Hi there!
I'm a fellow shortie with a current aversion towards "corporate wear" - but still have to dress up on occasion. Ironing bores me to tears so I have a lot of knit items in my wardrobe, especially flowy pull-on dresses
So, lots of casual and super-formal clothes, but not much in between. Caused problems when I did have fancy work events, any sort of daytime formal event, or when I wanted to impress clients during the day. Some dance parents treat you differently when they see you in business casual as opposed to dance attire - it lets them see the non-dancing but still business-like side of you. And that's a good thing
Anyway - sounds like you need you want something classy with a sense of formality ("something that needs ironing!" lol) but with enough "personality room" so you don't feel like person #2358523 in pinstripes, because a) you'd hate it and b) probably never wear it again afterwards. I really like this store -
www.witchery.com.au . . . , sure to be a similar one in the US. They do a lot of elegant, work-appropriate gear, but interpreted in a stylish and occasionally rocker/boho way. Great for straight-to-party-after-work people due to great fabrics and good tailoring. I've worn things like this under the 'business casual' moniker in the past. Is this the sort of thing you'd consider wearing? (Here's hoping my idea of business casual is similar to the rest of the world?!)
Smart casual (tops):
www.witchery.com.au . . . and
www.witchery.com.au . . .
Fancy lunch or daytime event (dress):
www.witchery.com.au . . .
Dinner (dress):
www.witchery.com.au . . ., also
www.frenchconnection.com.au . . . but I'd want something that came to my knees. Also comes in black.
www.asos.com . . ., also
www.asos.com . . .,
www.asos.com . . . - "de-businessify" with killer bracelet and heels, maybe change the belt etc.
As a general rule, I prefer dresses as a) there's less thinking and b) they're more flattering silhouette-wise
If you feel REALLY constrained by the word "business", then just bar it from your mind and compromise with your outfits.
Eg a plain-coloured dress in an appropriate colour, mix with a belt - but not a boring plain one! Go coloured, embroidered, whatever you think you can get away with. Conversely, a really nice/formal belt can smarten up a casual dress, especially if paired with a well-tailored jacket (which can be worn open). Or even a well-cut "business dress"... but in the most awesome colour/patterned fabric you can find! And so on. Don't be afraid to use colour, especially if you're like me and predominantly suffer from an aversion to plain black/grey/white (I've discovered that navy blue, burgundy and a teal green are excellent substitutes for black/grey, and you can substitute many, many colours for white).
Would love you to have a flip through the images shown and mention if you'd wear any of them, or even just pull aspects you like/don't like - that way we can narrow your search more.
