How to create the perfect work wardrobe
What to wear to work is one of the big sartorial questions. You want to look professional, but you also want to show your personality and personal sense of style. Let’s look at 3 different examples and figure out exactly how to create a business casual capsule wardrobe.
6 easy Steps to create your own business casual wardrobe
- Choose the number of pieces you want to include. In my examples, I work with 13-12 pieces of clothing. This is a good amount for your business casual wardrobe.
- Choose a color palette. This decision helps your capsule wardrobe be cohesive and it makes it easy to mix and match and create countless work-appropriate outfits. For a 12-piece capsule wardrobe, 3-4 colors are a suitable amount.
- Choose which type of clothes you want to include. Dress pants? Skirts? A pair of jeans? A cardigan? For a 12-piece capsule wardrobe, 2 jackets, 4 bottoms, and 6 tops are a good number to aim for.
- Pick the clothes from your wardrobe or go shopping for the missing pieces.
- Once you have everything laid out. (I recommend laying out your new capsule wardrobe like my pictures below.) Start creating outfits, and take pictures of your favorite ones so that you always know what to wear.
- Time to accessories. The right accessories make an outfit. Pick 2 bags and 3 pair of shoes and some jewelry and create a matching accessories wardrobe.
What is business casual?
Business casual means that you are able to wear casual clothes such as jeans, cardigans, and T-shirts while still looking representable.
The trick to creating a good business capsule wardrobe is to combine traditional casual clothes, such as a T-shirt, with traditional business clothes, such as a blazer.
You can combine dress pants with a sweater or match your jeans with a silk blouse or shirt. Clean and discreet sneakers are usually allowed in business casual clothes.
Business casual and creativity
When you are aiming for business casual, you can also incorporate more colors in your wardrobe.
Think about creative professionals such as architects, art directors, or art gallery owners. Creating a business capsule wardrobe with one or two accent colors is the best way to keep your wardrobe fresh and interesting.
Business casual capsule wardrobe – Examples 1
Why does this wardrobe work?
Here, I chose to work with three base colors and one accent color. I also show how you can incorporate a print in your capsule wardrobe; just choose a print in accordance with your color scheme.
Which clothes to pick?
I choose two pairs of dressier pants and one pair of jeans. This is a good formula for creating a functional business capsule wardrobe.
Two shirts and one silk blouse give you plenty of options for when you want to look professional. So does a camel blazer and a camel coat.
Let’s take a look at some of the outfits you can create using this wardrobe.
Business casual capsule wardrobe – Examples 2
Why does this wardrobe work?
This woman likes to wear shirts to work. A shirt can be very comfortable while still looking professional. You can also get a lot of wear out of these skirts since you can wear thick tights in the winter and nothing in the summer.
Find the right pair of pants
I also gave this lady a comfortable pair of ponte pants, when you find the right one you look good while still having the feeling of wearing yoga pants.
A printed blouse and a cool tweed jacket help keep things fun.
Color choices
This business casual capsule wardrobe is basically centered around only two colors, which makes it very cohesive. When you work with a color like grey you can use different nuances.
Which clothes to pick?
The formula shown above is very effective. Pick two colors and pick a skirt and a pair of pants in each color, and you are already off to a very good start.
Work wardrobe for summer
Summer present a particular challenge when it comes what to wear to work, check out my solution here Create a summer work capsule wardrobe.
Business casual capsule wardrobe – Examples 3
Why does this wardrobe work?
Here I wanted to show the easiest formula for creating a business casual capsule wardrobe, choose three base color and one fun accent color. Choose one pair of jeans and one pair of dress pants. Add blouses and sweaters in your chosen colors. Add a blazer and a jacket in those colors as well. Congratulations, you have created a wearable functional casual capsule wardrobe.
Which clothes to pick?
When you choose to create a business casual capsule wardrobe with only 12 pieces of clothes, you can afford to invest a bit more money in these clothes.
Create a lot of different outfits
By following my principles, you can create a lot of different outfits from only 12 pieces of clothes. If you want even more tips and tricks, make sure you read my article Create a women’s work capsule wardrobe.
A final note on creating a business casual capsule wardrobe
I didn’t include any dresses in these examples of a good business casual capsule wardrobe, but if you want a nice-looking dress, go for it. As long as you make sure your jacket and blazer match the dresses, you can include dresses in other colors since the dress is worn alone.
Keeping your outerwear in neutral colors is a smart move to a highly functional capsule wardrobe.
Keep it modest
The key to mastering business casual is to cover up, the blouses and sweater should not be low cut, the skirts should cover your knee. To keep your style interesting, work with textures and an interesting print or cut.
Moa Ailert is the founder and editor-in-chief of Her Brilliant Friend.
She has a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and plenty of insight into human psychology from traveling and living in different places around the world.
Moa is currently based in Portugal where she has a guesthouse; Villa dos Irmaos.
She has various websites, among others Ericeira Insider, but Her brilliant friend is her true passion project.
