It can be really, really tricky to find a great dress that is polished and sedate enough to wear to work, but then is interesting or elegant enough to also go to a cocktail party or holiday party after work. So let’s discuss — what are you looking for in day to night work dresses? Do you add additional details like a statement necklace or ring to make it feel more festive?

These are some of the most polished, elegant day to night work dresses that I love…

Stylish Day to Night Work Dresses

Marycrafts

This dress is almost always under $50, and feels fancy because of the twist detail at the waist. It’s available in sizes 0-22, at Amazon, in a bunch of colors.

Karen Kane

This Cascade dress has been a reader favorite for years because it’s so easy to wear — it’s stretchy, it’s flattering, it’s a little bit dramatic, and you can hand wash it. Score! It’s $118 full price at Nordstrom and other retailers, often available in sizes XS-3X as well as petites.

Adrianna Papell

Aw, I’m kind of excited to see this Adrianna Pappell dress back in stock — it was a reader favorite for years, and then it disappeared for a bit. But it’s a great dress for day to night looks.

It’s $129-$159 at Nordstrom and other retailers, available in regular and plus sizes.

M.M.LaFleur

I’ve always thought M.M.LaFleur’s Jillian dress was a gorgeous, elegant dress that would be just as appropriate in a conference room as well as at a cocktail party. It comes in a bunch of different colors, and a new “everyday satin” fabric, for $365 full price. (There are a lot marked down to $220 right now, though!)

Black Halo

In general, Black Halo makes beautiful, stylish, super polished dresses — it’s hard to think of an item of theirs, over the years, that wouldn’t be appropriate for both day to night. The pictured dress, the Jackie, is their classic, and also comes in a jumpsuit form. It’s $375-$435 at Nordstrom and other retailers.

The Fold

Man – we have featured so many drool-worthy dresses and blazers from The Fold over the years, it’s hard to say which is my favorite, but this hot pink dress may just be it. SO. FABULOUS. One of their iconic dresses, the Arlington, is also great for day-to-night looks.

The pictured dress is $595 at TheFold.com.

What are you looking for in a day to night dress, readers?

The post 6 Stylish Day to Night Work Dresses appeared first on Corporette.com.

We haven’t had a discussion on easy makeup to keep at your desk (or in your bag) in a while — what are your favorites to keep on hand? I would define “easy” as products that go with everything (and can even be added on top of existing makeup), and don’t require a lot of brushes or additional products, e.g., eyelash glue.

These are some of my favorites — what are yours?

The Best Easy Makeup to Keep At Your Desk

I still really love Touche L’Éclat — it is more sheer than a lot of concealers, as well as having highlighting properties, so it’s a great way to refresh your eyes before you head from desk to dinner, or even before a midday meeting.

Buy it at: Sephora, Nordstrom

Drugstore dupes: I’ve heard that this $6 e.l.f. concealer is a near perfect dupe (available at Amazon and ULTA)– I’m going to try it out.

We’ve been fans of the NARS The Multiple stick for a long time — and they now have a “limited edition” version of their core color, Orgasm. In more recent years they’ve come out with a liquid blush version of this — in my opinion it was a bit too sheer and runny, so I prefer the stick version, but that’s me.

What’s great about this is that not only is it a cheek color, but it’s a soft, pretty pink that goes well on your eyes as well — it adds just a touch of buildable color. Nice.

Buy it at: Sephora, Nordstrom

Drugstore dupe: e.l.f. Monochromatic Multi Stick at Amazon and ULTA

I’ve said it before, but I love my Chubby Sticks from Clinique. They add a buildable wash of color on your lips or cheeks, are moisturizing, and are super easy to apply because so many are MLBB tints. I’ve never had a stick break on me like lipsticks sometimes do.

For my pale skin, I’m a big fan of Graped Up and Whole Lot of Honey (both MLBB for me); I also like Voluptuous Violet for a bit more of a dark mauve color. I also have Broadest Berry from their Intense line and have been pulling it out more and more.

The Broadest Berry is particularly easy to apply with “the French method” where you only put the lip color on the center of your lips and then blend to the outer corners with your fingers or a brush. Then, blot (and repeat if you want more color), and go. Also, SO interesting — I would describe it as a red, Clinique describes it as a violet, and Temptalia describes it as a “beige plum.”

Buy it at: Nordstrom, Clinique, Macy’s, Sephora, ULTA

Dupe: I haven’t had the best of luck with the colors available in drugstore lines, so I’d recommend just waiting for one of the frequent sales on Clinique that Nordstrom and other department stores have. But Neutrogena and Burt’s Bees both have products right now that are similar in theory.

I didn’t realize until my early 30s that if I was heading from desk to dinner, my brows often needed a refresh, also — you don’t want to overdo it, but it does make a big difference.

For this purpose, I was originally going to suggest the Estee Lauder multi-brow tool — but this NYX one looks even better. It’s got powder, pencil, and a moussey brow tint.

Where to Buy: Amazon, your local drugstore

This (re)setting mist not only resets your makeup, but it also adds a refreshing mist of SPF 40.

Where to buy: Nordstrom, Sephora, ULTA, others

Drugstore dupes: The dupes are all almost as expensive as the original product (the original is $20, the dupes are $13-$18), so you may want to just stick with the original. If you’re looking for another option, though, check out this Milani spray, this Pacifica spray at Target, or this $12 spray at ULTA. This $5 NYX spray doesn’t include sunscreen, but it was an Allure beauty award winner and allegedly contains electrolytes to “replump” your skin.

BONUS MENTION:

I haven’t tried this, but I’ve never seen anything like it — ULTA has an exclusive MAC product that is a “dry shampoo mascara refresher.” I do feel like my lashes get clumpy after a few hours of wear — but I know from experience that adding more mascara on top of that is usually a disaster. INTERESTING.

Readers, which are your favorite easy makeup products to keep at your desk?

Stock photo via Deposit Photos / Y-Boychenko.

The post Easy Makeup Products to Keep At Your Desk appeared first on Corporette.com.

I was looking at a major department store’s “Wear to Work” dresses and found myself negging rejecting half of the dresses because they looked like wedding wear to me instead of workwear. And it occurs to me: this topic comes up a TON — what is cocktail attire, what is office attire, what is wedding attire — and do any pieces straddle the line so successfully that you can honestly wear them to multiple situations?

I’m not going to pretend to be innocent, either, as I’m sure many readers will note — sometimes we’ve made some workwear recommendations a little too closer to the “wedding wear” line.

Still: what are your thoughts? Where do YOU draw the line between wedding wear and office wear?

For my $.02, from my own personal experience and everything I’ve learned in doing the blog, this is my sense of the line between wedding wear and office wear:

Wedding Wear that is NOT Office Wear:

• stiff crepe / polyester fabric that has a sound to it
• too short, too tight, too low-cut
• Anything shiny (I’d make a slight exception for shimmery thread details in a tweed jacket, but that’s me)
• Anything involving tulle

QUESTIONABLE Office Wear (Probably Closer to Wedding Wear):

All of these things come down to “know your office,” but if a specific dress or outfit ticks off two or more of these categories below (or above) the default answer is a no…

• mesh or lace details, particularly in “flirty” spots on the dress, like a slit, cutout, neck detail, or overlay
• super girly colors like hot pink (for this one in particular I think the “two factors or more” consideration is important — there are lots of pink dresses that are just fine for the office and are probably NOT festive enough for a wedding)
• Jacquard or other unusual fabrics for work
• Cutouts (I like them sometimes but I know many readers do not — I think the question comes down to whether you can wear a regular bra with the dress or if you need a “special bra”)
• Jumpsuits – know your office

How to Turn Office Wear Into Wedding Wear (Desk to Dinner Style!)

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — sometimes it’s better to just get different outfits for different purposes. Still, if you’re trying to get more costs per wear out of an item, you’re traveling and trying to make a limited wardrobe work, or you’re gaining or losing weight and don’t want to buy or borrow something your current size…

• Add sandals in summer — particularly metallic or shiny patent leather sandals
• Add sheer black hose / fancy shoes (think sparkly or a fun texture you wouldn’t wear to work)
• Add blingy jewelry (see below)
• Add a sheer, shimmery, or festive wrap
• Remove any office trappings – for me this would be my Apple Watch; you might also be sure to switch your bag from a big tote or shoulder bag to a smaller clutch or going-out bag
• Switch to party makeup (even if you’re just doing desk to dinner makeup)

Fun Statement Necklaces to Add for Desk to Dinner

Festive Work Outfits (They’re Great for an Office Holiday Party)

Some of our favorite jumpsuits and party dresses for professional settings include these as of Oct. 2022… depending on the event, you may also want to check out our latest favorite colorful sheath dresses (great for alumni events, or just get darker colors like navy).

Day to Night Dresses

These elegant dresses could do double duty and go from day to night — which are your favorites?

Readers, what are your thoughts? Where do you draw the line between office wear and wedding wear? Do you regularly buy dresses or outfits hoping to be able to wear them to work and for dates, cocktail parties, weddings and more? 

Stock image: Deposit Photos / ArturVerkhovetskiy.

The post Where Do You Draw the Line Between Wedding Wear and Office Wear? appeared first on Corporette.com.

Sure, we all know what basics professional women are supposed to have in their closets, but if you’re buying one for the first time or replacing one you’ve worn into the ground, it can be a pain to find exactly the right incarnation in stores. In “The Hunt,” we search the stores for a basic item that every woman should have.

I seem to recall that some readers were dubious about this the last time I posted that a festive blazer was a must-have, but I’m 100% serious here: a velvet blazer is great for many office holiday situations.

Velvet is my fabric of choice — the matte fabric is more office-friendly than a metallic blazer, and — should you choose to wear sequins underneath the blazer — velvet holds up much better than, say, lace.

I fondly remember buying my first velvet blazer — I had been hunting for weeks, desperate for something to wear to my 10-year high school reunion, held around this time of the year in a local bar famous for its wings. I wound up getting a single button, violet purple velvet blazer.

{related: the best winter blazers to wear to work}

I wore it to my high school reunion with jeans and, having just recently lost a lot of weight, felt like hot stuff the whole night. (Why yes, the former quarterback did ask for my number — so what if he was divorced and balding with a 10-year-old kid?) 

{related: here are all of our tips on holiday office parties}

Anyway: for the price I paid, I would have been perfectly happy if I never wore the blazer again. But I was amazed how much use I got out of it — I wore it to the office with gray trousers. I wore it to the staff holiday party with a black sheath dress.

It became my go-to blazer for desk-to-dinner outings with friends. I think I finally hung it up around Valentine’s Day… but happily pulled it out the next November. If I were buying one now, these would be the ones on my list.

{related: The Ultimate Guide to Business Casual for Women}

Readers, do you consider a festive blazer a must-have? Have you bought any great ones recently (or have any victory stories about old favorites, like mine, to share)?

Psst: we’ve also had discussions if you’re wondering what to wear to work in winter, what coats to layer on top of blazer jackets, as well as what to wear to holiday office parties.

{related: the best blazers for women this year}

Some of Our Latest Favorite Festive Blazers for Work Outfits, Holiday Office Parties, and More

Hunting for festive blazers for 2023/24? Stay tuned for a bigger roundup, but on the affordable side we like J.Crew Factory and Loft — and this Eliza J one is almost always in stock. On the more expensive side, check Reiss, Paige, and L’Agence. (Love this green iridescent houndstooth from L’Agence, also!)

{related: do check out our regularly updated list of wardrobe essentials for work!}

Some Great Festive Suits and Other Special Occasion Suits for Women

Sometimes you want the whole look, whether you’re going to an office party or a wedding. These are some of our latest favorites…

Reiss

I’m drooling over this pants suit from Reiss. I love the dark but bright shade of blue, as well as the tone-on-tone styling. Also with regard to the styling, I’m always a fan of the rockstar scarf-worn-loose look with suit jackets, and I think it’s clever to do it with an untied secretary blouse/pussybow blouse — but the ties at the wrists are confusing.

In any event, the suit is gorgeous. The blazer is $540, available in sizes 0-14 (pre-ordered but many sizes sold out?!) and the pants are $330.

Lafayette New York 148

This one is a bit on the party side of suits, but it is almost that time of year… in any event, I really like this unusual print and suit from Lafayette 148 New York.

The leaf print is apparently part of their latest designs, with dresses, tops, pants, and more all featuring some variation of the leaf print. I really like it, though; it’s so much more interesting than an abstract print or a more boring, regular print.

(Something about it has a slight rock and roll vibe to it? It reminds me of this Gucci suit as worn by Jenna Coleman, #19 on this list from Harper’s Bazaar of celebrity trouser suits.)

The blazer is $1990 and available at Lafayette 148 New York and Neiman Marcus; the pants are $1498.

Also Great To Wear to Holiday Office Parties…

Statement Necklaces

Channel Ruth Bader Ginsberg and wear some great statement necklaces.

Party Pants for Office Parties

Note that party pants might not be acceptable at all offices – know yours!

Stay tuned for our favorite party pants to wear to holiday office parties in 2023!

Like this feature? Check out other recent installments!

The post The Hunt: Festive Blazers appeared first on Corporette.com.

How many different makeup looks for different occasions do you have?

I was going out somewhere recently, and I overshot the mark on makeup — I wanted to do more than my daily makeup look, but less than my evening/date night/party look, and landed up far too close to my “party look.”

So I got curious, and thought it might be a fun discussion for today: how much do you vary your makeup for different occasions — and how much do you vary your looks within those situations?

For example, do you always have the exact same office makeup look, or do you mix it up with different products and colors? How wide is your range with makeup — for example, from “no makeup for errands” to “four eyeshadows and three mascaras for date night”?

For my $.02, I have a pretty wide spectrum of makeup looks for different occasions — possibly too wide!

All My Makeup Looks for Different Occasions

Weekend/Errands/Lounging Makeup

When I was younger I do seem to recall putting on some makeup once I’d finished with my workout, even if I didn’t plan on leaving the house.

I have never been the kind of person to put on makeup for workouts, though (fiiine, maybe some tinted lip balm) and by my 20s I spent a lot of my weekends avoiding workouts (you know, the 9 AM planned workout that happens at the last possible moment before you have to start getting ready to go out), so by that time weekend makeup became “no makeup / PARTY MAKEUP.”

These days I really have no compunction about going out without makeup, though, particularly if it’s a school dropoff or weekend kid-related errand. (I consider myself #winning so long as I can wash my face and get sunscreen on!)

Daily Makeup (Office Makeup)

As I’ve written before, makeup for work for me generally means concealer, eyebrow, eyeliner, one color of eyeshadow, mascara, blush, lip liner, lipstick.

I tend to have set makeup combinations of eyeliner/eyeshadow/lipstick (so I wear taupe lipstick with greige eyeshadows, but pink lipstick with taupe eyeshadows, for example), but always the same general products applied in the same general way and no more than two or three looks.

Work-from-Home Makeup

When I only worked from home occasionally, this generally meant “no makeup.”

When I started working from home all the time, though, I struggled with this a bit because I had read all this stuff about how if you’re working from home you should “get dressed as if you’re going into the office,” and it conflicted with my previous “no makeup” mentality.

Even if I had successfully completed a workout, if it was just me, why should I put on makeup? It all came down to “who am I wearing makeup for anyway”?

For some reason, after having kids, daily mascara irritates my eyes, so I didn’t want to do a “full office makeup look,” or at least what that had meant for me previously. I also switched to wearing glasses about 95% of the time around this point, which I also felt necessitated less makeup.

(Fun fact: I have uneven eyebrows no mater how much I get them threaded, so when I’m in my glasses the uneven eyebrows are more noticeable, particularly if I darken them with eyebrow powder/gel/liner. But if I’m wearing contacts I absolutely feel like I need to darken them. Shrug.)

What I’ve settled on lately for ease of application but a bit more polished than absolutely no makeup is sheer lipstick like a Chubby stick, blush, undereye concealer, waterproof eyeliner, and occasionally a liquid shadow. The routine takes me about two minutes, maybe less.

Even now I alternate between three eyeliner colors and different lipstick colors — I wear the brown eyeliner with pinky/berry/purple lipstick and navy eyeliner with taupe lipstick. I’d like to get gray eyeliner in the routine but the current one I have smudges too much; I’m eyeing this one from Chanel, which I have in brown and is amazing.)

Big Presentation and Job Interview Makeup 

These are times when you want to feel extra confident in your makeup — but you don’t want to have a party look. So this is the makeup I’d wear fo ra big presentation or a job interview.

For a midday meeting or something, at the very least I put on mascara, refresh my eyeliner and use Touche Eclat on top of my work from home makeup.

If I’m starting from a fresh face, though, I’ll put on foundation in addition to concealer, do a little contouring/highlighting, maybe pull out two eyeshadow colors to blend, eyebrow, mascara, blush, and eyeliner.

(Loooove the Ecobrow eyebrow wax for these days.)

Date Night or Party Makeup

This is where I deviate from what is, in general, a fairly natural look — I like a smoky eye, what can I say? I usually do foundation, concealer, contouring/highlighting/blush, eyeshadow primer, 2-4 eyeshadows (generally all in the same color family), dark eyeliner on top (usually with an added swoop of dark black or dark navy shadow on top of the liner to set it), light eyeliner below my eye (taupey/fawn usually but maybe a faded gray/navy if I’m feeling like it) and usually a pretty neutral lip that somehow takes extra long to apply.

I may do a mascara primer as well as mascara (sometimes even layers of different mascaras!), or I may do my One Two Cosmetics lashes. Sometimes I give my husband a choice for the general shadow look (“honey, pick brown, black, purple, or blue”) — sometimes I give my 7-year-old son the choice.

I have fun with the date night/party makeup and it’s fun to see myself all dolled up — but it’s a TON more makeup than I normally wear and I worry it’s jarring to people who may, say, only know me a “no makeup/glasses” situation.

I also keep collecting red lipsticks in the hope that one day I can get a great red lip with a more natural-but-polished eye look — but I have yet to find a comfortable lip that I can wear for hours without constant monitoring or regret — so I’m not there yet.

So let’s hear it, readers — what are your thoughts on different makeup looks for different occasions? What are your regular looks for office makeup, interview makeup, date night makeup, weekend makeup and other situations? Do you have several makeup looks or just one for each situation?

If you work from home regularly, do you wear makeup? How has your makeup changed as you got promoted, got married, had kids, or generally gotten older? (Are there any looks that you think are too “young” for older women, short of, say, Jem’s makeup?) If you occasionally wear glasses, how do you vary your makeup?

Update: My Every Day Makeup Look

As of 2023, my short makeup routine is pretty boring — curled eyelashes + concealer + blush (Nars Orgasm) + powder, with a different lipstick and eyeliner depending on my mood. If I’m feeling extra fancy I’ll add mascara, highlighter, and/or do my brows with this cream and this brush (here’s my review). (I also add eye shadows in the “extra” days but it’s a huge variety, maybe 25 or so different ones.)

Some favorite lipsticks include Clinique (Graped Up & Voluminous Violet), NARS lipstick (Damage), Fenty (Goji Gang), NARS gloss (Orgasm, Fast Lane), and Clinique (Black Honey). I use this NYX lipliner (Natural) for almost all of them.

Favorite eyeliners include Chanel (Espresso), Urban Decay (Sabbath, Smoke), Clinique (Intense Chocolate & Plum), and this NYX liquid one.

Stock photo: Shutterstock / severija.

The post Office Makeup, Weekend Makeup, Party Makeup: How Much Do You Mix It Up? appeared first on Corporette.com.

Update: We still stand by this advice for going-out clothes and young professionals, but you may also want to check out the great reader discussion on general going-out clothes after age 25. 

Once you get to grad school, can you stick with your “going out” style from college, or is it time to make some changes? Reader C wonders how to dress for a night out on the town when she’s out with new friends from grad school…

I have a strange request/question. I’ve begun learning all about clothing for work, interviews, etc., and now know the difference between business casual and chic casual. My problem is that during my undergrad, “going out” almost certainly meant tight shirts, tight pants or leggings, and high heels, as well as blow-out hair and smokey eye makeup. Jackets were a never, and cleavage was a must.

I was recently invited to go out with from friends from my new school, and pretty much realized that I don’t know how to dress like a grown woman when I’m doing something super casual with friends, like going out for a few beers or even out dancing. I still want to look the part in some ways (these are, after all, my future colleagues — I don’t want to be remembered as “cleavage girl”), but still dress to have fun.

Please teach me to be a respectable adult, even while I’m supposed to be out having fun.

Great question, and I’m torn between a few thoughts. First: you’re in school; if you’re going out with friends it shouldn’t matter too much. On the flip side, I think it can make an impact on how people remember you, and the bigger the dichotomy between your work or student persona and your “weekend persona,” the more people will remember it.

I would also note at the start that if you’re going out on a weeknight (and it’s a schoolday or workday tomorrow), you probably don’t need to change what you’re wearing too much — similar to my general desk to dinner rules. Freshen up your makeup (maybe add a smoky eye OR a bright lip); consider changing into more festive shoes or a nicer blouse, or even adding a statement necklace — but keep it similar to what you wore that day.

But — if staring at your closet on a Friday night still fills you with angst, here are some thoughts:

• Find out where you’re going. If it’s somewhere out and about, you can call the bar or restaurant and ask them what the dress code is, if you’re unfamiliar. In NYC this can range wildly — ripped jeans to laid-back dresses to leather hot pants or some sexy-mama dress.
• That said, unless you’re going somewhere very fancy, it’s hard to go wrong with jeans in a dark rinse and (if somewhere cold) the highest boots you can walk in. I’d add a v-neck top in a solid color on top of that — even do the “blank slate” white or black if you want to. Then, top it with layers that you feel good to you: a wrap, a moto jacket, a kimono (trendy!), a long cardigan — even a fitted blazer. Another option: a classic little black dress can be great if you’re out with friends (IMHO, less great for a first date — too fancy — but that’s me.)
• Pick one feature to emphasize. If you have great legs, great — do a miniskirt on the weekend, or wear very tight jeans with rips. If you like your bust, put the girls on display a bit. If you like your belly, go for the crop-top trend. But don’t feature more than one thing at a time. (And please avoid the fluorescent mesh tank top with nothing underneath.)
• Know the local etiquette behind how walkable your outfit should be. In some cities, it’s totally appropriate to wear heels you actually can’t walk in — in other cities it’s far more likely your new friends are going to be annoyed if you can’t walk a block. (You can always bring City Slips or the like in your bag.) Another thing that can look really young: dressing totally inappropriately for the weather, such as bare legs with a miniskirt and tank top in January, with no coat.

Readers, what are your thoughts — what is the difference between college going-out dressing and grown-up going-out dressing? What did you wear on nights out with grad school or new work colleagues? (Do you remember any big gaffes, either of your own or someone else’s?)

Psst: we’ve talked before about how to fit a social life into a busy calendar. 

The post Going-Out Clothes and Young Professionals appeared first on Corporette.com.