Shikuh Ruinge

Glimpsed: Harbor East

By Tanika White | Sun reporter

October 14, 2007

There was a time (well before I was born) when wearing slacks and a button-up shirt to the office was the domain of professional men.

But, as women have taken over the work force, we've taken over that casual office-wear, too. And, as women will do, we've put our own feminine spin on it.

Take a look at the way Shikuh Ruinge adds color and embroidery to her button-up, and jazzes the pinstripes with pops of yellow and orange.

Add to all that her flirty sandals, and the result is workplace "Wow!"

Age: 28

Residence: Bel Air

Job: Operations business analyst

Self-described style: "I don't have one particular style, but I like to stay in style."

The look: Yellow embroidered button-up shirt. Multicolored pinstriped slacks. Studded brown Calvin Klein belt. Yellow thong sandals. Oversized sunglasses.

Where it came from: Shirt, her mother bought in Europe. Slacks, Long Elegant Legs. Belt, Macy's. Sandals, Nordstrom. Sunglasses, from a New York street vendor.

Style-changer: "My style depends on the occasion. Today, I look this way. Yesterday, I was in jeans; I was very funky. I like to be different but at the same time not look out of place."

Mom and sister help: "As far as work clothes go, my mom does the shopping for me. I'm not exactly good at business shopping. For other things, I like to shop in New York. I like SoHo. My sister lives in SoHo, so when I go to visit her there's a lot of places to go to get good bargains."

Being model-tall makes shopping a challenge: "I mostly find finding pants to be the most difficult part. But I found this place that has really long pants. It's a Web site and they also have a catalog. It's called Long Elegant Legs and they have really long pants."

The other challenge: "I happen to be a little wider on the bottom; that's always also a challenge. You might get something long, however it's not always wide enough."