February 24, 2025
It’s the most common question I’ve received since the first of the year – you’ve got to be back in the office FIVE DAYS A WEEK. And you don’t have a clue what to wear, this time…
A specific question was from someone going back into a relatively dressy office, except for the “every two weeks Casual Friday.” Our heroine doesn’t want a big wardrobe for cool weather, since she only expects another 10 to 12 weeks during which she will need such things, so we’re targeting a 4×4 Wardrobe.
She also has all kinds of plans to quit her current job, in favor of a place where she can continue to work from home. Much up in the air for this heroine; let’s make her wardrobe simple and foolproof!
This was the color palette she prefers, and for a simple wardrobe, this is a great choice:
Let’s start with a core of six black garments – there are at least six outfits available here:
turtleneck – L.L.Bean; cashmere cardigan – Lands’ End; tee shirt – Lands’ End; chino pants – Lands’ End; skirt – J.Crew; ponte knit dress – J.Crew
Here’s where I envision these pieces in her 4×4 template:
It’s important to remember that you need more tops than bottoms, but that you almost certainly want at least 5 bottoms, so you’re not re-wearing within the week. Unless you really don’t care about these things!
This is also the time to think about what kind of tops you want – are you happy putting jewelry or scarves over a tee shirt, or do you feel better in a button-front? Maybe a few of both?
Here are my ideas – including my very favorite striped button-front. If you struggle with shirts like this, I encourage you to try these – they come in Petite sizes, so you can get a large enough torso without having sleeves that drag the ground!
White tee – L.L.Bean; striped shirt – Lands’ End; striped tee – Old Navy; mid-calf skirt – Eileen Fisher; cashmere vest – Boden; wool-blend pants – J.Crew
As much as this heroine really wants to stealth in and out of the office unnoticed, she will want a couple of brighter accent pieces for those meetings in which one wants to be seen.
Here’s where her wardrobe stands now:
Her employer isn’t offering a lot of incentives to sweeten this change of work life – they’re still going to have to “hot desk” every day to have a place to work. Our heroine is not impressed with her employer’s inability to give her a permanent workspace…
But they’ve hinted that if everybody behaves, they might implement Casual Friday EVERY WEEK. Oh the generosity…
With this in mind, her last 2 garments are thus:
This gives her these 16 garments to get her through ’til she either finds a new job, or the weather changes:
Yes, she’s going to do laundry every weekend! But she has a ton of different possible combinations…
I can’t imagine having to carry ALL of the things I need at my desk back and forth every day. Or having to re-adjust a desk chair every morning…
Do any of you have to hot desk?
Yes, Wednesday we’re going to find some accessories for this heroine. This wardrobe doesn’t have a lot of pizzazz without them, but WITH the right things, I think it’s going to look pretty fun!
love,
Janice
p.s. Ten years ago, our wardrobe started with a beautiful Hermes shawl in rust, brown, a touch of yellow…
Like this wardrobe? Save it to Pinterest!
When I saw the picture of jeans and a skull, I thought that it would be an outdoors wardrobe based on hiking in the wilderness.
I hope that the accessories will be a touch rebellious, avant-garde, or mischievous just to make the point that this is not her usual style.
I used to work part-time and my job was in the library. Being small in stature, I had a fully adjustable chair (in all directions) with a foot rest under my office desk. I used to hate it if I came in and someone had adjusted my chair and moved the foot rest.
Even if I worked at home, I would have to have ‘work clothes’ to differentiate my day. I haven’t worked for four years but all I miss is the camaraderie.
As a nurse, I always worked at a hot desk. Or no desk :).
The wardrobe is simple, versatile, classic. But the link to the red J crew blouse takes me to last week’s blog.
Happy Last Week of February!
I think that this is such a common sense 4 x 4 wardrobe. The colors are perfect and it would work extremely well for short (or long) term in office professional wear. I have a dear friend who is a college professor. This pretty much sums up her wardrobe….Black and white with pops of red and denim blue. She is much more dressy during lectures and her plethora of meetings (she’s the chair of the English department at a prestigious New England college) and likes the ability to dress down during office hours or during her research.
On the “back to the office” note….I realize that a lot of people feel the way our heroine does. I have to be honest, I hated working from home during the pandemic. Even though I was online all day, I felt utterly cut adrift. Maybe it’s because I’m an elementary school teacher and I felt completely ineffective online. Maybe it’s because I’m a widow with grown children out of the house, so I was ALONE. Maybe it’s because I’m an extrovert. Regardless, I just missed going to school everyday. I also missed coming home and feeling that sense of sanctuary, with a separation between work and off time. I know that working from home is a blessing to many. But for me? It was the cause for a profound sense of loneliness.
Thank you for sharing your experience with WFH, Ellen. I believe there is much to be gained from our country’s return to in-person work – including for our young people who, through the pandemic and lingering impacts, have not had the chance to learn important interactive skills that will benefit them in so many ways.
I appreciate this 4×4 approach for those making the adjustment, Janice!
Teaching school is an entirely different kettle of peanut butter! You all belong together with your students. But my friends who do geeky things like tech quality checking – they don’t need society, they need quiet! I’m happy for you that you’re back with your kiddos…
love,
Janice
Thank you! Me too!
FWIW, my daughter is a doctor and she actually does telehealth from home. She loves it! It never occurred to her that she wouldn’t go into the hospital every day. She never even thought it would be something that would work for her, given that she’s a community-driven extrovert as I am. However, it’s really filling a need for her in this season of life and she has found ways to find community in other ways.
I’m by no means against work from home. It just didn’t work for me.
This is versatile and classy. I would switch the sweater vest for another cardigan in red or blue, or a sweater blazer. That one cardigan is working overtime. Every office I worked at was freezing in the winter to the point where I kept a thick cardigan in a drawer.
Sheryl, I thought the same. I’d probably also choose dark wash jeans and a different top for casual day. Maybe a Pima turtleneck.
Great post! Recently I was perusing my wardrobe to see what I needed for the upcoming spring season, and realized I have so much black and really should not buy any more black pieces whatsoever.
This post gives me some great ideas…on what to add….but I’m not really a “red person” ….so I think I’ll start with a striped T shirt.
Does anyone else suffer from too much black in their wardrobe. And the question becomes how to get out of it.
(It’s a bi-product of working in the courts I think)
Regina
Just a suggestion….maybe a nice way to whittle down the black is to limit outfits to only one black garment. When the warm weather hits I try to keep the darker colours away from my face. It’s also fun to use non-black leather goods.
Hi Wendy, I like the idea of wearing “one black item”. And non black leather/vegan goods.
Worth the try.
Thank you
Regina
At one point I had an almost all black wardrobe with only a few white tops. When I grew tired off it I started adding in more colour with scarves and then I added some grey pieces, both carcoal and light grey tops and outerwear. These days most of my wardrobe is grey, green and blue and the only black left are some trousers.
Chalotte,
One of my favourites combos for colour is black and blue.
Worth exploring this combo.
Regina
I just reorganized my winter clothes and realized I have enough black to be a nun from the 50s! Trying to add some pink, purple, and blue which are my happy colors. :)
I hope this heroine gets a great new job. Her present employer sounds way to stuffy for today.
Oh, and I am Paula B, by the way.
Paula,
Funny enough to be a nun! I thought I wanted to be one when I was a child…here I am in black but not a nun.
Trying to add other colours will be the challenge, I’m going to shove my closet first and see where that takes me.
Thanks for the reply
Regina
I have never been in the type of job, nor in the place in history that offered the possibility of working from home. I would have loved it, but I find I do better with a little more structure. I would probably wander around in pajamas, drinking coffee and playing with the cats! But. I think, if one were to work from home, for probably five ish years, and really adapt and excel at it, well it would feel pretty rough to be abruptly called back. Janice has done a great job on this wardrobe. Hopefully the heroine has some things left from the before times and just has to organize and fill in. As I mentioned above, I would do dark wash jeans and a spiffier shirt for casual day. Looking forward to accessories!
I wore scrubs to work as a laboratory scientist in a hospital. Our big excitement came in probably the early 2000s when we could wear scrubs in the color of our choice instead of white. Then again in 2020, when we had choices in face masks! I would never have the need to wear anything like you have put together here, but it is so well done. The combinations are amazing and I think this heroine could go a couple of weeks without laundry; the combinations are so plentiful. I can’t wait to see the accessories. This is amazing!
Oooh, I hated hotdesking! A while back, I worked at a startup that grew so fast we all to squash in just anywhere each day & it was a real burden on top of an already high-stress job. I started WFH because I simply Had to make my deadlines, and my kitchen table could be relied on stay where I left it. (Not that I have an opinion on this…)
I agree that another cardigan would be pretty key for surviving the freezing office temps. But a basic black core makes a ton of sense to me, and a few bits of gold & some classic pearls would keep this wardrobe streamlined & prepared for all professional exigencies.
This is a great wardrobe inspiration for me. I have been thinking for several months of a black and white wardrobe , as per Cost of Wear Diva, Ingeborg Day of “Cheap Chic” fame. A friend of Andy Warhol. I actually have a sterling silver southwestern steer head brooch that I can wear with this capsule, as an accessory. Time to use your Southwestern accessories.
It seems like O’Keefe’s cow skull painting as inspiration for a back-to-office-in-a-hot-desk-scramble might be a metaphor for something. 🤔😏
This is a strong capsule where the accessories can swing the mood in so many directions.
What do you mean. Don’t quite get it.
Difficult to explain the joke.
I’m trying right now to find some grumpy, edgy accessories – not that easy!
love,
Janice
The accessories could be * I’m on my way to interview for my new, better paying job* vibe, lol.
Perfect. Though edgy and grumpy is a fascinating concept.😀
I worked most of my career at home as an author until I went into traching ESL when my youngest entered high school. I enjoyed the more social environment and better pay but we were all hot-desking before it was called that.
I love the scarf, but would prefer more blue, like another silk blouse or sweater. A tailored plaid or checked shirt could also work for casual Fridays.
I wore regular office appropriate clothing while working in a clinical area of the hospital..until Covid and we all wore scrubs. I job shared for many years and hot desked until the day the previous person ate peanut butter at the desk and I had an anaphylactic reaction! From then on no eating at my desk!! Over the years I became a senior in the area and not only got my own desk but my own office!!
Nice wardrobe though not into red anymore replaced it with bright pink! Cobalt blue not my jam either but white or denim blue would work! Poor her!!!!so glad I’m retired.
Oh dear – hot desking with allergies!!! I’m grateful not to have any, and can’t imagine getting through my workday without stress eating reeses cups, so I’m really glad nobody shares a desk with me! I wonder if there are other medical allowances that can be made to get a “fixed” desk… ergonomics dr’s note?
We’re back-to-office, but to be fair I never really did WFH for more than a month or two at the start of the pandemic… and then it was onsite 3-4 days/week … so moving back to the “semi-mandatory” 5 [is it 4 with an optional 5? or is it 4 with an expected 5, but not in writing, but still will impact your performance review…] is not too difficult for me. Having said that, I don’t have to hotdesk until they demo my office (it’s coming, but plans are fuzzy so I’ll enjoy it for now).
I have noticed people are “dressed up” more than they have been for the past 3 years; but not the same as pre-pandemic. its a little weird to put my finger on the style-change…
Looking at the painting, I was afraid this wardrobe was going to go all red, white and blue flag-y. So, good job avoiding that outcome. You can’t really substitute navy for the black without looking like a flag. All I know about work from home vs in office is that young people are demanding more quality of life. They are not willing to do a ridiculous commute at the expense of their personal lives and who can blame them?
Is it possible that our heroine lives in Seattle area?
I’ve been hearing about the return to the office at Amazon…
This jacket is lacking a blazer! I would try to find a black/white lightweight tweed jacket, personally. There’s nothing better than a blazer for making you feel put-together for a meeting – the women’s equivalent of a man’s sport coat.
This * wardrobe, not jacket! Clear what I had on my mind when I wrote this!
Oh, I tried to find a blazer for her – I just didn’t see anything that was amazing. And I felt like I’d just done a wardrobe in navy with a blazer, pants and skirt… Frankly, this is a poor time of year to be looking for wool or warm-ish clothes for work. Now, if she wanted swimsuits…
love,
Janice
Something like this one:
https://www.anntaylor.com/petites/petite-jackets-and-blazers/cata000032/petite-greenwich-blazer-plaid-tweed/831369.html?dwvar_831369_color=2528
I gravitate toward this style as I am tall, but there are lots more available in a “lady jacket”/chanel jacket style in black and white.
I work in a business professional office and recently had life events happen (baby) that necessitated a new wardrobe to fit my new figure (or lack thereof 😉) and for what its worth I have two trousers for 4 days a week. Yes, our heroine may need to do laundry mid-week if a pair get dirty or wrinkled, but my point is it’s doable (I am on 4 months). Also, I agree with other comments that I opt for a dark wash jean on casual Friday, somehow it gives the impression of still being more dressy than other washes. I would definitely up the sweater game and throw in a blazer for good measure (especially if she anticipates interviewing for a new position soon).
I also wonder about makeup, hair and nail choices, while not explicitly accessories I feel those choices can have a dramatic impact on the overall feel of a look similar to accessories. Reading glasses too.
I struggle to purchase skirts/dresses for the embarrassingly simple reason of wearing panty hose. Which I notice some of the younger gals don’t wear in office anymore. It seems whenever I really need them they have snags, are there any recommendations for snag proof sheer panty hose?
I am of a certain age and I haven’t worn panty hose in years. I wear tights or leggings under my dresses when it’s cold out, and go bare-legged when it’s warm. Granted, I am not in a professional-ish setting (although I am a library director) and I wear midi or maxi length dresses. I have some skirts that are just above the knee, but they are denim or twill (quite casual) and going bare legged with them seems natural.
If I wore a knee length skirt in the cold weather, I would wear black or navy tights, depending on the color of the skirt and my shoes.
Wonderful combinations; simple and still so elegant! A personal question though if I may: up to two months ago I was a turquoise-eyed brunette, and I would thrive in the colors of the ensemble above. But recently my hair has been turned platina in order to embrace the upcoming grey strands. And now everything seems too harsh-colored, while pastel is still too bland. Would you perhaps have a suggestion on which other basic color to use for still the same core as above? Thanks a lot!
Navy, Grey (any shade), Chocolate brown. Basically something with a slightly lower contrast. Maybe try walking into a store, picking up tshirts in each of these colors, try them on, and see what you think! (I suggest shirts because i assume the contrast near the face is the issue; if that’s not the problem for you, try wearing a red top and swapping out trouser bottoms in these colors). The beauty of red and white (and blue for that matter) is that they go with just about any neutral. I hope it helps you! Good luck!
I too am a Brunette with blue/turquoise eyes (and streaks of grey)! My complexion is surprisingly dark for a Scandinavian so that might skew what works for me vs. You. I have found the navy is a much better base color or choclate. If you are familiar with the season al color pallettes, the cool summer shades seem to work the best they aren’t as saturated as the reds and royal blues but don’t wash me out like the pastels. I prefer jewel tone colors that are just slightly muted (turquoise, green, purple, rose, etc). Hope that helps – good luck!
Thank you both that’s very helpful! The contrast and washing away is indeed an issue for the face only. It seems the first step to a solution will be a visit to the tangible shops one of these days…
I love this wardrobe. Not that I have a need as a retiree, but each individual piece is so fab. Well done Janice!
I love the timing of this. These (switching black for tan) are my colors in July, August, and September. I was just looking at tank tops in red and cobalt blue for this summer. I have been working from home since 2008, when I quit my job to edit from home. Thanks for the new vocabulary word; to me, a hot desk is when the Texas sun is shining into my office window!
Your hot desk doesn’t sound really comfortable, but it’s got to be better than having to schlep all of your gear in your bag every day!
love,
Janice