Strategic Way to Turn Your OFFICE OUTFITS From Entry Level Into Executive

I've seen over 500 closets of successful women in leadership and I'm not exaggerating.

When I say that a lot of those closets look very similar, everything from black suits, naive dresses to great slacks. But here's the thing. A lot of those closets also have pieces that are actually beautiful and elevated and my clients still don't wear them. Or if they do, they pair them with a generic black top or like a black pants and it's just boring. The

whole look looks just very generic. So instead of those pieces elevating outfits, they end up looking just as basic. The good news is there's a very simple way to fix this. And this video, I'm going to show you exactly how to turn your office outfits from entry level to executive level. Hi,

my name is Basia Richard and I am a former celebrity stylist, turned personal stylist.

(00:52) And for the past 15 years, I've helped executives, directors, CEOs, and entrepreneurs walk into a room and immediately look like the woman in charge. I work with my clients inside the Dress Find Back program and also one-on-one. If you want to learn more about how we can work together, you will find

also one-on-one. If you want to learn more about how we can work together, you will find more details in a description below. So let's get started. I've worked with women in leadership for many, many years, and I've seen so many of their closets and believe it or not. A lot of them look

very similar. You have your typical navy and black suit, neutral tops, pencil, skirts. And I totally

very similar. You have your typical navy and black suit, neutral tops, pencil, skirts. And I totally get it. When you are still climbing the ladder, this is more than appropriate. It works. It looks

get it. When you are still climbing the ladder, this is more than appropriate. It works. It looks

right. It does the job. But then you get to the next level of your career and one day you open your closet and it's the same pieces you've been wearing for the last three, four, five years.

(01:52) And now you're trying to make them work for the level you are at today, trying to make them feel more elevated, more like you. And it just doesn't land the same way. And that's where it starts to feel frustrating because you are not studying from zero. You have clothes, you have options, but it's just not coming together the way it should.

from zero. You have clothes, you have options, but it's just not coming together the way it should.

So if you want to take your office outfits from looking entry level to executive level, you really need two things. First, you need statement and basic pieces. And the second, you need to know how to actually put them together in a way that feels intentional and interesting,

depending on what you're dressing for. Because one without the other doesn't really work. Now,

if everything you own is typical, very typical, predictable professional, it's going to be hard to elevate it. But on another hand, if you do have beautiful elevated pieces and you don't know how to style them, you're going to keep defaulting to the same thing like throwing on a

nice blouse with black pants over and over again, because you don't know what else to do with it.

(03:07) So let's start with what pieces you should actually have, and then we'll talk about the easiest way to elevate them and put them together in a way that it looks executive. So first, let's talk about the pieces. Now,

every woman who's the next level of her career should have two types of clothing in her wardrobe, statement pieces and basic pieces. Now, statement pieces are the ones that have something interesting about them. It could be the color, detail, print, texture. So this can be anything

from like beautiful printed blazer to beautiful blouse of very feminine detail to textured prints.

Think of those as elevated pieces that already do some of the work for you, pieces that stand on its own. So instead of wearing like a typical navy blazer that's part of the suit, you could wear a

own. So instead of wearing like a typical navy blazer that's part of the suit, you could wear a tweet blazer with an interesting buttons. Instead of a standard button up shirt, you could go for a blouse with a beautiful detail around the color. (04:12)

Instead of stretchy pants that come with a suit, you could wear plaid, straight leg wool trousers.

Again, these are pieces that already feel elevated on its own. They have something to them, whether that's a color, print, detail, or a texture. Now let's talk about basics. And we

need basics to work as a foundation in our watch. But I'm not talking about basics like a t-shirt or a tank top. I'm talking about elevated basics. And once you have those, the outfits are going to feel cohesive. It won't feel like you are just putting on like a generic

outfit and then throwing a statement piece on top as an afterthought. The whole outfit needs to connect and make sense. That's why your basics can just be like a typical thing, for example, right? So what are elevated basics? Think of a ribbed top that works perfectly under blazer,

right? So what are elevated basics? Think of a ribbed top that works perfectly under blazer, silk neutral blouse with a beautiful femininito. (05:16)

Classic slacks made out of rich, high quality fabric, a neutral blazer, but in a texture fabric that actually adds something. So you see how those pieces are still quite basic, but they feel elevated because of the fabric, texture, a small needle. And the idea here is to keep

those pieces mostly neutral because that's what's going to make it easier to mix and match them with your statement pieces. And now everything in your closet, whether it's a statement piece or basic, already feels elevated on its own. So when you open your closet, it doesn't really feel like a bunch of entry level clothes anymore. It feels like a water that actually matches the level

that you're operating at. So now that you have your statement pieces and your elevated basics, it becomes so much easier to start creating really beautiful office outfits that don't really look entry level. (06:16)

entry level. (06:16) They actually look elevated. So let me show you how to do it. So first of all, the most important thing whenever you're putting outfits together is contrast. You always want to create contrast between your pieces. That's what makes the outfit interesting. And when you do that,

you don't really need a lot of accessories of like extra things because the pieces themselves already create that elevated look. Accessories just become the finishing touch, like adding picture to the wall, but outfits itself need to work first. And we're going to do that by creating

contrast between the piece. So for example, let's take a tweet blazer and mix it with a silk slightly shiny top. What you're doing here is creating contrast. The statement piece is the blazer because it has a texture and color. And the elevated basic is the top because it's neutral, made from a beautiful fabric. (07:17)

And then you pair this with classic slacks, either like a wide leg or straight leg, depending on what you prefer, add a short heel, maybe like a little bit of jewelry and that's it. That's how you take a basic boring entry level blazer and pants combo and turn it into something that actually reads

executive. Now the next thing you can do is to take a beautiful A- line skirt and an interesting

executive. Now the next thing you can do is to take a beautiful A- line skirt and an interesting color. And again, that really depends on what you like and pair it with a simple blouse in a neutral

color. And again, that really depends on what you like and pair it with a simple blouse in a neutral color that has a nice detail. Now I would also add a belt here and a simpler heel. You can throw on a blazer if you want, but you don't have to. It really depends on the weather, but also what rooms

you're walking into. But again, what you're doing here is taking one piece that sits in a statement category of your wardrobe and pairing it with something that's more basic but still elevated.

(08:18) And that's how you connect the outfit.

Then you add a few accessories, maybe like a blazer, maybe not, depending on your style.

And even on its own, this outfit already feels so much more elevated compared to something like a pencil skirt with like a very neutral generic top. I'm going to give you another example. So

instead of wearing like a typical black suit with like a neutral blouse underneath, which again is a very typical professional look, what I would do is switch that into a navy pinstripe suit. And then

what I would put underneath is one of those silk slightly shiny tops that creates that really nice contrast with the suit. You also want to make sure that the pants are either straight or wide leg.

And the contrast between the top, that silk top and the structured blazer is what makes this whole look feel elevated. (09:17)

But again, what we did here is we paired a statement piece, which is the navy pinstripe suit, like an elevated basic, which is the top. Then you can add a few pieces of jewelry like a necklace, earrings, and finish it off like a classic pointy toe heel, either high or mid, and that's

an executive level outfit you can wear too many different occasions. So everything really starts with your whardrop. If you want to create office outfits that feel elevated and actually take your look from entry level to executive level, you have to start there first. It's very difficult

to create great outfits when you're still working with pieces that feel dated or very generic. Yes,

you can add a few elevated pieces here and there, and that might help a little, but what usually happens is you end up wearing something that's still very blend with one piece that feels more elevated, and those two don't really connect. (10:19)

Now, instead of looking cohesive, it just looks like you're wearing a nice blouse with pants that feel like an afterthought, or you default to black pants because you don't know what else to wear it with. And that's exactly the problem. Now, the goal is to build a wardrobe that's

thoughtful and strategic first, and then start mixing and matching those pieces by creating contrast between them. And that's how you create those office outfits that actually feel elevated and read executive. So now you know how to turn office outfits from entry level to executive

level. If you want to work with me, you're going to find all information in a description below.

level. If you want to work with me, you're going to find all information in a description below.

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