Kate's 5 Essential Rules for Dressing for Work

1) You can never go wrong with classic.

This is perhaps the most important rule of dressing for work. There's a reason that classic has the same root as classy: clean lines, quality fabrics, and timeless styles makes classic not only the most chic style in general but also the perfect style for most workplaces. You can also mix and match classic pieces, and they won't go out of style as quickly as trendier clothes, which makes them more cost-effective.

Classic need not mean boring or matronly (although I've tried on many a department store dress pant that was so unflattering it made me want to bang my head against the dressing room wall). Thankfully, the clothing industry has become attuned to the fact that women want reasonably priced, work-appropriate clothes that don't look like they came from their grandmother's closet - or their father's.

Without Ann Taylor LOFT, my work wardrobe would be nonexistent, and I would likely go to work every day either naked or looking very, very frumpy. If any woman between the ages of 18 and 30 finds herself needing to start a business casual wardrobe, I would advise her to do this: go to LOFT, grab 3 basic pants, a black skirt, some tanks/tees and cardigans (or button-downs if that's your thing), and maybe a sweater and a black dress. If you play the coupons right, you won't spend more than $400 and you'll have two weeks' worth of distinct outfits.

I've also found some work staples at H&M and Express (such as the Editor Wide Waistband pant, a steal at $50), although you have to be more careful about quality and professionalism in those stores. I've even had some luck with certain designers' department store lines; Worthington at JC Penney and Daisy Fuentes and Dana Buchman at Kohl's are some favorites.

2) Don't suppress your femininity entirely, but express it subtly.

Curvaceousness is a vital part of my identity as a strong, sexy, real woman. Also, like many women, I have an ongoing love affair with fabulous high heels. To deny these things 40 hours a week would be to deny part of who I am, so the key is to limit sexiness to one item in an outfit or (especially for shoes) one aspect of one item. As our lovely host blogger has oft written, this is a rule that should probably be applied to most outfits, and while I occasionally break it when going out on the weekends, it has to be applied with extra care at work.

If I wear a shirt that's a little on the low-cut side (too low-cut is always out of the question), I pair it with looser pants. A short dress or skirt? Add opaque tights and it's instantly acceptable for the office. You can get away with sexy shoes as long as you pair them with classic, professional basics. I have leopard print heels that wear to work fairly frequently, and they work because they're only about 3 1/4 inches and because I wear them with black pants and a green shirt. Ditto for my red snakeskin pumps, which I'll pair with a tailored black wrap dress.

While dressing like a hooker is not going to get you anywhere in your career aside from a reality show on VH1, a little classy sexiness can actually be an asset in the traditional workplace. People will notice you, but your body won't be the only thing they notice. A sexy pump can get your stilettoed foot in the door, and then you can wow them with your brain power and mad professional skills.

(PS: I'm going to laugh so hard at this when I'm 50!)

3) The right makeup can make or break your work outfit.

Workplace makeup follows the same rules as clothing: classy and basic; attractive but not too sexy. The right makeup can instantly make you look more put-together, but too much or the wrong kind can make you look like you finished clubbing at 6am and didn't bother to wash your face before coming to work.

A clean, natural makeup look is best for the workplace. I'm usually an eyeliner junkie, but if I could only wear three types of makeup to work, it would be concealer, eyebrow pencil, and foundation. The most important part of work makeup is hiding under-eye circles with a concealer that's a shade lighter than your skin color/foundation; it makes you look refreshed and focused. An eyebrow pencil (used correctly) is absolutely indispensable to a put-together makeup look because of the way well-shaped brows can frame the face. Good liquid foundation that covers blemishes without being obvious is a key part of my clean makeup look, but if wearing foundation every day isn't your thing, then a tinted moisturizer/primer or mineral powder makeup are good alternatives. As for the rest, limit dark eye makeup and non-natural colors, and instead use eye shadows in the cream to tan range, blush that complements your skin tone, and natural lip color (or a muted red if it works with your outfit).

4) Dress for the job you want, not the job you have.

Cliché but true. Dress as well as or slightly better than your coworkers. Everyone should look professional at work, but it's particularly important for those who face other barriers in the workplace and want to be taken seriously. Dressing well can at least partly make up for being a young, inexperienced woman in a workplace dominated by older, more experienced men.

Turning up the professionalism of an outfit can be done in two ways:
1) The types of pieces. Blazers and pumps instantly take an outfit up a notch.
2) The quality of the clothing, which I think is infinitely more important than the first point. Clothes that are well-tailored, flattering, durable and made using quality materials are considerably more professional than their lower-quality counterparts, which is why I buy dress pants from LOFT instead of Old Navy.

5) Don't underestimate the importance of comfort.

While work clothes are inherently less comfortable than flannel pajamas, they don't need to be uncomfortable. As important as your appearance is, what you accomplish will ultimately have much more bearing on your career success. Feeling comfortable at work can improve your comportment, productivity, and confidence. You don't want to distract everyone at your business presentation by tugging at your shirt, and you don't want pantyhose so tight that you get a stomach ache and can't concentrate on your workload.

On days that I need to get a lot done, I'll allow myself to sacrifice some level of formality in favor of comfort (which I can afford to do since I follow #4). Soft, mostly natural fabrics, with some stretch to them are the most comfortable. Those well-made, flattering, qualities of nice clothes that I discussed in #4 also serve to increase the comfort factor.

This is a perfect example of what I wear most days: an outfit comprised of mix-and-match LOFT pieces. This is as dressy as I get, because I don't need to wear business attire to my current job (I do own a black suit just in case). I could wear button-downs, but it's nearly impossible for me to find one that works for my short torso, so I stick to knit tops.

This is the Marisa pant, which I love because it features a modern fit and a lower rise than most dress pants (though Marita tells me it's too low-rise for those with long torsos such as herself). I also have the Marisa in black x2, brown, and khaki, the tank in purple and brown, and cardigan in white.

Pants, cardigan, tank: LOFT
Pumps: Guess
Pearls: a flea market in China

Here's an example of a "comfort" work outfit. I work in clinical research at a hospital, and my coworkers often wear jeans and polos, so I can really get away with outfits like this any day, but I tend to save them for busy/rainy/sleepy days when I feel like wearing a comfortable, easy outfit. I always wear this with tights due to how short the skirt is. In this photo I'm sporting my go-to work hairdo for no-time-to-shower/bad hair days: hair in a parted ponytail, twisted up, and secured with a claw clip.

Dress: Daisy Fuentes for Kohl's

Tights: Simply Vera (Vera Wang for Kohl's)

Boots: Steve Madden