What color tights do you wear with navy skirts, navy dresses, or a navy suit? Reader B wonders…

I'm a skirt suit kinda girl, in part because I prefer to commute in flats and then switch to heels at the office. (Since I'm short, most of my suit pants are hemmed for heels.) Winter isn't a problem for my black and grey suits; I just trade the hose for black tights. (Side note: the Commando tights you recommended are now my absolute favorites.)

Here's the issue: two of my favorite skirt suits are navy or navy pinstripe. Pairing navy tights with a navy suit seems crazy monochromatic, and most of the heather or grey tights I've seen feel a bit casual for the office. So I end up wearing plain old hose, and my legs freeze on the way to work.

Hmmn. Great question — this is actually the combo that led me, many moons ago, to wear purple fishnets to work (pictured below, in a random picture I happened to take that day – navy sweater, navy wool skirt, purple fishnets, purple shoes), although the last time we took a poll on fishnets at the office readers were really against them.

Note that nude-for-you fishnets (and sheer tights!) are a newish trend, though — here are some of our favorites:

Update: Nude-for-you fishnet tights, fleece pantyhose, and other sheer tights are making a comeback in 2024!

More Ideas on What Color Tights to Wear With Navy Skirts

Poking around a bit online, here are a few more ideas for what color tights to wear with a navy skirt:

Wear Black Hose with a Navy Skirt

Black hose (worn with black shoes or boots).  I think you should always match your tights to your shoes, and I do advise people to wear black shoes with navy. The only caveat: make it clear that you know you're wearing black and navy (and that you didn't get dressed in the dark). (As of 2021, commenters agree with me!)

(Stock photo of woman wearing black tights with a navy skirt via Deposit Photos / Iniraswork; originally pictured.)

Wear Black Tights with a Navy Skirt

Black tights. This is another good option!

Particularly with the Banana Republic suit you linked to — which is more of a slate, grayish blue — I think black tights would work wonderfully.

Wear Navy Tights with a Navy Skirt

– Navy tights — possibly with a fun shoe, such as a pair of purple pumps.

Stay tuned for our latest favorite navy tights!

Wear Colorful Tights with a Navy Skirt

This can be pretty daring, depending on the office, so proceed with caution — but I think purple (solid or textured), solid red (perhaps to wear with cordovan shoes) or even solid emerald tights would work.

2022 Update: Here are some cute colored tights for work! If you're looking for something high quality check out Falke's opaque tights in sedate colors; if you want affordability, these $17 Amazon tights have 7700+ great ratings and tons of colors.

Wear White Tights with Navy Skirts (Maaaaybe)

I almost hate to suggest this, because I generally think of white tights as being little-girl-ish, but:  I could see a navy skirt, a thick, knit pair of white tights, and a pair of tall, flat brown boots being a really nice look for the office.

Readers, what color tights do you wear with navy skirts? If you wear navy tights, what color shoes do you wear?

Stay tuned for our latest favorite navy shoes for work!

Social media image credit: Deposit Photos / dashek. 

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Sure, we all know what wardrobe essentials for work professional women are supposed to have in their closets, but if you’re buying one for the first time or replacing one you’ve worn into the ground, it can be a pain to find exactly the right incarnation in stores. In “The Hunt,” we search the stores for a basic item that every woman should have.

If you live in an area where it's snowy or slushy and you're going into the office (or prefer a classic style), what weatherproof boots are your favorites right now? Do you like a tall boot (more coverage)? A lug sole? A low bootie or calf-height bootie? Do tell…

I thought I'd do a little roundup of some of the best weatherproof boots I'm seeing from brands we've loved in the past…

This post contains affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. For more details see here. Thank you so much for your support!

{related: how to do business casual in cold weather}

Longtime Favorites for Weatherproof Knee-High Boots for Work

If you're still comfortable with tall boots with skirts, dresses, and even jeans (which makes sense to me on one level, because they protect your leg by covering more), some of our long-standing favorites for weatherproof knee-high boots for work are still going strong in stores…

Pictured above: one / two / three / four / five

{related: what to wear to work when it's cold outside}

Great Weatherproof Booties for Work in 2022

I'm quite certain we featured this Jeffrey Campbell faux leather boot when it first came out (perhaps in a purple glitter?), and it's nice to see that in the intervening years, it's racked up a ton of great reviews. This shoe is $65, has almost 200 great reviews, and comes in matte black and shiny brown in sizes 5–11 (whole sizes only). I like — it's a bit more chic than the usual rainboot, but it's super affordable.

Oooh: Sperry has been mentioned by readers in the past, and they've got a ton of cute styles right now for under $100. Their Saltwater boot is the classic, but I'm liking this short bootie (do I want black? black with lavender? navy and orange? argh!). This almost combat boot also looks great.

{related: check out our Guide to Comfortable Heels!}

This waterproof ankle bootie from Blondo has been a bestseller for years — it has over 1,000 good ratings at Amazon. It's increasingly harder to find, though, so if this was your Holy Grail, then stock up. Amazon has it in 14 colors, regular and wide sizes, but it's mostly lucky sizes all around. Nordstrom has a ton of waterproof Blondo shoes with lug soles, if you're on the hunt.

These Sorels are so popular they're on their third iteration: presenting the Joan of Arctic Wedge III. This is the kind of shoe that I would break my ankle in, but they're incredibly popular, so darn my weak ankles. These $199 shoes come in 7+ colors, sizes 5–12, in regular and wide sizes. (Also popular from Sorel: these low Chelsea booties with cutouts.)

{related: how to dress professionally on the coldest days}

La Canadienne is ALWAYS #goals for waterproof boots. (I'd also put Aquatalia in this bucket!) The only problem is that they're often $500ish, which can be an investment, especially for a practical, non-fun, not particularly “status” purchase. So I'm delighted to tell you that Nordstrom Rack has a TON of La Canadienne (and Aquatalia!), many under $150 (!!!). These pictured ones look absolutely great to me — I love the partial lug sole, the teensy heel, the generally basic styling. I feel like these would be great commuting shoes for a ton of different work outfits. They're available in leather and suede for $217–$248, sizes 6–11.

Like this feature? Check out other recent installments!

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Sure, we all know what wardrobe essentials for work professional women are supposed to have in their closets, but if you’re buying one for the first time or replacing one you’ve worn into the ground, it can be a pain to find exactly the right incarnation in stores. In “The Hunt,” we search the stores for a basic item that every woman should have.

Plaid shirt jackets (“shackets”) are really popular right now… with retailers at least. Here's my take: I want an amazing coat this season. Whether I'm in work clothes or, um, leggings, I don't want to look like I borrowed my lumberjack boyfriend's coat — I want to look polished and as glamorous as possible. (And warm. Warm is good.)

I thought I'd take around and see what's on the market right now… I was particularly interested in bold colors and fun patterns (leopard and plaid are huge trends for all kinds of coats this year!). (We've also rounded up some of our more classic winter coats for women if you're looking for something a bit more sedate.)

Readers, what kind of winter coat do you want this season? Which, if any, of these statement coats are calling your name?

This post contains affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. For more details see here. Thank you so much for your support!

{related: the best winter coats to wear on your commute}

Classic Style Winter Coats for Women

Some of our favorite classic coats include: olive / blue / green / caramel / black / gray (not pictured but also)

Classic Winter Coats for Women in Plus Sizes

Statement Winter Coats for 2021

The faux fur/sherpa/teddy coat has been around for a while and it continues to go strong this year. This coat from Halogen is super soft and only $51-$71 (score!). (If you want to see an upmarket version of this here's a $4000 Armani alpaca wool coat.) Come to think of it both the high and low versions feel like they'd be a bit at home on Gwen Stefani circa 1999… which I'm kind of ok with.

Sam Edelman always has best-selling winter coats — they're affordable but crazy soft. I was in store at Nordstrom recently and was drawn to this one (even though I'm still deciding whether leopard prints align with my personal style at this point in time). It's crazy soft and is marked down to $129.

While hunting around I thought it was interesting to see that J.Crew Factory now has the “City Coat” in a variety of bright, bold colors (it's $238 new, but marked to $159 today) — I think this was previously a reader favorite at J.Crew, although I'm blanking on the name. It's available in sizes 00-24 in regular sizes, as well as petite sizes 00-12.

I don't think I've ever gotten a coat at Express, but this “strong shoulder chevron wedge coat” looks fabulous — I love the really bold pattern, as well as the way it looks both open and closed. (They've styled it onsite with a belt to keep it closed, but I don't believe it has any buttons or snaps of its own.) It's $198, available in sizes XXS-XL.

I know, I said I did not want plaid… and I never thought I'd like a patchwork of lots of plaid. But something about this coat from Avec Les Filles just works. In person, the blues are bluer, the browns are grayer, and the plaids and stripes are a bit more prominent. Styled differently (like with a simple black outfit, either for work or working out) I actually think it would look a lot more lux than it's styled here. It's $199 at Nordstrom, available in sizes XXS-XXL.

(This powder pink/lavender puffer coat from Avec Les Filles also caught my eye in person — again, not my usual style but it was lovely in person.)

Ooooh… I can't decide which I like better at Boden: the floral embroidered coat above or this amazing paisley velvet number that looks vintage. (This chain link puffer coat is also kind of amazing.) Ultimately I think it's the embroidery details on the pictured coat that sell it for me — SO unusual. It's $420 and available in sizes 2-22.

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We recently rounded up statement jackets for winter — fun, colorful, bold jackets — and I was intrigued to see this comment from an interviewer in a snowy climate, basically noting that many new graduates are wearing FAR too casual a coat over their suit for winter interviews. Here's her comment on interview coats for women:

So wonderful to see no puffer coats. They appear on so many fashion blogs (by people who only work from home!) as the only coat a woman needs. More than once when I’ve been interviewing candidates for a junior position, the candidate has arrived in a puffer coat that I know from the branding cost her well over $1k (so it’s not a cost issue for a new graduate.)

But several colleagues (male and female) have joked about [their] collegiate or excessively casual appearance — which is surely not what these women intend to convey. The same comments are made about male candidates in parkas.

Of course, if there is a blizzard going on, all bets are off. . . . [E]veryone needs a basic cloth coat — for interviews, for formal meetings outside the office, funerals, evening occasions.

I don't disagree — the puffer coat has come a long way in the past 10 years; my earliest association with it was the frumpy writer played by Kathleen Turner in Romancing the Stone. (Highly recommend if you haven't seen it; it's a classic rom com!) These days you can easily spend serious $$$$ on a puffer coat, but it still doesn't make it appropriate for interviews.

As we've noted before, in general your interview attire should be pretty bland — you want to keep the focus on your resume and not your fashion sense. (I've even argued that signs of ostentatious wealth are a bad thing for careers in which you are representing someone other than yourself, especially lawyers who may be in front of a jury.)

{related: check out our entire Guide to Women's Interview Attire!}

As I've also noted before, you should definitely make sure a suit blazer fits beneath your winter coat, which means you may want to size up a size (or three). Another good tip is that your coat should be longer than hip-length if you're wearing it with skirts or dresses… Look for something at least finger-tip length or longer.

{related: how to dress professionally on the coldest days}

This post contains affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. For more details see here. Thank you so much for your support!

Classic Interview Coats for Women

Some of our favorite interview coats for women in classic styles include these styles and brands:

Some of our favorite classic coats for work as of 2024 include: olive / blue / green / caramel / black / gray (not pictured but also) – and don't forget to check out our editors' favorite washable winter coats!

{related: what to wear to work when it's cold outside}

Plus Sizes: The Best Coats to Wear Over a Suit in Winter

Hunting for plus-size coats for a winter interview? These are some of our favorites:

Readers, how about you — what are your thoughts on the best coats to wear over a suit in winter? What do you think of when you think of “interview coats for women”?

{related: how to do business casual in cold weather}

Stock photo via Deposit Photos / arkusha.

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Sure, we all know what wardrobe essentials for work professional women are supposed to have in their closets, but if you’re buying one for the first time or replacing one you’ve worn into the ground, it can be a pain to find exactly the right incarnation in stores. In “The Hunt,” we search the stores for a basic item that every woman should have.

In terms of the “warmest sweaters for work” category, I still think it's a fight between merino and cashmere. Both can be itchy if they're on the less expensive side, but cashmere done right is super, super soft.

(Pro tip — if you wear a t-shirt, tank or camisole beneath your sweaters they will not only be more comfortable but you can go longer between washing or dry cleaning them — we'll put our favorites at the end of the post!)

Today we're going on a hunt for the best cashmere sweaters out there right now — readers, have you bought any great cashmere recently? What do you think are the best classic cashmere sweaters for work?   

This post contains affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. For more details see here. Thank you so much for your support!

First, some general categories to round up for classic cashmere sweaters for work:

• Hall of Famers (specific styles that have stood the test of time): Halogen, J.Crew (turtle, crew, V), Talbots, Brooks Brothers (cable knit, shawl collar)
• Under $150: Halogen, J.Crew (turtle, crew, V), Everlane, Lord & Taylor, Uniqlo, Lands' End
• Petite sizes: Ann Taylor, Lord & Taylor, Talbots
• Plus sizes: J.Crew, Talbots, Lord & Taylor,  (sign up for our newsletter focusing on plus-size workwear!)
• Where to Splurge: Brooks Brothers, InHabit NY, Loro Piana, Akris, TSE, Brora, & Eric Bompard

{related: what to wear to work when it's cold outside}

What to Layer Beneath Your Classic Cashmere Sweater

We love layering camisoles or t-shirts beneath classic cashmere sweaters to save on drycleaning as well as to make them a bit more comfortable! If you layer with a t-shirt you can also remove your sweater if you get too hot.

Our Favorite Camisoles To Layer Beneath Cashmere Sweaters

Pictured above, our favorite camisoles for work: one / two / three / four (25+ different color combos in a 4 pack!)– don't forget about demi-camisoles too, such as this, this or this — or chemisettes!)

Great T-Shirts for Layering Beneath Cashmere Sweaters

Looking for the best work-appropriate T-shirts? As of 2024, some of our favorite dressy T-shirts for work are from Amazon Essentials, Theory, Everlane, J.Crew, Banana Republic, Nic + Zoe, and Vince — also check our posts on opaque white tees and the best plus-size tees for work!

I remembered that Halogen was highly rated and affordable, but I almost thought Everlane was more affordable — this is $98 (full price) but marked down to $65. It comes in a whopping THIRTEEN colors and has nearly 500 rave reviews.

(Another highly rated cashmere piece is this duster cardigan and this wool & cashmere tunic (which would look great with those faux leather leggings that are everywhere now!)) Pictured.

{related: how to do business casual in cold weather}

In terms of the most affordable cashmere sweaters for work, there are a few places that reliably have either great prices on cashmere (Everlane) or great sales on cashmere (Lord & Taylor, Last Call).

What other affordable spots am I forgetting, readers? The cashmere crewneck at Everlane is their #1 best-selling item for women; I've had a lot of Everlane cashmere over the years and have found it to be soft, warm, and durable. 

{related: interview coats: the best coats to wear over a suit in winter}

Talbots cashmere often appears on our cashmere roundups because they're a reader favorite, particularly this classically shaped sweater (the Audrey) and their Charming cardigan sets. They're priced well (this one is full price at $169) and Talbots is a great place to look for plus-size workwear and plus-size petites, although this leopard sweater only comes in regular and petite sizes. (But it's available in merino wool in plus sizes!)

{related: what to wear to work in winter}

Brooks Brothers always has great cashmere, including their more price-friendly line, Red Fleece. This cable-knit cashmere sweater is as classic as it gets, and is $198 in a TON of colors, XS-XL. 

This pretty one from Ann Taylor feels sumptuous in the pale neutral colors –I think it would look great with some winter whites or other wintry pale pants. The sweater is available in petite and regular sizes XXS-XXL; it's $298 full price but today you can take 50% off everything with code BLACKFRIDAY.

{related: how to buy a great winter coat}

If you're looking to splurge on cashmere, it's hard to go wrong with Loro Piana — this gorgeous classic cashmere V-neck is a mere $1,375 at Saks.

{related: how to dress professionally on the coldest days}

Like this feature? Check out other recent installments!

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Update: We still stand by this discussion of whether or not patterned tights are appropriate for the office, and we've updated a widget below with a few great picks for great patterned tights available now. You may also want to check out our best advice on what to wear to work when it's cold outside, or all of our discussions on tights for work.

Previously, we asked whether or not patterned tights were appropriate for professional women. The initial results of the poll are interesting — the voters were pretty split in terms of what could or couldn't work.

• 36% of you said that men's patterns (pinstriped, windowpane) in dark, neutral colors would work
• 33% of you said ANY pattern would work, but only in dark, neutral colors
• 23% said solidly colored tights in neutral colors would work, but to avoid patterns
• 5% of you said any pattern, any color, any day.

Commenters noted that they considered dark gray to be a neutral, as well as a charcoal blue; we completely agree.

We'd also suggest wearing navy tights with a black dress, if you're more of a funky soul — it feels rebellious but still looks conservative.

(Our $.02 on black and navy: as long as it looks like you're doing it on purpose, it's a-ok. It's bad if you look like you got dressed in the dark.)

Patterned Tights We Think Are Appropriate for the Office

2022 Update: Here are some cute colored tights for work! If you're looking for something high quality check out Falke's opaque tights in sedate colors; if you want affordability, these $17 Amazon tights have 7700+ great ratings and tons of colors.

What do you think, readers — are patterned tights at the office appropriate?

Updated images via Deposit Photos / pepperbox. 

This article was originally written Nov. 8, 2008, but was substantially updated in 2022 except as otherwise noted. 

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