I’m loving all the conversations about workwear we are having lately here on A Touch of Teal! I’ve also been having a lot of great discussions about clothing for work with my friends and coworkers offline because of these posts and that’s been super helpful for me. So, I have lots I want to talk about today and thought I’d break things out by topic for ease.

The Hunt for the Best Work Pants

I’ve talked about my recent quest to find the best pants for work in a few posts now, but thought I’d give you a status update. In today’s post, I’m wearing the Old Navy Pixie Pants, which are the pants I picked up last year in black. I have two pairs and love that you can easily throw them in the wash. They also don’t sag throughout the day, which is awesome. My main complaint is that they have faded a bit, and I don’t really want to have to buy new pairs every year—I’d rather spend a little more money upfront and invest in a pair that’s going to hold up longer.

As I mentioned in this post, I used to love a pair of pants from Ann Taylor, but they no longer make them in the fabric/fit I love. I have one pair left, but since I wear pants almost every day to work in the winter, I need a new go-to pair. Throughout this process, Krista’s post reviewing most of the common work pants has been super helpful— and because of her, I tried out the Old Navy Pixie Pants with built-in sculpt. I really wanted to love, because the fabric is a higher quality than the classic Old Navy Pixie Pants and more comparable to the fabric Loft/Ann Taylor/J Crew/Banana Republic uses. However, I found the fit a little awkward—the size I normally wear was a little tight (there’s a chance it could stretch!) and the size up a little too loose. I also was annoyed because the pair I ordered came damaged—there was a ripped seam. As such, I’m going to return them for now, but think they’d be a good backup if I can’t find the perfect work pant this season—they’re under $40, so it’s low risk—and I’d probably buy my normal size and hope they stretch.

As I mentioned on Friday, I’m waiting on the  LOFT Julie Skinny Pants and the LOFT Julie Skinny Pants in the Ankle Fit—I bought the petite length of both—to arrive so I can try those out. I’m crossing my fingers they work since I bought them 50% off and it’d be great if they fit!

If you have any favorite work pants, please let me know! I’m getting a little desperate here, hah! I’m a big fan of ankle-fit black pants that don’t flare out too much at the bottom of the leg. In the past, I was a big fan of the J Crew Minnie (RIP) and the Banana Republic Sloan, the latter I may try again if the Julie Skinny Pants don’t fit. Oh, and let me promise you—the second I find my new favorite work pant, I am stocking up. I’ll report back soon!

Do you tuck your shirt into your work pants?

Ok, so this is a question I’ve been thinking a lot lately, because as I was walking home from spin class about a month ago, I saw a girl walking home and she was wearing the cutest wine-colored pixie pants with a beautiful white blouse tucked into them. It looked like the most effortless outfit that I could easily recreate with pieces in my own closet.

The kicker, however, is that I typically don’t tuck my blouses into my work pants. I personally carry my extra weight in my stomach, and find that whenever I tuck my shirt in, it really just makes me look larger than I am. As such, I usually look for shirts that have some sort of ruffle detail at the bottom so that I still look polished without having to tuck my shirt in. And those shirts that really do require being tucked in to look professional I reserve for my skirt collection.

For this particular outfit, I had purchased this Zara Frill Sleeve Blazer on Poshmark since I’ve been dying to track it down. (Still kicking myself for not buying it in the store when I first saw it!) I usually wear a medium in Zara blazers, and this one is a medium, so I just assumed it would fit. When it came in the mail, the sleeves were a bit tighter than I would like—it’d be hard to move around freely in it at work! So, I found another one online in a size large (sans the pearls—which I love, but you can’t win them all!). It should arrive soon, but I wanted to go ahead and shoot this black-on-black look with blush details for y’all since it’s been one of my go-tos lately. (I’m selling the medium here if you want to snag it!)

Because the sleeves on this jacket were a bit tight, I opted to wear one of my favorite flowy camis from LOFT—similar one here at J Crew Factory—since it wouldn’t add bulk on the sleeves. While I like this look overall, I don’t think I’d wear the cami untucked with this frill sleeve blazer again as it just seems a bit unfinished to me—I’d probably opt for a ruffle-bottom shirt or something that lays a little bit more flat.

Since I dislike tucking my shirts into my pixie pants, I’ve also been looking into buying a high-waisted pant that would be a bit more flattering should I want to tuck my shirt in. I’ve been experimenting with these high waisted sash ankle pants from Express and have bought them in four sizes now—no exaggerating! At first, I bought my normal pant size (8) and the size up (10) in the short length. I didn’t love how wide the leg was, but then I remembered when I bought a similar style pant from J Crew, I ended up with the regular length since the leg was slimmer. So I bought my normal size and the size up in the regular length, and was much happier with the fit overall. The larger size fit better, so I’d recommend sizing up one from your normal size.

All this to say, these past few weeks I’ve been hyper aware about whether other women tuck their shirts into their work pants, and so I’d love to know what your thoughts on this topic are! I also really think this debate depends on the formality of your office—mine isn’t business formal, so I can get away with more than some of my peers who have stricter dress codes.

THIS OUTFIT

Kimberly and I shot this outfit at Union Station, which may now be one of my favorite places to shoot ever! While there were definitely lots of people around, the backdrop and lighting here are stunning—and I think it’ll be a favorite place to shoot this winter when the weather is super cold since it’s indoors!

The only other thing I wanted to call out about this outfit that I didn’t discuss above are these beautiful Violet & Brooks Kennedy Statement Hoop Earring in Rose (c/o). For those of you unfamiliar, Violet & Brooks is a great place to shop for jewelry and accessories and was named one of Oprah’s favorite things last year. They have some really unique pieces that would make great gifts this holiday season! Additionally, 5% of net profits from all sales at Violet & Brooks is donated to The Covenant House, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing help and shelter to troubled youth—talk about a win-win!

*** SHOP THE POST ***
Zara Blazer
Old Navy Pixie Pants
Violet & Brooks Kennedy Statement Hoop Earring in Rose c/o
Rebecca Minkoff Love Crossbody
Sole Society Libby Crystal Embellished Flat

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Photos by Kimberly Graydon