These affordable work outfits start at £19.50, with trousers, shirts, knitwear and blazers that can be mixed across the working week.
When work clothes feel too casual one day and overly formal the next, getting dressed becomes a daily nuisance. This selection focuses on pieces that look pulled together without needing much thought.
Start with trousers because they set the shape of most work outfits. There are wide legs, a bootcut, a shaped cut and knitted trousers here, so a week need not revolve around one familiar pair.
ASOS Design’s Tailored High Waist Pleated Chocolate Trousers are the pair we would buy first. The high waist and front pleats give them shape, and chocolate brown is a welcome alternative to black. Wear them with an ivory knit, a plain shirt or a printed blouse and they will not feel overdone.
ASOS Design
Tailored High Waist Pleated Chocolate Trousers £40
Mango’s Straight Mid-Rise Black Suit Trousers have a simpler job. Their straight, mid-rise cut lets a patterned top or detailed blazer take the lead. Add them after the ASOS pair if a dependable black trouser is missing.
Mango
Straight Mid-Rise Black Suit Trousers £59.99
Topshop’s Co-Ord Pinstripe Tailored Wide-Leg Charcoal Trousers bring pattern in without making the outfit busy. Charcoal pinstripe sits comfortably beside ivory, black and navy, and the wide leg stops the suiting fabric from feeling stiff. They sit between plain black tailoring and a bolder printed trouser, which is useful if most of your tops are solid colours.
Topshop
Co-Ord Pinstripe Tailored Wide-Leg Charcoal Trousers £40
M&S Collection’s High Waisted Wide Leg White Jeans give the trouser selection a lighter option. White denim is less formal than suit trousers, but it works well with a collared shirt or blazer. They are a good answer when black, navy and charcoal begin to dominate every outfit. Keep the top half simple and let the white denim break up the darker colours.
M&S Collection
High Waisted Wide Leg White Jeans £45
At £19.50, M&S Collection’s Jersey Wide Leg Black Trousers with Stretch are the practical choice. The jersey fabric and stretch suit long days, while the wide black leg works easily with a blouse or blazer. They will not replace tailored trousers for everyone, but they make sense as a comfortable second pair.
M&S Collection
Jersey Wide Leg Black Trousers with Stretch £19.50
NEXT’s Black Tailored Hourglass Trousers offer more definition through the hip before the leg opens out. Choose them over a standard wide leg if you prefer a closer fit at the top. The cut gives a tucked-in roll neck or the Miss Selfridge fitted olive stripe shirt a more deliberate shape.
NEXT
Black Tailored Hourglass Trousers £36
The two Stradivarius pairs do different jobs. The Striped Wide Leg Smart Trousers give a plain shirt or fine knit a little pattern, so they are the pair to reach for when the top is understated. The Wide Leg Formal Wear Trousers are plainer and give a leopard blouse, angel sleeves or jewel buttons a clean backdrop. Both are £29.99, but one striped pair and one plain pair is more useful than two versions of the same idea.
Stradivarius
Striped Wide Leg Smart Trousers £29.99
Stradivarius
Wide Leg Formal Wear Trousers £29.99
NEXT’s Black Bootcut Tailored Trousers are a welcome break from all the wide legs. The small flare balances a fitted shirt and makes a shorter peplum top look less top-heavy. Mango’s Straight Knitted Navy Trousers are for a softer day. Navy keeps them smart beside white, ecru and pale pink, and the straight leg means the knit fabric does not read like loungewear.
NEXT
Black Bootcut Tailored Trousers £34
Mango
Straight Knitted Navy Trousers £35.99
Tops with some life in them
Jigsaw’s Polka Dot Long Sleeve Top gives charcoal, chocolate and black trousers a finished look straight away. Polka dots are familiar enough for work, but they bring more interest than a plain cream blouse. Under the ASOS relaxed blazer or the Miss Selfridge navy pinstripe, it has enough presence without competing with the jacket.
Jigsaw
Polka Dot Long Sleeve Top £69
Mango’s Off White Shirt With Jewel Buttons is simpler, but the buttons prevent it from disappearing into the background. That small detail is enough under a blazer, and the off-white colour keeps it useful with black trousers or M&S’s white jeans. It is the sort of shirt that saves a plain outfit from looking unfinished.
Mango
Off White Shirt With Jewel Buttons £35.99
Stradivarius’s Striped Sleeveless Peplum Top has more shape than a standard vest or shirt. The peplum defines the waist, so it holds its own without a jacket. Put it with the plain Stradivarius Wide Leg Formal Wear Trousers and let the stripes remain the only pattern.
Stradivarius
Striped Sleeveless Peplum Top £19.99
ASOS Design’s Angel Sleeve Ecru Top with Godet Detail is more decorative, but ecru stops it feeling fussy. The sleeves are what people will notice first, so straight black trousers or the NEXT bootcut are enough beside it.
ASOS Design
Angel Sleeve Ecru Top with Godet Detail £22
Mango’s Leopard Blouse with Scarf is the boldest top here and one of the most enjoyable. Plain black trousers keep the print grounded, and the scarf detail means the neckline already has interest. It needs very little else.
Mango
Leopard Blouse with Scarf £35.99
Shirts, knitwear and a little colour
M&S Collection’s Pure Merino Wool Roll Neck Ivory Jumper offers a break from shirts. The ivory roll neck sits neatly under tailoring and gives chocolate trousers or a navy pinstripe blazer a clean contrast. It is the most straightforward layer in this group, which is exactly its strength.
M&S Collection
Pure Merino Wool Roll Neck Ivory Jumper £35
COS’s Wide Collar Modal Ecru Blouse is best when the collar can be seen. It has more to say with black trousers or beneath an open blazer than hidden under heavy layers. M&S Collection’s Ivory Satin Collared Shirt costs less and brings a little sheen, but the collar keeps the outfit looking tidy. Choose COS for the collar and M&S for a softer shine.
COS
Wide Collar Modal Ecru Blouse £75
M&S Collection
Ivory Satin Collared Shirt £29.50
Miss Selfridge’s Poplin Fitted Olive Stripe Shirt is a welcome move away from white and pale blue. The olive stripe is muted enough for work, and the fitted poplin cut gives it more definition than an oversized shirt. It looks especially good against the warmer brown of the ASOS trousers.
Miss Selfridge
Poplin Fitted Olive Stripe Shirt £30.99
COS’s Tailored Pima Cotton Pink Shirt brings colour without relying on print. Pink is fresh beside navy, charcoal and chocolate, and the tailored cut keeps the colour from feeling overly sweet. At £65, it costs more than most shirts here, but the colour is easy to wear with navy, charcoal and brown.
COS
Tailored Pima Cotton Pink Shirt £65
Choose blazers with different jobs
Two blazers with clearly different roles are more useful than several similar black ones. Miss Selfridge’s Fitted Pinstripe Navy Blazer Co-Ord is the more distinctive choice. Navy pinstripe brings more interest than plain black, and the fitted cut suits the straight Mango trousers, white jeans or a simple ivory top. It is the jacket to buy when you want tailoring to be noticed.
Miss Selfridge
Fitted Pinstripe Navy Blazer Co-Ord £49.99
ASOS Design’s Tailored Relaxed Black Blazer is the everyday buy. Its relaxed cut leaves room for a roll neck, a collared shirt or the Jigsaw polka dot top, and at £35 it covers a lot of ground.
ASOS Design
Tailored Relaxed Black Blazer £35
M&S Collection’s Slim Single Breasted Ecru Blazer gives darker trousers a lighter partner. Ecru looks good beside chocolate, navy and black, and the slim single-breasted cut keeps the outfit neat. It also makes the white jeans feel intentional rather than like weekend denim.
M&S Collection
Slim Single Breasted Ecru Blazer £49.50
New Look’s Gini London Black Leopard Cuff Blazer is for someone who likes print in small doses. The black body keeps it grounded, and the leopard cuffs give it a detail that the other jackets do not have. The leopard cuffs are enough to distinguish it from a standard black blazer.
New Look
Gini London Black Leopard Cuff Blazer £36
Our View
Start with the ASOS Design chocolate pleated trousers, then add Mango’s straight black suit trousers if a second shape is needed. The Jigsaw Polka Dot top, Mango Leopard Blouse and COS pink shirt offer three very different ways to bring more colour or print into the mix.
For blazers, choose the ASOS Design relaxed black style first and the Miss Selfridge navy pinstripe for a second jacket with more detail. The M&S Collection ecru blazer is the next pick when lighter tailoring is needed.
Buy the trousers you will wear most, then add one top with detail and one blazer with its own purpose.
Would We Buy It?
Yes. Our first buy is the ASOS Design Tailored High Waist Pleated Chocolate Trousers, followed by the ASOS Design Tailored Relaxed Black Blazer. Jigsaw’s Polka Dot Long Sleeve Top is the best finishing piece, with the Miss Selfridge navy pinstripe blazer close behind.
