Kat’s Favorite TPS Reports of 2013
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2016 Update: These pieces are still some of our favorite workwear from 2013, but you may also want to check out our 2016 roundup of favorite workwear suggestions.
Every weekday here at Corporette, I offer one suggestion for an item that I would wear to work. Sometimes readers love the item, and wow do you guys hate it sometimes. Sometimes *I* love it, sometimes it was just the best I could find given the restraints (for those who haven’t noticed, Monday and Tuesday tend to be pricier items, Wednesday is in the $100-$150 price range, Thursday is in the $50-$100 price range, and Friday is in the “under $50″ range.) Still, as the end of the year approaches I thought I’d look back over the past year and choose my personal favorites from the things I recommended… each picture is from one month, and the picture links back to the original post. (Most are sold out, but some of the later months (like the blue pants) are still available.)
(Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to do this in 2011 due to some tech difficulties, but here is the roundup from 2010 and 2012 if you’re curious.)
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Sales of note for 4/10:
- Nordstrom – End of Season Sale – Spring styles up to 50% off – lots of great deals from Natori, Boss, Vince, Veronica Beard, Reiss, Spanx, True & Co., Hanky Panky, Commando, Tory Burch, Theory, Zella, CeCe, Eliza J, Halogen, Vince Camuto, and more.
- Ann Taylor – 30% off tops and sweaters, and (4/10 only) 25% off dresses, skirts and shoes
- Boden – 15% off new styles with code
- Brooklinen – 15% off sitewide, plus up to 50% off bundles
- Brooks Brothers – Friends & Family Event, 25% off sitewide. Lots of cute florals and stripes in the sale.
- Evereve – 1000+ items on sale, including lots from Alex Mill, Michael Stars, Sanctuary, Rails, Xirena, and Z-Supply
- Express – $40 off $120, $100 off $250
- J.Crew – Midseason sale: Extra 40% off sale styles, 200+ new styles just added!
- J.Crew Factory – Up to 60% off everything
- Lands' End – 50% off full price styles and 60% off all clearance and sale – lots of ponte dresses come down under $25, and this packable raincoat in gingham is too cute
- Loft – All jeans $41, 40% off entire purchase
- Macy's – 25% off already reduced prices + 15% off beauty & fragrance
- M.M.LaFleur – Spring Sale Event – Buy More, save more! 10% off $250+, 15% off $500+, 20% off $750+, 25% off $1000+ (Try code CORPORETTE15 for 15% off if you find any exclusions.)
- Sephora – Spring sale! 20% off for Rouge members starting today, and 30% off the Sephora Collection for everyone — if you're looking for a really muted everyday eyeshadow, I like both 106 and 301 here!
- Talbots – 40% off regular price tops + 30% off everything else
- Vivrelle – Looking to own less stuff but still try trends? Use code CORPORETTE for a free month, and borrow high-end designer clothes and bags!
And some of our latest threadjacks here at Corporette (reader questions and commentary) — see more here!
Some of our latest threadjacks include:
- becoming more connected with people
- what doing your best really means
- feeling like your job is in danger
- brunch food for a large group
- changing your name at marriage — or not
- estate planning and leaving money to charity
- seeing your PCP for gynecological / well-woman care
- New Year's resolutions
- inheriting six figures
- what socks to wear with loafers
- how to prevent another panic attack
- what to do about a parent who drinks too much
- how to buy a house in a VHCOL area













I am SO BORED at work. So I’m just working my way through the Hax archives.
I remember killing many an hour with those. Back in…2004. Has it really been that long already?
Can we start our own holiday hootenanny here? I’m off work but compiling too many horrendous comments from family and need to know I’m not the only one!
My mom’s suggestion that I should hire a matchmaker. Let’s start with that.
Thanks. My father in law said my pants fit like shrink-wrap, just to kick things off…
I hear you.
I am an MD PhD with advanced degrees and scholarships from the best universities in the world with job offers wherever I want, but my father tells me I am a disappointment, how-can-I-be-his-daughter, a f–k up, weird, abnormal and need to have s-x more often because I am single and have no children.
Yes, my father has some poorly managed mental illness. But as we all know with family, there is truth at the bottom of everything they say, and it hurts no matter how we try to compartmentalize it.
This is slightly different than hootenanny, but still… My 13 year old stepdaughter announced out of the blue that abortion is murder. Because I wanted to spend any part of Christmas Eve talking about abortion?
Mine was a full day guilt trip about sending my son to daycare. Apparently DH needs to be making more so I can stay home. I love the assumption that it’s a money issue ( which it is not).
My inlaws becoming visibly unnerved when I mentioned that the Air Force General in charge of the AF base my company does business with is female (actually I just said her name, which was enough to set them off). They then asked if (a) she’s qualified, and (b) if she’s been in combat. Same question about qualifications in the past regarding the Black female CEO of my company. Actually many times– they like to revisit that one.
Let’s see… I had to listen to my SIL say over and over that homosexuality is a sin (like adultery, etc.) and how God destroyed the city of Sodom and that should be proof enough.
I spent part of my family’s holiday vacation listening to my grandfather talk about the split within his church about whether homosexuality is ok or not and how he hasn’t been able to come to terms with it being ok yet. We pretty much talk about everything in my family so I kept challenging him on it (so did my dad a couple of times). It was luckily still a respectful conversation, as it luckily normally is in my family, and he kept saying he was too old to change his views and point out how far he had come from his own father’s views. I pointed out how silly his dad’s views looked to him now and that I was thinking the same about his views on the subject. I know I can’t change anyone’s mind, but I do think he at least understood what I was saying.
Well at least they were open to discussing it rationally. That would be a nice change.
I bet! If it wasn’t I’m not sure I could contain my frustration!
Haha, I did that once (back in law school, I think). Hope you find the answers to life’s big questions!
Okay so Starbucks is scarily empty today, a sip of my latte gave me the hiccups, my boss caught me scrolling (shrug), and this one brought tears to my eyes http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/carolyn-hax-reader-advice-on-illness-manners-weddings/2013/12/24/048fcc88-627f-11e3-a373-0f9f2d1c2b61_story.html.
Those first two letters were lovely.
Bad Manners Night sounds hilarious, though I don’t think I would be able to pull it off.
So bored here that I fell asleep.
Not sure how many people are on today, but need some gift recommendations. My aunt and uncle are just about to finalize the adoption of my new cousin (they got her Christmas night two years ago, when she was just about 10 days old – it’s a been a long two year process for them, so getting this finalized is a huge relief). I’d like to give her a keepsake “welcome to the family” gift. She’s two now, but I don’t mind if it’s something her parents will have to put away for her to have when she’s older. I’d like to spend just about $50 or so. Any suggestions?
Etsy has lots of cute things–necklaces, prints, ornaments.
How about Congratulations balloons for the day and a picture frame with the child’s new name engraved, into which they can put a picture from the day (perhaps with the balloons to make the occasion obvious). Or a simple necklace with her new last initial (or all three).
What about a charm bracelet? You could get her a charm each year for her birthday, etc.
My brother gave my sister in law a bracelet for Christmas that is engraved with the coordinates of where they met, where they got married, and where their son was born. I thought it was a sweet idea. Maybe something similar (I like the picture frame suggestion above) with the coordinates of where she was born and the coordinates of her official new home?
TBK – I hope things are boring and calm in your life (in a good way) and that the babies are behaving themselves.
Thanks! Things are very dull. My doctors are always happily bored by my answers every morning to their questions about any changes, contractions, etc. Nope! I’m luckily the dullest patient on the ward.
Good to hear it.
That’s fantastic!
Yay for boring!! ;o) Keep growing, boys!
can anyone recommend a pregnancy test brand? the amazon reviews are so overwhelming.
If you’ve already missed your period, any pregnancy test will work. You can hit up the dollar store or buy the CVS/Walgreens/etc. brand. But if you want a super clear, idiot proof, no messing around with lines/plus signs/etc., I recommend the clearblue easy digital which will read “pregnant” or “not pregnant.” (I used the cheap ones to get what I was pretty sure was a positive and then used the clearblue easy digital for confirmation, because those suckers are EXPENSIVE and I didn’t want to waste them).
What are you looking for in a brand? If you’re TTC (and it sounds like it if you’re planning ahead to buy on Amazon), you probably don’t want to spend too much since you’ll likely be going through a lot of them (even if it takes you only one month, you might be tempted to test as early as possible then keep testing every day — which may be 6 days or so — until you get a final answer, and then if you’re like me, you might test for several days after to make sure the line is getting darker and not lighter). Most are pretty accurate. But some say they can test as early as 6 days before your period is due and some are more like 3 or 4 days before. Honestly, a negative 6 days before isn’t a true negative since they’re only like 60% accurate that early anyway. I’d just go for whatever wasn’t likely to be too expensive.
I used the wondfo cheapies from amazon. I think like $10 for 25 or something. They are not POAS, you have to dip into a cup. I bought a box of dixie cups for my too long TTC journey. Wondfos are pretty sensitive (rated at 25 miu compared to 50 miu for most POAS drugstore brands, though in practice I think they are even ore sensitive than that). I’ve gotten positives the equivalent of 11 days past ovulation, including for a chemical pregnancy for which my blood test was only a smidge positive (like 5.1 or something).
Second the cheapies. Also useful for after having a baby when you can go a year without a period or you don’t yet have a regular cycle again just to make sure that you’re not pregnant again.
If you need a bunch and don’t want to spend a lot, I seriously recommend Dollar Store (or Tree) ones. They are p-on-a-stick kind and worked just as well as any brand-name ones for me. Good luck!
Yay! An INTERNET connection! Yay for wifi!!!! It’s like Duck Dynasty here! FOOEY! No man want’s to get to know me. They JUST want sex! FOOEY on that! At least men in NYC want to talk. Not here. It’s lets go back to my place for rib’s. (mine). They don’t even think I have a tuchus–they call it a SHELF! Yay! But no sex!!!