The Office Edit #1

Finding My Workwear Identity Again

Sep 24, 2025

When I started my first job out of law school, I made a promise to myself that I would not lose my personal style in getting dressed for work every day. Style is an important part of how I present myself to the world, but it was something I had suppressed and squandered during my five years in corporate law. Getting dressed in those years was a chore, a uniform, a sea of navy and black. My work clothes felt stuffy itchy, and uninspired. I felt no desire to invest in that wardrobe, and I rotated through the same pair of Zara pants, identical in navy, black, and tan. Paired with a button-down shirt or a sweater.

Now, in this new chapter, I am consciously redefining what workwear looks like for me. This edit is a close look at what I have been wearing these past few weeks. Luckily, I am in a public defender’s office where the dress code leans business casual. Dark jeans are acceptable, which feels incredibly freeing. I have never been able to wear jeans to work before, and I cannot overstate how much that simple shift changes how I feel about getting dressed. In court, I plan to hold myself to a stricter standard: suits or at the very least a blazer and trousers. My dream is to eventually find a few vintage men’s Armani suits from the 1980s and have them tailored to fit me perfectly.

I have already discovered three pieces that feel crucial to my current workwear rotation: a midi skirt, a fun blazer, and a well-cut suit. Each serves a different purpose, but together they give me structure and variety. A skirt lets me feel polished without feeling restricted. A blazer instantly adds structure to anything I wear, whether over denim or paired with trousers. And a suit, there is something about walking down the street in a full suit, sunglasses on, kitten heels, that is such a rush.

With offices across the country returning to five days a week in person, it may finally be time to fold up the sweatpants-and-button-up combination that carried so many of us through the past few years. For me, though, this shift feels less like a loss of comfort and more like a reclamation of self. Workwear no longer feels like a costume I put on to survive the day. It feels like an opportunity to express who I am becoming in this new role and this new phase of life.