Home Athleta 3 Athleta Pieces You Can Wear To Work

I'm offering up a few cool business casual outfit ideas for the office...clothing pieces featuring Athleta's quality & comfort but are chic & versatile enough to dress up for work.

3 Athleta Pieces You Can Wear To Work

May 28, 2022

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We are all big fans of Athleta workout wear and athleisure clothing around here (see my latest roundup of their gorgeous spring pieces here.) And as many companies move between remote working and return to in-person office situations, I thought it’d be great to find workwear pieces from our favorite comfy, chic, quality athleisure brand.

Can it be done though? The short answer…yes!

Seeking Business Comfort? These 3 Athleta Pieces Are Perfect For Work

Worklesiure is apparently becoming a thing…outfit pieces that act and feel like athleisure but can be worn to work. I’m here for this trend. Although I work from home, I love a structured/polished look when I’m going to events or meetings.

PS – take 20% off sitewide (discount at checkout) during Athleta’s Memorial Day sale, now through 5/31!

Actually…I’ve already tested it out casual business outfits a bit with my black wide-leg Cosmic Pants because I’ve dressed them up for years now, but I wanted to offer up a couple of additional options for the office…clothing pieces that offer the quality and comfort we know from Athleta, but are chic and versatile enough to dress up for the job. Spoiler alert: this comfy jersey dress + wide-leg linen pants will both do the trick.

I know everyone’s office attire requirements are different, but I think when it comes to casual, summer-professional wear, I’ve got ya covered.

What I can say off the bat is that they are all comfy…SO comfy! Let’s dive in…

1 | Athleta Santorini Cinch Dress

This Santorini Cinch Dress is so cute on, friends. The fabric is a really soft jersey, but in a double layer, for a bit more structure and fit. The waistband is also structured but comfortable, and adds another element of sophistication to this knit sheath.

The cool seam detail and slit at the back (you can see it in the photo below) also levels up this comfy dress, making it feel like more of a traditional sheath style. It’s these little design details that really make this dress workleisure to me instead of just something you would pop on over a swimsuit. And styling can really elevate this piece even more.

Sizing Notes: This dress fits pretty true to size. I’m wearing a Small Petite and it fit pretty comfortably, if not a little long in the top (a frequent issue of mine, but not typically with petite sizing.) I’m not sure if the top part is supposed to be worn more bloused above the waistband but I preferred it like I have on above. I’m 5’4″, a US 6 in most dresses and a S/M. I’m typically only petite when it comes to dress length + pant inseams.

My trick for many casual pieces to make them dressier is to add a structured jacket, in this case, a blazer. It’s not rocket science (haha) but I am a huge fan of cute blazers in general and they’re a no-brainer for the office. You just won’t get the same polished look from a cardigan here (I’m not a huge fan of wearing cardigans outside of loungewear.)

I love this Santorini dress with both the white (my summer go-to!) and the navy blazers for a whole different vibe. Colorful accessories can make your darker fall + wintery clothing pieces fresh for warmer months, like the pop of the yellow pumps does here.

If you can snag a knitted or sweater blazer with structure, that’s the real blazer sweet spot. I’ve had trouble finding many of those right now (my white blazer is long since sold out) but I’ve linked to a few below that look like good options. J.Crew’s sweater blazer looks to be the softest, but the one from Express is probably the most structured for the office. The white blazer from Loft is a slightly more summery linen blend.

Similar White Blazers: Express | Loft | J.Crew | J.Crew Factory

2 | Athleta Playa Linen Wide Leg Pants

These gorgeous Playa Wide Leg Linen pants are not only cute online, but gorgeously summery and breezy in person. But the waistband, pleats and details on them make them more tailored than your typical pull-on summer linen pants + totally wearable for work.

Top | Pants | Similar Mules

These pants are SO comfy with an elastic waistband at the back and tailored placket in front. It’s hard to see here, but they also have a cute side slit detail on the outside ankles. These swish back and forth when you walk (but don’t worry, they’re not noisy since they’re linen) and make you feel breezy and fabulous.

Sizing Notes: I love how exaggerated the leg is on these. I don’t love a really cropped wide leg personally, so I stuck with the Regular length here, but they do come in Petite + Tall lengths, as well. These also fit true to size. I’m wearing a size 6 in the Regular length, as I mentioned. I should have snapped a pic of the petite length on, but I really didn’t like it on my shorter frame.

The Playa linen top is a true wrap top & only has a hook-and-eye closure at the mid chest & the tie at the waist.

Top | Pants | Similar Mules

The matching Playa Linen top was just ok. It’s cute enough but when I bent forward there was definite risk of a bra peep show. It’s a true wrap top and only has a hook-and-eye closure at the mid chest and the tie at the waist. I’m not sure if sizing up would eliminate this risk? I’d wear a matching tank underneath for sure. Wearing a S.

I adore the pants styled with other pieces, though and am most likely keeping them for summer rotation. I’ll wear a knotted tee with them, too, and my favorite Good American tanks.

3 | Athleta Cosmic Pants

Well, here we are talking about the Cosmic Pants, yet again. I’ve already covered them twice in the past, both dressed up and dressed down. I’ve said it before, but these wide-leg black pants are just the most versatile pair you’ll find.

The Cosmic Pants don’t wrinkle, don’t roll at the waistband, and come in a wide range of sizes (0-26 plus some Tall + Petite sizes). They dry quickly, so they’re great for places like the pool or Disney or the beach. They easily dress up or down. They’re comfy on the airplane and perfect for travel. They’re also breezier than joggers for summer, thanks to their wide-leg cut.

They are, dare I say, perfect. And I’ve had mine for years.

The Cosmic Pants don't wrinkle, don't roll at the waistband, & come in a wide range of sizes (0-26 plus some Tall + Petite sizes). They easily dress up or down. They're comfy on the airplane and perfect for travel. They're also breezier than joggers for summer, thanks to their wide-leg cut.

The Everyday Polo top above is also Athleta, but I didn’t realize when I ordered it to try out that it’s actually a proper tennis polo, with a zip pocket for an extra ball even. Oops, haha. I don’t think you’ll be wanting to sport that to the office BUT the shape and fit are super cute if you need a golf or tennis top. Wearing a S.

Sizing Notes: The Cosmic pants used to come in S, M + L sizing, so I’m wearing a Petite Small, but the current sizes are numbered for an even better fit (and run true to size.)

I love my Cosmic pants with SO many tops, but the vest and button-down seemed good workwear choices to stick with for this article.

I adore both of these tops for summer right now. The cotton vest (SO soft) is from Alex Mill and I covered it recently in my ivory + white menswear-inspired article. The Everlane Box Cut top on the right is also in that same post and SO breezy and cute buttoned all the way up.

Vest | Pants | Similar Heels | Top | Similar Wedges

And…the outfit below is my favorite look! Like I mentioned, the polo is (mistakenly on my part) too sporty for the office, but I recently got this Helmut Lang polo top that would be perfection in this combo. And Loft’s white blazer looks really good and is currently on sale!

Shop More Athleta Pieces To Wear To Work

Athleta has quite a few great clothing pieces that would work for office wear. Since many of these pieces are typically tech fabrics, they wrinkle less and are easy to care for!

If you have any favorite comfy workwear pieces, as usual, please share in the comments! Until next time…

xo,

Would love for you to say hi over on my Instagram @laurajansenstyle where there are mostly odes to snacks, OOTDs, travel and everyday mom-life-stuff in Portland, Oregon. xoxo

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