Happy Wednesday! Welcome to a new offshoot of VARSITY READER—workplace and what-to-wear woes. And yes, the alliteration is intentional.
As a personal brand strategist and content creator, I field a ton of tough career questions every day. How should I handle a patronizing boss? How do I know it’s time to make a career pivot? How can I gracefully provide tough feedback?
I’m also a varsity shopper. I was crowned the #1 printer of return labels at my old apartment building—which means my standard for keeping items is sky-high. I often receive questions from clients and my audience on Instagram about what to wear to an important meeting, the best workwear basics, and spring jackets to combat aggressive office AC.
But also…what the hell to wear to a wedding in August when it’s a 90-degree scorcher.
So every Wednesday, I’ll be diving into a work question and a fashion question—with a few other goodies thrown in too.
Let’s get to it!
A workplace woe
Q: I got a job offer—but sensed some red flags in the interview process. How can I find out more about the culture (and if the opportunity is the right fit for me)?
This is a challenge faced by those at all career stages. My rule of thumb—if you don’t like how you’re treated in the interview process (a date!), do you really think it’s going to be a good marriage? Whether in your dating or professional life, has a red flag ever turned green?! Take note of the red flags, see if you can live with them, and then start digging.
I highly, highly recommend that you reach out to former employees of the organization on LinkedIn to get a sense of culture, management, and the day-to-day.
Why not current employees? They're in sales mode. They want to you join—if there's a vacancy on their team, they're likely drowning in work and need someone to help ASAP! Because of this, they can't be unfiltered.
Former employees are 100% unfiltered—they have no reason not to be. I've advised clients to conduct this outreach, and I've also done so myself. When I graduated from Kellogg, I got an offer from a consulting firm I wasn't enthused about. I sensed red flags—and former employees validated that. I ran and didn't take the offer.
P.S. If you want to submit a question to next week’s workplace woe, you can comment below or DM me on Instagram!
A what-to-wear woe
Q: My office blasts the air conditioning! Any recs for cute, work-appropriate spring jackets?
Of course! Here’s three jacket picks that are work-appropriate—but you can easily style outside of the office as well.
I’m loving the cropped trench coat trend. Khaki is a neutral, and would look equally cute styled with black, formal-ish pants as jeans. At $108, this is a great, basic buy.
If you work in a more casual office, this $40 denim shirt / jacket is a must! I added to my cart and can’t wait for it to arrive—I have a more avant garde denim blazer, but my regular old jean jacket has been missing for a year (probably stolen by my mom or sister). The ivory buttons make it feel more elevated than a traditional silver button jean jacket. And at $40, the price is right!
has some excellent styling tips for denim shirt / jackets on her Substack and Instagram feed.It’s hard to find a great white jacket. This cropped white number hits the sweet spot because it’s not denim (a linen blend, making it a bit dressier) and doesn’t have metallic buttons (most white jackets have gold buttons!) It would look adorable paired with white trousers (pictured), thrown over a dress, or paired with denim in a more casual office setting. At $129, it’s a bit pricier than my other picks—but it’s a damn good buy.
P.S. Let me know what you thought of these picks by DMing me on Instagram or commenting below! And if you have a what-to-wear woe, I’m all ears!
The weekly grab bag
Ten products, articles, and people you need to know
This neck reading light is the BEST. What's better than reading in bed?! (It reminds me of when I was a kid and cozied up under the covers to read Harry Potter). But sometimes, my BF goes to bed earlier than me and I don't want to disturb him. This $9 gadget allows me to cozy up and read while he stays asleep.
This $35 caned tote looks way more $$$, and is the ultimate summer bag. I recently purchased, and am wowed by the quality!
A deep dive into why your richest friend is often the stingiest. It’s a reality I will never understand. I believe in being cheap with yourself, but never with other people.
I continue to be impressed by this $37 white dress. I bought 10+ white dresses (including this nearly identical $360 version), and this one came out on top.
Two Substacks I’ve been loving:
and .- covers the NYC dining scene—where to eat and what’s overhyped. I particularly loved their coverage of black market reservation apps. Through one of these apps (Dorsia), a pre-paid reservation for four at Torrisi is $1200!!! Wild and not worth it.
- is a gossipy, fun look at Internet trends (spanning pop culture, social media, and business). If you like or , you’ll love this one too.
Remember when Clubhouse peaked in 2021—and then quickly died? There’s a new audio-only app in town called Airchat. It’s quickly gaining popularity among VCs…but isn’t that the same cycle that tanked Clubhouse? Not sure if this one will last.
As a strawberry blonde, I’m a sucker for olive green 🫒. I stupidly paid full price for my olive SIMKHAI bomber (pictured) in the middle of summer last year. Don’t ask me why—though I do love it! If you’re looking for a similar spring jacket, I found this $40 olive green bomber that’s just as good.
On the olive green front, my friend wore this adorable $20 nylon crossbody last week that looked $200. She has it in olive, but it comes in a ton of different colors! I saw a woman this AM wearing it in cheetah print 🐆.
If you just got a pair of new shoes that are pesky to break in…listen up. Breaking in new shoes is a bloody and painful process, so I’m mad I didn’t discover this $10 solution earlier!!! These silicone heel protectors are magic. Slip them on and you can break in your shoes—without blisters. They’re also great for long days of walking when blisters are inevitable. Highly recommend!
If you’re a parent based in NYC, my dear friend Alexa just launched Loveys—a curated resale marketplace for premium baby gear. Loveys is disrupting the sluggish, shady Facebook marketplace experience by offering door-to-door pickup and delivery for all items. It takes less than five minutes to submit an item…and then voila, you’re on your way to earning $. Check it out and share with a parent friend!
In case you missed it
How I snagged an internship at HarperCollins at 16 (and the career lesson for all of us)
The professional no-no I hear every day (and an easy reframe)
A personal plug
If you need one-to-one support with your career or content strategy, reach out. Book a free, fifteen-minute discovery call here.
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Loving these spring jacket picks!
Thanks so much for the shoutout, Julia. Right back at ya!