We are independent & ad-supported. We may earn a commission for purchases made through our links.

Advertiser Disclosure

Our website is an independent, advertising-supported platform. We provide our content free of charge to our readers, and to keep it that way, we rely on revenue generated through advertisements and affiliate partnerships. This means that when you click on certain links on our site and make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn more.

How We Make Money

We sustain our operations through affiliate commissions and advertising. If you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, we may receive a commission from the merchant at no additional cost to you. We also display advertisements on our website, which help generate revenue to support our work and keep our content free for readers. Our editorial team operates independently from our advertising and affiliate partnerships to ensure that our content remains unbiased and focused on providing you with the best information and recommendations based on thorough research and honest evaluations. To remain transparent, we’ve provided a list of our current affiliate partners here.

What are Some Ideas for an Office Wardrobe for Women?

By Sheri Cyprus
Updated May 17, 2024
Our promise to you
WiseGEEK is dedicated to creating trustworthy, high-quality content that always prioritizes transparency, integrity, and inclusivity above all else. Our ensure that our content creation and review process includes rigorous fact-checking, evidence-based, and continual updates to ensure accuracy and reliability.

Our Promise to you

Founded in 2002, our company has been a trusted resource for readers seeking informative and engaging content. Our dedication to quality remains unwavering—and will never change. We follow a strict editorial policy, ensuring that our content is authored by highly qualified professionals and edited by subject matter experts. This guarantees that everything we publish is objective, accurate, and trustworthy.

Over the years, we've refined our approach to cover a wide range of topics, providing readers with reliable and practical advice to enhance their knowledge and skills. That's why millions of readers turn to us each year. Join us in celebrating the joy of learning, guided by standards you can trust.

Editorial Standards

At WiseGEEK, we are committed to creating content that you can trust. Our editorial process is designed to ensure that every piece of content we publish is accurate, reliable, and informative.

Our team of experienced writers and editors follows a strict set of guidelines to ensure the highest quality content. We conduct thorough research, fact-check all information, and rely on credible sources to back up our claims. Our content is reviewed by subject matter experts to ensure accuracy and clarity.

We believe in transparency and maintain editorial independence from our advertisers. Our team does not receive direct compensation from advertisers, allowing us to create unbiased content that prioritizes your interests.

An office wardrobe for women can help eliminate the problem of what to wear to work in the morning. Rather than being limiting, a pulled-together workable wardrobe can allow for many looks to be created from a few core pieces. A skirt suit or a pant suit, blouses, long and short sleeved tops, a sweater, a coat and another skirt or pair of pants can form the basis of a great office wardrobe for women.

If your office has casual Fridays, you can add a pair of dark denim jeans to your work wardrobe, but they should not be faded, worn-looking or torn in any way. A long sleeved top that presents as new is a great choice to wear with Friday jeans. In the summer a short sleeved top may be worn. Some offices don't allow tank tops and for the ones that do, straps should be stable and thicker rather than thin spaghetti straps. Of course, low cut tops should always be avoided at the office and shirts with logos on them should not usually be worn even on casual Fridays.

An office wardrobe for women can contain pants rather than skirts or vice versa or both depending on what the wearer prefers. Skirts should usually not be shorter than knee-length for office wear. For women who like skirts, a great wardrobe stretching idea is to find an office-appropriate skirt and blouse in a matching pattern. This way, the two pieces can be worn together to look like a dress or worn separately with other garments.

A good quality sweater can be worn with casual Friday gear as well as go over a blouse and pants or be worn under a suit jacket on a particularly cold day. If the main suit is made in a season-spanning wool fabric it can be worn any time of year. Belts and other accessories can add interest to the wardrobe pieces. A great-looking coat such as a trench coat or a camel hair type can finish off a tasteful office wardrobe for women.

WiseGEEK is dedicated to providing accurate and trustworthy information. We carefully select reputable sources and employ a rigorous fact-checking process to maintain the highest standards. To learn more about our commitment to accuracy, read our editorial process.

Discussion Comments

By rosequartz — On Jun 17, 2011

A professional wardrobe for women can be quite expensive to purchase and maintain. A fun way to change it up without spending money is to go to a swap party. You know, you take five items (clothing, belts, purses, shoes, jewelry) of your own and exchange for five items at the party. You come home with new (or like-new) items to recharge your working wardrobe.

It's been a popular party idea where I live and I've ended up with some beautiful pieces that I probably wouldn't have spent the money on at the store. I've even come home with some items my husband didn't believe were from the swap party.

By uzumba2 — On Jun 15, 2011

Another really great fashion tip for women is to buy a shift dress in black, navy or any other neutral like ivory or khaki. Combine it with different jackets or sweaters and belts to create several looks from one core piece.

I love dresses for other reasons; they are super comfortable and easy to go from day to evening wear by changing or adding the accessories. I keep different shoes in my car in case I want to go from lower heels during the day to a prettier, more feminine look for evening.

WiseGEEK, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.

WiseGEEK, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.