wear to work
10.1.22 2

What I Wore on a Work Trip in New York City

Back in the ‘before’ times, I used to share my work outfits here on the blog quite a bit—you can see the archives of those popular ‘what I (actually) wear to work’ posts here. Since I am still working from home three to four days a week, right now, the majority of my work wardrobe consists of leggings and some sort of Zoom-appropriate blouse, sweater, or sweatshirt. For instance, I love the Rebecca Minkoff Janine Sweatshirts this time of year because they have the perfect ruffled sleeve that really stands out on a video call. My one piece of advice is to size up because they are really short—I take an an XL, and generally wear a M or L in most tops. I own the black, white, and pink—it’s that good. (The tag says dry clean only, I wash mine on a gentle cycle in cold and hang dry and have never had an issue. I don’t know about you, but I am not dry cleaning a sweatshirt.)

So while most of my work days, I’m leaning into the casual side, recently, I went on a four-day work trip to NYC and had to bring out the business casual side of my wardrobe again. I’m not usually a huge selfie taker, but I thought it would be fun to document my looks on this trip in case it’s helpful to those similarly reemerging to an ‘in real life’ corporate setting.

OUTFIT NO. 1 —

I took a 2pm Acela up to NYC on Monday afternoon and arrived in town around 5pm. When I got into the city, it was pouring down rain and my hotel was down near the World Trade Center. So, instead of hopping into a cab like I normally do, I took the Subway from Penn Station down to the Oculus, and walked the few short blocks to my hotel after grabbing an umbrella at a Duane Reade. I am so lucky that I feel confident navigating the Subway system by myself or it would have taken me forever.

I checked into my hotel and then changed into this outfit to go meet my best friend, Emma, for dinner at Quality Italian. I didn’t have anything going on for work that evening, and whenever I am in town, I try to catch up with friends if I can. I recently was reorganizing and rediscovered this Tuckernuck Silk Scarf, which I absolutely love—it brings a lot of color to any outfit and is so easy to wear. (I bet you could find one on Poshmark or Ebay!)

OUTFIT NO. 2 —

On Tuesday during the day, I had several in-person meetings, but was also going to be walking a lot between them so needed to have shoes that I could bop around in NYC with, which is why I opted for these J Crew Factory Suede Bow Mules. It was seriously the most perfect day weather-wise, as it was sunny and in the 70s, but with no humidity.

I recently bought this Zara Faux Suede Dress and can’t recommend it enough if you work in a business casual environment like I do—it looks way more expensive than it actually is, and comes in seven colors. The red would be super gorgeous to wear to holiday parties as well. For height reference, I am 5’4″ and it hits just above my knees.

OUTFIT NO. 3 —

On Tuesday evening, I went to a reception at a conference and then my boss and I went out to dinner following. I wanted to freshen up and change outfits, so I went with this Zara Polka Dot Maxi Dress. Funny story about this dress is that back in July, my coworker wore it to an in-person meeting and I went home that evening and bought it on Poshmark because I loved it so much. Some of Zara’s clothes are a little bit off the wall for me, but they really do nail it in the workwear department.

Also, if you’re looking for the most comfortable pair of heels ever, I can’t recommend the Dolce Pailey Vita Heels enough. I know they have been knocked off by every single store at this point, but I would shell out the money for the real deal again in a heart beat. I can wear these all day at work or all night at a wedding without my feet hurting.

OUTFIT NO. 4 —

On Wednesday during the day, I think I had four or five meetings, all spread out over different parts of the city—and the UN General Assembly was in town so traffic was an absolute nightmare. However, it was another perfect day weather-wise, so I was excited to break out one of my favorite dresses from the archive, a Top Shop polka dot dress I feel great in. (I originally showcased it on the blog when I bought it here—you can find it on Poshmark if you search ‘Top Shop polka dot dress’.)

I live the double phone live—I have a work phone and a personal phone, but both of them are in Sonix Phone Cases—Sonix Lemon iPhone Case + Sonix Confetti iPhone Case. They have been my favorite phone cases for years—they don’t add too much bulk to your phone, but still protect it from the inevitable drop.

OUTFIT NO. 5 —

On Thursday morning, I had a few work obligations and then took the 2pm Acela home—I was originally on the 3pm, but made it to the train station 10 minutes before the 2pm and changed my ticket in the Amtrak app literally as I was boarding the train. Similar to my arrival experience, traffic was bad as I was trying to depart as President Biden had returned from the Queen’s funeral and was having a meeting in Lower Manhattan right near my hotel, so needless to say, I took the subway back to Penn Station.

I brought out another favorite dress from the archives, a Halogen drop waist floral dress. I paired it with some accessories I’ve bought more recently to give it a fresher look, but shopping my own closet and rewearing things I’ve loved for years always brings me a lot of joy, too!

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2 Comments

  1. Annaliese wrote:

    Loved your work trip outfits!! I love seeing real life outfits like this- things bloggers actually wear! I’m going on a work trip for the later part of this week- you might have inspired me to document as well! 🙂

    xoxo A
    http://www.southernbelleintraining.com

    Published 10.3.22
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    • Katie wrote:

      Thank you so much – it was super fun to document, highly recommend! x

      Published 10.15.22
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