Washable Workwear Wednesday: Long-Sleeve Belted Shirtdress
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Do I need another shirtdress? Nope, but I want this one.
When you’re running late, there’s nothing easier to throw on than a shirtdress. This long, A-line version is updated with a chic belt, long cuffs, and hidden button placket. Add some classic gold accessories and a classic blazer or cozy sweater for a 9-to-5 fall look.
Mango’s long-sleeve belted shirtdress is $99.99 at Nordstrom and comes in sizes 2-10 and 20 (some sizes are sold out). It’s available in burgundy and navy.
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 9/23/25
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Ann Taylor – 30% off tops and sweaters
- Banana Republic Factory – 40% off everything + extra 15% off
- Eloquii – 50% off select styles with code
- J.Crew – Extra 30% off sale styles, plus up to 50% off layers they love
- J.Crew Factory – 40-70% off everything + extra 60% off clearance
- M.M.LaFleur – Try code CORPORETTE15 for 15% off
- Nordstrom – Fall savings event! Also get 15% off select beauty items and 6x points on beauty.
- Talbots – Anniversary event! 25% off entire purchase, plus fresh fall classics from $34.50
Just had my 2nd grader’s parent teacher conference. Her teacher said she is anxious and defensive and gets upset when classmates criticize her, even mildly. We’re well aware of these personality traits – she’s hit basically every milestone from walking to reading late because she doesn’t want to do anything until she can do it near perfectly – but I didn’t realize it was causing issues at school. My daughter loves going to school and has not complained about any issues this year, except a couple times mentioning a boy who sits near her is “mean” and when she made those comments we talked about ignoring him, and also distinguishing between comments that are genuinely mean, and comments you don’t like but weren’t said with bad intent. The teacher said she’s working with my daughter one on one to help her become less reactive, which is great that she’s getting support, but makes me wonder if we should be doing more at home. The teacher didn’t really give me a clear answer when I asked if we should be doing something else at home or seeking out professional help. I know they always have to say something negative at these conferences so I don’t want to overreact but don’t want to under-react either. Thoughts?
My kids usually finish breakfast by 7am but my 3 y.o. still acts hungry and melts down when it’s time to leave 30-45 minutes later. Sometimes this kid doesn’t eat enough for breakfast and I don’t know why. We offer a lot of variety and food he likes. Any suggestions for quick grab-and-go foods that aren’t very messy in the car and also don’t contain a lot of added sugars? I am trying to reduce our reliance on “bars” and on days I make him a sandwich to eat in the car as second breakfast, he always rejects it.
For the last few years, my retired neighbors have asked my 11 year old son to water the plants in their beautifully landscaped backyard while they take an annual month-long vacation. They have a pretty strict routine that he does a good job of following (i.e., this plant gets fertilizer plus 4 minutes of water, this guy just gets a dash of water plus this other fertilizer, etc.). In all, in my opinion, it’s a fairly time intensive process that takes a lot of time over the month they are gone. They always stop the mail, but ask him to eyeball the front porch from the driveway while he is walking into the backyard to make sure no packages get delivered by accident. They do not pay him, but usually stop over with a trinket from their trip and make a big deal out of his help when they return. He always agrees to do it, and we think it’s a good opportunity for him to learn responsibility. My husband usually goes over with him once or twice a week to make sure everything is in good working order.
Okay, this year, they returned and contacted us, and were really upset because evidently, they failed to stop the mail or the mail stop wasn’t processed correctly or ?? All the mail during the month they were gone was crammed into their mailbox. As I understand it from their messages, it was all in the mailbox, which they’ve never asked my son to check, nor could or would he have noticed it from the driveway where he accesses the backyard. There were no packages delivered during the month, so he never walked to the front step (and we can see the front step/mailbox every day on the walk to the bus stop, and I would eyeball just to make sure no boxes accidentally got missed).
We’re/he is not in the wrong here, correct? When they contacted us, they pretty clearly expected an apology, but from my perspective, he did nothing wrong. I have been peeved anyway that it’s not a job they are paying for, given the amount of time that it takes, and I guess best case, they don’t ask him next year? Anything else I’m missing?
Argh. Our house goes on the market in the New Year, and we will hopefully buy in the city for a spring move. We’ve narrowed down to 4 neighbourhoods with associated catchment schools (within walking distance), but I can’t get anyone to tell me if any of these schools have space for a midyear entry. City is ignoring my emails, and schools say it’s managed centrally. Surely there is a list somewhere of which schools are full up, and which have spots? The city says we can’t apply until we have an address, but I don’t want to buy a house only to find out that there are no school spaces available and we have to go further away. They are pretty concentrated neighbourhoods but still, I’d like him to be able to walk to school with the neighbours.
My kid has learned a little too well to, “take a deep breath to calm down,” as his only emotional regulation. Now he’s stuffing his feelings down and refusing to talk, but his temper flashes up with physical aggression. Teachers report that it “seems to come out of nowhere” because he is very good at appearing calm right up to his breaking point.
Anyone have advice on teaching kids to process emotions? There’s a lot of bad stuff going on for him right now, and I wish I could help more.
Building off yesterday’s thread about small suitcases for your kids, at what age do you pack a separate suitcase for your kids vs including with your clothes?
The poster said her 6 and 4 year olds had well worn roller bags. My daughter is almost 3 and for flights, I typically include her clothes in my bag. We always check bags now since it’s easier to be hands free when chasing a kid, and for driving trips she has a small duffel. I guess her clothes don’t take up a ton of room, plus I traveled weekly for work for years and pack lightly so it’s not a big deal.
We’re going on a Disney cruise in Feb followed by a few days in Orlando, and now I’m wondering if she should have her own bag. She’d probably enjoy the novelty but it might get annoying to push once she’s tired. Since these are summer clothes if we pack lightly I could fit 9 days worth for both of us in a checked bag under 50 lbs but it would be nice to have space.
Just curious: what times do your kids sleep at night and what are their ages? I’d like to get my kids’ sleep schedules to sync up, but maybe they’re normal and it’s a lost hope for now because the 3YO can’t drop her daycare nap. I’ll go first:
5 YO–asleep by 8, awake by 6
3 YO–asleep between 8:45 and 9:15, awoken at 6:45. Naps 1 -2 pm.
Is there a good source for learning about the pros and cons of different learning philosophies for preschool? We’ll be going to some open houses next month but I don’t know if there’s an evidence base for one approach over another. One that we’ll be touring touts a “project-based curriculum” and I have no idea if that’s a good thing for 2-year-olds. Any suggestions for getting up to speed?
two random, totally unrelated suggestions:
(1) if you have a kiddo who is reluctant to practice handwriting or reading, i highly suggest junior mad libs. we started using them with our twins at age 4 and just brought out our Halloween ones as we don’t typically finish the book in one sitting, and at age 7 they are still a huge hit and my kids have been rolling around on the floor laughing, which is a great way to end the day.
(2) new dinner idea in our family has been Vietnamese style spring rolls/summer rolls. i was able to find rice paper at our regular supermarket, you can get a special tool on amazon to soak them, but really you just need water, and we let each person make their own, so last night we had beef and tofu as protein options, and then also had cabbage, shredded carrots, peppers, cucumbers, green onion, mango, avocado and rice and a bunch of dipping sauces. you can put out whatever. one of my kiddos is super picky and mostly ate mango and peppers, but also tried tofu and beef and a dipping sauce. other kiddo is a carnivore and made hers with lots of beef, cucumber and avocado.
I wanted to report back / offer hope to anyone in the trenches with little kids with ADHD. We have had many pain points, but one in particular was the morning routine. He wouldn’t want to get out of bed, he was distractible and resistant to every part of getting ready, we had meltdowns galore and missed the bus 80% of the time. You may even remember me posting that he refused to get out of the car and go to school one day, and I ended up losing my cool and taking him back home because I didn’t know what else to do.
He is now in third grade and my goodness, our mornings are like night and day better than last year. Part of it is I owned my part in setting the tone – I am getting up earlier and having everything packed and ready before the kids get up. But a huge part of it is he is much more cooperative when I do wake him up, and he is getting himself about 75% ready without me having to hover or push! The only “treatment” we’ve done is building up our parenting toolbox and changing our strategies of dealing with his meltdowns and building up his resiliency. But he is also maturing.
I know this doesn’t hold true for everyone, but even with ND kids, maturity helps A LOT! (We still have our struggles in other areas, believe me, but this is a HUGE win.)
Hi! My younger kid (almost 5) has really strong reactions. Not tantrums, because it passes quickly, but maybe it’s considered low frustration tolerance? Example – he was trying to sound out a word in a book today, older sibling offered to help, but instead of saying “No, thanks” he yells “NO! I WANT TO DO IT BY MYSELF!”. Or if he’s asked to do something he doesn’t want to do, he’ll yell “Uggghh FINE!” (but ultimately comply). If he can’t find what he’s looking for, he yells “UGH WHERE IS MY NAPKIN????”
I’m trying to model, re-cast (“Let’s practice if someone else wants the toy you’re playing with”). If he yells rudely when requesting something, I ask him to take a deep breath and be kinder when he asks, which may take a few tries, but he ultimately does. I feel kind of silly as if we should be done with this behavior by now, but I figure better to work on it now than let it ride. I also feel like time will help, too.
Anything else we can be doing?