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I was looking at a few of our older career advice articles, and it got me thinking about something I don’t think we’ve discussed before: what took you TOO LONG to learn about work? Was it something about office politics, promotions, networking, compensation, leadership, boundaries, burnout, job-hopping, professional friendships, or something else entirely?

When I look back on my own career, there are a number of things that seem obvious in retrospect but took me years to figure out. Some were lessons I had technically heard before but didn’t really understand until I experienced them firsthand. Others were things nobody told me at all.

For example:

• Doing excellent work is important, but it doesn’t automatically mean you’ll be recognized or promoted.
• Your job is not your career, and your career is not your life.
• Inspiring confidence in your work is often just as important as doing good work.
• Making your boss look good matters — but so does making sure you get credit for your own work.
• Professional relationships are often built in the spaces between the work, and people generally prefer to work with people they know, like, and trust.
• Sometimes the fastest way to get a raise is to change jobs.
• If you want to advance into leadership, learn how the business actually makes money.
• A good manager can dramatically affect your day-to-day happiness.
• A bad manager can dramatically affect your day-to-day happiness, too — don’t stay under one longer than you have to.

Readers, I’m curious — what took you too long to learn about work? Was it something about office politics, promotions, networking, compensation, leadership, boundaries, burnout, job-hopping, professional friendships, or something else entirely?

And when did you finally learn it — the hard way or the easy way?

Fashion exhibitions Across Europe and the US, a powerful wave of exhibitions is reframing fashion, not just as design, but as cultural memory, identity, politics, and lived experience. From Limerick to Venice, Belfast to New York, institutions are making the compelling argument that fashion belongs in the museum, not as spectacle alone, but as a vital cultural language.

Fashion exhibitions in Ireland explore heritage and identity

In Ireland, exhibitions like The Hunt Museum’s fashion programming in Limerick signal a growing recognition that clothing carries deeply local narratives of craft, class, and community. These shows remind us that fashion is not only about couture houses but about regional identity: who we are, how we present ourselves, and what we inherit.

That idea is echoed strongly at the Ulster Museum, where fashion and textiles are embedded within a broader historical collection in the Ashes to Fashion exhibition. With thousands of garments destroyed in the Malone House fire in 1976, the Ulster Museum has worked to build its collection back through acquisitions, and the feature of the fire’s sole survivor, the Lennox Quilt, an exquisite 18th-century embroidered quilt that only survived due to it being on display at the time of the fire. Now, the museum showcases pieces from designers including the late Paul Costelloe, JW Anderson and Alexander McQueen.

The Northern Threads exhibition at Titanic Belfast, extends this narrative, focusing on textile heritage and the labour behind it. These exhibitions root fashion in place, showing how industry, craft, and identity intertwine. They challenge the assumption that fashion is inherently global by revealing how deeply it is also local.

While Irish institutions emphasise heritage, major international museums are pushing fashion further into the realm of conceptual art. At London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art makes the case explicit. The exhibition explores Elsa Schiaparelli’s collaborations with surrealist artists and her radical approach to dress as a medium of artistic expression. With over 200 objects, it dissolves the boundary between gallery and wardrobe, presenting garments as imaginative, even subversive, works.

 Over in New York, the Metropolitan Museum of Art continues this dialogue through its Costume Institute. Its latest exhibition examines the relationship between clothing and the body, positioning fashion as a way of thinking about identity, movement, and perception. The Met’s annual fashion exhibitions are much more than the annual gala event and have long blurred the line between spectacle and scholarship, but their continued expansion signals something deeper: fashion is now central to how museums engage audiences. We applaud the contribution of Irish activist to this show.

In Venice, the Fondazione Dries Van Noten offers a different perspective. Its inaugural exhibition, The Only True Protest is Beauty, expands the conversation to include art, craft, and the philosophy of making. Rather than focusing solely on garments, it explores the role of craftsmanship and the human drive toward beauty. Fashion here becomes a gateway into something broader: a meditation on creativity itself. This shift is significant. It suggests that fashion exhibitions are no longer confined to fashion, they are becoming interdisciplinary spaces where art, design, and culture intersect.

What ties these exhibitions together is not just their subject matter, but their insistence that fashion is a cultural experience. Museums have always been spaces of storytelling. By embracing fashion, they gain access to stories that are immediate and embodied. Clothing is intimate; it touches the skin, moves with the body, and signals identity in ways that paintings or sculptures often cannot. It carries memory of eras, of individuals, of movements.

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Broadcaster and presenter Graham Norton has joined the global push for a dedicated white wine emoji, sharing his support for the campaign on social media. Norton, who is a shareholder in Invivo, the New Zealand wine and spirits company behind the Graham Norton wine range, has added his voice to the so‑called Emojency – a movement calling on the Unicode Consortium to introduce a white wine emoji.

Supporters say the absence is increasingly out of step with modern wine culture, with white wine widely consumed globally, yet only red and sparkling wine are currently represented in emoji form.

Graham Norton joins global campaign for a white wine emoji

The campaign is led by New Zealand Winegrowers and has attracted growing international support from wine lovers, producers and public figures. The Unicode Consortium approves new emojis, but proposals must meet strict criteria. New Zealand Winegrowers will be making the formal submission on 17 July – World Emoji Day.

If you would like to sign the petition to support a dedicated white wine emoji, click on the NZ Wine link below.

To sign the NZ Emoji Petition Click here

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Our daily workwear reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices.

Sometimes the internet knows what I want before I do. This sweater from Akris Punto has been showing up in all kinds of targeted ads for the last week or two. I’ve been avoiding clicking through because I know it’s out of my price range, but it’s just so lovely! The green color is beautiful, and the flower intarsia is just my style.

Sadly, it won’t be making its way to my closet, but if your budget allows, this would be a great option for summer.

The sweater is $650 at Neiman Marcus and comes in sizes 2-16.

Sales of note for 6/5:

Summer is upon us, well, almost! The kids are out of school and we’re in the final stretch of being home until we leave for a majority of the summer months. As excited as I am, there’s so much prep that goes into packing, for both our family and my work. So a lot of my day to day has been hitting deadlines before we leave! We’ll continue to work throughout our trip, but prep work ahead of time is essential to not falling behind initially. Here’s a look at the month ahead!

What We’re Doing

• I have two big design reviews before we leave, one for a collaboration launching later this fall and the other launching pre-holiday. Both are totally different and in differing categories, so it’s fun to work on them simultaneously.
• We’ll be renovating our kitchen while we’re away, so we’ve had to pack everything up ahead of time. I can’t wait to see it all come together in August!
• We’re starting our summer travels off in Paris. I’m looking forward to being back with the girls. Last time we were there they were 1.5 and almost 4, so it’ll be an entirely different experience this time.
• We’ve booked all of our Paris restaurants for next week! Here are a few we’re hitting up this time: Gigi, Le Renommée, Le Grand Café, Le Bon Georges and Chez Janou.
• After Paris, we’re going to Spain for a little over two weeks, traveling between Mallorca, Menorca and Marbella until the beginning of July. Here’s what I’m packing for Spain.
• We’re heading to a concert this week with friends, and I’ve been torn on what to wear that’s comfy, playful and good for the heat. I think I’ll do a mini like this one or this one with a white tank top and sandals. 

What I’m Wearing

What I’m Buying

• I’ve had my eye on this embroidered Valentino bag and I’m obsessed
• A re-fill on a favorite face SPF
• This cute set for Spain: top and shorts
• I recently bought this Loretta Caponi dress on sale
• This bikini 
• A new Donde Estaban dress that feels like all the right vibes for Spain. I can’t decide between the mini or maxi and the pareo too 
• I am obsessed with Kroma’s bone broths. I’ve been drinking a mix of chicken or beef daily, and it’s a great way to easily hit my protein goals. I’ll be traveling with these individual packets this summer 
• A very good jacket, even if I may not need it for months (we’ll be in Switzerland and Austria later this summer, so it’ll work then! 
• These look comfortable enough to walk a good distance in to dinner while traveling, so I’m trying them out 
• Also restocking on a favorite natural deodorant of mine (I switched fully over in January and I’m very proud I stuck through the tough stinky bit!) 
• The new Follow Suit collection can’t be missed. The “heritage paisley” is my favorite: top and bottoms
• I also ordered myself a new set of chartreuse packing cubes 

What I’m Eyeing

With Father’s Day approaching, this week’s Amazon Sunday brings together thoughtful finds for every kind of father figure, from the one at the grill to the one who loves an active day outdoors to the one who could use a few new accessories for his desk.

For the dad who loves to cook, a great chef’s knife or cast iron grill press really elevates his game in the kitchen. For the one who is happiest outdoors and staying active, waterproof binoculars or a new bike are made for long summer days. And for the dad who appreciates the simple pleasures, Thomas’s favorite coffee maker, a portable speaker he can bring along on trips, or a massage gun gives him something to enjoy at his own pace.

There is something in this roundup for every man in your life, with options big and small, from little extras to bigger splurges. The thought of giving him a gift he will actually be excited to use is what makes Father’s Day feel special.

Browse the full selection below, and explore more in our JB Amazon Shop and Amazon Storefront, refreshed weekly.

This post may contain affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Something on your mind? Chat about it here.

Historically I’m not a fan of a bubble hem on anything — jackets, blouses, dersses. But… is this bubble hem maxi not adorable? Because I’m short I usually am limited to petite maxi dresses, unless I want to look like I’m trying to be dramatic with a trailing hem. But a bubble hem… I’ll bet I could wear this dress as it is, even though there isn’t a petite size.

Plus: POCKETS.

The dress is $138 at Evereve, available in sizes XS-XL.

Sales of note for 6/2:

• Nordstrom – Designer clearance up to 40% off!
• Ann Taylor – 30% off dresses, jackets, and shoes
• AYR – Ooh, good sale section — but lots on final sale. Readers love these comfy work pants and these jeans.
• Boden – 15% off new women’s wear styles with code
• Express – Today only (6/2): all clearance up to 85% off when you take an extra 20-50% off
• J.Crew – 20% off $200, including new styles
• J.Crew Factory – Extra 50% off clearance + 40-60% off everything else
• Loft – 60% off sale styles
• M.M.LaFleur– Up to 70% off, plus new styles added! (Try code CORPORETTE15 for 15% off)
• Nordstrom Rack – Clear the Rack! Nice selection of Vince, Veronica Beard, Reiss and Rag & Bone, a ton of affordable work basics from Calvin Klein and dresses from Maggy London, Eliza J, and Donna Morgan
• Talbots – Buy one, get one 50% off everything!