As an optometrist, I want to look and feel professional. Anyone who’s had an eye examination will know that we get up close and personal when looking inside of our patient’s eyes. Not only that, we stand up, sit down, reach across and lean forwards throughout the duration of each appointment. Therefore, my work attire must be practical, modest, comfortable and crease-resistant. I mostly walk to work and the practice is on several floors, so another requirement is that whatever I wear has to look ok with flat shoes.
My work wardrobe consists of dresses and separates that I mix and match on rotation. It is separate from my “personal” wardrobe. My work outfits form part of my work persona and even though I’m still very much “me” when I’m at work, I like to distinguish it from the slightly more exuberant persona that blogs, writes and is generally just more “extra” (according to my teenagers at least). You will notice though that my love of animal print carries through to my working wardrobe too.
Work outfits with the same principles as these are just as suitable for those in other professions. General practitioners, teachers, social workers, solicitors, accountants, nurse practitioners and health visitors have the same requirements. They all need a work wardrobe which is smart, practical and comfortable. Therefore, I hope this round-up of my work outfits from early autumn will inspire more than just optometrists and opticians.
Dresses
Everyone knows how much I love a dress and I make no exception for my work wardrobe. Each of these looks fine with either sheer or opaque tights and with flat shoes.
- Spotted dress: Woolovers, current (gift). Click here for full blog post featuring this dress.
- Floral midi dress: Next, previous season
- Floral shift dress: Hobbs, previous season. See how I styled it for desk and dinner here.
- Leopard print dress: JDWilliams, previous season (gift)
Separates
I bought two pairs of these trousers wide leg 7/8 length Ponte jersey trousers this time last year, one in black and one in navy. I got them for my “personal” wardrobe but found them so comfortable that I decided to wear them for work. They are easy to wear, dont crease and don’t need ironing. They’re still available in black so I’ve put the link just below the photos.
- Leopard print blouse, M&S, previous season. Black ponte wide trousers, (affiliate link) M&S, current. Strappy shoes, M&S, previous season.
- Grey silk blouse, Phase Eight, previous season. Black ponte wide trousers, (affiliate link) M&S, current.
- Polka dot blouse, Boden, past season. Navy ponte wide 7/8 trousers, M&S, past season.
These black cigarette pants also started off in my “personal” wardrobe. Once again, after wearing them several times, I realised they’d be perfect for work because they’re very stretchy and very flattering.
- Black cigarette pants, JDWilliams, current (gift and part of a paid partnership). Click here to see how else I styled them and click here to see me wearing the cobalt blue version
- Black and white spotted top, Next, current (affiliate link)
- Orange top, Hobbs, past season, still available in clearance.
- Leopard print blouse, Next, current.
I’ll write a new post every two months featuring around ten work outfits so you can see how hard these clothes, in particular the separates, work for me. I’d love to know what your favourites are. And I really must thank Harry who (almost) willingly took the majority of these photos.
7 comments
Liz, this is such a great idea to showcase working outfits that ALL of us can use, no matter what we do for work. Everyone wants to be professional, stylish, and comfortable. Now I want those cropped black trousers!!! Your dresses are all just glorious on you too. I’ll bet you’re the most stylish optometrist there is! xxx
Oh thank you Lisa. You’re too kind. The cropped trousers are brilliantly comfortable and they don’t crease which makes life a lot easier and a whole lot neater! xxxx
Liz this is SUCH a great post for those who need versatile work wardrobes… it makes me want to go back to working in an office so I can avoid vegging out in comfies all day!! 😉
My faves are your cropped wide leg trousers – they look so good with your fabulous ankles and those strappy flats. Then again, everything looks amazing on you…!
Catherine x
Thank you Catherine. The wide-legged trousers are so fab. They’re super comfy and never crease. They wash and dry beautifully too which makes life easier!! You’re always so kind xxxx
You look fabulous, Lizzy! Love the trousers 😍 I need to find opaques that are warm enough for outdoors but not too thick for a warm office. Any suggestions?
Hi Nikki, thank you so much. I wear Scholl Light Legs opaques which are very supportive and comfortable and work well both outdoors and in. I also wear Marks and Spencer Body Sensor are brilliant too. They adapt to the temperature. They come in navy too which is good. They’re only available online so I buy “in bulk” at the start of the season. Here’s the link http://bit.ly/3306mnL xxxx
Thank you very much Lizzy! I will try the M&S ones first, they look super and at a great price.