One Outfit to Go from Work to Picnic

Do you need outfit ideas to go from work to picnic because your office picnic starts an hour before EOB? Read how to master the challenge of looking office appropriate, but also well dressed for the picnic without having to change in the restrooms or going home.

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Summer Time Is Picnic Time

Sunny summer evenings after work, Saturdays and Sundays are perfect for a picnic in the park. You get some fresh air, have great food and a glass of wine, can relax, and talk with your significant other, friends, family, colleagues, or with whom you picnic. It’s like a mini-vacation. While dressing stylishly for a picnic on the weekend already requires some logistics, dressing for such an event after work or as an office social event is more tricky.

Keep the Venue and Entertainment in Mind

When you do your picnic the classic European way on a large blanket, you may sit on the grass. Thus, grass spots are likely. Accidents happen with food and drinks placed on an uneven surface like a blanket. Thus, add such spots to the list of dangers with respect to your clothes. To avoid lasting harm look for fabrics you can wash hot or at least warm. Best you have a stain remover like a Dryel dry cleaning pen in your bag or picnic basket.

When you do your picnic the American way and bring your folding chairs or use the picnic tables in the park, knits and delicate fabric may get ripped easily. They can get stuck in the chair’s mechanics or on uneven pieces of wood. Therefore, avoid crocheted, loosely knitted, lace clothes or clothes in other delicate fabrics.

Outfit Ideas to Go from Work to Picnic

Sun dresses and printed cotton shirt or fit-and-flare summer dresses are always a winner. At the office, wear a cardigan over them or a blazer to look work appropriate. A wide or flare skirt with a T-shirt or blouse are great separate alternatives to a dress. In both cases, add a hat to keep the sun out of your face and flat shoes, flat mules or flat sandals that you can kick off easily when you sit down on a blanket. The skirt (of the dress) should be wide enough that you can sit down easily and sit comfortably. Great cover-ups are stoles or cardigans for later in the evening after sunset.

When the work picnic is on Friday, and your office has a Casual Friday culture or your office dress code is casual, shorts, or Bermudas with a T-shirt or polo top are great options. Style them with a blazer while at the office. Pants will be a better choice than skirts/dresses, when ball games are planned as part of the picnic entertainment. Add a baseball hat for sun protection. When a soccer or volley ball game are planned, go for canvas sneakers. Otherwise flat sandals do the trick, when the office dress code permits sandals.

Comfort tip: Avoid skinnies or any tight bottoms as they will dig into your belly when you sit when going to a picnic.

What to Wear to a Work Picnic

When you go to a work picnic or head right from work to a picnic, your outfit has to do double duty. It has to fit both dress codes with minimal changes. The OOTD in this post can easily make this change. Just take off the pearls and belt, and swap the pumps for ballet flats and you are picnic ready.

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Do you like picnics? If so, do you attend or organize a lot of picnics in summer? Have you planned a picnic for this summer? Do you use a picnic basket?

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Photos: G. Kramm

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