Returning to the Workplace

What to wear?

I am not the first woman who has taken a career break to have children and spend some time raising them at home. 

Neither will I be the last.

There have been great advantages and also many sacrifices made along the way. It has been the old adage of 

" You can't have your cake and eat it"

 If I could have managed my career and raised a family with the hours my husband worked maybe I would have continued working, but at that point, with two young children and trying to juggle both, it was evident the cost for us was too great. So at that point we gave in. We were fortunate enough by then to be able to manage on one wage, with budgeting.

I have missed my independence and identity that is separate from my role as Mum, but I remember again another favourite saying..

"You can't have roots and wings"

Whatever road we choose has sacrifices. 

 I am happy with the choices we made, but I am now ready for the next stage. 

I have a wardrobe full of lovely clothes, but realistically most of these are practical for home use or for the odd meeting I may attend, not particually for teaching. The dress code for a teacher varies tremendously from school to school and as I will be starting by doing supply work I need to strike a sensible balance. Smart, but practical in a classroom full of children - so no short minis and wedge trainers for now! I have visited some schools where jeans and trainers are accepted. Others where the head teacher is in a skirt and jacket all the time and the teachers not far off. 

If you are a regular visitor to my blog you probably have noticed my love of clothes that goes hand in hand with my love of a bargain. So I have been trying to pick up a few pieces to supplement some existing items to build a workwear wardrobe. Despite giving myself a firm talking to about my dependence on grey I still couldn't resist a few items. 

It is just such a versatile colour.

As it is teaching I am returning to , the requirements can be very different from officewear .I tend to stick to smart, but practical trousers and comfortable but not overly casual tops. A few jackets to smarten the look up when needed and I'm done. I opt for comfort when it comes to shoes as I will be on my feet all day. 

I had a budget of £150 to include shoes.

I kept to my brief and budget and got:

NEW:

• One pair of grey smart trousers linen mix trousers from Next.  NEW  £30
• One pair of black cigarette trousers from H and M.  NEW  £24
• One pair of mustard skinny ankle skimmers with stripe - Zara £12.99
• Two 3/4 sleeve tops with zip next feature from H and M. One pink, one grey. NEW £19.99 each
• One grey and coral scarf from H and M NEW £7.99
• Reiss black patent loafers NEW sale £44

 I have added some existing items from my wardrobe to give me some outfits that I feel comfortable in for this big step! I have tried to stick to a couple of colour palettes. Grey with some pink and coral accents that I can mix and match. Then mustards, creams and yellows. I am sure I will discover other elements from my wardrobe that I can also wear, but not only do I want to avoid "overly" casual attire, but I want to avoid wearing some of my nicer items of clothing  that may get wrecked in the classroom. 





Linking up with Visible Monday......


Here are two of my outfits put together ready for after half term.

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