building a professional winter wardrobe

After a brief “reprieve” into some slightly warmer temps (ie, 30s), Chicago is back to frigid winter weather. I’m not a fan of the cold. It always seems like more work figuring out what to wear knowing I’ll be outside for 30 minutes outside as part of my commute: how to layer clothing for extra warmth, lugging extra shoes in my bag to change into after my boots... and all the laundry that comes from wearing so many extra clothes! I tend to get kind of lazy about my outfits and fall into the habit of wearing jeans, tennis shoes, and the same old sweaters over and over. Working in academia, I don’t have to worry about dress codes so I can get away with this. But I’m not a grad student anymore, and I know I really should try to dress more professionally. This year I am trying to make the effort to put together some outfits that are more than just the jeans and a sweater look. Luckily, January tends to be a good month in terms of acquiring some new clothing items, thanks to a few generous Christmas gifts and the after-Christmas sales – I found some great bargains, including $35 jeans, $20 dress pants, and a $14 sweater! Gotta love all those post-holiday mark downs. After experimenting with some new outfit combinations over the past few weeks, I thought I’d share some strategies that worked pretty well for fighting the cold – sometimes to the point where I’d get outside and think, hey it’s not so bad! I hardly consider myself a fashionista, but hopefully they are not too bad style-wise, either :)

So the main strategy is still to dress in layers. This is obvious; what’s challenging is doing it in a way that isn’t super bulky. I always wear tights under my pants; it makes a big difference when walking outside for an extended period of time. I’ve acquired a decent collection of tights, and I coordinate the color with my shoes (brown or black). Generally I wear tennis shoes or boots (if there’s snow) so as not to ruin my nice shoes. Then when I get to the office, I swap them with the dress shoes I keep in my drawer, and the tights work well with them – no trouser socks necessary.

A basic layering method for when it’s really cold is to wear a tank top, a tight, lightweight long sleeve t-shirt, and a sweater. For these layers, Old Navy really helped me out. This year I found some tank tops in different colors for only $2 each! And also long sleeve tees for only $8, also in different colors. The different color tees help with the “professional” look, because with their scoop neck, they basically look similar to wearing a cami under a nice sweater. Below is a combination that I found works well ~ two slightly different tones of purple that coordinate nicely. That’s one of the tees underneath the $14 sweater! I liked how this sweater is long and has a folded neckline; I feel like it makes it look a little dressier than the standard cable-knits I usually go for.

I’ve also found some ways to change up the layered look. Cardigans let you add some focus on what’s under the sweater, and are easy to remove if you get too warm with layers in the office. This gray cardigan was half off at Express, and so were the jeans, in a dark wash so that they are more work-appropriate. I dressed this up more by adding heels and the ruffled shirt underneath – a Christmas gift that coordinates well with the gray stitching on the ruffles (thanks Mom!). I think this lets me do the “jeans and sweater” thing in a more fun, professional way.

Another look comes thanks to my awesome husband, who gifted me with a sweater vest. It adds an extra layer of warmth to my core without being overly bulky, as tends to happen when I try putting sweaters over button-down shirts. Here I just matched it with a pink button-down and some gray pants I’ve had since college, which I conveniently rediscovered during our New Year’s closet cleaning. (Don’t you love finding clothes that you forgot about, but still fit and are passable fashion-wise?) I like how the vest adds some more visual interest to this outfit – while also keeping me warm!

As for actually braving the cold – can’t say that I look quite as professional, since I pile on my puffy down coat, a hat, scarf, gloves, and snow boots which are more functional than fashionable. (Tip for any other small-footed girls out there: I bought these from Columbia sports last year – in a girl’s size! I wear women’s 5.5 or 6; the size 6 women’s boots were too big and they didn’t have any smaller. So I went for the girl’s size 5.5, which look the same but were half price compared with women’s! I’ve heard you can get away with this if you wear size 7 or smaller!) The boots don’t really work well for tucking my pants in like so many girls are doing these days, so I just roll up the pants.. not exactly stylish, I know, but it keeps the bottoms from getting snowy and salt stains. And hey, at least my coat is purple :)

(Don't I look excited about going outside??)

So, that’s it for my cold-proof professional wardrobe tips. Still not a fan of the winter, but it’s always fun coming up with new outfit options. This experiment has made the challenge of winter attire a little more interesting, anyway! If you have more tips, please pass them along!