Guest Contribution by Erin Pearson

Dressing to impress in the workplace doesn’t necessarily mean wearing your finery. In fact, you won’t even have to depart from the minimalism and simplicity of your capsule wardrobe if you don’t want to.

A few well-chosen accessories can be the key to balancing a professional and interest-catching appearance. Accessories offer you the opportunity to fill in the details of your appearance in a way that communicates your taste, style, and personality.

1.  Stay On Time With an Analog Watch

When it comes to style and jewelry in the workplace, analog watches are still one of the top accessories. These beauties combine design and practicality. They send the message that their wearer is someone who is punctual, put together, and organized.

Additionally, wristwatches offer a chance to communicate personal interests, styles, and priorities. These days, they are made from a variety of materials to complement different lifestyles and hobbies, using rubber, leather, or metal bands and steel or even attractive wood casings(1).

2.  Keep it Together With a Minimalist Wallet

It’s important to maintain the impression of being an organized person, and your accessories can really help to communicate this priority. Minimalist accessories give the impression of being organized and clean.

Technology and gadgets have, for the most part, minimizing the need to carry bulky papers with you. You can even photograph receipts and bills with a smart device to immediately enter them into an email or accounting software. As a result, there’s no need for a bulky wallet.

Minimalist wallets have become a fashionable way of demonstrating organizational skills, tech-savviness, and competence.

3.  Show Your Style Flair in Your Shoes

No matter the workplace, one of the most consistent keys to work success is wearing the right shoes for the job. Your work shoes should be functional and fashionable.

This means that they are comfortable enough that you can get through your day and perform all of your duties without complaint. At the same time, though, your work shoes can be the tie that holds your fashion and style together.

Shoe choice tends to be highly subjective, so begin by observing the shoes that you see others wearing around the workplace. Then, you can find a similar variation that fits well with your wardrobe and preferences. Additionally, avoid sports and running shoes, and opt for a shoe change if you bike in.

4.  Customize for Your Particular Position with the Ideal Briefcase or Tech Bag

Each position has different needs and equipment of it’s carrying cases. Having a case with the right compartments and tools for your needs can mean the difference between always wasting time searching for what you need and appearing organized and put-together.

Additionally, tech and planning accessories have become a powerful way of keeping all your most important tools in one place. Not only do these cases give your tools an elegant style, but they also allow for a more mobile workplace.

5.  Scarves and Splashes of Color

Scarves are another way to bring style into the workplace under the guise of a more functional accessory. Scarves offer a pop of color and texture, with a distinctive pattern or warm knit, that can lend a lot of personality to a simple work outfit. Even better, it’s easy to discard the scarf for a more serious business meeting and put it back on at the end of the day.

The right color can make a basic outfit into a more memorable design. Nonetheless, it’s important to choose patterns and colors that won’t be distracting. When in doubt keep it minimalistic until it’s the seasonal party.

6.  A Fine Pen

Another place to show your functional finery in the workplace is with a fine pen. Rollerball, fountain, or ballpoint is a personal preference. The most important thing is that your pen works without a hitch when you need it.

Your workhorse pen should impress without being distracting. For example, if you’re the sort of person who likes to click a retractable pen when idle, avoid pens that click and opt instead for a screw top.

7.  Sustainable Food and Drink Containers

Many workplaces are encouraging the use of refillable water bottles. Your work water bottle can be both understated and well-designed. When selecting your water bottle, be aware of how it makes you drink. Will you be uncomfortable drinking from it in the workplace?

For serial coffee and tea drinkers, it’s also good to consider a quality reusable coffee cup. Splurge for a cup that works with your lifestyle doesn’t have too many logos in its design, and above all, doesn’t leak.

And just as you can find work-chic bottles, there is a bidding array of work-appropriate, well-designed lunch boxes. These help to convert the brown-bag approach to lunch and meal planning into a more organized and polished affair.

The workplace can be known for its drab and ethically-driven rules of appearance and style. However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t distinguish yourself with a few well-picked accessories, while also increasing your organization and workplace functionality.