Plus Size Business Casual Outfits… with Masks!

This is kind of an odd roundup of outfits, but it's 2020 and anything goes.

With this leadership program I'm in, we're traveling around the state in a group of about 40 people. Attire so far has been requested as business casual, and masks are required (thank goodness!)

The challenge with dressing for these trips is that not only does it need to be business casual, but it also needs to be comfortable enough to walk to different locations or tour outside in the summer heat with flats, and keep a mask on. You all know I'm pro-dress at this point, so it's no surprise that I've not chosen pants for any of these events!

Let me be clear: I have no interest if your mask matches what you're wearing – I just want you to wear one! I'm using masks as an accessory and it's been fun to print mix and find more fabrics to create them. This is part of my current collection:

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Leota New York

Leota New York has long been a brand that I turn to when I want to look chic and timeless, but also remain comfortable. The matte jersey material they use doesn't wrinkle, is a great medium weight that drapes well and has a nice amount of stretch without stretching out. They have sizes from XXS-5X. I prefer their 4X but also have worn some 3X as not all styles come in 4X or 5X. They do really well in the wash, which is great because I don't bother with dry cleaning.

Most of my Leota dresses are through my Gwynnie Bee subscription, and then I end up purchasing them to keep 😂

Deal alert: Right now, there are a lot of Leota dresses at amazing prices at Nordstrom Rack.

I've actually had this dress in another print last year. Love it just as much!

I need to do a more comprehensive profile on Leota given how many of their dresses I've tried or own. I'll put that on the list!

Target

Listen: Target is killing it with dresses right now, and the prices are always so good! I was on a search for cotton dresses for really hot weather, and Target had several. This dress is so light and comfortable and comes in 5 colors. I also purchased this dress that I plan on wearing at our next sessions.

Anthropologie

This dress doesn't look like it would be cool, but it had a cotton camisole shell dress and the wrap was a gauzy material. Anthropologie dresses have been hit-or-miss with sizing lately. I rented this from Nuuly, and unfortunately it's no longer available on Anthropologie.

The mask I picked for this dress was done for function in mind and not style. We were walking around a lot outside in one of the hottest days of the summer and it felt like Satan's armpit. I was sweaty, so I changed out my masks a couple of times.

Skirt and Top

Loved our trip to Paducah, which involved dinner at freight house – this is me with chef Sara Bradley – you may know her from Top Chef! Some of us went back to the restaurant for a second night in a row and it was excellent. Also, their cocktails are ace.

This outfit has my favorite Universal Standard foundation top. This is the long sleeve crew neck, but I have several styles. They are thin and comfortable and keep their shape. I'm wearing a lot of Universal Standard foundations during my time at home. The skirt is from the Beauticurve x Lane Bryant collab (no longer available). You can see this outfit is in heavy rotation – I posted it in March with the Foundations v-neck shirt.

Sidenote: One thing I've learned one thing writing this post, I need to check my necklace and my name tag. They apparently love to get tangled up!

For this outfit, I wore my mint citrus mask. It's a Rifle Paper Company print and it was one of the top 3 prints when I soft-launched my mask sales. If you're interested in learning when the next sale is, you can sign up for an email alert on my shop page.

Renting vs. Buying

At the end of our last trip, someone asked how many dresses I owned. I probably have more than the average person, but I think it's worth pointing out here that half of the items I've worn so far for these trips are rented. It will be interesting to see if people embrace rental programs during or after the pandemic. I've been a rental user with my Gwynnie Bee subscription (sizes 0-32) for 8 years, so you can imagine how many dresses I've rented and returned (at last count, over 150.) Their clothes skew more work vs. trend, which is great for this. (DISCLOSURE: Gwynnie Bee/CaaStle is a client of my company, Authentically Social. I was not asked or paid to mention them.)

I also had a Nuuly subscription for about 10 months, but have since paused it after I returned the pretty red wrap dress because I was having more misses than wins, especially with sizing, and a few issues with missing belts. I think if I were a size 16 or smaller there would be more options. If you love Anthropologie and can find a lot in your size, it's a really good value since one style usually retails for more than a month of the subscription.

This past week, ELOQUII launched a rental program called ELOQUII Unlimited. It's on the CaaStle platform, which is the same as Gwynnie Bee. Knowing I'll need more styles with less commitment throughout the rest of summer and fall, I signed up and received my first boxes today. (While I do work with CaaStle on the Gwynnie Bee side, I do not have involvement with the ELOQUII program.) I'll do a review of ELOQUII Unlimited once I try my first 4 styles out.

Do you find yourself coordinating masks with your outfits? Or are you for the most part wearing loungewear at home? Other than these 3 days per month, I'm pretty much home every day!

PS: Shout out to my friend Ellen who has graciously taken most of my outfit photos on each trip. 😂