Violet Revolution

If you work in a business casual environment, you’re lucky where you can incorporate more of your casual pieces into your work wardrobe, and get two uses for the price of one. Not a bad idea these days considering everyone is trying to save where they can. However, not everything transitions over easily. Some clothes are solely for work, some are solely for fun. So being its winter, you’re probably wearing a lot of sweaters these days. And you probably don’t want to trek home from work in the freezing cold to change for a night out, so what types of sweaters can you make use of in both places?

I love this pom-pom honeycomb patterned sweater. It can be worn alone, or because the color is so basic, so it can be paired with other clothes such as either a basic white button down or tank underneath for work. This tie-front almost sweater coat is great to wear to work with a button down or cowl neck sleeveless top underneath, or with a sparkly tank for later on. If you can get away with the zipper sleeves on this sweater, this is adorable to wear with trouser pants or jeans.

If you love the warmth of a sweater, but not necessarily the long sleeves, this geo tunic sweater is so cute, and promises to be extra soft! (Don’t you hate it when you find a sweater that’s really cute but you touch it and it feels like a Brillo pad?) This bat-wing sweater promises a modern take on the button-down cardigan. Love the electric blue color. I love tie-front wrap cardigans because you can throw them over a variety of tops underneath for a dressy or casual look. The Navajo print on this one is unique, yet not overly patterned. How awesome is this cape-like sweater wrap? It can be worn wrapped symmetrically for a more conservative day-look, but it’s stylish enough to wear out later. You could also wrap it asymmetrically, for a more trendy look. You could wear to work with plain black knee high boots or pumps & conservative jewelry (Tiffany always works…and hey, V-day is coming up, might want to start working that into conversations with you-know-who!), or spice it up with some studded boots & trendy jewelry for a night out.

Ok, so you might be thinking…this is great, but what sweaters should I NOT wear to work? Well although I love the following items, they probably wouldn’t be an ideal day-to-night transition piece. This studded sweater is adorable, but is a little too dressy for office attire and best left in your going-out/party collection. This next chain detail sweater is adorable over a tank, with a cropped jacket, or with a thin, modal fabric t-shirt underneath; but would be completely inappropriate for work. This cashmere sweater vest seems like it could fit in at work at first glance. It’s cashmere, the color is muted, so what’s the problem? Unfortunately, most offices would not be too enthralled about you wearing it at work. A) it just has a more casual vibe, and B) it looks like you’re wearing your outdoor scarf around the office, which doesn’t look real professional. Try to ask yourself if you’d feel comfortable walking into a meeting with a senior level manager wearing it. Whether you would ever have such a meeting is irrelevant. The fact is: other people around you are noticing what you’re wearing and making judgments about what type of a worker you are. That is just the way it is. So unless your job expects you to be fashion forward, or your dress code is extremely liberal, some clothes are just not meant for work.

Have you ever been judged by what you wore to work? I know I have…read on for more on this topic, & see what others have to say! In the meantime, stay warm!