<p>Scout-My D’s internship this summer is a similar attire. Dress pants with a nice top or sweater. D had a couple of cardigans from AT Loft and is now wishing she had more. Shoes are also an issue. D has her pair of Easy Spirit pumps which while comfortable are not made for the days where she is on her feet a good part of the day. I think her next day off is going to be spent in the pursuit of comfortable working shoes. Her job requires closed toe shoes which adds a bit of difficulty to the search.</p>
<p>It DOES make you wonder who comes up with these things & why HR doesn’t do its job & write appropriate dress codes for BOTH genders instead of leaving folks guessing. </p>
<p>My D is not sure what her future holds, so she is not going out & purchasing much. When she interned a two summers ago, she was the best dressed as I had her wear nice slacks & jeans, a nice top, and often a dressy jacket (it was cold). The other interns wore whatever jeans and very casual t’s. The TV station liked D so much they told her she’d have an open job offer if she was available, probably because of her hard work ethic, but I don’t think her dressing in business attire hurt either. 
She does look great when she dresses up!</p>
<p>I have taken D to look for comfortable shoes, but she generally finds the ones I think are comfortable to look too “old.” Hers are old falling apart, so we will have to do some serious shoe shopping this summer!</p>
<p>Where do you find nice conservatively cut JUNIOR size blouses and skirts?</p>
<p>HS D has a part-time job in a corporate office, but this summer her top won’t be covered by a lab-type coat so her top is more important. Also, that office tends to be hot so last year’s slacks will be too warm. She is almost 5’2" and slender but with extremely broad shoulders. Petite sizes don’t fit because they are too big in the body, and she doesn’t have the fuller hips and thighs of a misses size, and even junior skirts seem to start their fullness too low.</p>
<p>We will check out Kohl’s as someone mentioned. Other ideas for a Junior 3/5?</p>
<p>She will probably have to get another pair of shoes. What sold her last year was trying on a pair of comfort pumps and discovering that they were so-o-o-o much more comfortable than the type of shoes that all the girls like. Also, since she is a short girl with shortish feet, I have had to work long and hard to convince her of the geometric truth that she can’t really wear as high a heel as the tall girls: The angle is simply too steep (plus she it too clumsy so it will be dangerous for her).</p>
<p>Good luck all! The one outfit we put together last summer (skirt from Gap Outlet, 3/4 sleeve shirt from Ross, and peep-toe flats from Macy’s) made a then-16 year old look like a law clerk or older after her hair was tied back in a pony tail. Quite a transformation. The shoes do make a difference in the impression: Sexy vs. corporate.</p>
<p>I have been on the hunt for professional shoes myself-- I flatly refuse to wear anything that isn’t comfortable-- I have bunions and arches that collapse when I walk and it is so not worth it. I have a pair of black sonoma (kohls) flats that are TO DIE FOR comfortable, but so far no heels. I have very long (size 10-11) feet that are EXTREMELY freakishly narrow proportionate to length, so the arch support for heels is never in the right place to support my foot AT ALL. The only pair of heels I own that I can wear are a pair of Covington (jcpenney?) 1 1/2 inch heel sandals that are not work appropriate at all. I am about to give up on heels for life if I don’t find a brand that works for my feet. With the bunions I’d never wear very high heels anyway and never every day, but it sure feels frumpy to be 22 years old and resigned to a life of flats already.</p>
<p>I think that shoes are the toughest part. The Cole Haan pumps are to-die for - sure, they look kind of old-lady-ish but they have those Air Jordan insoles that make them heavenly to walk on. The problem (as I said) is finding flats that look polished and conservative (and oh yeah, no bows or buckles because D hates those.) For some reason, D loves the clothes I buy for her but we can’t come to terms on shoes…</p>
<p>Mom60 - D’s office has the same closed-toe rule. Plus, nylons are required.</p>
<p>Good luck, CCsiteObsessed. D is tall and thin so she can wear almost anything off the rack (we had to have some pants altered, but that was it.) Would solid colored tees and cardigans work? I know it sounds pretty dowdy for a teenager, but corporate offices can be pretty dowdy places.</p>
<p>I’m chuckling at the shoe discussion. We thought we had it bad…all D had to come up with for her (engineering) internship was a non-dorky pair of steel toed work boots in a women’s size 6 1/2. The “non-dorky” part was the hardest. Thank goodness for online shopping!! ;)</p>
<p>On the interns needing a clue front: D reports that one of the new interns that showed up in Uganda last week arrived with a wardrobe of skimpy sundresses, shorts and leggings. For a tropical climate and a culture that expects women to be very modestly dressed.</p>
<p>Justamom if your daughter still needs shoes tell her to look at Sketchers. They make a ton of womans steel toed boots/sneakers.</p>
<p>I agree that solid color knit top sweater sets can be a good choice, even if they are conservative. That is a corporate look. A problem many young women have is having tops that are frankly too low-cut for corporate & it is distracting and NOT professional-looking. Even my D’s friends dress this way, but I have NOT mentioned it to them. </p>
<p>We were surprised that Macy’s had things that fit D better than any other store! We did try Ross & Nordstrom’s Rack & other places, but Macy’s had the widest selection of sizes.</p>
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<p>Athlete? Unfortunately, the athletic body type (both women and men) is hard to find well fitting off the rack clothes for, except possibly athletic clothes, since that body type is relatively rare in the US.</p>
<p>Speaking of interns dressing cluelessly - when this thread ran originally someone suggested reading the corporette blog (fashion for young lawyers, but the advice and fashion applies to most young businesswomen too). Anyway, she has lots of good fashion advice and she recently had a discussion about fashion no-nos for interns: no shorts, sandals, short skirts, low-cut blouses, or flip-flops, among others.</p>
<p>Fendergirll - yes, we saw those on our online quest. It’s amazing what you can find online, and I was amazed at the variety of steel toes for women!! She was mortified & discouraged after visiting Tractor Supply :eek: and trying on the Frankenstein Boots.</p>
<p>Emaheevul - if your arches collapse, you should consider orthotics. This is a health issue.</p>
<p>^I know, I had orthotics as an adolescent but when I outgrew them my parents didn’t replace them. Long story. Someday I hope to be in a position to take care of that myself. Though I feel like I’d only end up wearing them at home anyhow because they wouldn’t fit in decent work shoes anyway. >.> I’m also supposed to be wearing a slight lift in my shoe to compensate for one leg being ever so slightly longer than the other and while I do have the lift I can’t get it to work in any shoe I can find. So I just suffer without.</p>
<p>Took D shopping yesterday for her second summer of working in a corporate environment. Unlike last summer, this summer’s office is poorly air conditioned, so slacks with closed toed and heeled shoes will be uncomfortably warm. D is 5’2" and slender with a nice V shape – shoulders two sizes bigger than the rest of her. Great for a guy; not so good for a gal.</p>
<p>Mission: Find a pencil or straight skirt and office appropriate top. Hah!!! We went to two Kohls but neither had a Junior Career section. One would think that separates would be easier than dresses, but that is not what we found. I had to explain that the stretchy skirts at Target were too clingy, and the ‘ho’ look is not what she wanted. Junior skirts everywhere we looked were bad. Tops that might be corporate appropriate for others would not work for her because when one is fairly flat-chested they hit way too low. I had to explain that prints and full skirts are not corporate and that she had to err on the side of conservative since she will be leading a class for kids older than she. No sun dresses.</p>
<p>We found three dresses – all sleeveless but conservative. Sleeveless takes care of the broad shoulder issue. Lined solid sheath from Target in conservative color showed her the difference that color can make: The pinkish one in the same style looked like a cocktail dress. The lined black shirtwaist from the Ann Taylor outlet showed her the difference in quality and fit from Forever 21 (where she usually shops) to a better quality store. And the $30 Macy’s dress she got for half price (and looks it to me) will work for a change of clothes that may last as long as something from Forever 21. </p>
<p>I have to say, the transformation, at least in my kid, from “typical teen” (jeans & top or even cute little dress) to “corporate” is pretty jaw dropping. She went from zero (well, okay maybe a two) to ten in terms of credibility, or at least appearing credible.</p>
<p>scout59, would she wear something like this?: [Women’s</a> Rieker Antistress Perforated Skimmer - TravelSmith](<a href=“http://www.travelsmith.com/jump.jsp?itemID=14113&itemType=PRODUCT&referring_url=CMSHP020&cm_mmc=Comparison%20Shopping-_-Shopzilla-_-Women’s%20>%20Footwear%20>%20Boots,%20Sandals%20and%20Slippers-_-10340&mr:referralID=a2d4982c-9acd-11e0-9e9c-001b2166c62d]Women’s”>http://www.travelsmith.com/jump.jsp?itemID=14113&itemType=PRODUCT&referring_url=CMSHP020&cm_mmc=Comparison%20Shopping-_-Shopzilla-_-Women’s%20>%20Footwear%20>%20Boots,%20Sandals%20and%20Slippers-_-10340&mr:referralID=a2d4982c-9acd-11e0-9e9c-001b2166c62d) or in brown/pewter: [Rieker</a> L1685 Dora 85 Pewter Metallic Leather Combo - Zappos.com Free Shipping BOTH Ways](<a href=“Rieker l1685 dora 85 pewter metallic leather combo + FREE SHIPPING | Zappos.com”>Rieker l1685 dora 85 pewter metallic leather combo + FREE SHIPPING | Zappos.com)</p>
<p>Yea, it’s nice to see our kids “clean up nicely,” so that they will be taken more seriously when they want/need to be, as well as being able to look nice in more casual attire. I’m glad that S had the sense to dress appropriately enough so that he made a good impression when he went on his interviews (must have or I doubt he would have gotten so many offers). </p>
<p>Some of D’s friends & acquaintances honestly can’t recognize her when she dresses up in her “corporate” attire. :)</p>
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<p>Skanky skimpy fabrics are the norm everywhere this year because of the rising price of cotton. There doesn’t seem to be anywhere to buy a tshirt that isnt clingy. </p>
<p>Next topic, necklines. Have her learn to never buy work clothes without doing the “lean over” test in front of a mirror.</p>
<p>I’ve seen people wear attractive camisoles under plunging necklines so that they look OK for professional wear but yes, the “lean over” test in front of a mirror can be very revealing, especially for young women who may realize that they are displaying far more than they realize!</p>
<p>I bought two lovely dresses when I went shopping with Kathiep a few months ago. They would fail the lean over test though for work so I need to find something to wear under them… </p>
<p>My work says mind your four b’s… butt, breasts, back and belly and that if it’s something you would wear on the beach you should leave it at home in your closet.</p>
<p>I actually really like my work clothes… lots of dress pants/slacks/etc. I have some nice long sleeve shirts and some short sleeve shorts. I prefer my dress pants to my jeans for the most part. Usually on casual friday’s I wear some sort of quirky shirt with a pair of nice jeans. We all had to laugh on this past friday because I was wearing a shirt with about 50 cartoon frogs on it… I got a zillion compliments on it. Anyway, one of the girls I’m training (newest of the new) whom I had never met before that day had a question on something in the morning… she asked someone else for help and they told her to ask me. She asked which person I was and they were like “the blonde girl with the cute frog shirt on.” :)</p>