Frugal Friday’s Workwear Report: Stretch Twill Pleated Short-Sleeve Shirt
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Our daily workwear reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices.
This pleated top from Quince has tons of great reviews, and the color is perfect for the summer-to-fall transition.
I’m always in the market for a blouse that can be worn without a sweater or blazer on top and still serve as half of a complete outfit. The gorgeous pleating on this one looks sophisticated and would pair beautifully with trousers or a skirt.
The top is $50 at Quince and comes in sizes XS-XL.
Sales of note for 8/21:
- Ann Taylor – 25% off fresh fall styles! Also, there's an online-only warehouse sale — $20 tops, $25 sweaters, $30 pants, and $40
- CVS – Epic beauty sale, $10 off when you spend $30 (Walmart is having its “Beauty Event” as well right now!)
- The Fold – Up to 50% off, further markdowns
- J.Crew – Last chance summer styles on sale
- J.Crew Factory – 8/21 only: 50% off pants and shorts, and free shipping on all orders
- J.McLaughlin – Extra 40% off sale
- Lilysilk – Anniversary sale, save up to 70%
- Me & Em – Sale! Up to 60% off (new lines just added, exclusively online)
- M.M.LaFleur – Lots of new pieces added to 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
- Revolve – 20% off most beauty!
- Talbots – End of season clearance, extra 70% off markdown tops and extra 60% off other markdowns
- Theory – End of season sale is on!
Thanks for the sale round up! I can’t tell you how much money you have saved me by tracking the Talbots sales.
Where are you getting c*cktail tables? I’d love a dull (not shiny) metal (since I guess we can’t get real wood in new things in 2026) and all metal or a stone / agate landing spot for the drink in case it sweats (I have coasters but don’t want to be nervous when company comes over).
Ballard
Macys had a bunch on sale
https://stylebyemilyhenderson.com/trending-living-room-furniture-piece
Why can’t you get wood? I get all accent tables at antique stores.
I see tons of huge dark wood TV armoires that no one wants. As people with good things downsize, the kids take the good Craftique (etc.) pieces and all that’s left are stuff that is huge and heavy. Plus, maybe drink tables are new things? I don’t recall my family having that (they had side tables for generations that my great grandfather made for all of his 8 kids and their kids), but I feel that they are both very handy and maybe a newish sort of item.
I’m genuinely convinced people here just google ‘antiques near me’ and then give up, drink tables have been around forever and I’ve seen them at literally every antique mall I’ve ever been to, though admittedly I’ve only been antiquing in about 20 states.
Same same, they’re everywhere in antiques stores.
For those of you who are taking GLP-1s in part for anti-inflammatory reasons, can you tell me more about what’s happened since in terms of how you feel, lab work, etc? I’m just barely into the obese category but have chronic inflammation (on the more sensitive C-reactive protein test) that is likely due to my well-controlled autoimmune disorder. I’m considering whether the other health benefits might tip the scale into trying these medications. Cost is the major barrier. Since all my other lab work is great (cholesterol, BP, all of it) and I’m active and enjoying life, it’s harder to make the case to myself that it’s an “investment” even though it probably is! It’s just hard to afford everything in our lives right now, even with a modest lifestyle. Anyway, would welcome thoughts.
My husband is on tirzepatide for sleep apnea and it’s made a huge difference. Within 2 weeks his snoring was dramatically reduced, and while he’s lost some weight the sleep apnea / inflammation benefits have been huge.
I’ve been on a low dose of compounded semaglutide for a year and a half. Lost 30 lbs the first year and gained back about 10, though a lot of that was more strength training and water retention that goes with it. I think I look better than I did 5 lbs lighter, now that I have more muscle.
I haven’t tried this yet. But a lot of the people who are taking GLP1s only for inflammation are microdosing and (say they are) still getting the desired benefits. So that can really help with costs.
it is not as worth it as has been hyped is my experience.
Can you say more? Did you notice little to no difference?
It’s not going to work for everyone, some people are nonresponders, which is too bad.
Do you have more insight? I don’t really have weight to lose and I LOVE food, but I’ve tried basically all anti-inflammatories and other lifestyle and pharmaceutical options for my chronic condition so I’m considering GLP1 but I think it will make me sad not being able to eat all the snacks and ruining my digestive system thats like clockwork.
Best money you’ll ever spend, inflammation reduces to goes away in weeks even before weight loss. Also, to beat a dead horse, you’ll save money on food and make up the cost pretty easily. If you get it online, you’re talking $250/mo to start and maybe stay and a little more if you need to go up in strength. That’s cutting out a few coffees and you’ll do that naturally on this anyway. In your shoes I’d cut everything else out spend wise before I didn’t do this. You won’t regret it.
We don’t have a $250+/month coffee budget! It would be a significant expense for us and we’re already cutting back on a lot. My husband is already on Zepbound (direct pay) and his dose, which isn’t the highest, is somewhere in the 300-400s now. We certainly haven’t seen that high of savings on food, so that’s part of the reason I’m skeptical. But your point is taken nonetheless.
Starting to believe you’re an AI bot deployed by some drug manufacturer to promote GLP-1s here. In what universe is “cutting out a few coffees” going to save you $250/month.
Look friends, a Starbucks latte is close to $10 these days and it’s a figure of speech. I can easily find $250 to save in the drips of daily living over the course of a month. Coffee here, snack there, that thing you don’t really need at the grocery store or from Target, etc.
You’re… you’re buying $10 coffees almost daily?
my friend, you are the rich who need to be taxed more.
What part of figure of speech did you not get?
With groceries costing what they cost lately, I have wondered if GLP1s would pay for themselves if it meant I could eat any staple grain at all (vs. very low carb diet indefinitely; I’m getting so tired of tofu and sardines).
This idea that you’ll save money on food is bizarre to me. Maybe that would be true if you’re living alone, but if you’re living with other human beings who are on regular diets, I cannot see how that would result in much, if any, savings.
Anyone cutting back food is going to reduce the overall quantity you buy. This is not hard to understand.
If you think that your individual consumption makes little difference in your household’s food budget, you are underestimating how much you eat.
Well you do have to actually buy less and commit to eating less. It doesn’t take an excess of imagination to figure out how that works.
How high is your CRP? And what does the specialist who manages your autoimmune disorder think?
Not that high – between 5-6.5. That’s why I’m on the fence! I’m obese but not very, inflamed but not very, etc. If my insurance covered this I would do it without question because I do think inflammation (and the higher cancer risk that my disease carries) is worth tackling, but the money…
I just cannot imagine not spending money on something that is the most critical part of your health.
I’m curious about this too because my CRP and ESR are crazy high with no discernible cause (I’ve been through tons of testing).
I just ordered some new underwear. I did not detect from the pictures, on human models, that it would be (on me) a translucent women’s version tighty-whities. IMO, the side seams were moved more towards the side / femur area vs the true side? Anatomical references are failing me. But somehow I want to try again because the goal is always cuteness, even from something that just I see (plus anyone in the ladies’ room at the gym). I was looking forward to a refresh and now I’m hoping I can ruin it quickly and find a better no-VPL replacement.
What?
+1 I cannot follow this, what?
Boy briefs are a style. I don’t think there is any rule that pictures have to depict the same item sold (one of the hazards of shopping online). Head to the mall next time.
Of course pictures have to depict the actual item being sold. Otherwise it’s false advertising.
No, it just has to be “close enough,” unless it’s an individual item that is used. If you pay attention, you’ll see that the photographs of the items being sold are often altered at a minimum.
That might be helpful for avoiding VPL, since the seams are in an area where the fabric tends to be less stressed vs. the edge of the hip?
Seamless Airism from Uniqlo is your answer here.
I need to recarpet my finished basement, which is where we watch TV, and I am looking for any advice or tips. I am considering a beige or greige tone. Do I take a sample of the current one and head into a carpet store? Anything I should consider? The stairs are also carpeted but I’m not changing that carpet – will that look weird?
I would try to change the stairs if you can. I think it’ll look weird if you don’t. Bring home samples and see how they look in your lighting. Be very clear with yourself about what you’re looking for. Durability? Softness/plushness?
Take a sample of whatever finishes are staying so you can coordinate colors. Warmth matters more than actual colors. Like, if you have a cool gray on the stairs, a warm beige on the floor is going to look weird.
See Marcia Kallim’s site for info on undertones in beige colors.
How much the transition from the old carpet color on the stairs to the new carpet color matters is more of a “how much does it matter to you” question. Is this a high-end house where you need to get the finishes right, including the way to the carpet in the basement correlates with the carpet on the basement stairs? Or is this “just a basement,” and you’re a family that doesn’t need a carefully considered transition from stair carpet to basement floor carpet.
I’m a fan of light-ish low pile carpet in the basement. If there are bugs, droppings, or water stains you want to spot them ASAP. I agree with the the other commenter to focus on warm vs cool rather than color.
This. Also, no reason to be especially boring here – even if it’s just where you watch TV, there are plenty of carpets with low pile and interesting patterns. I’d do that before making a snoozy room, it doesn’t cost more to look better.
If durability is your primary concern and you’re not looking for anything particularly fancy or unusual, I would also look at hardware stores like Home Depot when you’re pricing options. We got our basement carpet there and it’s been going strong for over 10 years and was significantly cheaper than the carpet store options.
I just realized I should have been more specific. While they will have a whole section of carpet options like a carpet store, they will also have several big rolls of very reasonable carpet along one side. That’s what we went with.
IANAL. At the risk of enraging the Clancy silencing crowd here, I need to ask what was Kevin Reddington’s reputation before this trial?
Very good.
“Clancy silencing crowd”?
“Clancy silencing crowd” is one way to put it. “Gross, rubbernecking voyeurs” is another. If you “need” to ask this, Google is your friend.
Disagree. This trial has highlighted how very bad crisis and chronic mental healthcare is in this country. If a relatively well-off woman who says she is suicidal is turned away because she didn’t seem to list things out in the proper planning way, what hope is there for any of us?
I think that a lot of the doctors looked like idiots, which isn’t reassuring to those of us who think of them as top-level providers who know something. I get that they have a lot of schooling. But up against something where they have to use words to tease out what someone who may be an unreliable narrator is saying they feel (so: layers of subjectivity and questionable insights), IDK how any human can make sense of that. Mental status isn’t measurable as a fundamental matter beyond things of no help here (GCS, PERRL, BGL, etc.). When a person calls out for help, we say she’s not sick enough yet and send her along.
Your posts are mostly long, tangential rambles that are impossible to follow, so really not adding to the Clancy discussion anyway.
That’s what gets me about this case. She asked for help. Repeatedly. Even with the resources she had, she did not get the help she truly needed. And don’t even get me started on her POS husband.
This just tells you her lawyer is very good. I don’t believe her for one second.
The facts are so bad re medical care alone that I have no idea of her real role or agency. I would not be surprised if she were acquitted because her lawyer has really illustrated the clusterf*ck of her trying to get help before killing her children and leaving herself paralyzed in a failed suicide attempt (I still don’t know how her body temp was truly in the 80s; as a wilderness person who has done a lot of camping, that is really concerning that it happened in suburbia in the time it did). If I were a doctor or NP, I would never feel comfortable practicing in mental healthcare, especially maternal mental healthcare. It’s so severely under-resourced that it’s a liability waiting to happen.
Her lawyer didn’t make up the facts. I feel like it would all be there in MyChart as a total cluster of things going sideways.
It’s also made me think about my own PPD screenings. Sure, at every pedi apt with my infant I had to fill out a questionnaire, but they were 1 page, at most a dozen questions and the sheet had been photocopied a million times over that it was faded, crooked and just looked…. unserious? That is the only PPD “screening” I got after my last OB follow up at 6 weeks.
The system failed her in so many ways, but it’s made me think about how many other women are failed because the extent of their screenings looked like mine. I definitely had undiagnosed PPD and anxiety with my first (which I can see now after having two), and I didn’t know how to ask for help. I just wanted to circle “no” for all of those questions b/c the apt was for my infant, not me (was my mindset..) and I wanted to get home and get the baby back to her nap schedule.
Same re the mimeographed screening questionaire sheet. Handed to you on a clipboard with a dozen other forms (AND after you checked in on the app in advanced and were asked dozens of other items that you’re pretty sure no one looked at, like if you have food insecurity or are facing partner violence). You often are juggling the newborn with you. And you may have 15 minutes with the doctor if you are lucky, where you will have to discuss any postpartum care (like how any incisions are healing, birth control, nursing, etc., etc., all while you are sleep deprived and maybe still leaking all over). I don’t think we are approaching a serious thing in a way that is anything but reckless and giving it poor lip service. Can we not do better?
I think it’s telling that her support really only comes from only one demographic and it doesn’t include many POC women.
Here in USA, we could do better! There are many examples to follow from all over the world where new parents and infants are better supported.
Re POC support, isn’t MA and New England pretty white?
Honestly you still sound kind of naive to me. As grateful as we may be for interventions that exist, psychology and psychiatry are kind of sketchy at best (you can read about inter rater reliability, the reproducibility “crisis,” or the implications of SSRI discontinuation syndrome for decades of RCTs just to begin with).
Read “Doing Harm” for the obstacles to getting any kind of healthcare for women (or even just “How to Talk So Doctors Will Listen”). And start anywhere for what’s been happening in healthcare since the pandemic (issues with capacity, with midlevel scope creep) or since the ACA (consolidation, time spent charting, errors in electronic medical records). I haven’t even mentioned private insurance yet.
IDK why anyone outside of healthcare would know or follow any of this (I guess, until a family crisis makes us pay attention to what seems like a dumpster fire). I feel like a lot of us put a lot of trust in medicine, especially with doctors. Maybe we shouldn’t.
Many of us here have had babies and feeling like you have no help even in a more benign and vanilla situation is a very real feeling.
Think of the black maternal death and complication rate. That’s not made up. It’s a huge gap in care. This is another gap in care.
I also will admit now that I was very afraid to be honest about how I was feeling because what I considered to be possible consequences.
Were they going to take my baby (legit thought I had) if I said I was really struggling? Would they medicate me and make me not b-feed? Were they going to MAKE me go to therapy, and if so, there was no way I could fit that in to my schedule as it is because I’m already barely sleeping or showering… and several others in between. I decided it was better to just “suck it up.” The fear of the unknown caused me to keep it to myself. Clearly there is a VAST in between of admitting you’re struggling to taking your children from you!! But, I had no idea.
I’d strongly like to see some sort of education before giving birth about potential ways to receive help so that when you’re in that moment, you’re not spiraling down a dark hole about seeking help because you’re already spiraling down a massive black hole on your own.
Hush. Let people have their topics.
As a teenager I internalized the “wearing stripes makes you look wider” messaging and now as I online shop during the work day I’m wondering . . . is that even true? Is that something people think about? Does it depend on the stripe?
Like a breton stripe? I don’t think that’s true and frankly it isn’t something I particularly care about.
Fit is the more important factor imho. In my 40’s getting a proper fit involves making sure my clothes fit my current body, that volume is intentional vs. swimming in things, my clothes aren’t uncomfortable (I’d rather size up than squeeze into a specific size), waist bands/seats are not pulling, pants and arm lengths aren’t too long/short and items hit at the proper places on my shoulder/waist/leg.
I like strips above the waist (Breton tees, etc.) and vertical stripes in dresses. I don’t like stripes in pants because they look costumey or like track pants (Royal Tenenbaums).
As a lover of all things striped, I will say it really depends on the stripe and the cut of the garment. I don’t find that my striped Mariner Ts make me look wider but a wide striped oversized sweater might. I find my pinstripe trouser style pants actually slimming but I bought a vertically striped skirt one time that makes me look like an out of work clown.
I don’t even think it’s true? I am not slender anymore, but I love a striped top and own many. I think whether it’s flattering has more to do with the cut of the shirt than whether or not it has stripes.
My hot take is that horizontal stripes are slimming and vertical stripes make you look wider. I say that because I think the eye is drawn up and down horizontal stripes, and across vertical ones, almost subconsciously counting them.
I can definitely confirm that they make large chests look larger. I don’t think they have that effect on waists, though.
It’s funny you say that. As a pudgy kid in the 90s (and for most of life, heyyy PCOS..), I remember reading that in the dialogue of a school-mandated chapter book. I cannot for the life of me remember the book, but maybe 5th or 6th grade, it was two sisters fighting and the older sister’s friend said you can’t wear stripes if you’re chubby, and the little sister had already either self-identified or was called chubby earlier in the book.
I’m 41. I didn’t buy anything with horizontal stripes until I was, ohhhhh, 30? 35? The things that stick with you….
Yeah it’s 100% from something like that. Maybe it’s at least time to experiment. I actually love pinstripes and the Breton tees etc mentioned above look like they would look good.
I don’t even care, I love stripes.
Trying again in the AM thread in case there are more responses: please hit me with all your Seoul recommendations: must eats/ must-sees/must-do’s… and the opposite also is very welcome: anything that was overhyped/you didn’t love as I will only have 3-4 days there. Thanks in advance!
the only really “not worth it” thing we did was the Rainbow Bridge—apparently part of it was broken while we were there but we also weren’t that impressed? But enjoyed everything else we did, including a food tour (some of which we definitely could’ve done on our own but there were a few things we wouldn’t have otherwise tried that we enjoyed)
We recently moved to an area that is a few blocks away from a nature preserve/open space. We’ve been getting a lot of spiders, mostly in one room, and we’re struggling to find their entry point. I understand that spiders offer ecosystem benefits but we do NOT want them in our bedroom (two arachnophobes here). Any advice for how to tackle this problem? We already had a pest company out for ants and weren’t too impressed so far – they clearly just spray and pray and don’t actually investigate the specific property. Should we be trying another pest company? OTC products?
It’s hard to get at spiders with stuff you spray on when they aren’t there because they have little lets that hold their bodies out of the toxins. Caulk. Look for gaps. Keep the windows open. Sweep corners for webs. Look outside for gaps.
Spiders are hard, we use a pest company and they do have some different moves, also it’s a lot of looking for where they hide and getting rid of them. They’re sneaky.
Welcome to living in the country. Get a Western annual contract and call them when you see too many. (Or when the mice get in your garage, or when the bees make a nest on your drainpipe, etc.) If you’re in the northeast, this is the time of year we get the most coming into the house. It’ll back off in the cooler months.
+1. This is spider season in the Midwest, too. We have the perimeter of our house sprayed 1-2 times a year. It helps quite a bit but doesn’t get rid of them 100 percent.
We’re in CA, if that makes any difference for people’s recommendations…
Right. Also in the country. We accept that we live with house spiders and the occasional wolf spider (and all the pedes!) each summer and they die when cold weather hits.
Spider repellant plants?
Spiders dislike peppermint – make a spray with peppermint essential oil + water + a tiny bit of dish soap and spray down window tracks, door frames, etc. You can also put peppermint oil on cotton balls and stick them in spider hidey holes (this was especially successful in our old garage).
Additionally, make sure any leaf litter or debris are swept away from windows/external doors. Try one of those plug-in ultrasonic pest deterrents (we’ve had mixed results, but doesn’t hurt to try).
You just have to find the entry point and seal it. Spraying doesn’t do anything; there are always more that could find their way in as long as there’s a way. Make sure there’s absolutely nothing attracting them (i.e. other bugs that they eat), though eventually they’re just coming in for warmth.
We’ve been trying and so far no luck – we temporarily taped up the sliding glass doorjamb and that did seem to reduce but not fully stem the tide.
Ants and spiders really seem to hate the scent of Mrs. Meyers Lavender all purpose cleaning spray. They’re not wrong, so it’s not my favorite solution in bedrooms, but I have sprayed it around windows and doors before to discourage them!
does cuticle oil or cream help smooth nail ridges? my cuticles are fine but I don’t like the ridges, which appeared a couple years ago. I assume the ridges are age related.
No. It’s good for nail health in general, but it has done zero for my ridges.
+1 – you can buy a ridge filler prep coat product if they really bother you.
Cuticle oil won’t fix the ridges but it can make them less obvious.
Ridges can sometimes be caused by a nutritional issue, esp iron deficiency.
I’ve always had ridged nails, there’s a genetic component.
I don’t think there is any way to turn naturally ridged nails into naturally unridged nails. However, my ridges are far less noticeable when the nails are properly moisturized. And if your nail thickness allows it, the use of a product like a 7 way nail buffer to physically remove the ridges and smooth the surface will help.
I wouldn’t assume it’s age without any work up at all. So far it’s always been the first sign of a deficiency for me.
Fascinating. I have ridges and it never occurred to me to do anything about it.
How do you deal with requests from colleagues that run against a company policy that you disagree with but are nevertheless bound by? I’m in a law firm and this comes up for me with origination sharing and conflicts. I’ll abide by a policy I think is stupid, to my detriment. Then someone will ask me to make an exception for them, also to my detriment. I’d be happy to grant the exception if I were also getting the benefit of the exception. But I feel like I’m just always getting the short end of the stick. Should I conduct myself according to the practices I think are best, even when they hurt me?
Example: the firm likes us to write client updates about significant cases. But the firm prohibits writing about cases where a firm client is a party. I thought that was a blanket prohibition, but apparently you can ask the originating attorney for permission — which I know only because someone asked me. It feels like there’s different rules for different people. If we don’t write about clients because we think it creates a potential ethical/business conflict then why would it be ok to write about some clients but not others? Particularly when the client was on the losing side of the argument?
My best friend’s spouse just took a job that I find repellent. Like, fundamentally opposed to my moral and ethical self. Imagine a thing you care deeply about (both personally and professionally) and they are on the professional team that does the opposite. I’ve never particularly cared for this person, but they are a package deal so it’s fine. Nothing offensive, just kind of a boring, not-good-enough-for-my-friend, lame partner. My friend (who knows I feel strongly about this) told me this info and said she was opposed to it but spouse made their own decision, and I just kind of said “oh” then left her on read for a time, then didnt address it again. I am not interested in icing them out, but I do feel so repulsed by this choice (and it was a choice, believe me) that I feel like I can’t possibly continue on as if nothing has changed. WWYD
IDK but I try to remember that people are really all trying to figure out their way in the world and we do humanity’s growth no favors by shutting out people. If our assessment is right, they need to see others who may have different beliefs. Most things aren’t even rising to that level of Big Things. I am married to someone who would have been anathema to prior generations (mutually, on both sides, and up to a prior generation). Life is weird. Proximity helps us grow towards a mean of co-existence. Isolation magnifies what I think is bad (I do strongly believe this) and what seeds plant because of limited world view and limited lived experience.
Did we talk about that stupid Callaway Good Good video yet? Without getting into how bad that was, I have worked in corporate America my entire 30+ career and I know the channels that something has to go through to get something approved, so I can not believe that this even made it to the posting stage! Could this have possibly not had any women give input on this?