{Quickly Chic: Office Style}

The best part about having my social calendar back? Having my social calendar back!! On Friday, I had margaritas with a friend who I hadn’t seen in months and this week I am able to attend a {fashion & social media with the Social Media Club of DC}. Not bad for a first week back in the game!

Dressing for work in DC can sometimes feel like a juggling act. You want to look professional, polished, cute and be able  transition from meetings to after work happy hours in a single bound. It’s a lot to pack into one outfit! I’ve gotten much better at planning outfits for the week but there are still nights when I go to sleep without an outfit laid out.

For those mornings, I have a checklist to ensure my outfit hits all the criteria above and does not send me running late for my bus:

Let’s start at the top and work our way down. Button downs are my best friend. They hit the trifecta: professional, flattering, versatile. Easy to throw on and style, the button down is God’s gift to working women. You can wear a button down with a pencil skirt to work and then with chinos (soon shorts) over the weekend.

J.Crew has {Perfect Fit Button Downs} and I swear by them. Catch them when they are on sale and buy them in solids, ginghams and stripes. You will not regret this choice. You can mix and match with skirts and pants for an easy office ensemble.

Tuck your button down into a {pencil skirt} and you are halfway to a completed look! I wear pencil skirts almost every day to work: pencil skirts are super flattering and make you look polished.

Now for shoes. I’ll be honest, I was very hesitant when I tried on these {Jessica Simpson Callie pumps} a couple of years ago. However, I never looked back. The Callie pumps have a round toe and are seriously the most comfortable pair of heels I own. You can easily be a girl about town in these heels. Even if you only wear heels when necessary…guilty as charged.

Finally, the jewelry to tie it all together. I have a standard rotation of {pearl necklaces}, a standard pair of {pearl studs} and {a bangle} that I wear pretty much every day. Each piece is simple and goes with virtually everything. I do build upon my standard pieces based on my outfit but on quick mornings, I rely on the above jewelry to pull everything together.

Whew! It may seem like a a lot but trust me, getting ready in the morning will be as easy as 1 – 2 – 3 with this checklist. Hair and makeup are another post for another day…

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