Not a Blogger: A Corporate Fashun Blog

I want to be Claire Underwood when I grow up. (Please note: this season her hair got super weird. I acknowledge that. Also, her necklines. WTF, Netflix.) She always looks polished and sophisticated. She wears her clothes like a suit of armor, ready to do battle. Unfortunately, I am not Claire Underwood. I do not have that budget or that body. And even though I love the way she pulls of those neutrals, I do also love the Duchess of Cambridge and her willingness to throw a little color into our lives while still looking flawless (except that time she got off the plane and her skirt looked like crap). So where do I go for the timeless pieces and the occasional pizzaz of color? I'm sure a lot of you have heard of the site, and have maybe even taken a look. I'm telling you today to look again. Here's why: Remember when the J.Crew catalog would come in the mail and you would pour over it, loving every outfit, and wishing you could be that super effortless girl that was ...

She thinks no and stands by her opinion that Real Working Girls can never have too many black knit dresses. Why? Because they're awesome. Typically they can be dressed up or down, still fit and flatter even if you've put on a couple pounds, are seasonless, and usually are in a classic-enough shape that they can be worn for years (if properly cared for). They're also  basic enough that they provide a good blank canvas for accessories and shoes (i.e. if you change up the accessories no one will notice you’ve worn the same dress twice in one week). Katie 1 currently owns 5 black knit dresses and is contemplating buying a 6 th .  Specifically, she is contemplating buying this  dress from the Ann Taylor sale (SALE!!!!!)   Her justification for purchasing the dress is that she thinks it is different enough from her other black knit dresses that it won’t be redundant in her wardrobe.  Which leads to an interesting question, what do her other black knit dresses look l...

Let’s face it, although social media would have us believe otherwise, none of us live Pinterest perfect lives.  Hell, we can’t even pretend too.  With that in mind, we thought it would be fun to share some of the worst things we’ve ever worn to work as actual adults who should have known better.    Katie 1: Besides taking the interview attire advice offered by my law school career services office too literally (because we ALL did that), I would have to say that the most cringe-worthy workwear mistake I’ve made involves a really lovely Banana Republic suit that I bought at the Salvation Army.  Said suit was in my size but a Tall. I’m 5’4”.  Clearly this required pretty extensive alterations that I naively thought my dry cleaner could handle.  I. Was. So. Wrong. Oh good lord was I wrong. The alterations were a disaster, especially the shortening of the sleeves on the jacket.  That was the worst.  Not only were the alterations a disaster b...

Being fairly Type A, we really love a good blog post series for a number of reasons. First, it keeps us organized. Second, it gives us good ideas for content. Third, it allows all three of us to showcase our different tastes, tricks, and overall style. With that in mind, welcome to a post series we like to call "Because My Wardrobe Isn't C/O: Where I Really Shop" (see title above, too). In this series, each of us will discuss some of our  favorite places to buy clothing for work (or play) and link to some items we've purchased or just really like. We are going to try to stay away from the typical corporate fashun stand-bys (Banana Republic for workwear? Groundbreaking.) and try and focus on retailers that don't get a ton of fashun blog love. Hopefully you will find some new places to shop! ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ Katie 1 is going to start us off by discussing her love of Lands End. Yes, Lands; End. The place of school uniforms, boat totes, and b...

Summer finally decided to arrive in Chicago. With highs in the 90s and 1,000,000% humidity, getting dressed for work in the morning was all sorts of fun. Which is probably a good thing for the three of you that read our blog. Why? Because it gives us content. Welcome to our guide for how to dress professionally for hot weather, because nothing says "Trust me, I'm a professional!" more than sweat stains and melting makeup. Here's what we have found that works for us: Clothing:  (The realm of the Katies) We're big fans of light, breathable fabrics on really hot days. Think cottons, light poly/rayon blends, ponte. We're particularly fond of cotton blend pencil skirts, full skirts, and ponte dresses. Cotton suiting is also worth a mention. For example, today Katie 1 wore this color block ponte sheath dress. We find this dress to be perfect for hot weather because the ponte fabric is breathable, comfortable, machine washable, and maintains its shape ev...

[Disclosure: This post was started by Katie 2, because we (read "she") wanted to be real with you. Katie 1 and Elizabeth disagreed- not about the being real part, but rather the opinions contained herein. Katie 2 wrote it anyway, and Katie 1 and Elizabeth edited and added their own thoughts.] Nordstrom sucks. (Nordstrom People: Please do not take offense. We would love some free stuff! Keep reading! It gets better- I promise!!) The corporate fashion bloggers want you to think that it is THE PLACE TO GO for all your clothing needs. This. Is. A. Lie. (Please see the rest of this blog for proof.) The store is big. It's expensive. You can never find what you're looking for. "I just need a great black tank to replace one of my ten plain black tanks, to wear with my dozens of patterned pencil skirts and black cardigans" said every Working Girl ever. I will not go so far as to say I'm a convert, but I will admit I'm coming around (a little). It's ha...

Extra 60% off sale styles at Ann Taylor today. That's right. 6-0. We love us some Ann Taylor (partly because it's 2 blocks from our office and if you spill something/tear something/don't like what you're wearing, it's easy to pop in and they will cut the tags off in the fitting room for you so you can walk out in your new duds). So go stock up without breaking the bank. And check back soon- putting the finishing touches on a new post for you!

Due to lack of creativity, any time we have breaking SALE! news, we are going to use the same post title. Today's big deal: Brooks Brothers Semi-annual sale online and in stores. Now through June 27, limited-time values on limited quantity items that you were too cheap to buy at full price (we aren't judging).

As we've noted previously, a good portion of our content will be offering real world commentary on corporate fashion blogs that we've read over the years. We are the first to admit that as newly minted professionals we relied heavily on the content in various corporate fashion blogs when building our working wardrobes. We are also the first to admit that many of the blogs we now snark on have previously provided us with sound workwear advice. Although, notably, most of this advice was given when the  blogger didn't show her face and still had an actual job other than blogger. Thinking about this advice, each of us wanted to share the best and worst work fashion advice they have ever received via a corporate fashion blog. Katie 1 Best Advice:  If you find a suit that you love, buy every. damn. piece (i.e. the jacket, skirt, pants, dress). Also included: dry clean all of the pieces together. Why? Especially as you are building a professional wardrobe (which can be expens...

We will do our best to keep all of our loyal readers aware of any great sales and deals, because Katie 1 is thrifty, Katie 2 is lazy can't find stuff herself, and Elizabeth needs to decrease her "other" spending to increase her make-up budget. We let you know about the great deal on the Old Navy t-shirt dress ($10!!!!) earlier today. Here's another: Costco has Hanes Silk Performance 6-Pack of Panty Hose for $22.99!!! Please note: we are well aware that it is currently 81 degrees (forgive us- we can't figure out how to put in a 'degree' symbol) in Chicago and bare legs are completely appropriate in the summer. But a good deal is a good deal. Stock up now, so in the middle of winter you won't have to stop at Walgreen's on your way into the office.

Folks, today we are coming out with the big guns. Some bloggers may hold off and save the good stuff until they have more then three followers. Not us! We are going to give it everything we've got each and every day week time we feel like posting. The very first thing all of you need in your real working girl wardrobe: the Old Navy t-shirt dress!  Yes, Old Navy. That place where you used to buy $3 flip flops in every color, and that beloved fleece vest (damn, we looked so good in middle school). The place you still buy shorts and jeans in your "I'm going to start working out and lose weight" phase before you just admit that it's not going to happen. Yeah. That place sells the first thing we are going to tell you to buy.  Take a look So why do you,  the REAL Working Girl, need this dress? Comfort Versatility Price (no $400 price tag here! Take THAT bitchy bloggers everywhere!) Packable Machine Washable 1, 3, and 5 are self-explanatory. 4 is too,...