Putting together a perfect outfit especially for any occasion can be a difficult task for some, while others may find it simple and easy to put an ensemble together. Lately I have been having a go with different styles and a variety of ways of not only mixing and matching my outfits together but also taking into consideration how little details in our outfits can play a huge difference to the impact of the look that you are trying to create.
With work having begun, putting an outfit together that speaks professionalism needs to pre-planned, other times, items fall into place and voila, a perfect outfit is born. Whether you know me personally or know me through my blog or social media, I am the type of person who likes to dress up and I don’t mean dress up as in I am dressed to be at a wedding, but dressed up as in I take time and effort to make sure that I am not only happy with what I am wearing but feel that I have styled it accordingly to my body type and coordinated the outfit. I also take into account minor details, such as not repeating the same outfit in that week or on that particular day; will this outfit leave me in a pile of sweat; what can I add and take away if the weather change, etc. But my number one priority no matter what I wear, is that I am wearing clothes that I am comfortable in, comfortable to move around in and breathe in. Many of you will think I am crazy reading this, but I take in the little details that people overlook and sometimes those minor details really do change things, whether we are talking about clothes or something entirely different.
Having a visual memory has always been helpful and as I mentioned previously, the eyes are always the first sense to see and be impacted by the impression you are trying to make. So when they say first impressions count, then make sure you make them count. Take into account the audience and the occasion and this will assist in your preparations for a styled outfit. An example of how taking into account the audience and occasion can include being employed in a workplace whose dress code is to be professional attire. So if we are working in this type of environment, usually we focus on wearing suits and block colours. Adding colour into your outfits can also be professional if we do it right. But at the end of the day, your best judgement of the attire in your workplace will be sussed out on your first day/week, from there you can dress accordingly. So with dressing professionally with colour, I just want to share with you two outfits that I have worn to work lately and the way in which I styled them and the reasoning behind the styling choices while keeping them suited to a work setting.
Outfit 1: It’s all about mustard
This first outfit was styled around the mustard coloured blouse. I do remember when I bought this blouse thinking how I was going to tone down the mustard colour, luckily, I had this beautiful scarf/hijab that my mother bought while visiting Egypt. It also has mustard tones in it, but with the browns, purples and white, it toned down the blouse. Even though black trousers, belt, flats and bag make the mustard stand out, while they all coordinate with the hijab, it is the black top worn under the blouse that assisted in toning down the brightness and worked perfectly together. So my main aim of this outfit was to wear a colour such as mustard that was not blinding for everyone else.
Outfit 2: It’s all about coordination
This second outfit on the other hand was all about coordination. This blouse is one that I had always found difficult to coordinate with an outfit especially when it comes to wearing a hijab. The colour of the blouse does not always go well with the other hijab colours and I want to avoid an entirely plain outfit. So luckily, this hijab which is also from Egypt worked perfectly with this outfit. The navy trousers also go well with the hijab. While the hijab is a dark shade of brown, it still matches perfectly with the blouse. As you can see, sticking to these two colours, while it is simple, it still created an impacting and impressive outfit. Simplicity at its finest.
So while these two are full of colour and patterns, they do fall into looking not only stylish but professional. So ladies, instead of just sticking to your plain hijabs, these are two examples that our patterned hijabs make the outfit rather than break them.
I do look forward to creating more stylised outfits that express professionalism and hopefully as these outfits grow, I will share these with the rest of you. And remember, while I did wear these two outfits for work, these outfits are suitable for any occassion, it is simply a matter of how you can dress it up and dress it down, whether it is to add something or to take away something.
If you have any tips, comments and recommendations, please feel free to let me know. I also welcome suggestions and requests. Looking forward to hearing from you all.
Dina xoxo
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