Splurge Monday’s Workwear Report: Waverly Sculpt Stretch Crepe Dress
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Our daily workwear reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices.
This dress from The Fold comes in what the brand calls a “spring green” color, but I’d be pretty excited to wear it this fall. The geometric neckline has an effect that’s similar to a V-neck but with a little more flare.
I would add some chocolate brown accessories to make the color feel a little more autumnal, but this is a stand-alone piece that doesn’t need too much added to it.
The dress is $565 at The Fold and comes in U.S. sizes 0-12.
Sales of note for 9/11:
- Nordstrom – End of season clearance, up to 50% off
- Ann Taylor – 30% off your purchase + extra 15% off when you spend $200
- Anthropologie – Extra 50% off sale! The reader favorite wide leg pants come down crazy low in some colors/fabrics, but they're down to lucky sizes
- Athleta – 30% off select styles (including my favorite sweatshirts as well as these reader favorite pants) + extra 30% off sale
- AYR – Archive sale, up to 60% off
- Boden – 15% off new styles – readers love these dresses, and their double-layer line of tees
- CVS – Epic beauty sale, $10 off when you spend $30
- Design Within Reach – the semiannual sale, 25% off everything! (readers love the Herman Miller Aeron and Sayl!)
- J.Crew – Up to 40% off select styles
- J.Crew Factory – 50% off all stores, plus an extra 10% off when you buy a pair of jeans
- Me & Em – Sale! Up to 60% off (new lines just added, exclusively online)
- M.M.LaFleur – Labor Day Sale Event, save sitewide! (Try code CORPORETTE15 for 15% off on other items)
- Nordstrom Rack – Extra 40% off select clearance
- Talbots – Buy one get 50% off everything
- Theory – End of season sale is on!
I have an older version of this dress (when it came to the knee vs. midi length) and it was perfect for headshots – formal but the neckline gives a nice amount of interest.
It’s gorgeous
I had the JCrew Origami dress which I loved for similar reasons.
How do you think about dressing more authoritatively in a very casual office?
I work at a tech adjacent company . Everyone dresses in a range from pretty casual to business casual light. A dress like the one featured today would be too formal though.
I am also one of the few women leaders in my department. It’s not the type of office where anyone would ever say anything about how I’m dressed, but I want to look like the boss without looking out of place.
What do others in this position wear? More casual third pieces? Smart casual? For example I’ve gotten a lot of mileage out of interesting but work appropriate dresses – and one has (small) polka dots!
I have this same challenge. I’ve been shopping for pants with some interest, like tailored but super wide-legged, with fitted tops and a third piece like a jardigan or cropped jacket. I think good shoes and some jewelry for a finished and deliberate look are helpful, too.
How about dressing more intentionally? Not sure anyone ever succeeds in giving off “authority” through their clothes.
I absolutely hate wearing jackets, but I think a jacket gives the authoritative look. I’m not great at clothing, so I cannot explain why. But a woman in particular wearing a jacket gives off more of that vibe than a woman in a dress or blouse only or who is wearing a sweater.
I won’t comment on the fact that men don’t seem to need a jacket to convey the same message; oh wait, I just did.
Part of me thinks this is in your head.
I don’t think this is in their head at all. When you go to conferences or big meetings the men are usually wearing slacks & button downs without a blazer but all the women are either wearing an interesting blazer of some type or an interesting dress that doesn’t need a blazer.
The men are always in blazers at the conferences I go to, maybe not a tie but always a jacket.
I think its more pronounced in industries with a more casual dress code actually. The men went formal -> casual end of business casual. The women stayed more formal.
It’s going to differ by industry though! I just definitely wouldn’t say its in someones head. The whole reason this blog exists is that clothes do affect how people perceive you.
Fairly casual base topped with a cool blazer. Keep the accessories high end: Good shoes, interesting glasses, smart jewelry.
I think you have to be careful with the glasses. I can always tell who thinks “glasses with an edge” is a thing.
Maybe? I would choose glasses with an edge over drab, old fashioned safe choices in tech, unless they’re so outdated that it is its own fashion statement.
Yeah. I think modern or “edgy” glasses are a nice accent to a look.
Where do you buy blazers or jackets from?
I think it just can’t be a cardigan. Needs to have some structure. I’m wearing like a linen tommy bahama jacket today which also works.
J. Crew, MM LaFleur, Me&Em.
My uniform is trouser jeans, a blouse and a blazer or sometimes a blazer as a top and polished shoes. Hair done and lipstick. C-suite, also casual company.
+1 very similar. colored jeans get a lot of runway for me as well, especially white trouser jeans. And the blazers/jackets are more fun/interesting than formal environments would wear.
I also feel more polished since I started getting regular manicures – not required at all for any others, but it makes me feel a step up.
OP you can also make a more formal outfit more casual by layering on jewelry, if that is your style.
I love jewelry so definitely can do that.
This is actually what our CEO does wear – not too fancy a top but nice statement jewelry.
I agree with the manicures. TBH I think it just makes me feel better, I’m not sure how much other people notice.
I made the comment above and all of this – especially have fun with jackets and jeans and wear real jewelry.
I understand the dilemma! I have recently started dressing more “authoritatively” in my somewhat casual office now that my role has grown. The biggest change for me has been spending a few extra minutes on hair and makeup each day. I also put away my dress pant yoga pants and sweater cardigans. I love them, but I did not feel as professional in them! I also try to follow trends a little more each season. Nothing wild, but things like “espresso brown is big this season, let me find one or two work tops with that color”.
I actually am happy to “blend in” clothing wise!
Better quality basics. Think pressed button downs with thick cotton, nice knitwear, good trousers. Intentionaluxbish on insta normally has some good inspiration for brands to shop.
Getting married in 40 days! Your best wedding day advice, tips, and tricks greatly appreciated!
We are doing a first look, anticipating 140-150 guests, and have a planner.
Stand up straighter than you think for pictures. Congrats!!
+1. I really wish I stood up straight and put my shoulders back.
Don’t start drinking until you’re done with your first dance. Force yourself to eat lunch and drink water. Don’t stress if you’re running late while getting ready- the wedding won’t start without you! Remember that your guests have no idea what the detailed plan looks like so they won’t notice if dessert is served 10 minutes late or the card box isn’t on the right table.
Remember what matters: Marrying the love of your life. The rest is just background noise.
Hold the bouquet lower than you think when taking photos. Your instinct will be to hold it near your waist, but it will look better in the pics if held lower.
+1, it depends somewhat on the size of the bouquet. Mine wound up being larger than I expected and I had to be reminded to lower it in every photo. Make sure the stems are either wrapped, or covered in some way so you don’t stain your dress!
Definitely hold it lower!
About the logistics of the day – perspective. Something will go wrong, but odds are it’s only you and the planner that will actually know, and ideally only the planner!
If you need notes for your vows, write them on a pretty notecard. Don’t be holding your phones at the altar. While on the topic, assign someone to monitor your phone and also take alllll the good pics of you both, the scene, etc. for you. Like, pick the friend that always has the best posts – has an eye for lighting, framing, etc.
Aside from that… prioritize experiencing the reception with your new spouse! It’s all too easy to get tugged in different directions.
I mean your wedding photographer is really who should be doing that and capturing your friend enjoying herself at your wedding.
I think it’s meaningful to get photos from friends; some of them just know us better than any hired professional, even a really talented one, and the pro can’t be everywhere at once.
Yeah that too, but people tend to be more relaxed around friends and phones vs. the photographer, and it will really scratch the itch of seeing pics from the day before you get the official ones! I’d be happy to do this for a friend.
At some point, somebody is going to come to you with a cost you hadn’t anticipated but apparently need to anticipate (extra gratuities, a runner, suddenly realizing you need to rent extra heaters/fans/whatever). The cost will range but your immediate reaction will be ‘omg, I can’t believe we’re spending more money.’
When this happens, just laugh and yell ‘bingo!’ in your head. It will happen and it’s fine. Coincidentally – today is my anniversary and I’m still pretty thrilled that I got married to that dude. He’s my #1 supporter and the best teammate I could ask for.
Do a full walk through with your planner a few days early (not the day before) if possible – easier to fix issues with more than 24-hours notice. Hand off your phone and instruct your planner who your ‘fix it’ person is if you truly don’t want to be bothered day of. Have cash set aside for tips and make sure your planner gives those out so you don’t have to. Eat! I was starving at the end of the night since people kept interrupting us during dinner.
At one point, ideally at least 2 days before the wedding, make the decision to no longer care about any problems or anything going wrong or anyone’s logistical issues, and just get your head into the moment and enjoy the ride. I remember making that decision at 4 pm two days before my wedding – and having the absolute BEST time after that.
+100 Million.
Yup, this. Also, as someone with a rainy day wedding – it seemed like the worst at the time, but at the end of the day it didn’t matter. I got to marry the love of my life and we had an amazing time and the rain stopped just enough for us to get some gorgeous outdoor pictures. And apparently it’s good luck!
At least for me, 6 weeks before the wedding is when everyone went crazy. People come flying in with last-minute requests that cannot possibly be accommodated; vendors drag their feet and waffle and won’t lock things down; it’s just a nightmare of riding herd on people who think that weddings have some magical exemption from the basic adult life requirement to just lock things down and move on.
(Yeah I was miserable.)
The language that I wish I had used is: “Too many moving parts,” then insert whatever you need. Last minute request that upends the whole thing? “Too many moving parts; let’s do that next family wedding!” Vendor won’t lock down? “Too many moving parts; we need to get this inked today.” Someone wants to change up something that’s already at the printer? “Too many moving parts; it will just have to do.”
HAVE FUN!!!
personally i didnt really drink at my wedding other than a few sips of champagne and was very glad abotu that decision. hydrate during the day. switch into comfortable shoes.
but really – HAVE FUN
Do everything you can to avoid getting sick between now and then. I got Covid about 3 weeks before my wedding and it really sucked.
Practical advice – have a plan for how you are going to go to the restroom. Whoever it is, just accept that you are going to be really close with her in a handicapped stall as she holds layers of crinoline as you hover.
Food – Order chicken fingers from room service as soon as you get back to your room after the wedding. That way you won’t be hungry as you and your spouse spend the next 40 minutes taking hundreds of pins out of your hair. Order double fries so no one needs to share.
I love this dress and everything from The Fold, but I would feel overdressed in almost every work setting.
This dress is lovely and I wouldn’t hesitate to wear this to my office if it came in my size. I don’t find the length flattering on me though.
I love the cut but despise this color. And green is my favorite color! Just a tough shade.
I love this color but cannot wear it. It reminds me of Froot Loops which makes me smile.
+1
How do you get a good read on the weekend vibe at a SLAC? I have a kid who isn’t a partier. If there is nothing to do on weekends but study or drink a lot and the vibe tips to drinking a lot, she isn’t going to like it. At a huge school, she could find her crowd. She prefers a SLAC otherwise. Her friends are all at SEC schools and I went to a work hard / party harder college, so of no help at all. Maybe now that many colleges are > 60% women, the culture is just quieter?
Let her make her own choice, even if she hates it.
I went to a college I hated for financial reasons but am glad I had that experience. If somebody else in my life had picked my college, maybe it would have been better, but that’s not what being an autonomous human looks like.
And as a note – yes, there is less partying now than their used to be… but even at a top party school you find your group – whether the a cappella group or the club sport or the volunteer kids or the (shared identity) group. Nothing is certain.
IDK, even at small schools, there are always people who opt out of that scene.
Princeton Review usually talks about this.
Campus cultures are different, but in general I would expect that a huge school would be a harder fit and a harder place to find one’s crowd for a non-partier than a SLAC unless it’s truly just a party school. My SLAC was considered work hard, party hard back in the day, and parties were still more socially optional than at the huge schools I’m familiar with, and the vibe was a lot quieter.
What does she want to be doing on weekends? I went to a small school in a rural location and was part of outing club and would go camping and hiking. I was also in an engineering team and would work on those projects, or work in a lab on weekends. We also had a D1 sports team and would go to those games on weekends with the rest of the university.
I did go to parties as a way of being out with other people, not to get wasted. That’s just part of college.
I think at a SLAC it is doubly hard because many of them are so remote (Sewanee, some places in the NEUS), that if you aren’t from around there and don’t have a car, you can be a sad SOL kid until you can transfer to a place that hopefully you get right the second time.
I partied a LOT in college, but some people I met later went to remote SLACs with just terrifying levels of drinking. At a big school, you can at least see who is in and working (or in the non-social library floors with you) when everyone else is out drinking. Like the bible study and FCA kids all knew each other and were pretty close. I think it’s also hard to be a transfer student (socially).
I went to a NEUS SLAC in a very remote area as a non-drinker, and this wasn’t my experience at all. The party scene seemed all-encompassing from the outside, but I met people on my orientation trip and people on my floor that were not into partying, and they formed the basis for a wonderful group of people whom I’m still friends with thirty years later. We hung out on our own sometimes, went to parties other times, worked at the campus coffeehouse on Friday evenings, and got involved in a lot of clubs. Even when we went to keggers, there was no pressure to drink. The 6-man suite of junior and senior men across the hall kept juice in their fridge for me, and double checked that my drinks were safe (unasked!) when we were at parties elsewhere. I would have your kid look for clubs that they are interested in and find out how active they are, but there are plenty of ways to have fun without partying, even at hard core party schools.
The worst scene is a school where everyone goes home on weekends.
Agreed. But that doesn’t sound like a SLAC (at least the ones that pull from all over the US). In my state, it’s the schools that started as commuter campuses of a State U that now have some dorms, but starting as freshman, you have a roommate that leaves every weekend b/c her boyfriend is back in her hometown (which is <2 hours away). It's not like that at the main campus. But because kids are at a SLAC all the time but probably aren't working F or S night, what do you do? There is wide range between vomit on the stairs every Wednesday and just having a social activity you can go to on the fly to relax, have fun, and meet people.
There are SLACs that are more regional where a lot of kids do go home on the weekends.
Other than whether everyone leaves or stays over the weekend, I think the idea of gauging the “weekend vibe” is a red herring. It’s really about the general culture and whether you can find your people. If you aren’t a partier and everyone else is, you won’t fit in on weekdays either. If you’re a liberal artsy kid you are not going to be happy at a school that’s focused mainly on business (yes, some SLACs are moving in this direction). You can get a pretty good read on culture from a campus visit while classes are in session. When my daughter visited colleges she was quickly put off by those that weren’t a good cultural fit, and she accurately identified the one that best fit her values and priorities.
You can find any crowd at every school.
Not really. Students do sometimes transfer over this and find that the grass is far, far greener elsewhere.
it has been many many years since i visited colleges, but i recall visiting Amherst and our tour guide (who truthfully shouldn’t have been giving tours) said there was nothing to do on the weekend except for play cards. also – i was NOT a partier in high school, and not a big drinker, but definitely became more of a partier in college (though i still would not have described myself as a ‘party girl’) and compared to some others I was not at all a ‘party girl,’ but had my share of fun
Just let your autistic daughter go to college wherever she wants to go.
My college example is that when I went, we had kegs and all of the main social action was on campus or at a handful of bars across the street. The bars are still there, but all of the on-campus partying has been pushed off campus. I think this is, risk and headline-wise, better for the college, but worse for everyone, particularly for freshmen (girls can easily go to off-campus parties, but at their peril; boys aren’t welcomed generally unless they are already fraternity pledges or have older friends). It’s probably good for the Uber drivers. IDK how many other colleges operate like this now, particularly at schools where only freshmen live on campus, but it seems like it gets you away from easily walking through familiar areas and using a buddy system to stay safe when you try to go out.
Your daughter should be leading the charge on this. She can find current students to talk to during an on campus tour, through a program organized by the admissions office, or (ideally) using her own network.
That’s kind of the problem with SLACs though — they are small! I don’t know that I’d have known someone who went Davidson or W&L or Bucknell or Smith. I had seen Love Story and Animal House and that is what I thought colleges were like.
This is not a real problem. When I was a recent SLAC grad, admissions had some prospective students contact me. It was fine.
I should add that I wouldn’t have talked to their moms! The person who is actually going to be attending the college needs to be getting a feel for whether they want to go there.
Beautiful dress. I got an immediate Joan from Mad Men vibe from it, not in a bad way. All it needs is her pen pendant and a brooch. :-D
How are we wearing blouses now?
I don’t see collars now, just a rounded neckline, maybe with pleating (I see on my SM feed; hard to find IRL; it’s mainly too many ruffles for a work piece for my taste). I’d love any good links.
But what I am hating is that pictures are just showing a blouse and pants. Never any jackets (suggesting they may be harder to style, especially since jackets refuse to have full sleeves until winter) or third pieces.
What is a good current “relaxed business” vibe for styling? I can do a full casual look, but need to look more formal without wearing a full suit.
I wear just a blouse with a collar and pants on most days. I put a cardigan over it in colder weather. What are you having difficulty with?
I guess I am struggling with making it look more like a complete outfit and also noticing that when I don’t wear a jacket, the rise of pants can look really weird on me (like if the waist is too high / large because I’m a pear, there is too much fabric and it’s really front-and-center vs more obscured). Pants are so tricky and they are having a moment and I think my body needs a lower rise, at least in the front. Even a belt is no help and just draws the eye in.
You may very well need a lower rise. I prefer a mid or even low rise – my ideal is an 8 inch rise but its hard to find – even petite pants often just shorten the length, not the rise of the pants. I’ve liked the fit of these:
https://bananarepublic.gap.com/browse/product.do?pid=7134731820001&vid=1#pdp-page-content
Should ask AI but I will ask you:
How do you tell a BigLaw client nicely that their insistence on trying to get discounts of 50% when they aren’t a high-volume client is not going to work and no one is going to want to do their work when they can chose work for other clients who pay market rates and actually keep a roof over our heads in terms of volume? The people are nice but there are cost managers insisting it is this way or the high way and if we can’t come to a third way, we will be choosing the highway.
I’d say something like “we value your business, but the attached rates are the lowest we’re able to accommodate for hourly work. If you’d be interested in alternative fee arrangements for specific projects, we can look at that.” That is, if you’re willing to do so!
(What Cat said)
Depending on how valuable the client is, you may explain gently that your rates are market rates, based on a number of considerations, and you would regret seeing them go, but in the spirit of cooperation and in recognition of your long-standing excellent business relationship, your firm is willing to cut your legal services hourly rates by 5% (and then be prepared, if appropriate, to cut your rates by 10% as a retention measure). Needless to say, your firm absorbs the loss as part of overhead/marketing, rather than putting the financial burden for this arrangement on the individual lawyers working on their matters. Bottom line, if they can’t afford your firm, they can’t afford your firm, but if you are a BigLaw firm, you have some price flexibility, given your overall size and volume of work in the aggregate, so there should be procedures in place for this sort of client retention situation.
In-house counsel at a big global company here. I hired my old firm for a specific issue and didn’t realize that our standard engagement letter asks for significant discounts. Had an honest conversation with the Biglaw partner in charge (also a former mentor of mine) and agreed that that much of a discount didn’t make sense for the volume of work we were anticipating. I had a chat with the person on my team who oversees external counsel and we agreed on a much lower discount + some credit on future work. Basically, talk to your client. Hopefully they aren’t idiots and can understand this. I will say it took a while because the downside of a big company is I need a million approvals for everything, but eventually everyone found a mutually beneficial arrangement and we have sent them more work since.
This is good advice. It’s not that you can’t give the discount. It’s more that you need to find a way to work in the discount and they should understand that.
Use Cat’s script.
Having been on the in-house side, I will say that some smaller companies are irrational about hiring BigLaw. Many of these mid-sized companies are owned by PE companies; the PE companies insist on using top-flight law firms for outside counsel, and then also expect the discounts that they enjoy for larger work.
Or the GC is former BigLaw and believes that mid-law cannot get the work done to an acceptable quality. As the cost is all out of proportion to what the company can handle, the company wants discounts.
This to say, unless its company-ending litigation or M&A that fundamentally changes the character of the company, most of the time, BigLaw isn’t appropriate for these low-volume matters.
Getting a total knee replacement in two weeks, and I would greatly appreciate your best knee replacement surgery advice, tips, and tricks. (Off to hand in my surgeon-certified application to the DMV for a handicap parking tag, now that I am two weeks out from the surgery.)
This might be tmi, but get colace and take them~pain meds cause personal plumbing backups. It also helps eat fruit salad, esp with plums and berries. If someone can lend you one of those toilet seat lift things it will be useful.
Be assertive in asking for in-home pt for the 1st 2 weeks.
Long phone charging extension cords.
Follow the surgeon’s instructions exactly as to how long you are supposed to be down and how long you are supposed to be up each hour. I used a timer on my phone for compliance for the first knee and winged it for the second one. The first one was better.
Get a basket for the front of the walker – one with a plastic inset that has a cup holder. This gives you freedom to get your own drinks and carry small items around the house. You can even ferry small loads of laundry etc.
Do the physical therapy, both appts and at home, exactly as prescribed. It’s a massive PIA in my opinion but I followed exactly in the first one and less so on the second, and it showed. If you are having pain and you take the pain meds, time them so that you have maximum efficacy at the time of your pt. If you are having trouble reaching the goal for extension, regularly hanging your heel on an ottoman and letting gravity do the work helps.
If the swelling gets painful or is just more than you want in the moment, get on your back on the floor near a wall, scooch up with your butt to the wall and put your legs straight up the wall. Five minutes helps, ten or fifteen is better. It’s a good time for EarPods with music or a podcast.
If you are having swelling and are able to sleep with your legs elevated, it really helps.
Being released to work and drive has less to do with your post-surgical progress than it does with whether or not you’re taking opiate pain meds. My job is mostly at a desk and I was released at ten and twelve days respectively for my first and second knee replacements because I just didn’t take the pain meds except half a pill before pt appointments for the first knee, which had very painful pt. It helped that I was able to elevate and ice at the office. My admin assistant became accustomed to walking in my office and finding me with my legs up the wall.
They will probably tell you ten months to full recovery. I found that to be true, but also found that I reached an “adequate to go about my usual life” much, much sooner than that. It was just that sometimes I got some swelling and had to elevate and ice at the end of the day.
Good luck to you! It’s not terrible, and you will feel so much better later.
No tips other than do your PT, love your handle :)
Have a rotating schedule of people to help you. When my dad had his knee replacement, my brother did the first 4 days at home, then I did 5 days, then my aunt (his sister) did a week. We needed a fourth person, or else we needed him to spend the first two weeks in a recovery facility. We were all completely wiped out by the time he agreed that a skilled nursing facility was the answer.
Trust your physical therapist on what exercises you need to do, and how much. Then do the exercises. If they hurt beyond aching and soreness (because you will be using muscles that are unaccustomed to moving) tell the therapist.
I have a cheap paperclip style gold tone necklace that I wear all the time. As a birthday gift to myself, I’d like to upgrade it with something in a similar style but higher quality. Does anyone have a recommendation for something ~$300? Is something in that price range actually worth the money? I know nothing about jewelry.
What is your chief dissatisfaction with the current necklace?
I think you’d have to spend a little more for gold (I checked Costco), but you could spend a lot less on gold plated (I checked TJ Maxx). I don’t have an actual recommendation though, except that shopping in person is worth it for things like this.
One of the links has come apart. It’s still wearable, but there is a little gap.
Sometimes a friendly local jeweler can fix this sort of thing for you, and then you can check out their wares while you’re there (or express that you’re looking to upgrade and see what they say!).
Unlikely, you can’t repair plated pieces.
There’s a difference between a good as new repair and just tightening up a gap the way we’d do at home if we had better tools for it. But maybe I’m picturing the issue wrongly.
And thank you!
$300 is not enough to get a real gold necklace with today’s gold prices. I would wait until you can afford it and go to a local jeweler to see what they have. Shop a few if you don’t like the first one you to. Local places that buy gold also tend to have good selections. Don’t waste your money on plated pieces.
I’m looking for some interesting, yet work-appropriate, sweaters. Is Boden my best source for something like this? I am sick to death of black, navy, and camel. Any other ideas? Size 14/16. I know Talbots has color, but that brand has never fit me well.
Boden and Tuckernuck have been good options for me in this category. I find Boden a little twee but they reliably have solid styles in more colorful options. Tuckernuck has more current styles and different types of cuts.
J Crew factory has nice colored sweaters.
Cara Cara, La Ligne, Eleanor Leftwich, are some other options with EL being very spendy but lovely. The others are more affordable.
Alex Mill has a bunch of colors. JCrew has cashmere tees in other colors, including a gorgeous blue, and a classic red. Agree with Boden for other colors, and their cashmere is solid.
I was in Nordstrom Rack this weekend and there were cashmere tees in multiple colors for $59.
Overthinking logistics and looking for input from NYC friends. I have a series of meetings downtown/Financial District and then I am flying out of JFK for fun (totally non-work) reasons in the evening.
I always plan for potential delays, so it makes the most sense to bring my suitcase to the meetings and then grab a coffee before making my way to JFK. I’m a little self conscious because it’s not work travel, but I’m going to just be cool and not overexplain.
First, would you bring a plain roller bag or a backpack style carry-on. Personal item is my OMG2 bag.
Second, is this the best approach? I shouldn’t spend the hour plus to drop my bag at an office uptown and then go all the way downtown to meetings and then have to go back uptown to pick up my bag, right? I’ve always been wary of those luggage storage places but do I use one of those?
It’s so normal for people to have suitcases at work meeting for things like this! Just bring a normal carry on and you can find somewhere to keep it. Some offices have a closet specifically for this.
+1. No one will bat an eye at suitcase in the conference room. I intentionally buy respectable-looking luggage tags knowing clients would see them.
I feel like this is a time when you get to be a normal human being doing normal human things (like dealing with a flight). Take your luggage with you. Use a suitcase or a backpack depending on which one you want to have on the trip, not on what people at the meeting might think. The fact that it’s a flight for fun vs. work is a non-issue. People are allowed to have fun!!
+1. I sometimes think this place does a lot of harm in making women think that everything is a faux pas.
I wouldn’t think twice of someone who had a carryon along for any reason. All else being equal I’d use the roller because a backpack will rumple my outfit if I look at it twice.
Nice pick! Comments above mention interesting blazers. Photos always style them with jeans, but I need them for work pants (often black) and, at least the ones I am drawn to, never quite look right. Any specific recs/links?
Saying it here bc I feel I can’t say this in real life:
I’ve always looked extremely young. Complete baby face here. I’m in my early 30s and my friends are very into anti aging skincare. The other day I saw my reflection during a conference and thought I looked older – and loved it! I look like an adult, not a child. I get that there are reasons to want to look younger when you’re older but I don’t necessarily want to look like I’m in my 20s forever, especially since I looked max 18 then.
If I were turned into a vampire I’d want it to be in my 30s so I looked like that forever.
Some people really do get better looking with age
I’m someone who has passable tailoring/sewing skills. I’m in a season of life where I don’t really have time to make or tailor clothes for myself, nor can I really afford to buy new and get it tailored. (2 kids in daycare…) But gosh, buying clothes off the rack is miserable. Figuring out brands that fit right without too much work feels like a Sisyphean task. How do you guys get clothes that actually fit? I’m tall, skinny, no breasts, but some hips. I’ve also got long monkey arms, so all my winter clothes are oversized or made myself just so that they’re not 3/4 sleeve.
Banana fits me pretty well off the rack, so even though my budget has gone up, it’s BR for life for me. I try on anything new and then re-order new variants of a similar cut when there are sales (Sue Sartor; not really fitted below the waist). I am pretty consistent above the waist but below is a geography that changes on a dime and with a mind of its own, so I am always looking for new items.
Have you looked at buying secondhand and then using the savings to pay for tailoring? The good news is quality is way better on older items, especially pre-Covid clothing.
Spend more on fewer things. A Veronica beard blazer and pants will come tailored to a large extent if you’re thin. Buy and wear those pieces out.
I got some layers cut in my hair and then the humidity kicked up and it looks beyond awful. What products can help flatten it out and de-puff? I am white and my hair is usually flat and limp. Now it’s just looking bad. I think product is the answer because I already blow it dry, which should ensure that it is straight until I go outside to walk the dog (when I have gotten back in after that, even a brush / comb through doesn’t work).
A flat iron is the answer my friend.
Yup
The K18 leave-in hair mask has been a miracle product for me.
I’m presenting at an upcoming conference for my business formal industry. What color finger nail? I was thinking Pink Sands from Olive and June as neutral, but I’m worried it will look too young. For context, I’m late 30s presenting with much older panelists (70s and 80s). I want to appear experienced, but everyone knows I’m on the panel to solicit their “older and wiser” career insights.
No one is going to notice this, wear whatever you want. If I’m going to a conference I do a dark red gel mani.
you’re overthinking but personally I find opaque pastels high-maintenance because, like dark colors, every little chip stands out immediately. For that reason and no other I’d go with a more sheer pink.
No one will notice your nails
In your opinion, if one spouse has a special day off from work when no one else in the family does, are they justified in wanting to take the whole day off, even if there are some errands and chores to be done? I was talking to my best friend last week and her husband, who works for a tribal entity, had a tribal holiday off while she and the kids were at work/school. He was looking forward to having the day off to go fishing but she asked him to take care of some errands first and apparently it turned into a big fight. In her view, all she was asking for was stuff that would take 15 minutes at the most (for 2-3 different things) and he should have done them earlier in the week if he didn’t want them encroaching on the day off. In his view, he should just be “allowed” to have a truly free day without obligations once in a blue moon. Only one task was more urgent – stopping to pick up ear drops for one of the kids at the doctor. The rest was stuff that could have waited but that she wanted done.
I’m of two minds on this – first, I side with my best friend because she’s my best friend and I know for a fact she does the lion’s share of the work in their household, plus ALLLL the mental labor. However, part of me also deeply sympathizes with her husband and that desire that we can all feel (perhaps especially so for outdoorsy people) to have a truly free day in nature. It’s not nothing to delay the nature day by an hour to knock off some chores that aren’t that urgent, especially for fishing when an early start counts. Thoughts on this?