Dressing for work can be a hard task – you want to retain your style but look professional at the same time. If I had one piece of advice to someone who’s shopping for work outfits, it’s this: “Dress for the job you want, not the one you have”.
Not everyone has an unlimited budget to shop for professional outfits, so I’m sharing how I recently revamped my wardrobe for under $200 – and how you can do it, too! My idea utilizes a “capsule” type wardrobe for my work outfits.
A capsule wardrobe is an idea that you buy the minimum amount of clothes needed but here’s the thing: every piece you purchase has been carefully considered for versatility purposes. The more versatile a piece is, the more outfits you can create with it! Here are my essentials for creating a perfect fall capsule work wardrobe.
Fall Capsule Work Wardrobe
TOPS
- White silky button down blouse
- Blue gingham/seersucker button-down dress shirt
- Black sweater
BOTTOMS
- Tan pencil skirt
- Black skinny dress pants
- Grey flared suit-style dress pants
OUTERWEAR
- Black blazer
- Cream blazer
- Tweed overcoat
SHOES
- Black pumps
- Nude pumps
- Smoking flats
DRESSES
- Black A-line dress
- Tan a-line dress
ACCESSORIES
- Blackwork bag
- Black and gold watch
- Nylons (and lots of them)
Here are a few of my favorite outfit combinations:

I know it may seem like a lot – or maybe too little! – but this is a good start or just all you’ll need to create outfits for work. This is doable for under $200, and I know this because I did it! All it takes is a little creative shopping but you can find affordable pieces to fulfill this capsule wardrobe.
My best recommendation is outlet malls, specifically Gap stores and The Limited. I’ve found most of the items above when The Limited does their 50% off clearance sales. Last time, I picked up a pencil skirt, dress pants, jeans, white button-down, and a sweater for under $55 including tax.
But, if you’re under a time crunch or don’t have good stores near you, here are a few of my favorite picks from Amazon (go get you that Prime shipping!)
I’d love to know, what’s your professional outfit staple piece? Mine is my black blazer, it just goes with everything!
Thanks for reading,
Kelly xoxo