BEDKNOBS & BAUBLES

Rainbow

September 12, 2016 by jessica 7 Comments

If it wasn’t obvious from my near radio silence over the last week, I’m entering my busiest work period of the year. The stress is starting to get to me, as it does every year. I’ve been kind of a wreck with anxiety-related insomnia, which brings on spontaneous tears as I try to get through my growing to-do list. (Dave actually calls me “Stressica” in September and October!) I’m sure I’ll be feeling like my #GirlBoss self again soon, especially since there’s no other option than to hustle my way through the next couple of months. It’s definitely easier with a big grin, a ridiculously bright dress, and frequent trips to Starbucks. (Venti, please.)

Dress: c/o SheIn
Sandals: Sam Edelman
Bag: JCOS Studios (read my review)
Necklace: Vintage (browse other vintage medallion styles)
Rings: c/o Julie Vos (also love this one), Monica Vinader
Sunglasses: Karen Walker c/o Shopbop

Building a Work Wardrobe with Bellgray

September 8, 2016 by jessica Leave a Comment

We’ve all had similar struggles when it comes to work clothes. We’ve wondered what to wear to an interview, how to build a wardrobe that fits in a hard-to-define “business casual” workplace, and have found ourselves overwhelmed with an onslaught of trendy and casual pieces at department stores. Annie Shafran, the founder and CEO of Bellgray, hopes to change that.

Bellgray is a professional clothing e-commerce site that redefines how women shop for work clothes. It offers a curated selection of work-appropriate clothing from brands like Tory Burch, Vince, and Theory, making shopping easy for women in their 20s through 40s. In addition to a traditional online shopping experience that allows you to choose the specific type of item you’re shopping for, Bellgray offers a unique shop-by-solution option for women.

I had the opportunity to chat with Annie about the inspiration for her company, the steps to building a work wardrobe, and the essential piece that shouldn’t be missing from your wardrobe. Read more below!

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO LAUNCH BELLGRAY?

My inspiration started in college at the University of California, Berkeley and then really grew more and more important to me since then. During junior year, my friends and I were interviewing for competitive internships across all types of industries from investment banking to tech firms. The one question that could be heard across the dorms was “what do I wear?” When you Google what to wear to a (fill in the blank) interview for a woman, nothing comes up. It was a mystery as to why there were no resources for young women on appropriate interview attire.

I eventually took a job in finance and spent the next three years wondering where to purchase work clothes I actually like and feel my best in. When you have more of an analytical mind, it is not fun to piece outfits together and hunt for the best brands at the best price. I started Bellgray for those women (including me) who wanted a place to buy work clothes that took the infinite options out there and edited it down to the best few pieces.

WHAT CHALLENGES DO WOMEN TYPICALLY FACE WHEN BUILDING A WORK WARDROBE?

I kind of touched on this above, but not all women like shopping. It is a common misconception! As more and more women enter the corporate world, they need a better resource for work clothes than the existing options:

While we all love the Shopbops and Revolves of the online shopping world, their “wear to work” section is too avant-garde for any girl in finance or law.
Department store sites like Macys and Bloomingdales have too much content and are hard to sift through.
Stores like Banana Republic and J. Crew only carry one brand, and you don’t just wear only one brand.

Our strategy allows you to shop by solutions, not just by tops or bottoms. Additionally, our curated selection of products cures browser fatigue. There is no more scrolling through hundreds of pages on a department store website. We pick only the best work-appropriate attire and our product assortment refreshes daily.

Some of our shop-by-solution options include: interview, business causal, budget professional, and happy hour. This gives women realistic inspiration with the ability to actually “shop the look.”

HOW SHOULD WOMEN START BUILDING A WORK WARDROBE?

Step one: build the basics. Buy a suit in navy, gray, and a lighter color. I prefer pant suits, but a lot of women like skirt suits as well. Buy two or three pairs of durable, long-lasting shoes: pumps and flats.

Once you have your basics, step two is to layer in printed tops, dresses you can wear with the suit blazers, and light accessories. It is great to keep updating your work wardrobe once you have the basics with fun, unstructured jackets, A-line skirts (as opposed to a basic pencil skirt), and more colors.

WHAT’S THE ONE ITEM EVERYONE WOMAN SHOULD HAVE IN HER WORK WARDROBE?

An unstructured jacket. These are often overlooked as an alternative to a blazer. They are great for business casual settings, and transition from day to night with zero effort required.

EDITOR’S PICKS

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This post is in partnership with Bellgray. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Bedknobs & Baubles.

The Coveted

September 6, 2016 by jessica 7 Comments

There’s more to love:

The Weekend Guide

September 3, 2016 by jessica 2 Comments

BUDGET
I sift through my lingerie drawer approximately once a year and toss anything that’s worn out, doesn’t fit correctly, or just isn’t loved anymore. I’m just about to embark on that annual project and loved reading this post about budgeting in order to spend money on one of life’s indulgent, little luxuries: good lingerie. (And, speaking of lingerie, if you know of any great bra brands, please share. Victoria’s Secret seems to discontinue my favorites each year and I’m back to square one with shopping.)

KNOW
As much as I love Harper’s Bazaar, I can’t stand the “Fabulous at Any Age” feature. I’m delighted to know that my fashion icon Iris Apfel agrees that dressing for your age is “stupid.”

CONSIDER
When you’re tasked with shopping on a limited budget, you’re forced to carefully consider any purchase. However, shopping regrets still occur.

SIP
Spend the last weekend of summer poolside sipping frosé.

LEARN
Sales are slipping at many women’s stores and it may come down to one thing: poorly made clothing.

CAMPAIGN
I’m all about three-day weekends and I’ve always been convinced that I go back to work more refreshed and motivated to tackle just as much work over the following four days as I’d get done in five. It seems that science agrees. Now, who do we petition to make it a thing?

EARLIER THIS WEEK
Cleaning up with a robotic vacuum. (Bonus: cute photos of Bacon.)
August’s sartorial spending recap.
My new favorite cocktail dress.
A few things I have my eye on.

Keeping Clean with bObsweep PetHair

September 1, 2016 by jessica 4 Comments

Home purchases are becoming more abundant ’round these parts as we continue to get rid of our transitional furniture and invest in nicer items with a future home purchase in mind. In fact, we’re planning to finally order a king-size mattress and frame this weekend! So, you can imagine how excited I was when bObsweep reached out with an opportunity to try the bObsweep PetHair, a robotic vacuum cleaner that’s akin to having a live-in maid who vacuums, sweeps, mops, and UV sterilizes the floors.

As any pet owner knows, keeping up with hair and dander is a seems like a never-ending chore. (How Bacon manages to shed as much as he does without going bald is a miracle.) And, if we’re being brutally honest, I’m not as good at staying on top of my vacuum duties as I probably should be. (#RealLife) This is exactly why I was thrilled to invite the robot affectionately known as “Bob” into our lives.

Bob arrived with a little birth certificate to announce his arrival. (He wasn’t exactly a petite newborn at 7.6 pounds and 4.2 inches tall!) After letting the the little guy fully charge overnight, he was ready for action. He seemed a little scatterbrained buzzing around our living room and bumping into just about everything, but he began to learn the placement of items and would adjust his trajectory as he continued through our apartment. Honestly, I wasn’t sure he was doing much at first and we laid down a pile of crumbs (rather, a smashed goldfish cracker) to see if he could sweep it up. There’s a setting that forces him to spot clean one area and yet he struggled with the larger pieces. Overall, though, he did a great job with pet hair (as promised), dust, and the fibers my rug doesn’t seem to stop shedding. (We actually had to empty the dustbin five times during his 20-minute excursion because of how much stuff he was picking up. I realize that makes me sound like a bad housekeeper.)

When Bob starts get tuckered out and only has 15% of his battery remaining, the vacuuming component shuts down and he begins to search for his docking station. We didn’t heed the instructions and had placed the docking station in the middle of the room, which makes it harder for Bob to locate. Out of pity, I picked him up and set him on a course to make a beeline for his dock … which he missed. Afterward, we read that picking him up screws up his internal map. Oops. Placing the docking station parallel to a wall with plenty of open space around it makes it easier for Bob to take a break.

Overall, it seems that Bob will be best at keeping up with daily or weekly chores. We’ve actually set a timer for Bob to get to work at 9:00 on Saturday mornings so we can lounge around enjoying brunch while he picks up after us! You can adopt a bObsweep of your own at www.bobsweep.com.

I was giving Bacon so many treats (enough to take the place of his dinner) to get him acclimated to Bob and he was doing so well … until I turned it on. As you’ll see below, Bacon wolfed down the last of his morsels before making a mad dash in the opposite direction. He eventually warmed up enough to tolerate the bObsweep PetHair as long as he was on a perch looking down on it with plenty of room to bolt if Bob got too close.

Rug: West Elm
Coffee Table: West Elm (it’s the raw mango version)
Book: Styled by Emily Henderson
Vacuum: c/o bObsweep PetHair

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Thanks to bObsweep for partnering on this post!