Washable Wednesday: Ella Short Sleeve Ponte Dress
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.
This ponte dress is only $74, and like a lot of Christin Michaels styles it’s a machine wash, tumble dry, type of dress. This brand had not been on my radar until a reader wrote in to recommend it — and they look like nice dresses. I like that this only has a half zip, although it does have a little ribbon on it, and I think the seaming looks nice. It reminds me of the $300 Tuesday dress from Corporette. It’s in lucky sizes only at this point, but here’s another CM option at Zappos. Christin Michaels Ella Short Sleeve Ponte Dress
Here’s a plus-size option, also machine washable, from Pink Blush Maternity.
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.
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!
Sales of note for 3/21/25
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Nordstrom – Spring sale, up to 50% off: Free People, AllSaints, AG, and more
- Ann Taylor – 25% off suiting + 25% off tops & sweaters + extra 50% off sale
- Banana Republic Factory – 40% off everything + 20% off
- Eloquii – 50% off elevated essentials + extra 50% off sale
- J.Crew – 25% off select linen & cashmere + up to 50% off select styles + extra 40% off sale
- J.Crew Factory – Friends & Family Sale: Extra 15% off your purchase + extra 50% off clearance + 50-60% off spring faves
- M.M.LaFleur – Flash Sale: Get the Ultimate Jardigan for $198 on sale; use code CORPORETTE15 for 15% off
- Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
- Talbots – Buy 1 get 1 50% off everything, includes markdowns
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?
PSA: Zappos has a useful looking print-out for measuring kiddie feet. Link in reply.
I’m so bummed that the one brick-and-mortar kids’ shoe store in my town closed up. That–aside from groceries–was literally the last thing I shopped for in person.
Does anyone use reusable straws with kids? A post on the main site reminded me that I’ve been wanting to banish one particularly noxious anti-environmental product in our kitchen: the plastic straw. My toddler loves choosing a colorful straw from the box almost every night at dinner. When she’s just drinking water we rinse and reuse them but for juice/ yogurt/ smoothie we tend to toss. Would stainless steel work or is silicone a better bet with little kids? Any brand recommendations?
Ok, feeding question: LO is generally a great eater, but he’s starting to express more preferences now at 15 months. At what age can you really enforce “this is what we’re having for dinner”? I feel like he’s too young to fully understand the logic of why he’s not getting something else if he protests what he has; on the other hand I don’t want to set the expectation that a protest leads to different food choices. Given work schedules and 15-month old bedtimes, we’re also starting bath/bedtime routine pretty quickly after dinner, so there’s not much of an opportunity to wait and then later offer a neutral, non-exciting snack (though all snacks are exciting in his mind).
So–at what age can you really start to enforce “this is dinner” and prior to that, how do you ensure that your kid doesn’t wake up hungry in the middle of the night?
(On the plus side for this age–he’s leaned to give proper kisses, which come with a giant smacking sound, and will reach up, take my face, and plant a smooch on my cheek regularly. It kills me. I’m really enjoying this phase!)
The discussion of what we owe our parents reminded me of a question I haven’t dealt with yet. My husband and I finally got around to getting an appropriate level of life insurance last year. We don’t have long-term care insurance. I’m not sure if we should, and our financial planner guy wasn’t very insightful and seemed to think we (in our 30s) are too young for this. If one of us were to have a terrible accident or something and need constant nursing help or something like that, it would destroy our family’s finances if it weren’t otherwise covered. What kind of coverage do you responsible people have, if any?
Step one of ProjectWokeHusband is complete!
Last week we were both at our 3-year old’s daycare dropoff because we were taking the infant to the Dr. together afterward. We had forgotten her snow boots and her teacher said to my husband, “Oh I have extras, what size does she wear?” He said he didn’t know and the teacher ventured a guess, “A 7 or 8 maybe?” to jog his memory. Nothing. He has no clue what size shoe our kid wears! Because he has never bought her shoes! He was very embarrassed!
Later that night he actually thanked me for always taking care of the kids’ clothes– purchasing, sorting, putting away, cycling out seasons and sizes… He acknowledged that I do all of that every time and expressed gratitude.
It’s a far cry from him actually taking on part of that burden, but acknowledging its existence is a huge first step!
Vent/advice: Kiddo is having a tough time with preschool drop offs (which happens every 6-8 months or so, with wild exuberance in between). She sometimes says that she wants a new school, which is totally out of character for her. We’re having quick waves of teacher turnover in the preschool program too, and every time it seems to settle, another teacher leaves. I’m also noticing that my daughter’s clothes are often ripped, and she seems to have a lot of ouchies that aren’t written up in incident reports (for instance, a bloody scratch on her neck that she says happened when a teacher zipped her jacket up and caught her neck – no incident report).
This morning we found out that we’re going to have yet another turnover (after 2 months of consistency), and so I went to check out the licensing reports for a nearby preschool with a March 30 application deadline and, lo and behold, there is a serious investigative report for my daughter’s current preschool program that resulted in a teacher being fired and falsified incident reports.
I’m so angry. They post the reports in a corner of the entryway, but I hadn’t seen this one, and it is dated 2 months after the incident (and firing) occurred. It was in the other preschool classroom (not my daughter’s), and it obviously wasn’t any of her current teachers who we have liked. Why didn’t they say something to parents?
I’m also sad. I really like the diversity of both the students and teachers at this program, and there aren’t any nearby programs with similar levels of diversity. We’ve been here since she was a tiny baby and some of the teachers feel like family. I’ve been holding my breath that the turnover will resolve or the communication will improve because I didn’t want to leave….but I also want the consistency of a regular teacher for myself and my daughter!
You are amazing, and also jumping in at a really, really hard point. Things might briefly get harder, but then will get so much easier. But, the biggest parenting lesson I’ve learned is that everything is temporary, and not to worry too much about what the “next” stage will look like. Focus on handling what’s in front of you.
I think you have two options. Look for a post-partum doula, or seek out a trusted and experienced nanny, or a preschool teacher. Have them come over a few times at bedtime, and help you implement a solid bedtime routine. Your kids are both old enough to thrive on routine, but young enough that you can get something nailed down before they start fighting you on bedtime. It would really, really help to find someone who can show you how it works logistically. All the typing in the world won’t be a substitute for a great nanny who knows how to nail the two kid bedtime. We have two about that age spread, and our routine is rock solid, but totally geared to the temperament of the kids and the limitations of our house. Now that we are closer to the 3.5 and 5, they know exactly what’s coming next and do most of the work on their own. It will get easier!!
Or, just embrace the temporariness of it, and hire a high school kid or college kid to be your extra hands when one of you is flying solo. Recognize that you won’t need help forever, but that you might need it now. And that’s okay!!
We got custody of 2 under 2 in December. With a lot of help, and amazing advice from this place, I feel like we have it under control. However, we don’t really feel comfortable yet having 1 of us watch both kids at once. Each of us have watched both for about 1 hour. But while 1 can do daycare pick up or drop off, we can’t work it out where 1 does wake-up or bedtime. Kids are now 21 months and 9 months. I feel like this is actually going to get worse when the baby starts actually walking. Any tips or advice? Or should I just accept this as the new normal?
My 2 year old daughter is having an uncharacteristically tough time lately. She’s been crying at daycare drop-off, sulky if I try to ask her about school, and generally clingy and on a short fuse. My husband is convinced that her daycare class is the problem, and wants me to move her to my on-site daycare (we have an older son who is thriving in his class, so this would be a 2-dropoff solution). She moved up at the beginning of the year to a new room with 2x as many kids and where she is the youngest one, plus classroom management is questionable and she hasn’t clicked with any the teachers the way she did in the smaller classes.
Actual facts: Monday, my husband did drop-off and said one of the teachers had to hold her so he could get away, and even then she was wailing and reaching for him. Yesterday at drop-off, she was running away and sitting in the hallway to cry until her favorite teacher from a year ago came to hug her and take her to the toddler class for a bit. Today she was just inconsolable from the second she got in the car at home. She stopped actively screaming eventually when one of the teachers took her to calm down in the office for a while, but she still looked so, so sad when I stopped by after dropping off my son to give her another hug goodbye. Extra information: she’s potty training and very hit-or-miss about it, so she usually has at least one accident at school every day. She seems happy by the time we’re picking her up in the afternoon.
Any thoughts on how much of this is normal 2-year-old angst, and how much is actually concerning/something I can do anything about? I’m going to talk to her lead teacher to see how she’s doing during the day, but with the classroom management issues so I’m not sure what details she’s picking up about any individual kid amidst the chaos. Sigh. I’m so distracted about this today.
What have you ladies heard about using a topical 2% salocylic acid while nursing? I ordered a Paula’s Choice toner but am finding conflicting advice on the internet. I also have a call into my doctor, but wondered if others had already asked the question.
Yesterday I had an ultrasound and they found a very large nodule on my thyroid. I’m waiting for the doc to call me about the results. I know it’s unlikely to be cancer, but beyond that I don’t know what to expect. Should I be researching endocrinologists? Would love to hear about your experiences.
Any advice on Paris with a young toddler (19m)? We’ll be there for five days this summer before heading to Provence. DH and I have never been, so I think we’re looking at a mix of absolute must dos and but more “walk around neighborhoods, let kid run around park while we eat baguettes” suggestions. We’re staying in Le Marais. How easy will the metro be? We’re in DC so used to that system. Should we bring an umbrella stroller or our Cruz? Thanks for any other tips from those who have been there, done that.
Opinions on letting kids go without clothes at home? We have been pretty open with allowing our 3yo to go without clothing/underwear at our house when he wants too, under the thought that I don’t want him to feel shame about his body and that Americans, in general, make too big of a deal out of bodies without clothes. However, my SIL was agast that we let him do this, and said they do not allow their 3yo daughter to do this because she wants her to have privacy. I made the point that if she wanted her clothes off, she wasn’t asking for privacy. But, I think she made a good point about not sending a confusing message regarding private parts.
So, i’m probably way overthinking this, but I’m struggling with where the line is. Body shaming vs privacy. Thoughts?
Y’ALL!!! My son’s Crohn’s is in remission!! The low level intervention is working! And… now I’m crying happy tears in my office. Thought I would share this good moment with this amazing community that has been so supportive.
I just ordered this dress. Thanks Kat.