Tips for women – how to dress for a photoshoot.
author: Judyta Wajszczak – designer, journalist.

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For a business session, just like for a day at the office, one should dress appropriately. For many years we’ve promoted the classic look, toned-down colours, and elegant accessories. A blouse and jacket will always work well in any business situation.

NEW TRENDS
When we look at the latest trends, we can find a lot of ideas that suit our needs for dressing up in the corporate fashion world.

I RECOMMEND:
Eye-catching blouses
• we wear them with elegant cigarette trousers;
• the blouse should not be too tight, but it may have more varied forms, like a frill or flounce;
• we look for materials presenting high quality: cotton enriched with noble fabrics like silk, and viscose, but without an excessive amount of spandex.

BLACK & WHITE
• this year black & white is back, and it’s perfectly suitable to adapt this combination to business fashion;
• the best look is created with a white top and black bottom. It can be both a white shirt or a high-quality blouse with short (but not too short) sleeves, made of silk, thin wool or modal, together with black trousers;
• you can keep to the rule of opposites: if the blouse is of a slim fit, then go for wider trousers; this will add character to your figure.

MEN’S JACKETS
• this season designers foresee a ’90s fashion comeback. The catwalks of Michael Kors, Bottega Veneta, and Jil Sander show loose male jackets;
• we will easily adapt this trend to business styling, combining men’s jackets with elegant trousers, skinny or cigarette trousers, but also with an elegant dress or skirt.

FASHION PRINTS
• fashion prints seem too risky for business attire, but the market is so full of different types that we might find something suitable, which can both be worn safely to work and for business sessions;
• floral, tropical motifs, which are the leading proposals this year from designers and chain retailers, can be tamed if combined with other elements which add harmony and calmness to the overall effect;
• a blouse or shirt with a flower or fern pattern (preferably a maximum of two colours) can be worn with a dark suit;
• if we decide to go for a bold top, give up jewelry that stands out too much and go easy with brightly painted nails;
• always try to choose high-quality material; even if we choose cotton, go for the type with noble fabrics added.

DOTS
• the upper part of one’s attire can be a little bolder and can underline the character of the person wearing it;
• the dot motif can be used for shirts or for a very modest dress of classic design;
• our style will still be formal and elegant if we choose not to wear jewelry, and we top our look with good-quality shoes with medium-height heels.
• a perfect combination would be a dress with a short, fitted jacket in a toned-down colour.

CLASSICAL COMBINATIONS
Besides this year’s trends, traditional business styles can always be enhanced by bolder elements. For a business photo session, it will always be fashionable to wear a shirt with a black skirt combined with a jacket.

SKIRTS
• we don’t always have to rely on a classical pencil skirt;
• in this year’s collection by Polish designer Natalia Siebuła we will find, e.g. skirts made from a combination of viscose and a suede dotted fabric. If we add black high heels, a formal shirt and a jacket, we will produce an elegant, yet avant-garde look.

DRESSES
• a business-styled dress should be comfortable and not limit our movements in any way; however, it should not resemble a shapeless bag;
• look for dresses suitable for your figure. A good example for the office is a black, viscose dress with an elastic waistband and a V type neck-line from the Polish brand Polly.

ACCESSORIES
• if our whole look is modest and calm, consisting of basic colours, black, white, grey, then we can be bolder with the accessories;
• different-shaped earrings or a discreet bracelet will enhance our look and give the whole a final touch;
• let’s not forget about good quality hand-bags and shoes (e.g. hand-bags and medium-height heeled shoes from the Polish-Israeli brand Balagan)
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JUDYTA WAJSZCZAK
The article used source materials from COS, POLLY, BALAGAN

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JUDYTA WAJSZCZAK
The article used source materials from COS, POLLY, BALAGAN