Coffee Break: Traci Heels
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Kitten-heeled T-straps are having a moment — and these shoes from Ferragamo are a great example of the trend.
I like the super low height, and I think the gold clasp detailing on the vamp is interesting.
I tend to think of ShopBop as being on the trendier side of things, and they have a number of similar options, including these cute ones from Aeyde, Sam Edelman, and these deeply discounted (almost sold out) Alexandre Birman heels.
The pictured shoes have plenty of sizes in stock from 6-11, but are definitely on the pricier side: the goatskin heels are $1,050.
Some of our favorite comfortable low heels for work as of 2025 include Sarah Flint, M.M.LaFleur, Ferragamo, Ann Mashburn, CK Calvin Klein, Trotters, and Sam Edelman!
Sales of note for 9/5/25
- Nordstrom – Summer sale has started, up to 60% off top brands
- Ann Taylor – Friends of Ann Event: 30% off your entire purchase, including new arrivals
- Anthropologie – 30% off clothing and accessories
- Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything + extra 20% off
- J.Crew – Everyday styles from $34.50 — see our full roundup of what to buy for work at J.Crew
- J.Crew Factory – 50% off fall faves + extra 60% off clearance
- L.K. Bennett – 20% off all new-season
- Nordstrom Rack – Season Closeout: extra 40% off select clearance dresses, sandals, shorts, and swimwear(ends 9/11)
- Rothy's – Up to 50% off last-chance sales
- Soma – 5 panties for $39 + 35% off 3+ styles + buy 2 get 3 free panties — readers love these PJs and these no-VPL panties
- Talbots – 25-40% off select fall styles + extra 30% all markdowns — here are all the reader favorites at Talbots
- White House Black Market – 50% off all sale styles (ends 9/5)
Over time, I have adopted a pretty tight color palette for my clothing. Prior to doing this, I had way too many things that didn’t quite match, were bad colors for my complexion, etc. HOWEVER. All these rich browns that are available now are testing my resolve. For example, I would love a chocolate brown suede tote. All my coats are black or gray, though, and I don’t think it would look quite right. All my work pants are black, navy, or charcoal. A cognac would probably work okay, but am I wrong in thinking that chocolate brown isn’t a great idea?
Also, I still own a pair of brown Uggs that I purchased in 2013. The reason why they’re in such good shape is because they don’t match a lot of my stuff and therefore don’t get worn much!
I actually think the mixing of neutrals is sort of on trend and looks kind of fresh. i am actually wear a new brown dress with a black blazer today and several people have commented on how nice it looks…. Specifically I think a chocolate brown suede tote would look just fine with grey and navy to say nothing of jeans. I also am not sure that one’s work tote needs to match everything one wears.
+1 to all this. I am firmly in the “all neutrals go together” camp.
Chocolate brown would look great with navy, and fwiw I prefer black and a rich choclate brown over black and navy.
If you’re looking at bags I have the Veronica Beard dash bag and while it is lovely (perfect shade of brown) it does NOT hold it’s shape well and I’m a bit annoyed of how much it slumps over.
You make a good point about black and navy vs. black and brown. Sorry about the Veronica Beard bag; that is a bummer!
It depends if the coat is a warm gray or a cool gray. I don’t think black will match chocolate brown at all unfortunately. But keep in mind you’ll probably take off your coat at some point while carrying the purse. Will your outfits underneath clash or are they more likely to match the brown?
I tied black and chocolate brown together with a print a few years back – leopard works great for this.
What are your thoughts on women and flat affect? My husband interprets it as “bitch” but to me a lot of the time I’m trying to be neutral or just don’t have the energy to add an upbeat! smile! Is this the speech equivalent of RBF or am I parsing this too finely and flat affect = bitch?
Ugh – does he also tell men to ‘smile more’ or are they allowed to have neutral/serious expresssions?
Did your husband interpret it as the b-word in relation to you, or to other women generally? My thoughts on this are twofold. 1) I strongly dislike when men treat women’s neutrality or lack of warmth as being b-wordy, since it’s entitled and a double-standard but 2) I do think interactions are generally better when people add warmth and niceness (either through tone, pleasantries, smiles, whatever). It takes very little energy to just be a bit warmer and generally makes people feel better when they come away from the interaction.
+1. I am very aware that my natural tendency is to have a “flat” effect. I don’t necessarily see it as a great thing when it makes me come across colder than I intend to. I have learned to turn it up a notch to come across as friendlier and more approachable. Maybe that’s not fair, IDK, but I know that I’m guilty of viewing people the same way if they come across as having RBF or being flat.
Yeah I feel like with human interaction what’s ‘fair’ stops mattering, and what’s actually important is the outcome. Do you owe coworkers or baristas smiles and pep? No, but they will by and large like you more if you’re friendly, and life will just be a little bit easier the more you nurture goodwill as a matter of course. It’s one of the easier life hacks out that’s generally under-utilized (most people are not very friendly!)
Too much and a woman is taken as bubbly/bimbo, too little and flat affect = bitch. This is a him problem, not the speaker.
Your husband sounds like a treat.
So I find it equal effort to be upbeat or flat and will switch depending on how I want to come off. But I also don’t view “b*tchiness” as a negative. Sometimes I want to be “b*itchy” on purpose.
I think we need more context on the conversation with your husband and how this came up to give you a good answer.
From one woman who’s been there to another: if your husband is calling you a bitch, your problem is your husband. As my therapist told me, you could be the bitchiest bitch ever, and a healthy loving partner would still not ever be using that word against you as they talked with you about how your behavior affected them.
Yea, I know people on here say that you can have a healthy relationship and yell/curse at your partner in your own home but that’s a hard line in the sand for me. We do NOT yell at each other (parents to kids, kids to parents, parents to each other, etc.) and we certainly do not curse at each other. Have I called my husband an ass in private after a frustrating argument? Yup. Has he called me a b*tch? Probably. But we have never yelled AT each other or even said ‘jokingly’ ‘wow, you’re being a bitch’.
Yep, the b word and the c word (or similar) said in anger or judgment are fundamentally incompatible with a healthy relationship. I am not a yeller but am pretty sure yelling can be healthy or unhealthy depending on the content. There’s no gray area for contempt.
Agree. A husband should never ever ever say that word out loud in relation to his wife.
If he’s reacting to the lack of bubbly/smiley voice that’s a him issue. Is he seriously tone policing you in your home or telling you that you need to be upbeat for every interaction? If you were actively bitchy/snide/cursing/rude that’s one thing but being quiet/neutral/tired in my own home is my perogative.
what do you mean “trying to be neutral” – like you are in fact upset but want to come off as calm? I’m thinking through normal interactions at home and the only times I’ve actively tried to come off as neutral is when I am frustrated about something but we have guests and so I have to put off talking about it until later. So to my husband, an extremely neutral tone is in fact an indicator of annoyance…
Fair. I’ve definitely used a ‘mom’ voice to say some iteration of ‘I’m very angry/upset about this and we WILL be talking about it later’ during a gathering.
I will only do the fake bubbly smiley thing if I’m being paid or I need something, otherwise absolutely not.