i think it's brave: corporate office outfit diary
week of june 30 ft. emily grady dodge
Hi everyone! I hope you had a wonderful holiday weekend. Looking back on my outfit log, I kind of crushed my nightly game plans last week. It’s nice to wake up and know immediately what to put on my body. Part of me realizes that a smaller closet is to thank for making these decisions easier - there is only a small amount that I can wear now, so the options are more straightforward.
In terms of my July 4th weekend, I actually used
to plan my packing list on my commute Wednesday night. When I got home, I very easily picked the items in my app out of my closet and deposited them into my suitcase. It made the entire process so seamless! I would highly recommend trying this new functionality if you are already using the app.Let’s see what we left the house in…
Monday 6/30
Sunday night game plan: we spend Sunday night at the beach having dinner with family & family friends, and get home at around 10. Late night means an outfit repeat. I haven’t worn this polka dot skirt in like 2 weeks, so I think I’ll wear that.
Monday morning: sleepy me rolls out of bed and does her quick & easy skin care routine. I notice I am running low on my clean vitamin C serum/primer, so I make a note to re-up. Then I put on exactly what I picked out last night - black and white polka dot slip skirt, black Abercrombie tank and rattan Larroude flats. These flats really proved themselves last week and it’s nice to add a trusty shoe to the summer rotation.
Tuesday Guest Star !!!
This week’s guest star is
who writes the Substack . Emily and I have the same maiden name, which is a top tier one if I do say so myself, and both work in Manhattan most days. I love how she approaches styling her wardrobe and how she thinks about shopping (this post was so great). So of course I was SO excited when she agreed to share an outfit from a recent work event with the ITIB crew. Thank you Emily!!!!
Your office/event dress code: I had an internal meeting in the city, but I still like to dress to impress and treated this meeting like I would treat a client meeting. There is nothing official re: dress code, but I would say it’s business-casual-fun. I work in the world of interior design (on the sales side) so dressing with a POV is strongly encouraged. My boss is very fashionable and I not-so-secretly love when approves of my outfit.
Agenda for the day? I worked from home in the morning, then commuted into the city for this meeting, then commuted right back home after. This outfit really just needed to be commuter-friendly and meeting appropriate, but if I DID have some sort of fun post-meeting plan, this outfit still works and because of that, it’s one I repeat often.
What factors helped influence what you wore? It was 97 degrees out, and I have a ten minute walk to the train, so I didn’t want sleeves or a blazer, etc. This top is very old Zara, and the slight peplum detail (which is hard to see in this photo) offsets the casual-ness of being sleeveless. These pants might not scream “summer” but they’re surprisingly lightweight and very comfortable in the heat. Because I went with all black, I chose a nude l sandal to lighten it up. These shoes are SO comfortable for commuting and walking while still looking chic.
Approximately how long have you owned the pieces that you picked? Any new pieces or forever favorites to highlight? I’ll start top to bottom: earrings are new from Chan Luu (sadly sold out, but same style, different colorway), top is Zara from 2023, pants are from Toteme via TRR bought in 2023, shoes are new from Nisolo, my laptop bag is a Longchamp bag I bought in Paris while I was studying abroad in .. wait for it … 2008. It still looks brand new!
Wednesday 7/2
Tuesday night game plan: tomorrow it’s going to be hot and rainy? You know my formula for rain in the city! Black! I pull the black maxi nap dress off its hanger and grab a red beaded necklace (I am learning the power of a necklace in my more neutral wardrobe). Tomorrow I will also wear my patent leather Tory Burch Miller sandals. I know these are having a renaissance or whatever, but my chic mother has been wearing these sandals for as long as I can remember. She is the OG Tory girl <3
Wednesday morning: quick and easy out the door this morning. Today is a full day in the office so my horrible hair isn’t bothering me, but god this humidity needs to get outta here!!!
Thursday 7/3
Wednesday night game plan: tonight I am packing my entire weekend bag to be driven out to the beach by my husband tomorrow while I’m at work. In order to fit my office outfit into the equation, I try on a ton of different combinations until I settle on a white cotton skirt and blue linen short sleeve button down. I then try 6 pairs of shoes and none of them work until I remember I have red sandals* now!
Thursday morning: this morning was a seamless one given everything is already packed. I also am testing out the new Merit sunscreen that just launched, alongside their complexion stick and cream blush. I use their bronzer stick every single morning already, so I have high hopes for these new products and will report back, because a 4 product routine is music to my ears!
*Obviously these were adorable out of the box but I wore these all day and they were so comfortable. Is turning 30 just learning to love and invest in a kitten heel?!
Friday 7/4
Thursday night game plan: I make it out to Long Island and settle in. No real plans tomorrow except go to the beach and probably grill something. My kind of summer weekend 😇
Friday morning: beach day!!!!!!! I wear a bikini and cover up from Monday swimwear, my plastic birks, and an old hat & necklace from J.Crew. Plus obs and gobs of sunscreen. Happy holiday everyone!!!!!
Saturday 7/5 + Sunday 7/6
Saturday is another beach day, so same recipe with a different black bikini and cover up ($38 on sale!!!). I changed into a gingham dress after the beach for easy dinner at home.
Sunday was mainly a travel day, so I wore a butter yellow cotton tank, blue and white shorts from aerie, sunnies and plastic birks which are just simply my summer savior.
Mentions of the week
If you haven’t taken
’s Substack user survey, check it out!! I cannot wait to see the results.My favorite actress Meghann Fahy who I have been literally in love with since watching her in The Bold Type is in a new romcom with my other favorite, Penn Badgley!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I had 2 great customer service interactions this week that I would like to highlight to the team:
Casetify: I bought a case from them in 2023 and heard that they have a great recycling program. When my case started breaking last week, I reached out to ask how to fix it and they replied saying they will replace my case free of charge and that I could send my old one in for recycling.
RTR: I know I know, BUT hear me out. My first bag this month was a wash, so when my second bag came and nothing fit AGAIN, I was very annoyed. I reached out via chat to ask for another swap (not included in my membership) because I have 20 days left and only 1 item has worked. Their team hooked me up with a full swap of new things ahead of cancelling at the end of the month. I was and still am very impressed by this level of assistance.
Book Shelf
Still reading: ONYX STORM !!!
Up next: I added 2 summer beach reads to the docket with my Book of the Month. Very excited for some easy escapes.
Chef’s Corner
The tomato peach pasta by
was 10/10
Wishlist Items?!
Nothing new this week, for the best lol
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The Grady sisters are a match made in heaven. I am very, very influenced by the tomato peach pasta. That is amazing to know about Casetify, and I will definitely be purchasing for them now when I finally upgrade my iPhone 12 (yikes), but is it weird that I've grown very attached to your red/flowers current case? Probably not weird. Perhaps a little weird. 😆
Omg BOTH GRADYS IN ONE PLACE my day is complete xx