant and polished when you add some jewelry, as will that easy dress, that looks too casual, with more work driven shoes or a smart handbag.

Comfortable, Professional Work Clothes

Here are some professional work outfits that are comfort driven to give you some ideas and inspiration.

Outfit #1- Ponte pants and cardigan

There are so many pairs of ponte pants out there, some more casual and some more work appropriate.  I chose this pair from Max Studio because, due to the bootcut style and professional pinstripe, they offer stretch and comfort while looking like more than just glorified leggings .  These pants give this relaxed cardigan from Mango a business casual vs. a weekend look.  For a pop of color, I added this purple sleeveless layering piece from Ivanka Trump.  Next, for foot comfort.  I recently became familiar with Tsubo shoes that are designed for comfort.  These grey Tsubo pumps give the outfit a professional look without compromising comfort.  Lastly, accessories.  This is a key part to make comfortable pieces look professional.  In this outfit I added a Stella & Dot necklace and bracelet and for a handbag I chose a metallic tote from Cole Haan.

Outfit #2 -Comfortable dress

If you need to wear a dress to work, and assume that this means you will be in torture all day, there are a few tips I can give you.   First, go for stretch, like ponte or that forgiving matte jersey I was talking about earlier.  Also, avoid any silhouette that is too fussy or will cause you to constantly adjust.  While some women love a wrap dress others find them unpredictable and challenging to keep straight.  Practice sitting, bending and moving in your dress, as well as sitting for a bit.  The majority of work time is spent sitting, remember.When looking for comfortable work dresses I immediately thought about Pink Tartan, a company who uses this beefy, comfortable knit fabric for a lot of their clothes.  This particular Pink Tartan dress is owned by a client of mine and it never fails her.  Not only is the silhouette perfect, by offering ease where it counts and structure where it is important, but the knit is incredibly comfortable and travels well.  Additionally, with such an easy base, we have styled it a ton of different ways.  This dress is professional on the outside and stretch pants on the inside.In this outfit, I styled this dress with a pair of flat polka dot slingbacks from Boden.  What I love about these shoes is they offer the comfort of a ballerina flat while being slightly more professional looking.  Often, ballerina flats can be just too “weekend” for work, it all depends on work environment.  For additional professionalism, I added a Stella & Dot necklace, a simple pair of pearl earrings and a cream Vince Camuto handbag.Outfit #3- Knit Blazer

The knit blazer, like this one from Boden, is a great professional, comfort solution.  Here I styled it with a coral Pink Tartan washable, knit skirt, a simple navy cap sleeve t-shirt, but the knit blazer is a piece that you can wear with everything from tailored pants to over a dress.  That’s right, looks like a blazer, feels like cardigan.

To finish the look of this particular outfit, I added Cole Haan’s Chelsea pump, known as one of the most comfortable pumps around, and added some pizzazz with a colorful necklace, that picks up all the colors in the look, and a bright blue handbag from Marc Jacobs.

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