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Updated: Nov 1, 2018 87 Comments · by

Bargain Friday’s TPS Report: Myra Skirt – Black Polka Dot

Fashion· The Personal Shopper (TPS)· Wear to Work | · · ·

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Our daily TPS reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices. merona myra polka dot skirtMerona has a new collection available (the “Retro Resort” collection), but the clothes don't look resort-like — instead, they look like simple classics, perhaps with a preppy edge. I love this black and white polka dot skirt, but there are a ton of really cute dresses and tops as well, most for under $40. This cotton/polyester skirt is fully lined and machine washable — and costs all of $24.99. Nice. Merona® Collection Women's Myra Skirt – Black Polka Dot Seen a great piece you'd like to recommend? Please e-mail editor@corporette.com with “TPS” in the subject line. (L-2)

Sales of note for 9.30.24

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Comments

  1. Mella

    Looks great in the picture. I’d have to try it on to see if it’s too youthful for me personally (which is how I feel about most polka dots.) But I probably won’t because every time I go to Target I’m so busy throwing toilet paper, OTCs and other non-clothing stuff into my cart that I either forget completely about trying on clothes, or I don’t want to deal with pushing the cart through the clothing section.

    • Ballerina girl

      Ha, me too! So many exciting household things to buy instead (I live in Brooklyn so despite having a Target here [it’s crappy] I’m a bit starved).

      • kz

        the Target in Queens is way better than the one in Brooklyn if you don’t mind the trek. But yea, the one in Brooklyn is pretty atrocious.

        • Ballerina girl

          I’ve never been to the one in Queens, I should check it out. The one in Brooklyn is always just a madhouse and everything is out of stock. I once went there and the shampoo aisle was nearly cleaned out. Not like I needed shampoo, but it was weird. If I’m going to make the trek, I’d like them to be decently stocked up.

          • AJ

            The one in Flushing is way better than the one in Rego Park, and brand new, but the trek from Brooklyn might be insane.

          • kz

            It’s about an hour from the brooklyn one on subway (I did once go to both in the same day…). It’s a good thing for a zipcar day, but I’m not sure about the parking situation.

          • Kady

            It was last year, but I think that might have been a limited time thing (the mall was just opening).

      • S

        I’ve discovered that if you go fairly early on a Sunday morning the Brooklyn target is totally fine – shelves are stocked and the madhouse hasn’t begun yet. It is the only time I’ll go.

  3. Anonymous

    I agree, but I do not have the legs to pull this off well. I think unless I was over 5’6″, I would not even try this on. I can always dream of looking like the picture. Oh, well! :-(

    • Law-Less

      I was thinking the same thing. I really like it, but would be unsure how to style it so that it looks fashionable and not frumpy.

    • surrounded by lawyers

      I think heather oatmeal or heather gray on top, to avoid looking cartoonish. And I do like the skirt–that was not a dis on it.

    • Mella

      For those with waists and proportionally long bodies, black turtleneck or black jewelneck long sleeve top, black tights and heels.

      For me personally, with my big gut but proportionally long limbs, black sleeveless tunic-length shell, plain black jacket, black hose and heels. I have a chocolate/brown/tan/ivory torsade necklace I’d also wear to brighten things up near my face.

    • 7

      I’d wear it with a bright jackie o style crew neck cardigan (think turquis or blue) and black heels.

  5. Ballerina girl

    I think this is adorable. I’d probably save it for the weekends (and spring) but it’s so cute.

  6. AnonAnonAnon

    I wore this skirt on Monday. It’s a nice skirt in person; the material is ssubstantial and the lining is nice. FWIW, I am hourglass shaped and I did have to size up one size to accommodate my hips. I wore it with a yellow shirt from Target, actually. (http://bit.ly/fA6HqY) I took off the belt and tucked in the shirt and wore black tights and black shoes. I don’t think it looked cartoonish and I actually got a few compliments on the color combination. To each her own, I guess!

    • coco

      I like that top – I saw it in a few colors on Target’s website. Can you comment on the material, fit, or anything?

      • AnonAnonAnon

        The material is a bit thinner than I would like. It’s not overly thin and you couldn’t see my nude bra through the yellow, but I still felt more comfortable wearing a cami underneath the shirt rather than wearing it plain. I didn’t feel the need for shapewear or anything like that, but it was just one of those materials that wasn’t thick enough to give me a really smooth look without a base layer underneath.

        I’m fairly chesty and I liked the fit. The cowl-type neck lays nicely and creates a little bit of extra room in the chest area. If you have larger arms, you might want to size up. My sister, whose arms don’t look large at all, but who often finds that shirts are tight in the arms, wound up sizing up. My only real complaint is that it’s an odd length on me, so I’ll most likely be wearing it tucked in, without the belt. I’m pretty short, though (about 5’3″), so YMMV on the length.

      • LawyrChk

        Always makes me feel like a bumble bee. Although I’ve got a couple of bright yellow tops and jackets and I’m not sure how else to style them without wearing black.

  7. j

    THREADJACK – I need some wardrobe advice.

    I’m a 3L looking for jobs, networking furiously. A friend who’s a 3rd year associate at the biggest firm in my small city invited me to her weekly poker game with her, a couple of associates in her practice group, the hiring partner, and managing partner. Wearing a suit seems ridiculous to these kind of things. My instinct is to wear whatever I want, so long as I’m put together and not putting it all out there. However, my lizard brain is going crazy and making me distrust my (usually very accurate) wardrobe barometer. Advice? I’m in a very casual part of the country, if that helps.

    • anon

      Definitely DO NOT wear a suit. I would just dress casually but make sure you look put together, and don’t wear anything too revealing.

      • AnonAnonAnon

        Agreed. I would maybe kick it up a slight notch from what you would wear to a poker night with close friends. Maybe do nice jeans, a cute top, heels, and a cardigan.

    • AtlantaAttorney

      I assume in the evening? Wear something casual but fabulously put together. Dark wash skinny jeans or bootcut jeans (depending on which you can pull off better, there are some people for whom skinny jeans look fashion forward and some for whom they just look like their jeans are too tight, be honest with yourself about which category you fall in), great boots that aren’t scuffed, a simple, layering shell or t-shirt, a great jacket (like the deep purple velvet jacket posted here the other day, awesome for evening, I think that was from VS but Talbots also had some), and a really great statement necklace underneath. NO SUIT.

        • C

          Check with your friend on what everyone normally wears – if they are all coming from work, you might want to wear something more business too. Not a suit, but wool slacks, heeled boots, sweater or something a little more dressed up than jeans.

      • cbackson

        …I kind of wish I had this outfit on now (it’s jeans day at my office).

    • OP J

      Thanks, everyone, for your help. I usually dress a bit more nicely than what is acceptable for my region (where people wear jeans to the opera), and my friend said that everyone would be wearing jeans unless they’d been in court all day. I’m planning on wearing a skirt (just above the knee), tights, leather boots, a cardigan, cute top, and silk scarf.

      • Arachna

        The outfit sounds lovely. But (coming from a stranger on the internet with no expertise) I’d advise jeans instead of the skirt. With absolutely everyone except you wearing jeans wearing the skirt risks coming off as “frilly” “girly-girl”. In an ideal world there isn’t a thing wrong with that and I know women with a frilly aesthetic who are fantastic professionals – but I don’t think it’s a useful impression to make while job searching. I’d advise dark jeans.

        • OP J

          I do not own jeans that would be appropriate to wear to this kind of event. My one pair of jeans are ripped and covered in paint stains. I feel much more confident and comfortable in skirts and dresses, and it shows. My strong personality usually overrides the fact that my bottoms don’t have separate legs :).

          • Lola

            Then I’d opt for a more casual skirt, like with leggings or something.

            But a good pair of flattering, dark-wash jeans is kind of an essential.

  9. chix pix

    This skirt is neither “young” nor “old”, but rather is too optical or flashy looking. Certain patterns just play tricks on the retina, and polka dots cn be one of those. That’s why polka dots work better in colors other than black-and white. It’s nice to have a polka dot scarf. Or bikini. A little goes a long way.

    • Ru

      “She wore an itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny, yellow polka dot bikini…..”

      Happy Friday everyone, lol.

    • govvie girl

      I’m with you. While a little less wild than animal prints, polka dots are best in small doses.

  10. Lynnet

    Threadjack: I found out last night that my parents are separating. I don’t necessarily think this is a bad idea, but both of them are very upset. We live in the same city, and I’m basically the whole of their support systems. Does anyone have any advice for how to deal with your parents separating as an adult?

    • Mella

      I really don’t have advice, but I’ve been there, and I’m sorry to hear. My husband is a wonderful person and tries to be emotionally supportive, but… basically I did a lot of random crying.

      This being a fashion board, I’ve mentioned that I have a big gut – well, that’s how I started gaining weight: by stuffing myself while trying to deal with my parents.

      Again, I’m sorry and and hope you can get plenty of rest, and are able to de-stress with things that bring you joy.

      • MsZ

        I’m so sorry. I’ve been there – my parents separated when I was in my early 20s and they had very little other support. I started out with the same attitude you seem to have – that you need to support them through this. However, as the divorce became nastier and it became clear that my support was being used as a pawn, I switched to the “put on your own air mask first” theory. After lots of therapy (start going now, you’re going to need an objective sounding board – best money I ever spent) I stand by that decision. This will be a very formative time for you and you need to be able to see the facts/story objectively for your own peace of mind going forward. I’m not saying don’t love your parents . . . but keep their conflict at arms’ length. Feel free to flame me, but this is just based on my own experience.

        • M

          My parents divorced when I was 20. It was my dad’s idea, but it was plain to me that they were unhappy together for a long time. A decade later, my mom is still mad about it.

          What worked for me was something I belatedly learned in therapy setting VERY CLEAR boundaries. If either of them started talking s— about the other, I told them that their comment was inappropriate, I was leaving/hanging up. And then if they did it again, I stated clearly that I warned them I wouldn’t tolerate it, and now I was going to do what I said I would do: leave/hang up. Same thing for inappropriate topics, anything that was close to TMI: set up the boundaries again, and follow through.

          I was willing to listen to a point, but any time I felt uncomfortable at all, I locked it down and reminded them that I was the child of BOTH of them, and if they had grievances to air, they needed to talk to their own friends or their own therapist or their own whomever, but NOT me.

          Also, in a few months, give some thought to how you want to divide holidays. To avoid fights, I eventually learned to just be consistent so no one is surprised. For me, my dad gets Christmas, my mom gets Easter, and Thanksgiving is mine. My parents know now they can complain and whine all they want about not getting me for ___ holiday, but where I am on the holidays is my decision, and my decision has already been made, so it does them no good.

          +1 on suggesting therapy, if only to learn how to manage the situation in a way that is healthiest for you. They are not your responsibility.

          • M

            *I told them that their comment was inappropriate, *and if they did it again,* I was leaving/hanging up.

    • Anon for this

      I’m going through the same situation right now, so would love to hear other people’s advice!

      As for my experience, there’s some bad blood between my parents as a result of certain events, and early on in the process my mother was extremely upset and confided in me a little too much. And of course I wanted to be supportive of her, but it was too much information that I did not (and still do not) need to know. My father and I do not talk about it for a variety of reasons.

      I had to tell my mother that I could not be there for her in a way it seemed she wanted/needed, and that we could not speak about the substantive issues in the divorce. Process/timing, yes. Her feelings of betrayal, no.

      It was hard (and I felt really mean), and I know my mom wishes she could talk to me about it because it’s something huge that’s happening in her life. But, in an effort to preserve my relationship with both my mother and my father, I had to say no. Now my mother talks to her sister and a therapist, and I feel a huge weight off my shoulders.

      Since your parents have you (and possibly your siblings) in common, there are going to be situations where they will have to spend time together – some holidays, weddings, etc. Those are always tricky to navigate, and sometimes the end result is that one parent feels like they didn’t get enough time with you. But, in some respects, those are the breaks.

      As I’m still navigating through the process I don’t have much else to add, but I will say that it is NOT your responsibility to fill the void in each of your parent’s lives. Take a step back and breathe every one in a while. You have to live your life in a way that makes *yourself* happy.

      Hope that helps. Good luck through this situation!

    • K

      I don’t mean to scare you, but I went through this two years ago, and it was pretty awful (hands down, the hardest thing I’ve ever gone through). I lost about 15 pounds from the stress of the situation (and I didn’t have 15 pounds to lose).

      When you go through something like this as an adult, your parents tend to look at you as a friend and often tell you more than you feel comfortable with. What worked best for me was being able to say to them, “I know you’re struggling right now, but as your child, it’s hard to hear this. I think it’s something you should discuss with a friend.” It was awful to have to stop them from sharing when they were hurting, but I know it did me a lot of good in the long run.

      Also, recommend they both go into counseling (separately). My dad didn’t love it, but I know it’s really helped my mom. I also started going to counseling (about a year into it) and it really helped to have someone to vent to and someone whose sole job was to care about my feelings.

      No matter what, it’s a rough thing to go through, and I definitely grieved the loss of my family. Just know that eventually, this too will pass.

      • MsZ

        I just want to thank you all for your open and thoughtful comments on this issue. It makes me feel better to read people’s comments who have been through the same thing and felt the same need for self-preservation that I did. My sympathies to you all.

    • anon

      I’m sorry you’re going through this. I’m also going through this, and even though I think it’s the right decision for them, that hasn’t stoppped the situation from rocking my world. I’ve known for about 6 months. The first 3 I pretty much had different emotions every 10 minutes ranging from pure anger to overwhelming sadness. At one point, I decided that I was going to fully support 1 parent and punish the other. Then I decided that I was furious at both of them. Then I decided I wasn’t going to talk about it at all. Now I realize I need to take up someone’s suggestion on therapy.

      The best advice I got was to respect the serverity of the situation and the impact it will have on you. I’m obviously still trying to figure this whole thing out, but I’m trying to focus on myself. It’s hard b/c one parent doesn’t have much of a support network at all, and I feel compelled to fill in that role. I also second the suggestion to set clear boundaries.

      • K

        I remember how hard the first six months were. I, too, experienced a range of emotions and struggled to figure out how to relate to my ‘new’ family. Please, please, please hang in there! The feelings of grief after a divorce can be just as intense as the feelings of grief after losing a loved one, and it’s perfectly normal. It’s common to want to be there for your parents, but it’s just as important to remember that you are experiencing a loss as well, and to be a little selfish during this time.

        Finding a good therapist I could trust really helped me work through those feelings. Also, I started working out a lot more (love the endorphins) and practicing yoga. Having someone force to me to be still for an hour and just breathe and focus on myself was fantastic, and I still continue to practice today (2 years after the fact).

    • NYC

      Wow, I’m really sorry. My parents went through a rough patch last year and for a few weeks were both talking to me about it. My brain started to implode and we decided that my dad should no longer talk to me about it. He was the one being a jerk and my mom needed me more. This was a pretty family specific solution that worked for us (neither of them talked to my brother, lucky duck!). I second the recommendation for counseling. That is ultimately how my folks got through it. Good luck to you, and to them.

    • Jenn

      My parents separated as soon as I left for college. Because I am an only child, and my dad didn’t see it coming, he tried to confide a lot in me. I finally had to set very clear boundaries with both my mom and my dad, as well as their parents. I had to remind several people, on several occasions, “My mom is still my mom,” or “My dad is still my dad.” 6 years later, I STILL have to sometimes remind my dad or one of my grandmothers of that. But you need to take care of yourself. This will be difficult for you – *you* need a support system. You do not need to be the support system for either of your parents.

      I think the older you are when your parents get divorced, the harder it is. You’ve already established patterns, and habits, and traditions, and now that’s not the way things are anymore. But, things WILL get better. You will make new traditions, and everyone involved will come out on the other side of this.

      Also, and this probably won’t come into play for awhile, but the best advice I got from a therapist when my parents started dating again was to think about whether or not I wanted to be responsible for their happiness. If I didn’t, I couldn’t make all of their decisions for them. This helped immensely when I didn’t like any of my dad’s girlfriends, and would have liked to have told him that. It’s not because they weren’t perfectly nice people, I just didn’t think they were right for him. (And I was right, but who can tell a man anything? :-))

      And finally, sending you hugs, because this is going to be tough. And it really stinks for anyone to have to go through this, but especially an adult.

    • govvie girl

      Two words: support group. Hopefully there are some available where you live… and there should be some emotionally healthy people there who’ve walked through it and who can provide some good perspectives and sounding boards. You may need some professional help but I think the peer group helps- and costs much less!

    • Lynnet

      Thank you everyone for your advice. At the moment, complete numbness is alternating with the desire to knock their heads against each other. I really appreciate hearing everyone’s experiences and knowing that I’m not going through this alone.

      • Laura

        I know I’m a little late to the game, but I saw this and felt compelled to respond. First of all, I am so sorry. My parents divorced when I was 20 as well, and as other posters said, it was one of the hardest things I have ever experienced.

        Do yourself a favor and start seeing a therapist now. Divorce, especially when you experience it at this age, impacts so much more than your relationship with your parents. It can really (at least in my experience) undermine your confidence in your own ability to have a successful relationship. Seeing my parents divorce after 25 years of marriage made me incredibly paranoid that the same thing could happen to me.

        I’m going to be honest with you about some of the things that happened, in no particular order. This isn’t fun honesty, by any means, but they are things people told me that I found to be true:

        You’ll lose at least 60% of your family friends. People don’t want to choose sides, so they often won’t. This won’t impact you quite as much since you aren’t at home, but it is sad to run into families we used to socialize with and realize how much we’ve fallen out of touch. The number of Christmas cards my parents received dropped off dramatically.

        It will take your parents quite awhile to stabilize. Someone told me that parents shouldn’t be held responsible for anything they do in the year following a divorce, because it is such a life upheaval for them that they don’t think straight.

        It’s been about 6 years since my parents divorced and my mom is now very, very happily remarried; my dad is married and re-divorced (and also happy). I’ve heard that men tend to move on more quickly than women; in my parent’s case, this was definitely true. My dad was remarried within a year of the official divorce (although my parents had been separated for a year prior to that).

        Both of my parents are happier than I remember them being in the later years of their marriage. It’s taken awhile, but ultimately, I’m happy that my parents are happy. I am not/was not particularly close with my step-parents (or step-siblings, which is weird as an adult…both of my parents became grandparents upon marriage, weird when my sister and I don’t have kids!). My parent’s relationship has grown more civil over time, which I’m thankful for, although there are occasional things that still crop up between them. Divorce is not an event so much as it is a process.

        Holidays are tricky. I’m lucky that my parents now live in different cities, so that’s made the holidays easier than they were. Figure out what makes sense for you, and don’t feel guilty about your decision.

        Three of my mantras with my parents have been “It’s not my responsibility to make you feel good about the decision you made” “This is not something I need to know about your marriage, and I am not comfortable with this conversation” and “We’re both adults and we can make our own decisions (and, when necessary, live with the consequences of said decisions.” I know those sound harsh, but in my case, they were essential. You can use phrases like these to set boundaries, because you will need to do that unless your parents have a completely amicable divorce. Your first responsibility needs to be to yourself, not them. Do what you need to do to take care of yourself.

        Last thing: for all the things I’ve said, and for all the pain it caused, I honestly do think that in the end it was best that my parents didn’t stay together. It may take time, but I hope you will also feel that way, too. And, you will get through this. You absolutely will. You are so much stronger than you think, even when it doesn’t feel that way. *Hugs*

        • K

          I hate this phrase but – THIS. Thank you so much for sharing your experience.

          I definitely agree re: it affecting more than just your relationship with your family. My parents’ divorce after 22 years did the exact same thing to me – completely shook my confidence in my own ability to have a healthy relationship. It’s something I’m still working on.

          But you do get better, and it does pass. I agree that it’s so much more of a process than an event.

          • Laura

            One of the most helpful things someone told me was simply this: “you are not your parents.” She went on to say that every single thing that happened in my parents relationship could happen to me and that still didn’t mean that I would reach the same outcome they did. It sounds so obvious, but it was incredibly liberating for me to hear.

          • jr. prof

            +1 on these insights. Please find a compassionate counselor to help you process all that you’re going through!

            My parents divorced when I was in college (20ish), after 25+ years of marriage. That such a long and seemingly stable marriage could crumble rocked me to the core, and I made *very* self-destructive relationship choices for the next many years.

            It was only via getting counseling many year later that I was able to process my feelings about my family and the ways in which the divorce left me feeling bereft and alone. I wish I had done this sooo many years earlier – in essence, I lost what should have been the prime of my dating life, because I was making such horrible destructive choices (I thank my lucky stars and my awesome therapist that I am now happily married!).

            If I could write a letter to my younger self, I would say: please don’t wait to seek counseling – find someone now who can support YOU, and to whom you don’t have to appear strong and together.

    • M

      My advice would be to block yourself out of this situation and not end up trying to accommodate everyone. And do not succumb to taking sides or trying to make things better. Just realize that now you are on your own in a sense, and have to live your own life. They are both adults and will find ways to deal with their issues.

  11. Anonymous

    Threadjack – whenever I wear earrings, one of my ear lobes gets a little irritated and sometimes a little cruddy for a couple of days. I don’t think this is an allergy because my other ear lobe feels just fine. I don’t know why this is happening since my ears have been pierced for 20+ years now so it’s not like the piercing is new. Have any of you had this problem? What materials should I be looking for in an earring to avoid this irritation? Thanks!

    • surrounded by lawyers

      Nickel. It’s in most inexpensive earrings, unfortunately, including basically all on racks in department stores unless they say otherwise. I have always had a known nickel allergy, but when I try to bend the rules and wear it in earrings, it often irritates one ear but not the other. It’s also gotten worse over the years, so I wouldn’t be surprised if you have a new or worsening allergy like mine.

      If this is the case, you should either get hypoallergenic earrings, or spring for real sterling or some form of gold. Sorry it’s going to be expensive…welcome to my world.

    • Legal Marketer

      I have the same problem. A jeweler suggested white gold and is the only thing I’ve found so far that doesn’t irritate it. I just picked in a nice small pair of white gold hoops and never take them out. (make sure they’re 100% white gold)

      • Kady

        I’m confused about this. I always thought white gold was gold mixed w/ some white metal (including nickel, silver, palladium). Why would this help, especially if the allergy is to nickel. Maybe gold mixed w/ platinum (do they even do this mix)?

        • Anonymous

          Both right– there is no 100% white gold– but the rhodium plating on basically every bit of white gold you’ve ever seen could protect one with a nickel allergy, for decades until the rhodium could potentially barely wear a bit, over, say, generations.

          Yellow gold is alloyed w equal parts nickel and copper = balanced yellow. Rose takes out the nickel, subs 2x the copper = warm orangey pink. White takes out the copper, subs 2 x nickel= actually faintly greenish cool grayish white, which is then almost completely totally all the time mega always in most western countries plated in rhodium (you will know very obviously if you have an exception– say, from Israel– it will be a softer, fainter shine and a darker leaden color), which could protect a nickel-sensitive girl from irritation.

        • Gem Lily

          Both right– there is no 100% white gold– but the rhodium plating on basically every bit of white gold you’ve ever seen could protect one with a nickel allergy, for decades until the rhodium could potentially barely wear a bit, over, say, generations.

          Yellow gold is alloyed w equal parts nickel and copper = balanced yellow. Rose takes out the nickel, subs 2x the copper = warm orangey pink. White takes out the copper, subs 2 x nickel= actually faintly greenish cool grayish white, which is then almost completely totally all the time mega always in most western countries plated in rhodium (you will know very obviously if you have an exception– say, from Israel– it will be a softer, fainter shine and a darker leaden color), which could protect a nickel-sensitive girl from irritation.

          • BB

            Maybe they’re plating white gold thinner these days, but the rhodium can wear away pretty quickly. It’s easy, and cheap (sometimes free) to have things replated.

    • cokehead

      I had my ears repierced this summer, and I’ve found that dipping the post and backing in neosporin before putting an the earring has eliminated much of the shedding/grossness that otherwise appears. If your problem is nickel, this may not help, but if it’s something else (an underlying irritation?), it might.

    • coco

      Another suggestion is the ear care solution that you can buy at almost any ear piercing mall store. My ears are generally fine, but I have one or two pairs that bother me, and the ear care solution generally takes care of it. I put a little on my ears, a little on the earrings, and then a little more on my ears when I take the earrings off.

      That being said, switching metals is probably your best bet, but the solution might help if there is a pair or two you’re just not willing to give up yet.

    • Ses

      I have the same issue. It started when I was wearing earrings a little too tight and thought I must have put a little cut inside one piercing because afterwards that ear was sensitive and got cruddy when wearing earrings. I switched to gold earrings and have not had issues since, except on the few occasions when I wear “fashion” earrings for too long. Then one ear or the other, or both, will act up.

    • EC

      I have a similar problem, and cheap metals often are the culprit. However, I also have mild eczema, and my doctor said that aggravates the problem. Neosporin is helpful, as is very mild cleaning solution (the stuff at Claire’s, for instance – NOT hydrogen peroxide or rubbing alcohol). But when it lingers for days after I’ve gone without earrings, hydrocortizone cream rubbed on my earlobes is the best bet.

    • kz

      I have a pair of earrings with unusually thick studs (a pair of diamond studs my mother gave me that screws on so the back can’t fall off) that if I wear , I’m basically punching a new hole through my right my ear because the existing hole isn’t large enough (the left ear seems fine). I coat with neosporin or disinfect with hydrogen peroxide morning and night for those.

    • m

      I am allergic to nickel too and can only wear gold or titanium in my ears. For studs or any earrings where the post is part of the earring, I have to stick to the higher quality pieces. But if I want to buy costume earrings that are dangly at all, I just remove the hooks from the earring and use a tiny gold hoop instead. I use my tiny gold hoops all the time with various dangly earrings and just switch them around. But if you wanted to, you could also permanently switch them to a different french hook. Titanium is supposed to be one of the metals that the least people are irritated by.

    • Ru

      If my earrings aren’t made of gold or silver, then I take them off before I go to bed. I never wear costume/imitation jewelry for longer than 12 hours at a time.

    • Anonymous

      I actually think you may have a mild infection in the ear that gets irritated. I don’t think it’s an allergy if only one ear is becoming irritated. If you have a mild infection, you are probably just irritating it by putting the earring in. I’d swab with peroxide or alcohol daily to clean it and maybe dab on a bit of neosporin, and don’ t wear earrings for a week or two. After a week or two try wearing earrings again and see if it is better.

    • Laker

      I’m not sure how safe this is, but my hair stylist told me about a little trick that is pretty handy. Paint the posts and parts that touch your ear with clear nail polish. It really helps.

  12. TKA

    Off topic, here, but I need a quick gut check! I need a new carry-on. My current Wal-Mart carry-on has held up remarkably, but it’s battered and ready to be retired. I like the Samsonite xSpace in red:
    http://www.luggage.com/Samsonite-39958-1534-FE2497.html

    Does anyone have any experience with this piece of luggage? Will I regret getting it in red instead of black? Thanks in advance!!

    • Ballerina girl

      No experience with that piece, but I bought red luggage a while back and while it’s nice to separate it from all the black suitcases coming down the luggage carousel, it got dirty looking faster. And lots of people have red nowadays so it didn’t help all that much.

    • kellyn

      If you can find something in blue, that might be a solution: cobalt blue doesn’t show dirt as easily as red might (or, my cobalt blue luggage doesn’t), and in my travels I have noticed that it is less popular on the baggage carousel than black or red.

    • MelD

      I have a similar one I got about 3.5 years ago and I love it. It’s held up well and has traveled quite a bit. I got it in rust and I find that preferable when I do want to check it. Honestly I don’t think getting a colored piece of luggage is a bad idea unless you have something really girly.

    • RoadWarriorette

      My sister has a very similar one in blue and loves it. I got to use it last month, and now I have decided the next suitcase I get MUST have spinner wheels. Those things are the best. I am always glad to have a colored suitcase, because there will always be fewer red suitcases than black. However I would still add a colorful luggage tag or handle wrap to make identifying it easier.

      Also, I would recommend Scotchgarding it prior to your first use to give a little protection against the elements.

    • C3

      I have a similar piece by Samsonite and I love it. It is so easy to pull through the airport (and on public transportation) because of the spinning wheels. I have had it for about 4 years and taken it on countless trips and it still looks and works like new. My husband is a bit of a luggage snob and he is going to buy a Samsonite bag for his next piece of luggage as well.

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