Desk to Dinner Style

I'm a remote worker, meaning when I'm not visiting clients I work from home. It has its privileges and I certainly don't miss having to go into the office daily. But there ARE some things that I miss about office life: office chit chat, team lunches, Friday happy hours, and comraderie that can only come as a result of being in person. I was also missing the natural extension of after work social dates. Be it meeting a girlfriend for drinks or going on a dinner date it was something to look forward to at the end of the day. I enjoyed the challenge of finding just the right outfit to be appropriate for both ends of my day.

As my work life has evolved, so has my wardrobe around it. With many of us still working from home, brands have responded by highlighting home office pieces that can easily be leveled up for those times when we're desperate to get out of the house and get some fresh air. Creating an affordable desk to dinner outfit has never been easier.

The Dress

In the early days of COVID, I was in need of house dresses that would also be appropriate for Zoom meetings and store runs. I didn't want to break the budget and invest in pricier pieces, so I curated a 'work from home' wardrobe from clearance pieces at Wal-Mart. This dress is from that collection and is in my go-to color combination of black and white stripes.

While the dress is cute and comfy, it frankly doesn't fit me well. It's a straight silhoutte that is not flattering to my body shape. This is not really an issue during work hours since I'm only visible from the shoulders up on video calls. Looking like I'm wearing a flour sack is fine for sitting around the house. Meeting a friend for dinner, however, means finding a way to polish up this dress to make it more presentable for going out.

The Jacket

This double-breasted jacket from WHBM was just what I neeed to take this outfit from dining room desk appropriate to dinner worthy. It adds much needed structure to the overall outfit and the solid color breaks up the pattern. For added textural interest, the coated denim fabric gives it the look of leather, but without the price and high maintenance of leather.

The Boots

I considered wearing my red flats with this outfit to add a pop of color. I ended up wearing my tall leather boots from WHBM to keep my legs warm. Whenever possible, I choose outdoor seating at restaurants which means that I'm also dressing for the weather. This time of year, the temperatures drop quickly after sunset.