While we spend a good chunk of our time at work, office clothes aren’t always the most fun items to shop for, especially if you work in an office environment with a dress code. There might be certain days when you can’t really stray from a pant- or skirt-suit, but if there is some room to add a little extra flair to your work wardrobe, pants are a great place to start.
One of our favourite outfit combinations is finding an interesting, unique and stylish type of pant and pairing it with more basic and simple accessories to make the look work for the office. Below, you’ll find five pant styles that can be paired with flats or heels, and a simple t-shirt or button-down shirt, and perhaps even a blazer, to make an effortless yet stylish statement at the office.
1.Pleated Pants
We know that pleats can scare people sometimes – they’ve been associated in the past with a baggy, unflattering look in women’s wear. But the latest styles aren’t your mom’s pleats. Instead, the pleated pants you’ll find in most stores today have been tailored to sit flush to your body, so that they act more as decoration rather than adding volume to an area you might not want to emphasize.
We particularly love a pleated pant with a high waistline, so that you can tuck a simpler shirt into them – the pants will take on the heavy lifting in terms of trendiness and style, and you can dress them up or down with flats, slides, and any number of heeled shoes.
2.Culottes
The culotte trend is still going strong this summer, and for good reason. These pants are flattering for all body types, and given the right shoe, they can work for women of all heights.
For the office, we’re big fans of a tailored, A-line culotte that sits nicely on your torso and then flares out, stopping somewhere along your calf. Flowy materials might work well in some offices, depending on whether or not you’re in a creative industry where wardrobe says a lot about you. But tailored culottes can be worn in just about any office environment, provided they’ve been tailored to fit well on your body.
3.Patterned Pants
While we wouldn’t recommend you wearing a giant polka dot or striped pattern in any of your work outfit pieces, a small, subtle pattern that evokes sophistication and elegance can be used to great effect on the right pants.
We really love the subtle plaid patterns and other muted designs that have been emerging in women’s workwear lately. A thin stripe in a subtle colour change, or a small all-over pattern can add a nice amount of interest to your outfit without being too over-the-top for the workplace. For summer, we’d also recommend looking for pants in some of this year’s trendier patterns, like gingham, and in summer-weight fabrics, including linen-blends and seersucker.
4.Belted Waistlines
Similar to pleated pants, a belted waistline in your work wardrobe can add a much-needed kick to an otherwise basic outfit. We’ve been loving a style called “paper-bag” pants, which gathers together a tailored amount of “loose” material at the top of the pant, and cinches it with a relaxed-looking belt made of the same fabric as the pants.
Belted waistlines are perfectly in line with the latest high-waisted pants trend, and offer an interesting touch to the midsection of your outfit. Just as you would with pleated pants, we recommend wearing a simple top tucked into belted pants to really show off the unique aspects of the item. If you can get away with wearing a bodysuit underneath your pants and a blazer, this achieves a killer look that can take you from day to night – simply lose the blazer, and add a pair of heels and some great jewelry for a fun evening out with friends after the work day is done.
5.Cropped Hemlines
We love being able to show off a bit of skin in the summertime – it’s a time to let your ankles breathe and it’s the only season in which everyone can actually see your pedicure. One great way to turn attention to your feet is a pair of cropped pants.
Unlike culottes, which flare away from the leg, we’re referring more to a cigarette pant or other slim cut that stays tight to your leg at the bottom and stops a good few inches above the top of your foot. Slim cut cropped pants look especially great with heels, whether they be stilettos or a chunkier looking shoe. The above-mentioned styles of pant – belted waistlines, pleated and patterned – all come in cropped pant versions.
For busier versions of cropped hemline pants, we’d recommend heeding the advice above, which is to stick to simple tops and accessories to let the pants do the talking. But if you happen to be wearing a simpler style of cropped pant, with a less busy waistline, you can actually get a bit bolder with the pieces you pair them with. Perhaps you could try one of the season’s big trends, such as a ruffle top, or a shirt with a large bow collar. You could also try pairing a simple pair of cropped pants with a patterned piece, such as a gingham top or patterned shoes, and having a simple base in a neutral colour is a great excuse to break out a bold piece, like a brightly coloured blazer.
The best advice we have for putting a look together is to have fun with it! Use the summer as a time to experiment with bolder looks – the bright sunshine goes well with trying something new.
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For all of your tailoring needs, whether they be work-wardrobe related or otherwise, reach out to Love Your Tailor’s team of professionals to ensure you’re looking your best at work and at play.