How to Style Dressy/Office Pants Casually with the Thrifty Six: Vested

sallyinstpaul
4 hours ago
8 min read

I have recently been welcomed into a wonderful group of fashion and lifestyle bloggers that focuses on styling preloved clothing and accessories in themed monthly posts (third Monday of the month). I hope that this showcase of secondhand items and outfits provides some shopping and style inspiration for anyone who is interested in creating great looks in a way that is sustainable for our planet and our pocketbooks.

Today's topic is my selection of Vested...because I find December to be a great month for wearing vests in Minnesota. A long-sleeved top + vest are a nice layering option since it's usually not extremely cold yet (though as I'm typing this, we are expecting a low temperature of -14 F / -26 C overnight).

To set the stage for this outfit... You may recall that I left my job this past summer with the plan to take some time off from working. My mom asked me a couple weeks ago what my plans were for my office clothes while I'm on my work break - was I going to remove them from my wardrobe or what? Because I don't have any work clothes that are too uncomfortable for me to wear all day, I don't think I need to purge anything. I know a lot of people gave up "hard pants" and such during the pandemic and haven't gone back to wearing any of those things, but I never did, so there has been no adjustment to make.

I also don't have extremely delicate/easily damaged clothing in my work wardrobe, nor do I have pets that I am worried will ruin anything I wear at home. It also helps that my office clothes are also almost entirely machine washable, with a few that I fake "dry clean" in my dryer, so I'm not going to have to spend money on dry cleaning professional clothing just to wear them casually.

The biggest difference for this not-working winter season is that I am planning to wear pants all winter, with no dresses/skirts with boots and tights. I needed the warmth of the tights + boots combo when commuting to my rather drafty and cold office, but my apartment is warm enough that normal pants (not fleece lined or flannel lined or anything extra warm) will suit me just fine. I typically wear a LOT of skirts in the winter, so this will be a nice opportunity to style more pants/jeans-based cold-weather outfits.

Whether you have left the work force due to permanent retirement or on a temporary basis, the question of what to do with your office clothes comes up. And while there is no single answer to the question that works for everyone, I think it's worth taking some time to make a decision rather than jumping immediately into major purge mode. Purging can be so satisfying, but when it's done in a big whirlwind of emotion, you can get rid of things that you later realize would have served you well - and this can lead to the dreaded buy->purge->buy cycle that is not great for the environment or your finances.

Even living a casual lifestyle, you will likely find occasions where having a few pieces of dressier clothing will come in handy. And for casual day-to-day wear, there are a lot of ways to mix dressy and casual items into outfits. Today's featured outfit is one example of how to use office clothes from your "previous life"...or even your current life but on the weekend...for a normal casual day.

Let's get to it...

First, my choice of secondhand vest for the "Vested" theme: I am glad that I added this olive marl hoodie sweater vest to my wardrobe because (1) it's unlike anything else I own and (2) it is an easy layer for casual outfits, which fits my typical daily vibe right now.

For the dressier piece, I looked at my black pants and found a couple of thrifted options that I have mostly worn to work - I never know whether to call these "dressy," "office," or "work" pants, but I mean the kind of trousers one would wear to an office job with some kind of a "business" dress code. One pair is a very standard trouser cut with a zipper and button closure (business casual or professional), and the other pair is this pull-on style with a generous straight leg cut and drapey fabric (business casual). (I took a wonky angled photo of the pants but they are in reality symmetrically sized, haha.)

I layered an olive long-sleeved T to create a modern twin set with my sweater vest, and I tucked the shirt into the pants, thus avoiding what Jodie and Tresi recently called the "frump line" (when the bottom hem of your top hits right where your legs join). They offer 10+ ways to do this without tucking, but I have found that a full tuck often works well for me when I'm wearing a topper layer like this vest over it. (If you doubt that you can ever tuck in a top in any way because the shape/visible existence of your midsection doesn't meet the societal ideal, check out this post on Wardrobe Oxygen with some thoughts and suggestions. You absolutely can choose to never tuck your tops! But make sure it's a choice and not a default due to feeling unworthy about not having "perfect abs." You can also choose to say "screw it" on any given day and rock your frump line look - you know that I do.)

I love this thrifted scarf with several colors woven together for an interesting plaid-like design. Depending on how I arrange it, I can bring forward the darker black/blue/green colors or the brighter red/orange/pink colors or a combination of the two, which I did here. (See Method #4 - loop to the front with ends loose - in this post.) The scarf shares colors with the rest of the outfit to create a harmonious look while also adding a cheerful pop of color. This is one of my best "December" scarves because the red and green combo fits the Christmas holiday season without having any overt Christmas motifs (which makes it wearable all winter/fall long).

I added my black Adidas sneakers, which have quickly become a go-to pair this fall/winter because they are casual, spiffy, and warm (due to the leather and the tied-up, foot-covering style). You can see here how the dressy pants drape so beautifully over the shoes, giving a softer look than you get with stiffer fabrics like denim. The smooth draping trouser fabric also contrasts nicely with the rougher, chunky texture of my sweater vest. I think a mixture of textures and levels of refinement creates a chic, modern vibe even in a casual outfit.

Two women in vibrant outfits stand side by side. Left: runway model in orange, purple, and teal. Right: woman in similar colors, smiling indoors.

For my all-DIY daily bracelet stack, I selected a paper bead bracelet set I had made to coordinate with a skirt I own, using black, maroon/dark red, and olive green tones with silver. (Page to bead details are here with the second outfit.) I popped my white pearl bracelet into the stack as a small repeat of the white stripes on my sneakers - silly, I know, but these subtle details please me even if no one else notices. The bracelet came with a pearl necklace in a set I bought on sale at Kohls in November 2020; I enjoy designing with and wearing glass pearls, but there is something especially beautiful about a string of real/natural pearls with their individual size/shape variations. If you own pearls (real or faux), wear them with anything; they're not just for dressy special occasions. {stretch bracelet tutorial} {bicone paper bead tutorial} {tube paper bead tutorial}

I designed a quick pair of earrings to match my outfit with a simple black glass bead and a cute silver knit scarf charm to continue with that "December but not overtly Christmas" vibe. (See design #6 in this post.)

Now let's review the vested outfits that my thrifty friends have styled...

The Thrifty Six:

Emma of Style Splash

"I bought this waistcoat/vest on Vinted a couple of years ago and wore it for a previous Thrifty Six challenge. That was in summer so I wore it as a top then, but it works as a good layering piece too for the colder months. The top I'm wearing underneath was also a Vinted purchase, as were the trainers."

Jane of Preloved-Vintage-Handmade

“I get a bit confused by vests; I think the word is rather ambiguous…

…to me it’s the string thing that men used to wear or what I wore as a child under my jumper to keep me warm.

These days it seems to be the garment I would call a tank-top or sometimes even what I would describe as a waistcoat.

Anyhow, here I am in my ‘vest’ (tank-top) - a funky fine-knit from circa 1975 with gold sparkle trim – ideal for the festive season!”

Jodie of Jodie's Touch of Style

"I found this sweater on Etsy...it was originally a short-sleeve sweater, so I cut off the sleeves, added ivory trim, and layered it over a long teal cardigan. I wore it with thrifted cargo shorts, fleece tights, and booties.”

Nancy of Nancy's Fashion Style

“When Sally came up with the "vested" theme, I thought, Oh no, after I googled what ‘vested’ was. I'm not really into vests at all. I've tried them a few times, but I don't feel comfortable in them at all. They feel way too masculine for me. And yet I do love wearing a tie. So, years ago, I bought a secondhand vest to try it out. And luckily, I still had the photos. A denim vest with ruffles. I'm sure my fashionable friends here can do this better.”

Shelbee of Shelbee on the Edge

"I found this denim vest a while back on a thrifting adventure but haven't had the opportunity to wear it yet. It has double breasted buttons which I thought was so unique on a denim vest and the longer length was really appealing to me. It has kind of an easy boho artsy vibe which suits my style aesthetic so I bought it with no idea how I was going to style it. For this challenge, I just popped it over one of my upcycled Frankenstein dresses crafted from an old tee shirt and skirt. My earrings were also found in a thrift store (in North Carolina) and my coat was a thrifty find as well (you have to stop by my blog to see the coat)."

And me...

“I have numerous thrifted vests, but this olive marl sweater knit hoodie vest is one of my favorite ones for a casual winter outfit. I styled it with an olive long-sleeved T to make a modern twin set and topped it with a thrifted plaid scarf for a cheerful pop of color. I was originally going to wear black jeans, but I don’t have any thrifted ones, so I chose to pull out a pair of thrifted black dress pants instead. My mom recently asked me if I was going to remove office clothes from my closet during my break from work, and I quickly decided that since all my uncomfortable office clothes have already been purged, I could easily continue to wear my remaining work clothes by styling them down for my casual lifestyle. I really liked the combination of the drapey straight leg trousers with the sneakers.”

Next month's topic is Faux Fur...and that's going to be a major challenge for me! I have no idea what I'll come up with for that one.

In the meantime, visit these lovely bloggers for the details of their thrifted vest outfits and more style inspiration:

Do you like to wear vests (aka waistcoats, aka gilets) in the fall/winter seasons? Do you have a particular favorite style? Would you wear "dressy" pants in a casual outfit? Do you wear red and green together during the winter holiday season?

Blogs I link up with are listed here.