Beyond POW: Working It Long, Lean, and Versatile Wednesday

Outfit Mission Statement:  For a long, lean professional look, wear dark neutral layers over a white shirt, a longer pencil skirt, and a cropped jacket  

Working it Wednesday outfits are professional career clothes, often a step or two above Manic Monday outfits. The POW (Piece of the Week) is the Beyond Tee from cabi Fall 2016. The Beyond Tee is so versatile that it can easily transform into a professional look—just add a pencil skirt, white button-up blouse, and a jacket and you are ready for the boardroom. There are two different ways you can style the Beyond Tee in this professional look—the “Long Professional Vest” technique or the “Professional Back Tie” technique. The Professional Back Tie gives a more polished professional look, and the Long Professional Vest gives a creative, flowy look that offers two minor variations (an open vest look and a closed vest look).

Depending on your office environment, you can also skip the jacket and wear the Beyond Tee over the white blouse, for a vest-type look. I didn’t show this, but it is another great twist on a professional office look with this versatile top.

Beyond Tee Styling Technique: Long Professional Vest with two options

To rock the “Long Professional Vest” technique (slight adjustment from Beyond POW: Black, White, and Comfy Manic Monday):

• Put it on the frontwards way with the tag in back for a lower neckline, to better display the shirt collar
• Tuck the bottom of the tunic part of the tee shirt (not the panels) into your skirt
• Wear the panel down each side in one of two ways:
  1. Closed: Pull the panels closed in front, leaving minimal gap, and creating an almost dress look
  2. Open: Pull the panels more apart, creating an inverted V shape that show more of the bottom of the outfit under than the top

Long Professional Vest: Closed

Long Professional Vest: Open

Beyond Tee Styling Technique: Professional Back Tie

To enjoy the “Professional Back Tie” technique, which is a variation of the Simple Back Tie in Beyond POW: Versatile Layers for doing it all Saturday:

• Put it on the frontwards way with the tag in back for a lower neckline, to better display the shirt collar
• Take the two panels and wrap each back on its side—so wrap the right on around to your back on the right and left on the left
• Tie the two panels in back at about your natural waist
• Tuck the tunic part of the tee into your skirt, creating a vest type of look

Tips:

• Wearing a mix of darker neutrals with a white button-down adds a level of professionalism
• On warmer days or in more casual offices, leave the jacket at home and wear the Beyond Tee in either style over the white blouse and pencil skirt
• A cropped jacket over dark neutrals can give you lean look by lengthening your legs and emphasizing (or creating) an hourglass figure, especially if it has a light band at the bottom
• Look for a pencil skirt with darker side panels for additional slimming and lengthening
• A knee-length or slightly longer pencil skirt length is very on-trend, but best for those of average height or taller (the longer skirts work better on taller women, generally—if you are average height the knee-length is quite flattering)
• If black washes you out, look for dark grays and navy for strong, professional power outfits
• When wearing a mix of dark grays and blacks (with white) for work, feel free to keep the scheme going with some gray shoes—you can even go a little more playful with them (these are gray tweed and higher than I tend to wear professionally)
• With a sleek professional clothing look, you can opt to wear your hair down (although a sleek up do always works and will up the professionalism)
• If you have some cool back detail on your top, such as the tie in back, a short crop jacket will allow you to show it off

Outfit Breakdown:

• Top: Beyond Tee from cabi Fall 2016
• Button-down Blouse: It’s a Wrap Shirt from cabi Fall 2016
• Jacket: Convertible Jacket, which is another versatile piece that can be worn as a cropped jacket or a long jacket, from cabi fall 2016 (note, Hillary Clinton has been seen wearing this beauty)
• Skirt: Long Ponte Pencil Skirt form cabi 2012. Consider the very similar Grace Elements Colorblocked Pencil Skirt, theVince Camuto Ponte-Knit Midi Skirt, or the  Calvin Klein Faux-,Leather Panel Pencil Skirt from Macy’s.
• Shoes: Older ModCloth gray tweed—but these options would work: Aspiring Architect T-Strap Heel, Accomplished Visionary Heel (so cute!), or There Chic Goes T-Strap Heel in Mauve, also from ModCloth.
• Necklace: Older covered pearl and ribbon necklace. I have no idea where I got this! Consider instead the Lanvin style Large Pearl Necklace by Annie B Signature (or the black one), the Soft Pink Tulle Necklace with Mother of Pearls and Rhinestones by Lemka, or the Isabelle Double Strand of 12mm Baby Pink Pearl Necklace with Blush / Nude Ribbon Tie and Ivory Tulle Rhinestone Flower by Harley Mae Designs all on Etsy
• Earrings: Silver metal drops that I do not remember where I got them. Try the Aurelia Drop Earrings, Marlin Earrings, or the versatile Bianca Earrings from Stella & Dot.

If you would like the Beyond Tee or other cabi, contact your cabi stylist. If you do not have one, please contact me in the comments or via email, reach out to my stylist Joni Allen (via email or phone: 770 502-5243 [call or text]), Leigh Cheatwood-Harris (a friend’s stylist whom I have worked with also and can recommend: email and her site) or find a cabi stylist near you.

Related Posts:

1. Destructed White POW: Working It Professional, High-End, Destructed Wednesday: Mix high-end, sophisticated pieces with your destructed jean for a rich, yet edgy, boardroom look.
2. Pleated Star POW: Working It Printed, Pleated & Classy Wednesday:  When you start with a dressy skirt, you don’t need to add a jacket to be profession, just a crisp blouse and sophisticated accessories
3.  Plume POW: Working It Classic & Modern Coco Wednesday: Create a career outfit with the same put-together professionalism as a suit with a few modern interpretations of classic pieces