You tried it on in store, flawless. Great hemline, well-constructed, and a work appropriate neckline. You look sharp. You buy it, take it home, try it on again, and its still love. Then it hangs in your closest till the first suitable day to show it off.

It’s finally time to model your new fashion fab accomplishment and you can’t wait. You rip the tags off and accessorize with a simple bracelet and killer cute, yet comfortable kitten heels. You’re fierce and ready to take on the corporate world.

Then you get in your car or the train, and sit. Oh no, there’s an uncomfortable tight feeling around your waist. Too late to change or do anything about it now. Long 9 hour day ahead.

All you can do is sit back, relax and be thankful you have a reclining chair, or maybe you’re extra lucky and have a standing desk. All of this avoidable if only you sat on the stool in the dressing room while trying on your dress and not use it as a purse holder. Oh well, lesson learned.

We spend more daytime hours at work than we do at home.  You can’t take the all of life’s necessities with you, but having the essentials on standby make for a more productive and efficient work day.

1. Cough drops - Not only should they be in your desk drawer, you should have them in your pockets. Although empathy is on your side in the case of a coughing fit, nobody wants you to set a world record for coughing interruptions while they are trying to rock a presentation they've poured their heart and soul into.
2. Mini umbrella - Haven't had time to follow the weather because you've got the corporate world to take over? Have no fear, the umbrella in your drawer will have you looking prepared.  Confidently dodge puddles during the walk to the train station and stay dry. Tip, don't forget to bring the umbrella back the next day.
3. Sewing kit - peek a boo the buttons in your shirt could use another button or two. Fear not, grab a safety pin and keep Vicky a secret. Hem coming undone, no worries. Safety pin it and get through the day looking pulled together.
4. Travel sized first aid kit with pain relief meds - paper cuts happens and so do headaches. Be prepared and don't get caught off guard. You need to be at full strength to slay it at your 10 o’clock meeting.
5. Chocolate or your snacking vice - chocolate is the elixir that fixes just about any workplace drama that erupts. Before you fight fire with fire, indulge in your snacking vice.  Take a deep breathe and take the high road. As Michelle so eloquently said, “when they go low, we go high.”
6. A box of plastic cutlery or a set of the real deal - don't be the office lunchtime mooch.  Get a box and keep it stacked. Play office hero at times and save the day with a spoon for your office pal who desperately needs protein in the form of a Greek yogurt.

Bonus - Mini lint brush, because Fluffy wanted some cuddle time before you left this morning doesn’t mean everyone needs to know. White fur on black pants fashion statement is not a thing, at least not yet.

There once was a young lady wearing a daytime elegant free-flowing maxi dress (in a corporate environment).

Color and print – nice and subtle, paired with a summer cardigan for no shoulder or arm exposure.  Great length, hitting her ankles, no cleavage exposure, and awesome natural makeup contrasted with a pair of super cute earrings.

A confident, self-assured modern day sophisticate.
But something was oh so wrong!

It started out a cloudy day.  The glass window panes initially told no tell.  But the sun came out and every time she walked by, oh no, see-through sunlight exposure.

See-through cover up at the beach, cute.  See-through pants, skirts, blouses, and dresses that leave nothing to the imagination, so not cute.

Many wonderful traditions get passed down from generation to generation such as how to tastefully accessorize and crossing your legs like a lady.  But the art of the slip is one that seems to be lost on younger generations.

Ladies when in doubt on see through coverage, please slip it, or at least carry one for when the need for one is realized.

Originally featured on Modernfrock.com

Getting dressed in the dark to allow your squeeze a few extra Zzzs can lead to fashion mishaps. Regardless of the cause of your last fashion faux pas, cultivating envious style means experimentation and trying - essences of #fashion #success.  Flops are not losses, but lessons to enable success for the next go at it!  So, here are a few fashion quotes to help get you past a wardrobe failure and to keep stylin’/trying.

Strangers to Ourselves - Modest Mouse

Make a great album! And that’s exactly what Modest Mouse did with "Strangers to Ourselves".

In case you missed its 2015 release or are looking for good new music before the holiday madness arrives, check out "Strangers to Ourselves."

A casual purveyor of this Issaquah, Washington band, I liked "Float On" and "Dashboard" enough. I even legally procured both songs. Might just be timing, or maybe I’ve matured enough to truly appreciate their harmonious reverberations. But there’s a joyous, deliberately moody natural flow to “Strangers to Ourselves” that keeps your ears and soul wanting more.

Maybe it's just me, but there’s something a little special about albums whose title songs start or end the album. It creates a holistic album completeness when that title phrase is used on another track at the opposite end.

Strangers to Ourselves appropriately kicks off with "Strangers to Ourselves" and the phrase “strangers to ourselves” delights us close to the tail end of the album in the song “The Tortoise and the Tourist.” "Lampshades on Fire," the first studio release off the album is second and my primary motivator for buying into the genius of the album. In addition to the aforementioned, my personal favorites are Pistol (A. Cunanan, Miami, FL. 1996), Coyotes, and "The Ground Walks with Time in a Box."  Other songs like "Pups to Dust" and "Be Brave" are cool, just a case of “to each their own.”

With each listen, I transform more and more to a fanatic. Each song an obsession that needs to be felt live. Definitely not a Stranger to this album (I can’t resist a pun).