Tuesday’s Workwear Report: Flared Tonal Soft Knit Skirt
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Our daily workwear reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices.
This verdant green skirt from Misook somehow looks both polished and incredibly comfortable. I tend to veer away from knit skirts because they can be clingy in the wrong ways, but the shape of this looks just right.
I would pair this with navy, cream, or camel if you’re looking for neutrals, but you could also grab this matching top for a full-on green look.
The skirt is $288 at Nordstrom and comes in sizes XS-1X.
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)
I get how Epstein made use of poor girls from abusive backgrounds. This makes me so angry and so sad, because here is a smart young woman and adults who should have known better. Melinda Gates may be the hero in all of this for sending what everyone knows now: https://www.wsj.com/us-news/the-hidden-figure-with-close-ties-to-bill-gates-and-jeffrey-epstein-b280067b?st=gteGGb
If you read up about who joins cults (not the same but similar) its not always people from rough backgrounds. Sometimes people from very stable families have a weaker BS detector and get swept up in things like this.
Are we sure that this woman is a legit doctor? I get that she is hired as a med school prof at UW but I don’t see where she could have humanly really done a residency on top of all of the other things. I would not want her near my brain (or otherwise). UW is a real school, so now are they shady also?
I absolutely love the top Nithya Raman is often pictured in (blue, 3/4 sleeve, faux wrap, small v, worn with black wide leg pants). Anyone know what brand it is?
Nyt shows it today but I have seen it 2-3 times on her: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/08/us/elections/nithya-raman-la-mayor-karen-bass.html
MMLF used to make something like that. Maybe it is from the Fold? It is like what they sell if not theirs.
There’s a good article in the Guardian today about how a majority of new AI data centers are being built in drought-stricken areas:
“About two-thirds of upcoming datacenters, which typically require a large amount of water to operate, are set to be built in places that have been among the driest in the country over the past year…Large datacenters, some the size of small towns, can require up to 5m gallons of water a day, equivalent to the water use of up to 50,000 people, in order to provide cooling to arrays of humming networked computers.
Overall, the multiplying datacenters across the US are set to demand as much as 73bn gallons of water a year by 2028, up from about 17bn gallons in 2023. Each 100-word AI prompt uses up roughly one 500ml bottle of water due to the cooling needs of datacenters, researchers have estimated.”
In other words, each short AI prompt you use is like dumping a bottle of water on parched ground while local government pleads with citizens to turn off the faucet while brushing teeth.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/08/datacenter-ai-drought-water
Isn’t DeepSeek supposed to be more efficient?
I’m not convinced all these data centers are being built just so that AI can take our jobs. I think they’re finally trying to process data sets that were too big before AI could process them (and people should be concerned about privacy, free speech, and surveillance implications). Training AI on new data sources also uses more water than engaging with LLMs. I don’t think a LLM boycott would change much.
I’d have less of a problem with processing data sets than I have with people using ChatGPT for literally the simplest stuff.
Are we even able to avoid? It pops up each time I use Google but I’m not requesting it and not clicking on it.
I use DuckDuckGo as a browser because you can turn off the AI responses.
if you add “-ai” after your search it won’t show the AI response.
Yeah this is the issue. Gmail, Google (I see the alternatives, those are a good idea), budgeting tool, Slack, password manager – just to list a few places I’ve seen it pop up recently.
Right? Like I do not need AI help for writing basic emails and writing the Jin-basic ones is what they pay me for.
Oh they definitely want AI to take our jobs. Good news is I’ll probably retire in the next 3-5 years, but I’m certainly worried about my kids’ jobs.
The only way this works is if they lower standards dramatically. Generative AI is just not up to the task.
I’ve been wondering this for weeks since I first saw it here – what on earth does LLM mean in this context? I only know it as a Master of Laws degree.
Large Language Model.
Large language model, like ChatGPT.
I’m wondering: who is being encouraged to use AI, who is being told to use AI, and who has a time/budget code for the time to learn it (or proof the results to spot errors before trying again). It’s like I’m a preceptor for the boss’s kid and I can’t complain and it’s not helping me, just taking my productive time and encroaching into my free time to get important things done (by me).
Yes, but that’s what older generations said about learning to use calculators, word processors, smartphones – the list goes on and on. (My engineer father told me to learn to use a slide rule because my calculator battery might fail. I’ve had a long career in a quantitative field and I never used a slide rule).
But those things worked and improved efficiency, instead of messing up constantly and creating more work.
Originally they had lots of problems (like battery failures and clunky, primitive software). People hated learning to use them and they weren’t that efficient at first. They got better.
Really, all the AI naysayers sound just like my parents in the 1980s and 1990s.
It it were my job to train it, fine. But my current work takes up all of my time to work. Something needs to be offloaded.
Survivorship bias is a hell of a thing. I promise there have been tons of hyped bad technology that people hated that didn’t ever live up to the promise and have been long forgotten.
You can keep claiming that “AI naysayers” are just Luddites but where are you going to get your drinking water in 10 years?
I am trying to learn a slide rule. It is delighting my grandfather to show me how they work. I kind of get it but the math I need to go for work is no harder than algebra, which I can do quite well in my head for estimating and on paper or excel for a number with precision.
I was interested to learn that abacus is still used pedagogically.
I wish I had a real abacus just for an hour or so to see how it works. I thought it was for counting but maybe you can multiply with it? I have no idea. I have a necklace with one as a pendant but suspect that even though the beads move, it’s not close to legit.
Learning to use a slide rule teaches you about math.
Calculators generate a correct answer so long as the inputs are correct. LLMs notoriously generate different, and diametrically opposed, answers when you, eg, change the status (gender, plaintiff vs defendant) of the person asking the question.
Calculators never hallucinated.
I agree with this statement. I think the fallacy is thinking AI won’t improve.
AI might improve if there are incentives to improve it. So far I see none. Just AI companies trying to shove a garbage product down consumers’ throats.
Generative AI can’t improve because its flaws are integral to how it functions. This is also why all the improvements so far have been superficial. All they ever do is hallucinate. It’s buying into a sales pitch to think that hallucinations are a bug that could someday be fixed.
Other kinds of AI and automation will keep improving if we invest in them. Right now, people keep using AI for tasks that can already be more reliably and efficiently automated, but the better tools have the tiniest bit of a learning curve or were never initially made available for free. It’s an education and tech literacy issue that people want the tool that works to be the tool you just have to talk to and don’t have to learn (for some people it is probably also a literacy literacy issue).
Spot-on, 9:53. LLMs are garbage and the concept behind them (predicting what word comes next) means that they will never be anything but garbage. AI is much more reliable and useful as a prediction engine in other contexts, such as extracting data from documents that sort of follow a structure, but this technology is not as widely available. And business leaders are not thinking about how AI is most efficiently or effectively used. They are just telling their employees that they’ll be evaluated on how much AI they use, even if the output is bad and it takes longer than just doing the task.
+1
I’ll add that “efficiency” isn’t a neutral positive in all cases — reading and writing, for example.
When we import a profit-driven ideal like efficiency into classrooms without thought (as EdTech is currently pushing and many districts and higher ed is jumping on to prove their cutting-edginess) then we lose a lot.
I remember hearing that the Segue was going to revolutionize transportation too…
I’m no fan of AI data centers, but since this is a shopping blog, try comparing the water used on a single purchase of anything.
That’s just whataboutism.
It’s just math. If someone wants to moderate water usage, they have many, many options.
But the issue here isn’t simply individual actions to moderate water usage. We’re talking about actions by corporate entities that have massive environmental consequences and consume massive amounts of environmental resources. Investing in resource-intensive infrastructure, especially without adequate public input or protection of public resources, implicates an entirely different set of questions than actions taken by individuals.
I don’t disagree; I just think that moralizing individual actions is probably a distraction if, no matter what individual actions I take, corporations will invest in resource intensive infrastructure anyway.
My law firm is all in on AI, mandating its use so we can be ahead of the curve and meet “client demand,” but I see no current value to my practice. It’s making me question leadership judgment.
I don’t know anyone in tech who believes the water bottle stat (no matter how negative their views on AI and data centers and the use of water).
I looked for an explanation of why and found this https://blog.andymasley.com/p/i-might-have-found-the-specific-way
I have a new pair of leather sandals for work that has a smooth footbed. My foot is sort of sticking to the leather, and it’s making an awful noise as I walk. I hate to ruin a leather footbed with a sticky liner or something. Is there anything to make this better? Of course I didn’t notice this problem until I’d already started wearing them, so it’s too late to return.
You could stick something like leukotape to your foot (but it is very grippy). I’d stick moleskin to the ball of the foot area of the footbed.
The Birkenstock subr3ddit covers this topic with respect to the smooth footbed styles. Here are some suggestions:
baby powder
a small piece of sticky moleskin or velcro (soft side, not the prickly side), although you don’t want to use adhesives
loosening the straps so your foot can slide more easily
Perhaps moleskin on the parts your feet make the most contact with would work.
Look for “Summer Soles”. I used them for this exact problem. They’re very thin suede textured fabric (thinner than actual suede would be), and stick nicely in sandals. The adhesive is effective, but also will come off without residue/damage when you want to remove them.
I use baby powder, I like the version by Mega Babe.
Are there worthwhile services that review resumes for a fee? Has anyone used one and seen more response from job applications because of it? Do they specialize in different industries? Because I don’t need someone to review for typos, ya know? I want to make sure it’s the best resume it can be for my field. (Government relations)
I think you are better off doing a Google search on your own. Or looking for job-specific subs on R*ddit. I was referred to some type of resume service when I was laid off and I got better information doing research on my own.
I work in a tech-adjacent field and I use keywords from the job description in my resume and quantify my accomplishments as much as possible.
Use AI. No one is reading resumes anymore but you need to have one to apply. Customize yours to match the JD exactly so it doesn’t get bounced and use your network to get an actual introduction to the company. I know there’s a strong anti AI bias here, but this is how the world works today. Feel free to rail against it and scream at the sky, but don’t let your feelings get in the way of getting a job.
But there is nothing AI can do that I cannot do better without it.
Unless you mean it’s actively helpful for a resume to sound like an AI wrote it, even if that means it has strange issues and tells?
Good for you but this is literally how recruiting works now, people are building AI agents to scrape job postings and automatically applying with custom resumes. I’m sure yours is better but no one is going to read it. The key is to apply and not get immediately rejected so you can use a contact to get an interview. The game has changed and a resume no longer does what it used to.
PS – you’re better off putting that energy into your LinkedIn profile, which a human will actually look at if you do get an interview.
This is old news though; custom resumes using keywords from the job posting aimed at getting past automated resume review was a thing before ordinary people knew the word ChatGPT.
Sigh, yes and no, the level of customizing has changed and the lack of review has changed. It’s no longer the place to spend your energy, networking is.
Well I agree that networking is the right place to expend energy.
Not true.
As someone who hired recently, I would be careful. So many people do this, especially with the “match to the JD” part, that they end up having extremely similar wording on the resume. Use it to help for sure but don’t use it blindly.
Pet peeve of the week: When people send you emails that are obviously ChatGPT written. I’m talking about 1-on-1 emails, not like group announcements. There is a difference between edited a bit by chatgpt and written in a way that no human actually writes. Also, if I know the person, I know they definitely don’t write like that. I can’t really do anything about it but I wish I could call it out, so just ranting here instead.
Yup. If you didn’t bother to write it, I don’t want to read it.
This has turned into a verb in my office a la “ugh she totally copiloted me – give me a break”
Oh I love this
I commented about this on one of the other recent threads but people who use AI to replace all thought and all writing are probably quadrupling their dementia risk. Your brain isn’t meant to go dormant in your 20s or 30s.
I think it’s the other way around and people with brain fog and other cognitive issues have been early adopters of AI. There’s a reason this took off during a pandemic.
How is it going to help cognitive issues to stop using your brain?
The idea isn’t to help them; the idea is to hide them.
I take it as a sign of friction and I’d probably pick up the “phone” and talk to the person. They’re likely trying to be careful about what they’re saying and that’s a block to getting things done. I would resolve the conflict.
Fascinatingly this person refuses to get on the phone. When they don’t use AI their emails don’t have any punctuation or capitalization. I tried to get on a call the moment I saw the AI-speak because that is just not productive.
I’ve even noticed this on people’s Facebook posts! It is so bizarre. You have never talked like that, Julie, and you’re usually the queen of the run-on sentence, so I know you didn’t write this!
I saw a piece somewhere that talked about how people who have long put effort into being good writers are now assumed to be using AI – so basically anyone who can string a grammatical sentence together is suspect.
I totally get that concern but that isn’t what is happening here. There is a type of very polished corporate speech that has some overlap. That is more what I mean by editing is fine – very polished, whether its by a writer or AI is fine. This has logical inconsistencies and also very stereotypical writing that a human does not use. Also, this person is not a good writer.
I am that person. I have honed my craft for more than two decades. I really hope nobody assumes I’m using AI! Unfortunately, I have always loved the em dash, which is now assumed to be AI.
Ha, I agree with you in general but I’m an em dash hater!
Same! Plus even the format I use for conveying legal advice in emails is the same format that legal AI uses (headers, strategic bold font, bullet points). I worry my credibility will wane as people cannot differentiate between AI’s writing and judgment and my writing and judgment.
this! a colleague said he is now intentionally more curt in emails so that he doesn’t get suspected of writing them with AI.
I’ve found that LLM sycophancy has made me feel easily irritated by what were probably intended as social niceties. And I think it’s just not me, since I’ve also had people react negatively to polite engagement because it was perceived as insincere, even though I feel that I’ve also cut back on the niceties!
Is there any polite way to say “please dont send me AI generated BS that doesnt answer the question I asked”. I am the client and this is a vendor.
“I think my question is being misunderstood (perhaps by AI). Can you let me know X?”
I don’t know that you need to be all that polite.
If you have seasonal allergies like grass, what have you found makes the biggest difference?
Per my allergist, I take Allegra at night and Flonase in the morning from St. Patrick’s Day until Halloween. I also shower before bed so any pollen/outdoor business is not stuck to me and my sheets while I’m sleeping.
Combination of zyrtec and rhinocort (budesonide) nasal spray. Flonase doesn’t cut it for me.
Staying ahead of symptoms instead of chasing them (this means starting meds before allergy season starts, not after noticing symptoms). Also the right meds (they’re not all equally effective and the side effect profiles are really different for me too).
Limiting exposure does help too (saline rinse and masking really helps with sinuses; eyes are still an issue, and I haven’t been willing to try eye protection, but I bet it would help). This can also include washing hair, changing clothes, and running a HEPA filter indoors so indoors is a low allergen place (or at least our bedroom so we have a low allergen place to sleep).
My husband and I are spending a long weekend in August at a mountain home in Deer Valley with his most important client. These are really fancy people who are always dressed flawlessly (not lawyers). My day to day style is work from home, athletic mom. I rarely go on camera or see clients in person. I would like to look polished for the trip, and can spend up to $1000 to get ready. I think I’m covered for the adventure parts of the trip (I have nicer technical gear from skiing and running, so I’m covered for hiking and “touring”), but I have huge wardrobe holes for all the other “stuff” we’ll be doing.
Recommendations for brands/outfits for —
(1) Pool/hot tub lounging
(2) Chef meals at the house
(3) Nicer restaurants out
And I’m stumped for the mornings? We are sharing the house, so do you just not leave your room until you are fully dressed with makeup on for breakfast? The idea of sharing a house with clients is kind of tripping me up (I certainly don’t have any clients I want to see before morning coffee, but this is a big business development opportunity for my husband….). We’ll have lots of room for ourselves, but obviously meals will be shared in a common area.
This is Jenni Kayne territory and white summer. I’d do cream jeans, cream sweaters, white dress and skirt, some elevated tops. Take real gold jewelry and good sandals. Shop La Ligne and Alex Mill too.
PS – for breakfast I’d wear cute PJs w a tank underneath, like Lake Pajamas
PPS – Rue Sophie also has a lot of cute white pieces that would work here
Same. With a bra. That seems obvious, but saying it anyway.
Cami tank for the win. Uniqlo has had some that are good for sleep.
PPS – if you’re not flying, avoid taking a suitcase and pack a tote instead. Rolling into someone’s vacation home with a roller board is just not great. Can’t be avoided with flying but can be with a car.
I would not come out in PJs. This is what athleisure is for. Friend trip, sure. Professional networking trip, no way.
I love this aesthetic so much, and I do not have the lifestyle to support it. Sigh. My weekends look more REI than Jenni Kayne.
I have a strong robe game. Robe must be thick vs drapey. Pajamas from Katie Kime.
Sue Sartor for dining activities.
My recommendation would be to pull out your suitcase and pack your bag. Pick a single color theme (maybe whites, creams and browns) and decide what is missing. I’d get new basics from Old Navy (t-shirts, shorts, etc – I’ve gotten several pairs of the white denim shorts for $15 each). And then I think what really makes someone look/feel polished is the grooming, so I’d get your nails done (very short, very neutral gel builder nails or short acrylics and pedicure – $150), hair done ($100), new makeup ($100), and then any new accessories (maybe a gold tone watch, gold hoops, etc). I’d also budget to go get a blowout on day 1 of the trip so you have cute, bouncy hair.
just to clarify — spend the money on personal grooming, accessories and just refresh anything basic inexpensively. And of course if you need a new pair of shoes for dinner and a new dress, then you have some cash left over to do that.
OK sorry, last thing, Athleta has an ADORABLE underwire bikini on sale right now for $22 with high waisted bottoms (also $22). That would be perfect for the hot tub.
These are really good tips, thank you. I just scheduled a blow out and full nails for the day before we leave. Being fancy takes a lot of time.
Thank you all for the specific brand recommendations, as well. I literally have never heard of any of them, so I’m very thankful I asked.
Since you guys are killing it….what purse should I buy for this?
Are you really going to be comfortable trying to mimic the fancy people? I think if you show up with all new things, it will be obvious. Unless you don’t already own anything nice, you don’t need to get all new stuff.
Yeah, I will be. In my former life, I was a litigator with a V5 law firm, which required all the fancy clothes and client meals and associated stuff. But my clothes from that time period are dated and made for a different body type, and I’m just out of practice, as my daily life right now looks very different.
Also, for most of the day, I’ll be wearing my usual clothes, I just need to elevate the evenings and mornings.
This is a really important opportunity for my husband, and also, I’m not mad at the chance to supplement my wardrobe. I do see that my budget is low, but I can get pretty far with maybe two dresses and nicer pants. Looking at the online pictures, I have some Lily Pulitizer neutrals that I can use as well.
A purse is going to blow your budget, but if you want low end but still prized by fashion types, get Clare V.
Also, Arizona big buckle birks in gold are very popular in resort areas. Look up Jess Graves for more ideas.
Break in the birks at home before trying to wear them for more than a brief stroll! Also, I know the big buckle are popular right now but they look clunkier than the original buckle. And the Madrid or Catalina style is more feminine.
Agree with breaking them in, but the big buckle is the current look, not the other styles mentioned.
For my lifestyle as a mom, I’d probably pick a new Lulu belt bag (again, cream colored) that you can take hiking/for those adventure activities just as easily as going for a casual stroll. I keep saying new here because I think if things don’t look ratty and stained, that automatically makes you look more pulled together. And then if you had the budget left over, either the Polene numero neuf (around $500 if I recall) or a small Strathberry crossbody ($300-$450). I also think the Coach cassie 19 is fantastic (chalk, discontinued but you can find it new for under $200) but it comes with too many straps, so only use it as a top-handle or a shoulder bag on the trip, and then once you’re back it’s a great crossbody.
I’m going against the grain, but you need to be yourself. Obviously don’t bring any clothes or shoes that are ratty or dated, but wear styles you’re comfortable in and wear your normal makeup or just one step up. (For example, I’m terrible with manicures so I’d personally skip the polish since I always chip it. Neat, clean nails would be my style and I’d make sure I was groomed well but nothing out of my usual style.) I don’t think $1000 would go far if you’re trying to mimic the clients’ style anyway.
Disagree. This is a big deal for her husband and she shouldn’t be Steve in the corduroy suit at the corporate dinner.
More like a teen awkwardly wearing her mom’s wardrobe if she follows every suggestion here
And some of the other suggestions? Ridiculous also at the low end. She can do better than Old Navy white shorts
Hardly. Sometimes people just don’t know where to go shop. If you only read here you’d think Ann Taylor was the be all end all.
Yikes… looks like someone doesn’t understand the concept of high/low. I hope the clients are far less catty than the people on this forum.
I agree with this. People can tell when you’re not being authentic from a mile away.
OP said nothing that suggests this isn’t authentic to her, she just needs a clothing refresh. If you don’t know where to shop, maybe just read?
Her budget is not realistic at all.
For mornings / (1), this is what nice athleisure is for. There is a ton of nicer loungewear on the market. I regularly take 10+ hour flights where clients/competitors are often on the plane and there are a lot of outifts that are comfortable but nice enough to be seen by work people. Athleta is my usual go to but Old Navy also has a few things in this category. I got a matching knitted set from Gap that would work really well for mornings here and I get a ton of compliments on
OP, Athleta linen pants (the wide leg style, in black) are kind of amazing for dressing up or down. That’s a purchase that may give you a lot of bang for your buck. Looks equally good with a tank top or something more formal.
Hasn’t this board repeatedly stated that linen pants are frumpy? (and – they are)
OK, then.
Bring a sun hat. The temperatures will be lovely but the sun is very intense. When we were there last summer, members of our group went out with tank tops and no hats because it felt so good outside. Their sunburns were legitimate.
A mountain sunburn is the worst burn I’ve ever had. 10/10 do not recommend.
We have friends who are fancy like this, and my best advice is to make sure you have the right category of clothes, in good condition, that feel like “you”. The brands that folks below are recommending might be good fits, or they might not–it depends on who you are and what you (are) like. A major challenge for me in this category is that I’m still figuring out how I like to dress this iteration of my body, which is significantly different after having kids than it was before.
For breakfast, I’d probably try to get some athleisure or loungewear (joggers) I felt good about and in good condition–my experience is that this feels like it fits in if others are in their PJs, and isn’t totally mortifying if they’ve dressed. I’d want a bathing suit that I liked, either a pretty staid solid color that I felt fit well, or a pattern or color I was really excited about for myself. For chef meals at the house, I think jeans or pants with a top that feels put together/intentional (there’s a lot of range here) would be fine, and probably only go a bit more elevated for nicer restaurants out. Not sure if you’ll be going into SLC or eating in Park City, but my experience is that neither has really been an extremely dressed up place.
How do you talk to kids about putting a pet to sleep? Our elderly cat has significant health problems, and I think we will need to put her out of her suffering this week. My kids (5 and 8) are very sensitive, so I don’t intend to have them there, and I don’t know whether to tell them about euthanasia or just tell them she passed in her sleep. They will have lots of questions either way.
Has anyone with a heavier BF or spouse felt actually crushed by them? My top ribs where they meet together on the front of my chest are really sore and I cannot figure out what else it could be. It’s slightly right of center and I’ve had no seatbelt jerks from car crashes, etc. But it is that level of sore (but without neck pain) if you’ve ever had a seat belt grab you.