Sponsored Post: Hoseanna Asks
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This is a sponsored post from Hoseanna, a new site that launched last week and aims to help busy women everywhere put some of their most annoying purchases (such as pantyhose!) on autopilot by offering subscription service. Read my post last week about it, or visit Hoseanna — and note that you can still enter to win the Facebook contest as well!
1. I write for the Corporate Rookie because I remember being there! There were so many other things to focus on being new in the corporate world — and yet how you look does affect your job and career, as well as etiquette and all those things that no one really talks about.
2. How do you balance style with being ‘business appropriate'? Has that evolved over the years? In the beginning, “business appropriate” pretty much meant “not jeans.” I remember wearing a pair of bright red Banana Republic chinos, a black boatneck sweater, and an opera-length necklace (which I'd made myself), slung once around my neck but otherwise left to hang. One of my male colleagues said something like, “Well, you always know how to be fashionable!” He meant it as a compliment but it made me rethink the outfit — if I was standing out so much that male coworkers were commenting on my clothes, maybe it wasn't the best thing.
3. Confess! What’s your most embarrassing fashion moment? Egads, too many to count! Most involve arriving to some meeting and looking down at my new blouse or new dress and realizing, “hey, I can see almost my entire bra from here.” From this I adopted the rule: I always wear a camisole the first time I wear something new to the office!
4. What’s your favorite type of hosiery? I'm a tights girl — the more opaque the better.
5. What’s the best way to pair tights with your outfit whether its work or play? With work, tights should be dark, solid colors — a repeating pattern is ok so long as it's all the same color, I think. There is this idea floating around out there, though, that opaque tights suddenly mean a miniskirt is acceptable for work — and that usually is not the case. Everyone should know their own office, but the default assumption in a conservative office should be that a only a knee-length skirt is acceptable. As for play — it depends on your personality and where you're going. I've had fun with light blue tights or bright purple tights (with mini-skirts dresses!) on the weekends.
6. If you could invite any four women to dinner, historical, fictional or current day, who would they be? Tough call — there are so many women I admire and would love to meet, but I also believe you sort of have to shape a dinner party when you invite people — I'm not sure Oprah and Katherine the Great would hit it off so well. I think it would also depend what I wanted to talk about most — if it was success in a man's world it would be a very different group discussing success as an entrepreneur or a group discussing how to juggle family and career. And I'd have to balance it with my own desires — for example, I never really knew my paternal grandmother — it would be so lovely to have dinner with her.
7. What is the best ‘reclaim your time' tip you can give your readers? Honestly, I'm a huge fan of Leechblock. I tend to take far too many boondogles online — I'll read my RSS feeds at lunch and look up an hour and a half later and wonder where the time went. At the end of the day, though, I find that if something is important to you, there is room in your schedule for it somewhere.
8. If you had a theme song what would it be? Yeesh — no idea. I tend to listen to either a) fairly dark stuff (I had Leonard Cohen's “Everybody Knows” on repeat during much of my law school career) or b) fairly silly stuff (Lady Gaga, Britney). There's a random Swedish song that I really like by Lisa Ekdahl (“Flyg vilda fogel”) that is just about the happiest thing I've ever heard, or perhaps a lovely little song from Lhasa de Sela (“Small Song”) — maybe one of those two would be my theme song.
9. What’s your guilty pleasure? I call it “brain candy” — books that are so well-written that they suck you in, but that have covers or titles that you're a little bit embarassed to read in public. Julia Quinn's romances, Charlaine Harris mysteries…
10. When I grow up I want to be… I would have said “writer” many years ago — and now I'm thrilled to be making my living from writing. I'd still like to write fiction at some point, I suppose, and I'd still like to tackle a really big entrepreneurial idea. I do love the idea that we're not quite done “growing up” though — I suppose the truth is that I never want to “grow up” — I want to continue to grow and learn and reach for new things.
Check out the answers from my fellow “brand ambassadors”:
- “Corporate Vet” Natalie MacNeil from She Takes On the World, the woman entrepreneurship blog
- “Marathon Mom” Nichelle Pace from Style Mom
- “Uniform Diva” Sara Keagle from the flight attendant blog, The Flying Pinto
Readers, want to play along? Here are the 10 questions…
I am a Corporate Rookie because… I’m not really in the corporate world exactly… I am a social worker but the director of an agency, so I live somewhat corporate, somewhat not. (In other words, semi-corporate attire on a social worker’s budget)
2. How do you balance style with being ‘business appropriate’? Has that evolved over the years? I’m new to working, so now I’m in the transition of “college student comfy” and “someone’s boss” hehe
3. Confess! What’s your most embarrassing fashion moment? Some would say it’s my love of the late 80s/early 90s but I dunno… I guess I’d say any of the times I’ve worn something that didn’t fit well but I thought was appropriate (such as borrowing a taller friend’s clothing for an interview). My choices were to borrow or to have something that fit but was too casual. At 20-something, I think I probably chose ok.
4. What’s your favorite type of hosiery? none! :)
5. What’s the best way to pair tights with your outfit whether its work or play? I stick with pants or long enough skirts/dresses that no one can see.
6. If you could invite any four women to dinner, historical, fictional or current day, who would they be? Trisha Yearwood, Elizabeth Taylor (for her work in equality efforts), my grandmother, and Victoria Shaw (I adore her songs!)
7. What is the best ‘reclaim your time’ tip you can give your readers? don’t feel guilty for scheduling “me time.” I plan it in just like any other appointment and, just like not leaving a meeting in the middle, I hold myself to doing whatever relaxing item I feel like for the entire time. It’s an absolute necessity!
8. If you had a theme song what would it be? She’s Every Woman by Garth Brooks
9. What’s your guilty pleasure? Thin Mints.
10. When I grow up I want to be…. someone who lives with no regrets and who has a ton of great stories to tell!
Read more: https://corporette.com/#ixzz1IaceFsij
1. I am a Corporate Rookie because…I’m not in the corporate world, I work in higher ed, but the competition is just as fierce as you climb the ladder.
2. How do you balance style with being ‘business appropriate’? Has that evolved over the years? I just try to follow a simple rule – if there’s too much cleavage, don’t wear it to the office. I try to be stylish, yet classic at all times.
3. Confess! What’s your most embarrassing fashion moment? Not realizing that I missed a button on my shirt…terrible.
4. What’s your favorite type of hosiery? Tights! Opaque, patterned, you name it!
5. What’s the best way to pair tights with your outfit whether its work or play? I try not to mix too many patterns at once. I pair patterned tights with simpler looks, and plain opaque tights with flashier outfits.
6. If you could invite any four women to dinner, historical, fictional or current day, who would they be? Kate Winslet, Kim Kardashian, Audrey Hepburn, and Reese Witherspoon.
7. What is the best ‘reclaim your time’ tip you can give your readers? Take “me time” whenever you can get it. If you don’t have any time for yourself, you’ll be useless. “Me time” is a non-negotiable.
8. If you had a theme song what would it be? Freedom ’90 by George Michael – it Always puts me in a better mood!
9. What’s your guilty pleasure? Gossip magazines and vanilla lattes.
10. When I grow up I want to be….a great friend, wife, sister, daughter, mother, and colleague.
Read more: https://corporette.com/2011/04/04/sponsored-post-hoseanna-asks/#ixzz1IbAYPAbP
1. I am a legal secretary.
2. How do you balance style with being ‘business appropriate’? Has that evolved over the years? I’m new to it, actually. So far, it’s making sure clothes fit correctly, that they don’t show an inappropriate amount of skin or look too dowdy, and whether articles of clothing are formal enough to count as business attire.
3. Confess! What’s your most embarrassing fashion moment? Um, up until I was about twenty years of age, I wore oversized sweaters and jeans 2-3 sizes too large with sneakers that were also too big. Whenever I deviated from that pattern, I would wear strange stuff, like camo pants with a collared shirt or bright, shiny blue pants with socks and a pair of sandals. So I guess most of my life has been a gigantic fashion disaster. Trying to fix that.
4. What’s your favorite type of hosiery? None.
5. What’s the best way to pair tights with your outfit whether its work or play? Nothing. Tights don’t keep my legs warm and they tend to gobble up my lower half since I’m short.
6. If you could invite any four women to dinner, historical, fictional or current day, who would they be? Don’t know, don’t care.
7. What is the best ‘reclaim your time’ tip you can give your readers? Don’t know.
8. If you had a theme song what would it be? Don’t know.
9. What’s your guilty pleasure? Ice cream.
10. When I grow up I want to be…. a paralegal in a big national law firm. Get paid a nice salary with medical, dental and vision.
Random answers, in random order — hey, I’m a Marathon Mom(“MM”), ‘kay?!
– Style with biz appropriateness – Pick fun companies/firms to work for! Dress so that I feel “me” — if you bump into me on the weekend, you won’t wonder who I am :-D
– Music that motivates – Soul II Soul (love the 90’s)
– Reading – I read newspapers, blogs, mags. Go to my book club for the snacks and company of other career women. (MM, supra)
– Guilty pleasure – um, shopping online!
MM – Gotta go – working on a TRO after tucking girls in bed.
1. I am a Corporate Rookie because I have started my first post college job 18 months ago and still getting surprised everyday as I navigate the corporate world
2. Well, on my first month at work, I dressed in button down shirts and slacks and skirts. This made me look like little girl playing grown up dress up. Then after few months, I bought 3 V-neck t-shirts and were wearing them non-stop with slacks. It was summer but I still looked childish. Then, I bought some cheap professional looking clothes from a trip to Brussels. Definitely and upgrade. Then last year I travelled to the states and bought a huge suitcase of clothes. Now, I am trying to be more refined, more feminine but I tend to fall off the wagon and be tempted by a knit V-neck and slacks at my bus cas office.
3. There were days where I sincerely looked like crap (crazy hair, no make up, wrinkled clothes..) and had to give presentations to important steering committees. Didn’t help my self esteem.
4. What’s your favorite type of hosiery? Black and opaque
5. What’s the best way to pair tights with your outfit whether its work or play? if it is black I can wear it with anything.
6. If you could invite any four women to dinner, historical, fictional or current day, who would they be? I have no idea…
7. What is the best ‘reclaim your time’ tip you can give your readers? Always book your ME time and plan you other actions and events around it.
8. If you had a theme song what would it be? I’m the world greatest (ha!)… lifts my spirit every time. And “I can make it through the rain”
9. What’s your guilty pleasure? eating something hot and/or spicy while sipping tea and curling in my bed.
10. When I grow up I want to be…. an oil painter
Read more: https://corporette.com/2011/04/04/sponsored-post-hoseanna-asks/#ixzz1Iebkn162
Very quick thread jack – what trench/coat would be professional appropriate for NYC during April. I live in a warmer climate and don’t need a trench etc. but am travelling for work. Thanks in advance:)
I got a very basic navy trench at Banana Republic on huge sale around this time a couple of years ago. Any place like that will have one that’s appropriate. Things to look for — Solid color, no flashy embelishments, great fit.
Thank you.
1. I am a [Corporate “none-of the above”] because… I currently work for a medical non-profit and have a business casual dress code.
2. How do you balance style with being ‘business appropriate’? Has that evolved over the years? A balance became easy when we moved to business casual last year. My style evolves constantly. I used to wear only a suit, paired only as it was intended, with matching shoes/accessories (ah, the 90’s…). Now, I mix and match color, pattern and texture. I am currently into statement jewelry.
3. Confess! What’s your most embarrassing fashion moment? Does the entire decade of the 90’s count? Actually, it was when a long, full skirt got stuck in my waistband. Totally humiliating!
4. What’s your favorite type of hosiery? NONE!
5. What’s the best way to pair tights with your outfit whether its work or play? Never- I live in south Texas!
6. If you could invite any four women to dinner, historical, fictional or current day, who would they be? My great grandmother, grandmother and mother immediately come to mind. Four generations of matriarchs in one place is probably enough woman without a 5th. If I must choose a 4th woman, Frieda Kahlo.
7. What is the best ‘reclaim your time’ tip you can give your readers? Schedule it on your calendar and make it as important as a meeting with your boss.
8. If you had a theme song what would it be? Galileo by Indigo Girls.
9. What’s your guilty pleasure? QVC. I know! Nuff said!
10. When I grow up I want to be…. A retired artist. Made my mark, resting on my laurels on a beach somewhere having a hot young, starving artist bring me drinks with umbrellas in them in exchange for nuggets of wisdom. (I need a vacation, all I can think about is a beach…)