by Solange Lopes | Jan 10, 2014 | Career
being_mary_jane – Photo: hollywoodreporter.com
So yes, I said it already in my previous review of Being Mary Jane, and I’m saying it again, I love Mary Jane Paul’s character on the BET show “Being Mary Jane”. And as a corporate sister with fashion on my mind, you know I also love Mary’s sense of fashion. One of her fashion staples on the show, which also happens to be one of my favorite, basic go-to’s as part of my corporate wardrobe, is the blazer. Not just when temperatures cool down but also as a standard wardrobe staple!
I actually used to not be much of a fan of blazers. Too old looking! Not hip enough! Borderline boring…until I started looking around and noticing with much fashion delight that gone are the days of the stuffy, boring blazer! The modern blazer is fresh, edgy, and bright, just like this sunny yellow piece Mary Jane is sporting in our picture above. And to boot, the modern blazer is not just a professional wardrobe investment, as it can be recycled with the right pair of jeans on a casual Friday or on the week-end, or merchandised with some serious bling on a night out on the town…
Schoolboy blazer – Jcrew.com – $178
That’s why for our lunch break pick, we are having a “fashion-gasm” on this blue schoolboy blazer from J. Crew. At $178, it may just be the most fashionable, colorful and still professional-looking investment you may make right now…And it’s just calling Spring…
Seen a great piece you’d like to share? Please email us at corporate@thecorporatesister.com!
The Corporate Sister.
by Solange Lopes | Jan 10, 2014 | Career |
Being Mary Jane – Photo: kontrolmag.com
I first named this post “Being Mary Jane: The Perfect Corporate Sister“, then “Being Mary Jane: The Quintessential Corporate Sister”, not really sure at first which post title would be best adapted to what I wanted to say about how I feel about BET’s new Being Mary Jane show…And in the midst of all the back and forth between this post title and that one, it occurred to me that as much as I love the new BET show “Being Mary Jane”, and despite the sheer happiness (and relief) at watching Gabrielle Union portray the under-represented demographic of corporate sisters , Mary Jane Paul’s character is far from being…perfect…or quintessential, or any other big, inflated word that would look great on my post title, but would just not be…real! And honestly,perfection is so overrated, and sooo boring…
Like many of us, Mary Jane works in a hard, unrelenting business. As a sister on the way up in corporate America, the corporate path can be a hard, unrelenting one. Remember when Olivia Pope’s dad in ABC‘s “Scandal” told her that as Black people, and minorities in general, “we have to work twice as hard to have half what “they” have”! Long hours, not getting the credit we deserve, standing out in the professional crowd (and not always in a good way), we can relate to these all too welll…And when you’re a corporate sister on the way up, you know the feeling all too well…
As I was watching the first episode of this season’s “Being Mary Jane” a couple of days ago, I could not take my eyes off the screen, off….myself really! Main character Mary Jane Paul’s family is my family, what with the socio-economic issues and problems that many a Black family can relate to….From her jobless brother, to her pregnant (with no boyfriend) niece demanding to use Mary Jane’s luxurious house to host her baby shower, which interestingly enough would coincide with her “not-real” boyfriend’s real girlfriend’s baby shower day as well…Got it? Well, I do…Because as surreal as some of these stories may be, they are also familiar because they happen in my family, around the neighborhood I grew up in…These are real stories, and as educated, professionally successful and ambitious as I may be, they are also my stories…
And talking about real stories, Mary Jane’s love life alone, is just about the most “real” depiction of many a thriving corporate sister’s love life out there…We may not admit to it, but dating as a Black or minority corporate sister holding one (or two or three) degrees and making the kind of money Mary Jane makes, is bound to put any one of us into hot water (or hot, uncommitted sex for that matter)…Being a successful woman is still not much accepted in today’s society! Being a Black, successful, beautiful and sexual Black woman: barely conceivable, not very acceptable, and definitely challenging, especially when it comes to relationships! So it’s not surprising that like many of my girlfriends, and much like my younger, unmarried self not too long ago, Mary Jane is romantically stuck in that place between loving a “taken”, unavailable man, and sticking to her morals…It’s an all-too familiar scenario for Black professional women, and successful women in general, whose professional achievements somehow, somewhat, seem to almost always stand in the way of their romantic happiness…Hmmm….
So yes, I love Mary Jane Paul, because if I ever wanted a reminder of what it means to be a hard-working, thriving Black corporate sister, she does give it to me…But most importantly, she reminds me that not only is it ok to not be perfect, but that all this imperfection business, from compromising our morals in the name of love to struggling to carry the weight of the world on our tired shoulders, all of that is better than perfect, it’s REAL! And for once, we needed to have that reality, that crazy, overachieving, out of this world reality in our face…And the hot sex scenes do not hurt either!
Do you think Mary Jane Paul is the real corporate sister?
The Corporate Sister.
by Solange Lopes | Jan 9, 2014 | Career
TheLimited.com
In our after-hours chat today, we discuss the tucking question! Yup, should you tuck your white button-down or blouse in your pants or skirt, or just let them loose over your bottoms? While some of us feel more comfortable letting a nice button-down shirt or an elegant blouse just fall nicely over our clothes, the rest feels like tucking in gives your waist a bit more definition while allowing you to showcase a dressy pair of pants or skirt.
I personally err on the side of tucking in. Being larger in the bust area and petite, it’s easy for my frame to get engulfed. So, unless I’m wearing a top that falls just right and hugs both my large bust and waist in a flattering way, I’m tucking…
Besides, if you enjoy a nice, skinny belt, nothing like elegantly tucking your button-down or blouse in to showcase it!
What are your thoughts? Would you rather tuck in your shirt or let it loose over your pants or skirt?
The Corporate Sister.
by Solange Lopes | Jan 9, 2014 | Career |
Remember that New York & Co. Audrey Tweed dress we fell in frugal love with yesterday? Well, looks like we found the perfect winter jacket for it, or anything else in our corporate wardrobe at this point… This GROA boiled wool winter jacket has us holding our breaths! In breathtaking winter white, with a waist-cinching silhouette and long sleeves to boot, it’s a winter dream! The ruffling at the lapels is both sophisticated and original, what with the slightly longer hem to the side that gives it an asymmetrical feel.
Love, love the way this jacket looks and fits! And for the curviest among us, it showcases all the right curves at the right place, in a work-appropriate yet oh so fashionable way. We found it on Polyvore.com, and at $140, it may just remain a staple in your winter wardrobe…
Seen a great piece you’d like to share? Please email us at corporate@thecorporatesister.com!
The Corporate Sister.
by Solange Lopes | Jan 9, 2014 | Make More Money |
Ablestock
So it’s the New Year, and what with all the holiday spending, one of your goals this year is to save more money. No more spending all your paycheck before you even have time to say “Money!”, and wondering what you are really working for…Yes, you do enjoy some of the (costly) perks of corporate life, lie that $3.95 latte (twice a day), or the $10 lunch at the corner Soup & Salad, or even right at your computer during lunch break, that tempting online shoe membership site (you know who you are)…And as much as I myself do not believe that one should totally deprive themselves of the “good stuff” of life, like that $3.95 latte that really helps you from telling that annoying co-worker what you really think of her, I also believe that you need to mind your money like no one’s business…Seriously…
We’ve all heard of the now infamous J.O.B. (Just Over Broke) phrase, and well…as much as your traditional job won’t necessarily make you rich, there are ways to mind more of your paycheck to at least keep your finances from hitting the “broke” stage…
- Keep Your Mind on Your Money and Your Money on Your Mind! Remember Snoop Dogg’s “Gin & Juice” lyrics? Ok, maybe not your most work-appropriate lyrics, but Snoop was onto something with the line “with my mind on my money and my money on my mind.” In other more politically correct terms, you need to keep an eye on your $$$! Whether it’s by logging into your bank accounts first thing in the morning to check where you stand and what you have to do to continue reaching for your goals, as LearnVest CEO and founder Alexa Von Tobel explains to us in her “Money Minute” . And if like myself, you barely remember to match your shoes first thing in the morning, set an alarm on your phone to remind you! And if you really don’t feel like starting your day counting pennies, schedule it for a different time of the day. Just make sure you turn this practice into a frequent, preferably daily, habit… Yup, with your min on your money on your mind…
- Automate, Automate, Automate! Did I say automate? As a self-professed technologically-deficient person, I could not be more thrilled with technology’s way of doing those things I would not remember to do! Things like automatic, God-sent money transfers! It’s got to be one of the easiest money to save, and allow your money to grow stress-free as you get the time to do other more interesting things, like reading this blog…Ok, ok…How to go about it? Easier than easy! Call your bank or go online and log on, set up your transfer from your checking into your savings account. Better yet, sock up 1 or 2% of your paycheck to start into your savings account by contacting your Payroll department and filling out the appropriate deposit form. And voila, you’ve got your money working for you while you’re working on…something else!
- Now Freeeeeze! Last but not least, after all minding your money, automating it, keeping your eye on it like a money hawk, now you get to slow your roll….with the spending that is! All those credit cards you’ve racked up over time? The crushing holiday debt that you have to pay off? Freeze it! Yup, grab that credit card, put it in a bow of water, and put it in the freezer…and leave it there for a couple of months or so, until you can see some light at the end of the financial tunnel! With the average American household carrying over $15,000 in credit card debt, you won’t be the only one freezing your credit cards this winter…and no defrosting any time soon!
Are You Minding Your Paycheck?
The Corporate Sister.
