Since
the invention of dress codes, there’s been various lists floating
around of What Not to Wear to Work. Typically things in this category
include flip flops, tee shirts, and anything displaying more than a
night on the town with Lindsey Lohan. Naturally, anything strapless
would make the list in an instant. But I am here to argue that, yes,
you can wear a strapless dress to work without inviting a visit from HR.Take, for example, this BCBG dress I recently purchased (by way of eBay, of course.) While it’s primarily a party dress, the cotton voile fabric makes it good for day as well. That said, here are three ways you can get away with a strapless dress at work:
- Wear it with a cropped jacket that hits no lower than your natural waist. Depending on the formality of your office, a dark denim blazer can also work.
- Throw on a long cardigan. My preference is for the ones that chunky cable knit, with pockets and big wooden buttons. Make sure to cinch a wide belt over the entire sweater/dress combo to keep it from looking like a Coleman tent.
- Wear the dress over a tissue-thin sweater. This look works best if the dress is simple and fairly streamlined in design.
See, it can be done. And next week I’ll be discussing how to wear denim overalls with dignity to board meetings.
Right.