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H&M has become a favorite in our house, if only because a) they have affordable organic cotton underwear for my boys, and b) my husband loves the way their T-shirts first — but I’ve also heard great things about their maternity collections, particularly their jeans. This cotton tunic (pictured here in the blue, but also on sale in a black checkered print) looks great for a casual office work look. It’s $15-$30, at H&M. MAMA Cotton Tunic This post contains affiliate links and CorporetteMoms may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. For more details see here. Thank you so much for your support! Building a maternity wardrobe for work? Check out our page with more suggestions along both classic and trendy/seasonal lines.Sales of note for 3.28.24
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Ann Taylor – Up to 40% off your full-price purchase; extra 50% off sale
- Banana Republic Factory – 50-70% off everything plus extra 20% off purchase
- Eloquii – 50% off 2+ items; 40% off 1
- J.Crew – 50% off select styles
- Lands’ End – 10% off your order
- Loft – 50% off everything
- Nordstrom: Give $150 in gift cards, earn a $25 promo card (ends 3/31)
- Talbots – 40% off 1 item; 25% off everything else
- Zappos – 37,000+ 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 – 50% off entire site
- Hanna Andersson – 30% off all swim; up to 30% off HannaJams
- J.Crew Crewcuts – 40% off sitewide; 50% off select swim; 50% off kids’ styles
- Old Navy – 50% off Easter deals
- Target – 20% off Easter styles for all; up to 30% off kitchen & dining; BOGO 50% off shoes & slippers for the family;
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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?
ANP says
Mamas, here’s a PSA: buy this dress if you have a Costco membership! It’s a thick, substantial fabric and great for a business casual workplace with jewelry and booties/heels. So inexpensive and super forgiving of lumps and bumps: https://www.costco.com/Hilary-Radley-Ladies%E2%80%99-French-Terry-Dress.product.100318484.html
Jdubs says
How does the sizing run?
ANP says
Big. I’m a M/L in most clothes, bought a M, and could probably wear a small with no worries.
RDC says
Savannah ladies – would anyone like an almost-new rock n play, or know of a local org that might be able to use it? We’re here visiting and bought one for our infant to sleep in at the hotel, so it’s been used a total or 4 nights. Ideally someone would pick it up from our hotel in the historic district sometime tomorrow (we leave in the morning). If you reply here I’ll post an email so we can coordinate.
mascot says
Try Layers of Love. http://www.layersoflove.co/
Also, SafeShelter is the local DV organization. I don’t know if they have a need for something like this.
MomAnon4This says
This. Or contact Temple Mikveh Israel there, in Savannah.
RDC says
Thanks! Emailed safe and they’re going to take it. Glad it will go to a good home!
Jdubs says
How does the sizing run?
Jdubs says
Oops… meant as a reply to ANP re: Costco dress above.
Famouscait says
Actual work wear question: I’m meeting with an internal, senior recruiter for a University next week. I’ll be in town for a house-hunting trip because we’re relocating in the summer to this U where my husband will be teaching. Would it be appropriate to go in a black, ponte, long sleeve sheath dress with boots and tights? We’re meeting at a Starbucks; the weather could be rain/snow.
It’s not an interview for an particular position; I think this is more of a get-to-know you/your skills type thing, although I’ve never worked with a recruiter before, so I’m also open to any advice about that! I’m at a point in my career where I could feasibly make a move to management.
MomAnon4This says
Seems fine, although I’d recommend something bright colors to seem more memorable.
Closet Redux says
Where in the country? This seems a-ok for Boston or New York, in my experience, maybe with some colorful jewelry.
Pogo says
+1, this sounds fine but would throw a statement necklace in there.
GGFM says
It sounds like a pretty casual meeting, but as a prof at a university with similar weather, I’d suggest boots if there is snow/rain and pumps or nice flats if the weather’s nicer. (long sleeve ponte dress is perfect) Only because some of the administrative offices have more conservative dress standards than elsewhere in the university (not surprisingly, alumni development, where $$ is at stake), and it sounds like you are interested in positioning yourself for those kinds of jobs.
That said, boots vs pumps probably won’t make or break you! good luck!
Anonymous says
One piece of advice about the meeting itself – I’d do some job-searching on the university’s job board first so that you can identify any positions that interest you. I’ve worked with someone like this in a similar situation (relocating for husband’s professor position) and the recruiter was eager to pigeonhole me based on my degree and previous work experience. In fact there were a lot of jobs at the university that sounded interesting to me and could have utilized my skills but weren’t exact fits for my background. Normally you probably won’t get very far in the job application process if you don’t meet the stated requirements, but because you have this connection through the recruiter, if there’s something you’re interested in that isn’t a perfect fit, the recruiter should be able make an introduction and explain why you’re interested and how your background could help them out. I ended up getting into a new field that I love this way, but it took me reviewing the job openings and then contacting the recruiter about them, so I definitely recommend doing that.
(Also are you the one who is relocating to one of the three major Indiana universities? I’m at one of the other ones, so if so, welcome! :D)
LifeScienceMBA says
Oh, there are Indiana people on here? Hello from Purdue!
dc anon says
I have a 500$ gift certificate to Mandarin Oriental hotels/spa that I am never going to use. Where can I sell it?
anne-on says
Any chance you can go to the hotel and ask them to break it up into smaller gift cards and then regift them yourself for mother’s day? If not, I see these kinds of things posted on Facebook/Craigslist from time to time.
anon says
Raise.com ?
shortperson says
i will be in DC with my 2.5 year old for one day soon. personally i love the smithsonians but i’ve never paid attention to their kid appeal. any particularly good for this age? or any other suggestions for fun things to do?
Anonymous says
There is a cool exhibit for kids (I think — I haven’t been) at the Portrait Gallery now. The American History museum has an exhibit on transportation that my kids enjoyed, and the Natural History Museum is also always a hit.
anon says
+1 to the zoo, natural history museum, and the air and space museum
Pigpen's Mama says
I’d say either Air and Space or Natural History Museum, depending on what your 2.5 year old is into (animals and such or planes and rockets). We’ve taking our LO to the Natural History Museum and she had a lot of fun just looking at various things. We haven’t been to the Air and Space at the Mall with her, but the Udvar-Hazy one out near Dulles was great for her a few months ago. If you had a few more days and a car, I’d recommend Udvar-Hazy —only real negative is the only food in the building is McDonalds, which I’m meh about.
There’s a kid’s place space at the American History Museum — I think that would be great for a 2.5 year old (we went when she was about 1.5 yrs and was a little too young to get it), and they have some fun exhibits near the play space as well. I’ve heard there can be a line.
The Museum of the American Indian is also supposed to be good for kids, but we haven’t been there yet either.
And if the weather is good, the Zoo, of course.
NewMomAnon says
The National Building Museum! It has often has interactive exhibits meant especially for kids. Their hours are more limited than the other museums, so check before you go.
I haven’t been to the Museum of the American Indian in a few years, but I recall it seemed appropriate for little kids. I don’t know if it would be “fun,” but appropriate. The food was great. For my kiddo at that age, I probably would have done the Natural History Museum instead because she was really into animals.
rosie says
Be warned the Building Museum is not free. Very much worth it though, IMO (and it’s not super expensive). I think the play-work-build and maybe 1 other kids’ exhibit are more or less permanent, and then there might be other things that would appeal as well.
S says
My 3.5yo daughter really enjoyed the butterfly exhibit at the Natural History Museum recently. There was also an exhibit where she got to hold a cockroach, caterpillar, and grasshopper, and she thought that was awesome. (No way would I have held the cockroach!)
She prefers the Udvar-Hazy Air and Space to the one on the mall, but I think both are good for that age. She also likes the transportation exhibits at the American History Museum. The Botanical Gardens on the mall can also be fun for kids.
If the weather is nice, the zoo is another great option.
shortperson says
thanks everyone! we are wimps about the weather so will skip the outdoor stuff but i’m so glad i’ll be able to bring her to some smithsonians.
Anonymous says
Check the weather before you decide! It was 70 degrees all last week :)
dc anon says
There is so much! The National Air and Space and Natural History museums are always a hit. The American History museum has a great toddler play area as does the National Building Museum. The zoo is also awesome and free. We also like just running around the national mall and bringing a picnic.
Momata says
My youngest is transitioning out of the infant room this week. One primary teacher has been in that same infant room for both my kids, and it feels so sad to be moving on from her. I’d like to do something nice for her — is it just as simple as a gift card and lovely note?
CHJ says
We gave DS’s infant room teachers gift cards and a nice note when he moved to the toddler room. They were very appreciative. And surprised – I don’t think this is expected/required, but it is lovely if you want to do it. That first year is so emotional and I felt so grateful to those ladies for taking such good care of my son.
EB0220 says
My youngest is 2.5 and I am actually tearing up now thinking of how awesome her infant room teachers were. We loved them SO MUCH after a not-great infant experience for my older kiddo at a different daycare. We got each a gift card, wrote a heartfelt note and also bought a few books for the room. I inscribed something like “To , Love, Kid’s Name”. I saw a few other well-loved books in there with similar inscriptions from other children, which is how I got the idea.
Anonymous says
I think that does it. I agree that it is not necessarily expected. It is a bittwersweet moment — I felt sad about this too, I think because you put so much faith on the infant teachers to care for your littlest ones and there is so much tenderness, and they feel like surrogates for you in a way that is different than the teachers for kids who are older and more independent.
Legally Brunette says
This is likely old news for many of you but I recently discovered The Longest Shortest Time podcast (all about parenting) and it’s amazing!! Love it so much. Particularly moved by the Accidental Gay Parents podcast episode (about a gay couple in their mid-20s who became parents to a 1 and 3 year old, virtually overnight). Check it out.
http://longestshortesttime.com/
Momata says
I love the content of this podcast. But her vocal fry killlllllllllllls meeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
October says
+1,000,000. I’ve said it before, but she adds in all sorts of stutters and “ums”, I’m assuming to make her script more “natural”. I am now very judicious picking and choosing what episodes I listen to.
Kim says
The umms kill me! I’m pretty sure they’re planned. I also love Death, Sex, & Money with Anna Sale.
CHJ says
Episode #96 with Esther Perel is a masterpiece. I recommend it to anyone who is struggling with sex in their marriage.
NewMomAnon says
I am in the middle of review season. I have six reviewers, plus my supervisor and the head of my section need to review me. Every year there is one “exploding review” that comes in at the very last minute, and is really negative. We end up spending my entire review discussing that one negative review, which I inevitably haven’t had a chance to follow up on (because usually that person hasn’t been in the office since submitting it).
Two of my reviews are in and they are both glowing, awesome reviews. Of the four outstanding, any of them could be the exploding review this year…or all of them…. or none of them. And the head of my section always seems to just recycle last year’s evaluation, which is unfortunate because I’ve made a lot of progress since he started reviewing me, but his “review” will be the same as it has been for the last three years regardless. The waiting is awful.
RDC says
Can you provide input (especially for the one that gets recycled)? Send it under the guise of “just some memory joggers on what I’ve been working on.” My boss is lazy about reviews and literally cuts and pastes the points I draft.
NewMomAnon says
Do you ever get the sense that your very existence irritates someone? The head of my section is like that. I suspect it’s just blatant sexism, but it seems like my reviews get harsher the more I interact with him. Last year, all my reviewers except one agreed that I should come up for partner. I stopped in to chat with the head of the section, noted the several reviewers’ observations about various projects I had done, and then asked him whether we would be discussing partnership in the review. He said he hadn’t thought about it and wasn’t ready to discuss. His review, submitted on the day of the in-person review, recycled the previous year’s *abysmal* review (which was mostly accurate, unfortunately) and then added a sentence at the end saying that I was 3-5 years from partner, at least. With underlining added in by hand.
So this year I’m trying the “lay low and be surprised” method to see if that irritates him less.
RDC says
Ugh, that sounds like an awful situation. I’m sorry.
Anon in NYC says
I’ve definitely had that situation at work before. Just got the sense that some people didn’t like me. It’s hard to deal with! good luck.
Organic Cotton says
Please, please, please, don’t buy organic cotton. It is almost entirely grown outside of the US and has labor abuses that are unbelievable (it’s not slavery, it’s “forced labor” because even though children and women are beaten if they don’t make their daily quotas they get paid at the end of the season). Victoria’s Secret, H&M and others have been implicated (though it’s always their “contractors” faults). NOn-GMO organic cotton is a huge investment in human labor and that cannot be changed. In most places organic cotton is still harvested by hand!
I grew up where they grow cotton in the US and I will tell you that the newwest GMO cotton uses less water than it did even five years ago (although still tons of nitrogen fertilizer) and requires almost no human labor. The engineered the plants so the cotton grows closer to the top of the plant, so they plant them closer together which reduces weeds and pretty much gets rid of the need for “choppin’ cotton” (weed removal).
You’re literally dressing your family with labor of children.
Kim says
Thank you; I have a new topic to educate myself about!
CHJ says
That’s fascinating – I had no idea!
Pogo says
That’s interesting, though not surprising. The most recent retailer I saw touting their organic stuff was Athleta.
I hope that most people realize that GMO does not inherently mean “scary bad science”. GMO crops come about as a way to reduce fertilizer and pesticide use, or make harvesting easier, etc. I can see being skeptical about it, but I think vendors have really latched on to people’s fears and made it seem like GMO = bad, anything “organic” or “natural” = good. This sounds like an unfortunate example :/
That said, no one I know has been worried about buying organic clothes for their family.
NewMomAnon says
Does “organic” necessarily mean “non-GMO”? Because I am a huge fan of GMOs and would go out of my way to support GMOs that use less water, less pesticide, less land, etc. And I kind of assumed that “organic” products would rely heavily on GMOs so they could reduce pesticides, fertilizers, etc. But it sounds like that is incorrect?
October says
There is definitely a shady side to GMOs, too, though… some of the most insidious stuff has to do with patent law and big corporations (cough, Monsanto) scr*wing over farmers because they own the seed patents.
GMO also doesn’t necessarily mean less pesticide use. Some crops are modified to be impervious to pesticides, so farmers can spray with abandon.
Super interesting to know about organic cotton.
Pogo says
Organic means no pesticides or fertilizers (generally, I think?), but not necessarily through use of GMOs, just different farming methods. In this cotton example it sounds like intense physical labor (and awful labor practices) is used in place of GMO cotton, which is easier to harvest.
The organic farms that I buy from locally do things like growing certain plants together that offer protection against pests, or introduce predatory bugs that don’t harm the plants but eat the pests, etc – but they don’t use GMOs (rather they all claim to use heirloom varieties).
This is showing me how much I don’t know about this topic!
Organic Cotton says
Most organic certifications expressly forbid GMOs. Most of the GMOs that would use fewer pesticides (google NYTimes, bt eggplant) aren’t used. Very, very few GMO crops go directly into the food supply. Most go into animal feed or vegetable oil production. Round-up-Ready corn is used for cattle feed for example (and is quickly creating Round-up resistant weeds).
I think there are lots of things to consider with GMOs (I am generally pro-GMOs and anti-Monsanto which makes life tough in practice ), but the human rights abuses associated with cotton tip the scales for me.
Anonymous says
I find this to be a really confusing comment as it conflates environmental and human rights issues.
GMOs have real environmental concerns. They were banned in the European Union until 2015 and they are currently banned in many EU countries (national level bans).
‘organic cotton’ refers to the fact that it is grown without the use of non-organic pesticides or fertilizers. This is largely a marketing tool unless the specific governmental standard to which it is certified or by which third party organization it is certified has been specifically identified.
Child labor is an extremely important issue unrelated to either environmental issue – it is a human rights issue. Yes, purchasing only USA grown cotton reduces the chances that child labor was used in its production (although much of American agricultural production relies on illegal migrants so labor standards re: ensuring the age of all workers may or may not be enforced as well as would be desirable). For non-American grown cotton – there are third party organizations involved in certifying that the cotton is produced without the use of child labor – for example: https://www.fairwear.org/labour-standards/
Organic Cotton says
Wow it’s so great that a fantastically complex supply chain which involves both human labor and environmental issues can be voted on by the EU!
Most American farmers can afford to buy GMO seeds. And since GMO cotton requires less labor, the farmers make more money since they don’t have to pay even minimum wage.
Cotton farming drove the American antebellum slave trade. It was a primary abuse by the British of Indians and Bangladeshis. There are analyses of Ancient Egyptian society that suggest they had enough slaves to build the pyramids because they needed that many for cotton production the rest of the year.
I’m sorry middle schoolers being beaten by adult men doesn’t square perfectly with your green washed pearl clutching.
October says
Unnecessary. Anonymous gave a very thoughtful answer. Nothing is cut and dry, and it is helpful to try to understand all sides of an issue.
jlg says
I think GOTS certification addresses both production and environmental issues but would have to review the materials again. “Organic” labels alone do not address processing from
either a safety or human rights standpoint. This is a complex issue and we each have to make our own choices weighing the options and realities of how it impacts the world and our families. Blanket shame statements aren’t particularly helpful in this regard, IMHO.
Anon says
“Do you ever get the sense that your very existence irritates someone?”
This question from an above comment kind of made me have a revelation. Yes, I do. And that person is my husband. Last night I was pointing out a drying feature on our dishwasher to him and he responded with a lecture about how wasteful I am and questioned if I ever thought about the future.
I am so sick of him being mean to me. And I told him that it seemed to me like he didn’t like me or respect me. He responded that he did but that he didn’t show it in a way that would be evident to me. I was like “no kidding.” I feel like round two of this argument is coming tonight. We went through a really rough patch that I thought we were finally coming out of, but maybe not. Then I read all these stories on the main s i t e about how if its not easy 24/7 and if you’re not blissfully happy you might as well just walk away. Is that real? Or is it just different when you have toddlers?
mascot says
Marriage and parenting and careers are messy and hard work. We go through periods where we think a 51/49% split of good/bad means we are doing just fine. Most of that is caused by external factors though. Even when we are furious at each other, we do deep down respect each other and love each other. That doesn’t mean that our delivery is perfect. We are guilty of misreading/misinterpreting something that the other said and assuming bad intent. Most of the time it just came out wrong. So we try to give each other grace and assume good intent and also to follow our house rules of engagement for disagreements (no name calling is the biggest one).
mascot says
To be clear, I don’t think you are overreacting. I’d be really ticked if my husband said something like that to me. Does he back off if you call him on it? “That was mean. Try again. Why do you think that this is wasteful” or something along those lines.
anon says
mascot, do you mind sharing your other house rules of engagement, and/or how you developed them? They sound really useful to me.
mascot says
These aren’t written on a wall or anything- just things we’ve noticed over a decade of marriage. I think the over-arching theme is that we try to be nice to each other. We don’t call each other names, excessively swear, bring up old fights, don’t deliberately say hurtful/inflammatory things, and don’t make threats. We also try to avoid having heated discussions when we are hungry, stressed about working, or have had a couple of drinks. Even with these parameters, we still have some really heated disagreements. Neither of us has any doubts that the other person is 100% on Team Mascot Family and that lends a certain level of comfort that we can work through whatever we are fighting about, no matter how uncomfortable we are in the moment. I think that lets us focus on solving the problem instead of worrying about fall-out from an argument.
Running Numbers says
No, you don’t just walk away if you’re not blissfully happy all the time. I do think having toddlers is just a challenging season of life. It’s one that I am in, too, so I’m not sure what life looks like after that season. My husband and I are very much in “buckle down and get through it” mode. We’re not blissfully happy all the time, but we do know that we are always on the same team, working on the same things and wanting the same things in the end. Will you two be able to have a productive conversation, and will he be able to change his behavior to actually show you what he says he feels?
Anon says
I have a toddler and while I wouldn’t call my marriage “blissfully” happy every day, I am very happy in my marriage even though our lives are far more complicated than they used to be. Toddler or not, it’s never appropriate to be mean to someone you love as respect. If his love and respect is so covert that you don’t notice it, HE (not you) is doing something wrong.
“Just walk away” is not advice that a parent can follow, but that doesn’t mean you can’t carefully evaluate what is going to be best in your circumstances.
My husband was a mean jerk until he got on some meds for mental health and stopped drinking – if those things hadn’t helped and my husband was just inherently a jerk, I don’t think I would have chosen a lifetime of walking on eggshells just to keep him from yelling at me. Eventually I would have left, and that would have been a fine choice. You deserve better and toddler deserves to grow up watching a parenting / marriage model of mutual respect.
Anon in NYC says
“If his love and respect is so covert that you don’t notice it, HE (not you) is doing something wrong.” YES.
anon says
Marriage has never been easy 24/7 for us. Honestly, the longer you know someone, the more time you have to loose your filters, build up resentments, and just get annoyed with that person. I’m an introvert and the loss of alone/downtime that comes with motherhood is especially difficult. I feel like you do sometimes, like my husband just doesn’t like me. In saner moments I know that he does, but he doesn’t always bother to show me in ways that matter to ME. (I need to look into this whole love language thing). But in my case some of it is me and my insecurity too – I can’t just let it go when he’s being grouchy, I take it really personally because deep down part of me feels like I’m unlovable. We’re both sensitive and have a tendency to overreact, so things can escalate quickly. I really need to work on not reacting to every slight but it is HARD.
avocado says
The “walk away if you are not blissfully happy all the time” posters all seem like newlyweds without young kids. Marriage is a lot easier if you don’t own a house and don’t have kids, and each of you still has space to be yourself. It’s also easier to say “just walk away” if there are no kids in the picture. Real adult life is messier and more complicated.
Anonymous says
This. So much this.
Anon says
Nope, not a newlywed and I have a toddler. I realize I might be in a minority, but my relationship with my husband has never been work. While of course we have disagreements, we are mostly on the same page and have similar life goals. And that includes how we raise our toddler.
I’m not going to say that you should walk away, but your husband is acting like a jerk. Only you can decide how much you are willing to put up with and if the relationship is worth it. FWIW, I observe you didn’t say anything positive about him in your post…
Anonymous says
Toddler years are hard. Toddlers burn a lot of patience and love. I feel like I’m always saying Gottman Institute stuff is worth the read but in this case it really applies. Gottman emphasizes that couples need to address the communication styles which can predict the end of a relationship: criticism, contempt, stonewalling, defensiveness: https://www.gottman.com/blog/the-four-horsemen-recognizing-criticism-contempt-defensiveness-and-stonewalling/
In my marriage, it got so bad a few months ago that the rule was DH or I couldn’t say anything to each other unless it was either ‘kind’ or ‘necessary’. And ‘necessary’ as in ‘we need milk, please update grocery delivery list’ not ‘here’s a feature on the dishwasher I want to tell you about’ or not “here’s way I think about your useless feature’. It really changed our communication to think about what we said through that lense and we’re in a much better place now.