Building a Professional Wardrobe

This week I’ll be pulling some articles of clothing out of my tiny closet that I’m not sure if I should keep or donate, like this shawl sweater that is short in the back, but almost a knee length blankie in front. Every time I wear it,  I feel swallowed whole by it. My female…

Bow-tie blouses are a great way to dress-up a suit, cardigan, skirt, or even re-mix with a dress. Here’s five under $50: Red crepe bow tie pintuck blouse $27.99 (Bluefly) Kookai Sleeveless Pussy Bow Blouse ~ $35.81 (asos) Morning Mist Bow Shirt ~ $39.99 (French Connection) Jones New York Low Bow Ruffle Blouse ~ $39.99…

Last week I had a very long day, working about 9 hours in the office, followed by a professional meeting after work, followed by a performance with the new local adult civic orchestra. The dress code was black and white, and whatever I wore had to do for the entire day. The sweater has sequins…

I love Maggy London dresses. They make dressing for work easy, and I usually find them substantially marked down at Ross Dress for Less or Marshalls. Normally, I’m not crazy about most sweater dresses for work, finding them a little too unstructured, but I love this Maggy London sweater dress on sale (60% off) at…

Dear Hubby, who didn’t see me until after work, greeted me with, “Hey, I like the sexy Barbara Bush look.” Oh. Not what I was going for. Jacket (Anthropologie clearance); Maggy L dress (Steinmart uber Red Dot clearance); Pearls (Banana Republic Mad Men Collection); Aigner T-straps (Ross Dress for Less); Tights (We Love Colors) I…

Shooties are wonderful, especially if you want to liven up a conservative wardrobe, but you know, still comply with the conservative office dress code. They’re not a pump, and they’re not an ankle boot, but they are a neat way to style tights with skirts (and create longer looking legs), and wear with slacks when…

Easy As are supposed to be good, right? Well, this week not so much. Did I mention that I turned 49 last week? And that I *still* have acne? And that AARP sent my first membership invitation with a card? What is up with that? Isn’t your age at least supposed to start with a…

I like the bold print on this Tessuto wrap dress from Walmart for easy, inexpensive career dressing. I might have to try it on the next time I’m in there buying snack food in bulk for the locusts Teens. (The product description cracks me up. Note this “does not contain a battery.”) Contours by Tessuto…

If you blog enough, you get hard up for post titles, so I thought I’d use the typo from the email I sent myself with the smart phone pics for this outfit. I’ve been under the weather this week, so these pictures are actually from last week. This outfit reflects my tendency to buy black,…

I tried to find you guys a great deal on a pale greenish cardigan with grommets, but honestly, the search results were so horrifying that I’ll never be able to rid my brain of the nightmarish style images. But I love love love kinda like this pale mint cardigan from Forever 21. Paired with conservative,…