Whether hot or cold, learning how to dress for work in extreme weather will always be a good skill to master. In the summer, throwing on a maxi and flip-flops is tempting when temperatures spike. Likewise, putting on jeans and a parka is a great way to survive the winter. However, a lot more effort needs to go into your office wear. And with temperatures continuing to drop, a timely task as well. However, knowing what items are work staples and tried-and-true outfit formulas can make getting dressed for work a lot easier. And not only will the below tips help you formulate your go-to work outfits for comfortability and function, but it will also introduce or redefine what it means to be polished.

What Does It Mean to Look Polished?

Entirely based on lifestyle: job, dependents and daily activities — looking polished could mean different things for different people. To figure out what a polished wardrobe looks like for you, ask yourself the following questions: what daily activities and tasks should your wardrobe accommodate? And what clothing are you most comfortable in. For example, if your day revolves around business meetings and presentations, versus collecting children from childcare services, or conducting work from home — your outfit would look very different. Maybe you opt for heels or stick strictly to walking shoes.

Once you’ve got clarity on what your outfit needs to do for you, you’ll want to invest in elevated staples (think: turtlenecks, button-ups, structured blazers, work trousers and more) that can easily be mixed and matched and can serve you year-round. Having these items to reference and pull out will help support your lifestyle and goals of looking polished.

How to Look Polished Without A lot of Effort

Wanting to look polished and actually executing it can be a lesson of trial and error. Luckily for you, we put together the tips below to help you get there.

Polished Tip #1: Your Clothes Should Fit

This might seem obvious, but in order to look polished, your clothes should fit you. Shockingly, this is one of the biggest mistakes people make. As size varies from brand to brand, and within a brand, it’s imperative that you know your true size. In some cases, if you’re new to a silhouette for example, this might mean you should try on items, versus buying online. For jeans and bottoms, it could mean walking around to make sure you are comfortable.

Polished Tip #2: Keep Clothes Looking New

Making sure your clothing is free from scuffs, holes and wrinkles might seem like a tedious task but it makes such a difference to keep polished. Ironing or steaming your shirts, dresses, trousers or any other wrinkle-prone items before you put them on makes the world of a difference. This same sentiment should also be used at the end of the day. As tempting as it is to throw clothes on a chair, couch or bed, doing so will also cause creases, dents and damage.

Polished Tip #3: Invest In the Right Hangers

Sometimes the wrong hangers can leave rust stains on clothes, dent shoulders, or leave creases in awkward spots. Most fashion experts recommend velvet hangers to keep clothes from slipping off or ruining shape. Your clothing should be able to breathe when in your closet.

Polished Tip #4: Lean Into the Care Tag

In order to respect the longevity of your clothing, stick to the care tag details. If your item requires machine wash cold or dry cleaning only, be sure to follow the instructions to a tee. Failure to do so could cause coloring issues, pilling, and lackluster fabrics. And as a rule of thumb, once you see a stain, take care of it immediately if possible.

How To Look Polished Working From Home, aka, On Screen

Thanks to the stay-at-home pandemic, video calls continue to gain momentum for office work and figuring out the appropriate wardrobe for on-screen days can often be tricky. As tempting as it might be to work in your pajamas, ample studies show, getting ready for the day as you typically would to go in office, helps you to stay productive, energized, and focused for the workday, regardless of location.

Which then leads to your wardrobe — Do you take the work on top, party on the bottom approach? Do you spend loads of time on your hair and makeup and angle the camera to only show your face? Or does it vary, giving priority to ‘important’ meetings with the use of a blazer, lipstick and a blouse?

If you’re starting a new job, there’s no harm in asking what the expectations are for video. Your company might treat it as if they were in-office, pulling out all the stops with a head-to-toe polished outfit. Or they might take a more lenient approach and leave the parameters up to you. In general, as the camera is still rolling, make sure that if you do get up, you either turn your camera off or have Zoom-appropriate pants on.

As for grooming and your face, you might enjoy the days where you can skip on makeup, but excess screentime via laptop or tablet emits blue light that can turn into premature aging. As a line of defense, make sure you are wearing sunscreen and or blue-light glasses to mitigate screen-stressed skin. Pro tip: for an extra pick-me-up to tired eyes, pop on an eye or face mask or eye gel at the end of the day to reenergize the eyes.

Polished Outfit Options for Work

And now for the fun part. WHBM has a variety of silhouettes, colors, and sizing, so whenever something stands out, you can shop for it immediately. And bonus, learning these styling hacks will be beneficial for seasons to come. Happy shopping!

Straight-Leg Jeans: Perfect for casual Fridays or throughout the week, straight-leg jeans are form-fitting and can be styled with any type of tailoring relaxed styles. For the office, simply add in a mule or classic pump and luxe jewelry.

Soft T-shirt: A seasonless favorite, and perfect for city summers and base layer winters, soft T-shirts look great over wide-leg pants for in-office meetings, and with distressed denim for weekend brunch.

Monochrome Separates: White + black looks great at work and fortunately, white + black is our specialty. Pair a black pair of pants with a crisp white T-shirt, black dress with a white T-shirt underneath, or combine them and opt for a polka dot style or striped shirt dress – the options are endless.

Midi Dress: Closet staples should be effortless, and really, there’s nothing quite as easy or effortless as a midi dress, solid or patterned. The right midi will help you look put-together with barely any effort.

Lightweight Blazer: Lightweight blazers smarten up all your looks, no matter the season. The roomy silhouette can easily be taken off or put back on and is flatteringly slim to the body — taking you from boardroom to brunch instantly.

Tailored Trousers: The perfect foundation of all wardrobes, the range of stylistic opportunities knows no bound with tailored trousers. Near-to-custom fits, they go seamlessly with your everyday go-tos'. Play up the proportions with a WHBM® FORME Rib Tank.

Embellished Beanie: Keep your head warm without compromising on fashion with one of our beanies.

Quilted Leather Gloves: The type of accessory that gets better with time. Quilted gloves mold to your hands so you can still open your coat, purse, and type on your cellphone, without having to remove your gloves.

With our guide to polish outfits, shopping our edit has never been easier.