Have you come across the Tory Burch Beckett Coat? You may have when it was at the ghastly full price of $1,295. However have you seen this Tory Burch item at the sale price of $647.50? It’s looking so much prettier now isn’t it? And it is already one darn amazing coat. If you feel a bit self-conscious wearing a fur-collared coat to the office, just remove the collar for the work day. You can always put it back on when leaving in the evening!

Want another twist? Remove the tie belt and opt for a clasp belt for a different look, like this one from Lauren by Ralph Lauren (also on sale). Just make sure whatever handbag you have can hold the belt when you remove your coat.

By Jenn Bussell

Admit it. You once daydreamed of teapots inviting you to be their guest…bluebirds decorating your gown with the finest silk ribbons…Prince Charming kissing you awake from a deep slumber.  Leaping into your first professional role does not mean you have to kiss your inner princess good-bye.  In fact this season many fashion houses like Chanel, Victor & Rolf, and Miu Miu drew inspiration from the plethora of good and evil icons presiding over TV and film. Check out ABC’s “Once Upon a Time,” NBC’s “Grimm,” and the soon-to-be-released rival tales of Snow White, ”Mirror Mirror” and “Snow White and the Huntsman”. Disney has hit the catwalk.

Your student fashion doesn’t have to be restricted to fairy tales. Creating your own office-appropriate version of Belle, or Cinderella, or Jasmine is simple; no fairy Godmother required. Start with the overall look and color palette of your favorite enchanted heroine. Then deconstruct it.

For example Snow White’s ball giant skirt becomes bright skinny jeans. Her poofy-sleeved blouson top evolves into a tailored cardigan. Her red headband reforms into a chic red cloche. And the basket? Behold a clever, color-blocked tote.

You have now achieved a perfect balance of downtown cool and uptown prep without so much as a magic wand, and you’re armed and ready to face whatever evil the corporate world throws your way.

Pictures from The Daily Beast, The Spicy Italian Life, and Style.com

By Emma Pretto

Jonathan Saunders Fall 2012

Gucci Pre-Fall 2012

Equestrian Ensemble #1

Equestrian Ensemble #2

I admit I am one of those suckers for the Oscars. I love the red carpet, the outfits, the teary speeches. I know most of it is a bit of poppycock, but there’s still a type of magic around the movies that I still fully love. Besides, as busy professionals as we all are, it’s nice to ‘escape’ once in a while isn’t it? As an homage to the Oscars, I selected this week’s winning Polyvore Group look created by user, thinnita, as it not only showcases a very fashion-forward working look, but it is also based around one of the movie greats, Katherine Hepburn. How would you bring the Oscars to the office?

The dress is probably one of the simplest items a woman can wear that can instantly make an outfit without too much effort on her part. The “dress for work” can actually be that same dress. Throw on a blazer or a cardigan, and you can make almost any frock work for the workplace. Here are a few that have caught my eye from the retailer YOOX. The designers include Joseph, European Culture, Lutz & Patmos and La Petite Robe di Chiara Boni. And the best bit: Sale! Up to an Extra 70% OFF on yoox.com today. The sale runs through February 24th. Nothing like a classy dress for work, and a sale price on top of it!

We are individuals of information. We also are busy. So do you watch the news while getting ready for work? Do you have NPR on during your commute? Or do you miss your favorite shows due to your schedule and catch up via podcast? Or do you check the goings-on through social media sites like Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn?

I have been saying for years that I have a goal of reading the newspaper every day. I’m a consummate Sunday newspaper reader – in fact it’s one of my highlights every week. I feel informed, inspired, and that I’m finally caught up and I feel a bit ahead of the game of knowing what’s going on in the world, in the country, and within the areas of focus that I’m interested in (Fashion & Style and the Book Reviews please!). This goal, as I’m sure you’ve figured by now, is still in the works.

But, today I turned a new leaf. I read the paper this morning! I have the luxury of working from home three days out of the week, so why can’t I spend the first hour of the workday with a cup of tea, curled up in my easy chair, and read the paper? It took me almost exactly 45 minutes to one hour. I didn’t lose much work time, and in fact, it led to some great story ideas and articles to send to clients. One of these articles hailed the written word – in long form! Check out the social site, Cowdbird. I would describe it as a crowd-sourced short story site with pretty pictures. There is some audio and video, but most importantly, it has paragraphs! Another of my favorite sites to peruse and actually read is Brain Pickings – seriously it’s amazing. Bookmark it now.

My first lesson in blogging came from my previous blog editor, “Write short!”. The journalist in me scoffed. What?! No adjectives? No themes? And…no sources?! Due to the reader that usually reads blogs, they do want to scan through information in short form. I’ve gotten to feed into my writer bug with my Editor’s Letters (one of which I did give homage to the Journal inspired by another newspaper article I read), but most of the other pieces that you read within TheWorkingWardrobe are usually light in content and heavy in images. I have succumbed to the platform, but then again that is why I launched a magazine (and yes, there are a plethora of adjectives, sources and themes within it).

For me, I feel more fulfilled in some way after reading something longer. Perhaps I am a product of the generation of readers who are used to the daily quick read and we save the longer reads for evenings and weekends. I do love getting my news from Twitter, but I got so much more from this morning’s paper. And of course, I tweeted about it.

In this week’s podcast, we say farewell to Whitney Houston during the streaming of her funeral. Join myself and Tenisha Anderson of Qlix Magazine as we remember what Whitney Houston meant to us. We also wrap up coverage of Mercedes Benz Fashion Week New York, dish about what’s coming up in London, and other fashion news and events. Listen up!

Farewell to Whitney Houston and Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Wrap-Up by SpeakingOfFashion