Category Archives: Workwear

If the shoe fits…wear it!

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Ok so here’s the thing, last October I injured my foot and Achilles as a result of moving from heels to flats….

Ever since this very unfortunate and pitiful event I have been challenged in terms of finding chic and practical footwear…enter the Flatform!

The Flatform is unique in providing height and comfort, and does not necessitate the inclusion of ballet pumps in my work bag.  They are versatile and stylish and can work for 9-5 daytime and post work drinks. Here are some of the ones I am currently coveting.

Paloma

 

Commutista: How to keep your cool when the heat is on?

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Increasingly, as I am planning what to wear for work in the mornings I am not just planning an outfit that will be able to take me from a carefree commute to my desk……

I am having to use the weather app on my iPhone to gain insight into the ever-changing British weather, which seems to change on an hourly basis. But ever the optimist, I thought that I would engage in a little positive visualisation using Pinterest and imagine the perfect summer commute looks.

Paloma

Spring/Summer 2015 Capsule Casual Smarts

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I’m back and ready for my Spring/Summer wardrobe refresh!

Having spent most of the winter months indoors writing MBA assignments and eating chocolate…. I am now ready to embrace warmer weather, lighter evenings and go shopping!!!

For inspiration I have created a Spring/Summer  edit which captures some key SS15 trends, as well as some classics. I hope you like it….

Paloma

Cosmopolite

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Passport, bank cards, e-tickets, phone, iPad…..

I used to run this list through my mind at least six times before I left for a business trip, still do! I thought that as long as I had at least my passport and bank cards I would be able to deliver that presentation in Lisboa, even if I had to buy clothes at the airport, or  in-country.  At least I would not have breached my luggage allowance!

Overtime packing for a business trip becomes routine, but that is just when you realise that you have left your Heathrow Express ticket on your bedside table. Should have bought the Smythson travel wallet!

My approach to packing is simple -keep it capsule!  I visualise the next few days ahead in terms of travel outfit, key meetings, evening events and try to achieve a good balance. The weather is a critical factor that influences what I wear as well as the occasion itself. The creasing of clothing can be another concern especially when you could be spending a lot of time being seated on a train, plane or in the office.  As you already know, the ability to combine a few key pieces which move you  from day to night or from formal to smart casual is vital.  But packing a suitcase for a business trip is not an exact science and sometimes you do need to pack 3 coats and 10 pairs of shoes, and that is ok, as long as it works for you.

If we get to our destination prepared and focused, what we remembered to pack in our Rimowa becomes incidental.

Paloma

A wardrobe fit for……Helena

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Helena Morrissey is not your regular CEO, we have all read her amazing story, CEO of Newton Investment Management at 35 , happily married with 10 children…..

When you think about  Helena Morrissey  the phrase ‘I don’t know how she does it’ just does not even cut it.

Her commitment to gender equality is another admirable quality that endears her to professional women everywhere,  particularly in  her role as Chair of Opportunity Now and founder of  the 30 % club. However, as well as being one of the most successful women in investment banking, Helena Morrissey is perhaps one of the most stylish, breaking away from corporate dress code stereotypes.

Helena is the perfect example of a woman who has a wardrobe as sharp as her mind.

 

Paloma

Does size matter? Mind the thigh gap

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Size matters! Or so we are told…but do we all have to be a size 6 to walk into a room and wow.

Personally I think beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder. We put on a few pounds, we lose a few pounds but we are essentially the same fabulous woman we were before.

Style is in the eye of the woman who emanates it, where she is S, M, or L. We are all more than the some of our measurements, and have the ability to ensure that we wear an an item of clothing and it does not wear us.

It is all about the right fit, cut or design, not about us fitting into a narrowly defined box. Beauty comes in various shapes, sizes and forms, and we as women need to claim and own it for ourselves and nobody else.

Here is the first plus sized casual smarts edit

 

Paloma

Transitions: What to wear when you change jobs and industries

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Ok, so we have made it through the interview stage for that fabulous new job, and have mentally prepared for the cultural change that moving not only jobs, but industries involves.

Fast forward to our first day in said new job, and we just remembered that the perfectly cut Reiss trouser suit at the back of our wardrobe is no longer suitable for the new work environment in the creative industries…or is it?

Why should we through baby out with the bath water? A little re-framing here and there means that we can still be on trend, and work appropriate.

Why not team a pair of tailored trousers with a perforated white blouse to give an outfit a creative edge? Or upgrade the blue bow blouse that we bought for our city break in Amsterdam, by pairing it with a split front midi black skirt for a casual smart look in the office. Oh, and remember those wide leg white cropped trousers that we wore on holiday in Greece last summer, they would look great with a shell top , and a blazer for our meeting on Thursday…..

The key question to ask when moving industries as well as jobs is, should I buy a whole new wardrobe, align some capsule pieces that I already have in my wardrobe with a selection of  new items; or have existing garments altered?

Here is my edit of separates that could be combined to create either a corporate, creative or casual smarts look.

Paloma

A wardrobe fit for…….Olivia

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A wardrobe fit for Olivia Pope?

‘It’s handled!’

Ok, let me let you in on a little secret, I  want to be Olivia Pope…

Here is a woman who is not just razor sharp in the way she dresses, but also in the way she intelligently  deals with multiple political crises.

Now let’s talk about that wardrobe….

Olivia has  a number of great signature pieces which are must haves for our  winter  wardrobes, from the wrap coat to the elbow length glove.  Nobody wears a statement jacket and wide leg trousers like Olivia when she is strutting towards the Oval talking into her cell at 100 mph, coffee and Prada tote in hand.

Extramarital affairs aside Olivia is pretty perfect (note to self, this is a fictional character!). Only time will tell whether Olivia and Fitz will end up  living happily ever after, or succumb to one of Mellie’s many schemes. All I know is that Scandal is one of the best TV dramas of all time and Shonda Rhimes is a genius!

Here is my edit of all things Olivia, can you handle it?

Paloma

Will you need an overnight stay?

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We have all been there, it is 8pm and we are in the dining room of our hotel trying to eat inconspicuously whilst reading a book, a magazine, or the menu.  Frankly, we are trying to do anything which does not scream I am dining alone. Whilst we may offer a mutually empathetic look to another female diner,  random guy at the bar, it’s a Tuesday night and we’re just not interested!

As the evening goes on we have managed to make it through our main course on our phones,  anything to break the monotony of our ‘table for one’ situation.  This is then followed by a decision as to whether we want dessert, or just a coffee before we go up to our room.  After all we have an early start the next day, and we really do need to  have that last read through our presentation notes.

Whilst this may seem familiar to those of us who have travelled extensively on business, it never seems to surprise me how liberating a night in a hotel on our own can actually be.  So what if we’re on our own , there are advantages, such as room service, a turned down bed and the luxury of using our Decleor body scrub in a bath tub we do not have to clean.  When we look at the overnight stay in this way , it is seen as a benefit, a luxury, the ever elusive ‘alone time’ with our laptops.  So instead of dreading ‘dinner for one’ embrace this time as dinner cooked for ‘one’.

There are some moments where it is all about you….

Paloma

Porte la Culotte! (Wear the trousers)

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Sometimes we need to wear the trousers at work, step up to the plate and ‘Lean In’.  Although, we don’t want to wear just any old pair of trousers, we want to be able to ‘porte la culotte’!

My favourite pair are these fabulous Karen Millen culottes which come in grey and black. Dress them up with a Givenchy deconstructed white shirt, or dress them down with a Ted Baker embellished sweater. Alternatively, be the smartest employee in the room and team your KM culottes with a  statement  jacket to create the ultimate A/W 14/15 power suit.

Paloma