2016 Update: These pieces are still some of our favorite workwear from 2013, but you may also want to check out our 2016 roundup of favorite workwear suggestions. Every weekday here at Corporette, I offer one suggestion for an item that I would wear to work. Sometimes readers love the item, and wow do you guys hate it sometimes. Sometimes *I* love it, sometimes it was just the best I could find given the restraints (for those who haven’t noticed, Monday and Tuesday tend to be pricier items, Wednesday is in the $100-$150 price range, Thursday is in the $50-$100 price range, and Friday is in the “under $50″ range.) Still, as the end of the year approaches I thought I’d look back over the past year and choose my personal favorites from the things I recommended… each picture is from one month, and the picture links back to the original post. (Most are sold out, but some of the later months (like the blue pants) are still available.) (Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to do this in 2011 due to some tech difficulties, but here is the roundup from 2010 and 2012 if you’re curious.)  |  |  |  |
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Workwear sales of note for 5.26.23:
- Nordstrom – The Half-Yearly Sale just started! See our thoughts here.
- Amazon – Memorial Day Sales! Lots of discounts on Amazon Essentials and more.
- Ann Taylor – Extra 30% off lots of sale styles (prices as marked).
- Anthropologie – Extra 40% off sale.
- Banana Republic Factory – 50%-70% off everything + extra 25% off purchase (ends 5/31).
- Boden – Sale, up to 50% off.
- Brooks Brothers – Extra 25% off sale; already up to 70% off (ends 5/31) – also mix & match sale with men’s shirts, 4 for $249.
- Cole Haan – Up to 50% off sale styles (ends 5/31).
- Eloquii – 400+ styles starting at $19; up to 50% off everything.
- Express – Summer kickoff sale, 30-50% off everything (plus $35+ steals) (ends 6/1).
- H&M – Up to 60% off online and in-store.
- J.Crew – Up to 50% off “dressed up” styles (lots of cute dresses!).
- J.Crew Factory – 50% off everything, no exclusions.
- J.McLaughlin – The Sale Event, extra 30% off.
- Loft – 40% off full-price styles
- M.M.LaFleur – Short but sweet sale (ends 6/1).
- Madewell – Get 30% off your purchase.
- Ministry of Supply – 25% off sitewide (ends 6/1).
- Sephora – Up to 50% off select beauty.
- Shopbop – Up to 50% off designer sale!
- Sue Sartor – Lots of cute dresses on sale!
- Talbots – Extra 40% off all markdowns (ends 6/1)!
- Theory – Up to 60% off + an extra 20% off.
- Universal Standard – 25% off sitewide (ends 6/1).
Other noteworthy sales:
- CB2.com – Up to 50% off everything!
- Joss & Main – Up to 60% off, plus an extra 20% off with code.
- Tuft & Needle – Save up to $775 on mattresses. (Reader favorite bed brand; Kat really likes hers!)
- West Elm – Memorialy Day Sale, up to 60% off.
Some of our latest posts here at Corporette…
And some of our latest threadjacks here at Corporette (reader questions and commentary) — see more here!
- Favorite comfy pants for an overnight plane ride?
- I’ve got a nasty case of tech neck…
- What’s a good place for a relaxing solo escape?
- What’s the best commuter backpack?
- I’m early 40s and worry my career arc is ending…
- I canNOT figure out the proportions in this current season of fashion…
- How is everyone wearing scarves in 2023?
- What shoes are people wearing to work between boot and sandal season?
- What’s a good place for a relaxing solo escape?
- What are some of your go-to outfits that feel current?
- I need more activities that are social, easy to learn and don’t involve extreme running/jumping/etc.
Godzilla
I am SO BORED at work. So I’m just working my way through the Hax archives.
Mpls
I remember killing many an hour with those. Back in…2004. Has it really been that long already?
Monday
Can we start our own holiday hootenanny here? I’m off work but compiling too many horrendous comments from family and need to know I’m not the only one!
cbackson
My mom’s suggestion that I should hire a matchmaker. Let’s start with that.
Anonymous
Thanks. My father in law said my pants fit like shrink-wrap, just to kick things off…
Xmas blues...
I hear you.
I am an MD PhD with advanced degrees and scholarships from the best universities in the world with job offers wherever I want, but my father tells me I am a disappointment, how-can-I-be-his-daughter, a f–k up, weird, abnormal and need to have s-x more often because I am single and have no children.
Yes, my father has some poorly managed mental illness. But as we all know with family, there is truth at the bottom of everything they say, and it hurts no matter how we try to compartmentalize it.
anon
This is slightly different than hootenanny, but still… My 13 year old stepdaughter announced out of the blue that abortion is murder. Because I wanted to spend any part of Christmas Eve talking about abortion?
Brant
Mine was a full day guilt trip about sending my son to daycare. Apparently DH needs to be making more so I can stay home. I love the assumption that it’s a money issue ( which it is not).
saltylady
My inlaws becoming visibly unnerved when I mentioned that the Air Force General in charge of the AF base my company does business with is female (actually I just said her name, which was enough to set them off). They then asked if (a) she’s qualified, and (b) if she’s been in combat. Same question about qualifications in the past regarding the Black female CEO of my company. Actually many times– they like to revisit that one.
NOLA
Let’s see… I had to listen to my SIL say over and over that homosexuality is a sin (like adultery, etc.) and how God destroyed the city of Sodom and that should be proof enough.
Sydney Bristow
I spent part of my family’s holiday vacation listening to my grandfather talk about the split within his church about whether homosexuality is ok or not and how he hasn’t been able to come to terms with it being ok yet. We pretty much talk about everything in my family so I kept challenging him on it (so did my dad a couple of times). It was luckily still a respectful conversation, as it luckily normally is in my family, and he kept saying he was too old to change his views and point out how far he had come from his own father’s views. I pointed out how silly his dad’s views looked to him now and that I was thinking the same about his views on the subject. I know I can’t change anyone’s mind, but I do think he at least understood what I was saying.
NOLA
Well at least they were open to discussing it rationally. That would be a nice change.
Sydney Bristow
I bet! If it wasn’t I’m not sure I could contain my frustration!
January
Haha, I did that once (back in law school, I think). Hope you find the answers to life’s big questions!
Godzilla
Okay so Starbucks is scarily empty today, a sip of my latte gave me the hiccups, my boss caught me scrolling (shrug), and this one brought tears to my eyes http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/carolyn-hax-reader-advice-on-illness-manners-weddings/2013/12/24/048fcc88-627f-11e3-a373-0f9f2d1c2b61_story.html.
January
Those first two letters were lovely.
Bad Manners Night sounds hilarious, though I don’t think I would be able to pull it off.
Ashley
So bored here that I fell asleep.
TBK
Not sure how many people are on today, but need some gift recommendations. My aunt and uncle are just about to finalize the adoption of my new cousin (they got her Christmas night two years ago, when she was just about 10 days old – it’s a been a long two year process for them, so getting this finalized is a huge relief). I’d like to give her a keepsake “welcome to the family” gift. She’s two now, but I don’t mind if it’s something her parents will have to put away for her to have when she’s older. I’d like to spend just about $50 or so. Any suggestions?
Anon
Etsy has lots of cute things–necklaces, prints, ornaments.
Anonymous
How about Congratulations balloons for the day and a picture frame with the child’s new name engraved, into which they can put a picture from the day (perhaps with the balloons to make the occasion obvious). Or a simple necklace with her new last initial (or all three).
anon
What about a charm bracelet? You could get her a charm each year for her birthday, etc.
Sydney Bristow
My brother gave my sister in law a bracelet for Christmas that is engraved with the coordinates of where they met, where they got married, and where their son was born. I thought it was a sweet idea. Maybe something similar (I like the picture frame suggestion above) with the coordinates of where she was born and the coordinates of her official new home?
Coach Laura
TBK – I hope things are boring and calm in your life (in a good way) and that the babies are behaving themselves.
TBK
Thanks! Things are very dull. My doctors are always happily bored by my answers every morning to their questions about any changes, contractions, etc. Nope! I’m luckily the dullest patient on the ward.
Coach Laura
Good to hear it.
Sydney Bristow
That’s fantastic!
zora
Yay for boring!! ;o) Keep growing, boys!
anon
can anyone recommend a pregnancy test brand? the amazon reviews are so overwhelming.
KLG
If you’ve already missed your period, any pregnancy test will work. You can hit up the dollar store or buy the CVS/Walgreens/etc. brand. But if you want a super clear, idiot proof, no messing around with lines/plus signs/etc., I recommend the clearblue easy digital which will read “pregnant” or “not pregnant.” (I used the cheap ones to get what I was pretty sure was a positive and then used the clearblue easy digital for confirmation, because those suckers are EXPENSIVE and I didn’t want to waste them).
TBK
What are you looking for in a brand? If you’re TTC (and it sounds like it if you’re planning ahead to buy on Amazon), you probably don’t want to spend too much since you’ll likely be going through a lot of them (even if it takes you only one month, you might be tempted to test as early as possible then keep testing every day — which may be 6 days or so — until you get a final answer, and then if you’re like me, you might test for several days after to make sure the line is getting darker and not lighter). Most are pretty accurate. But some say they can test as early as 6 days before your period is due and some are more like 3 or 4 days before. Honestly, a negative 6 days before isn’t a true negative since they’re only like 60% accurate that early anyway. I’d just go for whatever wasn’t likely to be too expensive.
Flying Squirrel
I used the wondfo cheapies from amazon. I think like $10 for 25 or something. They are not POAS, you have to dip into a cup. I bought a box of dixie cups for my too long TTC journey. Wondfos are pretty sensitive (rated at 25 miu compared to 50 miu for most POAS drugstore brands, though in practice I think they are even ore sensitive than that). I’ve gotten positives the equivalent of 11 days past ovulation, including for a chemical pregnancy for which my blood test was only a smidge positive (like 5.1 or something).
Holiday Attire
Second the cheapies. Also useful for after having a baby when you can go a year without a period or you don’t yet have a regular cycle again just to make sure that you’re not pregnant again.
fromAtoZ
If you need a bunch and don’t want to spend a lot, I seriously recommend Dollar Store (or Tree) ones. They are p-on-a-stick kind and worked just as well as any brand-name ones for me. Good luck!
Ellen
Yay! An INTERNET connection! Yay for wifi!!!! It’s like Duck Dynasty here! FOOEY! No man want’s to get to know me. They JUST want sex! FOOEY on that! At least men in NYC want to talk. Not here. It’s lets go back to my place for rib’s. (mine). They don’t even think I have a tuchus–they call it a SHELF! Yay! But no sex!!!