Gift Idea: Red Eye Wrap
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I bought this sweater a few years ago from Betabrand, partially with referral credits, and even though it wasn't in a terribly versatile color (a rosy pink), I found myself reaching for it every time I traveled. I recently misplaced the darn sweater (it's around here somewhere, I just know it), and I miss it so much I'm considering getting a second in a black or gray.
The big pros for me, particularly for travel: it's got deep, zippered pockets (big enough to fit your Kindle!), a hood to block out the world if you want to, thumbholes, and it's long enough to a) layer over a dress or leggings if you want to, b) tie at your waist.
(The hood is not waterproof, but if you're rocking a blowout and don't want a few drops of rain to hit you as you run from a cab into your destination, the hood will help a bit. The hood also apparently converts to a sleeping mask, but I've never used that feature.) It's $129 at Betabrand. (Huh, and apparently it comes in a dress format as well!) Pictured: Red Eye Wrap
Readers, any other favorites from Betabrand? I know we've obviously featured their well-known yoga-work pants, as well as this flat backpack designed to help you hide a laptop beneath a jacket — but they've got a lot of interesting things. If you've never ordered from Betabrand before, try this referral link to get $15 off your first order.
Looking for something similar but more affordable? I've actually ordered dresses from this brand before, so for $32 this sweater is a very intriguing dupe…
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Sales of note for 2/7/25:
- Nordstrom – Winter Sale, up to 60% off! 7850 new markdowns for women
- Ann Taylor – Extra 25% off your $175+ purchase — and $30 of full-price pants and denim
- Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything + extra 15% off
- Boden – 15% off new season styles
- Eloquii – 60% off 100s of styles
- J.Crew – Extra 50% off all sale styles
- J.Crew Factory – 40% off everything including new arrivals + extra 20% off $125+
- Rothy's – Final Few: Up to 40% off last-chance styles
- Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
- Talbots – 40% off one item + free shipping on $150+
Sales of note for 2/7/25:
- Nordstrom – Winter Sale, up to 60% off! 7850 new markdowns for women
- Ann Taylor – Extra 25% off your $175+ purchase — and $30 of full-price pants and denim
- Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything + extra 15% off
- Boden – 15% off new season styles
- Eloquii – 60% off 100s of styles
- J.Crew – Extra 50% off all sale styles
- J.Crew Factory – 40% off everything including new arrivals + extra 20% off $125+
- Rothy's – Final Few: Up to 40% off last-chance styles
- Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
- Talbots – 40% off one item + free shipping on $150+
And some of our latest threadjacks here at Corporette (reader questions and commentary) — see more here!
Some of our latest threadjacks include:
- My workload is vastly exceeding my capability — what should I do?
- Why is there generational resentment regarding housing? (See also)
- What colors should I wear with a deep green sweater dress?
- How do you celebrate milestone birthdays?
- How do you account for one-time expenses in your monthly budget?
- If I'm just starting to feel sick from the flu, do I want Tamilfu?
- when to toss old clothes of a different size
- a list of political actions to take right now
- ways to increase your intelligence
- what to wear when getting sworn in as a judge (congrats, reader!)
- how to break into teaching as a second career
Anyone have this sweater and can talk about how warm it is? I have some long flights coming up and this would be perfection if it actually keeps me warm….
How can I find out if my firm has high turnover? My firm has about 50 attorneys. We’ve had three associates leave this calendar year (all over the summer), with seven remaining. I believe the firm has hired about 20 associates in the last 5-7 years, and none of them made partner. It seems like 25% retention is bad for a firm of this size, but I don’t know that. From what I hear, everyone leaves for a “specific, individual reason” but I am skeptical. FWIW, firm has also had at least a half dozen young partners leave, mostly for government/in-house roles.
Is there a survey somewhere I can compare us to? Anyone have a gut reaction?
I’d be more concerned about the fact that no one homegrown has made partner in the last 5 years than about the number of partners or associates departing.
I’m more struck by the fact that your firm has 50 attorneys, but only ten associates. Are the other 40 all partners? That is a very weird ratio. I wouldn’t want to work somewhere with that ratio, because it probably means I’m not getting great learning opportunities (partners not passing work down) and that there is no chance I will make partner.
With regards to your actual question, 25% turnover for associates doesn’t seem crazy, but I’ve never worked at a firm of that size. How long are the associates staying? If it’s 3-5 years and then leaving, I wouldn’t be that concerned. If they leave in 12-18 months, that seems like a bigger problem.
I’ve always heard that 65% attrition for associates is fairly standard–so between hiring and partnership time, 65% will leave for one reason or another. I don’t have any source for that though. It was just thrown out as a gospel truth among partners at my last firm.
Wow! 65% seems really low to me. At my old firm, no one in the summer class above me, my class, or the one below me stayed to make partner. Some where pushed out, but even those of us who could have made a real run at it didn’t want it and happily left for government or in-house.
Then your firm was not a good workplace, but that’s an outlier.
That seems like a pretty common ratio, at least at my and friend’s biglaw firms in DC. Very few people stay to make partner because most don’t want that lifestyle.
I worked at a slightly smaller firm that had the same type of turnover. The majority of associates left in 3-5 years, and no one had made partner in 10-15 years. Everyone that left had a “reason,” but in my experience, they were all pretty similar. Everyone that worked there was great, but after you started to get more senior, you started to realize how dysfunctional the firm was. A lot of this had to do with a really outdated compensation and benefit structure for associates. Also, as you got more senior, you started to realize how badly the firm was set up to help associates make partner. My guess is your firm has some problem like this, but you haven’t been there long enough (or don’t know enough about how firms work) to recognize it.
This actually looks like a really great functional piece. But I don’t see the gray? The dress looks very tight over the model’s hips so even though I love the colors I couldn’t do that one.
I have a credit at Athleta (200ish). What is the best thing I could spend it on now? I feel like I don’t need anything in particular but their stuff is great quality.
I play tennis and hike and have a camping trip coming up.
And I’m short, so if there are good petite tops (not all are offered in petite) or sweaters / sweatshirts, I could check those out. There is a store in my city but not sure when I’ll have time to visit before October due to some work trips.
I bought the Backspin skort over the summer and love it. Runs large and would be great for tennis.
I really love Athleta underwear – super comfy
I have ordered an Athleta jumpsuit in two colors. I also love the Skyline pants, shorts and skort.
I never thought of myself as a skort person but I own at least four now. They’re super easy to style and useful for weekend running around.
Their 7/8 leggings with pockets are awesome.
Poshmark Q — would you accept a $50 offer on your black jardigan? I’m not used to bidding/counter offers (I’m more of an eBay “buy it now” shopper). If this is reasonable or if it is like the souk where you go back and forth, let me know.
That seems low to me. If you search for the item you can filter to see only sold listings. I’m seeing a range of about $50-150. I’d counter (but also keep in mind that some people don’t like to negotiate and will disappear after that) and risk needing to wait a bit longer to sell.
The sold listings will show the price as originally posted, though, not the price actually paid. That’s where the guesswork is.
I don’t think that is correct. I’ve only seen that happen when somebody buys a bundle, but when I sell individual listings it shows the price I ultimately accepted, not the original asking price.
That’s not visible to others, though.
+1 The price listed for sold items is the final price it sold for.
It really depends on a few things – condition, what you’re willing to take and where the Poshmark market for that piece is. I usually will go two offers deep as a buyer before I get bored/distracted/don’t want it that much. But, if it’s close enough and I just wanted to see if I could get a little discount, I’ll take the first counter. So if you have it listed at $135 and they offer $50, that’s a real lowball – if you’re willing to take $90, counteroffer $100 and see if they counter $90 back. If you’re listed at $85 and they offer $50, they’re probably just looking for a discount – I’d offer $70-$75 and see if they take it. You can also message them to see where they’re at, or offer discounted shipping.
Poshmark has such a great selection, with many duplicates, that it drives purchase prices down. It’s a buyer’s market. Have you done a search for the same item and seen what other sellers are asking?
As a buyer on there, I usually pay 40-50% of asking price–i.e. those offers are accepted. I notice that when sellers don’t accept that range of offer from me, their stuff is still available later, suggesting that no other buyers are willing to go higher than that either.
Good to know — I can see what things are offered at, but hadn’t looked past that to see what they actually sell for.
Unless you’re the buyer, you can’t see how much they sold for.
Sold my black jardigan on Poshmark for $85.
Pantyhose are the devil.
I had to wear them for the first time in ages today (you’ll have to trust me that the setting was formal enough for hose but too warm for tights.) I think they’re so ugly anyway, and then the crotchal area rubbed me raw where my legs meet my body. I don’t know how to prevent this. They did have a soft control top which I thought would help but no.
How do you prevent this?
Damn patriarchy….
You just really truly do not have to wear them. There is never a scenario where you have to wear them. There just isn’t. I am a litigator who appears frequently in federal court, so I am business formal all the way, and I am here to tell you no one cares if you wear hose. Formality does not require hose. You can, and should, absolutely wear whatever you were wearing and just NOT wear the hose. You do not have to do this. AND, most people are not going to know, notice, or care.
+1, regularly appeared in federal court for 10+ years and never wore hose. Rarely saw other women wearing it, either.
I am a regular wearer of hose because I’m always cold and also prefer how they make my legs look.
Not all hose are created equal, and this sounds like a crappy pair (or just not cut right for you). My go-to cheap nylons are the Leggs ultra sheer no waistband kind, sized up for comfort++they are not omg wonderful in the comfort department, but good enough and look the best on me. They are very low-denier, so do not have that “Look! I’m wearing hose!” vibe. I have had multiple people say it doesn’t look like I’m wearing them.
I recently branched out to the Commando Keeper control hose and find them very comfortable. I have always been a fan of their tights and the house are similar. Soft, comfy feel and a higher, non-binding waistband that lays flat.
I wear hose when I do oral argument in my state appellate court. (Most attorneys don’t, but I prefer how my legs look with them.) It sounds like maybe you needed to size up? I have never had my hose rub me raw. Or maybe they were moving around too much and you need to size down?
U.K. reader here and I don’t get the hose/tights thing. Here we call everything tights. Black tights (100 denier) are usually worn for warmth in winter (though not uncommon to see them all year round) and people wear tan tights in summer or winter for warmth/even skin tone. Why do so many people hate hose? I’ve never heard anyone complain about them here. They only ones people complain about are low denier black tights which i’d say are out of fashion here and make ladders more noticeable than tan.(Genuine question no snark intended!)
American in the UK here: I think one aspect is that at least much of the year is much hotter in most places in the US, making tights feel awful. I definitely wear them more in the UK, though not during the heat waves. If you’re London based, think about wearing tights on the deep tunnel tubes when it was 38C – that’s what it’s like in the US (if not in freezing air con).
I think nylons really differ in how they fit. You might ask around for brand suggestions from people with a similar build.
Don’t go by their size charts. I wore what was supposed to be the “correct” size and they’d always shred/ladder/ride half-way down my thighs. Bought the next size up and they were fine. Comfortable, even.
Hipstik thigh highs. Pretty, comfortable, and do not run.
Piggybacking off this morning’s thread…
If you had $1 million net worth, what would you do? It’s not enough to quit working entirely, but you could certainly scale back. Would you take a lower-paying job you’re more passionate about? Shift to part-time? Become a consultant and work half the year?
Or maybe you already have that much! Did anything change when you got there?
I’m guessing plenty of people on this s i t e have that net worth or more. Curious how having that much net worth affects your career decisions. I am not even close… just living vicariously!
I have that much (a multiple, actually) but I don’t feel like I can coast. I am in my early 50s with two kids to put through college. I live in an HCOL area. If you count my home equity it’s even more, but we have to live somewhere so….
I would like to retire with $4mm. We’ll see.
My grandmother lived into her mid-90s. I am in my 40s. So that math is . . . tough.
BUT I would probably pay down my house a bit and refi the balance to make the payments much smaller. I’d go back to school so that I could enter a field a friend is in that has both scheduled work times and vacation you get to use. I have two kids and my “always on call” legal job is just not sustainable.
I think it really depends on what age you reach the $1M net worth milestone. If I was 30 with a $1M net worth, I would scale back in some manner. I would still want to make enough to cover my expenses, save for my kids’ college, and add some to retirement, but I wouldn’t be worried about saving a ton each year. If I was 55 or older, I wouldn’t change anything.
I would stay at my job with a great boss but mediocre pay, whereas now I feel pressure to keep moving up. It would be nice to feel settled and develop a bit of complacency (but not too much).
I scaled way back long before we had a $1M net worth. I think it was around $75k liquid (almost all in retirement accounts) plus $250k in home equity when I took a lean out job with a significant pay cut (at age 31). I’m risk averse and don’t think I’d be comfortable quitting completely until I had more like $3-4M, especially before age 60 or so.
I am watching my parents age (they are 93 and 96) and I feel like there is literally no reasonable amount of money that I can be confident will be enough for end-of-life care. Their monthly nut just went from $7,800 to $9,400 at their assisted living place as they are needing more care, and that’s without any significant medical bills. They have enough money to last them for another 3 years or so at that rate and then I don’t know what I’ll do. I’m nearing retirement age and household net worth in the $5M range but I have no plans to retire as long as either of them is alive.
This is terrifying.
I have grown susceptible to the “one more year” mindset — not that that means I’ll quit in a year (I won’t — not even 40 yet) but that I keep thinking — ok I’ll take the foot off the gas at 1.1 mil; 1.2 mil etc. It’s not about quitting at all though it’s about quitting THIS job that I don’t like and getting a comparable job that’s a better fit for me — except that this job is very very stable and provides excellent benefits which is part of what has allowed NW to grow fast and I know that in the private sector I’d be going back to periods of unemployment and also likely would have a 0% match (because that’s what’s common in my industry). But I am also growing tired of being unhappy day to day because it’s good for my long term and feel like I “deserve” to be able to take a risk of finding something I like better.
I’m 31 and recently hit $1m net worth (combined with my husband who’s 33, but I’m the breadwinner). I look at this a little differently than “scaling back,” but I may quit my job and take a long sabbatical next year because we have >$300k liquid savings (cash and liquid investments), and I’m extremely burned out. After I feel adequately rested, though, I plan to be 100% back in my career. I do feel I now have the freedom to take more risk in the job I choose, like working for a startup. I have also flirted with the idea of going back to school to become a therapist–I’m currently in finance. But I want to be able to live very comfortably in retirement and so I don’t feel anywhere near ready to scale back in any permanent sense.
How did you achieve this at 31!? I am in awe.
I landed a huge deal this year and got a percentage bonus, so I’ll make about $600k this year. This year has been an outlier in terms of my earnings and savings, but I’ve been diligent throughout my career. Also, I’ve been working 10 straight years since undergrad, no grad school, had no debt to pay off, and my husband is extremely frugal :)
Today I overheard my coworker inform his boss that the date was scheduled for his baby’s delivery by c-section. He said, “That’s when I’ll be requesting time off, but I won’t need much.”
And the boss responded,”Yes, you will.” Maybe a little inappropriate, but I was still thrilled. Women in positions of power are changing things!
IDK maybe less true than when the woman is the one getting the time off.
Has anyone purchased a couch from Apt2B? Any reviews? Specifically looking at the Tuxedo model currently available at Costco but be happy to hear experience on any of their couches. Intrigued by their design and price point (esp through Costco) but don’t know anyone that actually has purchased a couch from them.
Thanks!
I just got back from visiting friends who have two APt2B couches and rave about them. I actually slept on one of the couches while visiting and it was insanely comfortable. And very cute, too!
Yes, I had one of their sofas and loved it. Plus I love that they are made right here in Los Angeles. Also they have some great home accessories on their web site.
Does anyone use Aaptiv? Is it helpful? I got it for a year for $50 and could get a refund, but if it’s got good workouts, I’ll just try to use it. Definitely cheaper than my $30 a month for barre on demand.