Add some printed blouses to the mix for a little more femininity. Play with necklines....v neck or scooped neck for under jackets is nice...but so are collars.

I always did the button test though before I'd wear a blouse to a presentation...stand there and then put your arms all the way back to see if there is any gaping across the chest or anywhere else. To be on the safe side, wear blouses that have no opening in the front. (I remember getting that funny feeling when speaking once and realizing the guy in the front row was staring at my belly...the blouse had gaped (thank goodness not at the bust). Last time I did that one. Often if I wore a button front, I'd throw a scarf on to be on the safe side. Or sometimes I'd wear a cami underneath the blouse that showed at the neckline too, so if it did gape when I moved, it was still all together.

Scarves are great ways to dress up an outfit with color. They also help with traveling in case something gets spilled down the front...the scarf can come off or, I usually eat without it and the scarf can go on to cover a spot.

Jackets are essential for presenting. They also add structure to your outfit so they can give you a good waistline regardless of what's underneath. Play with jacket styles....they need not be formal to do the job. There are some nice jackets with 3/4 sleeves which look great with bulky bracelets. Jackets with bigger metallic buttons. Even some print or patterned jackets can work well, esp with solid bottoms. (The jacket here, not with skinny jeans.)

(Being short, you should not ever have a jacket so long that it covers your crotch...it makes your legs look even shorter. Aim for the hem to hit mid hip.)

When I travelled on business I often wore skirts or dresses with jackets so that I could wear heels for the presentation and flats for traveling. In pants, it was always an issue as they were too long for flats or too short for heels. at 5'4" I'm too short to wear cropped pants like above...I needed all the length my leg could give me.

Also be sure to check out the Vivienne Files...she has great wardrobe ideas including accessories and packing suggestions.

Here is a link that might be useful: Vivienne Files

Head to an Ann Taylor! Get on their email list. They are always having sales and you get the alerts. When you spend $125, you get free shipping. the good part is, is that this is the total of the regular price not the sale price. So, you can get free shipping for half that amount.
I use Ann Taylor and Loft often. I can pretty much judge my size is the various styles.
You can also copy the looks they have with Nordstroms, Macy"s, Lord and Taylor.
I agree with Annie. For many years, I would avoid prints. But, when you are always in solids, you start to look like you are wearing the same thing, even if you aren't.
Nordstroms has a personal shopper. I don't think it's free. Might be a good idea to see what a professional thinks.

As Ellendi points out, at this stage of a woman's professional (and personal) life I think it's well worth the investment to forget about cheap and go for quality. Quality on sale is even better of course.

I have done what she recommends over the past few years. Shopping at Ann Taylor, Loft, etc and I would include Talbot's in that category will get you well made and well fitted pieces that can be mixed/matched and last longer than going for trendy and inexpensive.

I haven't done this often but many people also swear by using a good tailor. The money spent can be worth it to have clothes that truly fit perfectly. Clean, well fitted and classic will always make a great impression.

Ann

Maybe you can jazz up what you already have with some scarves, bold/interesting jewelry, a couple new blazers in different colors? My wardrobe tends to be boring but I have a lot of interesting jewelry and a few scarves. Adding a scarf to a basic shirt can make a huge impact. I like the idea of having good quality basics and trying out some more trendy accessories to make the basics seem more current.

I recently watched the last two seasons of The West Wing and just loved the way character CJ Cregg dressed. She always wore a "uniform" of a skirt/pants dress suit then paired it with a beautiful button down silk blouse. But I felt the most striking part of her look was the addition of a beautiful necklace or earrings. Something not typically paired with an austere business suit really jazzed up the entire look.

Oh I almost forgot, sometimes she would wear the same outfit I stated above and leave the blouse unbuttoned enough to see a colorful cami underneath.

If you are near a Macy's, check out their INC line~petites are available. Their on-line selection is very poor, so don't even bother. My oldest DD works in hotel reservations, and is required to wear 'work attire', and has been successful in finding clothing that's a little more fashion forward, yet not trendy junior stuff. She's only 5'2" and the petites work great. It's fairly well made clothing, and while not cheap, isn't RL prices. With Macy's always having sales, the possibility of the line being on sale is pretty high~she's never paid full price.

I have a "uniform" of fairly plain slacks, skirts, and blouses that I wear in black, white, gray or a print combo of those colors. What keeps it from being blah is the addition of scarves and jewelry and shoes and glasses and the layering of those items. I gave a fundraising talk this morning for the Humane Society, and for a "casual Friday" look, I'm wearing black linen capris with black patent low heeled sandals. The "jazz" comes in the form of a zebra print tank with clear sequins on it and a short sleeve white jacket. The jacket lends enough coverage, but the print tank lends some fun. Simple silver hoops and silver wire rimmed glasses finish things off.

Yesterday was a swirly black and white crinkle (great for travel!) maxi skirt with a white lace tank (not sheer) and a lime green scarf worn as a shrug over it and lime sandals and my Betsey Johnson frog earrings. If I had needed something more "corporate" for a talk, the scarf would have been worn as a scarf and I'd have grabbed a lightweight jacket in black or white.

Either look would have been a kinda boring basic black and white look without the accessories that dressed it up. And I am THE least likely person to give fashion advice, but having that uniform has actually freed me up to take less time and worry about how I look. Everything kinda coordinates already without having to worry about it and I spend shopping time on stuff that is more fun than buying a pair of pants.

I agree about quality at sale over cheap prices :)

I think the big idea for me is jackets that can be added to complete and "professionalize" the look. Besides my suit jackets, I have no other jackets. Do you have some jackets that work well with multiple type of outfits? I think a 2-3 of those would serve me well.

Scarves - I am not sure about. I find it hard to keep on and it makes me too pouffy at the top. I always admire someone like christine Legard (IMF chief) who wears such fabulous scarves. In fact I even have a hermes scarf I think. Just never learned to make that look work.

I have always kept to a pretty basic core but added fun jackets, scarves and jewelry to give some personality to my professional look. I was recently thrown back into the world of professional suits (where before I wore them on occasion, my last job required them almost daily). I was lucky enough to find a couple of great jackets at the Jones of New York outlet and Talbots to spice up and extend my old wardrobe.

I have always liked Jones because they often have styles that are business appropriate but have a feminine cut.

Here's a jacket-- currently on sale-- that has given me great mileage. It works with a shell as well as a turtleneck and the weight is *great* for those in between seasons. I've worn it with jeans and black boots and with dress pants and a more formal look. The gold buttons may turn you off-- they did me at first-- but they actually work nicely with my jewelry. It has a little bit of shape that isn't clear in the photo so it doesn't look as boxy as you may think.

Over all, Talbots is kind of hit or miss for me... but this was a grand win. I only wish I'd ordered more colors-- as now that it is on sale, they don't have the color I want in my size.

Here is a link that might be useful: Calvery Twill Jacket

I have to disagree with the Ann Taylor recommendation. I was there a week ago and was amazed that they had finally joined the masses by selling cheaply made flimsy clothing. I was not impressed with the quality and all the hemlines were too short for most over the age of 25, specially for business attire. Also not sure when Nordstrom changed their target audience to 25 and under. Lingerie department was still good, but everything else was more of the same cheap flimsy clothing. Kind of sad that there is a whole new generation that has no idea what a well made garment looks like. When was the last time you saw lined pants? They rarely line jackets now. Anyone else miss the level of quality from 20 years ago?

I do! Everything used to be wool and lined, that was the norm for non summer items.

I still expect that in "quality" items. For summer things, they should be linen looking but non wrinkling.

I don't know where to shop for good quality business attire anymore. The good stuff used to be easily available at any department store, now everything is rayon or poly.

I like Boden, they still seem to have some natural fiber clothing.

It's true Chispa that things are not what they used to be. That is why you really can't get everything you need in one shopping trip. Things come in weekly and you just have weed through what is acceptable to you.

Most women's stores, even the nice stores, seem to carry different levels of quality. As ellendi mentioned you unfortunately have to commit to periodic shopping visits to find the right combination of style and quality. You will hit it right eventually.

I agree that Ann Taylor, Boden and Talbots are good places to check for modern professional clothes. I would also look in Banana Republic and Brooks Brothers.

I can't stand synthetic materials and the last time I was at Nordstrom, every blouse I picked up was made of polyester.

It seems like the only brand that fits my style and uses material I can stomach is Eileen Fisher but there's a limit to how many $150 casual blouses I can have in my closet.

I agree about the deterioration in quality clothing, but don't discount rayon as it is made from cellulose so isn't a totally man made product. It breathes well. It does have the unfortunate habit of shrinking like crazy though.

I also don't like 100% poly, but some poly blends can be very nice, esp if it gives them wrinkle resistance, something that can be useful if you travel a lot.

For my trip, I bought a skirt at Ann Taylor and it was well made and fully lined...which made it lovely, but it was a PITA to alter.

I think that regardless of the price of the clothing, if it doesn't fit well, forget it. And a cheaper piece of clothing that fits well can look far better than an ill-fitting expensive piece.

I'm stunned at all the hoopla H&M gets...whenever I go in there, I walk right out as their stuff is the epitome of cheap goods...yet they are expanding like crazy. Go figure.

When my nieces were visiting (I have boys) we went to Forever 21 ... cheap materials, cheap workmanship, etc.

Young girls like Forever 21 exactly for that reason. Cheap but very trendy clothes that they will only wear one season.

Here's a link for help in tying a scarf. It's a nice addition if you wear a lot of solid tops.

Here is a link that might be useful: scarf tying

Thanks for all the ideas. That scarf tying link was cool! I went browsing today to check out Ann Taylor, Talbots etc. Some interesting options but a lot of things were very blah and in AnnT not really professional executive type. Had to really sift thought to find nice fabric, fittings, and cut. I did not buy anything but all the input from you guys was helpful in "seeing" options.

Is online an option? Even Amazon has clothes!
Are personal shoppers worth it?

In addition to tying, I would use a scarf clip ring that always made wearing a scarf very easy.

You fold the scarf into a triangle with the tails hanging down front. Put the open scarf ring on top, pull the tails up through the ring and close the clip.

If you want to make a bow instead then pull the tails up part way to make a loop and then close the clip. Very easy.

I think I have the one from etsy below

Here is a link that might be useful: scarf ring clip

You might look on pinterest...I found, for example, the classy cubicle which includes a lot of dresses or jacket with dress combos that look very professional.

Here is a link that might be useful: classy cubicle

I am "generously" proportioned and buy most of my clothes online. Most local stores think if you are large that you want to wear T shirts with pictures of kittens and sweatpants only. Not that there's anything wrong with T shirts with pictures of kittens and sweatpants. I just can't wear that to work!

I buy from a online "mall" that gathers together many plus sized vendors together for you to shop from at once. I find myself buying a lot of Jessica London brand stuff for work, particularly the bi-stretch collection. It can be handwashed and not have to go to the cleaners. It's decent quality. Not the best, but not the worst either. It's really really hard to find anything in my size that is that's not custom with a custom price. They do have petites as well, but you may still have to have some of the pants hemmed if you don't wear heels with them.

Here is a link that might be useful: One Stop Plus

It sounds like you have alot of the basics. I would add to that with some new blouses - but not really blouses. Not your typical button up blouse. Get some of the sleeveless (unless you tend to take your jacket off alot and would prefer something underneath with sleeves) blouses with the draped necklines, tucked necklines, etc. I usually see these in a silky type fabric. Very feminine looking and I think they look great with a basic "suit". You can also use a cami or tank style but something that is not revealing. Maybe one of the camies with the wide lace. Try a square neck cami or tank. I second the suggestion of scarves and great pieces of jewelry. I am pretty much known by my funky necklaces. LOL

Try some twin sets and cardigans to wear with your pants and skirts. I am a cardigan lover. I'm at work today and an example of what I like to wear - I have on a pair of kind of flowing (not real wide leg) cropped black pants, a bright jade green (sea green?) tank with a 3/4 sleeve cotton/spandex cardigan (no it's not tight - just fits). The cardigan is an abstract print with a white background and lots of bright turquoise/jade green/lime green/aqua and black print with a tad of royal blue and yellow thrown in. Ha! How'd you like that description???!!! I have on a black statement necklace with it.
I also have a bunch of funky or different jackets as I do not wear "suits". I love to mix brights with my basic bottoms. Then add a piece of funky jewelry or a scarf and you are set!

tina (who is also a shortie!)