It’s Friday, and oh are you excited the busy week has come to an end. Yet while many may be tempted to let productivity slip aside, some of the most successful people understand Friday may actually be one of the best tools to jumpstart the following week. Starting the week can be rough (hello caffeine addiction to the rescue), but as they say, how you end is more important than how you start. So, here’s to going out with a bang (and a big smile on your face):
What are your tips and tricks to end the week on a high note?
As we’re preparing to (hopefully) transition from our winter garb to “springy-er” fashion, layering will become key. Hence today’s Work It pick, this perfect layering piece, impossibly elegant long color blocked sweater jacket from Talbots. Love, love, love the classic sophistication of this piece in a black-and-white color palette that never goes out of style…
This sweater jacket can be paired with anything, from classic slim trousers like these gorgeous Sloan slim-fit ankle pants from Banana Republic, or these Ann Taylor skinny ankle jeans for a night on the town. And yes, it will beautifully transition from your make-or-break meeting to extra hours on the week-end as well…
Most workplaces are not not exactly what I’d call sexy. The grey cubicles, the solemn decor, dark computer screens and conservatively-dressed employees, not really the set for “Sex and the City”! Or so we think….Take for instance the recent juicy office romp splattering the media front pages, courtesy of a New Zealand couple engaging in sexual intercourse…at work! Ahem…
In her book Sex and the Office: A History of Gender, Power and Desire, Julie Berebitsky retraces the fascinating evolution of the meaning of sex at work. Right after the Civil War when women started working in offices, they were considered as objects of desire for their male counterparts, who until then, were not accustomed to having the tempting female presence in their workplaces. Hence the funny, but-not-so-funny, leeching, leering, and extramarital stuff back then (and still today actually…). Slowly but surely, the female presence at work moved from male attention magnet, to a threat to men’s jobs. And women went from struggling to define what was appropriate for them to wear or how to behave, to justify whether we come to work to find love, feed lust, or well…do the job!
Yes, things have changed, somewhat. Sexual harassment laws are now in place, although out of the approximating 12,000 complaints received a year by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, only about half are found with cause. There are more women executives now than ever, although we still have ways to go. And although we don’t like to think about it, sexism is still rampant in some industries, like in the airline industry where apparently, you may have to freeze your buttocks in skirts to do your job thousands of miles in the air (no funny business intended here).
And while we are hopefully inching closer to equal pay for equal work, you may want to keep in mind your seemingly dull office is way hotter than you may imagine…
Do you think the office is still very much the place for sexy (and sexist) politics?
I had to smile when I read about this app, as it was speaking directly to me (and to many of you too..). For all the chronically late, or those with a milder time adherence disorder, this is your app, ok? The iCukoo alarm clock app will have you donate to one of 5 select charities, when your total snoozing activity adds up to roughly about $1.26, at which point you get a text reminding you to donate at that time or postpone your donation to a future snoozing date.
Basically, every time you hit the snooze button, you’re committing to make a charitable donation…
My $0.05: Productivity and charity all in one app? For once, you can snooze and nobody loses…
As an outspoken (and pretty loud) gender equality advocate, I had to blab about this. Gender equality is not just about equal pay for equal work, or equitable treatment of men and women in the workplace, or even the fact we’re not just about our dresses, not even at the Oscars (#AskHerMore). It’s also about our shoes, and since we’re talking about shoes and gender equality in the same phrase, I’m all ears (and feet)…
There is now such a thing as gender-equal footwear, and while it may bring a smile to some of you, it just fills me with wonder as to what we’re able to do when it comes to gender equality.
The idea came to Nik Kacy, a former Google employee and now designer, when he couldn’t find shoes that weren’t designed by gender. So he created his own, the first ever gender-equal footwear line, offering styles that both men and women can wear in gender-neutral sizes too!
Draped Front Poplin Shirt – $69.90 – Photo credit: zara.com
There’s nothing like the simplicity of a white shirt for any occasion. This draped front poplin shirt from Zara is stunning in its impeccable, clean, simple style. Loving the clean crew neck cut contrasting with the sophisticated yet not-over-the-top draping in front. The long straight sleeves make this shirt an everyday essential with a touch of designer sparkle. A clean cut, must-have from the board room to a candlelit dinner. It’s $69.90 at Zara!
Now what would beautifully complement a simple, elegant white shirt like this one is a statement purse, like this Rebecca Minkoff “Amorous” satchel. Can you say flawless?
