JCPenney Changes, Illustrations, TWW.Print Launch & Cover Line Rants by SpeakingOfFashion

More than 40 retailers will offer a 9.5% discount (equivalent to Cook County sales tax) to all shoppers) including sale items! The 900 North Michigan Shops has been holding this sale for four years, and it’s a grand time to splurge on those coveted items on your “want” list while still in happy denial about the actual tax season around the corner.

Also, as a Presidents’ Day bonus, shoppers can park at a special “Alexander Hamilton” rate – only $10 for the entire day from Saturday, February 18 through Monday, February 20. Parking tickets must be validated with purchase.

For a full listing of participating retailers, please visit www.shop900.com/taxfree. Individual store exceptions may apply.

It’s difficult finding the ideal blazer for your body type. Many are a bit “stocky” featuring long sleeves, bulky lining and even shoulder pads. Typical blazers add a boxy frame, and can make you feel shapeless. The Helmut Lang blazer above adds shape with the single-button (a single pull adds more waist-definition – so even if it’s a 3-button blazer, try button just the middle button for shape emphasis) and adds class to the skinny jeans. And with the sleeves shoved up the arm (one of my favorite blazer styling tricks), it conveys a fashionable way of “rolling up your sleeves”. You can look pretty and get some work done!

Here are some other blazers that would add a fashionable career “edge” to your casual dress or jeans to turn your business casual piece into a workweek meeting-ready outfit! Looks are from DSQUARED2, Yigal Azrouel, Calvin Klein and By Maline Birger.

We also share more reads each day through our Twitter feed and Facebook page, so if you’re hungry for more, you have even more places to check out! Have you read something you want included or do you have a theme you’d like us to feature? Let us know in the comments or email it to rachel@theworkingwardrobe.com. Happy reading!

The Working Man: Downton Abbey Dapper with Ian Kelly & Mr. Porter (TheWorkingWardrobe): How do you stay dignified and dapper with baby food on your lapels? Ian Kelly lets us in on his secret – as interviewed by Mr. Porter.

The Vintage Secretary: The Working Wardrobe (Halcyon): What would the wardrobe of a working woman in the 1930s have looked like? Perhaps not as glamorous as that portrayed on the Silver Screen. Not everyone could afford the stylish looks of Adrian and Edith Head. I was interested to come across a section in the book ‘Clothing’ (Latzke and Quinlan, 1940) which lists the estimated annual budget a single working woman needed to live on in New York in 1937, along with what was seen as her minimum wardrobe requirements.

The US Cult of Downton Abbey (BBC): Downton Abbey has become a cult hit in the US, but what is it about this tale of life in an Edwardian country house that appeals?

Today’s Coveted Working Look: Nanette Lepore Lace (TheWorkingWardrobe): Lace often looks too bridal or innocent, but not with these brightly colored Nanette Lepore lace dresses and coat!

Midnight in Paris: Nostalgia Fashion (Clothes on Film): A rose tinted view of the Roaring Twenties, Sonia Grande’s costume design for Midnight in Paris (2011, directed by Woody Allen) offers everything we expect of the era, e.g. achingly fashionable female trends and the increasing Anglophile influence in male suits, yet does not become bogged down in a precise timeframe.

Dress Like the Ladies of Downton Abbey (msnbc): For many “Downton Abbey” fans, the British miniseries is as enjoyable to watch for its period fashion as it is for its compelling story.

Aprons: Once Symbol of Repression, Now Fashion Accessories (Montreal Gazette): When Diane MacLeod Shink began to collect vintage aprons in earnest, she’d often find 10 or 15 at a time at places like Village des Valeurs and pay no more than 50 cents apiece.

I found this Tahari business suit second hand. I wore it for an interview for Physician Assistant school at the University of South Alabama.

Thanks so much for the photo Amy! Tahari is one of my favorite designers and his suits fit wonderfully – well done and best of luck with your interview process!

Do you want to be a part of our “What I Wear to Work” series? Email a photo, your first name and industry to rachel@theworkingwardrobe.com,  tweet your photo to us here,  or post it on our Facebook fan page! Whatever medium you so choose, we’d love to see what you wear to work!

Whenever I think of lace, I usually picture it as white or cream-colored, which can sometimes look a little too bridal. I’m loving these Nanette Lepore lace pieces in bold red and deep plum hues. The red dress with the darling bow details and the navy sleeveless blouse could work for all seasons; play up the nautical look in the summer and wear with tights and a cardigan or blazer in the winter. Likewise, the cotton lace coat will last through the spring since it’s on the lighter side. Any of these Nanette Lepore lace garments will bring a bold bit of romance to your work wardrobe!

The denim-on-denim look gets a bad rap. But it’s so much more than a Canadian tuxedo: throw on a light chambray shirt, a pair of dark-wash jeans, and a scarf, and you’ve got a fabulous, light weekend outfit. (See fashion blogger Kendi below for inspiration.)

A pair of bootcut white jeans from ASOS ($44 on sale) fancies up a chambray shirt from Old Navy ($27), and add a pearl bib necklace, like this one from Stella & Dot ($23 on sale), as a sophisticated but trendy centerpiece. Finish up the outfit with a pair of ankle booties, like these Vince Camuto open-toe boots ($35 on sale).

Throw a camel-colored leather blazer, and you’re miles away from any Canadian tuxedo.