Styling boring suits? (and some new purchases!)

[Deleted]

I just bought these things for work

This suit


This linen jacket in white


And this jacket (coral)


All of my suits are grey and black, so I thought it was time to get something a little different.

Anyway, I feel like I look sooo boring since I wear suits most days. What are some ideas that are professional but would make me look stylish and my outfits not as boring? Statement necklaces? What kinds of shoes (maybe patterned pumps)? Links to specific (cheap) items would be awesome! By cheap, I mean Forever 21 and Target type accessories. I like to stay under $100 for shoes.

[sasky]

What about a cute polka dot tie-neck top?

www1.macys.com/shop/product/nine-west-top-sleeveless-polka-dot-print-tie-neck-blouse?ID=689561
Still classy with a little bit of fun with the dots. And you wouldn't need a necklace.

A leopard print pump might be cute with the khaki suit:
www.target.com/p/women-s-mossimo-black-versie-pumps-leopard/-/A-12469221
And it's basically a neutral so it can be very versatile.

Just a couple ideas.

[kkloth]

Agreed with both suggestions above. I'd say check out forever 21 and H&M. H&M has some really cute dressy sleeveless tops for $5 right now. They'd be great under a blazer.

[tarheels]

I wear a suit and don't feel boring, but I also have lots of colors and textures. Today I'm wearing polished cotton in khaki with an emerald green blouse, tomorrow I'm wearing navy tropical wool with a navy and hot pink snake skin print blouse (tamer than it sounds lol), yesterday I wore a black & cream birdseye with a cream shell with neck detailing. I'll probably do light gray with a hot pink blouse with pintucks down the front later this week.

Many of my blouses are patterned with multiple colors. You know the watercolor prints Talbots does every season? (They don't make them necessarily for blouses - they do them for skirts or dresses sometimes.) I have many blouses like that from there, AT, BR. That way if I'm dressing down for the day, I can put a fun color cardigan on top of it that pulls a color from the blouse. You're a good shopper, but I'll say anyway to be careful when choosing print - some patterns just look cheap no matter what store they're from.

And some of my favorite shoes that I get way more wear out of than I first thought are a neutral white/gray/tan snake skin. I wear them all the time in the summer. Other shoes that I get constant compliments on are patent tortoise shell. Strangers stop me to tell me how much they like them. Unbelievably, they were on clearance for $13 in some mom & pop shoe store in some tiny rural town where we were visiting DH's relatives.

[emyinpink]

I'm no help, but I did just see this post on corporette
corporette.com/2012/06/05/how-to-edge-up-a-conservative-look/

[Deleted]

Jun 5, 2012 16:33:27 GMT -5 tarheels said:

I wear a suit and don't feel boring, but I also have lots of colors and textures. Today I'm wearing polished cotton in khaki with an emerald green blouse, tomorrow I'm wearing navy tropical wool with a navy and hot pink snake skin print blouse (tamer than it sounds lol), yesterday I wore a black & cream birdseye with a cream shell with neck detailing. I'll probably do light gray with a hot pink blouse with pintucks down the front later this week.

Many of my blouses are patterned with multiple colors. You know the watercolor prints Talbots does every season? (They don't make them necessarily for blouses - they do them for skirts or dresses sometimes.) I have many blouses like that from there, AT, BR. That way if I'm dressing down for the day, I can put a fun color cardigan on top of it that pulls a color from the blouse. You're a good shopper, but I'll say anyway to be careful when choosing print - some patterns just look cheap no matter what store they're from.

And some of my favorite shoes that I get way more wear out of than I first thought are a neutral white/gray/tan snake skin. I wear them all the time in the summer. Other shoes that I get constant compliments on are patent tortoise shell. Strangers stop me to tell me how much they like them. Unbelievably, they were on clearance for $13 in some mom & pop shoe store in some tiny rural town where we were visiting DH's relatives.

I was actually just eyeing a cheap pair of patent tortoise shell shoes on Sole Society.
www.solesociety.com/paige-yellow.html (not the bright yellow!)

I'm scouting 6pm.com for deals on tops. I have some from Talbot's and love them, but I try to buy on sale (I have a hard time spending $75+ on a shell) and didn't see any sale items I like. I just added these to my cart:

NEVER MIND - these links don't work!

www.6pm.com/product/7932607/color/767

www.6pm.com/product/7934959/color/767 I'm not sure about this one

What about this?
www.6pm.com/ak-anne-klein-plus-plus-size-petal-print-tie-front-blouse-multi

This is fug, right?
www.6pm.com/ak-anne-klein-plus-plus-size-large-floral-flutter-sleeve-blouse-multi

[Deleted]

Jun 5, 2012 17:13:42 GMT -5 @emyinpink said:

I'm no help, but I did just see this post on corporette
corporette.com/2012/06/05/how-to-edge-up-a-conservative-look/

Awesome, thanks!!

[treedimensional]

You're a lawyer. Embrace the boring suit!
Seriously. Malloy found that the fashionable women in an office are almost never in the running for top positions.

[Deleted]

Jun 5, 2012 17:22:51 GMT -5 treedimensional said:

You're a lawyer. Embrace the boring suit!

Yeah, I know. I think the OOTD posts with all the cute outfits are getting to me

[treedimensional]

You should be a forensic arborist then. We could put on spike heels and get drunk at conferences. I bet you write great reports.

[Deleted]

Jun 5, 2012 18:06:15 GMT -5 treedimensional said:

You should be a forensic arborist then. We could put on spike heels and get drunk at conferences. I bet you write great reports.

Ooooo, fun! Except I hate science, and have a feeling that would be a problem

[treedimensional]

[tarheels]

Jun 5, 2012 17:16:25 GMT -5 @godawgs said:

I was actually just eyeing a cheap pair of patent tortoise shell shoes on Sole Society.
www.solesociety.com/paige-yellow.html (not the bright yellow!)

I'm scouting 6pm.com for deals on tops. I have some from Talbot's and love them, but I try to buy on sale (I have a hard time spending $75+ on a shell) and didn't see any sale items I like. I just added these to my cart:

NEVER MIND - these links don't work!

www.6pm.com/product/7932607/color/767

www.6pm.com/product/7934959/color/767 I'm not sure about this one

What about this?
www.6pm.com/ak-anne-klein-plus-plus-size-petal-print-tie-front-blouse-multi

This is fug, right?
www.6pm.com/ak-anne-klein-plus-plus-size-large-floral-flutter-sleeve-blouse-multi

The shoes are cute! That's just what my pattern looks like.

All the links for the blouses work for me, and I like them in the order you posted them from most to least. LOVE the first one, really like the second one, just kinda ok on the last two.

[Deleted]

Jun 5, 2012 19:36:25 GMT -5 tarheels said:

Jun 5, 2012 17:16:25 GMT -5 @godawgs said:

I was actually just eyeing a cheap pair of patent tortoise shell shoes on Sole Society.
www.solesociety.com/paige-yellow.html (not the bright yellow!)

I'm scouting 6pm.com for deals on tops. I have some from Talbot's and love them, but I try to buy on sale (I have a hard time spending $75+ on a shell) and didn't see any sale items I like. I just added these to my cart:

NEVER MIND - these links don't work!

www.6pm.com/product/7932607/color/767

www.6pm.com/product/7934959/color/767 I'm not sure about this one

What about this?
www.6pm.com/ak-anne-klein-plus-plus-size-petal-print-tie-front-blouse-multi

This is fug, right?
www.6pm.com/ak-anne-klein-plus-plus-size-large-floral-flutter-sleeve-blouse-multi

The shoes are cute! That's just what my pattern looks like.

All the links for the blouses work for me, and I like them in the order you posted them from most to least. LOVE the first one, really like the second one, just kinda ok on the last two.

Thanks! This is helpful.