Dress for Success: Best Blouses for Work

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6 years ago

You’ve prepared for your big presentation or the interview for your dream job. You’ve rehearsed until you know exactly what you are going to say…cold. You’re ready in every aspect…except you’re just not sure what to wear!

For important work events such as meetings, interviews, and presentations, you should give extra thought to what you wear.

But shouldn’t my colleagues focus on my work, not my outfit?

Well, yes. But what you wear communicates something about you to your coworkers. Just like a scowl or other non-verbal communication and conveys a message to others, so does your attire.

For example, wearing something striking and professional can convey that you are put together, planful, diligent, and pay attention to detail. On the other hand, if you look poorly dressed (i.e., clothes don’t fit, they are worn, or don’t look good on you), you risk conveying to your colleagues that you are inattentive to details, disorganized or simply don’t care about work.

I’m not saying you need to spend a lot of time and a small fortune on what you wear. But, just be aware that it conveys something about you and you should dress accordingly.

Ok already, then what should I wear?!

Let me first say that I’m not a fashion expert or stylist. I’m just a regular professional female who has learned a lot from trial and error. And, from the services of a personal stylist a few years ago.

Wow, isn’t a personal stylist expensive?

No. Not at all. They have them for free at Nordstrom. You can even schedule an appointment online. See here (https://shop.nordstrom.com/c/personal-stylists). I did this a few years ago a learned a ton!

So, what did I learn?

Two things:

1. Dress for your body shape and coloring

I think this is really important and often goes overlooked. I’m afraid, though, that I can’t offer much guidance here, since you likely look different from me; the guidance my stylist gave me likely won’t work for you. To choose colors that suit your coloring, I have found this website to be useful.

2. There is a “uniform”: an outfit consists of 3 pieces

I found this interesting. The idea is that you cannot just wear a top and a pair pants, you need a cardigan or a blazer to look polished. Otherwise, you look casual and not professionally put together. I was skeptical about this, but the truth is that — in today’s increasingly casual work environments — a top layer is often what distinguishes work attire from home attire.

So the 3 pieces of the “uniform” are:

Blouse
Blazer/Cardigan
Pants / skirt

Technically if you are wearing a dress, then you’d only have 2 pieces (Dress + Blazer / Cardigan).

In addition to the “uniform,” my stylist also advocated for two additional “must haves” when dressing to work:

Jewelry (yea!)
Purse / Bag

Honestly, there is so much to cover here! Today, I will focus just on blouses for work..

How to Choose Blouses for Work

1. Choose an actual blouse (not a button down)

My stylist was adamant that I avoid button downs. The fit isn’t particularly flattering for any woman; given a women’s shape, there are always gaps in between buttons in which someone can see through to your undergarments. Button downs just aren’t made for women. (If you insistent on wearing a button, here are some tips to avoid embarrassment when you have gaps between buttons).

Anyway, my stylist required me to choose tops that drape the body in a flowy manner…basically a blouse.

2. Choose a pattern (vs. solid color)

This is another guideline I struggled with. If I like purple, why can’t I just wear a solid purple blouse?! Well, it’ll get boring really quickly. There are just so many colors in the world. Patterns are also more memorable. As long as it’s not too busy, a pattern should help you stand out, without standing out too much.

3. Neckline should be v-neck ,cowl neck, or turtle neck (basically no boat neck)

This also perplexed me to no end. Boat neck is so safe, so ubiquitous! But, it’s boring. V-necks, cowl necks, turtle necks tend to look more sophisticated. To the idea in #2, they are more memorable without being a total distraction. I must admit, I do deviate from this; my takeaway is that we shouldn’t have 100% boat necks. Let’s have some variety.

So, with this guidance in mind…

Here are some blouses for work that I fancy…

(Note: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.)