Lately I’ve been looking into more business casual styling as I’ve been considering making a return to traditional corporate after spending the last 4-plus years in startup realm. For context I got rid of a great deal of my former “professional wear” such as my pencil skirts, blouses and pant suits that made up most of my closet from grad school on, as my job allowed for more casual styling . That is not to say that I don’t have any left in my closet, I still own a decent amount of blazers and blouses though they are far from “traditional” in color and print like this red longline blazer. As much as I love black, I mean I am a native New Yorker after all,  I like adding bold color accent pieces particularly for spaces that tend to discourage that kind of thing. I guess its my way of both expressing myself and rebelling  against norms I don’t embrace. For the last couple of years that has meant reaching for red for reasons I can’t explain other than I got complimented once by a good friend when I wore the color and I’ve embraced it ever since. (Prior to this I would go for pops of pink, my second favorite color.) 

That being said, after  styling this blazer last year, I got it stuck in my head that I really wanted to incorporate some kind of print the next time I wore it out. I’ve been on the hunt ever since for something – a dress or a skirt with a print including this specific shade of red.  Then  one day while doing some shopping recon I stumbled upon some  plaid denim.Here’s the  thing, I’ve never been one for prints until recently and I’m talking within the last 6 years or so. And even then I tend to keep it to skirts and dresses with the occasional top, but a bold print on pair of skinny jeans?  Hard pass. It draws too much attention to parts of my body that I try to downplay, being my belly and thighs. But these pants fit my styling vision too perfectly so after some mental back and forth, I accepted the challenge and place my order. 

As the focus for this outfit was to be the pants I decided to keep things  pretty basic, tucking in a black turtleneck and matching the hardware of my bag to the gold buttons on the blazer. And though I was tempted to add some heeled ankle booties (remember I was going for a more business casual look), I opted to go with my platform creepers instead. The look put together gave me some subtle punk vibes so I decided to lean into that a bit by adding a biker cap-esque hat.

I have to say that it had me feeling like a badass. And it must have showed because I kept getting stopped by strangers complimenting me during this blog shoot.

I should note that as much as I love the print and cut of these pants they are far from my favorite. For one thing, even though they are listed as “denim” online that is definitely not the case. I was disappointed to find that the pants have more of a jegging/legging kind of construction and fabrication which is great for stretch, however, I found myself pulling the waist up more than twice as a result.  Even though I could wear a belt to help with this issue,  I really don’t want to because of the wide waistband and double button closure at the front which I find to be too nice a detail to hide behind a functional accessory. 

Not only that but the front pockets are fake with the only functional ones available on the back. You’ll definitely need a good sized handbag by your side when wearing these because you have limited places to put your essentials like your keys and phone. This look was still pretty great for a trip to the city for the last of my Christmas shopping.

~Get the look~

Double Breasted Longline Blazer (2XL) | SHEIN (similar here)
Harley Plaid Skinny Jean – red  (Size 16) | City Chic
Suede Platform Creepers | Amazon 

Do you find printed bottoms to be a bit intimidating too?