101/ Two Pieces To Carry You Through A Corporate Summer
Dozens of options + putting them to work in 14 outfits.
Hello readers!
I did a corporate edit back in the fall, but I want to revisit the topic now because one of the most common questions I get this time of year is, “how do I dress for the corporate office during the hot summer months?”
Although workwear has trended more casual in recent years, especially since COVID, “business formal” is still required in some workplaces, such as government, politics, and finance, to name a few.
When I think of business formal, I think of:
traditional pieces in traditional cuts
formal-leaning fabrics
modest coverage
a general impression of “sharpness”
With that in mind, there are two key pieces I want to share you with you for the summer season. Whether you pair them with each other, or with your existing workwear, these two pieces will give you many more outfit options for the summer in a compound interest kind of way (see: #2 in Five Questions).
First up is the button-up vest.
Okay, please hear me out, because I see where
is coming from here!To Meighan’s point, we do seem to be at Peak Vest. Menswear-inspired waistcoats and linen button-up vests have indeed trended to the point of saturation.
But, I go back to my view of trends as an opportunity to explore an idea:
“When something is trending, eventually the market becomes flooded with different iterations of it and I can experiment with variations that feel right for me.”
And, do you know what makes sense in the corporate world?
Button-up vests (i.e. “traditional pieces in traditional cuts”)
made from “formal-leaning fabrics” (i.e. not linen)
with “modest coverage” (i.e. not an actual menswear waistcoat because the armholes are too large and they’re cut too low at the chest), and
having a general impression of “sharpness”.
Viewing this season’s crop of sleeveless vests through these filters turns them into a garment that fills a real need for corporate folks. I sifted through hundreds of vests and found a couple of dozen that meet these criteria.
Even when the trend cycles out, this iteration of vest could be a mainstay for corporate summers because it replaces the too-hot, long-sleeve blazer, while still feeling formal enough.
The second key piece is…