5 Outfit Formulas to Help You Figure Out What to Wear to Work in the Winter

By Andrea Cheng
Updated Jan 13, 2016 @ 2:00 pm
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Having to choose between fashion and warmth is a winter wardrobe dilemma that plagues us every. single. morning. Dressing for below 30 degrees is hard enough as it is, but needing to look polished on top of it? Sometimes it's just asking too much. For the lazy girl that sleeps in all of us, we came up with fashion formulas that prove fashion and warmth aren't mutually exclusive.

We pieced together outfits that require minimal effort but lead to maximum results. Case in point: Style a knit with a colorful midi-length skirt and knee-high boots, and voilà, you're Olivia Palermo (pictured, above). Or, throw on a sweater over a button-down shirt and trousers, and you've got yourself a winter office uniform. Play with different textures and color combinations for different looks, but the fundamentals should remain the same. Keep reading for five fail-safe, no-think outfit formulas to help you figure out what to wear to work in the winter.

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Sweater + Midi Skirt + Over-the-Knee Boots

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Treat thigh-highs like a pair of tights—wear them under a midi length skirt for a layer of warmth. Finish with a knit in your favorite hue or print.

Shop the look: Topshop Unique sweater, $300; net-a-porter.com. Whistles skirt, $490; whistles.com. Stuart Weitzman boots, $798; stuartweitzman.com.

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Button-Down + Sweater + Cropped Pants + Midi Boot

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The combo is a classic, but vary it up slightly with cropped kick-flare pants for a touch of on-trend interest. 

Shop the look: Joe Fresh shirt, $20 (originally $39); joefresh.com. Trademark sweater, $239 (originally 398); trade-mark.com. Zara pants, $50; zara.com. Banana Republic boots, $198; bananarepublic.com.

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Turtleneck + Tunic + Pencil Skirt

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Cold-proof any tunic with a turtleneck layered underneath, and then belt it over a sleek pencil skirt for an instant office-friendly outfit. Complete your look with black fleece-lined tights and heeled Chelsea boots.

Shop the look: H&M turtleneck, $18; hm.com. Cos tunic, $99; cosstores.com. Hope belt, $89 (originally $128); stevenalan.com. Babaton skirt, $95; aritzia.com. Acne Studios boots, $600; acnestudios.com.

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Button-Down + Blazer + Wide-Leg Pants + Pumps

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Treat wide-leg culottes as you would with their longer counterpart—balance the voluminous silhouette with a fitted top by way of a structured button-down and a sharp, tailored blazer. Step in pumps to round out your ensemble.

Shop the look: Gap shirt, $30 (originally $46); gap.com. J. Crew blazer, $248; jcrew.com. J. Crew pants, $198; jcrew.com. Manolo Blahnik pumps, $595; barneys.com.

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Turtleneck + Midi Dress + Boots

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If you're the type to avoid wearing tights whenever you can (guilty), make sure the length of your dress overlaps the height of your boot to prevent any skin exposure. Winterize a sleeveless dress with a turtleneck, and throw on a cute tweed jacket over for good measure. 

Shop the look: Splendid turtleneck, $85; net-a-porter.com. Whistles dress, $170 (originally $340); whistles.com. & Other Stories boots, $345; stories.com.

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By Andrea Cheng