Washable Workwear Wednesday: Samantha Bell-Sleeve Dress

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Samantha Bell-Sleeve DressI’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: Hobbs’ styles are often appropriate for work and are almost always washable. The brand is a great find if you’re looking for something more on the conservative side of things. Note that it’s not necessarily a budget pick — this dress is almost $300 — but it’s a good option if you’re looking for something made with quality that’s also washable. I like the happy blue of this dress, which I think is sedate but also bright. Note that Hobbs has a ton of bell-sleeve dresses right now in various colors and prints that are all washable as well. It’s a brand to keep an eye on and a nice style of dress as well. Sizes for the dress pictured are 6–18 (UK) / 2–14 (U.S.), and code LOVE will bring the price down from $290 to $232. Samantha Bell-Sleeve Dress 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 2/14/25 (Happy Valentine’s Day!):

(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)

  • Nordstrom – Winter Sale, up to 60% off! 7850 new markdowns for women
  • Ann Taylor – Up to 40% off your full-price purchase — and extra 60% off sale
  • Banana Republic Factory – 50% off everything + 15% off (readers love their suiting as well as their silky shirts like this one)
  • Boden – 15% off new season styles
  • Eloquii – 300+ styles $25 and up
  • J.Crew – 40% of your purchase – prices as marked
  • J.Crew Factory – 50% off entire site and storewide + extra 50% off clearance
  • Rothy’s – Final Few: Up to 40% off last-chance styles
  • Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
  • Talbots – Flash sale ending soon – markdowns starting from $15, extra 70% off all other markdowns (final sale)

And — here are some of our latest threadjacks of interestworking mom questions asked by the commenters!

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I actually mentioned above, my toddler loves the documentary “Babies.” I’ve been looking for other documentaries for her to watch but I’m having trouble.

A lot of the nature ones have very sad music / a bleak tone. (Like in “March of the Penguins” — the seals are really scary and every paragraph of narration ends with “and then some of the chicks die.”)

Anyone have any suggestions for more kid-friendly /upbeat documentaries?

Bonus points if on Netflix/Hulu/Amazon Prime!

Re the screen time question: my daughter is 22 months and we’ve had a lot of success with the Sesame Street song compilations on YouTube (I put it on the TV via chromecast). Lots of natural stopping points and no plot to follow. We do about five minutes of screen time each morning while I do her hair and put on her socks and shoes. I tried to get her to watch an actual episode of SS but she hated all the cartoon interludes and just wanted more Elmo and Cookie Monster so we will stick with the songs for now.

I am going to visit her in a couple weeks (she’s about a 4 hour drive away) assuming she is up for it. I can definitely bring/send magazines or knitting supplies. I like the fruit/flowers of the month club idea. No pets. Her hobbies before this were all related to working out / visiting family who are all about 1-2 hours away / cooking, so unfortunately those are off the table for now.

Can you go visit her? What about a subscription to the Texture app – gets you access to most magazines for free on your tablet? Flowers or fruit of the month club? I think something to let her know you are thinking of her, and will continue to regardless of what happens, that isn’t tied to her physical shape in case she does miscarry might be safer.

Looking for advice please. A very good friend from college is at long last pregnant after years of infertility struggles and at least one miscarriage. She is 13 weeks and having complications so while the likelihood of a miscarriage is decreasing there is still a not insubstantial chance she could miscarry. She is currently off work and on bed rest at home. Things may improve or she could have some type of activity restriction for the rest of her pregnancy. She is an OB who specializes in high risk pregnancies, which I imagine has its own challenges.

I’d like to do something really special for her, but I’m a bit worried about the timing of a gift in case she does miscarry. Also I think she is not really allowing herself to be happy about being pregnant in case she miscarries. She’s naturally frugal so I don’t think she would spring for nice maternity clothes for herself – probably would just rely on hand-me-downs from her sister or friends. I was thinking about gifting her a LeTote or a Stitch Fix subscription (both have maternity options I understand but could be used for non-maternity wear if she were to miscarry). Is this a bad idea? Any other recommendations to include in a care package? Any ingredients I should avoid in things like skin care products, if I did something like a fancy face mask or fancy body lotion? (She isn’t having any morning sickness anymore / has no issues with smell sensitivity. She has Netflix and Audible subscriptions already).

How did y’all start introducing screens to your kiddos? Our twins are going to turn 2 in a few months and I’d like to slowly get the ball rolling. It’s actually been somewhat inconvenient to have them be screenless this far– when we had an ER trip with one twin and needed to occupy the other one, he was not into YouTube. So far we’ve been showing them YouTube videos of Elmo’s Song, C is for Cookie, etc. about every other day; our daughter has occasionally started asking for C is for Cookie. I know eventually it’ll be useful to have things like the Daniel Tiger episodes around for life changes/small problems. Are there intermediate length shows that are longer than the 1:30 of the Elmo song but shorter than a 30-minute episode? I feel like everyone goes from zero to Doc McStuffins but no way is their attention span that long and I don’t want them watching half an hour anyway.

So sticker charts. We are trying to get our newly minted four year old to dress himself. He can, he just doesn’t care to, and getting him to do so is a huge battle we usually don’t have time or energy for.

We’re going to try to implement a sticker chart with a prize (hot wheels car) at the end. My question is how many days is ideal for this age? I don’t want to go to short so he doesn’t get enough practice/it doesn’t become a habit. But I don’t want it so long that it seems unattainable to him. Thoughts? Any other advice? We are sticker chart newbies.

How do you make holidays (religious and Hallmark) special for kids when you’re not that into holidays? To be clear, I’m not opposed to celebrating holidays, but I just don’t care that much and I don’t think about it. The only ones I ever really care about are Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas to the extent of getting/decorating a tree.

My daughter ~loved~ Christmas and decorating the tree. Recently she was asking to “make Valentines Day cards.” Last year we dyed Easter eggs and had a mini-hunt, which she loved and we’ll do again this year. Next year we’ll definitely make valentines day cards, but I’d love some other ideas for celebrating these smaller holidays and the lead-up to them (special napkins? tablecloth? window stickers? clothing?). Thanks!

Miscarriage care package? I know this has been discussed before but my searches haven’t been successful. My sweet cousin found out yesterday. She’s across the country and I’d like to do something to show her some love and support. She’s mid-twenties and this would have been her first kid. I’m thinking sbucks gift card (she loves sbucks), maybe a few things from Sephora to take care of herself, and a note (just saying we love her and are thinking of her, I know to steer clear of “everything happens for a reason” etc.). I’d send food or a restaurant card but I have no idea what places she eats from over there. Does this sound appropriate? Anything that might be better? Thanks ladies.

I need to get a bag to carry my pump, accessories and milk when I return to work in a couple weeks. I received a pump in style through insurance, but it did not come with a bag. I would prefer to buy a regular bag, not a pump specific bag. Has anyone done this and have a recommendation, either for a specific bag or features I will need? I want it to look professional and hopefully something I can continue to use post pumping. My biggest issue with the pump bags I see are that they look too cutesy or casual.

Thank you.

Thanks to the commenter the other day who was checking in on my plugged duct! I did leave work early and worked on it in the shower and with an um, massager, and then stuck a heating pad in there while I went to pick up the baby from daycare. When he finally got it unclogged it was the best relief ever!! After the initial clog got out I pressed on the lump until it squirted out and I held a cloth there to catch it all (baby was having none of that lol). It was nice to be able to tell when it was all out.

I’m back to dreamfeeding when I wake up in pain, because that’s so much preferable to the plugged duct. I don’t think I accomplished anything at work on Friday. All I could think about was my poor b00b!

Does anyone know of a good show/cartoon with an airplane trip? Our two year old will be going on her first airplane ride this year, and I think a show would be a good way for her to learn what to expect. Daniel Tiger’s Family Trip is in our regular rotation, and she definitely understands the concept of trips generally from car trips we have taken. Something talking specifically about airplanes, airports, and what to expect would be ideal. Thanks in advance!

This dress is so pretty, but I just haven’t been able to get in to the bell sleeve trend yet. I’m not sure why, I haven’t even tried anything with bell sleeves on to see how I feel about it, I just can’t embrace it quite yet.