Dressing for Success: Accessories Edition

I know I still owe you an update about the work clothes shopping extravaganza I did the weekend Jason lost his wedding ring to the New River (for some reason I haven’t been able to focus long enough to take a few photos of the fruits of my labor) so for now I’ll just say that it was a mostly successful outing.

Instead what I want to talk about today are two important work accessories I’ve recently acquired. First up, is this handy-dandy retractable identification badge clip I bought from Office Depot on Sunday. This is absolutely critical for those of us who have to wear ID badges at all times at work. The security office gave me a black lanyard to wear but after wearing it all last week, I felt that it was really hindering my work style by negatively impacting my ability to wear cute necklaces. The badge clip has been so much better—it discretely hooks to the waistband of my pants or skirts and the retractability allows for easy access when I have to show it to the security guards in the morning after I make my daily trip through the metal detectors. This feature will be even handier once I get my high-tech biometrically-enhanced ID badge in a month or two and can use that to enter the special side entrance. Best purchase made from Office Depot ever!

The second item I have recently acquired is another one that has significantly improved my quality of work life this week: a new tote bag. Almost as soon as I became one of the 800,000 people who ride the Metro everyday, I realized that even my oversized purses weren’t quite cutting it in terms of helping me haul all of the things I needed to bring with me to work everyday. I know you are probably thinking--  how much stuff do you really need to bring with you? It adds up, believe me. Here are my everyday work essentials:

• Umbrella—you never know when you are going to get caught walking to/from the metro in the rain
• Lunch bag—I’m following Jason’s lead and bringing my lunch 3-4 days a week (more on that in a later post)
• Shoes—because even though I bought a new pair of low heels that I can walk in, I did not account for the other blisters they would create. So now I am that person who wears flats/flip-flops on to/from the metro and then changes into other dress shoes when I get to work.
• Personal items—wallet, cell phone, keys, metro card, etc.
• Magazine or book-- for the 20 or so minute metro ride
• My fake Sigg water bottle—which I haven’t been bringing lately but need to

Since Jason and I were already planning to make a quick trip to the Leesburg Outlets on Saturday, I decided to take a look and see if I could find a nice tote bag that was large enough to fit all of the above items and anything else I may need to take to work on a regular basis. My goal was to find something that would be usable year-round so that I could get away with buying one bag. Fortunately I ended up finding something that was pretty much the size, shape, and style I had in mind at the Kate Spade Outlet store.

There was just one small thing…

It is a diaper bag.

 Can you see that the tag (with a picture of a small child) says "Kate Spade Baby"?!?

Yep, I am taking all my stuff to work in a designer diaper bag.

Fortunately it doesn’t look like a diaper bag but has all the benefits—easily cleanable nylon lining (perfect for the occasional wet umbrellas, dirty shoes, or leaking lunches), lots of pockets (once meant for baby bottles now used for water bottles), etc. Once I got past the label (and the awkward conversation with the sales lady who was trying to show me how the stroller straps worked), I was pretty happy with my purchase.

Now if I could just figure out how to repurpose the changing pad….

Dress for Success

Almost as soon as I made the decision to take a new job and return to life as an office worker I started thinking about one thing: clothes.  It has been three years since I had to go into an office every day and in that time I have purchased maybe 2-3 articles of work appropriate clothing. Sure, I have plenty of clothes hanging my closet left over from my previous office-going days but…come on! they are more than THREE YEARS OLD.

So I have decided to go on a mini-shopping spree this weekend to augment my current work wardrobe and bring it into 2010. Now I am trying to be very thoughtful about this so as not to waste money unnecessarily. To that end I have made a list of the things that I would like to find. My list of must-haves includes the following:

• A couple of skirts, in particular I'd like a black or khaki (pencil?) skirt that I can mix and match with various tops
• A variety of sleeveless tops, shells, and camis that I can layer with cardigans and blazers—most of what I currently have are on their last legs and/or not really appropriate for wearing on their own. Since I am going to be commuting via metro for at least the first few months at my new job (you know, during the dead of summer) I want lightweight tops that can stand by themselves as well.
• At least one but maybe two blazers that I can mix and match with various skirts and pants (I have a lot of wintery blazers but not summer ones)
• New pair of black heels, preferably ones that are comfortable enough to walk to/from the metro in

I’m also on the lookout for a v-neck cardigan or something that I can wear with a couple of sleeveless tops I already have ( see below)...for some reason they don’t look very good with the mainly crew-neck cardigans I already have—any suggestions?

Given the emails I’ve received recently about the sales at stores like Ann Taylor, Loft, Banana Republic, and J. Crew I’m hoping I’ll be able to find what I’m looking for without shelling out too much. Fortunately I have a gift card or two left over from my birthday and am about to start a new job with a new salary :)

I’ll let you know how it goes!