Hello, hello. We’re back at it again with some summer workwear in the form of a Calvin Klein (CK) dress. This time we’ve got a lovely summer floral with a couple of surprises, so be sure to read on.
Last week, I came at you with a gray monochrome look featuring one of my favorite CK dresses. Today I have a summer floral dress for you because I just can’t let summer go yet. If the gray dress was one of my favorites, this one is THE favorite.
CK Dress [unable to find], similar here, here, and here
My favorite color, purple, is one of the premiere colors in the flowers, along with blue and green. The sleeveless nature yet conservative knee length makes it the perfect summer workwear dress. It’s lined inside, so you don’t have to worry about any embarrassing see-through moments.
Are you ready for the best part, though?’
The Summer Workwear Dress
It’s got pockets!!! Yes, this beauty has pockets. In the past, they’ve been able to just barely carry my phone, usually the plus-sized version of any iPhone iteration. I enjoyed wearing this dress when I used to work in a corporate office because, at lunch, I never had to carry a purse unless I wanted to. It made grabbing lunch out of the office easy.
The base color of the dress is white, which looks beautiful year-round on brown skin. However, it makes morning coffee, tea, or lunch, a game of roulette if you’re a klutz like me. Whenever I wear this (or anything really), I make sure I have a Tide pen on hand in an attempt to clean up any spills before they set in.
It’s easy to get the dress on and off with a decent length back-zip. The shape is a flattering fit and flare if you have hips and a butt like me. This dress is ridiculously comfortable and is a quick and easy go-to. I don’t like that these CK dresses are dry-clean only, but I guess that comes with the territory.
The Wildcard Blazer
Express blazer [sold out], similar here
Even though it’s usually hot in the summertime, it could be freezing in the office. This is where the blazer comes in. I don’t know why I have such an affinity for blazers, particularly over cardigans, but they’re in my comfort zone, so there ya go. This is a hot pink one I bought from Express around eight years ago.
There was something about the cut that I adored. I ended up buying it a size smaller than my usual at the time because it was the last one, and I just had to have it. It’s tapered by the natural waist, and the structure of the shoulders helps keep me balanced, especially with the shape of the dress.
I have a funny story about this blazer too. Back in undergrad, I was getting ready to go to the annual accounting social shortly after I bought it. I had a few other blazers, but I didn’t feel like they complimented me the way that this one did.
In order to get an honest take, I consulted with the woman who headed on-campus recruitment at the time, Elaine. She was just as skeptical as I’d imagined when I explained that I was thinking of wearing it. After some careful consideration, though, she cosigned as long as the rest of my attire was neutral.
When I first got to the social, I felt like I stuck out like a sore thumb. In a sea of navy, black, and gray, I was the most colorful in the room in my blazer. As I spoke to more people and loosened up a bit, I started to feel great in my blazer. Then, Elaine came up to me. She looked at me and smiled, gently saying the blazer was undoubtedly the right choice.
The Shoes
Calvin Klein pumps [unable to find in the same color but same style here], similar here, here, and here
If you remember last week’s WTW post, you’ll know I mentioned Calvin Klein shoes as well. Seriously, I think this brand just does workwear well as a whole. I also like their intimates, but that’s another story for another day.
These are the style, Gayle in the color Cognac (I believe). While I’m aware that these are not quite what I would recognize as being cognac, I find that these are fitting as an actual nude or flesh tone against my skin. I’m here for brown skin friendly nude pumps because the pinkish color classified as “nude” ain’t cutting it.
These are now the most comfortable heels I own. Even though I have some Dr. Scholl’s inserts in them, I could easily walk around the office and head to happy hours in them with no issues. I have big, average-width, flat feet, so if you have similar feet, these might be the shoes for you.
Let me know what your favorite summer workwear is, whether you’re remote or in the office.
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