Washable Workwear Wednesday: Miriam Sleeveless Plunge Neck Dress
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Every summer, I aspire to channel some vacation vibes in my office wear. If your office dress code is (or has become) more laid back, this breezy dress from lemlem might have you mistaking your A.M. coffee for a tropical cocktail.
This sleeveless dress is made from soft cotton and features a comfortable elastic waist and subtle blue, white, and navy striped pattern. Just add a light cardigan or wrap and some statement earrings for a relaxed, but put-together look. If you’re not familiar with the brand, lemlem was founded by supermodel Liya Kebede after a trip to her native Ethiopia.
lemlem is “an artisan-driven brand of beautiful women resort wear made entirely and responsibly in Africa, with a core mission of preserving the local art of weaving in Ethiopia and inspiring economic growth on the continent.” Also, five percent of your purchase goes to the lemlem Foundation, which focuses on “creating a pathway out of poverty for women artisans in Africa.”
The dress is $375 and available in XS–L.
Two more affordable options are from DKNY — a short-sleeved dress for $149 (sizes 2–14) and a sleeveless one (sizes 0–18) for $108.
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 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?
How do you deal with tantrums when they are exclusively directed at your spouse? Our toddler is in full tantrum mode these days when it comes to getting dressed, going potty, getting ready for bed, etc.–when my husband is taking care of him. When I’m managing things, tantrums are rare. We have a 6-month-old, and I’m still BFing her, so it’s easy to figure out why this is happening–my attention is often focused on the baby. But I really don’t like our current solution, which is that I end up doing everything, and as a result we’re always running behind.
How do I find a good attorney for wills for me, DH and my parents? We’re not from around here originally and I can’t think of anyone with similar life circumstances for a good rec. FWIW, we’re in Suffolk County, NY.
I need gift ideas for my soon-to-be 2-year-old niece. I’m tired of being the boring aunt who only buys books and art supplies, haha.
I don’t think you’re crazy or stupid for wanting a more challenging job, but I would also not underestimate the value of flexible work hours, especially as your kids get older. Daycare years are the easiest years in some ways. When your kids are in elementary they will be out of school all summer and on weekdays around 3:30 and having the flexibility to leave the office early (even occasionally) to be home with them can be really great. I haven’t heard of many places that have as much flexibility as the government, although the pandemic may have made some private sector employers more flexible.
I’m really unhappy in my current job (government staff attorney) – no opportunity for advancement, poor internal structure, jerk/lazy co-workers, very little recognition/appreciation for high demands/quality work (I could go on, but I’m feeling self-conscious that I sound like an entitled jerk). I have two kids (11 mo. and 2.5 yrs) and think having a job I feel driven to do well at would give me a good mental balance against the stressors of my kids (my youngest has many severe food allergies and just general busyness of kids), but my mom is pressuring me just to “stay where I am” because it’s easy (I did realize I can do my job in a few hours every couple days, save for some busy times over the course of the pandemic). Am I crazy or stupid for wanting to keep pushing myself professionally even with two young kids?
I feel like I need a getting ready for kindergarten picture book for parents! My oldest is starting this year and I’m nervous about the morning routine. We’ve been doing daycare for years now but it’s always had a flexible start time and our jobs are somewhat flexible with start times, too. So, while we have a target time to be out the door, if we are running late, it’s not a big deal. Now, we will have to be out the door at 7:30am for everyone to get where they need to go on time. Other than the usual–prepping lunch, clothes, bags the night before–how do you keep on track? My kids are usually up by 6:15 but they do occasionally sleep until 7am and I hate waking them since I know when they do that, they really need it. Should I get the Kindergartener an alarm clock? How do you deal with inevitable meltdowns, resisting dressing, etc.? I really don’t want to be losing it every morning because the kid won’t put her clothes on! Thanks for any advice!
We are traveling next month and I’m taking the pack and play for my 19 month old. What do you all do for a mattress? We have one but we can’t really roll it up and take it with us, can we? How do you make the PnP comfortable past the infant stage?
Thanks to all of you who weighed in a bit ago when I asked about correcting DR and leaking. Many of you recommended Restore Your Core, as well as yoga, as something that might help. Anyone care to review RYC? Did it fix your DR completely? Or your leaking? I’m thinking of purchasing it but the cost is making me pause a bit. I’ve already tried Every Mother (not for me) and MammaStrong (I like the woman but her 15 min dailies moved really fast and I knew I wasn’t going to stick with doing it every day for the rest of my life!). RYC sounds appealing in that it’s only 3 months. Yoga also sounds appealing because I like yoga! But it is harder for me to go to yoga with 2 young kids and a busy work schedule. Any thoughts appreciated!
What do your kids eat for lunch at camp? Mine usually prefer to buy lunch during the school year and camp doesn’t have that option. They aren’t really picky eaters. It don’t like traditional aka boring sandwiches and can’t have nuts at camp. They are big eaters at 6 and 8.5 and they are at camp 8-3 and they are active the whole time so need lots of energy. Ideas??
Help! We are on a2.5 week vacation with our 3 year old twins and one won’t sleep. We just woke up from night 4. Nights 1 and 2 she woke up in the middle of the night and was up for two hours and i ended up sleeping in their room. Night 3 i just slept in their room from the beginning bc i wanted us all to get some sleep, she woke up twice, i told her mommy was there abd she went back to sleep. Last night she woke up twice and we got her back to bed after the first time but the second time she was up at 5am. At home she usually naps for 1-2 hours a day and sleeps 11-12 hours a night, though maybe she wakes up a lot at home too but i just don’t know about it. She is a hot mess during the day and we are all running on fumes. Any ideas?
Need help making a tough decision.
I’m MOH in a wedding that I’m not excited about. Bride is a college roommate (15+ years ago). Other roommates and I are still quote close. She’s the oddball out due to living in another city and frankly being very emotional/sensitive and self-centered. She kind of always was but I think we all matured out of college mode and she sort of didn’t? We’re all quite friendly, no fall outs. Friendly group texts, share life events and we’re happy for one another, but not that close any more. She was MOH for me 9 years ago. I was actually surprised when she asked me two years ago (delayed twice due to COVID).
I’m currently in the middle of a terrible fertility treatment regimen, 20 months and counting. I’m in a really bad place mentally and physically – literally recovering from a recent miscarriage as we speak. I found out today my next transfer will be within a handful of days of her wedding. I won’t know the date of the transfer for sure until about August 31 and the wedding is mid Sept. Wedding requires flights, buying a $250+ dress, finding childcare for my three year old, renting a car, etc.
I can’t fathom delaying my cycle for the wedding. But am I too easily defaulting to “I can’t go, sorry” or is there some work around I should be considering? Should I just buy the dress (the biggest lead time item) and hold out on everything else? I don’t think she’d react well to me giving her a heads up today that I might not be able to make it. What would you do?
I think this is the first summer in while that I feel like is going to pass by so quickly. I think it’s because my older kid is starting K and is becoming more fun to be around and last year we were just coming out of Covid daycare shutdowns so we just wanted to get back to some sort of routine. And I feel like the elementary school years will feel like they are going so fast! I’m not in a job where I can just take summers off (do those exist?! maybe teaching), so for those of you with older kids, how do you take advantage of summer so that it doesn’t just fly by while you’re sitting in front of a computer? We have a vacation booked for the end of August. I may take a few Fridays off here and there.
Ugh I’ve started snoring loud enough to bother my husband. I feel so, so bad about it! I have a doctor’s appointment for next week, but I’m not looking forward to the prospect of using a CPAP machine. Anyone here have any good stories of snoring solutions?
Just put two of my kids in a bunk bed. I love it except for the exposed slats supporting the top bunk. Has anyone successfully used anything to cover them? All I can think is cutting a sheet to size and stapling or taping it to cover.