Jazzed for the job
The fierce financier
“Wall Street is never first to the [fashion] party because it’s dominated by the big banks, which have strict dress codes of navy, blue and black,” Dani Hughes, 49, the CEO of Divine Capital, tells The Post. “I find it really easy to get stuck in a rut.” The Woodstock-based banker favors a mostly monochromatic wardrobe, but wishes it had a little more color. She’d also like to look “not sexy, but strong . . . like a viking queen. I think about high necks and big shoulders.” Her takeaway: Hughes was drawn to the red pumps The Post’s stylist paired with black pants and a jacket whose silver studs along the lapel gave it a tough but cool touch. “The red shoes are just the right pop of color, and the detail on the jacket is unlike anything else I own,” she says. “I would definitely wear this to the office.”
HelmutLang jacket, $680, CinqàSept sweater, $295,and HelmutLang pants, $275, all at Saks.com; Pumps, $120 at SamEdelman. com; Earrings, $199 at Swarovski. com
The casual-chic ad producer
“It’s really easy to get stuck in uniform dressing, particularly in New York,” says Nicole Green, 36, who works in advertising and lives in the Financial District. Her “habit” is to pop on jeans and a sweater while overseeing digital, social and broadcast production in her office.
For meetings with clients, she opts for a polished yet trendy look. “I like to find pieces that are a bit different or have something interesting about them,” she says. The Post helped her find a way to combine the two, with a slouchy knit top and a silky skirt.
Her takeaway: The animal prints were a hit. “I love leopard print so much that I incorporated it into my wedding look” for her ceremony at City Hall this past Friday. “I wore gray ocelotprint Cole Haan shoes . . . This isn’t something that I would normally pick out for myself if I saw it on the rack,” she says. “But I could definitely see myself wearing this.”
Sweater, $148 at RebeccaMinkoff. com; Skirt, $180 at RealisationPar. com; Jaggar
TheLabel boots, $198 at FashionBunker. com; Bag, $395 at KaraStore. com
The buttoned-up lawyer
Shermin Lakha, the Gramercy-based risk and compliance lawyer, has an invisible line down the middle of her closet.
“I have two separate wardrobes, [one] for work and [one] for my social life,” says the 29-year-old, who favors flirty skirts and floral dresses for fun.
At work, it’s a different story. “There aren’t many women in my firm, so it’s a little more buttoned-up,” she says. “I usually wear some sort of black pant with a top and a black blazer.”
For a feminine take on business-chic, The Post chose plaid and autumnal reds and purples to replace her basic black, and used a belt to define her waist. Her takeaway: “The belt was a game-changer,” she says. “Blazers can make you feel a bit shapeless but the belt really finished the outfit. I like that the skirt wasn’t a pencil skirt, either. It was unexpected — I would definitely wear these pieces to work.” Jacket, $645 at VeronicaBeard .com; Cropped tee, $195 at RachelComey. com; Wilfred skirt, $150 at Aritzia.com; Heels, $278 at MGemi. com; APMMonaco Earrings, $185 at APM.MC; Belt, $12 at Lulus. com