Frugal Friday’s Workwear Report: Flower Polo Sweater
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Our daily workwear reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices.
This cheery floral polo from Nanette Lepore is just screaming “summer” to me. I love the retro-inspired flowers and the Johnny collar for a more relaxed business casual vibe. It does look like it might be a bit more cropped than I would normally prefer, but I think it would look great paired with a swingy midi skirt and some flats for a casual Friday look.
The sweater is $29.97 at Nordstrom Rack and comes in sizes S-XL. It also comes in two other color combos.
Sales of note for 7/3 (Happy 4th!):
- Nordstrom – Designer clearance, up to 60% off!
- Alexis Bittar – 20% off sitewide thru 7/5
- Alex Mill – 40-70% off some of their favorite, small batch pieces!
- Another Tomorrow – Final days of sale, new styles added
- Ann Taylor – 50% off everything + free shipping — readers love this blouse and I always love the variety of colors/textures for this jacket (it's a great separate)
- Athleta – Extra 20% off semi-annual sale, up to 60% off reader favorites like Brookyn and Endless pants
- AYR – Ooh, good sale section — but lots on final sale. Readers love (LOVE) these comfy work pants and these jeans.
- Banana Republic – Summer sale up to 60% off sale styles + extra 20% off
- Boden -Up to 60% off plus an extra 15% off – readers love these dresses, these blazers, and the brand's fun suiting
- COS – New pieces added to sale, up to 60% off
- DeMellier – Summer sale: Final Reductions (ends soon!)
- Evereve – Extra 30% off sale!
- The Fold – Up to 50% off, further markdowns
- Hobbs – Up to 50% off, extra 20% off sale
- J.Crew – Summer sale – up to 60% off summer styles, and 40% off select cashmere
- J.Crew Factory – 50% off all stores and sitewide, plus 60% off clearance
- Jenni Kayne – Semi-annual warehouse sale
- Lo & Sons – Summer sale, up to 50% off (but 10% off sitewide!) (love their new weekender!)
- Lululemon – Summer sale!
- Margaux – Save up to 50% off, including archive sale
- M.M.LaFleur – Sitewide sale, up to 70% off! (Try code CORPORETTE15 for 15% off on other items)
- Nordstrom Rack – Clearance, new arrivals up to 75% off! Nice selection of Vince, Veronica Beard, Reiss and Rag & Bone, a ton of affordable work dresses from Calvin Klein, Maggy London, Eliza J, and Donna Morgan
- Ruti – 15% sitewide
- Sarah Flint – Extra 30% off select styles (we just ranked these shoes as some of our top 10 most comfortable heel brands)
- Strathberry – Up to 30% off select styles
- Stuart Weitzman – Summer styles now up to 40% off
- Talbots – 50% off your entire purchase + free shipping
- Veronica Beard – Extra 25% off sale
Any recommendations for a handbag brand with a similar aesthetic as Cuyana but with more structured totes? I’ve been looking at resale sites for a gently pre-owned Cuyana tote and am struck by how floppy they look. I want a bag that will stand on its own.
I don’t have the tote, but Radley makes great structured bags.
They are closing down so their bags are on deep discount on their site.
I had a beautiful Dagne Dover leather tote that was very firm, definitely not floppy. Gorgeous and sleek, although it was very heavy and I had to sell it along because it caused me shoulder issues.
Was that just that line of bag or are all Dagne Dover’s heavy?
They have canvas totes that are probably less heavy than the leather version.
I’m not a new law grad but have been working PT from home for about a decade and am ramping up with a new job at a firm that is in office. I am very excited to be around people again but want to show up looking competent and fitting in. What are you 40ish lawyers wearing on days where you want to look sharp and put-together? And I need to have head to toe help, since most of my formal pieces were purchased before COVID and a size or two ago. East coast city.
I would try to get a gauge on how formal or casual the office is before you buy too many new pieces. My NYC biglaw office is still very casual – it never returned to pre-covid norms. Yes, people dress up for meetings (or court appearances, but I am not in litigation, so rarely interact with people on the litigation floor), but day-to-day is quite casual.
+1
+1. I’m 40 and a partner in a mid-Atlantic boutique, and we’re pretty casual on a day-to-day basis. I keep an emergency jacket, but don’t wear one unless I have an in-person meeting that would warrant it. I also don’t litigate, so the dressiest I get for a regular day in the office pants + blouse.
We’re causual on Fridays, especially in the summer, and today I’m doing work at my desk in wide leg jeans, a white knit blouse, and loafers. Last week on Friday I wore a shirt dress and flats.
For the more tech savvy among this group…I’m doing a digital clean up at home and have two questions. Years ago, when my kids were young, I would back up my digital photos on CDs. That seems antiquated at this point, as I don’t even own a machine that would read a CD at this point (I don’t think). Any thoughts about what to do with these?
Relatedly, I have about 100 blank CDs (most CD-R, some CD-RWs). Is there any use for these at this point?
Appreciate any advice from those who have kept up over the past 15 years….
This is a really cute pick!
It would look super cute with yesterday afternoon’s purse. On someone else, not on me.
Any advice on how to deal with young death? For context this is not my first rodeo with death, I’ve lost many aunts, uncles, grandparents etc, but as morbid as this sounds there is a certain inevitability when a 100 year old passes, I cry, I’m sad, but my world isn’t shattered. My best friend just died, 32, her baby is 8 months. I’ve never experienced a death where the obituary read 32. It felt like the floor fell out from underneath me, physical shock, my body ceased to function, my mind could not process. I’m at work, numb, occasionally sobbing at my cube (sorry if you’re a colleague). This is just so different from all my previous experiences. Any advice? Wisdom? Commiseration?
Please be nice.
Let yourself grieve, what you are experiencing is normal. Take time off, spend time with others who will also miss her. You don’t get over it, it just becomes part of you and easier to handle.
Every Friday I’m reminded how much I loathe the word frugal.
can I ask why?
The sound primarily when spoken, but also the good chance that the person describing themselves this way has a fair amount of sanctimony behind their statement. I don’t mind people describing themselves as cheap though. That has fewer connotations (I think.)
Cheep and frugal are different descriptions. I’m frugal, regardless of your thoughts about me, but am definitely not cheep. My sister is cheep but doesn’t have a frugal bone in her body.
Apparently my phone has been listening to my toddler learn her animal sounds. Cheap! cheap!
To me “frugal” used to mean “made wise and prudent purchasing decisions” and “cheap” meant “always bought the least expensive thing no matter what.” A frugal person would not necessarily deprive themselves, but a cheap person would. A cheap person would probably also make decisions that were pennywise and pound-foolish. Frugality was a positive attribute; being cheap was negative.
Nowadays people who call themselves “frugal” are usually just cheap and asserting a moral superiority in their cheapness.
To me frugality is to be mindful of expenditures, and averse to wastefulness. Cheap is unwilling to buy or share.
+1.
Cheap is self deprecating. Frugal is self congratulatory.
ha the responses to your comment prove your point… it’s like “we have religion, they have magic”…”I’m frugal, but she’s cheap.”
And I totally agree about the santimony/veneer of superiority. At least “cheap” feels cheerfully honest.
They don’t mean the same thing!
This sweater looks very marimekko
It is supercute. I am wondering if it is a bit cropped for me, though. Don’t want to reach up and expose skin.
Making Mexican food for family dinner tomorrow. Any really good salad recipe to go alongside? Cooking for the English so have to scale back the spice on everything…
Elote salad?
Somewhat related, I ended up stuck in England for work travel one night so I just went to the grocery store for snacks. Grabed salsa and chips. The salsa was so mild and sweet it was functionally inedible, truly traumatizing experience.
I would do a corn salad. something like this: https://www.loveandlemons.com/mexican-street-corn-salad/
If you have access to tropical fruit, a mango/guava/pineapple/banana mix is a nice contrast to the relative heaviness of the corn salad.
A salad with basics but add cilantro lime vinaigrette and avocado would pair well with most Mexican dishes and has lots of flavor but no heat.
A cabbage slaw, or a corn salad. If you want to go all out, a green salad w mashed avocado.
Cabbage with cilantro lime dressing.
If you want something more hearty, the Cookie and Kate recipe for southwestern roasted veggie salad with chipotle-balsamic dressing is very good.
a corn elote salad would be perfect – you can tone down the heat!