Micro mini\'s and cleavage
fashion advice,work,office wear
cleavage
The office is not the place to show off legs, or boobs, even if they are your greatest assets. The first rule of the celebrity fashion stylist is never do cleavage AND short skirts. Either, or, but never at the same time. The same applies to the office party and the workplace. Here, even when worn separately mini skirts and cleavage equal one thing: office tottie (remember Bridget Jones?). Even at the party, cleavages, (that\'s bust and builders) and midriffs are off duty and it might be best to save your short skirt for a night out with the girls...unless of course you are the office tottie.
\r\n\r\n
By Julia Robson
Flip-flops
fashion advice,work,flip-flops
flip flops
Not in summer. Not in winter. Not ever. Not even if they were the very latest Gisele Bundchen Ipanema Haivaianas, dipped in white gold and given out with the goodie bag at the Atlantis party in Dubai. Flip-flops for business meetings are the definitive office no no. About as welcome as toxic Anthrax crystals found in the in-tray. Why don\'t women - and men - who insist on showing off gnarled toes, reptilian skin, dodgy toe rings etc realize the entire office can\'t be expected to concentrate on the latest sales figures with the nightmare-inducing spectacle within smelling distance. Feet are nature\'s way of saying back off. That goes for whoever is showing theirs off at work.
Slutty Heels
fashion advice,work,slutty heels
slutty heels
There are high heels and there are slutty heels. The latter don\'t have to be stiletto, vertiginous or cheap but often are (and scuffed and white). Slutty heels are designed for the bedroom not the boardroom but for some reason women get this confused - with disastrous results. Imagine the sort of footwear The Pussycat Dolls might strap on for a night of action... or don\'t because you can\'t walk, let alone dance in these. They also have a sort of clickety-clackety coming-to-get-you sound just in case any hot-blooded male within fifty yards of the photo-copier hasn\'t already spotted them. They won\'t get you a pay rise and may even fail office health and safety regulations.
Jaunty scarves
fashion advice,work,jaunty scarves
jaunty scarves
If there is one thing worse than matchy matchy corporate suits for women (think Sarah Palin) it\'s the ‘jaunty\' scarves they are often accessorised with. You mostly see these on cheap airline trolley dollys, wannabee freaks on The Apprentice and newsreaders making their last frenzied stab at ‘fashion\'. The jaunty scarf (usually smeared with ‘warm beige\' make-up) continues to be championed by makeover divas to convince women attempting to break the glass ceiling that this is their most powerful weapon in the workplace. It is so not. The only ‘women\' that look feminine wearing jaunty scarves are drag queens.
Fishnet stockings
fashion advice,work,fishnet stockings
fishnet stockings
You wouldn\'t wear a négligée to the office so why wear overtly sexy hosiery far more suited to a burlesque dancer? A rule of thumb is if it can be bought from Ann Summers it\'s unlikely to go down well at work. Dressing in a professional manner - that\'s if your profession isn\'t a lap dancer - means showing some respect to your colleagues. It\'s not what fishnets look like so much as what they suggest that\'s the problem. They are accessories ‘of the night\'. Not the day. Not the office. Imagine trying to explain a pie chart or power point presentation in a pair? You might as well be wearing a lacy bra with tassles on the nipples and a thong. Totally inexcusable. Even if Dita von Teese was in your audience.
Something for the weekend
fashion advice,work
weekend wear
Something weird happens when you try and take weekend clothes out of the weekend. Everything that is utterly gorgeous about them evaporates in the context of the office. Jeans, leather jacket, gilet, Ugg boots, sweaters and anything resembling a gym/yoga kit is a no no. On a chilly Saturday there\'s nothing odd about wearing a fleece, or poncho for a walk in the park with friends. Slouching on the sofa on Sunday in sweatpants is cool. Translated to the office your perfect weekend wardrobe suddenly becomes the sort of chavvy gear Katie Price wore when she was still Jordan, pre-Pete. Enough said.
City shorts
fashion advice,work,city shorts
city shorts
No matter how many times designers put these horrors on the catwalk they fail to catch on in ‘real life\'. Here\'s a clue why. When something looks naff on a tall, elegant, pretty young model with long legs, imagine the same style on a working women twice her age with rippling calf muscles and thighs more used to power plates and ashtanga yoga work outs. When Madonna wore shorts recently...the result was not great. Shorts in a dark colour teamed with opaques and flat brogues and a long tailored jacket might be do-able if you work in fashion or media. Anywhere else, brace yourself for comparisons with Wee Jimmy Krankie.
Bunches, bee-hives and bed hair
fashion advice,work,bunches,britney spears,baby one more time
bunches
Bunches? Are you kidding? Would you take anyone seriously who looked like a schoolgirl? Or worse, Britney Spears. We don\'t all aspire to be ‘salon-fresh\' each morning with a Manhattan-style power bob but we can rustle up something that looks ‘groomed\'. Wearing your hair in plaits or bunches to work gives the impression work is the last thing on your mind (mid-life crises more like). Too much gel, lacquer, colour or scary Danii Minogue-style hair extensions will have the entire office laughing at you. A messy ‘Amy Winehouse\' experiment could equally trigger the rumour you\'ve spent the night shagging Keith from accounts after the office party.
Folk off
fashion advice,work,folk
folk
There is a time and place for folk. Some would argue on the corner of Haight and Ashbury circa 1967, certainly not the modern workplace, circa 2008. Weird how in a season dominated by sombre black lace and sharp tailoring, the folk revival is in full swing. Wearing a maxi dress, sheepskin gilet, rattling necklaces and tasselled booties with bells on, however will look nothing short of ridiculous in the canteen, office floor or boardroom. If you can\'t bear to be parted from your inner hippie, a slim, beaded belt or (single) silver Tom Binns bangle is passable. Anything else is not just pants, it\'s panto.
White trainers with black tights/suits
fashion advice,work,white trainers
white trainers
Even if they are Stella McCartney for Adidas or Nike Air Zoom Rifts or Converse. Trainers worn with black tights are office no no\'s. As for MBT\'s? Don\'t even go there. Even if you are a fitness freak or training for a marathon, it\'s not a good look and will get you into trouble for generating static each time you bounce past the water station. In Manhattan, where businesswomen wear trainers to walk to work during summer, they have waxed, bare and tanned legs. Here, the options are black sheer or black opaques in summer/winter/when it\'s raining. Black tights and white trainers? I think not.
\r\n\r\n
Click here for 30 great things to wear to work>>>
