Client sessions so often inspire blog posts.  Recently, I was working virtually with a client who is in a creative profession.  While she can dress casually, she still has a desire to looked pulled together and professional.  We talked about how to take some of her more classic wardrobe pieces and make them look more creative to capture the spirit of her job and her skills.  In today’s post I am going to give you some tips on how to do the same.

Combine two ends of the spectrum into one look

The strategy for giving your classic wardrobe pieces a little oomph is quite simple.  All you have to do is pair your more creative components with your more conservative or classic ones.  What happens is the classic balances out the creative items and vice versa.  What is also achieved is the appearance of a creative professional who doesn’t look too flighty or lacking seriousness.  All too often creative types are assumed to be people who don’t have business heads.  However, there are many out there, including myself, who run successful businesses and who are also creative.  Don’t discount these folks simply because their minds are more visual or their professions less analytical.

Here are some outfits that show how you can combine your creativity and your skills as a professional into one look.  Even if you are aren’t a creative professional, you can take these tips to add a little more excitement to your more classic outfits.

How to Add Creativity to Classic Wardrobe Pieces

Outfit #1

classic wardrobe You can’t get any more basic than this black Hugo Boss sheath dress.  It’s timeless and a style that I’d put on my law and finance clients, for sure.  Not only this dress hold up in a court of law, but with a few touches it can easily look more creative.

Here, I styled it with a denim jacket from J. Crew, leopard pumps from Ivanka Trump, a camel Pashmina scarf from Betsey Johnson and accessorized with earrings from Macy’s, a bracelet from Bauble Bar and wood watch from Kohls.

Outfit #2

Classic wardrobe This classic navy pencil skirt from Theory can be styled conservatively and creatively.  You don’t have to ditch your classic wardrobe pieces when trying to dress in a more creative manner.

In this look, I added an emerald top from Modcloth and, to give the outfit some funkiness, layered a zipper jacket from Rebecca Taylor over it.  Lastly, to finish the outfit with even more uniqueness, I added these caramel shooties from Anthropologie and earrings from Stella & Dot.

Outfit #3

classic wardrobe In this outfit, I took a very classic base of black pants by Elie Tahari and short sleeve sweater from J. Crew and funked it up with a blush pink suede jacket from French Connection, a pair of heeled peep-toe oxfords from Modcloth and statement necklace from Ann Taylor.  See?  Even Ann Taylor can be funky if you style it right.

All is not lost if your wardrobe is full of classic items and you feel like you are lacking creative pieces.  You don’t have to trash anything.  You just have to look at your classic pieces as your base that you finish with more exciting components.