Our friends at Polyvore have already covered work-wear for apples, boyish, and pear shapes. We are jumping in to help with hourglass figures.  Your friends are probably jealous of your figure, but when getting dressed for work it may be easy to stumble. We want to show you how to keep the sexy secretary at bay and play up your polished professional look.

Hourglass-Business Casual Office by Workchic featuring Dorothy Perkins cardigans

For a Business Casual office, go with a printed A-line skirt. We selected a knit top with a ribbed waistband so it will accentuate your smallest part. Both the drapey cardigan and skirt will float away from your body.  The necklace should hit above the neckline of your top.  This combination is sweet and sophisticated all at once. You will be ready for any event thrown your way since this outfit creates such a balanced look.

Hourglass-Business Office by Workchic featuring K Karl Lagerfeld jackets

For a Business Professional office, keep the garments simple and play with accessories. This dress is perfect for your hourglass figure, the pleats along the skirt will provide a softening effect and the jacket keeps things all business. The simple nature is begging for a statement necklace. Depending on your office environment, pick the shoes that will work best for you.

Hourglass-Casual Office by Workchic featuring Marc by Marc Jacobs clutches

For a casual day at the office, try wide leg trouser jeans and a loose printed blouse. Tuck in the blouse and add a belt for a polished look.  Also plan on wearing a cami underneath this light weight fabric.  We paired it with fun aqua and green accessories to bring out the colors in the print. 

Learning how to dress your figure will move you in the right direction to polishing your professional image. Remember that every body type is different, a tailor will always be your best friend!  Here are a few more blouses perfect for your figure and the office.

Our friend Mallory can now be officially classified as the working professional.  She has contributed her thoughts on how to dress for work on a major budget.  Here are some suggestions on how you can take what is in your closet and update it on the cheap:

I have definitely been one to talk up accessories, but I have to admit I should really use them more! Scarves were great additions to outfits for the winter, but I was trying to figure out what could replace them for the summer. The first thing I came up with were headbands.  I even found that some of my favorite celebrities were wearing their own interpretation of this trend.  Photos courtesy of Google Images.

Headbands come in different designs and fabrics and could add some much color to a basic outfit. Also, they are so affordable! Check out these fun headbands that I found right on workchic.com below!

The three headbands are from oldnavy.com and at $4.50 each you can afford all three!

I found the next set at shopbop.com for $35 each. They are great for those casual days at the office.

Now that Spring is officially here you are itching to buy some new clothes.   However now  is not the time to blow your entire paycheck on a runway outfit.  We want to educate you on how to take a runway outfit and make it runway inspired for less!  We used the Spring 09 collection from Tory Burch for our inspiration.  She always knows how to create chic business casual outfits for the office.  Photos from the Tory Burch collection courtesy of style.com.

Our first outfit  takes one of the hottest trends this season- florals- and pairs it with a long cardigan, belt, and also another hot trend -chain crossbody bag.  If we had to take a guess the price tag for this entire outfit would be close to $700.

Here is our interpretation on the outfit above for less.  We found the Orange Draped Floral Dress with Belt  at edressme.com for only $92.00.  It saves some extra money with the belt already attached!  Add the Long Deep Cardigan Sweater by Original Penguin over the dress for $76, Nine West Black Patent Sandals for $38.61, and theHandbag Lab New Envelope Clutch in Black  for $140.  This brings out total on our runway inspired outfit to $346.61. Half the price of the original outfit!   

We liked the next outfit because it works for those casual fridays at the office.  It uses khaki pants as an alternative to denim, paired with a striped shirt, floral jacket in the same color family, and statement necklace.  Again we can assume this outfit is over the $500 price tag.

Here’s our interpretation for less:  We found the Splendid Navy/White Stripe Tank for $47, paired with
Navy Floral jacket for $79.50, Khaki pants from Old Navy for $32.50, Silver Coin bib necklace for $69, and
Report Portia Tan Leather Sandals for $37.44.  Total outfit cost:  $265.44!  What a steal! 

 You see you can get the same runway look for less!  Get inspired with Workchic.com!

Ok call it a comeback from the 80’s but the use of colorblock in clothing, shoes, and accessories is a huge trend this Spring season.   Just remember not to wear all of your colorblock items at once!  For example if you want to wear that new colorblock blouse of yours, don’t wear a colorblock skirt with it.   You’ll then be nominated for fashion victim at the office!  Keep it simple. We found the following colorblock items below that we just had to share with you:

This sweater will get attention alert! The Cynthia Rowley Colorblock Cardigan makes a bold graphic statement this Spring and is such a perfect way to use all of those primary colors in a playful way. However it is best to keep your bottoms whether skirt, pants, or denim very neutral.  We found the Color Block Suede Tote at ebags.com which used a soft neutral palette in the colorblock trend.  The Twist Neck Color Block Dress is perfect for that business casual outfit and can be paired with a black cardigan or jacket.  We love Old Navy’s Color-Block Skirts which are ideal for those casual office days. Color Block Aqua Dress by ecoSkin, is also a casual way to express the colorblock trend.  Add a white cardigan or jacket and you are set for the office.  These Sterling Silver Tri Color Amber Block Earrings are very simple and can be worn with any outfit. The Vince Camuto “Hester” Color Block Peep Toe Platform blends muted tones of bronze metallics into a fun colorblock pattern.  They are perfect with denim.  We liked this next tote since it is so versatile for Spring and Summer the London Fog Saville Color block tote and can be worn with those new wide leg white pants of yours.  Last but not least we had to add these fun
L’Autre Chose Colorblock Platform Wedges they are the perfect way to pop that black dress of yours!

Spring is here so why not warm up to the latest colorblock trend!

Happy Shopping from Workchic.com!

Spring is around the corner and you can’t help be tempted by the spring dresses, cute shoes, and colorful accessories.  However in these tough times you want to utilize what you have in your wardrobe this season.  You have all of the essential basics-white shirt, black skirt, black dress, trenchcoat, jeans,black belt- so how do you budget yourself to buy only one item?

Keep in mind when shopping for that one item that you want to utilize it as much as possible.  Think of what you pieces from your wardrobe that you can wear it with all season long. 

We found the latest Spring trends that can be worn well into other seasons.

1. Florals:

This Deco Dress from French Connection not only covers the floral trend but also the black and white color combination trend that is hot for Spring.  You can wear this dress all year round. The Sele Floral Chiffon Top for $49 will look great with any business casual or casual outfit.  Wear it with jeans as shown below or pair with your black pants or black pencil skirt for a chic business casual outfit.  We found the Painterly Floral Flats from Charlotte Russe for $18.99. They will look great with any piece in your wardrobe.

2. Statement Necklace-

An easy way to update an outfit is through a piece of jewelry.  What not make a statement with a
necklace this season. The bigger the better!   It makes an outfit new and fresh. We found the following Erickson Beamon Arcade Necklace at bluebee.com, Kenneth Jay Lane Multi-Strand Turquoise & Wood Necklace at shopbop.com, and the Coral Bold bib necklace from bananarepublic.com.

3. Nude colors

Nude colors are hot right now whether in handbags, shoes, or clothing.  They will always remain classic so you can wear all year round.   Think of it as wearing white after labor day-totally acceptable!

We found the Nude patent strap flat for $98.00, Jacky Nude platform pump for $140, and
Carbotti Italian Flap Bag in Nude Beige Leather for $252.  The shoes were found at bananarepublic.com and handbag at shop.com. Remember you can wear all of the below with your basic neutrals- black, white, grey, brown, or navy!

Happy shopping finding your new item for Spring!

Stay tuned for more Spring trends!