Haaaaaaaaaapy long weekend! Something on your mind? Chat about it here.
This week’s weekend recommendation comes from Bloomingdale’s Big Brown Bag sale: this lovely, breezy dress. We’d wear it with flipflops to a BBQ party in a friend’s backyard, or strappy, heavy sandals for a night out at a bar with an outdoor space. Was $88, now $70.40, take another 20% off with code EXTRA20 to bring it to $56. Aqua Striped Silk Dress
Liking these posts? Follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook — this is the edited version of what we’re reading! (We also Tweet if we hear about a good sale through our CorporetteDeals Twitter feed.)
- Should Elena Kagan’s sartorial choices be fair game for commentary? How about whether or not she crosses her legs? Robin Givhan at the WaPo writes the article that creates “Dowdygate,” then Mediaite considers whether Givhan was sexist to talk about Kagan’s fashion and mannerisms – while the Columbia Journalism Review collects photographs of Elena Kagan with her legs crossed and proves Givhan wrong (pictured).
- Check your sunscreen, stat: a new study suggests many common sunscreens (and moisturizers, and more) contain ingredients that “may accelerate cancer.” Lovely! AOL reports.
- According to the WSJ, more designers are getting into the market for high-end bags, including Talbots, Ann Taylor, and Abercrombie.
- Fashionista considers great button-downs for the summer. (And we now feel slightly less silly for having called button-front shirts “button downs” for the first 6 months of this blog’s existence. Anyone care to weigh in? Button front? Button-down? Buehler?)
- YouLookFab considers the tricky problem of squeaky shoes.
- WSJ’s The Juggle wonders whether employers love or hate their workaholics.
- The L.A. Times considers what it really takes to get ready for bikini season. (Hint: hard work.)
- Finally: Please sign up for Ann Taylor’s Wear-to-Work Chic Sweepstakes — win a chance to win a $500 Ann Taylor wardrobe, and a career/life/whatEVER consultation with me!
Many thanks to this week’s advertisers:
- Ann Taylor
- Carissa Rose (which, attention DC residents — you can try on her shirts in person and meet the founder in DC this weekend! Details below the ad in our sidebar)
- MySkins
- McAuley’s Unique Boutique
- As well as our advertisers through BlogAds and Project Wonderful!
Our daily TPS reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices.
Happy Friday! 
Reader L alerted us to the sale going on at Calvin Klein– lots of good markdowns, plus $25 off if you spend $100. For today’s TPS, we’re really liking this lovely abstract print (which also comes in blue). We’d keep it simple and wear it with black or, perhaps, white, maybe accented with a pop of a primary color. It’s $29 at CalvinKlein.com (was $39). Ruched Cap Sleeve Top
Today we’re liking this lovely Lola bag from Harveys. It’s made from seatbelts (yes, really) so you know it’s durable, but we like the slight ruffled component to it. We wish the bag were a bit bigger — for anyone taking home piles of paperwork this weekend, you won’t be able to fit too much in there — but for a few folders or a laptop it’ll work just fiiiine. It’s $234 at Zappos.com. Harveys Seatbelt Bag – Lola Satchel (Black) – Bags and Luggage
Reader A has an interesting question about the perennial problem of looking too young…
I’ll be spending this summer in my Michigan hometown working as a student ADA. They’ve even promised to let me try some misdemeanors. My problem is that I will be working in a very small town where many of the people knew me as a child. Furthermore, despite my conservative and classy attire (thanks for your help on that!) people still guess I am a mature 20 year old, rather than the 26.5 year old I really am! I’ve decided that the problem might be my long hair, which falls approximately in the middle of my back. My boyfriend, like most guys, doesn’t want me to cut my hair into an “old lady hairstyle.” Can you recommend an appropriate place between sorority girl and dowdy matron? How long is too long?
Hair is a highly personal thing — it really depends on the woman, her stature, how she carries herself, and more. Most will tell you that a length somewhere between your shoulders and the top of your bra strap in the back is acceptable. Some women look great with it longer than that; some don’t. (For this author, for example, hair that reaches the bottom of my bra strap makes me look as if I’m headed to Woodstock.) We would also suggest you consider your makeup carefully for the summer — a bare face can look just as young as an overdone face, as readers have noted previously. (Pictured: Long Hair, originally uploaded to Flickr by madaise.)
If you really don’t want to cut any of your hair, we would advise you to learn how to put it up in a way that is professional yet flattering. For example, we’ve written before of our love for the low ponytail tucked-into-itself, and we recently(ish) saw the blogger at I Am Style-ish describe how she did a big bun. Real Simple also recently described how to do a “quick” French twist and YouTube is filled with women talking about their hair, in depth. Even just a big claw can help you pull your hair up in a way that’s flattering.
If you do end up deciding to cut your hair, please consider donating it — you have to cut at least 8″, but it can make a difference in someone’s life.
Readers, how long do you think is too long? What are your favorite up-dos for the office?
Our daily TPS reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices.
Today’s shirt was actually recommended in the comments a while back — as a reminder, ladies, if you find anything in your browsing/shopping/buying that seems great for the TPS report, please pass it on! In any event, we do like this beautiful silk top from Talbots — it’s like a more dressed-up version of a t-shirt, and we love that it has sleeves. (We also love that it comes in petites, plus, and plus-sized petites.) It’s also on sale — as are a number of other great pieces, so browse around. Was $80, now $37.50 at Talbots. Antique floral cap-sleeve blouse
If you’d like to recommend a piece for the TPS report, please email [email protected] and put “TPS” in the subject line. Thank you!
