Let's Go Shopping!

While I sit here melting at my computer ... ugh, what is up with the weather lately?! ... I'm excited today to help answer a Working Girl reader question! It goes something like this:

"Hey Working Girl! I just got my first job and I need to know where to buy clothes. I've found that Express has some great pants, but I'm having the hardest time with tops. Is it so bad that I want something more classic vs. all the cutesy, frilly, ruffle-y stuff that's out there?"

I'm a big believer that it's not about where you shop, but knowing what you're looking for. As a newbie in the working world, the first thing you want to do is shop for some "business basics" before you go shopping for those fun tops. Check out the short clip below about how to dress professionally on a budget with tips from the Editor-in-Chief of ELIZA Magazine:


How to Dress Professionally on a Budget -- powered by eHow.com

So once you've got the basics down, you can shop for items that will allow you to easily mix and match to get the most out of your wardrobe. Purchasing a variety of fun tops is a great place to begin. Get creative. Choose unique patterns, be a little more bold in color. Below are three of my favorite looks:

Comfortable, yet dressy: I love tops like these because while the loose and airy cut will ensure comfort, the shiny fabric makes it dressy and professional. While you may think fitted tops are attractive, oftentimes they are most uncomfortable and all that tugging and pulling every time you stand or sit down is unattractive. A top like this obviously looks great paired with a pencil skirt (part of your business basics), but will also look fabulous under a blazer or over your Express pants sinched at the waist with a belt or even a wide black ribbon.

A top with pop: Dressing professional can be fun, don't limit yourself to stuffy button-down shirts. For example, look for tops with a little extra flair to it like this button detail with a pleated bib. Again, a top like this will look great under a blazer, a cardigan or a shrug, and then if you get warm, you can take off that extra layer and still look chic. You don't have to succumb to over-the-top ruffles to make a statement, but at least look for something that's different than what you already have in your closet and that makes a subtle statement.



Go sailing: Lastly, one trend that I am loving is the nautical-inspired look. Bold navy blue, black or red striped tops paired wih metallic accessories and/or a dark blazer is a timeless look that can make any working girl's wardrobe exciting and classy.

(Mostly I'm thinking the left or far right image applied to your working girl wardrobe, the middle one not so much.)

What are some of your favorite office looks?

Working Girl Wardrobe: Fall Favorites

It is October and it has just begun to feel like fall in NYC. I have been particularly giddy about the change in weather patterns because I get to wear my new fall coat that I picked up at The Gap on sale a few weeks back. It's grey and oh so gorgeous and makes me a feel like a Working Girl who could defeat the world (all good coats should make you feel that way).

Fall means that I can hide my bumps with big sweaters, long pants, and awesome jackets that make you feel like a superwoman. But fall also means that I'm gonna have to start drying my hair in the mornings which makes me a little unhappy. But on the up side, I might actually start looking like a human being at work!

So in honor of fall, here are two outfits that I am immediately going to purchase. Everything featured are from my favorite "save me money" stores Forever 21, Old Navy, and Target.

I am recently loving on purple and according to WG1 it is the go-to color of the season. I am also really into rings lately - big and gaudy is my motto. Brings a little bit of flair into my day-to-day outfits.

While this outfit is on the verge of being "too wintery", I still love it. My wardrobe is all about grey, black and red this fall.

Omigosh do I just love autumn and hot chocolate and apple cider and hay stacks and leaves!

O to the M to the G

At work, I have a few nicknames. Most have been given to me by my gay, pushing 45-year-old, Cuban bff. To be quite honest, none of them make any sense. My bff is one of those laugh at his own jokes kinda guy. But I love him anyway. But I digress. My other office-wide nickname is the Queen of Target. And no, I'm so not joking. On a daily basis it is guaranteed that something I'm wearing from the retail chain. 

So good golly Miss Molly am I excited for the news I am about to type out here. Target is opening a chain of "bullseye bodegas" in New York City! How awesomely stellar is that?!? Apparently Target's numbers are down this year (sidenote: recessions are one of my irrational fears), so they are really pushing their diffusion lines. Translation: diffusion lines are those special lines done by hot designers like Botkier, Alice Temperley, and Jovovich-Hawk. Which means Target is going to be coming out with a lot of new lines for me to drool over. 

An apparel line by Jonathan Saunders, a new handbag line by Anya Hindmarch, and a shoe collection by Sigerson Morrison. What I'm really looking forward to? The new Richard Chai line. I love the bold colors for fall (dark purples and blues! woohoo!) and of course I love how Working Girl friendly the whole line is. 

Fellow NYC Working Girls, the bodegas will open in September in midtown, Union Square, Soho and the East Village.

Working Girl Watches: Project Runway

Are you in or are you out?

"Project Runway": I'm in!

Last night's "Lipstick Jungle" challenge: I'm out! And so is WG2.

Last winter, both ABC and NBC filled the void of the writers strike with short seasons of two Working Girl shows, "Cashmere Mafia" and "Lipstick Jungle," respectively. As two girls who love television, WG2 and I were beyond excited about these work-related dramedies.

"Cashmere Mafia" was everything I wanted it to be and more. As I said in January, "Cashmere Mafia" makes me want to take on the business world in a couture dress and 4-inch heels. Lipstick Jungle was the complete opposite. As WG2 said in February, "I don't have "Lipstick Jungle" fever."

Needless to say, we were completely dumbfounded as to why "Cashmere Mafia" was cancelled and "Lipstick Jungle" was not. I'm still hoping that ABC is playing a joke on us and bringing back Mia, Zoe, Juliet, and Caitlin. As unrealistic as their lives were, they inspired me to work hard and focus on my career. And, bottom line, it was fun! The "Lipstick Jungle" ladies made me depressed and convinced me that if I become a career woman I'll be alone for the rest of my life. Who wants to believe that? Even if it could be the reality.

However, last night's episode of "Project Runway" made me rethink my hatred of "Lipstick Jungle." How can a Working Girl hate Brooke Shields? She's definitely a Working Girl Idol.

September 24th, when "Lipstick Jungle" premieres, I'm going to give it another chance, another try. At the very least, I'm going to watch for Keith's sexy outfit:

Excuse Me, Your Spanx Are Showing

I dropped my laundry off for wash & fold on Sunday. I hadn't done laundry in about two weeks, thus limiting my clothing choices until I had time to pick my $18.00 worth of wash & fold at 8:55 tonight, right before closing. 

Monday, I wore my Working Girl best for an event at work with a popular fashionista (more on that later this week). This morning, I didn't have any clean cami's and I ran out of comfortable underwear three days ago. 

That left me this:

Yes, it's cute, but not for work. A navy dress that I probably should have realized was too short for work, a brown wrap, and brown boots. Oh and Spanx because of the whole no-clean-underwear thing (if you look closely, you can see them). Being a Spanx virgin, I figured you're supposed to wear them without underwear, right? There is no way a pair of underwear would fit between all that Lycra and my tush. I also figured that because I was wearing a short dress the short-like Spanx would make me feel more comfortable. Not the case. 

Walking to the bus stop, I began to feel self-conscience. The Spanx felt funny and I noticed how short my dress actual

ly is as it flew up in the wind. It didn't end there. All day I felt awkward and more and more self-conscience. I pulled my dress down as much as I could each time I got up from my desk. I checked to be sure my Spanx weren't showing every minute as I walked around the office. Every time I went to the bathroom I asked whoever was in there if they thought my dress was too short. They said "no," I'm pretty sure they were lying. All my assistant friends knew I was having a bad clothing day (and bad hair day, but that's another story). 

I should probably point out that then men in my office, all five of them, are uber awkward and I felt more awkward in my outfit in front of them. It didn't help that four of the men have desks or offices within a two-yard radius of my desk. I'm pretty sure at least one of them caught me adjusting my Spanx when I thought no one was looking. I was seriously contemplating taking them off, it's not like I haven't done it before. I couldn't wait for the day to be over. But before it was over, I had to have a meeting with my two bosses (male boss and female boss). 

I was asked in the early afternoon by my male boss if I could meet with them both at five. Having no idea what they wanted to talk about and knowing that they just had a department status meeting about improving the department, I was nervous. Promptly at five, Female Boss called me into her office with Male Boss. I grabbed my notebook and pen (I never go anywhere without those two items) and sat down in her office. 

"Ok, this isn't a scary meeting," Female Boss said. 

"Oh, good," I nervously giggled. 

"Actually," Male Boss began, "we wanted to know who said you could wear that type of outfit to work?"

I was mortified and it definitely showed. But before I could lift my chin off the floor and pull my dress over my knees, Female Boss informed me that he was kidding. He was, I think. Or I thought. Until I started writing this post, I thought he was kidding. But the more I think about Male Boss and his sense of humor and the things I've heard him say to my co-workers (for example: "What's with your hair? Are you sure that's the color you asked for?"), I'm realizing that he was at least 35% serious about my outfit.

It turned out that our meeting was about my work load and future responsibilities, not my short navy dress and Spanx (more about that meeting later). 

This Doesn't Feel Right

Black tights from Duane Reade. Gray BCBG skirt. WG2's black and gray tweed pumps. Silk navy blouse from Forever 21.

That's just a small list of items in my Working Girl wardrobe that I hate to wear, but wear them anyway. I pull them out of my closet - from my dresser drawers or off the floor depending on how far I got folding my laundry the last time I did it. I hold the item in front of my face, then up to my body, and think to myself, "It won't be as uncomfortable as last time."

It usually is uncomfortable at first. But then as I start commuting my gray skirt starts to ride up, as it always does, and my black tights start to sag in an awkward way.

If my day's uncomfortable item happens to be shoes, which only happens if WG2 leaves the apartment before me and a pair of her shoes happen to work with my outfit perfectly, I think, "It'll be fine, I'll wear my Uggs on the way to work and just slip these bad boys on when I get to my desk." I convince myself that I won't be on my feet that much. Then by 9:30 my feet are throbbing and I've switched into my go-to black pumps that live in my shoe closet.

Shoes are easy to deal with; you can change into a more comfortable pair or take them off when you're at your desk. But the rest of the outfit, well, you can't exactly take your skirt off in the middle of the day now can you? And it'd be a little obvious if you completely changed your outfit around lunchtime.

When I wear an uncomfortable outfit, I usually deal with it. But there was that one occasion where I had to go to the Gap and purchase a cardigan because I didn't realize that my dress was very low cut. Another day, I barely left my desk because I was wearing leggings with a dress (or should I say shirt?) that hugged my tush a little more than I would have liked it to. At first, I didn't think it was that bad, but it didn't help that one of the men in my office gave me a weird look from the conference room when I first walked into the office that morning.

Then, there was the time I took off my undies. Yes, my underwear.

I wore a red cotton dress from Forever 21 - top quality couture right there. Underneath I had worn a dark green thong. Let's just say I wasn't really thinking that morning. It wasn't until I got to the office and went into the bathroom around 10:30 that I noticed my thong was fully viable through my red dress. I kept it on for a while but my self-consciousness escalated and I eventually went to the bathroom and took it off. 

The 'no underwear' thing made me a different kind of uncomfortable, but thankfully the the kind of uncomfortable that none of my coworkers would notice.