Summer Shorts

My office is a big proponent of casual Fridays (which include jeans!), and it's a great opportunity to mix things up a little bit from the normal pencil skirts and cardigans. I played around with a couple of floral dresses before I decided on these floral dress shorts from my mother's college days, which I paired with a retro button-up cotton blouse with a peter pan collar. To keep it polished, I threw on a navy blue blazer with golden buttons and a crimson vintage belt from my mom. I love the juxtaposition of the loose dress shorts with the constructed blazer, the dusty florals with the severe navy. It's all about balancing something more casual with something more serious - light vs. dark.

Shorts in the workplace are a bit of a slippery slope, and I was a little nervous at first about wearing them. I have had a number of conversations with people on this topic, especially given the recent weekend special in the Wall Street Journal featuring shorts suits combos: Short and Sweet.


While I love the look presented in the article, I had to take a moment and consider whether this trend was a serious option for the workplace. I absolutely love the light summer colors of the suit sets they featured in this article, but I found that some of the shorts were just a bit too short for the workplace. Workplace attire should not end more than an inch above the knees, and it definitely cannot end more than halfway up your upper legs. I liked the idea of it, though, especially for a casual Friday as opposed to a normal, business casual workday, and I found these shorts that are the same length as the skirts I normally wear to work. The blazer topping it off helped add an air of professionalism to what might have been a less appropriate outfit for the workplace.

One of my coworkers noted, "I've never seen anyone pull off shorts at the workplace - I think you did a good job!" I guess I'll take that as a compliment! I did get a couple of turned heads, though, so I'm not sure if that was because it was just a different ensemble people hadn't seen before, or if they saw "shorts" and had a huge warning sign flash up in their heads. What do you guys think? Shorts in the workplace? A good seasonal decision or professional suicide? (Regardless, I do have to mention that this was, by far, the most comfortable outfit I've worn all week!)

Dress shorts: hand-me-down (mother's) | Blouse: hand-me-down (mother's) | Blazer: Brooks Brothers | Belt: hand-me-down (mother's: Balenciaga) | Flats: J. Crew