Splurge Monday’s Workwear Report: Papercut Flower Cotton Knit Sweater
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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:
- Nordstrom – Designer clearance up to 40% off!
- Ann Taylor – Up to 40% off your purchase
- AYR – Ooh, good sale section — but lots on final sale. Readers love (LOVE) these comfy work pants and these jeans.
- Boden – 15% off new women's wear styles with code
- J.Crew – 30% off full price styles
- J.Crew Factory – Extra 50% off clearance + 40-60% off everything else
- Loft – 55% off everything + free shipping (and 6/5 only: $10 tanks)
- 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 – 6/5 only: $50 off every $200 (plus, $99 dresses)
Talk to me about carpet steamers. We are moving and the new place has carpet just on the stairs (don’t ask) and it definitely needs to be shampooed. I know that you can rent steamers, but are there any that are a lot easier to use than others for awkward stairs? I also want to use a non-fragranced shampoo so it couldn’t be any brand that requires a proprietary shampoo. Any tips and tricks welcome.
Are you open to hiring someone? A professional would already have all the equipment needed to do this quickly and easily.
My only good experience with carpet cleaning was hiring a company that used Vorwerk Kobosan Snow to dry clean, but that may be overkill if it’s not really filthy.
I don’t know much about carpet, but isn’t it somewhat common to have a runner on the stairs but not elsewhere? Mostly asking out of curiosity for our future home ownership / decorating choices.
Yeah, the “(don’t ask)” seemed unnecessary to me. Lots of homes have stair runners only to avoid slippery wood stairs. However, if it’s wall-to-wall carpet on the stairs but hardwood elsewhere… yeah, that is not the look.
Yes, that is what it is. And it’s ugly as hell too.
Should you bother cleaning it if you want to rip it out?
We can’t rip it out right now (don’t know what’s underneath it and we don’t have any more budget for repairs/renovations for a while).
Unfortunately, the rental machines and the ones you buy for home use don’t suck out enough water and the carpet stays sopping wet for a long time. Hiring a professional just to clean the stairs won’t cost much more than renting a machine.
I’m concerned about a professional using a super strong fragrance. This happened to us once before (we didn’t hire or choose the professional, landlord did) and the smell was awful and contributing to migraines for weeks.
When you call the pro, tell them you have a fragrance sensitivity and need to use unscented soap. If they don’t take it seriously, call someone else.
maybe a Bissell Little Green – small size being both a pro and a con for this.
I would just hire this done. Rental carpet extractors are notorious for being filthy with whatever prior customers slurped up and not being terribly strong. And with just one carpeted staircase, the cost to buy an extractor of your own doesn’t make sense to me.
Handheld extractors may seem like a good idea but they take FOREVER and are too weak to do a quality job. They are good for things like gentle spot cleaning, touch ups on car upholstery or small rugs, but not for doing an entire room or staircase.
I love Akris and Akris Punto. IRL, you can see how much better the fabrics are. And the construction.
And yet. And yet. There is almost a Devo vibe sometimes (which I love, but I feel like it is best done by someone tall and trim). Or this, which I feel that my gran had a knitting pattern for and wore both as a warm-weather sweater and a vest in the winter. I feel that the women who can buy Akris just DNGAF about what you think about their clothes (so I would love to meet them or see in the wild).
I found an Akris piece at a thrift store a decade ago and bought it instantly even through it is not a color I prefer and had no room for a spare sandwich in sizing. It was not-itchy heavy cashmere and has not pilled or snagged. It’s an heirloom piece for me (so it boggles my mind how someone would buy this and then donate it when it no longer suited her).
Agree. I have a bunch of Akris that I bought on TRR. It’s fabulous clothing (especially the knitwear) but you definitely have to be picky – half the line is great and half is a little too funky. You definitely need to know your measurements if thrifting. It’s very well tailored and I’ve been able to wear every piece without alterations but the sizing is precise.
With respect to your last sentence, why is it so surprising that someone would declutter by donating pieces they don’t wear anymore? Maybe they didn’t have a friend or relative who could use it. Yes, even expensive items get donated.
I get that. I’m like that with AT and BR pieces. Something with a wedding dress budget would be hard to casually part with. I can’t imagine a world buying something like that at retail and then letting it go. Like I can’t imagine having servants, even though I know people do.
I’m guessing there are people who can’t imagine what you buy and get rid of too.
But you also don’t know how things end up at the thrift shop vs. consignment.
Realistically, if you can’t wear the sweater due to weight change or any other reason, what can you do with it? Frame it under glass and hang it? Take it out once a year and sigh happily? Honestly, that seems weird to me.
Yeah that boggled my mind. Jewelry, the real stuff, is an heirloom, not an old sweater.
Spare sandwich…?
What is everybody doing about sock tans in the summer? I hate feeling like my feet are so much lighter than my legs on the rare times I want to wear sandals
Sunscreen
+1 a natural tan is sun damage and I try my best to avoid them.
I’m not outside that much, TBH. My feet are lighter but not shockingly so.
Wear sandals more often? Change up the height of your socks so the line isn’t so crisp?
I wear Birks so I have a Birk tan. If I cared I would use the Jergens gradual self-tanning lotion to fill in the pale spots.
I’ve never had this issue, I suppose because it’s all or nothing for me: if it’s warm enough for shorts and skirts, then sandals, flip flops or bare feet most of the time. Closed toed shoes with long pants. Fairly even tanning. A dress with sneakers might happen but it’s rare.
same, I usually only wear dresses or shorts with sneakers as (1) a styled ‘europe touring in summer’ outfit, or (2) a short-duration exercise outfit.
I avoid getting tan in the first place, either by wearing pants, using sunscreen, or mostly doing outdoor activities in the morning or evening.
I wear sandals almost exclusively in the summer – really only wear socks and shoes if I’m on a run.
Has anyone had their gallbladder removed? What was the recovery like? Do you remember what your restrictions on lifting and food after the surgery were?
I developed acute pancreatitis from gallstones, and need to have my gallbladder removed. I have a 2 month old and a toddler, and they want the surgery to happen soon. I’ll obviously ask the surgeon these questions, but I’m trying to start thinking through what kind of help we’re gonna need.
My mom did and was totally fine. She was 70, in good health otherwise. She was told not to lift more than 5 or 10 pounds (I forget which) for a week. She lives alone and had a friend stay with her the night of surgery just in case, but needed no assistance.
That was nearly a year ago and she’s had zero problems since.
Oh also food- she was told generally to eat a lower fat diet with easily digested foods for a little bit.
She had laparoscopic surgery and honestly it was a total non-issue for her. She had some minor discomfort day 2, but didn’t take any type of painkiller
Had a good friend who had the surgery, and she had the same experience as this (other than being early 40s vs 70).
Similar to Anon at 10:02am. Had a friend who had the surgery in the last two years – couldn’t lift for a week or two (I think hers was closer to two weeks because I had to help with some Thanksgiving prep) and the lower fat diet for a while. Otherwise, her recovery seemed to be pretty easy after the first three days or so. Our friend group rotated who hung out with her for about 24 hours after her surgery since she couldn’t lift things, but after that it was mostly ad hoc assistance as she requested it.
Calling back to the weekend but this is the kind of info R3ddit is great for.
To add some more detail — the lifting restriction is what I’m really worried about. With a 2 month old baby, I’m consistently picking her up and holding her but she is at least light. The toddler weights a lot more, also wants to be picked up, but at least there are ways to work around that.
Your ability to process high fat foods may last for a while. I am one of the people who still can’t have dairy years later. There were some other things that I couldn’t eat for the first year, but that’s just a mild inconvenience.
this is very timely. my colleague’s wife had emergency gallbladder surgery last month. our nanny had it last week, and my sister had it a few years ago when she had a 3 month old.
you can’t lift more than 20 pounds initially. stairs are also somewhat challenging. i think the lifting is really limited for a week, maybe 2. my sister said she was in pain for a while bc she definitely pushed it too much. the 2 month old i’m assuming weighs less than 20lbs, but might be challenging getting reaching into the crib to get the baby? my colleague’s wife was back at work after a week, though she has a desk job. i think as far as surgeries go, it is fairly easy, assuming no complications.
Possibly a weird question, but: people with adult siblings, how much physical contact do you have with them? I’m an only child so I don’t have any perspective on this. But my SIL (DH’s younger sister – he is 33, she is 27) sometimes makes me uncomfortable. For example, if we are all sitting on the couch watching a movie, she will cuddle with him while I sit like a normal person. She once tried to come along with him on a business trip and apparently saw no issues with them sharing a bed – I told my husband I was really uncomfortable with that so he told her no. But maybe I’m overreacting? He has another sister who doesn’t do this, but she’s married so maybe it’s different.
unless you think they are romantically involved?! then some people are just ‘touch’-ier than others, especially if they hang out all the time.
for the business trip I don’t see why DH couldn’t have requested a double-queen room instead of a single king or whatever, but I wouldn’t have been so uncomfortable with the idea of sharing a king that I would put my foot down about it.
I’m reminded of the Friends episode where Rachel dates a guy who takes a bath with his sister, lol.
Sharing a bed is weird!
weird is in the eye of the beholder. my brother and I shared a bed several times in our 20s – young adults on family vacations in 2BR condos. Sometimes we got twin beds and sometimes the guest room had a queen or king. We preferred our own beds but had no issue staying on our ‘sides’ when sharing.
we aren’t so close that I would invite myself on one of his business trips, but in a super-close-knit group I can see someone asking!
I’m not at all touchy with my brothers, but also wouldn’t think twice about sharing a bed if for some reason it seemed necessary. If we were sharing a hotel room somewhere, I’d certainly opt for two beds over one, but if that wasn’t available, I wouldn’t think it was a big deal. They’re my brothers, I’ve known them their entire lives and nothing’s going to happen! I’m in my 40s and married, brothers are a few years younger, one married, one not.