Winter business casual attire for women: 50 outfit ideas

The business casual dress code is one of the most popular ways of dressing. Of course, depending on your culture, weather and type of business, it can be expressed differently. 

In essence, the business casual dress code means you should look professional but still can incorporate some casual and more personal style elements.  

With a lot of people returning to the office part-time or even full time in some cases, the tips and outfit ideas I’m about to share should help you look your best.

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WATCH THE VIDEO

Winter business casual attire for women: 50 outfit ideas

In today's video, I will guide you along a few styling methods that will help you add more personal style, color, warmth, and functionality to your business casual outfits.

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How to add personal style to your business casual outfits?

The business casual dress code doesn’t have to be boring or basic. There’s plenty of room left for experimentation. So don’t be afraid to incorporate your own style into your work wardrobe and show a little bit of your personality. 

1. Business Formal Color Palette + Interesting Design

One way to do that is by adding interesting designs and patterns but keeping your color palette pretty formal and conservative.

Here's a video that explains how to do that. I suggest you come back to it when you're ready to put your outfits together.

For example, here I have a pretty formal palette with all the business-like colors: white, grey, navy, light pink.

But when you look at the design of clothes the capsule doesn't look very business formal.

There are some special nuances here like these beautiful statement dresses, pink plisse skirt, floral shirt patterns and a burgundy accent bag. 

2. Interesting palette + Classic Business Design.

Now let me show you another way of approaching the business casual dress code. It involves expressing yourself through colours.

If you decide to go with this method, I’d recommend choosing clothing in a classic, quite formal design but that also has a beautiful, unusual colour or pattern.  

For example, for today’s wonder wardrobe example I’d like to incorporate red, tangerine, firebrick, burgundy, orange, brown, grey and navy. 

When you look at these colours together, they don’t give you that formal and stiff business-like impression. On the contrary, they are deep, energetic and bold. I love that!

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In this guide, I will share practical fashion advice on various dress etiquettes, including business formal, business professional, business casual, and casual attire.

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How to keep the business casual look alive

Now to make these colours look appropriate for a business-casual environment I would need to find clothes that have a classic and formal design.

This means I will not include anything too trendy, avant-garde, or complicated. Only clean, simple cuts and lines, good tailoring, and high-quality fabrics.

Winter Business Casual Outfit Ideas

Here’s the capsule wardrobe that I’ve just made.

It includes 1 dress, 6 tops, 6 bottoms, 2 blazers, 1 coat, 2 bags, 1 pair of tall boots, and 1 pair of ankle boots.

When I mix all these pieces together I get at least 50 fully interchangeable outfits that are perfect for the business casual dress code.

I tried my best to create looks that would reflect the balance between professional, personal and comfortable. 

When creating this wardrobe I wanted to have 3 categories of outfits. 

Winter business casual wardrobe: office business wear.

The first category includes outfits that are more business rather than casual. These are perfect for when you need to meet important clients, your boss, or hold a presentation.

Here I included this beautiful brown pants suit that can be worn with any shirt.

If you need to add a bit more of a casual feeling besides your business casual shoes, you can wear it with sweaters, loafers or sneakers, instead of silk button downs and heels.

I also included this beautiful orange blazer. It doesn’t have that classic business design but I think it still works perfectly for a business casual dress code. It can be worn with the brown trousers from the suit, these matching wide-leg trousers, or on top of the dress.

One more option would be wearing it with this plisse skirt and navy bag. I love the playfulness of the colours. 

Winter business casual wardrobe: casual office workwear.

The second category includes outfits that are perfect for everyday work at the office. They are not too formal as they don’t include a blazer but they are not overly casual either.

This time I have more skirts than usual. To add variety to this wardrobe I chose skirts that have very different designs and so the outfits will also look different.

Winter business casual wardrobe: desk work wear.

The third category consists of outfits that are more toned down. They will be perfect for those days when you just need to focus on some tasks, but make you feel comfortable and relaxed.

They mostly have neutral colours and that is what makes them look slightly more casual and easy.

As you can see I didn’t include that many outfits in this category. But if you feel that you need more looks like that, you could add some jeans, or a few more basic jumpers.

Winter business casual wardrobe: outerwear.

And finally I added one coat. I went for a midi length so it can be worn with all the outfits including those based on skirts and dresses.

When choosing a coat for your business wardrobe, make sure it fits you well not only visually but that you can wear it with most of your clothes including your blazers and skirts.

Layering is key here. Make sure to check out this practical layering guide I've put together for you.

Even though I used only 16 items, I think this wardrobe came out looking professional, bold, and versatile, giving me a great number of outfits for different occasions. 

Business casual attire for women is something that can be easily pulled off by every woman.

Looking well put together and stylish is a matter of detail.

Everything from your choice of colors to the materials, designs, and cuts will show your colleagues or clients that you are confident, comfortable, and ready to take on any task.

I hope these outfit ideas will help you do just that in the months to come.

What’s your go-to business casual outfit?

Let us know in the comments below so we can all learn from each other.