Coffee Break: Large Banana Claw Clip
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I haven't seen a banana claw clip in years (decades?) — so I was intrigued to see that Anthropologie has a number of them in stock right now.
The idea behind these, if you are not familiar, is that because it holds a big section of your hair, it ends up looking like a voluminous ponytail. I never found them quite right for my thick hair, which was always more likely to get tangled in it than look like anything intentional. Still, I took note when I saw them in the store because they've been so rare in recent years.
The clips are $26 at Anthropologie and available in four colors.
Readers, what are your thoughts on banana clips, either in general or for the office?
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- Evereve – Now through Sunday: up to 70% off! Markdowns include Alex Mill, Michael Stars, Sanctuary, Rails, Xirena, and Z-Supply
- Express – $39+ Summer Styles
- J.Crew – Friends & Family Event, 30% off your purchase! Good deals on blazers and boots
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- Nordstrom – 1500+ new women's markdowns
- Sephora – Up to 50% off hair deals today only – includes Shark Beauty tools! (See our recent discussion on how to upgrade the Revlon brush.)
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FWIW these never worked for my fine, thin hair, either. Just slid down my head about 5 minutes after I walked out the door.
Same. While banana clips are nostalgic, this style also looks really sloppy to me — but I’m not big on hair accessories.
I have thick straight hair and they never worked for me, either!
Whenever I see a banana clip I think of Geordi LaForge.
lol
I have some clips with some kind or silicone or rubbery substance on the inside of the clip. It is not tacky and doesn’t stick to my hair but provides enough grip that the clip doesn’t slide out of my hair.
I hate these, but I do like a good barrette that holds all of my hair.
it doesn’t even work on the model– why would you want it sticking up like that?
I don’t like this clip in particular, but this concept works well for me and I’m hanging onto my banana clips from the last time they were popular. Thick curly hair that hides the clip entirely and just makes it look like I have a very full curly pony without pulling too hard on my scalp.
So – we have managed 4 years without my having to get a suit for college-age sons – what is the best way/place for them to have a good experience with sizing and where we can also chat about better fabrics for our humid mid-atlantic home as well as a summer wedding in Houston. The suits will likely get a lot of occasional use, as friends are starting to marry, and interviews for Real Professional Jobs are on the horizon, and even having a go-to pants-and-shirt combo on short notice is a blessing. DH is feigning ignorance/amnesia, ugh.
DH will have to ask around.
Jos. A Bank exists for a reason–it’s great for short notice. Otherwise people tend to have a tailor nearby, or someone who comes to town a few times a year to take measurements, discuss fabrics, and have the finished product shipped.
I’d take them to Suit Supply. Husband notoriously gets overheated in a suit (both temp + anxiety), and likes their suits for summers in Houston. Cuts are more modern than Men’s Warehouse or Jos A Banks. If you are only buying one suit, I’d lean towards a blue, blue, rather than dark navy.
honestly, trying on suits from a few stores to see. Just like different brands fit different women’s shapes better. Jos A Banks *looks* more expensive on my husband than Brooks Brothers does because their fit model is just better for him.
Honestly, for a first suit I’d just go to Macy’s.
Ugh no. Go to a real menswear store with a tailor, buy a real wool suit, and have it fitted right.
Ugh yes.
“College aged sons” may never wear this suit again depending so spending that amount of money seems excessive for most people.
They have job interviews. They are going to do much better in those job interviews with proper suits, not cheap ill-fitting polyester costumes from Macy’s.
Yeah their size may change a lot soon too. Maybe if the tailor can leave room for adjustments.
My college ago sons both have suits from mens wear house. there are certainly cheaper and also more expensive options, they have real people working there which i found useful. this is really only an option if they’re standard size.
I’ve had good luck shopping at JCPenney for my young-adult son. Very basic but respectable coordinating jackets and pants.
i took my son to Kohl’s for a suit for speech and debate, but i noticed Costco had affordable ones also. my husband last got a suit from Macy’s and we told the guy we were buying it for a wedding but would most likely only wear it for funerals after that. sigh.
DH is a bit of a menswear nerd, and we’re also on a pretty serious budget. styleforum, ask andy about clothes, and Derek Guy/die workwear! are great rabbit holes to go down to get a sense of what tailoring can look like. He will also see some good illustrations of how to pair separates like pants and a sport coat in a way that makes sartorial sense.
As far as recent excursions to outfit a teen in our house, Macy’s has been sad. The local menswear store’s core clientele is wedding suits, which tend to be lighter in color, and very slim cut. Neither are great choices for a suit which will see occasional use. That said, they will either have a couple of navy or dark gray option. Lightweight wool in a medium to dark gray will be the most versatile option, and if the store offers in-house tailoring, so much the better. Tailoring is usually included in the purchase price, so that can tip the in-person vs online calculus. If you’re in a mood to rummage, we’ve also had good luck at antique stores/Goodwill, but be prepared to pass on orphaned jackets. You will see some really nice jackets whose pants have worn out or somehow become separated, but are suit fabric and not meant to be worn as a sport coat. Final point… if son is done growing, and you go with a nicer suit, get a 2nd pair of pants, so that if he wears through the first, he’s not stuck with an orphaned jacket. Some guys wear through the crotch of pants like it’s nobody’s business.
I feel like this is what J. Crew and Bonobos are for. Just caution them against getting the really tapered pants that catch on their calves when they sit down.
Agreeing with Jos. A. Bank and Men’s Wearhouse. Both have their own tailors and professionals who can measure correctly. With a couple of shirts that he knows to wear only with the suit, a tie and appropriate shoes, expect to spend about $600. My now-graduating senior got a real suit two summers ago, before junior year, and has used it numerous times since, for a wedding, a couple of senior presentations, and either a Zoom interview or a job fair (I don’t remember which-I just remember hearing the announcement that the suit was coming out). It has been a good investment.
Dillards. They have suiting and are merchandised for SEUS weather.
I know that the fashion discussions on this blog tend to skew either (1) overly conservative, (2) in favor of “soft pants” or other barely acceptable workwear or (3) towards nonsensical notions of what the latest “fresh” items are for the office, but I find the frequent pronouncements in the comments section that only interns wear high heels to be puzzling/not aligned with my experience. I’m an equity partner in NY Biglaw, and plenty of our equity partners are still wearing heels, especially for big meetings/events, and I get a lot of compliments on my shoes. Support staff and junior associates tend to be the ones wearing sneakers/flats, but if that’s the impression you want to give, more power to you.
my takeaway from those comments would be that you work in an office that is dressier than the average US workplace.
But this isn’t a place for the average US workplace.
From a sample size of mid-to-late career women who work in legal and corporate offices downtown in a major city – not NYC though – stilettos are less common than upscale flats, block heels, loafers, and street sneakers. I know that on an average office day in 2019, at a lower level in my own corporate job, I typically wore 2-3″ stilettos all day, as did women execs I worked with. Same group of women today, all at either the same or higher titles, and it’s a different shoe wardrobe. Yes we occasionally pull them out, but there’s been a shift!
I missed this morning’s discussion, but block heels are still heels!
in the thread the OP referenced, people were calling out stilettos as less common now.
Same in my corporate legal department. Honestly, I have a bit of side-eye when our outside counsel wear designer stilettos for routine meetings. It looks a bit out of touch or showy when, internally, we’re debating whether outside counsel is too expensive. Same for men in sheen-y sharkskin suits and luxury watches.
Yes, I agree. I think there are a lot of posters who are not in NYC / Biglaw or other similar settings, with a disproportionate number who work from home.
Yeah, some of the recent feedback has been strange to me given this board was so conservative on workwear for the longest time. Remember the discussions around water bottles and ponytails being professional?
I asked last week about what to wear for interviews and was told a sheath dress was too prim and I should wear mismatched jacket + pants instead. Even in my business casual-ish world I don’t see that. There was also a recent comment recommending a Veronica beard blazer with hoodie attachment and sneakers for networking events, and while I’m all about work appropriate sneakers, that’s a huge no for me.
Agree. I think the readership has been shifting here.
I was surprised by that comment as well. I’m in upper midwest midsized market, and I see plenty of serious litigators rocking stilettos these days. I do think people start to move into somewhat lower, stacked heels in later 40’s and 50’s. The Venn diagram of that group and the more powerful women overlaps, but not completely.
The only person in my office who wears heels on normal days is a 50 y/o partner and it ages her.
agreed.
I have this issue every time someone declares that “nobody is still wearing suits”. Until recently, I was in litigation and I promise I was not showing up to court in separates and sneakers. Now I am in-house and the difference between what our finance team wears vs our marketing team it striking – and that is the same office in the same company.
People tend to assume that their industry/location is universal and make broad pronouncements based on that, which is not helped when people ask questions without specifying where they work or what industry they are in.
Was your dig at people who choose to wear flats really necessary? What’s the point of making a snide comment like that?
I’m so glad to see this! I’m about to return to my biglaw job from maternity leave and after reading the morning thread I worried that I need new shoes on top of trying to figure out what works for my postpartum body. I’m very short so I wear heels most days.
If you are buying health insurance (my employer sponsored insurance is too expensive), for you, spouse, and dependents, where do you start? The exchanges? A broker? And do I look at classic insurance and also HDHPs? The dependents are two older teens, one of whom is still <18, who are either going off to college or will be soon, where the local options that work well here may not matter 9 months of the year. I assume that the whole family needs to be on the same plan HDHP / traditional plan (but maybe not?)? Have never done this before.
DH had great and cheap coverage for a long time, so I never needed to look before. Looking for future years, not immediately, which is a relief.
I do think you may have a hard time finding a cheaper option than your employer sponsored option unless you have a low income.
This. Seems like an absolute fools errand.
Agree. You cannot just abandon your expensive work options if you want a family plan that is cheaper, especially if both you and your husband have workplace options that satisfy the Federal requirements. I sense your income is moderate to substantial with two working parents. Your best option may turn out to be getting your college aged kids on their own individual plans when they hit 18 – either via their college or via the Marketplace or Medicaid. Eligibility will vary depending on where they go to school (and in what state).
I’m interested in the answers you get back. I am curious as to whether the market can ever be less expensive than an employer plan.
I’ve never heard of anyone getting less-expensive coverage if they have employer-sponsored available…
The whole family does not have to be on the same plan. For years, my husband and daughter were on his employer plan and I was on my own employer plan because that actually ended up being less expensive overall. The math doesn’t always work out that way, though. It’s often cheaper to have the whole family on one plan, especially when you factor in the savings from having a single family deductible and OOP max.
I think she means if the whole family gets coverage from the same source (e.g., employer) do they have to have the same plan, and I think the answer is generally yes. At least at my employer, you can’t have spouse +1 kid on one plan and other spouse and other kid on another plan. If you have “family” coverage, it’s all the same plan.
you said not looking for immediately, in which case if both kids are off to college by the time you are actually looking, you might look into the school plans for the teens. i also find it unlikely you will find decent coverage that is less expensive than what is offered through your employer. Did DH get laid off? switch jobs? and no, the whole family does not need to be on the same plan
Maybe, or maybe he wants to retire and her option is less generous.
This. Our employer plan skews old and we pass on all costs except to very low paid employees, whom we subsidize. The cost of family plans would be about 4K per month unsubsidized. So we use my husband’s plan which has a lot of young employees who have a good risk experience and lower cost (that is subsidized for all employees).
Yeah, this is a problem, and why many folks don’t retire as early as they would like. It may be cheaper once your husband retires for you to cover him alone on your plan, and the kids to buy their own plans (which you help them cover).
If you make enough for your husband to retire with two kids in college, there will not be any way your whole family will be eligible for more affordable coverage on the Marketplace unfortunately.
The school plans don’t cover as much as the corporate plans, and from what I see, dental for ages 18+ are minimal or nonexistent. The good news is the premiums are relatively low.
I’m in my 40s and have never had dental insurance and I thought that wasn’t uncommon. You need health insurance mainly because you can get hit by a bus or get cancer, and your care could cost millions and bankrupt even a very wealthy person. But if you’re affluent you can easily save plenty to cover a dental emergency which is almost always <$10k. Dental insurance premiums are higher than the cost of 2 annual cleanings everywhere I've worked so it's never made sense to me to purchase it.
For students at college, look at their school sponsored plans, which will have local coverage & are often lower cost bc college students are, on average, a low cost group to insure
Check medicaid/chip eligibility for your <18 – many states have higher income cutoffs for kids than adults
Other than that, make sure you're looking at the actual ACA marketplace for your state, to make sure you aren't hitting scams. But unfortunately, you are very unlikely to find anything cheaper than your employer sponsored plan – for yourself/the employee, essentially never, and for your spouse basically only if they are young & your employer doesn't subsidize spouses at all. If you do, it will certainly be hdhp, but tbh an hdhp is often the most cost effective plan anyway.
Sorry, but health insurance in the US is an expensive hot dumpster fire
School plans for college kids are usually a pretty good value. We are self-employed, so my son is on one, and it’s been perfectly fine. It was about $1500 and covers him for a full calendar year, including the summer after graduation.
Nothing in the marketplace is going to be cheaper than an employer-sponsored option.
Maybe instead of retiring, your husband could work part time to cover the 50k health insurance cost?
Is the 4K a month for the high deductible plan? That is the plan you want, and is most cost effective if you are generally healthy.
What would you wear for headshots in 2026 for a high net worth financial planning/wealth management firm? Would you go full suit or dress + non matching blazer? I’m mid-career so I want something that projects professionalism, experience and gravitas but nothing staid or boring.
Also, I would need to purchase something most likely. Do we think the quality matters for photo outfits or does fit matter more? (Read: can I cheap out on this without it looking cheap?)
a The Fold top, assuming you mean a traditional head shot that is waist or shoulders up. Structured, formal, not as stiff-looking as jackets can often be in pictures.
Color. I don’t care what it is (jacket, dress, etc), but wear color. That’s what says you’re senior and experienced in my book. Wearing plain black, charcoal or navy says junior IMO. Examples of color from our firm photos I’m thinking of include cobalt eyeglasses, a jewel-toned scarf, a pine-colored dress, or a lime beaded necklace.
Wear a solid colored top, yes. But any of these accessories scream “I’m eccentric.”
To start, I’m a huge royals fan. Queen Camilla and the state visit. Dressing more like Queen Elizabeth than usual, don’t you think? And mercy, I just want to get her a new bra and HOIST those girls up! 🤭
oh man I totally agree with you. Was it Stacy London that always was saying “lock and load”…
She is 78 years old, Maybe she does not care to hoist them up?