I’m a lawyer by day, so while I love wearing what ever I want on my days off, weekdays are spent in my corporate wear. If you work in an office, like me, then you know it takes time and money to build up an office wardrobe. After all, great presentation at work is so important, so you should always look your best.

As Canberra organisation Communities@Work is holding their ‘Best Dressed Weekend’, a preloved designer corporate wear sale, this week (21-23 Feb), I’ve decided to dedicate this week on my blog to office styling.

I want to show you how easy it is to build a corporate wardrobe out of just a few key pieces, so you’ll never have to face not having anything to wear. My corporate wardrobe secret weapon is the simple shift dress. It has so much potential for layering with your other key pieces to create endless outfit combinations. Here’s 5 ways to style your dress for the office.

1. Just the dress

A great office dress is perfect just on its own. You generally want to be quite conservative with your dress choice, a dark or neutral colour is best, with no gaudy pattern or prints. While clearly a simple black shift dress would be a clear best choice, I do like to put some personality in my office wardrobe with subtle patterns and unusual cuts. My favourite brands for amazing work dresses include Cue, Veronika Maine and Review.

This vintage flavoured dress by Review is probably as ‘festive’ as you can afford to go, depending on the dress code at your office. When all else fails, just check out what everyone else is wearing, and follow suit.

Also the best thing about dresses is that it will take you straight from day to night. Just switch your work bag for a clutch!

2. Dress + Collared Shirt

I always opt for sleeveless dresses as these are perfect for layering things underneath. The collared shirt is my favourite piece to layer. The combination is instant prep, and very feminine (also works well with nerd glasses for the librarian look).

3. Dress + Blazer

The ultimate corporate look that’s not a two piece suit. Suit blazers are perfect for throwing over a dress, and instantly transforms the look to business-woman-chic.

4. Dress + Jumper

When the weather starts cooling down, wear light weight knits under dresses for extra warmth, and to transform the dress into a long sleeve style. Your office knits should be block neutral colours, white, beige, grey or black. Patterns and textures are almost always way too casual in my book.

5. Dress + Cardigan

If the occasion is smart casual, you can dress down your shift dress with a pretty cardigan and a pair of flats.

There are just a few of outfit possibilities with your versatile shift dress. I highly recommend having lots of different styles to mix and match!

Communities@Work Best Dressed Weekend is on from this Friday to Sunday! The details:

WHAT: Best Dressed Weekend
WHEN: 21 Feb – 23 Feb
WHERE: Lakeview Ballroom
Tuggeranong Community& Function Centre
245 Cowlishaw Street, Greenway

Day 1 is VIP night, and tickets can be purchased for $35. Register here!

See you there!