Washable Workwear Wednesday: Cotton Poplin Tie-Waist Shirtdress
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This is a classic cotton shirtdress, but I like how some of the elements elevate it from being too basic. I like the oversized tie at the waist and the generous cut of the skirt. On the model wearing navy, the sleeves look three-quarter length, but on the little video of the model wearing the “bright cerise” color, the sleeves look full length. I also think the sleeves look cute rolled up, which is how mine would be while working at my desk. The buttons go all the way up and down the front, so this dress also could be easy for pumping. It is available in sizes 000–24, though some sizes are sold out in every color. Right now it’s on sale for $79.99–$85 at J.Crew. Cotton Poplin Tie-Waist Shirtdress
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.
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Sales of note for 1/16:
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Nordstrom – Cashmere on sale; AllSaints, Free People, Nike, Tory Burch, and Vince up to 60%; beauty deals up to 25% off
- AllSaints – now up to 60% off (some of the best leather jackets!)
- Ann Taylor – Up to 40% off your full-price purchase; extra 50% off sale
- Banana Republic Factory – 50% off everything + extra 20% off
- Boden – 15% off new styles with code — readers love this blazer, these dresses, and their double-layer line of tees
- DeMellier – Sale now on, free shipping and returns — includes select options like Montreal, Vancouver, and Venice
- Eloquii – $29 and up select styles; extra 50% off all clearance, plus ELOQUII X kate spade new york collab just dropped
- Everlane – Sale of the year, up to 70% off — reader favorites include their scoop tee, Dream Pant, ReNew Transit backpack, silk blouses and oversized blazers! New markdowns just added
- Hannah Andersson – Up to 30% off all pajamas;
- J.Crew – Up to 40% off select styles; up to 50% off cashmere
- J.Crew Factory – 40-70% off everything
- L.K. Bennett – Archive sale, almost everything 70% off
- M.M.LaFleur – Tag sale for a limited time — jardigans and dresses $200, pants $150, tops $95, T-shirts $50
- Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
- Talbots – Semi-Annual Red Door Sale – 50% off + extra 20% off, sale on sale, plus free shipping on $150+
And — here are some of our latest threadjacks of interest – working mom questions asked by the commenters!
- The concept of “backup care” is so stupid…
- I need tips on managing employees in BigLaw who have to leave for daycare pickup…
- I’m thinking of leaning out to spend more time with my family – how can I find the perfect job for that?
- I’m now a SAHM and my husband needs to step up…
- How can I change my thinking to better recognize some of my husband’s contributions as important, like organizing the shed?
- What are your tips to having a good weekend with kids, especially with little kids? Do you have a set routine or plan?
We have a nanny starting soon. She has agreed to do light housework during the baby’s naps (which is a significant chunk of the day – baby usually naps for 3-4 hours of my 8 hour workday), but I’m not really sure what sort of tasks are appropriate to give her. Baby’s laundry seems like a no brainer, but beyond that I’m kind of at a loss. Suggestions?
Just getting around to reading the articles from last week’s news roundup, and noted the closing line of the article from FastCompany: “In fact, knowing that a crisis can arise, a carpool can collapse, and an illness may strike at any moment inspires me to be as productive and proactive as possible.” I feel like this idea that working parents, usually working mothers, need to be more “productive and proactive” than their colleagues comes up a lot in articles and comments. Much like “if you need something done, ask a busy person,” I can’t articulate why it bothers me so much but it just sticks in my craw. Is anyone else bothered by this idea?
Three years out from having become a parent, my experience has been that I am probably about as productive and proactive at work as I was before. In fact, I might be less productive. My level of focus definitely reflects that work is no longer the sole top priority in my life. I would love to hear from others who feel similarly or who felt similarly and have tips for snapping out of it and becoming this ideal working parent!
I wrote in a couple weeks ago for advice on postpartum anxiety particularly related to bottle feeding. I am so thankful for the very good and thoughtful advice many of you gave. I made a doctor’s appointment and am ready glad I did, because things spiraled pretty badly and with the appointment made I was able to get help quickly. Diagnosed with ppd / ppa. Have already seen a therapist which helped right away with the anxiety. Discussing medication with psych this week. In retrospect I do think a lot was related to the weaning hormone crash because I already feel a lot better. Pediatrician was able to give me really good, helpful info about formula amounts and explained in a clear, logical way our old pediatrician did not, so I can just relax about it. I have a gigantically tall baby who eats a ton and that’s fine. Anyway, thank you again to this community.
Trigger warning – complicated feelings about 3rd pregnancy.
I’m hoping you guys can give me some wisdom. I’m pregnant with my third and so incredibly stressed out and anxious, and not excited at all. I feel ashamed of not being excited – especially because I had a lot of difficulty conceiving my first, to the point of having had multiple failed IVFs. So I well know the pain of infertility and that’s what made me give that trigger warning.
I have 2 small kids now and love them so dearly – but am so tired all the time. And I’m already an older mom – we’re just so shocked, and honestly, I’m depressed. We’re living almost paycheck to paycheck as it is, and were so looking forward to finally getting both kids out of daycare next year and into school, and getting to save some money. I thought I was going to be able to put more into work again and move into the next level – and now I feel like I’ll have to stay in my same underwhelming but comfortable position for the next few years. And – I’m dreading, positively dreading, the sleepless nights again. That was one of the worst experiences of my life and I just don’t want to go through it again. I know I sound like a baby and I really did go with it at the time but I have insomnia now as it is, and I’m terrified of what it’s going to be like to combine that with the irregular hours of a newborn – when the kids wake up now, which is rare, I’m totally unable to go back to sleep.
I did discuss termination with my husband. At my age, complications are a very real issue. He was very much against it. Not angry, just sad. So that is out of consideration.
I’m just sad and want to cry all the time. I know I’ll love my child when he or she is here. I do. But I want to be able to cope with this. People have 3 kids all the time, for goodness sakes. I want to be excited, and not sad.
Hi Wisehive. Need some tips, commiseration, or just tell me to STFU.
My soon-to-be 11 month old is waking up, consistently, around 5:45 AM. He wakes up ready to go and in a pretty good mood.
He’s overtired when I pick him up from daycare around 5:30 PM (been several weeks of crappy or no afternoon naps…ugh) and I get him down by 7 PM, which as y’all know, is a race against the clock. I think, like DH, he’s naturally an early riser (rarely sleeps past 6:30).
I try to wait until 6 AM to go in the room to get him. We did CIO sleep training when he was 5-6 months, so I’m fine with him making noises/crying a bit. Should I be doing anything else to extend his sleep? Is this a phase? Mornings would be easier with him sleeping in, even just a touch…
meant for gift buyer above, ugh
Books? My librarian friend has consistently bought us high quality, hardcover children’s books that I would not be buying on my own and my child LOVES them. Here are our greatest hits:
The Watermelon Seed by Greg Pizzoli
Our Animal Friends at Maple Hill Farm by Alice Provensen (my son was OBSESSED with this book and we read it nightly for about six months around 18 months. bonus, you can read parts of it at a time and skip all around to their favorite animals)
Trucks Galore by Peter Stein
They All Saw a Cat by Brendan Wenzel
Dance (my favorite) or Cats by Matthew Van Fleet
Just chiming in with hugs and to say I am so so sorry. Nothing productive to add — that is a terrible reaction on his part. Sounds like he wants a SAHM for a wife and didn’t tell you that up front, isn’t willing to tell you that now, and is being cruel about your beyond legitimate reaction to all this.
Our town has 5 elementary schools (K-5), one middle and one high school. Because of the way our streets run, we are technically in district for elementary school A, which is ~2.5 miles from our house. However, our entire neighborhood is district B. We live .5 miles from B. In our town, if you live >2 miles from elementary, the bus is free. Otherwise, it’s $500/year per kid. Walking to B is along a main road with not so great sidewalks, and crossing a major state route– so it’s the kind of walk a young elementary schooler cannot do without a parent. Our neighbors take the bus or drive their kids, though the 4th/5th graders walk in nice weather. The bus stop for B is about a block away, in the opposite direction of the school, but through the neighborhood and she can walk herself after like, 2nd grade. The bus stop for A is half a block away, across the main town road from us (so she cannot go/come back without a parent- no crossing guard).
We have 3 kids, 2 years apart. So going to B and riding the bus would cost us $9000 over the course of the 6 years our kids go. I work from home and popping over to B is far, far more convenient that driving over to A (but in the grand scheme of things they are both relatively close–it’s a 10 minute round trip to B and a 25 minute round trip to A).
All education is equal. A is slightly more overcrowded but may not be next year as they’ll add a section. B has more sections. My oldest’s BFF is districted to A, but all her neighborhood friends and lots of other friends are districted to B.
The town has told us that while we are distracted to A, they would “very likely” (but has to go through a Process and Committee) approve us attending B since A is overcrowded and they are likely going to redistrict the town in the next few years anyway.
WWYD? My oldest goes to Kindergarten next year so the time to appeal is now, and it would impact the rest of the kids (I’m definitely not having kids at TWO DIFFERENT elementary schools!)
So I keep asking my BFF what I can get her daughter (my goddaughter) for her first birthday. She keeps saying she doesn’t need anything and not to get anything. But I *want* to get something and this is really frustrating. I know I can always get board book and clothes, but I would prefer something more special. They have a small house and hate clutter, so I really don’t want to get anything physically large. My friend is very anti-zoo/aquarium for ethical reasons and there aren’t really any children’s or science museums around them. I’m not local to them, so I can’t offer to babysit. Any ideas?
Also just a PSA to that giving people a gift list (when they ask) isn’t gift grabby, it’s actually doing a favor to the gift giver! I feel like she thinks she’s doing me a kindness by saying “thanks for thinking of us, but we don’t need anything” but she’s really not, because it’s important to me to get a gift. Arrrgggh.
My two year old has suddenly flipped a switch. If I leave to go out at night and a babysitter arrives – a babysitter who she knows well and adores – she freaks out. I’m talking screaming, crying, limbs flailing. It’s so upsetting. It’s happened twice in the past week (two different sitters) and then this morning, when I left to go to work and my kid was staying at home with my husband, she lost it. I’m talking full on meltdown. She’s okay at daycare dropoff still, though I’m dreading dropoff becoming a huge emotional meltdown too. She’s never been like this. Even when she started day care (at 1, we’re Canadian), she trotted in without a peep. Usually she’s quite please to have a new adult to pay attention to her, especially dad. I am pregnant, but I’m not sure she gets it. I find this quite distressing, but also recognize that she’s 2, so big feelings are part of that age. Any tips? Is this just a strange phase?
My son is turning 2 next week – we’re not having a big birthday party but close relatives want to buy him something for his birthday. I always struggle with what to have people get. I like the idea of educational toys, etc. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!!
Starting a new job next week when I will be 35 weeks pregnant. Any tips for making a good first impression with my new colleagues? I am equal parts amazed to have landed such a great gig while pregnant, and terrified of how I will handle it all.
What’s your favorite online grocery delivery (and why)? We live in the suburbs of Houston, if that helps. For locals, I’m leaning toward HEB – they charge a delivery fee, optional driver tip, and 1% upcharge on all items ordered. The only other ones I know about are Shipt and Instacart. I probably won’t use it every week, but we’re currently out of things like milk and toddler food pouches, and I’m solo parenting this week so the thought of going to the grocery tonight after school pickup seems horrible.
I have this dress in a striped pattern, and I love it! Of note, J.Crew has scaled back its vanity sizing, so whereas I’m usually a 10 in J.Crew (with room) but between a 10-12 everywhere else, I went with the 12 and it fits nicely. I feel like it’s one of the only items in my closet that’s safe for casual Friday at my conservative office. (Anyone else have this problem?)