Spring - April 19, 2016

Business Casual Basic: Skinny Black Pants

brightontheday wearing Banana Republic Rugby Stripe Crepe Top

Believe it or not, sometimes I really miss dressing up for the corporate world each day. Although there are a lot of things about my old job* that I don’t really miss (cough, cough, the hours!), there are a few things that I actually do miss and wearing business casual to the office each day is one of them. I used to have so much fun mixing and matching different parts of my wardrobe to create different work-attire looks each day.

*I used to work as a CPA at a big 4 accounting firm for those of you that are new!

brighton the day wearing Banana Republic Rugby Stripe Crepe Top and new sloan fit black pants with yellow strappy sandals for business casual spring outfit
brightontheday wearing Banana Republic Rugby Stripe Crepe Top and new sloan fit slim ankle pants business casual outfit

Specifically, one of my favorite things to do was to figure out a way to seamlessly incorporate my “real life” clothes (aka weekender/not-too-worky) into my daily work outfits. And aside from a few pairs of slacks and blazers, I was able to figure out a way to never have to buy something for work that I wouldn’t be comfortable wearing out with friends or on the weekend.

brightontheday wearing Banana Republic Rugby Stripe Crepe Top and black pants with nude lipstick
brighton the day wearing Banana Republic Rugby Stripe Crepe Top and new sloan fit black pants with yellow strappy sandals for business casual spring outfit

One of my absolute MUST HAVES for putting office appropriate looks together is a pair of black nice-looking pants. I kid you not, I wore a pair of black skinny pants at least twice a week. And once I found a pair that I liked, I usually bought them in EVERY color.

These Banana Republic ‘sloan fit’ black pants were one of those items that I literally swore by when it came to getting dressed. And I actually still wear mine all the time now – just not necessarily on a daily basis (I actually wore them to church with a silk blouse this past Sunday!).

Outfit Details: 

TOP: Banana Republic Rugby Stripe Crepe Top (sold out but similar HERE and HERE) // PANTS: BR New Sloan-Fit Slim Ankle Pant (wearing size 0p) // SHOES: BR Holland Heeled Sandal in Yellow // BAG: Celine (similar style by Rebecca Minkoff here) // SUNGLASSES: Ray Ban All Black Aviators

brighton the day wearing Banana Republic Holland Heels in Yellow
brightontheday wearing Banana Republic Rugby Stripe Crepe Top and new sloan fit slim ankle pant business casual attire
brighton the day wearing Banana Republic Holland Heels in Yellow + New Sloan-Fit Slim Ankle Pant

And can we talk about how fab these shoes are?! They remind me of the Stuart Weitzman ones except that they’re 1/4 of the price! They also come in multiple colors!

brightontheday wearing Banana Republic Rugby Stripe Crepe Top and new sloan fit slim ankle pant business casual attire
brighton the day wearing Banana Republic Rugby Stripe Crepe Top and new sloan fit black pants with yellow strappy sandals for business casual spring outfit

This top would also look really cute with a colorful (or gold) statement necklace and a bold lip with white or blue jeans to go out with friends. It would also look cute with shorts and flats for running errands around town. I love the boxy fit and the oversized, bold stripes – you really can’t go wrong with black-and-white stripes!

A few other work wear staples and classics I’m loving currently on Banana’s wesbite:

brightontheday wearing michael kors gold runway watch paired with gorjana criss cross hammered gold cuff detail shot

After perusing what else BR had on their site, I rounded up a few other LOVES that are worth mentioning – shop them in the widget below! Im loving those pink lace ups heels!

Now I want to hear from you! Do you own a pair of skinny black pants? If so, do you wear them to work? What’re your thoughts?!

Kristen Dee Photography // Thanks so much to Banana Republic for partnering on this post. As always, ALL opinions are my own and I genuinely love their Sloan Fit pants and all of their work wear for that matter. BR was and still is one of my favorite places to shop!