Happy Sunday my friends! I apologize for the anti-climactic frequency of posts- I am spending all of August pinging between Newark, Camden, and Brooklyn for professional development with my charter network. It has been inspiring, rigorous, and overall exhausting but I am very lucky to join a company that holds such a high bar of expectations for every teacher.

In preparing for my week of travel last week, I decided to snap a pic of everything I packed- a sort of ‘capsule’ workwear wardrobe, if you will. This was the first full week I’ve had to be intentional about my work wear and cognisant of the limitations of hotel living. So, without further ado, I share with you what I would wear in a week of the “business-casual” realm.

For five business days of clothing I packed:

• Two sheath dresses, Bar III (Macy’s)
• Black ankle pants, Express
• Camel ankle pants, Target
• Printed peplum top, H&M
• Printed silk blouse, Topshop for Nordstrom
• Simple grey tee paired with statement necklace, both Forever 21
• Nude D’orsay flats, Steve Madden
• Matte black D’Orsay flats, Steve Madden

As you can see, I have managed to build most of my wardrobe from stores I consider to be relatively affordable. I’ve come to the learn that the trick is to judge the cut and material of each piece; “cheap” garments can be spotted from a mile away but many stores have stepped up their game and produced pieces that have more of a tailored fit and heavier material that look high-end. I find that I almost always grab workwear that fits those two categories and as a result have built (what I think to be) a nicely varied wardrobe on a limited budget.

I hope you all enjoy a week filled with beauty and inspiration (even if that literally just means admiring the milk design on your 7am Monday latte).

Jess