If you’re reading this, you’re probably already familiar with this blog, Dresses and Blazers – a space devoted to inspiring professionals to achieve success between the hours of 9 to 5, in style. Maybe you used to follow me on Instagram, or maybe you remember the Facebook and Instagram ad campaigns I ran advertising a Master Class online course (yikes, more on this below). Whether you’re an old friend or a new reader, welcome.
I started this blog with the desire to share my unique working experiences in Corporate America with the intention of level setting – to show you if I can, so can you. To provide another example of what’s possible. This concept is significant to me because I believe without positive representation of certain TV and movie characters of black women working in excellence and style in Corporate America (looking at you, Joan Clayton), I’m not sure I would’ve known it was possible and what I wanted to do with my life, career wise. These characters helped me realize the life I wanted to one-day live and that it was attainable. This is why representation matters.
Although Dresses and Blazers is a blog about my working experiences in Corporate America, at the time of it’s launch in 2018 I had recently just exited Corporate America. Yep, I had quit my corporate job I’d blogged about and set out on a path of entrepreneurship that was both exhilarating and terrifying. Dresses and Blazers was never meant to be an online course or Master Class. My original vision was never to sell my experiences but instead to provide value and content freely, as it has been given to me. My first year as an entrepreneur was hard, y’all. I had shifted from a great corporate salary to a hefty savings, to survival mode – quickly. And unfortunately, being in survival mode caused me to deviate from the original intent and vision for this blog – which is to showcase workplace excellence and style, for free.
So, with that being said, let’s do a short recasting of vision. You can expect three key things from Dresses and Blazers.
- Career advice derived from my working experiences. The Conquering Corporate section of this blog features posts about things I’ve learned around the way, both good and bad (because the most significant lessons come from our losses and mistakes).
- Great style. Call me shallow, but half the fun of going to work is looking good doing it. I believe a part of bringing your best self to work is looking and feeling your best. How you dress has the power to determine how you feel, carry yourself, and ultimately, how you work. I showcase some of my favorite workplace outfits in the NinetoFive section of this blog as well as my style when I’m not working (OutOfOffice).
- Experiences and perspectives beyond myself. Although I’ve been blessed to have an array of experiences working in different companies, careers, and countries, my perspective is still only one slice of this grand phenomena that is the working woman. Almost daily on social media I am overwhelmed the many stories and examples of working women achieving excellence in the workplace, doing amazing things. From Software Engineers making $210,000/year, to educators, to STEM workers. It would be a disservice to limit this platform only to me. What will make Dresses and Blazers great is not just my voice but the voices of the many women who are beating the odds, breaking barriers and achieving workplace excellence daily. This year, I plan to feature one new working woman as a monthly feature story. A Dresses and Blazers Covergirl of sorts, so stay tuned 😊.
Thank you for visiting, reading, and being a part of this journey. There is so much fun on the way!
Welcome back!!! And thanks for sharing the updates. I may need to change my career to software engineer -_- her story is cool!