Washable Workwear Wednesday: The Elton Apèro Blouse
This post may contain affiliate links and CorporetteMoms may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
If you have a wedding or other fancy soiree on your calendar but aren’t into dresses, consider this floral blouse.
This lightweight, long-sleeved buttoned blouse is made from M.M.LaFleur’s “silk-like Printed Burnout fabric.” The print is a delicate hand-drawn floral, and the neutral color scheme would pair easily with any number of pants or skirts you already have. You could also make it a full set with the matching trousers. And if you are a dress person, you’re in luck, because there’s also a dress in the same fabric.
Looking for other washable workwear? See all of our recent recommendations for washable clothes for work, or check out our roundup of the best brands for washable workwear.
Sales of note for 5/8:
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Ann Taylor – Mother’s Day Event: 40% off your purchase. Readers love this popover blouse, and their suiting is also in the sale.
- Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything + extra 20% off
- Brooks Brothers – Dress & sport shirts, 2 for $149
- Express – $39+ summer styles + 25% off everything else
- J.Crew Factory – Up to 60% off everything + extra 70% off clearance + 40%-50% off the Weekend Shop
- Lo & Sons – Mother’s Day Sale: Up to 40% off — reader favorites include this laptop tote, this backpack, and this crossbody
- M.M.LaFleur – Try code CORPORETTE15 for 15% off
- Nordstrom – Up to 25% off
- Talbots – 50% off wear-now styles and all markdowns + 30% off tops, pants, jeans, and shorts
I have a mom friend that I otherwise really enjoy hanging out with and she’s not an overly negative person in general, but she’s very very critical of all kids’ (including her own) academic and athletic abilities and often makes comments like “Susie is such a terrible soccer player, I don’t know why her family lets her stick with that sport instead of trying to find something she’s better at.” Her own daughter is a legitimate superstar at her sport, and she begrudgingly admits her daughter is “ok” so basically I think she just has really high standards across the board. But it’s really not fun to hear as the mom of a kid who’s been average at best at pretty much everything she’s tried so far. So is my kid just supposed to drop all her activities because she’s not a superstar at anything?? I hate that attitude… they’re only 8, can’t they just do sports because it’s fun? I’m also aware that I’m not special and if she’s trash talking other kids to me she’s likely trash talking about my kid’s ability to other moms, which isn’t a great feeling. But other than this I really like spending time with her and I don’t have a huge circle of friends. I’ve tried gently shutting down the comments with replies like “oh, it doesn’t matter if Susie has a ton of talent, she clearly loves soccer and it’s awesome to see her passion on the field!” but it’s not working. I’m not sure if I should have a more direct conversation about how much these comments bother me? Blergh.
Third trimes mom who wrote in asking for shoe recommendations here. I actually found some unlikely success at Old Navy. They make a Rothy-like woven flat, a cute neutral sneaker and a nice enough “leather” slide. Obviously not the best quality, but I got 3 pairs for less than $100 – sizing up from my usual size. The flats are comfortable and look reasonably professional for the office. 6 more weeks to go before I go on leave!
What age did your child start wearing daily deodorant?
Anyone else have to leave for camp earlier than school? I keep hearing people talking about relaxed summer mornings but our mornings so far have been the opposite of relaxed. My 8 year old is at a camp this week that requires us to leave the house almost an hour earlier than we have to leave for school, and with the late sunsets in the summer it’s really hard to get her to bed in time for her to get enough sleep and wake naturally (she’s very high sleep needs). So far this week we’ve had to wake her twice and even the day she woke naturally she seemed grumpy and sleep-deprived. She loves this camp and is telling me she wants to do multiple weeks next year but I feel like the schedule is really not working for her/us. SIgh.
What do y’all do for birthday invitations for kid parties? I used paperless post last year but am kind of feeling like making a digital flyer and texting it to everyone would be just as easy and cheaper.
As a matching set this is far too close to bridal wear for me to attend a wedding in!
My summer nanny has jury duty today and it only occurred to me JUST NOW that she could be seated and possibly for several days.
I’m all for fulfilling one’s civic duty but ….. aaaaaaaaaah. Send positive thoughts, please.
to the mom from yesterday with the drinking neighbor – please report back on how you decide to handle the situation and how it goes
I don’t have any good brick and mortar options for shoes, living in a Walmart wasteland. Is there any good way to figure out what shoes will fit kids well? Are there any online shops especially good for returns?
How do you determine when you are comfortable leaving your child with somebody?
I’m a single mom and need to have surgery next week. I have family and friends helping, but haven’t found anyone who’s available on Friday when my daycare is closed. I know the parents of some of my3-year old daughter‘s friends from daycare and suspect they would be willing to watch her for a while during the day. I’ve been to a bunch of birthday parties with them and had multiple play dates, and generally feel comfortable with them. But I’ve never left her with someone besides daycare or a close family member or long-term friends, so I have some reservations about it
We are a family of 3, about to be 4. We currently have a 3 bed 2 bath + a lofted open space that I use as my office. The 3rd bedroom used to be a guest room but we are converting to a nursery. DH doesn’t really work from home, I’m hybrid. It’s fine but now that we have a second we might want 4 beds to have a dedicated guest room/office with a door that closes (the loft is fine if I’m alone at the house, but there is no soundproofing if I need to take evening calls while other people are home). My parents live far away and it’s nice to have them over for extended periods.
What do you think is the perfect home size for a 3-person family? We are currently in a 3 bed, 2 bath. This usually works, except for when we have guests – our office is also the guest room and it would be nice to have another bathroom. Of course this is personal but interested in the hive mind.
Does anyone have a favorite backpack that they use for travel with kids? Sadly has to be a backpack because I have back issues. I’ve used a floppy MZ Wallace backpack forever and do like how light it is but we’re doing a big international trip with city sightseeing and rurLalhiking excursions. I’m not envisioning using the travel backpack for day outings, just transit between places. (For day outings, my husband will carry a small hiking backpack with the kids stuff and I’ll just have my purse.) Thank you!