LHappy Monday friends! I’m currently chilling in my law school common area at 6:56 am because its raining and in order to get close parking you have to get to the garage early. AKA I got here at 6:30 and there was only one commuter spot left in the closest garage, which btw is still like 3 blocks away.
Anyway, today is officially my first Monday of classes so I thought it’d be apropos to talk about what to wear to orientation.
My school had a 3 day orientation like I mentioned in my last post and each day we were told whether to dress business casual or business professional. If your school specifics, follow that! If not, err on the side of caution and go business casual at the very minimum.
Now, what is business casual? No leggings! And closed toed shoes. And no spaghetti straps, shoulders can be out but do not wear a straight up tank top, I prefer cardigans or blazers if I wanna wear a tank top that shows more than half my shoulder as a rule for business casual.
Jeans are totally acceptable, just fitted (not super skinny) and with no rips or holes can be in them. If you don’t have any non trendy jeans go for a nice fitting pair of slacks.
For shoes, stick to flats or low heeled pumps, I think every girl should own a nude and a black pair, or at the very least one of whichever color you would wear the most, for me that’s nude, so I have two shades of nude. Whatever style and leather type you like go for it, as long as they’re comfortable and in good condition that’s all you need. I have a Steve Madden and Jessica Simpson pair. And I have these flats in both black and cognac smooth.
Back to outfits, the fun part. I apologize in advance because I only have pictures for the first two days, the third I never got a picture but I’ll do my best to describe it to you, or link the pieces if I can find them!
Day 1 was Business Casual dress so I wore an old pair of navy Calvin Klein slacks I got on sale and my cognac American Rag flats, linked above. I wore this pretty Zara Lace top with a nude cami underneath.
Day 2 was Business Professional so that means suits! For women we get two options, skirt or pant suit. I have both, I got the whole set at Ann Taylor but since I am more comfortable in pants and I knew we’d be sitting the majority of the day I opted for the pantsuit option. And I’m wearing my nude Jessica Simpson pumps. For a top I wore a pretty baby pink satin camisole from Forever 21.
My friend opted for the skirt suit in classic black and white and that’s perfect too, I just prefer navy with my coloring but if you like grey go for it. Just stick to solid, neutral, darker colors to be on the safe side. You can have more fun with blazers and suit separates but stick to conservative for Business Professional dress.
Here is a the Calvin Klein jacket I wore Wednesday, I wore it with a white camisole and dark straight jeans and these black Franco Sarto loafers for a cute and business casual look that’s a little more dressy.
My biggest and most important life hack for you guys when it comes to work clothes is Macy’s, H&M, Express and Zara. Macy’s is great for nicer pieces and shoes, and you can get some good sales on them. I like H&M and Zara for Blazers and more casual slacks and camisoles/tanks/blouses. I also like Express for the blouses and sometimes pants but they can be more hit or miss with fit and sizes, especially if you’re more curvy like I am.
For a suit Ann Taylor or Macy’s, mine above is from Ann Taylor and fits like a dream! I’m a size 6p in jacket, 4p in the pants and 2 in the skirt. I know weird, but I’m very disproportionate so clothes is always a struggle for me.
There is the inside scoop on what to wear for orientation and this also works for any work/school events, interviews, etc.
It’s now 7:43 and I need to go drink my coffee and get my school day started, thanks for reading!
xo Kayla