My New Obsession: Patterned (yet still office-appropriate!) tights

One of the biggest fashion challenges I face day-to-day is the desire to dress like, well, myself, but still in a way that’s professional, and office-appropriate. The litmus test I give myself is, “if I was called into [important boss’s] office at a moment’s notice, would I feel okay wearing this skirt/these shoes/this color?” That being said, there’s the temptation to take the easy route, and just become a bland, beige ball of Banana Republic slacks and J. Crew sweaters. ESPECIALLY in the winter when it’s cold, damp, and not so fun to get dressed to face the the elements.

Accordingly, I’ve been trying lately to find little ways to punch up my staid, business casual wear, and I’ve stumbled across a happy medium that enables me to incorporate and adapt a trend (i.e., anything-but-black tights) into something that works for the office, and for ME.

Rather than trying to convince myself that, say, electric blue tights are totally doable for work (dear self: they are not), what I’ve done instead is sought out very finely patterned tights with “normal” base colors (black, brown, and grey) and paired them with solid skirts, tops and shoes that coordinate. That way, the outfit itself isn’t too loud, but there’s still some subtle element of interest going on. Here are some recent pairs:

J.Crew grey herringbone tights, paired with black wool pleated skirt and suede boots.

DKNY (I think?) color…pilled tights (what, YOU think of a better description!) paired with black pencil skirt and red suede Nine West pumps.

Brown diamond pattern Jessica Simpson tights (no, YOU shut up!) paired with caramel suede Ralph Lauren boots.