by Solange Lopes | Oct 3, 2014 | Career
Dover Crew Sweatshirt – $195 – Photo: zady.com
It’s Friiiiday! Seriously, this has been a long week, and I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for the week-end. Hence my week-end pick, this Dover Crew sweatshirt from Zady!
Love, love, love the authentic leather elbow details, and the heirloom ribbon on the side seam. It’s really all about the details with this luxe, cozy sweatshirt perfect for the Fall! This sweatshirt is $195 at Zady!
I’d pair it with a longer crew neck tee like this one from Target, and these absolutely delish
Tory Burch booties – $225 – Photo: shopbop.com
Tory Burch booties from Shopbop.
Now that’s a week-end outfit…
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Oct 3, 2014 | Career |
Lego female scientist kist – Photo credit: thegadgeteer.com
My house is filled with Lego pieces. Anyone who’s ever entered our sweet, noisy abode had tripped up at least once on the d… things, or has been left with a stinging reminder of their sharp edges somewhere between their right and left buttocks. Now it may have something to do with the fact that there are little people under 5 currently residing with us, but I may have to get back to you on that…
Truth is, nagging parenting blame aside, I do enjoy the process of turning weird-looking little pieces into things. I wrote earlier about how cartoons and child’s play are great for (if not essential to) to your career. And so are Legos, and the whole mentality that goes with it:
1. Your career is a giant bag of Lego pieces, and you are the builder! Legos help children develop a Maker mentality.After all, what else could you do with a bunch of scattered pieces devoid of any apparent link or connection? Our Vision, big degrees, experience, networks, street smarts, are but a few of the pieces we often fail to assemble to get the careers we want! My 2-year old will tell you that much…
2. Your career is not based on your gender! Legos now put girls and women in their rightful places: remember then-7-year-old Charlotte Benjamin, who wrote a plea to Lego pointing out that “There are more Lego boy people and barely any Lego girls.” And remember how Lego came out with the first female scientist kist a few months thereafter. Well, in the midst of all the brouhaha about gender parity and equal pay for equal work, this young lady taught us all, sometimes, all we need is a piece of Lego with lipstick on…
3. Your career is a giant Lego-in-process! Whether you’re building it up, tearing it down, or transitioning from one career to another, your career is a constant work-in-progress! My daughter is always building and re-building the same castle over and over again. More crooked walls here, take out the door there (who needs doors), wheels here (are mobile homes on the rise?). Any kid will tell you you can’t sleep on your Lego laurels, lest the competition next door crushes you with their flying, doorless castles! The same goes for your career, you snooze, you lose!
So really, as the CEO of your career, next time you’re making your annual forecast, please save some room in the budget for some serious Lego investments…And when in doubt, please allow me to send over my two personal in-house Lego experts, aka my kids…
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Oct 2, 2014 | Career
Luxe wrap coat – $348 – Photo: lanebryant.com
Dressing for the corporate environment is not always easy or inexpensive. And finding professionally-appropriate, flattering and good quality clothing when you’re nowhere near a size 2 can be even more of a challenge.
Hence why I absolutely love the new collab between Isabel Toledo and Lane Bryant. That’s what I’d call perfected “curvy corporate fashion”! The pieces are elegant, well-cut and great for the office!
If I had to pick one item out of the entire collab collection for this Fall, it would be this luxe wrap coat! Actually reminds me a of a similar wrap coat from The Limited’s Scandal collection, very “Olivia-Pope”!
What do you think of this Lane Bryant collab?
by Solange Lopes | Oct 2, 2014 | Career
Diagonal-pleat combo skirt – $298 – Photo: neimanmarcus.com
Loving this Elie Tahari pleat combo skirt from Neiman Marcus. The diagonal pleats on this otherwise classic A-skirt line are both original and unexpected, amping up the “oomph” factor on it.
I also really like the slight natural rise of this skirt, perfect to hide any muffin tops or “I ate too much” lunch syndrome. I’d pair this skirt with a crisp white blouse, ideally under the coordinating jacket (available for $448 also at Neiman Marcus).
Elie Tahari Zip Front Jacket – $448 – Photo: neimanmarcus.com
This skirt is $298!
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Oct 2, 2014 | Career |
Muslim women – Photo credit: muslimvillage.com
Women around me inspire me. Most of the stories I write about, tips I share and (slightly frenzied) enthusiasm I have for anything pro-woman, is because of them. Like my dear friend F., who apart from knowing me better than myself, also happens to be an incredibly smart corporate sister. She is also Black and a Muslim.
When we think of women at work, we picture the struggle for equal rights, equal pay for equal work, and breaking that d… glass ceiling in a million scattered pieces. We ponder about work-Iife balance, and having it all. We strive at leaning in, as many of us end up doing the exact opposite. As a matter of fact, for women of color, and minorities even within this group, leaning in does not exactly have the same meaning.
Yet what we often miss are the countless layers of experience embedded in the reality of working women. Nameless and at times faceless experiences of double and triple minorities at work. Experiences that could teach and edify us more than we’d ever suspect…
My friend F. loves her job, and excels at it. Unless she’s asked about her religion, or deals with the occasional imams who stop by to inquire about their accounts, she doesn’t really worry much about it. She also dresses in a Westernized fashion and has always done so. “If I covered up, I’m sure I would have an entirely different experience”, she says.
My friend K. is also Muslim. She also happens to be from the Dominican Republic, and looks like a strikingly beautiful mix of Arabic and Latin. Weren’t it for her gold necklace shaped into Arabic letters, or some of her Facebook posts, you would never know she too, is part of the changing face of diversity in the corporate world.
These are only a drop in the sea of talented, striving women who not only defy the stereotypes of women at work, but don’t even fit into them. They are not bragging about their rights, or screaming “discrimination”, yet are peacefully giving a voice and a face to a positive, ever-changing picture of diversity at work.
So as we fight for gender equality and equal pay for equal work, let’s also not forget that diversity at work extends beyond the value of our paychecks, or the statistics around women on corporate boards…
It’s also about embracing an ever-changing spectrum of diversity as we all reach higher…
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Oct 1, 2014 | Career |
Nubian Skin hosiery in Matt 10 Denier Tights BERRY – Photo: nubianskin.com
‘Tis the season of tights and hosiery, as Fall is upon us. As a woman of color, finding tights that can come close enough to a nude shade is always a challenge. As a matter of fact, finding “nude” anything is the object of quite the hunt. I had written earlier last year about the Louboutin nude shoe collection for all skin tones, and am glad to have found a lingerie company making nudes for all skin tones, with shades that would actually look nude on me.
Nubian Skin, headquartered in the UK, makes and sells “a different kind of nude”! From lingerie to hosiery, the choices and shades of nude are varied and beautiful. I personally love the Matt 10 Denier tights in BERRY color as pictured. And they ship to the US!
And for more nude selections, check out my post on nude makeup for work, and the perfect nude nail polish for work, oh and these classy nude pumps too!
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Oct 1, 2014 | Career |
7th Avenue Suit Collection – Photo: nyandcompany.com
Loving this streamlined dark blue suit from New York & Company. The color is original, the cut modern for a vibrant-looking suit that can be worn at work and after-hours!
I’d pair this suit with an elegant shell like this silk
Silk Charmeuse shell – $69.50 – talbots.com
charmeuse shell from Talbots, or this cami from one of my previous Work It selections. And since this suit is already vibrant, I’d limit the jewelry to a statement necklace as pictured, or a statement bracelet for added oomph factor.
The jacket is on sale for $44.97, and the coordinating bootcut pants are also on sale for $29.00 at New York and Co.
The Corporate Sis.
