Recent work and casual outfits

I went to a conference last week and had to wear professional clothes. Gasp! And by professional, I mean business casual that leans more casual than business. While I probably still prefer this to all-suits-and-heels-all-the-time, it's not always easy. Are sneakers OK? (yes, in tech they are) But do they need to be super clean and white? (probably!) Another rule of thumb - blazers are highly recommended, and they do seem to dress up a lot of other things, so I found them useful. 

A couple of other constraints that I faced:

1) I was required to wear black pants or a black skirt every day for at least half the day because I was staffing the trade shoe/Expo floor, and our uniform was black bottoms + a polo branded with our company's logo. 

2) I had a broken pinky toe (from several weeks ago, healing, but very slowly), which severely constrained my shoe choices. Thankfully, soft sneakers worked well, as did some open-toed sandals (which were not ergonomic, though). 

3) Not necessarily a constraint, but I was sick (with a cold), overstimulated and felt like garbage half the time. I don't do uncomfortable clothes anymore, and especially not in this state.

That said, here are some of the things I packed, wore, AND bought at the nearby mall (because even when I'm sick, I'll take advantage of a walking-distance Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus).

This is the "Going Out Blazer" from Crew, size 6 Tall. I'm 5'9", and the Regular was OK, but tall was better. This blazer is well-constructed and comfortable because it's stretchy. It's 100% polyester, which I do not like, but I didn't want to spend hundreds of dollars on a wool blazer that I would only wear occasionally. Note that the sleeves are not full-length, but I think that's by design.

The pink blazer is a Club Monaco blazer that I rented from Rent the Runway and decided to keep because it was only $30. And it's got a significant wool composition, mixed with a synthetic, though the lining is polyester. It's stretchy and very comfortable. other than the polyester bit. 

This is one of my MVP tops. I got it from Stitch Fix several years ago - it's the 41 Hawthorn "Juanis" top, and I love how it looks and fits. Stitch Fix doesn't carry it anymore, but it's available used on Postmark and other sites. I wish it was silk and not 100% polyester, so if I ever find something similar in a natural fabric one day, it will be the perfect top. 

This simple gray shirt from Quince - it's their modal scoop neck top. I have the medium. Just a good basic shirt for casual wear. It does get pretty wrinkled, so I would have had to iron it or steam it to wear it under the blazer, which I never did on this trip. Under it is an amazing layering tee from Loft, which they don't seem to carry anymore - I would buy more if they did!

These are the Horton pants from M.M.LaFleur. They are wool AND they are lined. They are great because I'm tall, but they are too tight in the waist for me! I have size 8, maybe I should have gone up to a 10. Or I'll need to get the waist widened somehow at the tailor. I have worn them once before and haven't wanted to wear them again, including at the conference. 

This is an old dress I got from a rental service called LeTote. It went out of business. I used to love this dress, but I'm over it now. It's polyester, and the floral print looks kind of tired to me now. I still brought it with me and wore it because it fits well and looks decent. I could use a couple more casual dresses. 

Another polyester top that I got a while ago from Nordstrom. It's cute, I have to wear it over a cotton tank since I don't like how polyester feels against my skin, but I wore it under the JCrew "Going Out" blazer and it worked well. I like the scalloped neckline. The color in this photo is off, it's more of a Barbie pink.

And here are a few photos of me actually wearing the items!

This is the JCrew "Going Out" blazer and the pink scallop-edged top, worn with Good American flare jeans (which I ended up returning because I wasn't sure that I'd get enough wear out of them to justify the purchase) and my Adidas Sambas. The Sambas were a little too dirty to be professional, but I still wore them because they were comfortable.

Above is my "Expo uniform" one of the days - the pants are amazingly comfortable, look great, and I got them from Nordstrom while on the trip. They are the Good American Scuba Crop, and they are a little shiny in bright light, but not under normal indoor lighting, or at least I didn't think so. The material is similar to wetsuit material - hence the Scuba - but they feel SO comfortable. I wore them one of the days for work and also traveled back in them, and I just love them. They do present some VPL issues, so make sure your underwear is appropriate. 

Oh- and the cute white sneakers here are the Tory Burch Howell sneakers in 10.5. I loved the look and they were reasonably comfortable, but I also read lots of reviews about hthe leather creasing super quickly, and I don't like that for almost $200. They are also not as comfortable as my Adidas Sambas. I dunno, I may ended up getting the Tory Burch ones again, but may first try these Ecco sneakers. Why the mens'? I have tried the Women's, the they felt too narrow for me. 

  

I also bought new jeans - yay! See below. All the jeans I have are either too big or too small or too dark or not in great shape. Ugh. These are the Mother Hustler ankle fray jeans in the "Healing Jar" wash. I got them in Size 30 - had to swallow my pride because I have thought of myself as a 28-29 for many years, but I think I also had a lot of digestive issues because my jeans' waistlines were digging in too much. No more, especially not with these high rises! The photo below is in the Neiman Marcus fitting room, and the other one is in the hotel bathroom (which has ridiculously flattering mirrors and lighting, BTW). The white sandals are the Nordstrom Carolina slides, which I love, as do many people, apparently, because they are sold out in my size (11). Otherwise I would get them in at least one more color. I wouldn't recommend walking miles in them if you are over 35 and/or have ever had knee/back/foot problems. Though I did exactly that one of the conference days, and it was doable and not painful, but not ergonomic at all.

Note that the other washes of the Mother Hustler jeans don't looks the same or as good, at least not on me. Above is the Heirloom wash, the fabric composition is different, and they are just not as flattering. Maybe It would be better on somebody with skinnier legs. 

Hope this is helpful in some way if you come across this post!