We’re still on an abbreviated posting schedule (don’t forget the holiday open thread!), but here are some of our top posts from 2009… after the jump!
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summer internships
Because the usual author is on her honeymoon, today’s reader mail has graciously been answered by City Girl, who writes about a variety of topics pertaining to city living as a professional woman, including beauty and fashion for the workplace. City Girl is also an associate at a law firm in Washington, D.C.
I am wondering if you can do a post on what kind of make-up is appropriate for the office. Do you have to wear make-up at all? If so what should you wear? Are there particular brands you recommend? Any advice on this would be very helpful.
Office-appropriate makeup goes a long way towards adding polish to your image as a professional woman. It is not mandatory, nor need it be complicated or time-consuming, but it really adds to looking put-together – plus who doesn’t have a bad complexion day where you want to reach for concealer? I am personally of the school that if you wear makeup to feel put together when you interview, then you should wear makeup as a summer associate, because it will help you feel confident and put-together all summer. Either way, even if you don’t plan to wear much (or any) makeup, do consider some of the products below. If you had to pick just three products, I would recommend tinted moisturizer, mascara or eyeliner and some sort of lip a product.
Foundation
Light coverage is best as it makes you look natural and polished and it’s easy to work with. I am a huge fan of tinted moisturizers and my top three picks for tinted moisturizer are Bobbi Brown, Laura Mercier (this comes in an oil-free version as well) and Smashbox. Bobbi Brown’s has the most range of colors, though all three have a fair number of shades. All three have good sun protection, and are very much fool-proof in that you can just apply with your fingertips and be done. If you are not used to wearing makeup often, this is a good way to add polish without fuss, foundation brushes and sponges or the risk of applying too much. It’s worth it to get matched at the department store though the beauty of tinted moisturizer is that it blends into your skintone because it is sheer. Another advantage to tinted moisturizer is that it survives summer heat much better than a medium or full coverage foundation.
Concealer
If you are blessed with good skin, a tinted moisturizer will be enough. If not, you will want two kinds of concealer – a soft creamy one for under your eyes and a more pigmented one for any redness or blemishes. I love Laura Mercier’s Undercover Compact because it has both in a tidy little compact and some setting powder too. Perfect for touch-ups during the day. Incidentally, you don’t need to buy the taklon brush Laura Mercier recommends – just buy this Eco-Tools set. The concealer brush is very similar to the Laura Mercier brush, and the other brushes will take care of what you need for eyes and powder and blush
Powder
Again, you want light coverage – the best way to achieve that is with a finely milled powder. Some swear by loose powder for morning application and pressed powder for daytime touchups, but I think it’s fine to just invest in one pressed powder. That way you can use it in the morning and keep it in your purse for touch-ups. If you don’t get a transluscent powder, don’t try to mix and match colors across brands without testing the powders at the store. Generally, it’s just easier to buy the powder from the same place you bought the tinted moisturizer. The powder brush from the Eco-Tools set works great for both loose and pressed powder.
Blush
I love blush, but I don’t think your time as a summer associate is a good time to have lots of different blush looks. Use something very neutral and/or rosey and stick with it for the summer. I was a big fan of Laura Mercier’s Rose Petal when I was a summer, and her Wild Bouquet is lovely too. Nars has some good colors (just pick a color without chunky shimmer) that last and last and last, as does Bobbi Brown’s – just try blushes from their blush rather than their shimmer blush line. If you want to go the drugstore route, I like a lot of the blushes from Almay’s Pure Blends line — they are sheer and blend well.
Bronzer
Be very sparing with bronzer – you don’t want to look sunburnt – but it can give a nice glow. You could use it instead of blush, or with blush, as long as you use sparingly. I think Nars Casino and Laguna are great and don’t oxidize and go orange, and their slight shimmer is just the right amount to give a light glow without being too shimmery. I also really like Laura Mercier’s matte bronzers. If you get a drugstore bronzer, test it several times before using – the biggest downside of bronzer is that it can go orange, and that happens with many low-, medium- and high-end bronzers.
Eye makeup
The operative phrase here is a clean eye look – one base shadow (over some sort of a primer) that is close to your eyelid color, with just enough lightness to brighten up and open the eye, liner on the upper lids, and mascara. Crease shadow is not necessary but if you do want to do crease work, go for taupe. My absolutely foolproof combination for summer makeup that does not melt is Bobbi Brown’s Cream Eye Shadow as a base/primer followed by a dusting of either Bobbi Brown or Laura Mercier powder eye shadow (I prefer Sateen or Matte), and either Bobbi Brown gel liner or Clinique Cream Shaper Eyeliner and Organic Wear Mascara. If you have oily lids, Urban Decay’s Primer Potion is magic as primer, but otherwise the Bobbi cream shadow is great because it gives you the primer/base effect and some pigment. For mascara, pick something water-resistant and basic that doesn’t irritate your eyes. The only eye makeup item I really recommend not getting at the drugstore is a primer/cream base – everything else can easily be bought at the drugstore – Almay’s Pure Blends line is a good place to start. And avoid any liners that get too smudgey.
Lips
You will want something matte and understated, that enhances your lip color without being too flashy – also known as Your Lips But Better (YLBB). Besides avoiding anything too glossy, you have tons of choices. I often do just a basic tinted lip balm or lip stain as they are long-lasting, hydrating and give me just a bit of color, but a good basic lipstick works well too.
A note on makeovers at cosmetics counters…
…If you get one, go to Bobbi Brown or Laura Mercier. As someone who has had makeovers and owns makeup from pretty much every brand out there, I can assure you their makeup artists are really well-trained to put together an easy professional look suitable for all ages, including women in their 20s and 30s. In fact, that type of understated, low-shimmer but enhancing look is the cornerstone of these two brands. Bobbi and Laura makeup artists will understand what you mean if you ask for an understated professional look, with a clean eye, and will help you choose products and colors accordingly. Ask about how to line your upper lids if you don’t know how – I have received excellent tutorials that way. That said, as you can see from my recommendations above, the only things I really recommend buying high-end is tinted moisturizer/foundation, powder, concealer, and eyeshadow base. If cost is a concern, skip bronzer – it’s hard to find a good inexpensive one. Everything else (blush, shadows, mascara, even liner) you can easily get at the drugstore. I would say get the makeover before the drugstore shopping trip, because then you will have colors in mind when you shop.
Have a wonderful summer and feel free to ask questions here in the comments or over on my blog.
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We’ve had a great time reading the comments on our “putting together your wardrobe” post on Monday — it brings to mind so, so many memories of summers past where we’d think, HOW in the name of God did X get through high school, let alone college, with this thick a skull? Especially in this economy, you need more than just the smarts and scores that got you past the admissions office — you need survival skills and street savvy. And, in case it needs to be said: No summer should feel entitled to anything. Here are some from our “greatest hits” list — please add more in comments. Pictured: The Return of Bozo, originally uploaded to Flickr by Photo Mojo.
- If your company or firm invites you to a closed-door meeting of any kind — deposition, mediation, etc. — please do not check your Blackberry. Seriously, I’ve sat in depositions with six people, and the partners and the associates and the witness are taking the day’s events seriously — and the summer associate is sitting there checking their Blackberry. Tell your secretary where you are; you can check your Blackberry when the partner does. And yo, that game of Brickbreaker can wait.
- In the same kind of meeting, I’ve sat next to summer associates who took their shoes off under the table. Say what? Seriously? Shoes stay on.
- No gum. Where? Anywhere, if you can help it, but use this rule of thumb: are you outside your office? Then swallow your gum.
- Here’s another tip — try to make it seem as if you enjoy academic endeavors. Fake it if you must, but avoid saying things like:
- Oh, yuck, the library? I hate reading.
- Yeah, sorry I got all those details wrong; I’m really more of a big picture guy. (Great! We’ll just tell the partner/CEO to take a vacation, then.)
- If your back (and computer screen) faces the door/hallway, special rules apply. 1) If you wear a thong, it should never, ever, show. (Really, this goes for any underwear, but we would vastly prefer to see the top of someone’s boyshorts to the top of someone’s G-string.) Test ALL of your pants and skirts for whether you can sit and bend in them without compromising yourself. 2) Facebook, shopping websites, even Corporette (yes, it pains us to say this) should be considered, by you, off limits during the workday. You could shut your door, of course, but that’s bad for summer associates — and if your screen is at all visible you don’t want to be seen goofing off. Even if you have no work at all, sit down and write a letter to a friend, or get some newsletters/legal magazines from the library to read through. (In fact, employers not only have the right to check your computer’s browsing history and so forth, but it’s also been reported that more than 70% do so. Keep this in mind while browsing the Internet this summer.)
- Urban legends abound from people who drank too much at summer events — don’t be one. We’ve talked before about what your drink says about you, but in this economy, be conservative. We’d suggest taking one glass of wine and holding it. No drinking until the afterparty — and there, go with the ratio of one drink to one diet Coke (or glass of water or club soda or whatever). And please, please, don’t decide it’s a great time to taste different bottles of champagne or to invite your six girlfriends who don’t work at the firm but really want to meet the guys you work with.
Those are the tips that come to mind for us — readers, please add your own…
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We’ve had a number of requests for how to build your wardrobe for a summer internship, so ladies, this one’s for you!
Suits. Yes, you will need more than one suit, but not as many as you think. For example, readers asked if they needed 10-15 suits (and we’re hoping the person asking if they needed 100 suits either made a typo or was exaggerating). We would say you need about 3-5 suits, to be worn whenever you know for sure you’ll be seeing a partner, executive, or other VIP that day. Keep an extra suit in your office if at all possible. Your basic suits should be:
1) Your standard interview suit in black, navy, or gray. Hopefully you took our advice and got it in a seasonless fabric, and you bought a suit that had multiple matching pieces (e.g., a jacket, pants, skirt, and a dress). Get them drycleaned as soon as they begin to smell, or approximately every 4-5 wearings.
2) As many other suits that your budget can afford that are like your interview suit, but in other colors — these suits will last you for several years, so it’s well worth it to invest $500-$1000 in suiting. If you can’t afford suits as nice as your interview suit, check out sales as well as:
- outlet stores — Filene’s, TJ Maxx, Nordstrom’s Rack — all frequently have suits available for anywhere from $60-$200. These will typically be suit sets (not mix-and-match pieces the way Theory or J.Crew are) and will be in polyester blends. Try to get the most conservative suit they have that fits you well in sedate colors (black, navy, beige, gray). Watch out for details that date the suit, like puffed sleeves, Peter Pan collars, and ruffled skirts
- large department stores — Macy’s has a huge suit selection, for example, with tons of Tahari suits available for under $150
- outlet malls, like Woodbury (in upstate New York) or Leesburg (outside D.C.) — they frequently will have outlet stores of Banana Republic, Kasper, Tahari and Brooks Brothers, as well as larger department store outlets (like Barney’s and Off Fifth) that will have discounted suits.
- mall stores, like Express, Limited, Victoria Secrets — they will have lower-quality suits that should at least last you a summer, although the fabrics might not wear well during the summer
- We would advise avoiding eBay and consignment stores unless you know exactly what you’re looking for.
Other pieces. Now that you’ve got your suits, we would advise getting a few other pieces to wear as separates throughout the summer. This may sound weird (and please debate in comments!) but we would advise buying other separates — intended by the retailers as separates — for everything by below because fabrics and colors are often hard to match. For example, a pair of gray Gap pants and a black jersey sweater blazer look fine together — but a pair of gray suit pants worn with a black suit jacket just looks like you’re trying to mix things that don’t match. This may seem like a boring list, but it’s intended to be a skeletal one — your personality and tastes should fill in the rest of the picture; these are just the building blocks to get you started. Our list of these basic separates:
- 2-3 pairs of nice trousers (not too tight, not too lose; they can be as simple as Gap or Old Navy as long as they fit well)
- at least one pencil skirt in a basic color like black or gray
- 5-10 nice tops to wear beneath suits or on top of trousers in flattering colors — again, they don’t have to be fancy, but they have to fit well and look nice (not washed out). If you want to be very efficient here, buy tops in the same color range as your suits — for example, if you’ve got a black suit and gray trousers, buy t-shirts in cool colors (blue, purple, green) to compliment those accessories. If you’ve got a brown suit and some nice beige slacks, get warmer colors like reds and oranges.
- a black fitted blazer (look for one in a stretch cotton or jersey for versatility — keep it at the office to throw on in emergencies)
- a neutral sheath dress in a flattering shape
- at least one twinset in a good fabric (possibly in white so you can wear the sweater beneath brown/beige/gray/navy suits, and wear the cardigan over sheath dresses and trousers). If you look for a twinset that does not have a ribbed, banded bottom, you’ll have more options with it.
- Another cardigan, possibly, in black or white
Accessories. The summer job is really more about avoiding inappropriate accessories than buying fabulous ones — as you go forward in your career you’ll want to invest the most heavily in shoes and bags. For the summer, we say that a pair of black leather pumps that you can walk in is really all you NEED. Otherwise, don’t wear:
- open-toed shoes
- sandals
- any shoes that look too sexy (heeled gladiators, platforms, etc)
- shoes you can’t walk in
- overly blinged-out accessories (e.g., brooches with sequins)
- bracelets
- earrings that noticeably dangle (they should be as close to your earlobe as possible)
- anything that makes sound when you walk down the hallway carrying or wearing it (slingbacks and mules, we’re looking at you)
- athletic accessories — sneakers or flipflops are fine if you must for the commute, but the second you get inside you should change to work shoes — we’d also advise women to avoid backpacks and other gym bags. If you don’t have something, check out our recent suggestions for good bags.
These seem, to us, the bare basics for a working wardrobe. A final piece of advice — never walk in the hall with your arms uncovered — wear your suit jacket, sweater, or fitted blazer. Readers, what say you?
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We got this request in from a reader, and thought we might resurrect an old feature — The Hunt — in which we look for a great basic, available now, in a variety of price points. Here’s the request:
As an incoming summer associate at a large NY firm, I’ve been wondering – what kind of bag would be appropriate? I’ve been told that Longchamp is too casual, and would be interested to hear your thoughts on it. I don’t want to break the bank before I’ve even made my first paycheck, but would like something nice and versatile that will last a long time. Any thoughts would be appreciated!
We would actually disagree with that — we think Longchamp is fine for a big tote bag. It’s functional (fits a ton of papers), is made well (is strong enough to carry a ton of papers) and — especially if you get the black on black versions available in Canada or at the physical stores in New York City, quite appropriate for work.
However, it’s a bit doubtful that a) you’ll HAVE that much paperwork to lug around over the summer, and b) NEED to lug that much paperwork with you to or from work functions like lunches and client meetings. For your purposes as a summer associate, you should be on the hunt for a purse large enough to hold a notepad (preferably legal-sized), but not so huge that you can’t tuck it under your seat at the work-sponsored theater outing. Ideally, look for something with multiple compartments — you should be able to zipper up your personal items like make-up and feminine supplies, yet find your pens and Blackberry quickly. You’ll also want something fairly sleek — something you can wear over your shoulder (leaving your hands free for cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, of course) yet keep close enough to your body that you won’t run the risk of knocking other people’s cocktails out of their hands. We’ve looked for bags in black, which can be worn with any color; if you wear less black you may want to look for a bag in white or brown. Leather looks nicer, but canvas or nylon is much, much lighter. The current trend seems to be for bags that are more vertical than horizontal; if you get one of these we’d suggest having anything you might need quickly (lip gloss, pen, business card) in your jacket pocket rather than the bag so you don’t have to dig through it — nothing’s more unprofessional than being up to your elbows hunting around your bag.
That said, it can be challenging to find this ideal bag, particularly in a reasonable pricepoint. Our first line of attack would probably be to try discount stores like TJ Maxx, Filene’s, and DSW.
That said, here are our suggestions from what we could find online…
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We like the size and unique look of this black tapestry fabric bag with leather trim. We like that there are three big compartments inside the bag, as well as multiple zippered pockets (and a spot for your cell phone!) Originally $120, currently $96 at eBags.com. Green Street Designs Handbag Sierra Madre Black Tapestry Tote Black |
| This one is slightly more expensive, but looks more standard and has a bit of a designer name attached to it — Ben Sherman’s briefcase. The 9″ straps are definitely big enough to put over your shoulder; we also like that it has feet, so you can set it on a restaurant’s floor without too much fear. We wish it had more by way of internal compartments, but it’ll do — especially given that it’s only $109 at Endless.com. Ben Sherman Nylon Hold All Briefcase |
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Don’t be too alarmed by the neon orange — the bag also comes in a slew of other colors, including black. Again, we wish this came with more interior pockets, but we like the size, the lightweight nylon, as well as the leather accents. Available at Nordstrom.com for $325. kate spade ‘union square – simone’ satchel |
| We’ve heard great things about the Foley + Corinna tote — we particularly like that it can be used as a regular purse when you don’t need to carry papers with you, but it converts to a North/South tote if you need the space. Available at ShopBop for $444. Foley + Corinna Supple Mid City Tote |
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We’ve been fans of Kooba bags for a few years now — the leather is so supple and the bags are thoughtfully designed — to wit, interior pouches and pockets abound here. We particularly love that the Natasha bag expands via the twist-lock flaps on the side. Was $645, now $452 at RevolveClothing.com. Kooba Handbags Classic Natasha Bag in Black |
| We featured this one in blue a while back for one of our TPS Splurges, but we thought we’d mention it again in black. We like that this one is definitely contained — it’s just big enough for a notepad and your personal items, which is perfect. It’s available at Neiman Marcus for $995. Marc Jacobs Casey North-South Tote |  |
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Hello, gorgeous. If you’re in the mood for spending your first paycheck (and then some!) on a bag, we present to you: the Nancy Gonzalez crocodile-skin bag, also available in black. Available at Neiman Marcus for $3,650. Nancy Gonzalez Croc Tote |
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