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Wall Street Casual

Has one of the last bastions of “suit and tie culture” fallen? Byproducts of COVID – a year of working from home in sweats and the return to a minimally-staffed office – show a casual workforce rolling in to Wall Street this summer. Only time and cooler temps will reveal the magnitude of this dress code shift.

Beware cube dwellers, just because there are few coworkers in your office doesn’t mean nobody notices what you’re wearing. Don’t confuse the concept of relaxed rules with no rules and in many ways a relaxed dress code is harder to interpret than a formal one. Remember, any day in the office is a potential job interview!

Sadly, rather than using this opportunity to express imagination and creativity through dress, this story shows a male workforce especially that has simply exchanged one boring uniform for another. Polo shirts and chinos – really?

I hope that if you are returning to a more casual workplace than the one you left a year and a half ago, you will take this opportunity to express your individuality and your talents through your work wardrobe rather than just resigning to a sloppier version of a dull uniform.

A Wall Street Dressing Down: Always. Be. Casual. As workers return to the financial district, longstanding dress codes have been relaxed. Right now, almost anything goes. Even jeans.

When you look in your closet in the morning do you ask, “What do I want to wear today?” Try asking yourself this instead, “What do I want to achieve today?” DRESS WITH PURPOSE!

How First Impressions Will Affect Your Business And Drive Your Revenue Lauren recently released her latest book, Style Therapy: 30 Days to Your Signature Style, as a 30-day active approach to building a personal style and shedding emotional baggage.

Inauguration Day Takeaway: Color and Structure

As I watched last week’s Inaugural festivities unfold, my sartorial soul was lifted to see two of my style favorites on bold display – color and structure! Gray sweat pant wearers take note of the vibrant, saturated hues and sumptuous fabrics creating tailored figures. Does this splendid visual event herald the return of adult clothes? I certainly hope so.
www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/fashion/fashion-news/g35275346/inauguration-fashion/

All the best fashion moments from the inauguration From Kamala Harris in Christopher John Rogers, to Jennifer Lopez in Chanel and Amanda Gorman in Prada

Do not miss another Dress for Success Fabulous Friday! Check out what I found a couple of Fridays ago, then wore them in to volunteer at last week's event. This is the best sale in Charlotte and all proceeds benefit DFS programs to empower and elevate women in our community. Hope to see you there!
https://charlotte.dressforsuccess.org/get-involved/events/fabulous-fridays-are-here/

Having a great time this week doing workshops for Inlivian. Participants are learning how to package themselves to look their professional best in remote interviews and meetings.

Fall is in the air! Time to switch out your closet and embrace the shades of the season. Here are some suggestions from the runways:

As I look best in cool colors, I'll be wearing lots of deep reds and wine shades, and the vibrant blues, coordinating them with gray and black. I might even try some tone-on-tone gray.

Fall offers plenty of options for those who shine in warm shades. Yellow-greens and all shades of orange are your accents to a neutral, sophisticated palette of almond, tan and olive in a range of hues.

9 Color Trends We're About to See Everywhere This Fall We analyzed the fall/winter 2020 runways to figure out which fall color trends we're about to see everywhere come September.

Tools of the Trade Tuesday: Travel Edition

I always pack these night lights when traveling. I really like having a light in the bathroom throughout the night in a hotel room or cruise cabin and the typical available lighting is just too bright.

This flat plug-in is very compact and perfect when your bathroom has an outlet. When you have no outlet, these battery-powered candles do the trick! This one is sitting on a toilet tank. These aren't as bright as the plug-ins, so if one is too dim, add a second.

Just don't forget to re-pack them when you go home!

Suffering from "maskne" -- acne breakout resulting from mask wearing? Nufabrx (https://www.facebook.com/Nufabrx/) has just introduced a new facemask called Soliscia that claims to be beneficial to your skin and quell the dreaded maskne. And they're made in North Carolina! Although I don't typically need to wear a mask for long stretches, I'm thinking of ordering one of these. I hate that I missed last week's launch party to get a free one. If you've tried this mask, let me know what you think.

https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nc/charlotte/partner-content/2020/08/21/a-new-face-mask-from-nufabrx-aims-to-combat--maskne-

https://nufabrx.com/products/soliscia-face-mask

A New Face Mask from Nufabrx Aims to Combat 'Maskne' Textiles company launches face mask to help combat acne.

Where do we go from here? And what will we wear? Check-out this fascinating, in-depth story:

Sweatpants Forever: How the Fashion Industry Collapsed Even before the pandemic, it had started to unravel. What happens now that no one has a reason to dress up?

Tools of the Trade Tuesday

I am forever losing my pant hems! Usually at the least convenient time, like when I want to wear them and don't have time to stitch the hem back in -- which I'm not very good at even when I have loads of time! So, here's a solution I've devised over the years in both a high-brow and low-brow version.

This two-sided Hollywood Fashion Tape is a quick-fix for hems. Attach a small square of tape if most of your hem is still intact. Attach several squares around the hem if it's totally gone as this one was. Press and hold in place for a few seconds and, voila! Wardrobe crisis averted.

Can't find the fashion tape? Two-sided Scotch Tape also works! And it lasts longer. You can tell I've had this roll for years.

I always travel with one of these quick-fix tools in my bag. Just remove before laundering or dry cleaning.

Smile! It costs you nothing and may serve you in ways you hadn't imagined!😀

The Tricks to Make Yourself Effortlessly Charming From the first moment you walk into a room, people are making judgments about how much they like you. Fortunately, there are ways to improve your chances.

Welcome to Tools of the Trade Tuesday!

I ordered this nifty collapsible garment rack from Amazon. It's brilliant for organizing and viewing what I want to pack for a trip. When I'm finished with it, I snap it closed and tuck it in my closet. (Well, I tuck it in Bob's closet, but you get the idea.)

https://smile.amazon.com/Tangkula-Extendable-Garment-Foldable-Adjustable/dp/B085FSBCDF/ref=sr_1_8?dchild=1&keywords=tangkula+garment+rack&qid=1595942909&sr=8-8