Making Casual Dresses Work For The Office With a Pencil Skirt

One way I like to get more wear from my dresses is to layer a skirt over them and wear them as tops. I've done that with both of the dresses below before. Putting a pencil skirt over a dress is the perfect way to make a dress on the shorter side work-appropriate!

What I wore:

Necklace: gifted silver heart long pendant necklace
Dress: Atmos & Here Willow printed tee dress
Skirt: Jeanswest zip detail ponte pencil skirt
Shoes: Walnut Melbourne 'Ava' black lizard ballet flats (also available in silver)
Bracelets: the usual
Bag:  Rebecca Minkoff Regan Satchel Tote in moon

Why I wore it:

My first day back after an extended leave over Christmas time meant picking bright colours to cheer me up. Especially after spending the week before I went back to work feeling sick. I knew it would be a day of catching upon emails and everything else I missed, so wanted to pep myself up as much as possible with this bright and colourful dress worn as a top. It's not the first time I've layered a skirt over this dress, I've done it before here with a maxi skirt and with a pencil skirt again. Way back when I first bought this I fell in love with the print and couldn't decide between getting the dress or tee in the print. I'm glad I picked the dress, as it's so easy to wear it as a top too to mix things up a little.


Last worn: botanical print tee dress, black pencil skirt, Walnut Melbourne ballet flats, Rebecca Minkoff Regan satchel.

Other ways to wear: botanical print tee dress and Converse, black pencil skirt in winter, black ballet flats and fit and flare dress, Rebecca Minkoff Regan satchel and shorts.

Perfect for pregnancy: botanical print tee dress for pregnancy announcement, black pencil skirt in first trimester, black ballet flats in second trimester.

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Pencil Skirts Under $50:

Both pencil skirts I'm wearing in this post are Jeanswest, and they've just released a new office wear collection!

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What I wore:

Necklace: Lovisa gold filigree heart pendant
Dress: Zara printed bib front tunic dress
Skirt: Jeanswest black ponte pencil skirt
Shoes: Marc by Marc Jacobs black logo plaque ballet flats
Bag:  Rebecca Minkoff Regan Satchel Tote in moon

Why I wore it:

Another day in the office, another dress as a top. This dress has been worn with a pencil skirt before too. I'd planned to wear this outfit after the one above, but after wearing that and dragging myself to the office, I made myself much worse and the doctor sent me back home to rest for a few more days. It did make getting ready for work when I was eventually well enough to go back really easy though, just pulled on this outfit I'd had sitting planned for a few days!

The only thing I didn't like about this outfit was the necklace. I love the way it looks, but I didn't consider that when I wore my work security pass around my neck on the long lanyard like I usually do, it would hit and jingle with the necklace all day. It was a little frustrating as I moved around between meetings, as I didn't always have a hand free to separate the two. Might need to save this necklace for weekend wear, which is a shame as it's so pretty!


Last worn: navy shift dress, black pencil skirt, MbMJ ballet flats, Rebecca Minkoff Regan bag (above).

Other ways to wear: navy shift dress and denim jacket, black pencil skirt and tan accessories, MbMJ ballet flats and little black dress, Rebecca Minkoff Regan bag and tee dress.

Perfect for pregnancy: navy shift dress in third trimester, black pencil skirt in second trimester.

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Printed Dresses Under $50 great for layering with:

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How You Can Wear It:

Not all dresses are work appropriate lengths, even though they might be ideal for weekend wear. If you're worried a dress is too short for the office, try turning it into a top by putting it under a pencil skirt. A pencil skirt works so well for different office dress codes, and it's a fun way to remix a dress and make it less casual.



Have you seen my latest YouTube video? Top 3 must-have bags for mums!





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Navy Printed Dresses and Red Saddle Bag

Blogging does influences my outfits. I try to plan my outfits the night before, but sometimes I'll think ahead and plan them out a little more in advance. I wasn't sure at first how I'd wear this new dress I got from Shein, but an evening out seemed like the perfect time. As we were going out for dinner again a few days later, I thought I'd wear my navy Zara dress, and create an easy post with navy dinner dresses. Simple.

I changed my mind last minute and wore something else to dinner instead of my Zara dress. Still wore it a few days later so I could still group both dress outfits together in this post though!

What I wore:

Necklace: Lovisa gold filigree heart pendant
Dress: Shein navy flower print flowy dress (C/O)
Shoes: Rebecca Minkoff Georgina studded gladiator sandals in blush
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff unlined saddle bag in cherry red (on sale in blue!)

Why I wore it:

When I ordered this dress from Shein, I wasn't sure about the sizing. Most people said it ran true to size, with a few saying it was on the larger size. As it was a relaxed fit, I decided to order my usual small size instead of a medium. I'm so glad I ordered a small as this swing dress is so perfectly loose and floaty, the medium would have been much too big. It was actually tricky trying to get a good photo of the dress with the evening breeze blowing it around, but I managed in the end!

Since there was red in the print of the dress, I thought my red Rebecca Minkoff saddle bag would pair nicely. I was going to wear a new red necklace I got for Christmas too, but it didn't work with the neckline of the dress, so I went for my rose gold filigree heart pendant instead.

As I got this dress C/O, my thoughts on it: unlike the crochet trim kimono I got in the same order, there were no stray threads on this dress at all. The material is thin and light as expected, but not see-through. It's ideal for summer, even with the slightly longer sleeves. While bigger than I expected, it makes the dress a nice length on my petite self and based on all the compliments this dress got I'm not the only one that likes it. Not bad for a dress that's less than $22!


Last worn: studded sandals, Rebecca Minkoff saddle bag. First time I've worn the dress as it's a recent addition to my wardrobe.

Other ways to wear: studded sandals worn 30 ways, Rebecca Minkoff saddle bag and jeans.

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Rebecca Minkoff Saddle Bags:

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What I wore:

Necklace: gifted ZuriCollections blue polymer clay necklace
Dress: Zara printed bib front tunic dress
Shoes: Wittner 'Jasmarie' studded sandals
Bracelets: the usual plus Lovisa rose gold beaded bracelet stack
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff unlined saddle bag in cherry red (on sale in blue!)

Why I wore it:

While I'd had this in mind to wear to a new year's dinner, I changed my mind at the last moment and went with another outfit. I'd really liked the navy dress with red bag combo above though, so wanted to wear it again. It's not the first time I've worn this Zara dress with a red bag (see here and here) but it's the first time I've worn this saddle bag with the dress. Just like the outfit above, I really liked this combination.

Wore this for a busy day with hubby. We both had the day off and the boys were in daycare so we ran around running a few errands and getting things done. While this dress isn't that short, it feels that way when I'm rushing around with the kids and bending down every few minutes, so I try wear it on days I'm not spending all my time with the boys. Just as nice for going out for dinner as it is for a kid-free day of errands.

Last worn: navy printed shift dress, studded sandals, red saddle bag (above).

Other ways to wear: navy printed shift dress and denim jacket, studded sandals and embroidered shorts, red saddle bag and maxi skirt.

Perfect for pregnancy: navy printed shift dress in third trimester, studded sandals and maternity shorts.

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Navy Printed Dresses Under $50:

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How You Can Wear It:

Navy printed dresses are so easy to accessorise. If you're unsure what colour of bag to chose, you could pick a colour from the print like I did in the first outfit. Or you could just pick a bright pop of colour that doesn't match with the print like I did in the second outfit. Red and blue are such a nice colour combination, you can't go wrong with a red bag and navy dress.



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