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Holy Shopping Spree! Entire Legal Staff Gets $500 to Spend at Ann Taylor

By Lynne DeVenny

Stacy's wearing my fashion weakness: chain necklaces.

SHUT. UP. Seriously, can you just hear Stacy London's response if I told her a law firm gave its entire staff, lawyers and legal support members, a $500 shopping spree at Ann Taylor?

I love Ann Taylor, and already suffered severe Ann Taylor envy once this week when one of our fabulously stylish associates wore a beautiful black pencil skirt she scored from a clearance sale, with a beautiful black ruffled jacket snagged from a Kohl's clearance rack.

But The Orange County Register is reporting that Cummins & White, LLP, in Newport Beach, California, treated its employees to new clothes, both to boost morale and the image of the firm:

"If you compare it to other ways you can invest in your company, clothes make everybody happy and the whole place looks better, too," [senior managing partner, James] Wakefield said. "Staff members who look good, feel confident. And confident staff close deals."

Legal assistant Lynn Shertzer has worked in the legal field for 35 years, and said she's never had a firm treat her to a career wardrobe.(Lynn, if you're reading this, we want to know - what did you buy?)

This story reminded me that I did once, long, long ago, when I started my first legal secretarial job for a little bitty law firm, have an attorney buy Ann Taylor for me. Actually, he bought all three legal staffers something from Ann Taylor for Christmas. Since I was a single mom whose clothing budget was Kmart-sized, I was unbelievably touched and thrilled to receive two beautiful jewel-toned Ann Taylor turtlenecks, most likely selected by his S.O. At the time, I thought he was just extraordinarily sweet, but in retrospect, he was probably trying to upgrade my polyester blouses from Sears.

So, what would you buy for your career wardrobe if your boss gave you a $500 Ann Taylor shopping spree? What would I buy? I thought you'd never ask! (Let's assume I don't have the luxury of combing through a store clearance rack at almost 11:00 p.m.)

Collarless Femme Jacket ($218)- I'd invest a modern suit that is different from the classic run-of-the-mill suits I already own - and buy the matching skirt ($108).














Graphic Ruched Dress ($88) ~ I'd add this sheath dress that I could re-mix with different jackets, cardigans, and accessories.










Scoop Neck Tee ($14.99 on sale) ~ I'd throw in this great classic tee, because I'm a tee and jacket kind of gal.













Short Sleeve Wrap Top ($58 on sale) ~ Finally, I'd throw in this chic jewel-toned top, to re-mix with my new AT suit and my many black skirts and slacks (from Target, oh, yeah!)





Wow, spending $500 on five articles of clothing seems a little self-indulgent. But, hey, it's not my money.


Source: The Orange County Register

Full post as published by Practical Paralegalism on March 09, 2011 (boomark / email).