The New Rules

Rosella Eleanor LaFevre tells you how to dress if you want to impress on the job or at your internship.

Over the course of our young lives, fashion has changed quite a bit. Designer wares are now available at affordable prices and street style bloggers have placed an emphasis on the everyday style of regular women. It’s also made dressing for the work place a little freer -- if not also a little more confusing. 

So how do you dress for success these days? The short answer is by mixing classic business wear with pieces that have more personality.

Most of us will be entering companies that are more creative in nature, meaning our dress can also be more creative. Try jodphor pants or other unexpected cuts. One of my coworkers recently wore green khaki pants with black stripes down the sides. She said they were old pants from the Gap, but, boy, did she look cool, especially when pairing those pants with a black cardigan. 

Another great way to inspire confidence in your abilities, try mixing in suitwear pieces with your more unusual or basic sportswear pieces. While you’re in college especially, it’s more age-appropriate to mix up suitwear like jackets, skirts and pants than to wear an entire suit. Pair the jacket with a dress and tights, wear the skirt or pants with a tank top and cardigan. Wear a dress tucked into the skirt, like our cover girl does on page 31 (although perhaps you should save the strapless numbers for after work). 

Remember, too, that dresses are your best friend. They are simple and quick to throw on and 

usually look great. Just keep the hemline near your knees, the cleavage to a covered-up minimum, and you’re golden. We like dresses with simple, classic lines, like a shift dress or the pink dress at left. 

You can still also get away with wearing leggings under your skirts and dresses, which you should definitely do if they’re closer to mid-thigh than your knees.

Play with proportions and wear a full skirt with a well-fitted t-shirt. Wear a dolman sleeve top with a pair of skinny leg pants.

Remember to keep even your casual looks somewhat dressy, as I did with the outfit Julie wears on page 43. Here, I paired a chambray button-down shirt with black dress pants and a pair of strappy heels, which easily dress up the denim shirt. Play with accessories, too, as I did by wrapping a floral print H&M scarf with touches of blue around our model’s waist.

Wear ballet flats on days when you’ll have to run around a lot, and heels when you can, if you are a fan of elevating footwear.

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I wrote this piece for M.L.T.S. Magazine, the publication I started last March. This appeared in the Most Stylish section of the first issue.