Tuesday’s Workwear Report: Nikko Heirloom Cardigan
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Our daily workwear reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices.
It’s hard for me to think about sweaters when the thermometer is above 80 degrees, but I’ve seen SO many cute options for the fall. This cardigan from Cinq à Sept is a little fancier than the back-of-the-chair cardigan that I keep in my office for temperature-related emergencies, but I love it. The embellished design feels fun, but not too over-the-top.
Pair with your favorite trousers for a lovely business casual look.
The sweater is $395 at Bloomingdale’s and comes in sizes XXS-XL.
Sales of note for 7/29:
- Nordstrom – The Anniversary Sale continues! Here's our big roundup of the best workwear, as well as everything we've selected thus far. Don't forget to check to see if their daily beauty deal is a good one for you –- e.g., 7/29 up to 40% off select lip products; 7/31 Bobbi Brown; 8/1 Jo Malone
- Ann Taylor – 50% off summer styles + 60% off clearance — readers love this blouse and I always love the variety of colors/textures for this jacket (it's a great separate)
- Banana Republic – 30% off your purchase (ends 7/31)
- The Fold – Up to 50% off, further markdowns + extra 10% off
- J.Crew – Up to 30% off
- J.Crew Factory – 50% off sitewide
- Me & Em – Sale! Up to 60% off (new lines just added, exclusively online)
- M.M.LaFleur – End of season sale! (Try code CORPORETTE15 for 15% off on other items)
- Nordstrom Rack – Clearance, new markdowns 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
- Talbots – 25% off your entire purchase
- Theory – End of season sale is on!
For a small bathroom, if you are putting up wallpaper, do you also add framed pictures? I guess I’m interested in if there is a rule of a hard no or an it depends. I can tell when I’ve done a bad job but FAFO can be an expensive way to learn what not to do and I’d rather not put holes in wallpaper because it’s expensive to remove and expensive to replace. I miss renting. Then I’d never bother even though I hate the rental all-vanilla scheme.
Depends. What’s the wallpaper? The fussier the paper, the higher the degree of difficulty with art.
Up to you! And the wallpaper. Also, you can just put up the wallpaper now and add pictures later if you want. I’m not an interior designer, but I would think if your wallpaper is plainer, then you can have a more detailed picture and if your wallpaper is crazy (in a good way), you would want a simpler picture.
Back when it was common to hang pictures over wallpaper, it was also customary to use picture rails, so there were no holes in the wallpaper.
This is the answer! We had (original) picture rails in our old house and it was so nice not to have to punch a nail in the wall every time I wanted to change things up. I could never quite figure out how to camouflage the hanging wires, but I convinced myself that in an old house it was part of the charm.
They sell a brass rod/hanging rods system these days — you still have to put in holes for the rods, but the whole thing is designed to look good as part of the decor, and it’s easy to switch out the pictures.
No, but that’s because I don’t want bathroom bacteria on my photos.
I feel if it’s photos, it’s easy to make a copy for the bathroom so it’s essentially disposable.
You could poster putty a print on the wall for test purposes. Pick something with similar busy-ness to the picture you have in mind, even if it is a completely bonkers print otherwise.
We have busy wallpaper from the previous owners and I’m gravitating towards very large matting – it creates some visual space. Pigeons and big ben in the hall, and black and white woodcuts of English folktales in the bedroom, some truly bold choices.
I like the very large mat on busy wallpaper vibe.
I do but my style is maximalist and I’m good at it, if I do say so myself ;)
I think of busy patterned wallpaper as a maximalist element that wants a lot of pictures in ornate frames.
I wish I was better at it, because I love the idea of “Too much is too much but WAY too much is perfect”.
You are both exactly right!
I’m fashion challenged. Commenters here introduced me to JoLynne Shane’s blog. Today she has a post about where denim trends are shifting, which I found useful.
https://jolynneshane.com/fall-2026-denim-trends.html
Yes! I started reading her recently, I think based on a rec here. It’s helpful to see influencers with bodies closer to mine, and her detail around proportions and fit have been insightful.
Like nesting fail anon at 9:04 below, I am excited for lower rise jeans coming back! I have kept some pairs from before 2010 and the lower rise (including one pair that’s actually low rise) look so much better on my body type and are more comfortable to me.
They look better on me, too. My favorite rise is when it’s slightly higher in back and dips just a tad in front. So comfortable without exposing anything.
I saw a picture of my nieces recently and their shorts were at hip-bone exposing levels, so low-rise is back. I like higher in the back because I remember seeing a lot of coin slots back in the day. Not eager to repeat that.
Oh man. Time for me to start hoarding high rises…
I am also challenged, and her blog has been super helpful to decode various trends and fits and why they work (or don’t).
Also, I have to say that I like that all of the jeans in this post look, dare I say, normal? Like full-length denim in darker washes? Thank you Lord.
Finally, some trends that align with my preferences!
who decides these things?
Thank you for posting this rec. I skimmed her blog and did not see a single Amazon haul. I’ve quit following my other couple of fashion blogs because they devolved into nothing but Amazon hauls. I am not anti-Amazon generally, but for clothes, yes. And squealing about 20 items a week from there? No one can do that and stay believable.
She also seems to actually keep and wear a lot of the clothes from her try-on posts.
Agree. It is so refreshing to see a normal-looking person wearing normal-looking outfits in a way that looks both current and achievable. And the explanations are actually helpful and not just a sales pitch.
Agree. Seeing her outfits has actually convinced me to buy less, but buy better.
I read her blog a lot. And I cannot say there are no Amazon items because I do not have perfect recall, but they have to be few and far between. And probably never clothing.
What would happen if the production and styling of something like Lands End was swapped with another or Ayr or VB or something else we can’t get enough of? I feel like some fashion challenges come from things not existing in my life as they are in an ad and some things in the ad never being styled to their potential. Like I can buy scarves but on me they struggle to be chic things (but I think they are chic things actually).
I am so happy that mid-rises are going to be easier to find again. I like high rises … when I’m standing. I have literally gotten stomachaches from sitting too long in high rise pants, and yes, they are the correct size!
Whoops, nesting fail. That’s supposed to be under the denim post.
If Lands End styled its catalogue like VB or AYR it would be even more disappointing than it already is. At least now they are relatively honest about the dumpy cut of the clothes. If they clothespinned everything to look like it fit they would have even more returns.
This. It’s not the styling, it’s the actual cut of the clothes. Don’t kid yourself and buy LE and think it’s VB.
I feel that I’d like to see a 5-4 size 12 wear clothes of every brand and then decide. Not much looks bad if you are 5-8 and a size 2 and a teen or early 20s model.
I like it when there used to be the option to see the item on actual humans of different sizes. Now it’s all AI or photoshop so who can really tell how anything looks in real life.
I think the fabrics and cuts of Lands End are hard to elevate with styling. But you can always check social media for how people are styling things.
Wasn’t there an effort about 10-15 years ago to make LE more stylish? They brought in Gloria Steinem to model some things that were made to look more fashionable and there was a big boycott by the conservative school uniform crowd and LE quickly buckled to the pressure and got rid of the whole idea. I actually stopped buying anything from them at that point but it’s been done and was not successful. Although this year I think they’ve tried to make some new inroads with their swim stuff and I think it’s been a better reception so far.
I have some swim stuff from that era and it has held up spectacularly. My body, OTOH, has not.
LE Canvas was a line about 10-15 years ago (which I am just realizing now sounds like a long time and I still wear a lot of these items). I kinda loved it. The fits were a little more modern, but the prints were still classic. Price point was really approachable, especially with sales. I was so sad when they stopped making it.
Shopping Lands End is similar to shopping at Target or Old Navy or even, dare I say it, Talbots. It’s a broad range of items that is not edited for ease of shopping, but I find a couple of pieces every season that wear like they cost 4x the sale cost. I really like their straight leg jeans and cotton Drifter sweaters for daily wear.
But then again, this works for where I live and my stage of life. My friends from law school shop at Costco and Amazon for clothes and I never run into anyone wearing VB in the wild.
I have absolutely zero motivation to workout. I have not done cardio in a year. I have gained 10+ lbs. I have solved it by buying new clothes. I don’t love my shape at the moment but it’s not motivating me to move or eat differently/less. I’m not interested in a GLP – I’m at a healthy BMI, I don’t think this is a food noise issue, simply a lifestyle change as I work much longer hours lately and never get out. My schedule is unpredictable- sometimes I am at work before 6a and sometimes working until 2a. I use this as an excuse not to do anything. I’m approaching 40 and I hear this gets harder with age. But that also isn’t motivating. Anyone successfully get out of a slump like this, without meds?
Fix the work issue first
This. You can’t work out when you are working 24/7. Also, the lack of sleep causes weight gain.
Unfortunately, and I’m speaking to myself here, it’s usually not a matter of motivation. It’s making time in your schedule to do it anyway. Which is way easier said than done when you’re working long hours, but lifestyle is a killer. Would it help to reframe exercise as something you’re doing for yourself to support the rest of your life? I don’t think you need to go crazy with this. Even 30 minutes of brisk walking is really good for cardiovascular health and stress relief.
I am working on exactly this. My HIIT gym closed a few years ago and I just never found anything decent to replace it. I recently found a potential alternative gym and started going to the 6:00 am class before work a couple times per week. I *must* be in a regular routine of going to a workout class if I’m going to make progress, apparently. The hardest part is getting back into the routine, and now that I have for about 8 weeks, it’s already easier. When it’s just me on my own, I flail, make any excuse, procrastinate, and don’t try hard. But I will go to a class no matter what, if I schedule it. I refuse to get charged for not working out. And then the positive feedback motivates me to keep going. I hate that it’s more expensive and creates scheduling challenges, but it’s much better for me than being stuck in the rut of beating myself up for not working out well on my own. I’m also almost 40 and have been trying to motivate myself by thinking about the long term – what do I want my late 50s, 60s, and 70s to look like?
what is your job?
It sucks, but you just gotta do it
I think it’s not just an excuse. An unpredictable schedule with very long hours is really hard on your body. I think a workout would add stress.
Can you get motivated about step counts? Walking is gentle and can improve sleep.
Yes. Some years you just don’t get to prioritize working out. This is normal. Good luck!
Walking, prioritizing sleep and nutrition would be my first steps. Is it possible for you to work at home to get in shorter windows of exercise? Otherwise I also like 5 minute brain breaks where I march in place or do laps around my office. Yes, I look nuts but it gets my heart rate up and helps my anxiety.
I know weight bearing exercise are important too at this age, but personally I just can’t with weight if sleep and nutrition aren’t in place.
This doesn’t work for me, but can you sign up for something with fixed date, so you have to train? Like a race, a dance academy with an end of year recital, a martial arts class where you need to test into a new belt in six months?
Or, make easy, but annoying changes in your routine, like only taking the stairs in your office, parking far away so you have to walk, getting out of the subway a stop earlier…
Try taking a walk in the morning or at lunch. It’s enjoyable and will make you feel better.
I’m going to ask questions around the rest of your non-work life — how is it going? Are you able to keep up with house stuff, clutter, laundry, decent eating, medical appointments, seeing friends, life admin — and it’s only the workouts that are taking a hit? Or are the workouts one area among many? If it’s the second one, and your unpredictable work schedule is doing a number on your non-work life in general, this could be a know-yourself situation: do you do better going hard with solving for change in one area of your life (working out), or do you do better with making small, gradual changes in simple areas, and then spread those changes out to the next step?
Do it the hard way then.
Find something you like doing. For me, I hate getting hot and sweaty and out of breath. But I love swimming, and I find that weight lifting is actually not awful but kind of fun. The basic beginner routine on the fitness wiki page was a good start for me.
Here’s the page: https://thefitness.wiki/routines/r-fitness-basic-beginner-routine/
Are you able to incorporate 5-10 minutes of working out in your day? I found MonikaFit on YouTube and she has lots of short workouts. They don’t necessarily get you sweaty so maybe it’s something you could do during a break from work.
Try starting with a couple of days a week and go from there. I use a basic habit tracker and I find it helpful to see that I’ve been consistent even it’s just 2-3 days a week.
Two things that have worked for me when it has been very hard to fit in regular exercise:
1) Microworkouts. If I can take a 10-20 minute breather, I go for a walk or do a quick video. (I personally prefer walking but have found a bunch that are doable at my desk in bad weather.)
2) One full weekly session with a trainer (mine comes to me, and is great at working around my schedule), who then writes up very short sets I can do whenever I have a little time the rest of the week.
Anyone use a silent keyboard? If yes, which one?
I got a Logi “Silent Touch” keyboard, and while it’s not completely silent it’s much quieter than my old one. Key action seems normal.
Help please. I am going to be on close up camera for several hours for work tomorrow.
I have freckles, some redness and hyperpigmentation on my chin and tip of nose, small sun spots. It’s not terrible skin but it’s not the smoothest. I’d like more even/brighter skin for camera, esp in the chin area. There is an ulta I can stop by after work today.
What do you recommend for someone who never wears makeup?
BB cream and a blush?
I like just a tiny bit of coverage to smooth things out, which sounds like what you need especially since you do not wear makeup. Consider a skin tint or a tinted moisturizer and just use very little.
Is it Zoom or Teams? If so, just use a light filter. If it’s camera, use a little more makeup than you would think. I think blush and a little high lighter and a little mascara work wonders.
I’d make sure your eyes are done (brow tint, mascara), blush for color, and then a VERY light skin tint. The dior skin glow or hourglass BB cream are both very light and have a skin-like finish while also smoothing and evening things out. I just started using Chantecaille products and while $$ they are so gorgeous on my mid-40s skin – very hydrating and not cakey.
Is this your computer camera or a real camera? If you are going to be on Zoom, you can look polished with just eyeliner + mascara + lip color + the “touch up appearance” or whatever the Zoom setting is called. If it’s a real camera, subtle makeup will not make much difference. A real foundation + concealer or color corrector for the undereye area + contour + blush will look like a lot in the mirror but not on camera.
I also never wear makeup. I have freckles and rosacea and really like a red correction cream for making my skin look normal on zoom.
My favorite is Hero’s Rescue Balm+Red Correct because it goes on smoothly with a nice matte finish and just looks like my skin, but better. No weird tints that make it look like I had a bad spray tan.
Another that I tried is Dr. Jart but I would say it is just okay. It is a bit thicker, has a bit of a greasy sheen to it that leaves me feeling sticky after putting it on, and is a shade darker than ideal for my fair skin. It also doesn’t wash off as easily.
Zoom or Teams? If Teams, use the slight blur filter for your appearance. Makes a HUGE difference.
If you want a specific rec, I have a very uneven skin tone (and texture) – melasma, a few freckles, redness, acne scars, a couple wrinkles, just all over the place. Of all the foundations I’ve tried, CC+ Nude Glow Lightweight Foundation + Glow Serum is the best at creating a really even skin tone and smooth appearance. It’s remarkable. It also feels nice on the skin.
There’s a videographer, but unfortunately they won’t be editing the video to optimize my skin complexion afterwards
I think something with no sunscreen in it is often advised for being on camera due to….reflections?
Any recommendations for a platform-style sofa bed? I don’t like the one we have from Room and Board so we want to go a different direction this time. It’s for an office that will very occasionally host overnight guests.
Room and Board/American Leather is the most common suggestion here, and as far as I can tell, the most generally liked, so it might be helpful to say what you don’t like about the current one.
It’s extremely firm and uncomfortable. A support beam broke within a few months of normal use. The fabric was marked as extremely durable for kids/pets and it’s pilled like crazy despite my toddler and cat not even being interested in it. Just an all-around dud of a couch.
Luonto! We have a Flipper sleeper sofa that we love, both as a sofa and as a guest bed. Ours is six years old and still looks brand new.
Can you post a link? I don’t see any model by that name.
Here is the page for the one we have (not a sectional version): https://www.luonto.com/collections/flipper
It may be a discontinued style, but they have a bunch of other sleepers that look like they have the same functionality. Here is one that is very similar; the video image shows how ours opens: https://www.luonto.com/shop/haven-king-sleeper-sofa-14515
I really like how solid ours is. Heavy, for sure, but made of very solid materials and real wood inside rather than cardboard.
It’s in mod. Short answer is that model appears to be retired but there are lots of similar sleeper options in the current offerings.
How do I explain why I was fired when I’m not sure myself? I have an interview tomorrow.
I worked at my last company for 9 years. I was hired to do A and B with some C. I’m fantastic at A and B, but honestly struggled sometimes with C. Over the years, the job changed from primarily A and B to mainly C. I knew my boss wasn’t crazy about my performance at C because I wasn’t satisfied with my performance at C, but at no time did I think it was worthy of being fired.
Getting called into HR was a complete surprise, and when she said, “Today is your last day,” I was stunned. She tripped over her words but said something about finding a better match for my strengths.
I feel like I could tell a job interviewer that the position changed over the years, but the company has readvertised my position using my exact job description from 9 years ago. It presents the job as A and B with some C, when I know for a fact there are no clients for A and B work.
What do I say? “The company’s needs changed over the years and it wasn’t a good fit anymore”? That feels like a lie when they’re advertising the old A and B job.
I would not say you were fired. You don’t have to tell them that.
The company hired me for my strengths in A and B, although over time the role became one that really needs someone whose focus is on C the majority of the time.
Did you negotiate with the former company what they will say in response to a reference call?
Are they challenging your unemployment, and can you negotiate a neutral “business needs changed” reference?
If you have those, I would not worry about a potential new job stalking your old jobs’ career site and seeing the unchanged description. No one has time to do that!
Like the poster above, I’m also fashion challenged. I’ve been WFH since before the pandemic and never had anything to motivate me to try new styles. I turn 49 this month and am wanting to change things up.
I had some random Kohls cash and did some browsing in store this weekend. I randomly found a pair of straight-leg Levis that fit perfectly. I’m short (5’0″) so it’s unusual to find my length of jeans in person.
Problem is that most of my tops are the longer, tunic styles that work better with skinny jeans. I’m trying to figure out what types of tops to wear with this style of jeans.
I carry most of my weight in my belly and have a short torso, so I feel like tucking doesn’t look good. But maybe I need to find a lower rise so the tucking doesn’t look weird.
Don’t fear tucking! There is a stylist whose name I cannot recall at the moment who posted a series of tucked and untucked videos. It takes some getting used to if you are used to tunics over leggings, but loose, untucked tops really aren’t hiding or flattering the proportions the way they feel like they are.
You do need shorter tops, but you don’t have to tuck. Years ago, someone pointed out to me that when the shape of pants change, you start to see different silhouettes of tops for sale, to match the shape needed for that cut of pants.
Look for cropped tops, sweaters, and t-shirts. Since you’re short AND short-waisted, these will hit you at or below the waist (they might even be too long). They won’t need to be tucked, and they’ll float a bit over your belly.
also, find your optimal top length by pinning up the hem of one of your tops and trying it on with your jeans. Keep adjusting where the hem hits until you find the spot (probably within 1-3 inches of your waist) where it floats nicely over your belly, but the proportions play well with your jeans.
Do you have an Evereve near you? If so, wear the jeans into the store and try on shorter tops with them. And when the ladies who work there offer to bring you other options, let them.
You need to not shop at Kohl’s