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Monday, November 23, 2015

What to Wear to Work | Chambray Bow Top


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With the colder months upon us, I'm transitioning my daily work outfits from a pencil skirt to trousers and long sleeve tops. This chambray bow top from LOFT is a great piece to add to your wardrobe for the colder months. It can be work tucked into trousers, or you can layer it with a v-neck cardigan or a lightweight sweater.  The trousers I'm wearing are from J.Crew and come with a matching blazer. This would be an easy outfit to wear to the office and still look feminine and professional. 

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If you want a top that is more "corporate", I'd opt for a solid color top like this one in off white or this one in blush pink. Both are staples for any 9-5 woman and can be worn several different ways. What I love most about these tops is that they are different than your normal button down shirt. It's nice to wear a white button down to work, especially for the days you have meetings. However, when I wear button down shirts, mine have the tendency to gap in the chest area, so I need to wear an undergarment to minimize the gap. Sometimes I just don't feel like wearing spanx to the office. This top eliminates these types of problems!

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If you like the chambray, but not the bow, check out this soft chambray button down. It's perfect to wear with your favorite cardigan to the office. 

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These two little cuties crashed my photo session with Lydia. Batman is a big fan of being in front of the camera. He's always photo ready! We went to Washington Square park for him to play after the photo session. It was a fun weekend with my boys.

For anyone who wants to see my daily work outfits, please follow me on Twitter! I've posted on Instagram a few times, for consistency I'll be posting all on one platform. Thank you for reading!

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Top - Loft
Pants - J.Crew
Shoes - Kurt Geiger old 
Coat - Zara
Bag - Saint Laurent (similar save)
Sunglasses - Anthropologie 
Watch - Kate Spade
Lips - MAC






Photos by Lydia Hudgens

Sunday, November 22, 2015

EcoTools | Exfoliating Favorites for Winter Weather

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As much as I love all four seasons, my skin doesn’t. After living in San Francisco for five years, my hair and skin were spoiled by the moist, cool, clean air. Moving to New York City, I've seen a drastic change. My hair is dryer and gets more split ends. My face and lips are perpetually dry and need moisture throughout the day. As much as I try to drink plenty of water, I need something more. I've found the best thing for my skin is to exfoliate and moisturize daily. Luckily, I've found some great tools from EcoTools to exfoliate my skin: the EcoPoufPure Complexion Facial Sponge and the Dry Body Brush.

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The Pure Complexion Facial Sponge is something I always wanted to try, but was unsure how this hard sponge would be on my face. If anyone has seen this sponge in stores, you probably wondered the same thing. The sponge softens with water, and works for even for the most sensitive skin. After adding water, use with your favorite facial cleaner to exfoliate your face. The sponge is made with 100% natural ingredients, including Konjac vegetable fiber, for a better clean that reveals smooth and refreshed skin. I made the mistake of leaving the sponge in my shower, so it was constantly wet and eventually fell apart. I'd highly recommend letting the sponge dry out after each use to prevent bacteria buildup and keep the sponge fresh. 

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The Dry Body Brush is used to exfoliate and detoxify skin, improving the appearance and leaving your skin soft, smooth and glowing. Plus, the brush is so easy to use. Start with a dry brush and gently brush using long, upward strokes. Start with your legs and make your way up to your arms, always brushing in an upward motion.

Tip: an easy way to exfoliate your lips is to mix sugar and olive oil in a small plastic container. Keep in your bathroom and exfoliate your lips before bed. It helps to keep your lipstick on longer and gives you softer lips. Here's a recipe for brown sugar lip scrub

Thank you EcoTools for sponsoring today's post! 



Photos by Lydia Hudgens

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Closet Refresh with SWASH

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Working in the corporate world, it's important to always look put together and presentable. You never know when your CEO or SVP will show up at the office. The easiest way to stay meeting ready is to ensure your wardrobe is always wrinkle-free. That, and nicely creased trousers, is one of the most important parts of my wardrobe.

I guess you could say that's my "brand." When I'm sifting through my closet in the morning, if I find anything that's wrinkled, I won't wear it. When I have time the night before, I'll iron or steam my outfit, but if I have to do it in the morning, all bets are off. There's no way I'll be wearing it to the office.

So when I was introduced to the SWASH system by Whirlpool, the idea blew my mind. This is exactly what I needed for my busy lifestyle! After reading the reviews and talking to a few people, I reached out to SWASH team and talked about doing a collaboration. I wanted to test out the machine and, depending on my experience, share it with my readers. Well, after 4 weeks of having the machine, it's a keeper!  Matt and I both use it almost every morning, my husband more often than me. He's always been good about waking up early and ironing his clothing before work... I'm usually running around the house just trying to get out the door on time!

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This is a typical top I'll wear to work: silk or polyester. We all know that it's expensive to dry clean silk tops, so every time I need to freshen one up, it comes at a cost... $6.95 to be exact. When I come home and change at the end of a long day, I tend to throw my tops over the back of a chair. You can slightly see the creases in the top here that result from this. Even though it's not dirty, I would normally take it to the dry cleaner (and spend that $6.95) just to get the wrinkles out and freshen it up.

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After pulling my winter clothes from storage, my clothing had deep creases and smelled a little dull. I freshened up wool skirts (like the one J.Crew skirt above & below), sweaters and blazers by using the SWASH system. 

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The SWASH machine made this much easier with their at home clothing care system. They save this household tons of time and money. Not to mention, it's not harsh on our clothing like the industrial washer/dryer we have in our apartment building and the dry cleaners are. 

We hang our clothing on the SWASH adjustable hanger, clip the edges to get out wrinkles, load the machine with a SWASH pod and start the cycle! Two cycles are available, the standard 10 minute cycle and the extended 15 minute cycle - this extends drying time for you heaver clothing. The SWASH system sprays a superfine mist on both sides of the hanging clothes. Again, this is great to dewrinkle clothing, but it's also great to freshen up clothes. For sweaters, blazers and trousers that need to be freshened up before the next wear, this machine is great to maintain the longevity of your clothing, but smell like you just got it out of the dryer. 

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We love the SWASH system. We use it daily and have been really impressed with the results. I think with every product, there are things to think about before purchasing. That being said, this will not replace your iron and dry cleaners. I still take my pants to the dry cleaners to be cleaned and pressed (I like the crease). It will also not alleviate deep wrinkles in thicker materials. For example, Matt has several button up shirts that have deep wrinkles that just still need to be ironed. But for a daily refresh, the machine is wonderful. Having used the system for several weeks, my only con about the machine is that it's large, especially for a New Yorker. We have the machine tucked away in our bedroom hallway, but it does need enough room to take your clothes out of the system. When the door is closed, the dimensions of the device are 50" tall x 16.5" wide x 30" deep. As you can see in the photos, I'm about the same size as the machine.

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Regardless, I'm so happy with the SWASH machine. Looking your best starts before you leave the house in the morning, and I know this will make me look and feel confident throughout the day. I genuinely feel like it's expanded my wardrobe, too, as I finally have the option to wear things that would otherwise be just a little too wrinkly to wear to the office, like that silk top I left draped over a chair for a little too long. It's a wardrobe match made in heaven.

Special thanks to SWASH for sponsoring today's post! If anyone has any questions regarding the SWASH system, please email me at thecorporatecatwalk@gmail.com. I'm happy to share more of my personal experiences and tips! 


Photos by Lydia Hudgens