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Weekend Open Thread: Brooks Brothers

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black and white striped sweater with variegated stripes

Something on your mind? Chat about it here.

Brooks Brothers' summer sale is on, and they've got a lot of cute things, including this 100% supima cotton cardigan with variegated stripes — I've shown the black one but there's also a khaki and red one.

Because it's clearance, inventory varies by color, but they all have a good amount left. I like that the 100% cotton cardigan is machine washable, and has a bit of banding at the bottom for shape.

The cardigan was $138, but is now marked to $69 at Brooks Brothers. They actually have a number of cardigans in the sale that look great as well as a number of 100% cotton sweateres. I'd also trust them for short sleeved sweaters; this cashmere/wool one looks like a great basic.

Psst: there are a ton of striped cardigans in the Nordstrom sale too if you want to see what's trending!

Sales of note for 8/14:

117 Comments

  1. Anyone have a good podcast recommendation for a transcontinental flight? I’ve got about 8 hours to fill with something other than my typical political and news shows. I like a series but am not big on m_rder shows.

    2. I always recommend “The Rewatchables” – fun discussions about movies. There are a lot to choose from but the episodes with Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan, and/or Van Lathan are my favorites.

      1. I love The Rewatchables, but it’s best when you’ve recently watched the movie, so I’d either pair this with some movies or look for episodes of movies you’ve seen recently enough for the episode to work. Also a fan of other Ringer podcasts like The Big Picture and House of R.

    3. I love the Sex and the City recaps on Every Outfit. I also like podcasts with tips on how to have fun (gasp) and squeeze in things you enjoy in life, so I’ve been listening to Gretchen Rubin lately.

      1. Gretchen Rubin is a great source for learning how to live a perfect life. If you can just do what she does, your life is going to be imminently better. I know because she told me so. It won’t be as good as hers, because for her it is effortless, but I am sure it is still worth a try.

        1. I truly don’t get what you guys are getting out of smacking down anyone who is trying to be happier.

          1. Probably the smugness of believing that you’ve figured it out and are in a position to lecture others.

          2. But no one is making you listen to her. I get that some of you are really struggling with how to be happy and you’re feeling insecure that other women who are just as busy as you are also enjoying life while you’re not, but you literally don’t have to sh*t on happy people. Find what makes you happy and do it – for all our sakes.

          3. I’m not listening to her. I can still find it ridiculous how so many of you need this external validation in order to be happy.

          4. You are taking this way too personally. It’s ok for some of us to find Gretchen Rubin annoying and to say so.

          5. Yeah, totally a sign of good mental health to read “I enjoy this” from someone you’ll never meet and then make sure that everyone knows how stupid you find everything. Seriously, someone could write here “my daughter loves unicorns and we had so much fun at her unicorn party!” and you’d sneer that unicorns aren’t real.

        2. every time I think about GR i remember a blog post she wrote in the early days of like 2009 about how she was saving herself up for a few bites of the gross frozen yogurt we all ate (Tasty DeLite?) and she was going to “treat” her daughter and i thought oof she’s one of those crazy perfectionists. 20+ years on nothing has convinced me otherwise.

        4. I don’t have much interest in what Gretchen Rubin does, but she really doesn’t come across this way at all to me. This sounds like projecting insecurities to me.

    5. My son loves the Fall of Civilizations podcasts and they tend to be long. I always enjoy the Holderness family. New Ali Hazelwood novella about that long just out now too (Unbound, on Spotify).

    6. Not a podcast but, I watch the entire original star wars trilogy on my last long haul flight. Never have time to spend a day watching them, and if I dosed off for a bit, it’s not like a I missed anything.

    7. My favorite podcast is Heavyweight. Early episodes were often played as part of the radio show This American Life. Johnathon Goldstein is a treasure. Each episode stands alone, but you get to know the host, his family and quirky friends intimately.

    8. Niche, but Rick Steves Over Brunch is a fave of mine. Works of course only if you enjoy his show.

    9. Also not a podcast but really enjoying the audiobook London Falling and told my husband it felt like listening to a long, very interesting podcast.

    10. Articles of Interest is a favorite! Centered around fashion history, past and present, and excellently produced. never miss an episode.

  2. Extremely niche question, but I have no idea where else to turn: I just realized I messed up the math for an estimated quarterly tax payment and scheduled a payment that represents a significant overpay (to the tune of $5,000). I can’t modify or cancel the transaction in the IRS payment portal because the payment is still pending; it’s scheduled for Monday. I’ve called the IRS individual help line three times and can’t even get in the hold queue, my call keeps getting declined due to high volume.

    Fortunately I can cover the payment but I will not lie, I had some plans for that $5,000…damnit. This is fixable, right? Or will I be waiting until my 2026 tax refund? Or have I just front-loaded all my side hustle tax payments for 2026?

    2. I doubt you can get it back right now, but you can offset your 3rd and 4th quarter estimates by the amount you overpaid.

    3. IANAL or an accountant, but I believe that the excess will reduce your next quarterly estimated tax payment. The IRS will penalize you if you pay late but it doesn’t penalize you for paying early. Verify this information before relying upon it, of course.

    4. Can you ask your accountant? I’d guess you could take it out of the next estimated payment in September.

    5. Just pay less on the Q3 payment. Get your CPA to give you the amount to pay then. People mess up their quarterly payments all the time and it washes out at the end of the year.

    2. i was inspired by this post and pulled out a striped tee I have that i never wear and wore it with PJ pants to bed. for some reason i felt like a pirate? prisoner? not sure but they aren’t my thing, i wish they were.

  4. Want to talk about the immaturity and dependency of men? It’s apparently perpetuating.

    I don’t even have access to the following article but I’m interested. Anyone have a gift link? I’ve read that unemployment is unusually high among young men who should be entering the workforce these days (for multiple reasons including the fact that physical labor like manufacturing has decreased & women are more likely to have higher educations for white collar work.)

    This article is actually titled something like “Call Her Mommy: The Gen Zers Bankrolling Their Boyfriends” https://www.thecut.com/article/young-women-earning-more-money-boyfriends.html

    1. Gen Z women aren’t the first to bankroll hobosexual significant others and won’t be the last. I know both men and women who paired up with a slacker they struggled to shrug off in their early and mid twenties. Tale as old as time!

      1. Yup. I bankrolled my college boyfriend in the early aughts and even put him on my insurance. I finally got fed up and vowed to never again date anyone who paid for beer in quarters no matter how nice/funny/sexy they were.

      2. Yep, this was super common when I was in my 20s and 30s and I’m nearing 50 now. Slacker dudes looking for a meal ticket so they can moulder on the couch under a coating of Cheeto dust was all too common then, and probably even before Cheetos.

      3. Yeah, I have a very successful lawyer friend who let her 10 years younger boyfriend (part time ski instructor) move in when she was in her early 30s. He was a very nice…. boy.

    2. Unfortunately the average caliber of woman is just so much higher than the average caliber of men. The math just doesn’t allow all wonderful women to have an equal partner. So women are left with the choice is being single or dating down, and some people would rather date way down than be alone.

        1. If this is not your reality, you are fortunate to travel in different social circles! The women of my group are pretty much socialized to achieve with the understanding that the men are less likely to do so, so it becomes our responsibility to make up for what they lack. There is a reason people have focused on decreasing marriage rates, as this discrepancy between men and women is a contributing factor.

          2. I live in DC, and it’s well known that they’re more successful women than men in the area.

        2. Not the previous poster but I mostly agree. If you’re happy to be a 1950s SAHM it might not that be that hard to find a guy who’s kind and decently attractive (although it’s hard these days to live on one income in most places).
          But far fewer men than women expect to share household labor equally in a dual income household. So if that’s what you want in a partner – and it’s a pretty reasonable ask imo, not like expecting the guy to be 6’3” or have a $300k income – your dating pool will be small as a hetero woman.

          1. The guys don’t even want to be a provider, though. They want the woman to earn the money and keep house while they play golf or video games.

    3. Nothing new under the sun. Gen Z is not the first generation to face this but I also don’t think it’s as wide spread as this article implies.

      1. The article also smashed together two things that seemed like pretty different concepts:
        – Some guys are just bad partners (not contributing to the partnership in any reasonable way, lacking fundamental adulting skills). Dude who was telling his gf to flirt more with other guys at bars for free drinks to give him; or dude who would never plan a date, not even a free “let’s go walk at X park, the lilacs are blooming and I know they’re your favorite” are category one.

        – Some guys are the *wrong* partner for a specific woman. If career ambition or a certain level of wealth is important to you in your partnership, that’s a good thing to know! That doesn’t mean there’s anything necessarily bad about a guy who makes a median income, works 35 hours and isn’t interested in gunning for more. And the flip side, there’s nothing wrong with a woman who does really value career & financial success, wants to work for that more, and wants a partner who is also working for it. But if you want that, and your partner doesn’t, no amount of “nagging” is going to make them ambitious in that way, and five years is a long time to try. Break up, and both of you go find your person!

        1. I think the two concepts are related in the sense that, it’s fine if you out-earn your male partner and are more career-motivated than they are – if they are bringing other things to the table. I’m not saying the lower earning partner has to do all other household tasks, but they have to bring some value to the relationship and it seems like this is what these guys are struggling with. If they were truly supporting their partners in that way I don’t think the women in the article would be complaining about their lack of career ambition.

    4. I know women in their 30s and 40s divorcing men like this too, so I don’t think it’s Gen Z. Single is much better than carrying a deadweight man.

    5. Got rid of a spendy ex and found I could pay for a whole damn vacation property with the savings. He worked, but he wanted to spend at a level that required my income.

    6. This is ridiculous. Even among Gen Z workers, men still out earn women, although not as much as older workers (granted that gap might grow as they get older as often happens). There are certainly men who are being bankrolled by the women in their lives, just as there have always been women bankrolled by men. But drawing the conclusion that this is some new phenomena is typical of The Cut, which makes its money from click bait headlines.

      Also put me in the column of a woman who knows a lot of men who earn as much or more than their partners. And who knows a lot of SAHMs with kids who are adults who spend an awful lot of their husbands’ money on “self-care”. But that is because I live in a very upper class suburb full of people making high six figures. I do not draw conclusions about the majority of women based on that.

      2. I’m not a SAHM but I think it’s a little offensive to talk about SAHMs spending “their husband’s money” when they were the primary parent raising children for decades and them taking on the primary parent role allowed their husband to chase career success. In the type of couple you describe, the man has those high earnings in large part because of all the wife’s labor on the home front.

        1. Exactly. I could be so much more professionally accomplished if I had meals magically appearing on the table, constantly clean clothes, and the ability to entirely check out of caring for myself and my home.

        2. +1. My husband is a SAHD. Every bit of my paycheck is our money. Last week DH wss feeling a little down about being a SAHD, and I told him that his support of our family has allowed me to earn what I’m earning.
          There’s no doubt that building a career is easier with a SAH spouse, particular if you’re parents.

    7. Sooner or later, a partner who doesn’t evolve into a full emotional/maturity match (regardless of income) feels like a child, and that is both extra work and truly unattractive.

      I’ve taught all my sons that washing the dishes and cleaning up after yourself builds s3x appeal, not just adulting skills.

  5. Trying again today because I posted too late yesterday: does anyone own items from LilySilk? If so, what is the quality like?

    thanks!

  7. Maybe a pedantic Q but – When cooking what % lean do you prefer for ground beef? Do you use different % for different recipes? What about ground turkey and more? I’ve always been a 93% ground beef girl and 99% turkey… we only use ground pork for an egg roll in a bowl recipe. I don’t think I’ve ever used ground chicken.

    2. For ground beef, I use a higher % fat for burgers than for recipes where the meat is crumbled or mixed with other ingredients.

      I don’t use ground turkey anymore because it’s so dry. For ground chicken, I usually only have one option for fat content. When there are two options, the extra option is a super lean version that’s very dry. I avoid that one. I usually buy organic or at least the most “natural” option available for meat, but for ground chicken the cheapest least “natural” variety from Perdue seems to have the fewest bone fragments.

    3. I use 80/20 for beef because it tastes better. My DH doesn’t eat turkey so I don’t make it. For ground chicken I just use regular chicken (like whatever 1 lb package I have) and grind it in the food processor.

    4. usually 85% for beef burgers – any leaner and they get dry really easily. For things like tacos where there is a bunch of sauce involved, 90% as it doesn’t need the fat.

    5. 80/20 Beef for burgers on the grill. 93/7 for ground beef that goes into other things like Hamburger Helper (yum!).

    6. I usually make things where a low fat percentage is preferred. Honestly, I only ever use ground beef if I’m using a ground meat. Only exception is similar to yours – ground pork for making gyoza.

      I will note that I most often eat local hamburger, and they don’t bother standardizing – you get what the cow had and they’re not really bothering to measure. I just assume it’s low fat percentage because when I get 80/20 from the store I’m grossed out by how much grease ends up in the pan and how much work it is to clean it up.

    7. Not in the US, so might be diffferent textures and qualities, but I mostly get grassfed beef directly from a small stock farmer, and couldn’t say what percentage. At the grocery store I get organic 14 % fat, which is standard where I live. There’s also 5 % fat, but IMO that’s a bit dry, but I’ll use it to mix with pork.

      I don’t use ground chicken, but will occasionally get turkey, which is sold at 4 % fat, but then add butter, duck fat or ghee to the recipe. I also get lamb, which is 20 % fat.

  8. I know it’s late but I’ll try anyway. I’m on week 2.5 home recovering from shoulder surgery (ugh). I’ve been make-up free since the 8th. Typically for work I’d do a relatively “low-maintenance full face” of makeup (?) Mon-Fri for work and selectively on weekends. Meaning, not full-full coverage make up but definitely a bunch, in case that matters.

    Now that I’ve been sitting at home recovering, my skin is SO oily. So, so oily. Mercifully, no acne has popped up but my face cleansing routine hasn’t changed. I’m thinking of cutting out the AM vitamin c serum and the evening moisturizing serum just to see what happens. But, any ideas? My skin as always been somewhere between combination and really dry. This is new!

    Routine is AM wash (cerave), toner, vit c serum, moisturizer, sunscreen (EltaMD). PM wash, moisturizing serum, PM lotion (cerave) Routine and products have been the same for several months.

    2. I’d skip all of that beyond your moisturizer and would probably use pressed powder for a nicer finish.

    3. I don’t know the texture of the Elta MD, but do you need the moisturizer with it? I use a bioré sunscreen that isn’t matte and don’t need another layer in the AM. P.M, I would drop the serum, yes, seems redundant in the Summer, unless there is an active in it.

    4. Are you dehydrated? Make sure you’re drinking plenty of water even if you aren’t doing much to work up your thirst.

      Wash your pillowcase more often. If you’re not showering as frequently then grime will accumulate on your pillow.

      1. Dehydration. Honestly, this could be a lot of it. I’m supposed to be drinking extra to help healing and I just drink a lot less water at home vs when I’m at the office.

        Thanks for all the other input. I’m guessing the makeup was drying out my skin and required my typical face regimen, but I must be overdoing it given the make up isn’t in the picture.

        Hope to be out of the house soon enough. Take care of your joints, friends. This has been a bear of a recovery (4 torn tendons in my rotator cuff at 41 from wear and tear, no actual trauma… ughhhhh).

  9. I posted this AM but didn’t see the follow up questions in time! More context: I’m a first year associate at a firm (50 lawyers, lopsided – 8 associates, 4 of us have less than a full year). I graduated in February so I’ve been practicing a few months now but I just feel like I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t know how to start any project. What do you do, or what did you do, when you didn’t know how to start, or what was expected? Answering some Qs from this morning, I was hired as a general associate. They told me I can start to specialize in 3-4 years, but not real estate as they’re good there. I’m taking litigation and transactional/advising work. I don’t have many “seniors” to go to – three of the more experienced associates are all heavily specialized in real estate transactions, the other one is general but super super slammed all the time and too busy to help us. Partners tell us to “figure it out” but I just don’t know where to or how to do that?

    1. this is a firm fail, not a you fail. I would honestly look for a different firm with a better ratio.

      2. Yeah, agreed. 42 partners/of counsels and 8 associates? 4 of whom have less than 1 year experience? Setting aside your valid concerns about guidance and mentorship, that’s not a great sign in general. Are they having trouble retaining associates? Probably. Are people just running for the door as soon as they get a bit of experience? Are they having trouble developing associates into partners with their own business? Probably. Not enough work to justify a robust cohort of associates? Probably, and that’s bad.

    2. That is _extremely_ generalist. Litigation and transactional work are completely different fields. I honestly did not know that any law firms hired associates as a “generalist” to this degree outside of, like, a small town sole practitioner who does everything.
      I agree this is a failure by the law firm. It is unreasonable for a partner to tell a first year associate to “figure it out” on such a wide portfolio with no training. Lawyers are not expected to come out of law school with any useful skills outside of basic legal research and writing. It is the responsibility of the law firm to train junior associates.
      In the short term, if senior associates are not an option for advice, turn to paralegals and litigation support staff for templates and prior examples.
      In the longer term, I agree you should think about moving to a different firm. Or if you are interested in litigation, consider clerking and then back to a (different) law firm.

      1. Thank you for all the feedback! It does seem that my setup is different than my peers other places. I don’t want it to look like I can’t hack it a year, though – will other employers look down on that? If yes, then any tips in the short term to figure it out?

        1. Your firm probably has a reputation that others will understand the quick job hunt.

    3. I was so lost when I was new. I found a friendly court clerk who let me check out court files. I’d call and tell him I’d like to review a good example of such and such kind of case. He’d think about it and call me to come pick up one or two court files that he thought had been nicely done by good lawyers. Is there any chance of something similar for you, even if it’s in house files? Are you assigned to a paralegal who might be able to help?

    4. Encourage you to look for another job as soon as possible. Transactional work is definitely not something you can figure out on your own; it’s very process oriented and there are very specific things that matter, which you need to be taught. Litigation is at least somewhat building on research and writing skills you learned in law school but zero training or modeling is not going to work – you don’t want to be there 2-3 years in and still have no idea how to be a lawyer, that will be a harder time to get a job then now.

    5. agree to look elsewhere. to answer your Q though if your firm allows AI you might want to have a starting conversation with the bot about it. don’t rely on anything it says but it could give you ideas for where to start or what the primary questions are as it sees it. for pre-trial litigation it’s all about the procedural stuff (12b6 etc).

      do you have a professor you can rely on? maybe your school’s career counselor could help set you up with some other alums you can ask?

  10. Lighthearted question for the hive. I am getting a new work phone. Since my current case won’t fit the new model, this seems like a good time for a style refresh. Any favorites I should look at? Thanks!

  11. Hit me up with your best party tricks! I’m hosting our annual Labor Day weekend BBQ and I like to have something fun and unexpected at my parties. Last year I did a slushee machine but that was a hassle with a big group. I set up outdoor movies and have a firepit and do s’mores but those are later in the evening. Would love any ideas for those extra things that are fun details.

      1. We have an inflatable waterslide, bought for our elementary age kids and their friends but every time we host, adults end up on it. Just saying :)

        1. I want to come to your party! Beats the hell out of paying taxes and cleaning my kitchen.

          2. One of these days, you negative Nancies will believe that it’s possible to have a water balloon fight AND wipe your counters at night. I hope so, anyway!

    2. I’d go to my library and check out a bunch of different giant versions of games and/or lawn games.

    5. My friend hired a magician who caters to adult audiences for her 40th. It was so, so much fun!

    6. If you are doing movies, what about renting a popcorn machine?
      Do not do a cotton candy machine- those are unpredictable and messy.

    9. Adult scavenger hunt with little nips of alcohol by the hints? Also works for Easter egg hunts.

  12. I have a very niche question, but I’ll try anyways. I’ve been using the Beauty of Joseon tinted mineral sunscreen since my doctor said mineral offers more complete sun protection than chemical. I found a shade that matches my skin very nicely, and the sheer coverage is adequate for daily wear. However, the formula looks very oily/shiney on my combo-to-slightly oily skin. I usually blot with paper but I worry that doing that diminishes protection. Does anyone have a recommendation for a mineral sunscreen with wide shade range that dries more matte?

  13. I was just in Boston for a couple of nights and I stayed at Copley House. It’s not really a serviced hotel, but more like an AirBnB with cool units and a front desk where you can drop your bags on the last day and they will watch your bags for you. The location was perfect (right near the Prudential stop and walking distance to lots of places) and I got a good deal on the room via Expedia.

  14. Anyone have a 6×9 soft CHEAP light blue rug to recommend to order? Dog GI has wrecked our current one and I don’t want a $$$ replacement as it seems that he is out of warranty and we may have a few more rounds to go.

    2. Costco has some good rugs in my local store. I had them in my previous home when my children were small. They are soft and easy to clean. The bissell spot cleaner was great for small messes. I rolled the rug up once a year and took it to be cleaned to remove any smells. They were about $250-400.

      I used a rug underlay from ikea which made it more plush feeling than it already and preventing any sliding.

    3. Back to school displays at my local supermarket are the best places to stock up on super cheap, large rugs. I used to buy several at a time during BTS season so I could toss them when our dog’s GI issues were too much to clean.

      1. Not OP. In my use case, we needed a rug to contain shoe debris at our back door and to provide traction for our elderly dog on an otherwise slick floor. Without a rug, our elderly dog would slip on the hard floor and our shoes would track mucky puddles around. It was easy enough to toss the rug out on the back porch and hose it off every now and then. It was hard to ensure we were close enough to our dog every time he headed to the back door to stabilize him on the slick floor. It was also hard to get there fast enough to get the door open in time, every time.

    5. Ruggable might be something that you want to look into – its washable rugs, with a base, and they are decently soft.

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