If you are like 99% of the population that does not have six pack abs, the midsection or tummy area might be a problem for you.  We want to give you solutions on how to disguise that midsection.

Silhouettes: Avoid empire waistlines.  Depending where they fall on you it can often make you appear you are expecting when you really aren’t.  Wear looser or flowier tops that end past your hip.   A-line cuts are the best option to camouflage that midsection.

Fabric: A tight lycra or spandex fabrication that clings to your body will only show lumps and bumps.  A sturdier fabric in cotton or silk will help portray a smoother surface.   Again if it is a very narrow silhouette it will highlight the area you want to disguise.

Assets:  Highlight the areas you do like. A belted a-line dress will highlight the skinniest part of the waist while floating away from the body.  Draw attention to your accessories- necklace or earrings. Show off those great legs of yours with some fun shoes!

Here are examples below: 

Origami Blouse-$49.99
The Mavis Blouse- $49.99
Max and Cleo Sandal Sateen Utility Dress-$112.00

Stay tuned for more fashion dilemmas on our Workchic Fitting Room series! 

We received a question from one of our readers who is interviewing for a new job. She aced her first interview and is now being called in for a second. Her question is:

“I only have one suit and I already wore it to my first interview. What do I wear for this one?”

This happens often. Since business suits are no longer the normal attire for most industries, it’s common for women to only have one suit in their wardrobe. Hopefully you have selected a basic suit that you will get the most use out of. With that said, if you will be working in a company or industry that requires business professional attire, now is the time to invest in that second suit. Since this is not the case for Michelle, we are going share some easy ways to keep your look professional while utilizing part of your existing suit.

Remember you have already been to the offices and you know what the dress code is. This will help you better dress for the environment but you should still take your look up a level. If you are going in for a second interview you will probably be meeting with your potential boss’s boss. Generally the person in this position will dress to meet her authority. Make sure you dress accordingly.

 

Trade in your basic bottoms for a skirt with a sophisticated print. This should be something tonal and in colors that compliment your suit jacket. This Women: Cotton floral-print full skirt – Unbleached white will look nice with khaki and white suit jackets. Chaps Paisley Pleated Skirt at Kohl’s will be perfect with a black suit jacket. Full and A-line skirts are the most universally flattering, but pencil skirts can also look very professional. If you have a brown jacket, try this Antonio Melani “Lissa” Skirt.

If the office is more casual you can opt to trade your jacket for a blouse and cardigan combo. Both of the styles we selected from Banana Republic have a structured jacket feeling. This silk printed blouse will keep the professional feeling and look nice under either the grey or brown cardigan.

Either of these updates will breathe fresh life into your outfit while maintaining your professional appearance. If your not comfortable veering from a more traditional look with a full suit then swap out your accessories and select a blouse in a completely different hue or try a print.  We have many blouses selected for a business office that will update your look. 

Hopefully this will give you a little added confidence to land that job! 

We’d love to hear how you make changes to your interview outfits for different positions. If you’d like to be featured in a new series about how to dress for an interview, email us info@workchic.com. You can also send any work style questions to that address.  Getting ready for work should be the easiest part of your day, we want to help you make your effortless looks professional, feminine, and chic everyday! 

 

                                       (pic courtesy of Google Images)

Now that summer is here the last thing most of us want to imagine is wearing tights or any type of hosiery on our legs.  But for those of you that have a more corporate dress code or feel more comfortable wearing stockings or tights versus exposing your bare legs you may want a cooler option.  One of our readers asked:  What about fishnets?

Well we certainly don’t suggest wearing the open weave fishnets to work. It can appear too costumey. Keep those at home. However, you can get away with the tight or mini weave fishnet pattern in black or nude depending on your outfit. You can see from the below that there are some lightweight hosiery options to wear rather than going the nude pantyhose route.

We want to hear from you.  Do you wear tights or hosiery during the summer months?  If you have any other questions you need answered please feel free to email us at info@workchic.com!

If you are petite and truly have a small frame it is important you do not get swallowed up or lost in your clothes. Generally we think of this happening in the winter with many layers and bulky items, but it can happen in the summer too. Flowy tops and dresses can easily overwhelm you and drown out your professional image. We wrote a guest post on Polyvore with three outfits to show you how to keep your style Workchic this summer.  Here we are going to give you a few more pieces to recreate the looks.

These short sleeve cardigans will look chic paired with trousers in the office. Add beaded necklaces and fun shoes to create your own look. Both the Women: Shirred cardigan – bright claret and Nygard Collection Petites Cropped Cardigan come in multiple colors.

 

The first A-line Dress, Petites: Petite floral knit dress – Olive, should probably be worn with a jacket or cardigan to the office. While the second style, Chaps Knot-Front Dress, has a bit more coverage and could be worn on it’s own.

Experiment with Printed Blouses on Casual days in the office. The Nygard Collection Petites Abstract-Print Silk Smocked Blouse has a smocked waist and the  LAUREN BY RALPH LAUREN Petite’s KRIS BELTED TUNIC has a belt to cinch the style.

We found all of these styles in the petite department and this is where you should be shopping to get the right fit.  If you haven’t already, be sure to check out our full post on Polyvore’s site to learn how to put these looks together.  Happy Shopping!

View ‘Outfits by Fit’ on Polyvore

Workchic was featured in the HLMN weekend roundup. Check out our post and some great others below!

Beauty Sweet Spot share the latest on how to get and keep your teeth white.Beauty Junkies Unite compares 5 self tanners and shares the results.Watch as style maven June Ambrose interviews Chrisette Michelle at Black Style Central.Blaq Vixen Beauty tries her hand at false nails from the Kiss brand…want to know how they measured up?Find Beyonce’s colorful gladiator sandals at The Cheap Chica.Cool and Fresh discovers the incredible shoes of Nicholas Kirkwood.

Diary of a Style Addict shares the details on a fab charity event!

Check out this cute little dress from Anthropologie over at Fabulous Frocks.

Hot Beauty Health shows you 10 natural solutions to preserve your youth and beauty.

In A Word…Fab has a great profile on businessman Kwame Jackson.

la.morena has the scoop on a ton of wonderfully priced goodies from E.L.F. cosmetics.

SparklingPinkGorilla shares her shoe of the day.

StyleLuxe shares what makes a great sandal.

Style Apothecary reviews the amazing products from Graftobian Beauty.

Workchic shows how you can go from the airport to a meeting in style!

For more information on The HLMN or on becoming an affiliate please visit our website.

We have received lots of comments from our readers stating that they are very sensitive when it comes to their bust size.  They want to know how to put the focus on them and not the “girls” when dressing for the office.  Here are our suggestions to this very common fashion dilemma:

Cut of Shirt/Dresses/Sweater:  A Bateau neck focuses on your collarbone area instead of your cleavage.  A V-neck can be very flattering but remember  it should hit about 1/2 an inch above your  natural cleavage line.  The cut is too low if the v-neck dips closer to your navel!  Try to avoid Square and Scoop neck silhouettes since they tend to draw more attention to your cleavage area.

Color: Solids are best. Horizontal stripes are not ideal for your body type.  They will make your chest appear wider and larger than it actually is.  Keep the allover prints very simple.

Embellishment: Keep sequins, embroidery, or embellishment closer to your neckline or shoulder area.  Patch or small pockets, extreme ruching or ruffles will only draw more attention to your bustline.

Emphasis: Play up your toned arms with a ruffle or bell sleeve.  Get attention from those great pair of heels or earrings you just bought.

Here are some examples of the above that we found on http://shopbop.com. 

Nieves Lavi Short Sleeve V Neck Top with Bow
Sari Gueron Short Sleeve Ruffle Neck Dress


Sari Gueron Ruffle Embroidered Sleeve Dress

Lauren Moffatt Flutter Sleeve Dress

Sari Gueron Lace V Neck Dress

Stay tuned for our next Workchic Fitting Room series! 

 We received this question from one of our readers this week:

“I have invited my former boss out to lunch in order to catch up.  However, I also want to ask him for a job.  I know his busy season is just about to start and he will be bringing on new consultants/employees at the end of the summer, or before.  I want to look pulled together yet casual.  Any help would be greatly appreciated!!”

 

 

So how do you dress for this kind of meeting?  You already know your former boss so you don’t need to impress him/her right? Wrong!  Just because it is a casual meeting doesn’t mean you should wear shorts and flip flops.  Keep that look for the weekend. We found some great options on polyvore that will show you mean business but also keeping it very casual.

No matter what coast you may live on a dress is always a quick and simple casual solution in the summer heat! Just add some accessories, a great bag, and some flats.  Instant chic outfit!

Casual Lunch with Your Boss by Workchic featuring mulberry bags

 

Feel more comfortable in pants?  We found this look is casual yet pulled together.

Look #2-Casual lunch with your former boss by Workchic featuring Juicy Couture accessories

 

 

You see how easy that was?  Good Luck from Workchic.com!

 

 

 

 

By now you know chic tops are the quickest and easiest way to update your work wardrobe. Here are 10 tops you can pick up for summer, all under $30! We have sorted them by office type to make shopping easy.

Business Casual: 
Pin-tucks, feminine prints, and unique pleat placements will make your business casual stand out. Shop Women: Women’s Picot-Trim Pintuck Tops – Lemonade, $26.50; Classic Elements Shirred Neck Top, $18; Apostrophe Pleat Shirt, $14.98.

  

Business:
Any of these blouses will look chic under your suits and blazers. From a classic khaki print to a bold floral we have you covered for your Business Professional office.  Shop City Stretch Print Short Sleeve Shirt $29.95; Merona Shirred Shell – Orange Blaze, $22.99; Fred David Elbow Sleeve Ruffle Front, $19.99.

Casual: 
Instead of a basic tee try one of these blouses for the office on casual days.  Shop Merona Square Neck Top – Tan Print, $17.99; Volcom Geo Stripe Top, $17.99; ELLE Floral Crochet-Trim Top, $21.99.

 

Must have summer cardigan, Women: Women’s Crochet-Trim Cardigans – Bright White for $26.50, is perfect for chilly offices. Feminine summery details will take your right into fall.

Update your work wardrobe today with these simple tops all under $30.  Plus remember you can always sort the topsin our site by price and office type to find more Workchic recommendations. Happy Shopping!

We couldn’t forget all of the Workchic dads out there with Father’s Day being right around the corner.  Here are some fantastic gifts we found for the Office All-Star found at http://target.com .

Merona Poly Rayon Suit Jacket-$59.99
Closetmaid Tie and Belt Organizer-$8.99
Self Cleaning Lint Brush-$14.99
Set of 3 Money Clips-$39.99
The Office Trivia Game-$24.99
IPhone Alarm Clock-$149.99
HoMedics Shiatsu One Massaging Cushion-$199.99
Embark Basic Black Briefcase

Happy Father’s Day from Workchic.com!

Following up on last week’s post, How to Pack for a Business Trip, this week we are going to show you how to go from the airport to a meeting in style.  While we would probably all prefer to travel in our denim or even yoga pants, that’s just not practical when you have to run from the airport to a business meeting.  Sometimes a business suit is a must, but when business casual is your goal try these looks to keep your look professional, chic, and comfortable for the plane ride.

We love this easy knit dress while your flying.  When you step off the plane throw on a blazer, belt the waist, and you are off to your meeting in style. This oversized tote will hold your belt along with any files you are carrying.  Ask the flight attendant to hang your jacket so it stays neat and pressed for your meeting.  For shoes we went with an open toe D’Orsey style in soft leather for maximum comfort.

Velvet Khali Dress On-sale for $76
Women: Women’s Essential One-Button Blazers – New Black Reg $39.50 on-sale for $30
Ana Pires Belt Reg $55 On-Sale $35

Steven by Steve Madden Belize Large Satchel, $268
One of 2 Women’s ON1003 Peep Toe Pump, $65
Rachel Leigh Millie’s Everyday Necklace, $88

Our next outfit starts with a relaxed wide leg trousers, a simple but fitted tee, and finishes with a cozy wrap cardigan.  This will serve as your blanket on the plane. Before walking into your meeting, cross the front of the cardigan and tie it neatly in the back.  Ivory accessories are simple and sophisticated.  Your finished look will be fresh and polished.

Mac and Jac “Soft & Drapey” Pants, Reg $89 On-Sale for $53.40

Velvet Onneli Wrap, Reg $108 On-sale for $54
Women: Favorite stretch T – true black knit, $16.50
BCBGirls Women’s Sole Flat, $78.95
Women: Basket bead necklace – Ivory, $39
BLVD Josefine Tote, $187

We added a bold statement necklaces to both of these outfits because they have such simple necklines. You should also be sure to grab your favorite watch and simple earrings to complete the look. 

Do you have a favorite item to wear when traveling? Share your thoughts about dressing for the airport with us.  Hope your next trip is safe and you have a successful business meeting!