i think it’s brave: corporate office outfit diary

week of october 7

Hi everyone! I am back after 2 weeks of some pretty big highs and lows. Life truly forces you to choose what is a priority when it comes at you this fast. As a result, I was not in the office as much as usual and when I was, I was not remembering to write about how any of those outfits came together. But I know that we have all been there, and hopefully now that I am feeling a bit more settled I can get back into my weekly cadence.

The newsletter will look a bit different this week since I have 3 sporadic weeks of office outfits to cram in. Less context and more photos, but I feel like that’s what the people want sometimes ;) xo

Monday:

• A rainy Monday in the office with 10 internal only meetings. This means shoes I can jog in, since I’ll need to go between conference rooms all over the building. This velvet headband always come out when the weather cools and makes me feel like Blair Waldorf even on a bad hair day :) also another instance of a cardigan bringing a summer dress into fall! Everyone do this! Your closet will thank you!

Tuesday:

• Today was funny because I realized at 10 PM that all of my clothes were at my new house while I was still sleeping at my parent’s. So I stole my mom’s long button down, put it over my girlfriend legging and added my zebra flats, the only shoes I had with me. It worked surprisingly well! And made me want my own long white button down for days where I want to look put together but am in a rush.

Monday:

• More funky weather swings in NYC so Hill House strikes again. These velvet Mary Janes from Zara were such a score from 2 years ago and I love how they look on my feet (is that a thing?!). But bringing darker colors in with this dress is helping me drag it as far into fall as I possibly can.

Tuesday:

• Today was an onsite client day! I love reaching for these trousers on those days because they drape so beautifully they make me feel very put together. If you can’t tell, these zebra print flats are quickly becoming a staple and I am grateful to my girl Haley who told me about the Margaux sample sale or I NEVER would have bought them. Always on a hunt for a bargain over here :)

  • Secondhand options of my shoes here (EU 40), here US 9.5), here (US 6) and here (EU 38)

Monday:

• Today it was thunder storming so loud when I was getting ready that I put on jeans. Commuting in nice pants in the rain is such a waste to me. So for balance, I put on the very old J.Crew jacket (that my mom bought me and I never wore but now I love) as a top. I saw

  Katie Casper
  do this with her fringe jacket and felt inspired! My little white heels from Dolce Vita are not too precious and wipe clean so I felt good putting them on to elevate the jeans a bit more too. The fact that I can walk my entire 10K step commute in them is also incredible.

Tuesday:

• I have started physical therapy for my back, and my therapist told me that I need to start commuting in sneakers for better support. So, of course, I bought 2 pairs in the Tory Burch fall sale that are fun and comfortable and no one else has them which is a huge plus 😂 My cardigan and pants are also office wardrobe repeats, and I will continue to wear my linen until it snows thankyouverymuch.

  • Side note: I found this ebay store through

    Katie Casper
    and got a few pairs of vintage clip-on earrings to add some fun to my winter outfits. Highly recommend a perusal because there are pages and pages of unique pairs for ~$15!

Wednesday:

• Felt bloated today so stretchy pants are making an appearance! Black on black also helps with that. The sweater is Men’s Everlane (25% off rn) and I maintain that they are the best crewnecks because they don’t get too tight at the waist like women’s do but they’re not too boxy. The pants are old Zara, I think 4 years old now? Love when fast fashion pieces I panic bought for an event hold up!

Thursday:

• She’s back at it again with the same trousers, silk button up and the exact shoes from the day before. That’s what’s kind of fun about these diaries, I see where I repeat but in the moment I rarely actually realize it’s happening.

• These Gucci loafers were a recent retail therapy thrift. I saw them in the consignment shop, left, and then went back an hour later to try them on. They fit perfectly, match everything and healed a little sadness in my heart. Trifecta baby! I’ve worn them 3 times in the 6 days I’ve owned them so I consider that a huge win. Also no blisters on my commute, so I understand the hype of these loafers 100%.

Well that’s it - 3 weeks of office outfits in 1 post. Hopefully you find some inspo in them and can relate to how unimportant clothes can sometimes feel. But I will say that going back this week and getting dressed every morning and being in my routine really helped settle me, so there is something to be said about clothes in that sense.

I’ve been working on a personal piece about everything that’s been happening but it’s going to stay in my drafts for now. I think about when

Alex Lewis

wrote that sometimes personal writing isn’t for public consumption (he said it way more beautifully SORRY ALEX) and right now, it feels more like a diary entry than a piece for the world. I hope that will change but in the meantime, please enjoy what I have the energy to bring to the world of Substack.

Have a great weekend brave little ones!!!!!