Ten office-ready trends for updating your work wardrobe | Canada Voices

The Barbie pink moment may have passed, but powder pink – worn in monochrome or with pops of white – remains ubiquitous on the spring runways. “Pink has this reputation that’s very sweet and feminine and saccharine,” so you want to look for structured styles and “tones that are supermuted and very diluted,” says stylist Jillian Vieira. And with colourful separates, you can always wear each item on its own, or make a bolder statement styling them all together.

Lightweight, loose-fitting suits dominated the spring 2025 runways at Ami Paris, Sacai and Emporio Armani, often in monochromatic ensembles. “In general, we are totally seeing a shift in silhouette for men’s wear where it used to be superoversized, but now it’s actually just superrelaxed,” says Joseph Tang, fashion director at Holt Renfrew. “You still have that straight, tailored trouser, a bit of an unstructured jacket, and then for spring it was really all about linen.”

There’s a boho moment in fashion right now, and retro-inspired floral prints are an easy way to liven up your work wardrobe for spring. You just don’t want to go overboard. “When you’re wearing an all-over print and in a vintage floral, it can easily take over your whole outfit really quickly,” says Tang. “So I think it’s really important to ground the florals, no pun intended, with some really great neutrals and basics to help create more of that balance in your outfit.”

At Amiri, Lemaire and Dolce & Gabbana, models wore loose-fitting cotton and linen dress shirts in shades of white and cream, worn tucked in and oftentimes without a tie. Tang suggests always wearing yours with a belt. “When you’re wearing boxier or looser silhouettes, you always want to make sure there’s something that helps anchor your waist.”

If you’re looking for a blazer alternative for the office, consider the classic bomber jacket, but rendered in a dressier material such as suede or leather. There’s something intriguing about the idea of mixing a sports-inspired jacket with a tailored trouser and crisp cotton shirting. It’s about “that juxtaposition of something that you’d normally identify as being supercasual or active, but then putting it back into the workspace,” says Tang. For the weekend, he suggests wearing the same bomber with a rib tank top and jeans, or an A-line, midi-length skirt and slingback kitten heels.

A new pant silhouette to try this spring: the cropped, wide-leg trouser. Brands are offering pleated versions in lighter-weight fabrics, and more structured styles without pleats or tucks. “A lot of designers … [are] referencing really great cargo pants or military-inspired trousers and vintage-inspired pieces, but then tailoring them and elevating them in a really modern and sophisticated way,” says Tang.

Like in men’s wear, smart shirting is trending on the women’s ready-to-wear runways. At Saint Laurent, Monse and Bottega Veneta, there were both subtle and bold striped shirts, often worn tucked in and without a blazer. “Stripe shirting is always a classic in and out of the office,” says Vieira. “What I love for spring especially is that [designers] are borrowing from more men’s wear codes where everything is a little bit more buttoned up, and playing with the idea of ties. … It feels very assured, which I think is a nice feeling to carry into your workday.”

Worn solo, with blazers and even layered over a button-up shirt, stylish and colourful polo tops made a statement at fashion shows for Fendi, Zegna and Gucci. You can go for a classic pique polo, but one with an open weave or less sporty fabrication will read as dressier. It’s all about pieces with texture and personality and trying out unexpected colours, says Vieira.

Wide-leg, tailored trousers have been in fashion for many seasons now, and they’re not going anywhere. On the Loewe and Stella McCartney spring 2025 runways, they were styled with sleek, single-breasted blazers – an item many of us already have in our closets. It’s about balancing a more fitted suit jacket with “something on the bottom that is a little bit airy and flowy,” says Vieira.

The must-have accessory of the season may well be a structured top-handle tote. Shown in leather, suede and even canvas, these roomy carryalls are practical and stylish. “We’ve seen men start gravitating towards these tote silhouettes because they fit a laptop, they can easily act as a really great carry-on bag when you’re going to the airport,” says Tang.