Weekend Wardrobe Watch: The perfect work heel at $60..... no really.

We all search for it.  The perfect work heel.  Not too pointy, not too round in the toe.  Not too high, but not too low.  Comfortable enough to wear all day.  Comes in multiple colors.  Doesn't break the bank. 

I found it!  The caress heel by Nine West is amazing.  I bought the steel blue color in the store and loved them so much I bought 2 more colors!  And at $60, you can buy several pairs! 

My favorite are still the blue, as shown here.  I really push the envelope in court when it comes to footwear, and I wear the blue ones all the time to court with my navy suit.  Sharp and classy, with a modern twist. 

To iPad, or not to iPad......

As someone who sees the utility of a 4G powered device that is larger than my cell phone for work purposes, I have considered all sorts of tablets (other than my kindle fire.)  I will likely be needing a new laptop/computer/tablet type device by the end of the year, mostly because my tried and true Sony is dying but also a little because I need the tax write off. 

The threshold question for a lot of us in this situation is whether we are going to go for another laptop, or whether we are going to transition to using a tablet as our primary device.  After careful consideration, I have come up with the pros and cons of both.  Note I did NOT say I actually made a decision, hence my call for your assistance, readers!  Let's get started:


The laptop.  Familiar, trustworthy, reliable, and thanks to the popularity of tablets, CHEAP.  For my purposes, I have found that a laptop for around $400 gets me everything I need and more, while the iPad for a similar price doesn't have nearly the same capacity.  I am also a keyboard junkie, which makes me consider the built in keyboard a major plus.  Now I understand that I can attach a keyboard to an iPad, but for the price of the high capacity iPad and the keyboard, I am looking at double the price of a laptop. 

The tablet.  I have shopped around and the iPad has all of the sweet apps I want plus I can read my kindle books on it, the 4G is great, and the technology is unmatched by any other tablet.  I can work form anywhere!  (I haven't actually decided whether this is a pro yet.)  It's like having a phone, iPod, and computer all in one!  My major problems with it are the price point, the auxiliary costs, and the lack of keyboard.  I know myself, and it is likely that I would use the keyboard with it 80% of the time. 

So, here is the question I present to you, readers:  given your professional needs, do you find a high end laptop or a tablet device to be the most universal?  

 

Weekend Wardrobe Watch..... The Washable Suit is BACK!

I cannot express to my readers how excited I am about this find!  After seeing a well-warranted rant regarding women's suiting from one of my lawyer friends, I went on a mission this morning to try and help her out.  Wait until you see what I found.......

About 5 years ago, The Limited came out with The Travel Suit.  It was made of good quality tropical washable wool, it was under $500, it was machine washable, and it came out of the dryer looking like it had just come back from the cleaners.  I wore it to every interview I had when I was in law school.  Then they discontinued it.  I was inconsolable. 

Jones New York has brought it BACK!  This seems too good to be true, but it is.  Here are the features:

• Machine washable
• Multiple colors, cuts, and available as a skirt or pant suit
• Under $500
• Available in petite AND plus sizes

 Here it is, have at it ladies!!!!  Also, if you sign up for emails, JNY will give you an automatic $20 discount. 

We Now Return to Our Regularly Scheduled Programming

Ok....... so it's obviously been a while.  That being said, I have a defense, like any good lawyer.  ;)  After an exhausting yet brief relationship that came to an equally exhausting end, AND moving to a new city for a new job where I didn't know anyone, AND starting CrossFit because I am insane, I am finally back on track blog-wise.  You missed me, I can tell.

Now that it has been a few months and I have a whole host of new experiences, both professional and fashion forward, under my belt, I am making my triumphant return to Ms. Esq.  To kick us off, I would like to broach a subject that I have personal experience with.  I am going to use the term "experience" loosely, because this post is call for advice from my readers:  TATTOOS IN THE WORKPLACE; How much, if any, is too much?

As the recipient of two permanent works of body art, one of which is in a visible location, I have struggled with this problem for a while.  One is on my lower back so no problem there, but I also have a small one on my ankle.  Better than the original planned placement, which was supposed to be behind my ear, but I digress.  Now, CLEARLY, I am not about to walk into court anytime soon in a skirt suit and rockin the shamrock tattoo on my ankle in front of a judge.  Que the Kat Von D tattoo make-up.  But what about everyday at the office?

It is also a given that we shouldn't go strutting into the first day on the new job with our tats out.  (You can laugh at the word-play, that's why I wrote it.)   But what about the scenario in which you have settled in at work, your co-workers like and respect you, and you live in a city where the summers are unbearably hot?  My initial attempt at camouflaging my ankle tattoo was to wear panty hose.  I could launch into a host of reasons why this was an extremely ineffective and horrible idea, but you all know exactly what I am going to say;  to summarize, too hot, see-through, girdle.  Then one day, I put on a brave face and wore a skirt with bare legs.  No one seemed to notice my tattoo, which I considered a victory.  But someone with a larger tattoo may not have the same luck.

My initial thought is that once established, and as long as one is not meeting with clients or involved in an important presentation at work, wearing normal work wear that exposes a small tattoo every now and then is ok, as long as one's office culture is cool with it.  If your office culture is cool with your sleeve, even better!  But as a general rule, I feel it is best to keep it conservative until you get comfortable, have a chance to assess the office climate, and even then, always keep it conservative when meeting with new clients or superiors for the first time.


Thoughts and experiences, readers??????