Fun Business Casual Clothes

Quite a few of you have expressed interest in talking about business casual looks here, and while my lifestyle and job have gotten increasingly casual I’ve been giving it a go!  While I don’t have to dress business casual very often, I have been working on that section of my closet.

Last week I posted some recs for great biz-cas basics, also showing one of those tops styled 4 ways for work (HERE).  Today we will be talking about mixing in some more fun pieces!

I’ve noticed that on the rare occasion that I’ve needed to dress business casual, I didn’t love doing it.  I realized it’s because the few business casual pieces I have just didn’t seem that fun.  In building my wardrobe I like to have a good foundation of basics and staples, and then I add a few colorful statement pieces to create a unique and fun wardrobe.  The latter was missing in the tiny business casual section of my wardrobe–I only had basics.  And yeah, that was understandably boring!

Recently ModCloth asked if I’d be up for featuring some of their many workwear pieces, and I was so excited about it!  I’ve always loved ModCloth for their many, MANY unique, colorful, and non-traditional pieces with adorable prints.  When they mentioned workwear, I was like, “OMG, duh.  Why didn’t I think of looking there for business casual clothes?”  I’ve been so ready to add some life to that section of my wardrobe, and ModCloth is the perfect place to do that!

(BTW, when I mention “business causal” I’m talking about that as distinct from “business professional.”  I’m working from the general comparison HERE, though of course it’s not exhaustive.  Find similar pins with even more categories on my Stylist Pinterest Board.)

ModCloth curated a selection of cute work clothes which you can see HERE.  I absolutely loved how fun everything was!  My favorites are in this outfit:



Prior to adding fun pieces from ModCloth, the workwear basics I had were all neutrals, and mostly darker neutrals.  But you know me–I like having a little color and pattern in my life–and I love how this outfit came together!

Shop for the Look:
Top: c/o ModCloth (exact)
Cardigan: c/o ModCloth (exact)
Pants: c/o Modcloth (exact)
Shoes: H&M
Bag: Nordstrom
Watch: c/o Daniel Wellington

Here are more details on each of the pieces.  Or you can skip below to more of my picks.

Maroon Pants – Large (I’m normally 6/8)
The pants come in several colors including mustard yellow, deep teal, olive, navy, and black.  If I needed to expand my business casual wardrobe I’d consider the mustard and teal too.  In person this maroon pair is a little darker and more purple/dark red.  The product page HERE reflects the color better.  The waist and rise are a little higher, so beware of that if those don’t usually work for you.  The fit is slim but not ultra skinny, which I know many of you prefer.  In the future I might take the hem up to make them more ankle length on me.  Find them HERE.

Floral Top – Medium (I’m normally S/M, often M/L at ModCloth)
This top–I’m in love with the print!  It’s so pretty and can be worn with jeans–bootcut or skinny–for a night out or cute daytime look.  But I love it with colored trousers for business casual!  This top would also work with mustard or navy trousers, or could look more traditional with black.  It is somewhat sheer, though here I’m wearing a bra that matches my skin color and it seemed fine.  Find it HERE.

Cardigan – Medium
Instead of wearing a neutral cardigan, I went for teal!  I really feel like teal goes with a LOT of things, almost acting like a pseudo-neutral.  This cardigan is one of ModCloth’s staples and is available in lots and lots of colors that vary depending on the season.  I often link to the mustard version of this cardigan (HERE), so I was glad to finally try it first-hand in teal.

It’s very soft and is a little thicker than most other cardigans like this.  Overall I feel like it’s pretty good quality, though I haven’t washed it yet so I don’t know how it holds up there.  But, given that these cardigans have been reviewed several thousand times (!) hopefully it washes fine.

I just love how these pieces will liven up the business casual basics I already have!  You can view all of ModCloth’s curated workwear selection HERE or see the favorites I’ve narrowed it down to below.  (Sometimes the widgets below don’t show up on phones and/or if you have ad blockers turned on.)

Tops:



Bottoms:



Dresses:



Shoes:



So fun!  Anyway, in the near future I’ll compile a small business casual capsule wardrobe to combine basics and fun pieces.  Look out for that!
Huge thanks to ModCloth for partnering on this post!

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