I’m a DC lobbyist, so statement dress + statement jewelry is my uniform, and concur on colored, form-fitting sheath dresses feeling dated. What I am wearing: a-line/flare dresses in suiting fabrics (old fabric, new shape) and neutral (not colored) sheath dresses in casual fabrics like ponte (old shape, new fabric).

Also, shoes are super important. Square-heeled heels all the way here in DC. (We always wear lower heels here than other cities because we walk so much, but the shape of the heel has fully converted to square heels).

I had the exact same thought.

I gave away most of my work dresses last year, but then I was re-elected president of my Rotary Club and there is nothing like a jewel toned dress for leading a big meeting! And fun fact: This year the president of Rotary Internation is a woman (for the first time ever!) and she and I have several of the same dresses — she was wearing one of my favorites on the cover of the Rotary International magazine!

Hah! I unexpectedly had to cover an in person meeting today, which left me with 10 minutes to shower and get out of the house. Sweater dress with tailored blazer for the win, because I could not coordinate separates at that speed.

I couldn’t put my finger on what fell off about this article and that’s exactly it – these feel really dated. I wore these a ton 10 years ago. Even pre-pandemic it was impossible to find a pencil skirt by ~2019.

+1, although I do see some neutral sheath + blazer looks around, “bold statement sheath” is a look that was super popular in the Mad Men-fueled 2009-2010 years, and looks dated to my eye now.