Post college is a weird time, right? After spending four (or more) years in a college town constantly meeting new people, we transition into a workplace where we’re typically around the same people every day. We transition from having a schedule that changes every semester to the consistency of an 8 to 5. On the flip side, we’re no longer broke and scraping by. We’re receiving a steady paycheck and living in the real world. (Cash money money!!)
One thing that stressed me out when I started my first structural engineering job after college was a question I asked myself every morning: “What should I wear today?” (Female engineer probs.) I worked in an office with all men, and I didn’t want anyone to notice what I was wearing. SO, I chose to wear bland, boring, shapeless clothing that hid my butt and didn’t draw any attention to myself. Thank the Lord that phase of my life is over! I enjoyed using my brain and solving problems at my desk, but when it came to meeting with architects and people I wanted to impress, my confidence was shot. It’s amazing how what you’re wearing can affect your attitude and how you view yourself. I even stopped wearing mascara to draw less attention to myself. For shame!!!
Y’all I’m here to tell you… you don’t have to dress in baggy man clothes when you’re not sure what to wear to the office. You can look good, feel good, and most importantly do good work! I started wearing pants that actually fit me, booties, and a blouse like this, and I finally felt confident in myself when attending meetings.
Disclaimer: nobody at the office ever did or said anything to make me question what to wear. I am the only person that caused my self consciousness. I don’t know why this was such a big deal for me starting out, but I think as a 22 year old girl working in an office of 30 – 50 something year old men, I was simply intimidated. So dress how you want (within reason), and don’t feel like you need to wear or not wear certain clothing if you’re a female engineer, or just a woman starting off in the working world. I psyched myself out about how I was dressing for the first year I was working, but you don’t have to! I actually remember googling “female structural engineer what to wear” and not getting any hits (I wonder why haha.)
Outfit: Blouse | Pants | Booties | Vintage Tory Burch Bag | Similar Necklace | Sunglasses
Not knowing what to wear to work is never a good feeling, so I encourage you to try on an outfit like this and see how you feel. I can promise that when you feel good in what your wearing, it shows. So invests in some staples that you’ll get a lot of use out of, and don’t walk, but STRUT into work next week!
If you’re reading this from your office / cubical / desk, I hope you’re having a great day and are working hard, because at the end of the day we all just want to feel good about what we’ve accomplished and know that we put in 110%. And when you look good doing it, its that much better.
Thanks for reading!
Other tops that I love:
This was so interesting for me to read because I was the exact opposite. I felt like I had to wear heels and a blazer every day, but when I got more comfortable in my work place I became more casual in my clothing. Then it got to a point where I felt I was TOO casual, so I have started trying to find a happy medium. Your outfit up there is pretty much my happy medium!!! Although I tend to wear sweaters and cardigans more than blouses due to the office being soooo cold. I’m currently trying to mix things up away from my sweaters but I’m failing. Maybe I’ll try a blouse soon!
Brandi!!! I think if I had been in Tennessee, I would have dressed super uptight. Come to think of it, I did dress really uptight (like a blouse with a pencil skirt) for the first week at my office, until I realized everyone was else was wearing a tee shirt and jeans. Then I was just like, what am I supposed to wear?! Especially when I went out to constructions sites, I wore baggy clothes. I totally understand being cold and wearing a cardi all the time. I kept a space heater at my desk! I wore a lot of polo shirts, but I got so tired of wearing them because after a while they just started to feel blah. The biggest victory for me was finding pants like this. Thanks for reading!
Yes! My go-tos are Old Navy’s Chinos. I have them in so many colors and wear them basically every day. They are the perfect female “khakis” and I can easily wear flats, heels, booties, OR even tall boots with them. & they’re only like $25-30 or something like that. I need to get a space heater for my desk!!! Fun fact about me: I hate polos and don’t own a single one! The only shirts I own with collars are flannel! I think it’s bc I have a short neck so I don’t do collars or turtlenecks. (Insert IDK girl emoji here)
Lololol flannels are the best!!! I need to check out Old Navy I haven’t been there in forever! I like the price point too haha.
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