photos by maria lloyd photography | shirt // pants // shoes [similar]
when i was in college, there were two huge things that were going to be my biggest challenges in the real, working world. one was getting up before 9am, which i think i’ve done a pretty good job of conquering [read more on my morning routine here!]. the second was the fact that i was going to be stuck wearing boring, shapeless, one half size too big black work pants. navy blue, if i was feeling bold. the good news is, i’m living, breathing proof that we can all rise to our preconceived challenges and overcome them.
where i work, we have a dress code that allows us to dress for the kind of day we have. meaning, i do not have to wear black dress pants everyday, but they still need to be in my wardrobe for those really important days when i need to be uber-professional. i have come to appreciate a myriad of pants – patterned, harem, cropped – you name it, i’ve tried it. i have rounded up some of my favorite office-appropriate, not-your-average-work pants, and am here to vouch for every single style.
the patterned pant: this is a good one for when you have an office that’s a little more casual – maybe you can wear nice jeans – but you still want to be professional yet fun.
the classic pant: i’m telling you, nothing looks better than a great-fitting pair of pants. the key is to make sure they aren’t too long, and tapered at the ankle. showing a tiny bit of ankle shows off the shoe, so bonus points for cute shoes!
the harem pant/aladdin pant/jogger look: this is a true, true hack if you ask me. they are comfortable, easy to dress up and dress down, and look very trendy without being way to ‘out there.’ the best part is, depending on the material and cut, you can probably get away with some athletic pants here. now, i’m not advising you go buy yourself a pair of ripaways circa 1998, but majority of the pants from athleta would fall into this category and be super work-appropriate.