I’ve been meaning to do a post about what I wear when I travel for work. I travel quite often these days (typical twice/month, sometimes three times) so I have gotten good at packing. I nearly exclusively wear dresses because I feel most confident in dresses and they take up less space than pants, a top, and a jacket would. I do not own business suits anymore because I hate how I feel in them!
I should preface this post by saying that I am not super into fashion (for fashionable content, see Lag Liv’s blog! She works with a stylist and has a very large, beautiful wardrobe.) I’m pragmatic about dressing - I want something comfy that won’t wrinkle that looks professional and ‘put together’. So most of these outfits are made of a fabric that does not wrinkle and feels good on my body. I’m also a minimalist when it comes to my wardrobe. I don’t have a capsule wardrobe but my wardrobe is capsule-adjacent.
For this trip, I flew to Charlottte for some client events. I had 2 client dinner reception events and I moderated 2 panels (and also did 32 zooms that week as it was a week that sales was encouraged to book lots of meetings).
Here is what I wore that week with pretty crappy bathroom selfies which is the best I could do.
Night #1: client dinner reception
I flew in, checked into my hotel, and quickly freshened up to meet 2 portfolio managers for a drink/chat before the client event started. I wore a striped dress from Boden. I have this dress in 4 colors (this striped version, black, navy, red). When I find something I like, I tend to buy it in multiple colors. I love that this dress has pockets!
Day #2: moderate panel + lots of zooms
I moderated a panel with the portfolio managers fairly early in the day and then had a day of solid zooms. I wore a dress I bought at a boutique in a suburb of Minneapolis last summer. I loved this dress so much that I ordered 2 more this summer (brand is Gretchen Scott). The fabric is wrinkle-proof which is key for travel. This is my favorite of the 3 dresses - I think it’s the most flattering since the pattern is a darker color. I didn’t have any post-work client commitments so I went out for dinner with one of the portfolio managers that was on the panel (she lives in Chicago, the other PM is Charlotte-based).
Day #3: lots of zooms + another client dinner reception
Today’s dress is the same as yesterday’s, but a different pattern. This dress is my least favorite of the 3 as I don’t wear a lot of pink but I still like the dress.
Day #4: moderate a panel, do lots of zooms, fly home in the afternoon
Finally, the last day of this intense trip. This dress is the same brand as the other 2 but has a different neckline + pockets!I look so tired in this photo because I feel so tired. If I zoomed in more, you’d see circles and bags under my eyes. This trip was intense with all the meetings and client interaction! It was TOO MUCH. I am glad I am unlikely to have a trip like this again. It was the combo of in-person client interactions plus so many zooms that really pushed me over the edge into complete exhaustion.
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And there you have it! These are the kinds of dresses I wear during the warm weather months. Now that it’s getting colder, I shift to wearing dresses + tights. I can wear tights with the last dress but the other 3 dresses will be moved to the ‘summer’ section of my wardrobe and will only be worn if I travel somewhere warm like FL or CA, etc.
What kinds of outfits do you feel best in? How do you dress for work? The outfits above are what I wear when I go to the office, too.
17 comments:
I LOVE Boden dresses. I have one that may or may not be exactly the same as your first picture (if it's not, it's very similar) that I wear all the time. For me, it's perfect because the long sleeves keep me warm in the air conditioning but the light material isn't too hot when I'm outside. I wear dresses quite a bit - especially during the summer - because there are times when I don't want to wear shorts, but I hate sweaty legs so pants are a no, lol.
These dresses are perfect! So pulled together and cute. Love the idea of capsule adjacent. I would like to curate this for myself instead of just having TONS OF STUFF, some of which I don’t actually like. Also, I am pretty into Rothy’s these days— so polished, so comfy, and WASHABLE.
I agree with every word that you wrote. I feel more comfortable in a dress than I would in a suit or in separates. Wrinkle free, washable, pockets, and color/patterns are all my jam. And noooooooo to uncomfortable shoes. Just no.
I AM HERE FOR THIS CONTENT! Lisa, you look so fabulous and so pulled together. I love dresses but don't get much chance to wear them. I think you look so great in them - so professional, and much more flattering than a suit. I used to wear suits to work and they are so bulky. Not to mention the whole "dry clean" thing. I love the wrinkle-free fabrics you have - you really have this down to a science!
Ohhh. I love this sort of post. These all look fabulous and I think it's so smart to buy multiples of a cut/fit you like!
You know I love dresses. They are what best suit my body type and I always feel more put together and polished when I'm wearing them. Just yesterday I was daydreaming about what it would be like to live in a climate where I could wear dresses year-round. I wear dresses regularly in the summer, but in the winter it's mostly just to church (our church is super casual, but I feel like wearing a dress helps me slip into worship better?!) because I find it hard to stay warm enough in Canadian winters in a dress! I don't have to wear specific clothes for work (aside from occasional Teams meetings, when I only have to think about waist up), so I tend to work in comfortable clothes since I'm at home...but I chose to wear dresses to church because
My style is super similar, I tend to change for evening work activities, just because it helps me perk up. I also make sure to pack a sweater/jacket as hotel air conditioning in meetings rooms drives me crazy.
Your outfits are lovely! They look comfy and professional. I wear a uniform at work so I leave the house each day in tshirt and jeans and change when I get to the office. I recently attended a professional conference and had to buy a new wardrobe for the 3 days as it had been 4+ years since I had attended anything like that and nothing from before fit. I like the wrinkle free, flowy dress pants (always black!) with short sleeve tops (also wrinkle free fabric) and a cardigan. I have a larger bust and have never found button down shirts to be comfortable, though I do like the look. I do not wear skirts/dresses professionally after an incident my senior year of college. My industry often does onsite interviews that include a tour of the manufacturing facility and I (naively or just uninformed) showed up to my onsite interview in my interview suit with skirt (my mom and I found it at a consignment store and I was so proud of it!) and they said I could not attend the tour with a skirt (catwalks and maybe “loose” clothing). They found a one piece coveralls for me (ridiculously huge) and I attended the tour in that and I was so embarrassed. I only wore the suit for on campus interviews after that and after I accepted my first job, I have never worn a skirt/dress in a professional setting again!
Yes!! Dresses for life. So easy to accessorize and it's just one piece. I think we dress similarly for office life.
I love your travel work wardrobe. So cute. These dresses look great on you. I am unfamiliar with Gretchen Scott and I might need to change that. I am not super into fashion either. I dress for comfort, and pockets are always a great bonus. I am a big fan of dresses, but prefer them in the summer. I'd rather not be bothered with tights. Fortunately, my workplace is fairly relaxed. Ha. When I'm babysitting, I will kick myself if I choose something without pockets. I'm terrible at accessorizing and I do not have pierced ears.
I'm exhausted just hearing about this work trip. I'd have to build a nap into my schedule, which I'm not sure would fly with an employers. Reason #764 why I have an in home daycare. ;)
I'll echo the other commenters! These dresses are flattering on you, look professional and seem very low-fuss (ha, can you imagine if you actually had to IRON something on a business trip?) And your shoes look perfect- very glad you don't wear heels. Just seeing someone in high heels makes my feet hurt.
I've always had issues with earrings, too, but I've found the Tiny Lux brand to be magic. Pricey, but well worth it.
THIRTY TWO ZOOMS. Lisa. That is A Lot. No wonder you were exhausted! That is a staggering number of zooms. And that's before all the in-person stuff, too!
You have great style! I love how put together you look. Boden has such great dresses. I am eyeing a few right now -- I need more long sleeve dresses in my closet.
this is so cool! I love your dresses, good colors and elegant. I am more two piece person, a skirt and a blouse/shirt. I feel more comfortable that way. I have one t-shirt that I feel it's my good luck tshirt, from 13 years ago, and still wear it when i'm very nervous about an event.
I love your dresses and am curious what the fabric blend is for them, given you've said they don't wrinkle. As you know, my work "uniform" was black slacks, usually Ann Taylor, and a top, usually of the sweater variety, and recently I would wear a sports bra so the sweater had to have a neckline that did not show the bra. So I basically had five tops and two bottoms that I wore every week without fail! Same when I traveled, I would only bring one pair of slacks and however many tops for the number of days and I would wear my work outfit to dinner. It actually helped that I worked with all men because they didn't care what I wore to dinner or if my pants were the same color as the day before!
Genius! And, I know what you mean about Rebecca from lag Liv who is also a partner in a law firm, of course she works with a stylist! (don't mind me, I'm just jealous ;)
I live in a top+pants combos (when it's cold tops become sweaters, when it's warm- blouses/shirts). In September/May/June I wear dresses because it's so easy- one piece!
When I have the inspiration and motivation I wear the above dresses with tights and boots but that does not happen often...
Really interesting post, love that you wear the same dress in multiple colours - I've never tried that for work before but I love the idea. I LOVE your day 2 dress (your favourite - the colour/pattern combination is so lovely), I wished I lived in the US so I could buy it. My go to work outfits are either a nice top and jeans or business pants/long skirt depending on how dressed up I need to be, or a knee length dress for hot days. But I think I need to lean into more dresses now I see these on you! And I avoid heels whereever possible too (I'm lucky I'm tall so I never really need the height).
That first dress is sooo cute on you!
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