TheWorkingWardrobe.com

By Jacqueline Rezak

I would like to introduce you to the extremely talented designer, Annie Havlicek. Havlicek is a Chicago girl born and bread. Growing up she spent much of her time studying fine art at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She then ventured off to New York City where she attended Parsons School of Design, a school that carries a consistent reputation of producing many of the best designers in the world. Upon graduation, pieces of Havlicek’s senior collection were placed in the renowned Saks 5^th Avenue windows in New York City. Having received top-of-the-line training as a design intern at Michael Kors, Havlicek went on to designed exclusive pieces for the well-known store, Anthropologie.

The designer at her trunk show at Chicago boutique Habit in December 2008

The designer is currently working from her studio space in Williamsburg, Brooklyn producing pieces for her Spring 2010 collection. “The Spring 2010 collection was inspired by Renoir’s paintings, Bal du Moulin de la Galette and Le dejeuner des canotiers and by my first summer living in Williamsburg, Brooklyn,” Havlicek shared. She believes that her collection represents the Sunday afternoons depicted in Renoir’s paintings as well as her typical Sunday afternoons that consist of brunch, dancing, attending concerts and much more.

Image of Renoir’s Bal du Moulin de la Galette

The color palette and fabric direction for her collection was pulled directly from Renoir’s paintings and reinterpreted into current silhouettes. The collection includes white striped silk dresses with delicately trimmed black ribbon, crisp black and navy silk linen separates inspired by menswear, clean soft white blouses, and rich navy accented with unexpected touches of bright red.

Several pieces featured in Havlicek’s Spring 2010 collection would be a perfect addition to not only your work wardrobe but also your everyday wardrobe. One of the many reasons I love this collection so much is because it is filled with many multi-functional pieces, ideal for both work and play. Pieces such as the Bridgette Trench, Lynne Jacket, Andree Top, Camille Top, and my personal favorite Helene Skirt, are all pieces that I would suggest for most work wardrobes and are great pieces to have in your closet to start out the new season.

Havlicek’s beautiful, elegant, and sophisticated Spring 2010 collection will be carried at her new boutique, Annie, which will open on May 15^th and be located at 154 Orchard Street, New York, NY 10002 (Lower East Side). For those of you who know her from her Windy City homeland, fret not, as her clothing is sold at Chicago boutiques Habit and Handle With Care. Havlicek’s clothing is also sold at other boutiques throughout the United States. Additional information regarding Annie Havlicek and her collection can be found at her website, www.anniehavlicek.com. Trust me, this is a name you will want to remember!

Clothing photos courtesy of Annie Havlicek

Spring Fever

Edited by Jennine Jacob

Do you get spring fever? Oh man… the itch to run around outside in flowery prints and frilly laces gets greater and greater each passing day. To heck with chunky sweaters! This week we have a load of great spring style posts, Holier Than Now checks out cape coats, if you’re strapped for cash Out of Order gives the perfect 45min spring skirt tutorial, so cute! And girly clothes not your thing? The Demoiselles has a great homage to genderbending unisex looks. I’ve been thinking of doing a couple of days in menswear myself. Well, as soon as I learn how to tie the half Windsor knot.

There were so, so many great links this week, it really was hard to narrow it down to 2o. Check out the full listing of Links à la Mode here.

Links à la Mode : March 11th

• 39th and Broadway – Death By Over-Scheduling
• Agent Lover – Mad Crushin’ on Pebelle
• Bobbins and Bombshells – Shop News…Hand Recovery Sale AND Give-Away!!
• Denim Debutante – Denim Advice: Why Should I Buy Premium Denim?
• Diary Of A Girl Left Behind – Sorry We Don’t Have Your (Shoe) Size
• Fashion Pulse Daily – London Fashion Week: Vivienne Westwood, Mark Fast & Burberry Prorsum
• Fete a Fete – The Frye Company SS 2010
• Glossary – Sipping tea with Sandra Beijer
• Grechen Blogs – Isabel Marant, the Internet & Social Media
• grit and glamour – Return to pretty, please!
• Hello Beauty! – Shu Uemura Spring 2010 Égérie Collection: Sparkling, rock star chic (with makeup lesson video)
• Holier Than Now – Spring (Transition) Shopping : Caped Crusaders
• Independent Fashion Bloggers – What does your ideal workspace look like?
• M.I.S.S. – Women Making History: Elisa Palomino
• Oranges and Apples – Sustainable fashion part 1: conceptualising the issues
• Out Of Order – DIY Tutorial – Spring Skirt
• Previously Owned – a PREVIEW of Private ARTS la shooting for MINT mag!
• Retro Chick – Vintage Hair Video Tutorial
• SF Indie Fashion – Good Looks: Moody Winter-Almost-Spring
• Shrimp Salad Circus – how to rock orange lips
• Smiles Go With Everything – How to Search Effectively on Etsy
• The Demoiselles – Gender-Bending: Menswear

I made a shocking discovery today – I have no blazers! Well, I do, but not in the most professional sense. I used to have my go-to black blazer but I gave it away after having too many wears and years behind it. I primarily wear wrap cardigans, cap-sleeved blazers and statement jackets to work and I have a boyfriend blazer and cropped bolero for weekends – but alas the stereotypical basic black blazer I have not! How is this possible?! So therefore today’s lineup of coveted working looks will have a very obvious theme as I feel this situation needs to be rectified sooner rather than later. I do apologize that these looks may not be ‘thrilling’, but there are times we need to step our selfish style aside and concentrate on our basics. However that doesn’t mean our basics need to be boring. For example, I really like how this cotton blazer by Daftbird almost looks velour – a very nice option for the cooler months.

I wear skirts and dresses many times more than slacks and blouses. I love how this Elizabeth and James jacket is paired with a floral dress showing that the cut works perfectly for accentuating the waistline when not wearing the typical top and pant combination. I also roll my sleeves up 90% of the time either due to getting warm, them getting in the way, or the sleeve length being a bit too short for my lanky arms. I like how this jacket ends slightly below the elbow in a stylish semi-point. I would never be able to roll my sleeves up nearly as stylishly!

The same thing can be said for this Theory linen blazer. It’s a 3/4-length sleeve and it’s cropped and fitted at the waistline to work both with slacks and skirts and dresses. Plus it’s nice to have a lighter-weight jacket on hand for the warmer months, and what better material for those sunny hot days than linen?

Springtime is upon us – well, almost. Most of us are finding ourselves in that frustrating seasonal shift where we feel between weather temperaments. It’s cold one day with flurries and the next day is excitingly sunny boasting a ‘balmy’ temperature of 56 degrees! In the business world, how does one work with these drastic shifts, sometimes in the same day? Well, first thing is first – if you haven’t layered in these past few months, now is the time to do so. You can go to work with a sweater and slacks, but make sure you have a light cotton button-down underneath it in case you find that you’re not in space heater season anymore. However as we are still pre-daylight savings time, the commute home may be a bit more chilly than your afternoon coffee break. Therefore you can put the sweater back on and cozy up with a convenient scarf around your neck.

How to stay warm while keeping a look of spring to your wardrobe? Dress in lighter colors! Don some light-colored slacks or Chinos with a complimenting lighter-toned sweater and a tan leather satchel. Or wear a slightly brighter-toned button-down shirt tucked in to your light-colored slacks. And of course, take your spring jacket out of its plastic bag and give it some fresh air! The dark reds and blacks with heather gray slacks are very sophisticated (and professional) looks, however there is nothing in those ensembles which shout, “SPRING!”.

This is a very exciting time of the year when we open our windows for the first time, we drive with the car window down, and we take the linings out of our jackets. Granted we may still have to don the winter coat a few more times in the next month or two – but this is at least the beginning or at risk of sounding cheesy, the spring awakening. So own it! And of course – work it!

By Jacqueline Rezak

Through out each of my internships I have experienced several different dress codes– ranging from the uniform, at home in PJ’s, casual, fashionable and much more. Some internships that take place in the entertainment industry (music, arts, and fashion) allow for a more relaxed dress code. By relaxed I don’t mean a hoody and sweats – more like the freedom to show off your style in a professional way. I have put together an example of an outfit below that I feel would express my personal style (urban chic) but still remains professional and could be worn to an internship in an artistic field.

Express Yo-Self! by WorkWardrobe featuring Prada bags

It has been a bit since I’ve shared my coveted working looks! My apologies in leaving you hanging, but now I’m back with SO many looks that I’m dying to have in my working wardrobe. I was inspired by this first look because…well…I already own it! Well, sort of. I purchased the original jacket in this style about a year ago from the esteemed blouse design label Kate Boggiano. Well I recently discovered that she made a replica of the shirt jacket that I wear and love but with stretch! I absolutely love this design as it works as both a shirt and a jacket thereby making a multi-faceted and completely fabulous item ideal for the working wardrobe. And with the added stretch, it’s also amazingly comfortable!

I love the look of the short-sleeved cowl neck and turtleneck tops, which I wear frequently with slacks or a pencil skirt at the office. Anne Klein turned this classic look into a classic dress – plus the dark tawny coloring gives it a gorgeous autumn-like twist! Let’s be honest, we have blacks and grays, but many times we ignore the importance of our browns. It’s a good thing we have labels such as Ann Klein to put our wardrobe palette right.

Anne Klein may offer a fantastic fall palette, however Moschino C&C offers some springtime skip with this adorable white blazer with red piping and detailing. We’re not into spring quite yet, so this blazer would be the perfect solution in keeping your shoulders warm while exuding a breath of fresh air we are all yearning for during the upcoming weeks ahead.