Simple Style

My job search is progressing along, and as I inch closer to life in an office again, I'm finding I need to reassess my personal style a bit.  Since 2003, I've worked in offices where jeans and fleece were de rigueur, and adding a nice sweater or casual skirt for an important meeting and event days was more than adequate in terms of bumping things up a notch.  More and more, it is feeling like my next opportunity will be something more formal, and so I find myself needing to come up with an urban office wardrobe for the first time since 2000, when I was 24 and living on a different coast, rocking the dot-com bubble.  Back then, I worked in an office of purple-haired programmers and San Francisco-chic sales and marketing people.  My go-to office outfit was a pair of cropped silk pants with a bright boatneck top, and sqaure-toed Chinese Laundry Mary Janes.  Now I live in blue blood New England, with a windchill factor and a 2-year-old, and it is time to take things in a new direction.

When things get fuzzy in my brain, gazing at great photography makes me feel zen, so I tend to hit up The Sartorialist, From Me To You or Simply Breakfast to take in some beauty and deep breaths and refocus my mind.  This week I came across this beautiful photo on The Sartorialist...

 

The photo was snapped on the streets of Madrid, and encapsulates everything I think of as beautiful when I contemplate a new, personal city style.  I love the Ralph Lauren-esque look she is sporting with the crisp, classic shirt, the neutral pants and great belt.  I admire the way she's rocking some seriously long hair without it looking sloppy or overly bohemian.  And her eclectic jewelry contrasts the prep without being too over-the-top, and nods to her own unique personality.  The best part?  Her great smile, which is a reminder that with a happy, confident look on your face, any outfit can pop.

Happy Friday!