Oh, come on, you knew it was coming: how can we have a blog about office-appropriate attire without addressing flip-flops? We’re going to have a multi-part quiz…
At left: FitFlops WalkStar Sandals – Silver – Womens
Tuesday Poll: Are flip-flops ever acceptable?
06/17/2008 by
Weekend Round-Up
06/16/2008 by
– The WSJ explores the benefits of a feminine leadership style. [WSJ]
– Advice for those just starting out (or, uh, those who never paid much attention when they started out) regarding healthcare, taxes, and more non-fun adult-type stuff. [NYT]
– Tricky: Philip Galanes advises a boss not to tell an assistant to get a pedicure, even if the female assistant is in need of some serious fashion/grooming help. [Social Q’s – NYT]
– White shoe law firms: no longer conservative in the political sense. [The Volokh Conspiracy] If you’re curious about the political leanings of people in your office, go to Fundrace — it tracks any donations made over $200 in a searchable database.
– Neat: Note that SmartMoney has divided their site into “Life Stages,” including Single, Engaged/Just Married, Families with Young Children (age 0-10) and more. [SmartMoney]
– Miss Manners opines on who can — and can’t — wear white to a wedding. [wOw]
– Wheat pizzas from a box: some are good, some not so much. [WSJ]
Photo above: Case of the Monday’s Mousepad
Weekly Round-Up
06/13/2008 by
– Becky Quick (co-anchor of CNBC’s Squawk Box) gives her advice for how to dress for a job in finance. [Marie Claire via Dealbreaker]
– Under-eye circles: women’s No. 1 beauty concern. [NYT]
– A new site targets women financial advisers: the goal is to empower them with “the information, resources, and sense of community they need to have a successful financial services career and a healthy lifestyle.” [LadyAdvisor.com]
– For those of us who need financial advice, we’re better off getting it from a “laddie” mag like Maxim than from a woman’s mag. [Feminist Finance]
– Do we need women-specific self-help books? [Bookslut via TNR]
– A helpful article on what summer associates need to know before becoming real live lawyers. [Daily Lawyer (free sub req’d)]
– Glassdoor reports on salary and working conditions at various companies. [Glassdoor via Lifehacker]
– How to Find Time for a Job Search. [The Glass Hammer]
– Power naps trump coffee — who knew? [Lifehacker]
– The 125 Healthiest Supermarket Foods in America. [Men’s Health]
– Ever wonder, “How much should I spend for a wedding present?” Smart Money can help. [Smart Money]
Kozinski and the Kinky Photos
06/11/2008 by
We haven’t seen this on other blogs we read, so we had to post: Chief Judge Alex Kozinski of the 9th Circuit apparently had sexually explicit photos on a public website that he didn’t realize was public.
Alex Kozinski, chief judge of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, acknowledged in an interview with The Times that he had posted the materials, which included a photo of naked women on all fours painted to look like cows and a video of a half-dressed man cavorting with a sexually aroused farm animal. Some of the material was inappropriate, he conceded, although he defended other sexually explicit content as “funny.”
Um, yes, funny — that’s undoubtedly exactly what’s going through the thoughts of every woman lawyer who has appeared before him. This sort of thing always skeeves us out: if you argue before him does it mean that he’s thinking about your argument? Or is he wondering what you’d look like, on all fours, dressed as a cow? Sure, that possibility is always there, but it’s a bit different when you know more details on what the person might be thinking.
We have, of course, decided to run a poll on how this would affect your outfit choice for an argument before him. You can also read the full story here: 9th Circuit Chief Judge Alex Kozinski Posted Sexually Explicit Material on his Website [LAT]
Judge Kozinski on His Porn Site: “It’s Part of Life” [WSJ Law Blog]
UPDATE: Feminist Law Profs weighs in.
What To Wear To: Summer Cocktail Parties
06/11/2008 by
This is another new feature: “What to Wear To…” — we plan to tackle attire for office events that are outside the office.
It’s the summer. Your office is flush with interns, either from law school or MBA school. In order to impress, the company holds numerous summer events, including <dun dun dunnnh> the cocktail party. Maybe at a restaurant, maybe at a partner or executive’s house/mansion. The question looms: What do you wear?
Honestly, the answer here is usually “a suit.” You simply don’t want to run the risk of looking like someone’s date. Still, there are times when a cocktail dress is appropriate — and when that happens you should strive to be as conservative and as ladylike as possible. In general, this means your dress should not be:
- shiny
- satin (it wrinkles anyway)
- strapless
- low-cut
- mini-skirted
- relying on a safety-pin in any regard
- appropriate for any of the following activities: being a contestant in a pageant, sleeping, or being a dominatrix [Read more…]
Tuesday Poll: When to Tell a Colleague Her Outfit is Inappropriate
06/10/2008 by
Let’s set the scene for you: You enter the break room. One of your colleagues stands there, minding her own business and getting coffee. You notice that she’s wearing a khaki linen skirt that is a bit too short — when she bends over to put the milk back in the fridge you can see everything. When she stands up again you realize that the skirt is see-through, to boot. Your internal debate begins: should you tell her?
Photo at left by DCvision2006, courtesy of Flickr.
We’ve all had that unfortunate outfit mishap where a newly-purchased item of clothing doesn’t quite work out the way you want it to — it’s too low cut, it’s popping open, the skirt is shorter than you thought, etc. Some of these things, you know about — but other times, it takes a good friend to tell you. Would you want someone to tell you? How do you act when someone else’s outfit is inappropriate? (Note that for today’s poll, you’re allowed to choose more than one answer.)
Our tip: Young lawyers are often told to keep a conservative suit in their office, in case there’s a last-minute court appearance. This is not bad advice for all women working in conservative offices — keep a safe outfit (one that you know fits) at the office. It’ll save you when your outfit is accidentally inappropriate, as well as when you spill salad dressing.
Related (kinda): How to Tell Someone They Smell Bad At Work [SpeakStrong]
