Style Letter

Upgrade Your Business Wardrobe. Five Favorite Items for Spring

by Julia Zirpel

You only need five items to upgrade your spring business wardrobe. Fashion expert Julia Zirpel explains which ones to pick.

Julia Zirpel is the co-founder of thewearness.com, an onlineshop for ethical fashion and used to work as a fashion director for several women’s magazines.

Every year in May I take my winter coats and thick-knitted sweaters to the attic and take the time to go through my spring wardrobe.

I go through every single piece individually and consider how I could combine it with others.

Interestingly, with the distance of a few winter months, I think of quite different styling possibilities than the year before. So much of it feels almost like new!

But there are also always a few things I can’t dream anything up for. Before I get rid of them completely, I hang them up for a year with my winter clothes. Not seldom do I fall in love with them again after one or two years.

The rest I sell once a year at the flea market or I take them to a second-hand shop, always hoping that the things will find a new owner who will carry them for a long time to come. Because, when you talk about sustainability, you’re talking about “lifetime extension”.

After this wardrobe check, I then think about what I really want to buy – pieces in which I want to invest and which should accompany me in the coming years. These should be items that fit into my wardrobe and offer me new styling possibilities. This prevents bad buying decisions and corpses in wardrobes. My goal is always to wear each item as long and as often as possible. Such investment pieces can be a bit more expensive.

This year the following are on my wish list:

A suit. Yes, a whole suit.

With the right cut, it looks extremely modern again, and since it consists of two parts, there are countless combination possibilities. I waver between two candidates:

The first option is this oversized suit in pastel blue by Malaikaraiss. It’s casual and masculine, yet at the same time quite feminine. With the right posture, an oversized suit doesn't look too big, like it still has to grow into, but instead is ready for big tasks!

Light blue blazer by Malaikaraiss € 499

Matching pants from Malaikaraiss € 345

Option two is this denim suit from the Blue Suit – completely made of GOTS certified organic cotton and recycled elastane! A slim blazer with three buttons and a pair of trousers with – yes, it’s in again – flare! With high shoes the cut extends the legs wonderfully optically.

Denim blazer from the Blue Suit € 495

Flared denim pants by the Blue Suit € 245

Away with the black winter bag.

Something lighter is needed to match the spring! Here are my favorites:

All three bags are made of naturally tanned leather.

Light grey bag by Ruigrok van der Werven € 489

Natural-colored bag from Agnes Nordenholz € 480

Grey bag of Naditum € 829

Also on the list: an oversized shirt!

With stripes or very classic in white. How do I wear it?

a.) The hem is completely tucked into the waist of pants or skirt (but only into narrow models, otherwise there is too much volume). It is important that the trousers or skirt are waist high. Then even a wide shirt looks great.

b.) The shirt is only tucked in the waistband at the front, at the back it casually hangs out. This looks great with the flared denim trousers – see above. Advantage: from the front, one shows some figure and optically extends the legs. From behind the shirt conceals possible “problem zones” a bit.

c.) Wear the shirt loosely over your trousers. This looks best with skinny cuts. And because these are worn cropped at the moment – best with a narrow 7/8 pants.

Striped shirt by Mykke Hofmann € 239

White organic cotton shirt by Philomena € 349

A blouse dress.

With a collar such a dress becomes more formal. Depending on my mood, I wear it strictly buttoned up or a little more casually, with two open buttons. To emphasize the waist, I like to combine it with a belt, either of the same fabric or a wider, leather belt. Shoes with heels, but also flat sandals, fit to the occasion.

A styling variant with which buttoned blouse dresses also work on cooler days: wear narrow trousers or jeans underneath! In this case, I leave the lower buttons open up to the waist and leave the belt out.