Not a Blogger: A Corporate Fashun Blog

If you read our post on Nordstrom , you may recall that something I (Elizabeth) enjoy about Nordstrom are the events they have throughout the year.  In particular, I mentioned TrendShow. For those of you that don't know, TrendShow is a beauty event held twice a year.  This year’s Fall TrendShow was last weekend (September 23 to be exact) and we are going to tell you all about it so you can decide whether you may want to attend in the future, particularly if you're looking for a reason to like Nordstrom (like Katie 2). First, Katie 2 asked me how I knew about this event and how I got invited.  As much as I would love to pretend that I am some sort of VIP with special access and knowledge to fabulous private events, I’m not. I first learned of TrendShow years ago when I had stopped at a makeup counter in Nordstrom and the sales clerk told me about it and asked if I would like to go.  Totally random and ordinary.  Since then, I generally know the tim...

Without a doubt, our most highly viewed post is The Shoes Every Woman Needs , where we outline the shoes that... every woman needs. We here at Not a Corporate Fashun Blog voted that every working girl needs: 1) black pumps; 2) nude pumps; 3) fun shoes; 4) black flats; and 5) other casual shoes.  So now, we bring you a series within a series, a Shoe Inception if you will, in which we walk (see what we did there?) through each of those five categories and show you shoes we love at varying price points. Up first: the nude pump. Why? Because even though they aren't the first shoe we discussed in our initial post, Katie 1 and Elizabeth believe that the nude shoe season is coming to a close and we want to make sure we give you our recommendations. Katie 2 is more than a little OCD and doesn't like that we aren't going through the shoes in the order we initially discussed them, but she's trying to be flexible. k We would also like to take this moment to give a special t...

Labor Day has come and gone. Temperatures here in Chicago a week ago were dipping and Pumpkin Spice Lattes (pretty much pumpkin everything) are out in full force, so not surprisingly we here at Not a Corporate Fashun Blog have fall on the brain. Fall is undoubtedly the best season. SUCK IT WINTER! (And to a lesser degree summer and spring.) But heading into cooler weather isn't as easy as just switching out tank tops for sweaters. We have had some crisp mornings, but temperatures were in the 90s (yes 90s) here last week. Clearly there is a wide range of temperature changes before summer fades completely and fall takes over in earnest (despite what the calendar says). So how do you dress for this transitional period and embrace the pumpkin spice? [Katies 1 and 2 would like to take this moment to announce that they do not support pumpkin or pumpkin spice anything. Elizabeth says "fine, embrace the spice and fall fruit of your choosing".] We're glad you asked.  Lay...

A while back, Katie 1 told you about her fashion disaster . At 5’4”, perhaps that tall suit wasn’t such a great idea. But this foray down memory lane gave us a great idea for our next common suiting myth: a tailor can fix anything. Fact: tailors are miracle workers. Katie 2 has seem some miraculous work on some pretty janky bridesmaid dresses that turned out to be downright flattering when nipped and tucked in the right places. And there have been many a pieces that didn’t fit quite as well after a few pounds appeared overnight and a tailor was able to let out just a bit to keep that classic piece in rotation a while longer. But not everything can be saved. We want to take this opportunity to not only let you know that a tailor can’t fix some things, but also let you know what  can be done so if you fall in love with something that doesn’t fit quite right or if you find an amazing deal at Nordstrom Rack/Good Will/eBay, you may be able to snag it. [Note: We do plan to have an...

Let’s start this post with a note.  While this post is geared towards working out while traveling (for business or pleasure), the same advice can apply when you move to a new place and are: (1) trying to meet new people; (2) learn about your new city; and (3) trying to find a new gym.  Got it?  Good. Let’s talk about ways to get a kick ass workout while traveling.* *For the sake of ease, this post is going to be divided into two parts – workouts you can do for free and ones you pay for, because sometimes it’s worth it.  Free Workouts: Perhaps the easiest way to get a good workout while taking in the sights of your destination of choice (or not) is to put on your running shoes and go for a good run. We’re huge fans of using running to get to know your location. It’s quick, it’s easy, it's cheap, and it doesn’t require a lot of planning.  If you’re particularly adventurous or at least somewhat familiar with the city you’re visiting, y...

or "How to Wear Black and White Without Looking Like a Waiter" Black is a staple in any working girl’s wardrobe, whether it be pants, skirts, dresses, cardigans, shoes… the list never ends. One of the easiest ways to wear it is to pair it with one of the million white tops you have in your closet, but if you’re like us here at Not a Corporate Fashun Blog, when you slip on your favorite black pants with a white top, you feel as nervous going for drinks after hours as you do when you stop into Target forgetting you’re wearing a red shirt and khakis. So we wanted to give you a few simple tips on how to wear your basics together without anyone confusing you for the person who still hasn’t brought them their cocktail that they ordered 10 minutes ago. Accessorize . Yes, this may seem obvious, but the easiest way to not look like you’re taking orders is to add statement pieces to your look. This is not the day to wear your super comfortable, super old black flats. Make you...

We love a good series, as we’ve noted before . This new series is all about introducing (I’m sure you already got that part) you to new products and brands that you may not know about. The brand/product may not necessarily be new, but it’s something that is new to us, and we want to give you our honest feedback on what works and what doesn’t. Because why should all 6 of our readers waste money on the same damn thing only to find out that those bloggers only raved about it because they were paid to? You don’t have to worry that we’re not honest, because we aren’t paid for content because no one reads our blog. (HELLO???? Anyone there?!?!) Readers, we would like to introduce you to clothing brand MM. LaFleur. Katie 1 and Katie 2 heard about this from a few bloggers a while back, when boxed services were all the rage. MM. La Fleur is not a subscription service. You can go to their website and shop just like you do anywhere else. What is a little unique is you can get what the...

...even if we don't put out a full post. To that end, one of our favorite corporate fashion bloggers who hasn't jumped the shark yet (check her out at theworkedit.com ) posted a short article on why we as working women need to exercise. Take a look   and check back with us next week for our regular Workout Wednesday post!

As you can tell from this post  and this post , we here at Not a Corporate Fashun Blog spend a good deal of money on our shoes.  Why? Well, remember this post  where Katie 2 said you should buy the best you can afford for classic items?  We believe that shoes fall into that category.  Because our shoes do fall within the splurge category, we want to make sure they last as long as possible and if something breaks, we tend to maintain and repair rather than repurchase.  So… let’s discuss maintenance.  Repair will be discussed in a separate post because apparently we’re wordy. Let’s start this by stating the obvious – you need a good cobbler. A good cobbler is as essential to the real working girl as a good hairstylist, so do your homework and find one who knows his or her shit.  Nothing can ruin a pair of expensive shoes like bad maintenance or repairs.  We’ve found that word of mouth is the best way to find a good cobbler so ask your fr...

In this post  we introduced you to our individual skincare routines. It was one of our most highly viewed posts which makes us think you liked it. We said in that post that we would make a series on how much we really spend on stuff. Up next: make-up. Note: We consider moisturizing as part of our skincare routine, not make-up. You can find what we use in our previous post. [Editors Note: Blogspot really hates our links and sometimes they don't show up. We have linked to every product we use, so just hover and you can find what we're talking about.] Katie 2: I really have no idea what I'm doing. I try something and use it until it's gone, then replace it with whatever Elizabeth or the people at Sephora recommend. There are a few items that I use "all the time", so those I've marked with a **. Sunblock: I use it every day, but I'm not loyal to any brand. I subscribed to Birch Box a while back, and because I said I didn't want any scents or nail ...