When your day at work calls for ‘business casual’ that does not mean ‘casual‘ and it need not mean boring. Starting with black pants is a no brainer, but the specific style makes all the difference. These are by Rag and Bone, they are cropped flares, contoured waistband, zip up the back. If you prefer to wear flat shoes you might want to pass on this style as they look best with heels. (Especially if you are height challenged like me!)

On this particular day I decided on wearing the pants and blue shirt with a black blazer – but when I remembered that I had this wool vest, it was a different, less formal option. A fun change!  What really made the outfit fun was staying away from the expected black or dark brown shoe…

Also by Rag and Bone, love these retro white booties!

Vests can be tricky to wear if you have a significant sized chest (aka big boobs), especially vests that are open and/or fur.  They hide your waist and you can end up looking like a big stuffed animal!  What works here is that the vest is fitted, buttoned, and belted.  Found it awhile back at Revolve, the belt came with it; I like how the brown belt complements the brass buttons…

The black vest worn with black on the bottom creates a finished business casual look that also elongates a small frame…Peter was the one that said  I looked like a throwback to the 60’s…

Well, it was far from the 60’s in time or temperature, so off to work I went, still in a winter coat!