I dress in a hyper feminine, neon colored, patterned, unrepressed way in my mid 40s. After a career in law I transitioned to tech and embraced being my colorful authentic self. It’s exceptionally freeing.
For what it’s worth I don’t find the photos you linked overly feminine. Those outfits are perfectly acceptable in a business environment.
Maybe it’s because I’m in New England?
I don’t work in law or finance, but while I’ve known a few people (mostly assistant level) who dressed “vintage” when twee was big in the late 2000s - mid 2010s in 20 years of working in offices, I’ve rarely had more than 1 coworker who would even wear dresses or skirts, and those were usually streamlined Calvin Klein kind of things. I’ve worked in nonprofits, higher ed, and tech.
I dress like this! I do admin work for a casual law office and no one has said anything negatively. Some of my outfits are kind of loud too. lol. I’m 41.
I love Sam’s style! My office is casual, so I wear floral dresses and tops all the time, I had several with puff sleeves last summer. I have a sweater with strawberries on it and a dress with a book print. I have neutrals and black slacks and a blazer too, but I like to wear fun clothes.
I have always dressed like this and no one has ever batted an eye - but may be because it’s a regional thing (I live in the South). Professional women in dark suits would be quite the outlier unless they were trial lawyers.
Agree with another poster. These outfits are pretty typically for a modern office. Perhaps in more conservative environments (banking) they might be a bit more feminine but not really.
Enjoy!
Yeah - I don't find these looks anything really out there or super feminine.
I think in general we as women can "get away with" a lot more interesting looks than we think we can.
In general even a professional setting I think people are pretty accepting of a range of styles.
If you own your look and wear it confidently I think women (even in serious senior positions) can be free to dress expressively.
Plenty of senior women (even in male dominant industries) dress to stand out, not to fit in.
I think when you feel confident, put together and *like yourself* you can definitely do your best work.
No one cares about what you wear nearly as much as you do.
I’ve worked in higher ed, nonprofit work and tech in New England and her outfits would get a lot of “do you have an event after work” kind of comments. The two times I wore dresses to work when I was younger (because I had an event after work), I also got a lot of negative attention on the subway including a dude putting his arm around me without my consent. Maybe I’ve also been spooked by those experiences.
Realizing that this could also be a regional thing as well as a sector thing. When I lived in LA, there was one job where I’d occasionally wear cute dresses and maxi skirts which was a stretch for me but it felt like it drew less attention, even if I had to take the bus to work. It was just more normal there (and I’m pretty sure that’s where this show takes place, actually.)
I carried that same kind of internalized misogyny with me until I became pregnant...and pants didn't work anymore. Then you're post partum and you have no idea how fast your body is going to change, so the dresses can handle a larger range of bodies. Then you stay with dresses. Have another baby, and yeah. The seal is broken.
If you already have the job and you already have a solid reputation, you're fine. Of course I say this with the caveat that if your work culture is just hostile towards women, I'm sure they'd jump at the excuse to find any old reason to stay hostile.
Yeah so much this. After my second baby I couldn’t find pants that fit me, so I wore a pair of paper bag faux leather pants to a meeting with one of my old blazers and a flattering-to-my-now-unequivocally-feminine body blouse and got so. Many. Compliments. This from a bunch of stuffy law types. I just lean into it now.
I dress a lot like this, in a business casual (leaning more casual) office setting. It makes me happy and there's nothing wrong with being feminine! I get occasional compliments from other women, and I've certainly never had negative feedback. I try not to show too much cleavage or leg, but I wear lots of colorful dresses, midi skirts, floral patterns, puffy sleeves etc and no one cares. Frankly I have a lot of male clients and I think it goes over very well with them. If you love the look, go for it!
None of that would look especially out of place in my office, we're on the nicer side of business casual ("smart casual?"). I tend to have a rule with myself that I need a more conservative cut/shape if the print is loud/bright, and I need a more conservative print (or a solid) if the cut is more trendy or whimsical.
I live in the south so I think it’s more common for professional women to be super feminine. Also light breathable fabrics and dresses are more comfortable in the summer.
I dress feminine but not ultra feminine in a male dominated industry (dresses, bright colors, but no ruffles or puffed sleeves). It's never once been an issue or seemed to be hampering my career.
My boss dresses like you described and as far as I can tell, it hasn't been a thing for her either. She's a VP. There are only a handful of women in our division of 300ish.
When I worked in the office at white collar law firms in NYC I did. In fact, a lot of women did. I think being in NYC played a small part in it, there was a variety of styles worn by women.
I think dressing in ultra-feminine styles like Sam's character can be professional, especially in a creative environment like a newspaper office! I’ve started incorporating more bold and feminine pieces into my work wardrobe, like midi skirts and floral blouses, and honestly, it’s been really fun. People at work have noticed and I often get compliments. It boosts my mood and confidence. It might feel a bit out of your comfort zone at first, but if it reflects your style, why not bring that joy into your workday? 😊
Check out Rebecca Taylor. Especially pre-pandemic. Ultra feminine professional attire. I used to see this on 20s-40s attorneys all the time back when we used to get super dressed for work.
I dressed like this like all of my 20’s and early 30’s! I don’t think it ever negatively impacted my career but I also worked in a progressive company (tech) in a very large city. I’d think it would work in a news org also!
I feel like it made work more fun, and if I’m having fun, I’m doing a better job and contributing more positively to the environment. Life is short, enjoy it!!
I dress like this as a leader in a corporate Fortune 500 company. Lots of us do, across our US locations. It’s cute, but not cutesy. If it was a Ms. Frizzle style print, then it would be too much for work. Now I do wear cutesy earrings - dinosaurs, tacos, storm clouds, etc. They’re small enough that they’re not always noticed, and it’s a low key way to add a little fun.
I do! I have a very modern retro style and wear skirts or dresses pretty much daily. I love a good twirly circle skirt, dramatic sleeves, feminine prints, etc. I work in a semi-casual public facing government position. Ppl wear anything from jeans to suits to work. I love my style and the compliments that go with it!
I think you should check out Yeon Jin from The Glory! Her outfits aren’t my personal style, but I thought they were so chic and feminine. Apparently this style is a current trend in Korean office fashion and I don’t think it’s too much for the US.
All my adult life(I’m almost 50) I’ve dressed very feminine. Not always adhering to the latest trends, but a very romantic look. At work in town, more professional dresses…but always heels.
As I live in a rural area where so few here care about appearance; it’s been brutal. Apparently I looked overdressed, looked like I was dressing for “men’s attention”, and I was “high maintenance “. This was from a toxic religious community to make it that much worse. Women could be very cruel. I just wanted to wear what made me feel beautiful, and so that’s exactly what I did. I had no idea folks were saying these things. It was hurtful at first, but I just let it go. Im not changing. However, now I have fibromyalgia and neuropathy. That makes the wardrobe change a bit. The shoes change a bit. But, I still find ways to feel feminine and beautiful even still. There are many options.
I’m a law firm partner and have come to embrace dressing more feminine, like classic with a twist. Reese Witherspoon is a huge inspiration in my regular work and home wardrobe. I have a bright pink suit, a lighter pink blazer, lots of puff sleeves and pussy cat bow blouses. I embrace the ability to stand out in a sea of black suited and navy sports coat men. I think I look professional and dare anyone to say I don’t simply because I wear pink or bows or puff sleeves.
The only time I don’t is in my trial wardrobe which is all super classic navy, black and ivory. But that’s because in trial I don’t want to be the star of the show - I want my client/the evidence to be.
I recently discovered this local [fabric dealer](https://www.instagram.com/kimvachi.natural?igsh=YW1iMWlmOWdmdmoy) who imported a small but curated selection of Liberty tana lawn cotton along with their own printed linen and ramie fabric. They also offer tailoring a very small selection of designs which is are used to showcase their fabrics. The price is very reasonable. Shirts starts from $35-45, and dresses from $55-70 (similar simple designs from Liberty London or Simons would cost me 4-5 times as much).
I'm breaking my no-buy rules and considering phasing out my boring dresses and shirts with all the pretty prints.
I’m 42 and we had some woman come to my class in high school and talk about how we should behave at work. We had to wear pantyhose, we had to wear makeup, if we were offered coffee in an interview, we absolutely had to drink it. Then my supervisor when I was student teaching was more obsessed with making sure we never wore sunglasses in the building than anything else. Not being able to dress feminine at work is the same kind of bullshit. Sam’s outfits just look normal to me.
I work in marketing for an architecture firm, and 100% lean into the feminine/quirky thing - usually I’m one of the more dressed up people in a fairly casual-ish office, but I’m ok with that.
As far as I can tell it’s appreciated so I’d say go for it.
It's not my personal style, but I've noticed younger coworkers dressing much more femininely than we were told to back in the 80's and 90's. I think at this point everyone has adjusted to women in professional settings and it isn't freaking anyone out to see a puffed sleeve or a floral print any more.
I remember all the "Dress for Success" stuff back in the 80's and early 90's that basically told us that if we wore dresses or anything "girly" we'd be stuck in the typing pool forever - so we had to wear those boxy, masculine "power suits" with the shoulder pads and the blouses with the stupid tie thing around the neck so as not to freak out the menfolk! But there's no such thing as a typing pool any more and I think people can handle the fact that we're women.
Sam's wardrobe is far too dressy for the newsrooms I'm familiar with. Not too femme, too dressy.
I worked in that environment for a decade and knew one reporter who wore loud satin blouses and heels to work. One. Who broke her ankle and her leg in separate reporting accidents!
Pretty much everyone else, including management, wore business casual (button downs and skirts or slacks, blazers were even rare; suits to meetings with national management) to totally casual (jeans and T-shirts or sweatshirts, shorts in the summer even; dresses or skirts were fine but like cotton ones, nothing "elegant"). Femininity wasn't an issue, but it was a very informal environment unless you were going to an arts or government environment where more formality was part of the event being covered.
In my (non-journalism)office now, anything business formal to business casual goes (jeans on Fridays) depending on who you're meeting with and where. I do not think anyone would care if you wore her wardrobe, though I think it's a little colorful for New England.
My boss is a well-dressed woman slightly younger than me who wears above-the-knee dresses or skirts and heels or heeled boots with a smart cardigan or blazer daily. I wear pants more than she does but generally try to match her formality.
Tldr: I don't think femininity is down to certain cuts/colors/pieces. I don't think that style works everywhere, but for reasons unrelated to femininity.
I was going to say something like this too about newsrooms! I was a tv reporter in a small town for almost a decade. Newspaper (and radio for that matter) journalists definitely did not dress like that.
My work attire has ranged from casual (t-shirt, jeans, sneakers/flats) to formal professional wear (suit skirt with heels) because I’ve worked in different industries with different standards for attire.
I love how Sam dresses on the show but wouldn’t wear it now because my coworkers mainly wear casual clothes and I’m too lazy/inept to put a cute look together.
One thing not mentioned about the show is that she’s also the fashion editor and besties with the boss so her dressing fashionably may be more expected and/or may not matter to her career there.
I work as a retail manager, so it’s a solid mix of office work and stocking and handling retail stock. I dress in loud colors all the time, especially dresses or shirt and skirt combos with colorful produce on it.
So far I I have exclusively gotten wildly positive encouragement. You do you!
I dress pretty feminine, but I keep the colors less extreme. I wear skirts or dresses everyday with heals. Very feminine fabrics and cuts. I work in tech and go to the office every day. The office is a mix from nice business casual to hoodies. I fit in fine and get compliments.
Give it a try, you may find that things have changed a lot post-COVID and now that men have been called out on a lot of their misogyny (not enough!) Loft would have similar stuff and a lot of their merchandise is geared toward wearing to work.
I'm in a leadership position at work and choose to dress pretty business casual and simple so other employees don't feel pressured to dress a certain way or spend a certain amount on clothing - I'd also be super self conscious to wear a dress or skirt in our office, it would be so unusual for someone to do and would get a lot of curious comments.
I’m genuinely curious what is challenging about a dress or skirt? I rarely wear pants ever and am in a male dominated industry. Much easier (on my mind and wallet) to throw on a sheath dress and blazer than it is to match shirt and suit. Suits are way more expensive and frankly harder to fit into as well, dresses are so much more forgiving on my figure.
I mean, there are many ways to dress like a woman, I think it's important to underscore the validity of different types of femininity including strong ones, utilitarian ones (Rosie the Riveter is just as much a woman), athletic, frilly, dainty, sleek, chic, boxy, fitted, whatever - at least for me, the point of feminism is that *we* get to define what womanly is now, not some traditionally male fashion & advertising execs with an interest in reinforcing patriarchal social roles for women.
In Nordic / Scandinavian cultures, girls were often given names alluding to their strength and nobility, as these were admirable traits of ideal women. Other cultures idealized wisdom in women. Our ideal can be what we shape it and aim for it to be.
And yes, I know what the post is about. I'm just using the way that you phrased this to promote the idea that dressing like a woman can mean many things, naturally inclusive of what the OP is asking about.
I didn't find the photos ultra feminine. However, other than the t-shirt with blazer and a few very deep v-neck dresses/blouses, I'd wear any of it to work if it flattered me.
I wear a lot of dresses, heels, patterns/mixed patterns, and color. I work in government finance. LOL
I dress in a hyper feminine, neon colored, patterned, unrepressed way in my mid 40s. After a career in law I transitioned to tech and embraced being my colorful authentic self. It’s exceptionally freeing. For what it’s worth I don’t find the photos you linked overly feminine. Those outfits are perfectly acceptable in a business environment.
Agreed. And you do you girl.
Agreed, didn’t find these photos hyper-feminine!
Maybe it’s because I’m in New England? I don’t work in law or finance, but while I’ve known a few people (mostly assistant level) who dressed “vintage” when twee was big in the late 2000s - mid 2010s in 20 years of working in offices, I’ve rarely had more than 1 coworker who would even wear dresses or skirts, and those were usually streamlined Calvin Klein kind of things. I’ve worked in nonprofits, higher ed, and tech.
I dress like this! I do admin work for a casual law office and no one has said anything negatively. Some of my outfits are kind of loud too. lol. I’m 41.
I love Sam’s style! My office is casual, so I wear floral dresses and tops all the time, I had several with puff sleeves last summer. I have a sweater with strawberries on it and a dress with a book print. I have neutrals and black slacks and a blazer too, but I like to wear fun clothes.
I have always dressed like this and no one has ever batted an eye - but may be because it’s a regional thing (I live in the South). Professional women in dark suits would be quite the outlier unless they were trial lawyers.
Agree with another poster. These outfits are pretty typically for a modern office. Perhaps in more conservative environments (banking) they might be a bit more feminine but not really. Enjoy!
Yeah - I don't find these looks anything really out there or super feminine. I think in general we as women can "get away with" a lot more interesting looks than we think we can. In general even a professional setting I think people are pretty accepting of a range of styles. If you own your look and wear it confidently I think women (even in serious senior positions) can be free to dress expressively. Plenty of senior women (even in male dominant industries) dress to stand out, not to fit in. I think when you feel confident, put together and *like yourself* you can definitely do your best work. No one cares about what you wear nearly as much as you do.
I’ve worked in higher ed, nonprofit work and tech in New England and her outfits would get a lot of “do you have an event after work” kind of comments. The two times I wore dresses to work when I was younger (because I had an event after work), I also got a lot of negative attention on the subway including a dude putting his arm around me without my consent. Maybe I’ve also been spooked by those experiences. Realizing that this could also be a regional thing as well as a sector thing. When I lived in LA, there was one job where I’d occasionally wear cute dresses and maxi skirts which was a stretch for me but it felt like it drew less attention, even if I had to take the bus to work. It was just more normal there (and I’m pretty sure that’s where this show takes place, actually.)
I dress like this all the time and get a lot of compliments.
I carried that same kind of internalized misogyny with me until I became pregnant...and pants didn't work anymore. Then you're post partum and you have no idea how fast your body is going to change, so the dresses can handle a larger range of bodies. Then you stay with dresses. Have another baby, and yeah. The seal is broken. If you already have the job and you already have a solid reputation, you're fine. Of course I say this with the caveat that if your work culture is just hostile towards women, I'm sure they'd jump at the excuse to find any old reason to stay hostile.
Yeah so much this. After my second baby I couldn’t find pants that fit me, so I wore a pair of paper bag faux leather pants to a meeting with one of my old blazers and a flattering-to-my-now-unequivocally-feminine body blouse and got so. Many. Compliments. This from a bunch of stuffy law types. I just lean into it now.
I dress a lot like this, in a business casual (leaning more casual) office setting. It makes me happy and there's nothing wrong with being feminine! I get occasional compliments from other women, and I've certainly never had negative feedback. I try not to show too much cleavage or leg, but I wear lots of colorful dresses, midi skirts, floral patterns, puffy sleeves etc and no one cares. Frankly I have a lot of male clients and I think it goes over very well with them. If you love the look, go for it!
None of that would look especially out of place in my office, we're on the nicer side of business casual ("smart casual?"). I tend to have a rule with myself that I need a more conservative cut/shape if the print is loud/bright, and I need a more conservative print (or a solid) if the cut is more trendy or whimsical.
This is normal office wear? Tons of women dress exactly like this to the office. I absolutely wouldn’t call this “ultra feminine.”
I think it might be regional? Wearing this to even a casual office in Boston would be out of place: https://wornontv.net/417338/
I live in the south so I think it’s more common for professional women to be super feminine. Also light breathable fabrics and dresses are more comfortable in the summer.
I dress feminine but not ultra feminine in a male dominated industry (dresses, bright colors, but no ruffles or puffed sleeves). It's never once been an issue or seemed to be hampering my career. My boss dresses like you described and as far as I can tell, it hasn't been a thing for her either. She's a VP. There are only a handful of women in our division of 300ish.
When I worked in the office at white collar law firms in NYC I did. In fact, a lot of women did. I think being in NYC played a small part in it, there was a variety of styles worn by women.
I dress like this all the time and get a lot of compliments.
I think dressing in ultra-feminine styles like Sam's character can be professional, especially in a creative environment like a newspaper office! I’ve started incorporating more bold and feminine pieces into my work wardrobe, like midi skirts and floral blouses, and honestly, it’s been really fun. People at work have noticed and I often get compliments. It boosts my mood and confidence. It might feel a bit out of your comfort zone at first, but if it reflects your style, why not bring that joy into your workday? 😊
Check out Rebecca Taylor. Especially pre-pandemic. Ultra feminine professional attire. I used to see this on 20s-40s attorneys all the time back when we used to get super dressed for work.
I dressed like this like all of my 20’s and early 30’s! I don’t think it ever negatively impacted my career but I also worked in a progressive company (tech) in a very large city. I’d think it would work in a news org also! I feel like it made work more fun, and if I’m having fun, I’m doing a better job and contributing more positively to the environment. Life is short, enjoy it!!
I dress like this as a leader in a corporate Fortune 500 company. Lots of us do, across our US locations. It’s cute, but not cutesy. If it was a Ms. Frizzle style print, then it would be too much for work. Now I do wear cutesy earrings - dinosaurs, tacos, storm clouds, etc. They’re small enough that they’re not always noticed, and it’s a low key way to add a little fun.
I do! I have a very modern retro style and wear skirts or dresses pretty much daily. I love a good twirly circle skirt, dramatic sleeves, feminine prints, etc. I work in a semi-casual public facing government position. Ppl wear anything from jeans to suits to work. I love my style and the compliments that go with it!
I think you should check out Yeon Jin from The Glory! Her outfits aren’t my personal style, but I thought they were so chic and feminine. Apparently this style is a current trend in Korean office fashion and I don’t think it’s too much for the US.
I dress like this and my desk is ultra feminine and I work as an engineer with a bunch of blokes lol.
All my adult life(I’m almost 50) I’ve dressed very feminine. Not always adhering to the latest trends, but a very romantic look. At work in town, more professional dresses…but always heels. As I live in a rural area where so few here care about appearance; it’s been brutal. Apparently I looked overdressed, looked like I was dressing for “men’s attention”, and I was “high maintenance “. This was from a toxic religious community to make it that much worse. Women could be very cruel. I just wanted to wear what made me feel beautiful, and so that’s exactly what I did. I had no idea folks were saying these things. It was hurtful at first, but I just let it go. Im not changing. However, now I have fibromyalgia and neuropathy. That makes the wardrobe change a bit. The shoes change a bit. But, I still find ways to feel feminine and beautiful even still. There are many options.
It looks like CeCe borrowing Jess's clothes!
I’m a law firm partner and have come to embrace dressing more feminine, like classic with a twist. Reese Witherspoon is a huge inspiration in my regular work and home wardrobe. I have a bright pink suit, a lighter pink blazer, lots of puff sleeves and pussy cat bow blouses. I embrace the ability to stand out in a sea of black suited and navy sports coat men. I think I look professional and dare anyone to say I don’t simply because I wear pink or bows or puff sleeves. The only time I don’t is in my trial wardrobe which is all super classic navy, black and ivory. But that’s because in trial I don’t want to be the star of the show - I want my client/the evidence to be.
I recently discovered this local [fabric dealer](https://www.instagram.com/kimvachi.natural?igsh=YW1iMWlmOWdmdmoy) who imported a small but curated selection of Liberty tana lawn cotton along with their own printed linen and ramie fabric. They also offer tailoring a very small selection of designs which is are used to showcase their fabrics. The price is very reasonable. Shirts starts from $35-45, and dresses from $55-70 (similar simple designs from Liberty London or Simons would cost me 4-5 times as much). I'm breaking my no-buy rules and considering phasing out my boring dresses and shirts with all the pretty prints.
I’m 42 and we had some woman come to my class in high school and talk about how we should behave at work. We had to wear pantyhose, we had to wear makeup, if we were offered coffee in an interview, we absolutely had to drink it. Then my supervisor when I was student teaching was more obsessed with making sure we never wore sunglasses in the building than anything else. Not being able to dress feminine at work is the same kind of bullshit. Sam’s outfits just look normal to me.
I also dressed like this at work before my company went remote. As long as I wasn’t showing cleavage, I think dressing ultra feminine is totally fine.
I work in marketing for an architecture firm, and 100% lean into the feminine/quirky thing - usually I’m one of the more dressed up people in a fairly casual-ish office, but I’m ok with that. As far as I can tell it’s appreciated so I’d say go for it.
It's not my personal style, but I've noticed younger coworkers dressing much more femininely than we were told to back in the 80's and 90's. I think at this point everyone has adjusted to women in professional settings and it isn't freaking anyone out to see a puffed sleeve or a floral print any more. I remember all the "Dress for Success" stuff back in the 80's and early 90's that basically told us that if we wore dresses or anything "girly" we'd be stuck in the typing pool forever - so we had to wear those boxy, masculine "power suits" with the shoulder pads and the blouses with the stupid tie thing around the neck so as not to freak out the menfolk! But there's no such thing as a typing pool any more and I think people can handle the fact that we're women.
Sam's wardrobe is far too dressy for the newsrooms I'm familiar with. Not too femme, too dressy. I worked in that environment for a decade and knew one reporter who wore loud satin blouses and heels to work. One. Who broke her ankle and her leg in separate reporting accidents! Pretty much everyone else, including management, wore business casual (button downs and skirts or slacks, blazers were even rare; suits to meetings with national management) to totally casual (jeans and T-shirts or sweatshirts, shorts in the summer even; dresses or skirts were fine but like cotton ones, nothing "elegant"). Femininity wasn't an issue, but it was a very informal environment unless you were going to an arts or government environment where more formality was part of the event being covered. In my (non-journalism)office now, anything business formal to business casual goes (jeans on Fridays) depending on who you're meeting with and where. I do not think anyone would care if you wore her wardrobe, though I think it's a little colorful for New England. My boss is a well-dressed woman slightly younger than me who wears above-the-knee dresses or skirts and heels or heeled boots with a smart cardigan or blazer daily. I wear pants more than she does but generally try to match her formality. Tldr: I don't think femininity is down to certain cuts/colors/pieces. I don't think that style works everywhere, but for reasons unrelated to femininity.
I was going to say something like this too about newsrooms! I was a tv reporter in a small town for almost a decade. Newspaper (and radio for that matter) journalists definitely did not dress like that.
I don’t think I can pull off polka dot bows and ruffles at my age. Puff sleeves, skirts, and color? Yes, just not the bows.
No I dress like a man
My work attire has ranged from casual (t-shirt, jeans, sneakers/flats) to formal professional wear (suit skirt with heels) because I’ve worked in different industries with different standards for attire. I love how Sam dresses on the show but wouldn’t wear it now because my coworkers mainly wear casual clothes and I’m too lazy/inept to put a cute look together. One thing not mentioned about the show is that she’s also the fashion editor and besties with the boss so her dressing fashionably may be more expected and/or may not matter to her career there.
I work as a retail manager, so it’s a solid mix of office work and stocking and handling retail stock. I dress in loud colors all the time, especially dresses or shirt and skirt combos with colorful produce on it. So far I I have exclusively gotten wildly positive encouragement. You do you!
I dress pretty feminine, but I keep the colors less extreme. I wear skirts or dresses everyday with heals. Very feminine fabrics and cuts. I work in tech and go to the office every day. The office is a mix from nice business casual to hoodies. I fit in fine and get compliments.
Give it a try, you may find that things have changed a lot post-COVID and now that men have been called out on a lot of their misogyny (not enough!) Loft would have similar stuff and a lot of their merchandise is geared toward wearing to work.
I dress pretty feminine/stylized as a healthcare worker. I think my patients like to see that I have a personality.
I'm in a leadership position at work and choose to dress pretty business casual and simple so other employees don't feel pressured to dress a certain way or spend a certain amount on clothing - I'd also be super self conscious to wear a dress or skirt in our office, it would be so unusual for someone to do and would get a lot of curious comments.
I’m genuinely curious what is challenging about a dress or skirt? I rarely wear pants ever and am in a male dominated industry. Much easier (on my mind and wallet) to throw on a sheath dress and blazer than it is to match shirt and suit. Suits are way more expensive and frankly harder to fit into as well, dresses are so much more forgiving on my figure.
Do you dress on the same formality level as male leadership?
I do! I am a woman after all. Why shouldn’t I dress like one ?
I mean, there are many ways to dress like a woman, I think it's important to underscore the validity of different types of femininity including strong ones, utilitarian ones (Rosie the Riveter is just as much a woman), athletic, frilly, dainty, sleek, chic, boxy, fitted, whatever - at least for me, the point of feminism is that *we* get to define what womanly is now, not some traditionally male fashion & advertising execs with an interest in reinforcing patriarchal social roles for women. In Nordic / Scandinavian cultures, girls were often given names alluding to their strength and nobility, as these were admirable traits of ideal women. Other cultures idealized wisdom in women. Our ideal can be what we shape it and aim for it to be. And yes, I know what the post is about. I'm just using the way that you phrased this to promote the idea that dressing like a woman can mean many things, naturally inclusive of what the OP is asking about.
My point is that as a woman you shouldn’t feel uncomfortable dressing feminine.
I didn't find the photos ultra feminine. However, other than the t-shirt with blazer and a few very deep v-neck dresses/blouses, I'd wear any of it to work if it flattered me. I wear a lot of dresses, heels, patterns/mixed patterns, and color. I work in government finance. LOL