Pencil Skirts, Shirts and Good Jeans: What "Business Casual" Means to Fashion's Best-Dressed

When Grace Gummer stepped onto The Devil Wears Prada 2 red carpet last month, she did so in an outfit that would have elicited approval (possibly in the form of a frosty once-over) from her mother’s on-screen alter ego, Miranda Priestly. The ensemble in question was a three-piece by Bottega Veneta: a woven leather shirt, trousers and square-toe pumps. And despite the shrugged-off left shoulder that revealed a triangle of skin, it was a look that could have easily translated to a 9-5 setting.

Hers isn’t the only celebrity wardrobe that’s less "promo" and more CEO. Meryl herself has been bossing the "pap walk" from car to studio—namely, a button-down shirt, high-waisted trousers and not one, not two, but three belts, all black and all by Celine. The result was simple yet effective; her triple-cinched waist adding a note of personality but not making too much of a statement (this is work, after all). Michaela Coel has similarly blazed a trail of executive (but make it edgy) looks as she promotes her various projects. As well as new-gen tweed jackets from Chanel paired with turn-up jeans for business-casual savvy, Michaela is backing the skirt suit, a workwear staple from way back when that deserves a second bite of the cherry, especially if it's Ferragamo.

Think of this as reworked workwear; office-coded looks that have nothing to do with polyester trousers, power dresses or sad beige pumps. Instead, they balance polish with personality, side-stepping the boxy or boring for the kind of looks that might almost make you glad your company’s policy has changed to four days in the office.

At fashion month, street-stylers adopted a very convincing "business casual" dress code, which today is a kind of hodgepodge at best and utterly confusing at worst after years of hybrid working. In Paris, fashion influencer Pernille Teisbaek based her look around a leather pencil skirt, tucking in a blue shirt layered under a zippered jumper, with a chunky belt and square-toe mules. With elongated cuffs that trumpeted over her wrists—not to mention her tattooed anklet that snaked down her left foot—it was something of a lightbulb moment if you’ve ever wondered how to do "you" but with slightly more smarts.

Caroline Issa, meanwhile, subverted the idea of tailoring in the same city, pairing a matching wool shirt and barrel-leg trousers with a jacket that was half navy blazer, half shell jacket (courtesy of Sacai).

Both would suit the office and freelance life, whether you’re zipping between coffees or setting up for the day in a co-working space. Rosie Lai, a fashion editor and contributor to Tatler Asia, has demanded a lot from her workwear since becoming self-employed. "My wardrobe has to work harder than before to take me seamlessly from one aspect of my life to another. This means clothes that would look appropriate enough for meetings but casual enough for dinner with friends afterwards, all without trying too hard."

Lai’s MO is simple. "A mix of clean tailoring with an element of ease, and bold gold jewellery to finish it all off. I love an oversized jacket, especially anything with an '80s shoulder." It’s often the finishing touches—a silhouette, a colour or a type of metal—that will become a kind of calling card."When I worked backstage producing fashion shows (a lifetime ago) and had to wear all-black, I'd still have giant gold earrings on. It’s what makes me feel like myself," she says.

Instead of dedicated workwear brands that cater to one area of a person’s wardrobe (like a lineup of trouser suits and silk shirts), we now have labels providing more versatile foundations. Dilly Groes, founder of contemporary womenswear label Groes, describes them as, "The pieces you reach for instinctively, week after week." Her own workwear has become increasingly streamlined over time. "I’ve moved towards more of a uniform, something consistent and easy that removes decision-making on busy mornings. It’s less about variety and more about refinement," she says.

She knows that her customer, far from giving up on the category, is seeking workwear from Groes. "It’s always a huge thing we consider in the design process, creating pieces that slot seamlessly into a woman’s existing wardrobe and work across different parts of her day," she says, name-checking The Margot Trousers (a mid to high-waisted trouser that’s pleasingly classic), The Florence Shirt (a relaxed button-down shirt), The Kate Blazer (the brand’s best-selling blazer) and The London Coat (an oversized, double-breasted coat). "They’re all designed to be worn on repeat, styled multiple ways and to elevate the simplest outfit."

This is what’s different about today’s workwear. It might be smart, but it’s still wearable, not the visual equivalent of bland corporate jargon, but something hard-working which telegraphs your personality. Lai’s go-tos are The Frankie Shop (for jackets), Citizens of Humanity (for barrel-leg jeans) and Aeyde, Dear Frances and Khaite (for kitten-heel booties), but, with patience, you’ll put together your own directory of what works for work.

I’ll leave you with a visual of Greta Gerwig striding down the street wearing the perfect example of reworked workwear: a white shirt, a woven leather skirt and patent burgundy pumps. It was the details that gave the look gravitas (a fastened top button and a refreshing lack of jewellery). And if there’s any word your workwear should aim for, it’s that.

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