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Happy Hump Day! This dress comes with longer sleeves too, but something about the proportions of the short sleeves looks best to me here. I like the bright, happy colors it comes in (blue, green, pink, as well as navy, pictured), and the fact that it’s machine washable. It was $65, but is now marked to $35 at Lands’ End (available in regular, petite, tall, and plus sizes). Lands End Knit Shirred Surplice DressSales of note for 4.18.24
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Ann Taylor – 50% off full-price dresses, jackets & shoes; $30 off pants & skirts; extra 50% off sale styles
- Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything; extra 20% off purchase
- Eloquii – 50% off select styles; 60% off swim; up to 40% off everything else
- J.Crew – Mid-Season Sale: Extra 60% off sale styles; up to 50% off spring-to-summer styles
- Lands’ End – 30% off full-price styles
- Loft – Spring Mid-Season Sale: Up to 50% off 100s of styles
- Nordstrom: Free 2-day shipping for a limited time (eligible items)
- Talbots – Spring Sale: 40% off + extra 15% off all markdowns; 30% off new T by Talbots
- Zappos – 29,000+ women’s sale items! (check out these reader-favorite workwear brands on sale, and some of our favorite kids’ shoe brands on sale)
Kid/Family Sales
- Carter’s – Up to 70% off baby items; 50% off toddler & kid deals & 40% off everything else
- Hanna Andersson – Up to 50% off spring faves; 25% off new arrivals; up to 30% off spring
- J.Crew Crewcuts – Up to 60% off sale styles; up to 50% off kids’ spring-to-summer styles
- Old Navy – 30% off your purchase; up to 75% off clearance
- Target – Car Seat Trade-In Event (ends 4/27); BOGO 25% off select skincare products; up to 40% off indoor furniture; up to 20% off laptops & printers
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And — here are some of our latest threadjacks of interest – working mom questions asked by the commenters!
- If you’re a working parent of an infant with low sleep needs, how do you function at work when you’re in the throes of baby’s sleep regression?
- Should I cut my childcare down to 12 hours a month if I work from home?
- Will my baby have speech delays if we raise her bilingual?
- Has anyone given birth in a teaching hospital?
- My child eats everything, and my friends’ kids do not – how should I handle? In general, what is the best way to handle when your child has some skill/ability and your friend’s child doesn’t have that skill/ability?
- ADHD moms, give me your tips to help with things like behavior in the classroom, attention to detail, etc?
- I think I suffer from mom rage…
- My husband and kids are gone this weekend – how should I enjoy my free time?
- I’m struggling to be compassionate with a SAHM friend who complains she doesn’t have enough hours of childcare.
- If you exclusively formula fed, what tips do you have for in the hospital and coming home?
- Could I take my 4-yo and 8-yo on a 7-8 day trip to Paris, Lyon, and Madrid?
Meg Murry says
I’m wearing this today in a print, its my favorite dress for my casual office. I put a couple stitches in to hold down the front crossover v – when my son is playing koala sometimes he grabs my dress to try to pull himself up and has given me a couple borderline wardrobe malfunctions. But if you are nursing this is a good dress to be able to expose 1 side at a time, and it will wiggle down off your shoulders pretty easily for pumping if you don’t mind being top half naked as some people have mentioned they do. Or in my case, since I have a little room in the chest (I have to buy for my hip size more than chest) it would probably also fit the freemie cups in pretty easily.
JJ says
I have three of this dress. I probably wear one of them at least every other week in my business casual office with a cardigan or sweater jacket. Love, love, love it.
Why oh why won’t Lands End offer a “tall” option in the long-sleeved version of this dress? Grumble.
hoola hoopa says
I’ve been eying this dress hard lately, and I think this review plus the sale will finally get me to do it.
anon eagle says
Did you say FREEMIE ?!!! (rushes to log on to LE website)
How would you describe the V opening of this dress? It looks like a wide V in the photos. How is the thickness/weight of the fabric? Thank you.
anon eagle says
Dang, this is for Meg Murry.
Meg Murry says
Mid-to-lightweight – not flimsy, but not heavy either. Spring/fall weight or not too hot in summer weight, I’d say. The top front is double thickness.
Its a moderately wide/deep v – right at the borderline where I’d consider adding a cami or half tee top at the bottom of the v. Not showing my bra in any way, but since I’m fairly full figured I can see a hint of cleavage when I look down but not in the mirror. Since the top is a wrap it probably depends on your proportions as to high up it does or doesn’t go and whether you need to order based on your chest size or hip size. The top of the neckline is right up against my neck – no chance of bra strap showage except when my 2 year old yanks handfuls of my dress.
Famouscait says
Thanks all for the great comments yesterday about BF’ing, formula-feeding, lactation consultants, skin-to-skin care, etc. I really appreciated all the feedback!
mascot says
I actually thought that conversation yesterday was a really good example of what thissite can be.
bf says
Me too. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy.
JJ says
Random daycare vent: As much as I love my daycare (and I do), sending me an email at 11 on Wednesday morning and *reminding me* that my 2-year-old son’s “About Me!” poster (complete with pictures, decorating, print-outs, etc) is due Friday morning isn’t all that helpful when no one has ever mentioned the poster to us before now.
Guess I’ll be running to Target on the way home from work today, even though I was there last night…
Meg Murry says
For a 2 year old? Our daycare asks us to send in photos and they help the kids make them as a craft, or the crafty loving teacher make them, but they don’t expect us to make it.
Anonymous says
Here’s what I have come to know–day care is not federal court–if you miss a deadline by a day or two, even without good cause (which I totally think you have here), there are no real consequences and as long as you are friendly and generally involved, no one will think you are a bad mom for being late with a project or two!
KJ says
How is this dress for flattering the post-partum belly? This dress is really cute, but I’m an apple shape in general with extra pooch from my pregnancy, so I worry that it would accentuate the belly.
Spirograph says
Speaking of daycare…
What do y’all do for backup care? Usually either my husband or I can stay home if kiddo is sick, but we ran into a situation for the first time today where we both really needed to be at work – at least for a few hours. We don’t have any family nearby, telework is not an option, and neither is bringing a sick toddler in to the office. Luckily we have a recent college grad who is around for another week or two before she starts working, but all my other regular babysitters are not available during the day, and now I’m worried about it. ugh.
hoola hoopa says
We do have family nearby who can usually help in a pinch, but there have been a few times that they have not been available. Usually we can split the day (one home in the morning then works late, the other goes in early and home in the afternoon), but there have been times when we had a window when we both really had to be in office so a friend who works an off schedule or a neighbor who is home for the summer (teacher) babysat.
I’ve noticed that there are profiles on care.com who say they do sick child care. I’d definitely look into that.
KJ says
I haven’t needed it yet, but I worry about this too. I Googled “backup childcare DC” and found this http://metroparentrelief.com/newborn-care/back-up-childcare/. Maybe there is something similar where you live?
Spirograph says
Thanks! I’m actually in the DC area, so I’ve bookmarked this page.
Good suggestion about HR — I checked it out, and unfortunately my company doesn’t offer any such perk (although I learned it does offer daycare discounts for providers that would still be more expensive than mine even with the discount!). I’ve tried care.com in the past for nannies and evening babysitters and was absolutely inundated with responsess… much as I hate wading through the deluge, that also seems like a good bet.
mss says
My work uses Bright Horizons backup and they offer an in-home option which you can use for sick kids (DH’s company also offers Bright Horizons backup, but no in-home option). I’ve never actually used it (it’s usually easy for me to telecommute), but I have co-workers who swear by it. Might be worth a convo with HR :).
ECR says
I’m an associate in Big Law. Yesterday a male associate told me his wife is expecting child number two. I joked that my husband is already thinking about the next child, despite the fact that our daughter is only a few months old. The associate responded, Why not? I’d love to have a four-month maternity leave. It’s a paid vacation from the firm! I said well, maternity leave wasn’t that restful with a colicky baby and no sleep, plus recovering from a c-section. And getting back into work was hard too. He kept saying how much he’d love to have a “paid vacation,” so this didn’t resonate with him.
How should I have handled this? The more I think about his comments, the more I want to strangle him!
(former) preg 3L says
I want to strangle him too! How insensitive and totally inappropriate! My advice would be to avoid him as much as possible. Ugh what a jerk.
JJ says
If he’s already seen his wife go through raising one newborn and he still thinks maternity leave would be a vacation, there’s nothing you can say that will change his mind. He’s a jerk, and I feel bad for his wife.
In the future, I’d just be more blunt. Especially in your (and mine, as well) case, I’d make the point that a c-section is a major surgery and that you’re not even medically cleared from it for 8 weeks.
FVNC says
Wow. I feel sorry for his wife, if he views caring for a newborn as a “vacation.” I’d understand this type of comment from someone with no kids, but not from a parent! I probably would have starred at him slack-jawed, so you did better than I would have.
ECR says
Unfortunately I have to work with him on an ongoing project, so not able to avoid him altogether. I want to be prepared in case he makes comments like this in the future. I guess he sees maternity leave as just a handout to the female associates at the firm. I have to say, I was taken aback given that he is a parent himself!
I felt weird even mentioning the c-section aspect since I try to keep personal details like my medical history out of workplace conversation.
JJ says
If you have to keep working with him (ugh, sorry), then the next time he mentions it, I’d say something like “You must have had a much easier baby than I did! Maternity leave was far from vacation to me and I got less sleep then than I ever did as an attorney” or something to that effect. Otherwise, I’d just let it roll off your back as much as possible. This guy’s an idiot and a jerk.
Anon says
I agree with JJ. Nothing that you do or say is going to change his opinion of what maternity leave actually entails, so focus on just getting the work done and then vent privately :)
Also, picture yourself kicking him in the b*lls. Hard. Don’t actually do it – but the mental image will probably make you smile :)
JJ says
I also recommend having other working-mom friends that you can privately say things like “Can you BELIEVE that guy?!” Maybe even texting them as soon as he says something else outrageous (not I ever have done that, ever…).
Meg Murry says
Does the firm offer any kind of paternity leave? While I think his comment is a total jerk thing to say, I can also see (a tiny bit) of his side if women get 4 months paid and men get nothing or only unpaid FMLA, especially if using it is discouraged. After all, if he wants to be an involved parent in any way I image its exhausting to work fulltime with a few day old newborn at home and try to be supportive of his wife.
Or you could go for a joking aspect. For instance “I’m sure your wife will let you handle having the next one yourself” – that’s a running joke with my husband and I that while I would kinda like more kids, I might like it more if he took a turn having one.
Anon says
Men who want to be involved parents do not say sh*t like “i’d love a four month paid vacation!”.
This guy isn’t upset about the lack of paternity leave because he wants to spend time with his child – he’s upset because he thinks you’re taking 4 months off to sleep in, have brunch, spend your afternoons golfing at the club, and maybe an hour or two each day telling your baby how cute he/she is. He’s a jerk.
ECR says
The firm does offer paid paternity leave, although it is not as long as the maternity leave. Honestly I don’t think it’s unfair that women get a longer leave given the physical recovery aspect built in there. Men with a newborn at home don’t have to deal with the recovery of their bodies from giving birth. My husband definitely had a tough time going back to work a few weeks after our daughter was born, but I think I had by far the harder time (and he would agree).
FVNC says
This is a good point. Assuming a relatively easy, non-colicky baby (which I understand was not your experience, unfortunately), a four month leave is generous by US standards. That last month *might* seem a lot easier than working 60+ hrs /week in a highly stressful environment. If you’re feeling generous and want to facilitate a good working relationship with him, could you say something like: “Yes, we’re fortunate to work for a firm that has a generous leave policy, and I was grateful for the opportunity to spend that time with my daughter, especially now that I’m back to work and don’t see her nearly as often as I’d like!”
ECR says
Really? Maybe it’s just me, but I found the sleep deprivation to be just brutal by the fourth month, much harder than working at the firm. Caring for a 4 month old isn’t that hard by itself, but when you combine that with lack of sleep it is quite the job.
Meg Murry says
OK, if the firm already offers paid leave and he already had one kid so he knows what life with a newborn is like, he’s just an @ss. Sorry. Be polite as necessary not to torpedo your working relationship, and try not to call him an @ss to his face.
Ugh, some people.
T. McGill says
I had an older male attorney tell me that paternity leave was an unintended consequence of political correctness. I said that aside from the value the dad gets from being home with a newborn in the early days, there is also the fact that in the beginning, while the mother is recovering from the trauma that is birth (both physical and mental), she needs the dad to help her and the baby, which considering he is 50% of the reason she is incapacitated, is not too much to ask. We agreed to disagree on the value of paternity leave.
Spirograph says
Wow, what a jerk. I think you did as well as you could have (bonus points for NOT strangling him; I would have wanted to, too!). Although this might be even more uncomfortable to point out than a c-section, even for a v@ginal birth, women are medically eligible for disability pay for 6 weeks. It’s more like convalescent leave than vacation; maybe use that as a parallel? If you really want to get on a soapbox, you could also mention how fortunate you feel that your firm recognizes the importance of parental leave for the physical and emotional health of both parents and baby and offers it as a benefit.
I guess the plus side to having zero paid maternity leave is that at least no one at work will snark to me about a paid vacation. People like this guy are part of the problem when it comes to the shameful financial burden having a child puts on so many families in the U.S., and as a parent he should really, really know better. Yuck.
KJ says
Hmm, I would probably be plotting ways to undermine and eventually destroy him professionally, so I don’t have any good advice. What a [jerk]!
CHJ says
I wish we could post .gifs in here, just for this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pkyy57iMaB0