The Kooples Stretch Wool Pantsuit – Photo credit: nordstrom.com
I don’t usually feature very many suits, especially in traditional colors, yet this navy The Kooples stretch wool jacket and coordinated pants from Nordstrom caught my attention. Loving the menswear -inspired look of this classic single-button closure stretch wool jacket. The length, side vents and four-button cuffs add some unmistakable flair to an otherwise very traditional piece.
The coordinated pants are slimming and quite flattering as well. This jacket is more of a (well worth it) splurge at $470, while the slim stretch wool coordinated pants are $240!
Psst: Nordstrom is having its clearance sale until February 22nd, take advantage of discounts as deep as 40%!
Valentine’s Day is rearing its pink candy-assorted head, and there’s a chance Cupid may be out on duty this year again. Yet when it comes to love connections that last (or even make it to the second date), much has been said about career women dating, even marrying, not so career-minded men.
While some men often have a hard time understanding career women, others admittedly prefer them to their homemaking, no less busy and deserving of respect, counterparts. Yet what happens when a career, ambitious woman is involved in a relationship with a man who’s not so much into climbing the corporate ladder, or concerned about any success in the career realm?
A great friend of mine is married to a mechanic who’s great at what he does, but just happens to think work is just that, work. Meanwhile, she’s a thriving journalist making waves in her field. They’ve now been married almost 10 years and going strong. According to my friend, their marriage works because they give each other what the other does not necessarily have. She provides him with the career perspective he would have never fathomed had he not met her, and he takes her away from the stresses of the corporate world. Besides, his job affords him the availability she doesn’t always have to care for the kids when she’s working late or traveling the corners of the world. It works out! Does it mean they never clash because of their differing occupations and jobs? Certainly, but they’ve come to accept and even enjoy their differences.
Other similar couples wouldn’t weather their differences, for obvious reasons, one of them being the woman being the breadwinner. Others still wouldn’t even attempt such a union, for fear it would be doomed from the start. After all, career women are by essence defying some of the most basic societal concepts around the woman being a caretaker first and foremost. And for many, it can be a non-negotiable argument…
What do you think happens when a career woman meets a non career-minded man? Is it doomed for failure from the start, or is it a good balance for both?
At the risk of coming into the whole Grammys debate a bit delayed (some of us were battling a winter storm and had a legitimate reason to be delayed), I do have to add my 2 cents to the discussion. As excited as I was for Common (and all of his good-looking self) and John Legend’s performance, I have to say, girls ran the Grammys this year (oh and Sam Smith, who took home four of his own), and this for so many different reasons:
1. First, President Obama made a speech on ending the violence against women and girls during the ceremony, as part of the White House “It’s On Us” campaign, making the importance of this issue abundantly clear to the artistic community and everyone around;
4. Country star Miranda Lambert represented for the very under-represented female country singers, being nominated in four categories and putting on a show to remember;
5. Last but certainly not least, Queen Bey passed the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin as the female artist with the most Grammy wins! Yet as happy as we are for Bey, and in awe of her performance of Mahalia Jackson’s mythical “Take My Hand, Precious Lord”, we couldn’t help but wince at the fact Bey requested to sing the famous song which Ledisi sang in the “Selma” movie, as an opening act to Common and Legend’s performance. Some couldn’t help but ask why Ledisi, who sang it in the movie, was not invited to perform. However, it was such a relief to note Ledisi remained a class act despite the controversy and her obvious disappointment, reminding us all of the importance to look at the positive, in this case the powerful history behind the song and the fact we, as women, do have to empower each other instead of turning against each other. Very true, Ledisi!
And to remind us of the original beauty of this song, here is a quick snapshot of Mahalia Jackson’s “Take My hand, Precious Lord”:
So, who ran the world of Grammy’s last night again? Girls of course, oh and Sam Smith too…
We’ve talked about working from home before, as to whether you should request to work from home, when to request to work from home, and how not to work from home. How about using your best judgment when it comes to assessing whether you should work from home or not? Many managers give their teams the option of “using their best judgment”, or to assess whether or not their current situation warrants working from home. When the decision is on you, do you just live it up and call it a Snow Day, or do you exercise caution in the matter? After all, you can either end up looking like you’ve got absolutely no life and had to come to work under a raging storm, or that you’re the team’s lazy bum who bails out and chooses to connect remotely while sipping on OJ sangria on the couch (with a side of your favorite daytime shows, of course)?
My $0.05: Frankly, I’ve always wondered what “best judgment” exactly means in these instances. Honestly, my “best judgment” is to stay home and not have to trek in a foot of snow while praying for my life, and actually do some work in the comfort of my old couch, but that’s just me…
I think as a new employee still proving yourself, you may want to do your best to come to work, as long as you feel safe. Once you’ve earned the trust of your peers and managers, and are more comfortable having more professional latitude, you may want to test the waters more and assess how much your decision affects the department work-wise.
It’s snowing out, I’m functioning on three hours of sleep and four cups of coffee so far, so I need a bit of Monday fashion pick-me up. This faux-leather trim midi sheath dress has me lusting after its classic style with a twist. Loving the curve- hugging silhouette of this sheath dress in a contemporary midi length, with fresh (and easy) cap sleeves and (forgiving) stretch knit. Not to mention the faux leather trim at the front and back, turning this dress into a knockout style for day into night. And did I mention the knockout price of $69.95, plus the current buy one get one 50% off promotion on dresses at NY&Co!
I would so style this dress with these Kate Spade Black Nappa leather pumps, for an elegant and fresh studded work look.
That’s it, my Monday already feels better!
This week-end, dear hubby and I got stuck in Charlotte, North Carolina, on our way back to a wedding in the Dominican Republic, due to yet another snow storm beating up the Northeast. When the airline rep told us there would be no flights until Wednesday, the Hawaiian flower in my hair and I had to sit down for a minute.
Thankfully, we were blessed with an airline rep who had her creative juices flowing right then (and probably also felt bad for my Hawaiian flower and I), and worked her magic to find us a flight to get us closer and a car to get us home. Now some may argue she was just doing her job, but that was some serious airline booking magic at work there!
As we watched her do her thing, juxtaposing itineraries, mixing and matching seats like a Lego set, I started thinking about how much (or how little) creativity) we are encouraged to bring to work. After all, isn’t innovation the pulse of a business, and by extension, that of the careers it fosters?
Yet in most businesses nowadays, the rulebook rules, political correctness is in, and we find more barriers to implementing new ideas than ways to bring about positive change. Employees are not encouraged to play up to their strengths, even more so for introverts, and are rather compelled to conform to internal politics for the sake of keeping their jobs. Where have the creativity and innovation gone?
Here are a few reasons why you should rekindle your creative flames at work, regardless of the way it looks or feels to others:
1. Creativity reinforces your brand! Your work is a product of your personal brand, which should reflect who you are and how you present yourself. Infusing it with your personality and creativity not only helps you own and claim it, but it also benefits your brand, reputation and ultimately your success!
2. Creativity lets you play up to your strengths! Remember when you were a kid and would build the most complex Lego houses, shoe closets and sandboxes included? Unleashing your creativity, even when it comes to the most mundane of tasks (read boring Excel spreadsheets), allows you to tap into your strengths (and also figure out your weaknesses). Let it showcase how brilliant you are…
3. It’s fun, simply! We’ve forgotten that work can also be fun and rewarding, or that Monday mornings are not an excuse to eat a pint of ice cream the night before. Without creativity, we stifle our ability to have fun while producing our best work. No wonder so many people did not want to get out of bed this morning…
What are other reasons to unleash your creativity at work?
Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, again…I know, it comes back every year with its slew of annoying ads, chocolate-stuffed teddy bears, and unrelenting pressure to add yet one more expensive purchase to your already overblown budget (and be nice too)…And if you happen to be a single woman out there, the pressure to find a date, a dress and a “good man” radar for the evening…Well, apparently, if you’re a member of the elite and are looking for a Jay-Z-Beyonce type of power couple hookup, there’s an app for that ( I told y’all, there’s an app for everything…), and no it wasn’t created by a man…
This dating app, very conveniently named “The League“, was created by Amanda Bradford, a Stanford business grad mindful of our need to maintain the human snobbery levels intact. It targets local elites, who are either referred or invited through algorithms scanning sites like Linked In for instance, looking for “elite markers” such as what school you went to, what your professional background is, et. Translation: if you’ve waited tables for the past 6 years, have dropped out of your local community college, and are an aspiring writer who could be the Ramen noodle diet poster child, don’t hold your breath…
My $0.05: Well, well, well…I can see how a successful, busy, professional woman would want to keep her dating focus on the cream of the crop out there (and wean out potential “scrubs hanging out in the passenger’s side of their best friend’s ride”, TLC called it!). Plus the time-saving benefits from the smaller pool of candidates out there. Yet, as convenient as it may be, this app just smells a bit too much of elitism, so I’ll pass…
