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Wednesday’s TPS Report: ‘Sunmosa Ponte’ Seam Detail Dress

Classiques Entier 'Sunmosa Ponte' Seam Detail Dress | CorporetteOur daily TPS reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices. I love a good discount, and there's a ton of Classiques Entier on sale at Nordstrom for 40-60% off. This simple sheath dress (and its sleeved version) is now 40% off, in both the blue pictured as well as simple black. I like the high neckline and interesting seaming details at the waist, and the color seems really lovely. It was $228, but is now marked to $136.80 (sizes 0-16). Classiques Entier ‘Sunmosa Ponte' Seam Detail Dress Other great sale pieces: here, here, and here. Here's a lower-priced option (and one more, here), and a plus-sized alternative. Seen a great piece youd like to recommend? Please e-mail tps@corporette.com. (L-all)

Sales of note for 12.5

And some of our latest threadjacks here at Corporette (reader questions and commentary) — see more here!

Some of our latest threadjacks include:

169 Comments

  1. Question for the hive: How do you deal with conflicting messages on “being a b*tch in business”?

    I’m in my mid to late 20s and in the last year I’ve taken on a lot of authority and decision making power at my very small but successful company in the banking industry. I’ve been essentially acting as the #2 to our CEO at his behest. I have a great rapport with everyone in my immediate office. We’re all in our mid 20s to early 30s, college educated, etc so we understand each other. I’ve been running into issues outside of our office though with a company we recently partnered with. This company is predominantly people over 40 and not college educated but with a lifetime of experience in our industry. I often get feedback from this company (at a few different levels) that I am too stern and straightforward when I communicate with them but also that my approach is sometimes too diplomatic and not straightforward enough. I feel like I can never win. My gut tells me that they’re discounting me due to age (and possibly gender sometimes) but regardless I need to learn how to effectively communicate with them to make our partnership work (long backstory but we were a coveted company to partner with).

    Any thoughts or advice? Maybe I’m just looking for commiseration.

    1. I’ve just finished NGDGTCO and so my reply is coming from that – could it be that in that other company there is an expectation that women will behave in a particular way?

      1. You would think that’d be the case but I’m inclined to say no. I primarily work with women inside my company and at our partnered company.

    2. Personally, I flex my style depending on who I’m working with. I’m not so committed to a particular approach and if my normal style isn’t effective, I care more about being effective than sticking it it. Experiment a little with the feedback you’ve gotten, and try to not get so caught up in attributing a negative age or gender related reason to what’s going on. That’s not going to be useful here and will probably prevent you from getting results. Try reading up on negotiations. Getting to yes is a good book.

      1. But you have to find a way to filter out gender-biased feedback that does not reflect the employee’s effectiveness and merely demonstrates the supervisor’s bias from feedback that indicates that flexing may be in order.

        Google: “Kieran Snyder” Fortune Abrasiveness Trap

        1. You have to filter it out for working in other venues going forward but to be successful with that sexist supervisor you might have to change your style. Sad but true.

      2. I just got Getting to Yes delivered to my kindle. Interested to see if it helps on issues like this.

    3. I might try opening with a few pleasantries first – if you are not naturally gushy it will feel weird, but for example, “Hi, Barbara, how are you? ___ How was your weekend? ____ How about that Patriots game?” (or whatever else) Open with a social question first before you get down to business.

      Also, is the “too straightforward” vs “not straightforward enough” feedback coming from different people? You might have to make a cheat sheet for who prefers talking about fun stuff first vs who wants to be reminded of the action items at the middle and end of the call, depending on which feedback is coming from whom.

    4. Thanks for the responses. I try not to get caught up in gender, education, etc but I do try and stay aware of when feedback is biased.

      The straight forward vs not straight forward enough feedback is coming from different people. I think I’ll start working on my mental cheat sheet of how to approach different people. Thanks for the book recs as well.

  2. Poll for those of you in long distance relationships – how often do you see your SO, and do you have any tips on making it work when you’re apart? I starting dating someone in a nearby state a few months ago and have been struggling with how to juggle seeing them most weekends (which I really want to do) vs. maintaining my friendships in my own town. Plus, when we’re together, it’s nonstop time together for a few days vs. being metered out into short bursts during the week. Commiseration and advice welcome. TIA.

    1. Ugh, I’m in the same boat. How far away is your SO? We pretty much do most of our normal social things, but bring the other person. I know I’m lucky in that we both have casual, easy-going friend groups, and we get along great with each other’s friends, but I’ve noticed one of the things we do differently from past long distance relationships is just forcing ourselves to go out and be social, even when our first instinct is to spend the entire weekend by ourselves.

      Also, this probably doesn’t need to be said, but unless there are extenuating circumstances, your SO should come to your town as much as you go to theirs!

    2. Welcome to the ‘people really can try to understand but you only know it when you’re living your specific situation’ world of long-distance relationships.

      For context- shortly after starting to date my now-husband, he moved 7 hours away. Because of logistics, I ended up driving up every other weekend to see him for a year and then moved up to be with him for the next two years (much to the detriment of my career and emotional health at the time, but that is another story). Now, in his long-term career, he has a job where he is gone for 2-3 months at a time and then home for 2-3 months at a time. Because of the nature of his work, he doesn’t get days off while he’s at work and it’s not an option for me to go out and visit. He often works internationally and is frequently out of cellphone range for weeks at a time. We are lucky with his current company to have both phone and decent internet that gives us a few choppy skype calls a week (he calls at 2AM his time so other people aren’t using the internet). We’ve gone 8 weeks without a phone call and with text-only emails (one a day) as our only form of communication. It’s different, for sure, but I can say with certainty that knowing what we can weather together has made our marriage stronger.

      Here are tips:

      -Have your own life. Try and go visit every other weekend or make plans with friends on weeknights. Don’t whine or complain all the time. It’s your life and your choice- if you’re not happy about it, change something (I suggest changing your point of view).
      -Send each other random/funny articles. This will give you something else to talk about. Also, embrace the weirdness that daily conversations/text messages become. Every day we tell each other what we ate. It’s our way of feeling closer.
      – Breathe deeply and just think of this as a different type of relationship. Try not to compare yourself to others.

      Feel free to page me and I’ll let you commiserate away!!

      1. This is really helpful, thank you. We’re just an hour away by plane, which can add up but makes weekends doable. We’ve gotten in the habit of trading photos and texts a few times a day, which has helped – not necessarily selfies, but dinner/drinks, pets, and other daily life stuff.

        1. I’m in the same situation- my SO is roughly an hour away by plane or a 5 hour drive (he occasionally drives; I never do). He has a “busy season” at work for about 3 months, and I don’t see him as much then, but outside of that time we commit to seeing each other 2 weekends per month. M job is longer hours than his and I usually have to work on the weekend, so he usually comes to me. We have at least one evening just the two of us (even if its just snuggling on the couch) and will spend one weekend out with friends or whatever. We’ll separate for a few hours (he works out a lot on the weekends and sometimes wants to watch the game with his friends; I like to catch yoga class and I often have to go in to work for a few hours) but we always spend lots of time together.

          It’s been a couple of years and its okay. It’s not ideal, but it’s totally worth it.

          My biggest advice is to remember to keep real life going. Don’t treat every visit together like a vacation (put off disagreements, smooth over everything that bothers you because you only have a little time together) because this stagnates the relationship and keeps you from growing in intimacy. Deal with stuff the same as you would if you were living together.

      2. Having recently been watching Homeland, I am picturing your husband in the CIA! :)

    3. I agree with the tips and advice above.

      The details here will probs out me to anyone who knows me, but whatevs. When I started dating my SO ~2.5 years ago, he lived about 45 minutes away from me. I was in law school and he is also a student. Additionally, he works weekend nights (Fri, Sat, Sun 6:30pm-6:30am). As you can imagine, our schedules kind of put a damper on how much time we could spend together. He had a car and I don’t, and he lived at home, so he visited me and I rarely visited him. The other piece was that right around when we started dating, I had on-campus interviews for law firms and basically committed to spending my 2L summer in another city, and moving there (here) after graduation.

      It was really hard at first; I had never dated someone I couldn’t just see whenever I/we wanted. I remember a few months in crying because I didn’t feel like it was ever going to get better–there wasn’t any end in sight to being far away from each other; in fact it was only going to get worse. At the time, he kindly but firmly explained to me that his career and education were going to come first for now, ahead of spending time with a new girlfriend, and even though it made me sad that we weren’t going to be able to be physically together more, it was comforting to know that he had his priorities straight and that he was going to be honest with me about that kind of thing. He was willing to try to make it work despite being 45 minutes apart and not getting weekends, but that was the ‘price of admission,’ so to speak.

      At first he would come over one night a week and that would be our date night. As we dated longer, we got into a routine where he would spend more time at my place during the week, leaving to work on weekends. Sometimes on those nights we’d hang out with my roommates or other friends, sometimes we’d just do our own thing, a lot of the time we’d just study together. On weekends, I had an independent social life because he was working. Would I have rather had him with me? Sure, sometimes; I definitely missed having him at parties I knew he’d have enjoyed or shows he wanted to go to or whatever. It sucked. But, I also got to invest time into my friendships with law school people (and others) that, knowing myself, I might have missed out on if given the chance to spend all my time with a new boyfriend.

      Now, I’ve graduated law school and moved to the city I was always planning to move to, and he’s in his last semester. He visits me about once a month when he has a vacation from school or work, and I go up there a couple times a semester (though again, he still works weekends, so it’s still tough). He’s planning to move down here over the summer. Is it hard? Yeah, especially after this last break, we had a great routine down here over the holidays and I’ve been lonely adjusting to being alone again. But, I’ve also had a lot of space to build my own life and identity here in my new city. I’m excited for him to come, but I also don’t feel like I NEED him here to be happy, and that’s really empowering and validating for me.

      So with all that, here are my tips:

      -As others have said, have your own life. In general I think it’s unreasonable to expect your partner to fulfill ALL of your needs anyway; you still need relationships with others, so cultivate those bonds/hobbies/whatever.
      -When he is there, don’t just hide away and only see eachother for the weekend or week or day or whatever. Sure, once in a while that’s fine, but when you do finally get to be together, you’re going to want him to be a part of whatever life you have, so start now.
      -My BF and I like to text throughout the day, it makes us feel connected, and on weeknights we usually talk on the phone for a least a few minutes. On weekends when our schedules are different it’s fun to wake up to emails and texts from him from the night before. I like the advice about embracing the weirdness. We talk about that stuff too. It might seem boring if I listed the topics we sometimes talk about, but it’s comforting for us.
      -We have certain hobbies that we share with each other, and also with others, especially one specific game, and we talk about them a lot. So I can play that game with other people here, and he plays with other people in his town, and then we compare notes. It makes us feel closer together.
      -Talk about issues before they’re issues, and communicate gratitude for the work your partner is putting into the relationship. Communication is extra important because of the distance. We talk about EVERYTHING, good and bad, and it makes us feel closer and our bond stronger.
      -Trust. If I didn’t trust him completely, this wouldn’t work, and vice versa.
      -For me, having an end date on the distance makes it a lot easier.
      -Lots of solo garden parties (ahem).

      Sorry for the novel, but feel free to page and commiserate any time!

    4. My SO and I are also a 45 minute flight away. We try to see each other 3 weekends a month, and I end up traveling 2-3 times a month because he really dislikes my city. We hang out with each others’ friends very often when together, so never feel like we are nonstop together. I also rarely feel bad about not seeing him (though I love him) because I love having the time to myself and seeing all the friends I feel like I never get to see / see alone.

    5. I was in a long distance relationship the entire time I was in law school. We saw each other about every 3 weeks and I spent one (10 wk) summer with him. I definitely didn’t have as an active a social life where I lived because of the long distance relationship. But we are happily married now, so I suppose that’s proof it can work out. And I do have friends still that I made during that period of my life. It really helped that one of us was employed and could afford to pay for the travel. It also helped that we’d been together for over a year before we went long distance, so we had a foundation. It was really difficult missing him all the time and not quite fitting in with couple friends or single friends because of my unusual status.

    6. We were long distance for 5 years before moving to the same city and ultimately getting married. When we were close driving distance apart then we would see each other every weekend but also tried to socialize with my friends or his friends. We both spent time separately with friends during the week. For us, long distance worked because there was always an understanding that it was temporary and that we were working to living closer to each other. I feel that we also got to know each other much better because we spent so much time talking during the week.

    7. My former husband traveled a lot (projects that kept him away for weeks or months at a time), and one of the things that helped us feel close when he was gone was having “TV dates.” We’d get on the phone and watch a TV show together in our separate places. It felt nicely semi-normal and was low pressure and companionable.

      Also, maybe agree on a schedule to help make things more predictable? Like, “you visit here on the first weekend of the month, I visit there on the second weekend of the month, we alternate third weekends, and fourth weekends we each stay where we are and live our own lives.” I also think it’s okay to do your own thing even if he’s visiting. Like, “I’m super psyched that you’re coming for the weekend, and oh by the way there’s a girls’ brunch on Sunday so you’ll have some time to yourself that morning.”

      1. +1 to this. I’m currently long distance with my husband (I took a temporary position about 3 hours from home, but will be following this one with another temporary position that is a 3-hour flight away). I drive home almost every weekend to see him, and something that has been really important to me is also finding some time each weekend to do something on my own (catch up with a friend, get a manicure, etc.). I think it helps both of us feel a little more “normal” about our relationship as opposed to thinking we have to maximize EVERY SECOND of EVERY WEEKEND.

        Another thing that has helped us has been that we are both very honest with who we are as people and how we need to operate. For example, neither of us are big phone people, so the pressure of having to catch up for a long time on the phone (even about little things) would drive us crazy – so we text and email throughout the day, and generally only talk on the phone for a couple minutes each night. It’s important to be realistic about what will work for you and not have preconceived notions of what LDR should look like, I think. We’d also been together 6 years before this separation happened, so we’re pretty solid already. YMMV, but honesty and flexibility are key.

  3. I’m really struggling with feeling like I’m behind in my career development. I’m super ambitious and in my mid 20s. I guess part of this is not being able to figure out where I ‘should’ be by now and also not really knowing what other steps I should take to push my career along. I feel like I’m sort of in a holding pattern. Is it normal to feel this way?

    1. I can definitely commiserate. I’m in a weird place myself where I’m too skilled for entry-level jobs and not at the right point for a manager position yet. I just started my second semester of an MBA program, so hopefully at the end of that, I’ll be in a better place to look and be considered for managerial positions.

      So no advice, but know you’re not alone!

    2. The Quarter Life Crisis was really helpful for me when I felt like that, even though I was in my late 20’s when I read in. Highly recommend it!

  4. Paging the anon yesterday looking for a yoga top!

    I replied really late so you probably won’t have seen it – H&M have one as part of their current sportswear range, which I’ve had good experiences with.

  5. Put this in the category of lucky problems to have, but…I recently moved from biglaw to government and I’m having a hard time adjusting to my new workspace. It’s…pretty depressing and also incredibly dusty (I clean, the dust resettles when I come back the next day, etc.). It’s old and dated and while I have walls (which I am grateful for!) they are cubicle material so I cannot really hang any of my framed art. I’m also going through withdrawal with respect to not having a window anymore, which contributes to the dark and dingy vibe.

    Any suggestions on how to brighten the space up? Recs for plants that don’t require natural light? I’m thinking about getting an SAD lamp?

    1. ZZ Plants! They’re magic. Zamioculcas zamiifolia. They’re basically indestructible. I water mine once a month. I’d suggest maybe taking it home to let it sit in a sunny window one weekend out of every two months or so if you could, but it will be ok even if you don’t.

    2. A mirror can be a great faux window. Even if you can’t hang it, you can have one on a stand or prop it up against a wall.

      Also, lamps and swiffer dusters.

    3. Get a hepa air filter. They’re on Ama z o n. It won’t entirely fix the dustiness, but will help. It definitely helped when I had a similar situation (small, dusty, windowless room).

    4. You can get clips that slide over the top edge of your cubicle wall to hang your art from.

      1. Just make sure it’s not too heavy or it will all come crashing down. I sadly speak from experience.

    5. Yes to the SAD lamp. I have a happy lamp on all the time in my office (not a proper light box, which you can only leave on for limited periods).

      1. I’ve been wanting to get a lamp rather than a light box…can you make a recommendation?

    6. I don’t have a window in my office. I bought a huge Fathead decal with a beautiful window overlooking gorgeous scenery and it made a HUGE difference. I love it so much!

    7. Try an Aerogarden. You can google it. I have one at home, and it’s a great combination of humidifier, plant and happy light all in one. You can program it to go on and off automatically and the plants seem to last about three months, so you can switch between flowers, herbs, etc.

      1. Work from home because your office isnt as nice as your old one? at a brand new job? thatll go over well

    9. Is this a temporary situation? I know it totally varies from place to place, but I know plenty of lawyers who are in government and have offices with windows (and views). Maybe they don’t have one for you but you may have first dibs on the next open one?

    11. I moved to a new job and no office window. I hate it! I told my boss I was going to file a Workers’ Comp claim for SAD, since I get no natural light in my office!

    12. Can you get a small air cleaner for the dust? I use one in my office and it really helps. I usually run it at night or if I can hear something that is distracting to me :) I use the Honeywell model.

      Also, I suggest taking many small breaks throughout the day. I go between two offices and they couldn’t be more different but the little walking breaks really help me get through the muckity muck.

  6. One of my New Years’ resolutions is to only invest in quality, non-“fast fashion” clothing this year, but then I start thinking, “I could really make use of a long tassel necklace and some snakeskin flats and maybe a pair of yellow ballet flats and…”

    I’m starting to feel like I should just unfollow all the fashion blogs I read and stop thinking about clothes at all. Any advice on switching to a more minimalist wardrobe without feeling deprived?

    1. I don’t think I’d enjoy a minimalist wardrobe. I need variety, and I enjoy shopping. I don’t buy true junk or things that will look dated in 6 months, but I do make use of good sales to buy inexpensive but attractive items that make me feel good.

      2. Agree. Life is too short for forced-minimalism – I mean, if that’s your thing and it makes you happy, go for it, but I like having the odd blouse printed with bugs.

        One thing I do to try to slow down the shopping impulse is to ban myself from certain stores each month. Like, one month it will be no Banana/Gap/Old Navy. This month, it’s no Loft, despite the 70% off flash sale last night. I also try to remind myself when I am idly browsing a shop site of items I already have, because lots of times I end up thinking, gee, that’s a really cute top, oops, I have one just like it!

          1. +1 (I think I even googled once to try to find a bee blouse that someone had referenced briefly in the comments here but couldn’t find. ) Must have bug blouse. :)

          3. I got mine at H&M (this week!). It’s a nice off-white button-up with bugs printed on it. It’s made of some cheapo polyester, but it drapes nicely. I don’t really do “crisp” button-ups anyway, they don’t ever sit right on me.

      3. Agreed with tesyaa. Also, although I’ve stopped buying fast fashion, I do make an exception for trendy items that I intend to only wear a few times.

        1. I also agree with tesyaa, she is so smart! I alway’s agree with tesyaa! But what kind of name is tesyaa? Is there some thing that I am missing in her name? Yay!

      4. How does this answer OP’s question?

        I am uncomfortable when we are not about me?

    2. The thing I’m trying to do this month when the sales are so great, and I am self-imposing a shopping ban is to remind myself of all the great stuff I already have.

      e.g. Ooh, I like ALL the dresses. But, I already have x, y, z great ones.

    3. Choose your colour scheme and stick to it. It means you can impulse-buy when you find things that fit the colour scheme, but by definition reduces the amount of things that will.

      1. Agree. 95% of my closet is black, grey, camel, cream, dark blue, or green. It tends towards minimalism with very little effort on my part.

        1. I want to start including camel, but I’ve seen very little of it. I’m a black, blue, red, grey, or green girl at the moment.

          1. I looove camel and tend to find it most often at more traditional stores – Brooks Brothers, Talbots, etc. I stock up when I find it b/c it does go beautifully with my navy/grey/green/black wardrobe. Dark yellow and purple are also two favorite accent colors for me.

    4. I have been faux-shopping – putting things in my cart and then closing the window. Not looking at the sale emails also helps.

      1. I also discovered faux-shopping about a year ago (though I never thought of giving it such an appropriate name). It allows me to think about whether I really want to buy the items. Usually I decide I don’t need them, and often I just forget that I have stuff in my cart/bag on a particular website anyway. Somehow this practice is as relaxing for me as real shopping, but much cheaper. I didn’t expect this, but it’s also helped me get better at figuring out what items I really want/need, and which ones I’m just buying because they’re on sale or they caught my fancy in passing.

      2. I do this with books and DVDs – I put things in my Amazon wishlist instead of in the shopping cart.

      3. I do the same thing. Sometimes I’ll pin items to a hidden pinterest board of “stuff I want to buy for me”, or email myself the info.

        Using unroll me to filter out the sale emails helps too, as does actually walking into my closet and flipping through my clothes.

    5. I think investing in quality clothes is definitely a good thing BUT the small trendy splashes is what keeps your wardrobe fresh. Personally, I think the best way to go about it is figure out exactly what trendy items you want i.e. snakeskin flats will look great with skirt A, jeans B and dress C that are quality items so they’re a good addition. If the yellow flats will only look good with one pair of jeans that’s paired with one top, probably not a good addition.

    6. I am trying to do the same — no clothes or shoes unless a replacement is necessary. Switching to a minimalist wardrobe yet still having many colors to choose from is where I’m stumped.

    7. It really is a matter of personality. If you are the type of person who hunts for perfect items minimalism is great, however if you’re the type of person who thinks ‘oh that’s fun’ then minimalism isn’t for you. Personally I’m at the point of buying 2-3 things a month and they have to be *perfect*, I really want to love what I have.

    8. I am trying to do the same. For me, the burden of “constant shopping” (even if I am not actually buying anything, but just clicking on the sale emails I get every day and wondering whether I should be buying something) has gotten to be too much of a time waster (and money waster, in the instances where I am buying). My plan is to think critically at the beginning of each 3-month “season” about the gaps in my wardrobe that I want to fill, and then buy a few (3-5) pieces to fill those gaps. Not everything has to be basic, so I think there would be room for your snakeskin flats as one of those pieces! Once I buy those new items, I am done shopping for that season. I can pin things on Pinterest if ideas strike me (helpful to prepare for the next shopping period), but no buying or shopping.

      There is something to be said for the mental relief of deciding not to shop at all until the next season — for me, it prevents the wondering and constant mental chatter about buying or not buying something. I think it’s similar to deciding to cut out dessert on weekdays. It’s easier for my brain to set rules like “if it’s a Tuesday, I don’t eat dessert, but on Saturdays, I do” so that I don’t have to think about whether today will be a day where dessert is allowed. I know that for some people, those kinds of rules are oppressive, but for me, they are liberating b/c it frees up mental space.

    9. Well, sometimes I do unsubscribe from all the stores. And sometimes the blogs, too.
      You can follow the 333 project, or something similar that purports to encourage people to limit their number of wearable items. They’re not strict – you can have, say, two shirts, but 30 scarves or necklaces to mix it up.

      Have you done a closet/dresser purge? I’m doing one now and it helps so much.

      Also, just think about things differently, if that makes sense? It’s ok to be trendy – if you love it, if it makes you smile, if you do a cost per wear analysis (I don’t follow these rules, they’re suggestions or ways to think about things…)

  7. Anyone up for a vicarious shopping challenge? I’m on the hunt for an alternative to the Sam Edelman Penny boot in “whiskey” (I’ll post the link as a reply to this in order to avoid the mod-bot). I love the color and style, but the fit is a bit off. I’m also not crazy about the way they’ve darkened the leather at the heels and toes. Would like to keep it under $200 if humanly possible…$300 is the max. I love the Frye Melissa Button boots but they’re sadly a wee bit too rich for my blood.

      1. Omg, thank you for posting these – I know they aren’t what you’re looking for but they are my magical unicorn boots!

        1. Hahahaha! “Magical boot unicorn” is my new favorite phrase. They are SO CLOSE to being my MBU but not quite there. I’m glad they work for you!

        3. I like them but be aware that the quality is not amazing. Both my friend and I have had issues with zippers (snagging and picking pants when sitting with legs crossed, etc) and the side detail with the button (peeling off).

    2. Annnnnddd I may have just solved my own problem. Amazon is in the last two days of a 20% off boot sale and miraculously the code worked on a pair of cognac Melissa Button boots. Enabler alert! But I’d still be interested in any alternatives (or feedback from Melissa Button owners).

      2. Aaaaaaaaand…. now I want the Frye Melissa Button Boots! I bought a pair of casual shorter ones a few months back (Frye Anna Shortie Booties in black) and am in love with them. Good thing I am on a shopping moratorium right now.

    3. I did this exact same hunt (I wanted cognac boots without the darkened leather) but couldn’t find anything under $250 or so…I tried on the Penny and it worked for me luckily, and I was really happy with the leather quality in person (as opposed to similar price point styles). I did see some nice Geox cognac boots at the beginning of the season (tall, plain, right colour) but they were in the $300-something range (Canadian).

      1. I agree that the leather quality of the Pennies is great (I have a pair sitting in my mudroom right now that I ordered from Nordstrom to try on).

  8. For those who get bonuses: How do you prepare for when Uncle Sam comes calling? 2014 was my first full year at a role where I’m getting a substantial bonus. I also got married in 2014 and will be filing jointly for the first time. No other deductions to speak of at this point (no mortgage, student loan interest, etc.) Pretty sure we’re going to be writing a fat check to the government this year.

    To avoid writing the huge check, do you use the IRS calculator to see what the annual taxes will be and then adjust your W4 withholding accordingly? Do you file separately? I know I need to consult a tax consultant, and that’s the next step, but just wondering what the lovely ladies of the hive do.

    1. When I got married, I just adjusted withholding on my paycheck if needed. Also, check to see if taxes were taken out of your bonus – my work takes taxes out of ours so we don’t have to worry as much.

      Also, I think filing separately only makes sense in very limited situations (alimony/child support, etc.) so I wouldn’t do that unless you have an accountant who has already told you it would save you money.

      1. Sounds like you don’t have student loans, but we are getting married this year and planning to file separately because of my IBR payments. Filing jointly would likely increase my payments almost $800 per month.

        1. Here’s a fun surprise we discovered when married but filing separately: We weren’t able to deduct our student loan interest. Yeah. I was using TurboTax at the time-not an accountant, but definitely realize that could be a possibility.

          ETA: We filed separately the first year we were married because that year I did an extremely low-paying fellowship and in doing the math, it was about a $100 dollar difference to our advantage to file separately. Since that point, we’ve filed jointly.

          1. Huh I didn’t know that for the past few years I have made too much to deduct student loan interest anyway so it probably won’t matter but is something to keep in mind in the future.

          2. The most you can get back from student loan deduction is like $600, so you save more in a month of filing separately than you could in a year of filing together.

    2. My company treats a bonus like a regular, but separate paycheck and taxes come out automatically. I’ve never done anything special for bonus checks. We are married and file jointly. Our finances aren’t too complicated, so we just use Turbo Tax.

      1. My company treats bonuses the same. For my mid-year they took out 36% for taxes. Do you not end up owing a large amount (ie: your company’s deductions from the bonus are adequate to cover the taxes due on it)?

        They did take out less after I changed my filing status from single to married, so I think that’s why I may owe way more than I’d like :-/

        1. In my experience, the company deductions seem to cover the taxes. The bonus gets directly deposited into my account like a paycheck. And I’m assuming my W2 covers the amount. I’ve never had any problems before and we usually get some sort of refund.

    3. When I got married we started filing jointly. We owed (and have continued to owe) the government every year. We adjusted our withholding to “Married but withhold at the higher single rate” and we don’t claim any allowances. Also, we did not want to have extra withheld from our paycheck because we viewed it as basically giving the government an interest-free loan. So we set up a separate savings account (in ING/now Capital One) and each pay period we automatically transfer a set amount to that savings account. We withdraw money from that when we have to pay taxes.

      ETA – any firm bonus that I’ve received has been subject to tax/401k withholding at the time of receipt. If it was similar at your firm, I don’t think it will have much of an effect on your salary aside from increasing your reportable income.

      1. I used to put stock in the interest free loan way of thinking back when interest was >0. But now, I’d rather not run the risk of being in a penalty situation for withholding too little, so I not only withhold at the single rate,but I kick in an extra $250 per paycheck (I’m in a high-tax state and that makes the marriage-penalty and AMT hit completely awful).

        I think about getting divorced all the time (but solely for tax resons). Maybe we can just be domestic partners?

      2. I always plan to owe/get refund of about $100, but remember that there is a penalty if you don’t withhold enough. Not an accountant but my working knowledge is that you have to withhold at least your prior year’s tax liability/taxes owed. So if you owed $20,000 in taxes for 2013 and will owe $30,000 in 2014, you only need to withhold $20,000 to not have a penalty. But if you owed $30,000 in 2013 and only withhold $25,000 and your 2014 liability is $28,000 you will be assessed a penalty on the $3,000 delta. So I watch that in addition to watching how much I withhold.

        If you have uncertain income, you can also keep your withholding lower and then in December do a calculation (with better certainty) and make additional payment(s) before the 12/31 deadline: That way the gov’t only has your $$$ for a short time and you are less likely to either have a penalty or a large refund. (These are sometimes called “quarterly estimated payments” but can be made by anyone. )

        1. The general rule* of the safe harbor for avoiding penalties is that you need to withhold at least the smaller of 100% of the prior year’s tax liability or 90% of the current year’s. Since the current year’s is a moving target, it’s easier to just aim to meet the 100% of PY liability.

          *For high income taxpayers (amount changes depending on your filing status), the percentage of PY is 110%, not 100%.

          Also, be careful making one large estimated payment at year-end (and technically the deadline for estimated payments is Jan. 15, not 12/31). You have to meet specific criteria (in the form of an IRS worksheet) regarding the amounts and timing of your income to do this.

    4. I don’t know how the marrage will impact your taxes, but I dout that you will take as big of a hit on the bonus as you seem to think. Every company I’ve worked at or heard of taxes a bonus payment in some manner (and I would be surprised if they were not required to tax it in some way by the IRS). Can you check you bonus paystud to see how much has already been taken out?

    5. Taxes are withheld from bonuses at my firm so it’s not like you have to worry about setting aside a third of what you receive for taxes. That said, if it’s unexpectedly large, you may still owe additional taxes for the year anyway. Forking over the extra couple thousand in April is worth it IMO to avoid giving the govt an interest free loan all year on that money.

    6. My tax prof in law school used to say that married filing separately was only for people whose spouses were committing tax fraud. (So as to avoid signing a joint tax return you knew was fraudulent).

      1. This is not true. There are a lot of specific situations where you may save money doing so.

    7. It’s pretty standard practice for employers to withhold bonuses at a flat 25% for federal income taxes regardless of what bracket the bonus or your other paychecks put you in. Obviously, this means you may end up owing more if your overall income puts you in a higher marginal tax bracket and you don’t engage in government-approved behaviors like home ownership, reproduction, and living in a high-tax state to reduce your average tax rate.

      My approach every year is to:

      1. Project my taxable income not counting bonus (for me, that’s base salary + investment income – salary reductions for 401k and cafeteria plan – standard deduction – personal exemption).

      2. Plug the result from #1 into the tax tables to get my estimated liability (again, this is not including bonus).

      3. Repeat #1, but add in my estimated bonus.

      4. Repeat #2, but using the taxable income from #3.

      5. Take the result from #4 and subtract #2, and this is what your bonus adds to your tax liability.

      6. Multiply estimated bonus by 25%. This is the amount of tax that will already be withheld on it.

      7. Take the result from #5 and subtract #6 from it–if positive, this is the amount of extra withholding you need in your regular paychecks to cover the underwithholding on your bonus. (If it’s zero or negative, your bonus withholding is either just right or too much, respectively, and IMO I would skip to #9, using the result from #2–at your option, you could subtract #7 from #2 and use that result for #9, but if you end up not getting a bonus you will have underwithheld and that’s not a great position to take).

      8. Add the result from #7 to #2.

      9. Divide #8 by the overall number of pay periods to determine how much I need withheld from each paycheck to cover my tax liability from base salary, investments, and the underwithholding on bonus (note: my investment income is standard bank interest that does not trigger withholding, so I use my payroll withholding to cover that tax. YMMV).

      10. I then go to the paycheck calculator on Paycheck City. I put in annual base salary, pay periods, state, and any payroll reductions and any other blanks other than my federal withholding allowances, and treat those as my controls. I then play around with the withholding allowance number to see what gets me close to the number I determined I need from #9. I aim for a withholding number that is just a *wee* bit higher than what I estimate I actually need, because in my own personal experience I tend to underestimate my income and/or overestimate my salary reductions, but I don’t go overboard because my personal view is to prefer paying in a few hundred vs. getting a refund.

      1. ETA: Having written this all out, it reads more complicated than it is. You do it once in Excel with formulas to handle all of the the cross-referencing above that makes it hard to follow, and the only real work you need to do is estimate your income and deductions (and look up the std deduction and personal exemptions for that year), look at the tax table for that year, and then go to the Paycheck City calculator. With the spreadsheet in place, it takes me maybe 10 minutes at the end of December to figure out if I need to change my withholding.

        1. This might be an entirely stupid question, but I have to ask because I think I’m confusing myself: when you talk about “25% for federal income taxes” is that inclusive of social security and medicare, or just the federal withholding? I have the three categories on my paystub – Federal W/H, Medicare, Social Security. Another way to ask – when I calculate my taxes due using the IRS website/tax brackets, it says “28% over X”. Is that 28% all encompassing of the three categories, or just the “Federal W/H” category?

          ETA: thank you very much for the detail – it does make sense.

          1. “when you talk about “25% for federal income taxes” is that inclusive of social security and medicare, or just the federal withholding?”

            Just the federal withholding. Unless you have multiple employers during the year, SS and Medicare will be taken out at the exact percentage you owe so you don’t have to worry about calculating that amount yourself. (And at the risk of going outside the scope of your question, I’ll add that for singles (or married persons who are a high earner) who are above the 25% tax bracket and receive bonuses EOY, the SS annual cap will likely already have been met so only Medicare taxes will be withheld in addition to any federal and state/local taxes).

            FWIW, I have never gotten very accurate results using the IRS calculator. Not surprisingly, it recommends that I overwithhold significantly–I would receive refunds of $6-7k if I followed it, and with $100k in student loans, I’d much rather have that money during the year for extra payments (and while I make a nice midsize firm salary, I’m not in the income range where $6-7k is a taxes “rounding error,” so that’s some poor programming in their calculator).

    8. I’m a partner and thus pay quarterly estimated taxes, but I think it makes sense to handle it the same way. I set aside a chunk of each paycheck/bonus based upon my estimation of what I will owe the government, and it hangs out in a different account waiting on payments to be due. I do have an accountant who helps me figure it out, but I generally do rough cuts that are bigger than I think the tax bill will be (to accommodate any errors).

    9. Taxes and my 401K pre-tax deduction (but no other deductions) are taken out of my bonus automatically. Although I am thinking of increasing the percentage this year, living on a little less, and hopefully maxing out my 401K before the bonus hits the bank next year due to a previous post.

  9. Has anyone read and implemented this book’s advice? Trying to decide if I should make it a long weekend project. I have enough room for all my stuff, but I also have 7 pairs of jeans that don’t fit.

    1. I am waiting for it to be available at the library – can’t wait! I have seen so many good reviews about her method.

    2. Yes. And not to scare you, but I don’t have that many clothes, and it still took me about 6 hours to just do my clothes, so unless you live in a tiny loft apartment I think it would be very ambitious to think you can do everything in your house in a long weekend. I was mentally and emotionally drained by the time I finished my clothes. I realize that sounds stupid and melodramatic, but it’s amazing how much emotional energy we put into our possessions sometimes.

      I’m doing one category per weekend. That said, just having done my clothes, my life is already better. I can see every piece of clothing I own, and I only have stuff I love in my closet. Good luck!

      1. Not scary this is great advice! I’d much rather have reasonable expectations than be disappointed.

      2. Don’t know the book, but this is excellent advice for organizing in general. Plan to do small sections over time and its more likely to get done. Do it all at once and you run into decision fatigue.

        1. The book disagrees. She believes that doing a lot builds momentum and prevents backsliding.

          1. This is true to a degree, particularly as regards MPLS’s comment, but CPA Lady’s one-category comment she responded to is fine. As I recall, Marie specifically discourages doing one ROOM at a time, not one CATEGORY — so, deal with all the paper in your whole house at once, as opposed to making a single project of cleaning out the home office.

      3. Ditto. It took me a few days to do just my clothes back in November. and it was wonderful. I did some paper, and my yarn collection but I’m still doing a few categories as they pop up or as I have time.

        She also tells you to get rid of all the buttons, but I’m finding that I actually use them (for coats).

        1. What? ALL the buttons!?

          I mean I admit that most of the buttons in my button box are probably for clothes that I don’t even have anymore, but…but…but…ALL the buttons?

        2. I save all my buttons… I put my post earrings in them so they do not get separated. But I still have about 75 more buttons than earrings and I think I posted a few days ago about a coat I have and all of the buttons have fallen off so it’s not like I even sew them on or replace them if they do fall off.

    3. I am in the process. I’ve only done clothes so far, but I’m enjoying the results. It is definitely difficult because I ended up getting rid of A LOT of items and felt incredibly wasteful. At the same time, her theory allowed me to appreciate the other potential “purposes” for those items (besides personally wearing them into the ground, regardless of whether I liked them) and send them on to new homes. My closet now contains only items I truly like and am excited to wear. And that feels amazing.
      I’ll be moving forward to the other categories.

      1. +1. Also, in the book she says “quickly” means 6 months for tidying EVERYTHING. I got scared by “do everything in one fell swoop” but a 6 month timeline makes more sense to me.

        I am keeping her rubric in mind and doing clothes and then paperwork. There is a TON of paperwork in our house so it will take a long time.

    4. Also not about the book BUT my newly discovered tip was to buy a separate box of plastic trash bags, and bring that whole box into my bedroom, and that way I don’t pile the clothes, they go into the plastic bag, get tied up, and are ready to go off to Goodwill. I’ve done most of my closet since New Year’s and am working on my dresser.

    5. This book absolutely has changed my life. Go for it — but know that this is not a long weekend project. It is at very least weeks of work — I think she says six months, and maybe it would for my sister + husband + kid + dog + 4000 sq ft house, but for my fairly simple (read also: unattached) existence, I did it in weeks.

      It will seem less intimidating once you start reading, I swear.

  10. Apologies — I am a alllllll over this thread today! Now I’m looking for travel advice. Hubs and I are thinking of sneaking away for a 4-day getaway (max) to somewhere WARM. Warm warm warm. I’m 16 weeks pregnant so I’ll likely still be in my second trimester when we go. Relaxation, beach/pool and delicious food will be the name of the game, and we want to keep it under $2500 if at all possible. Usually we’re active vacation people but this time I just want hot sun and an easy, mindless trip. No kids, and we need to be able to get there fairly painlessly from the Midwest (Milwaukee/Chicago). Any recs?

    1. San Juan
      Cabo
      Florida – Gulf coast (Sanibel/Captiva or maybe Naples) – although it’s not as reliably hot

    2. I went to Cancun for trips with both of my pregnancies and loved it. Warm, easy to get to, beautiful beaches. It’s developed and so I didn’t worry about getting sick. I just drank a lot of iced tea and Crystal Light while my husband drank on the beach.

        1. I loooooved the Westin Lagunamar because each 1BR/2BR suite has a full kitchen (the studios have a mini kitchen), so we didn’t have to worry about expense of resort food. (There’s a WalMart in downtown Cancun where we bought groceries.)

          1. There’s also a Costco! We bought booze there and used it during the trip. Way cheaper than buying drinks (and bottled waters if pregnant).

        2. We’ve stayed at a ton of places there since we live so close. I can recommend the Westin Lagunamar (which is more like condos and so you’ll have kitchens/kitchenettes). I also like the Omni, the Sun Palace (an adults-only all inclusive that is very quiet and has good food), and the JW Marriott.

        3. I had a great stay at the Valentin Imperial Maya in Playa Del Carmen (about 45 min to an hour south of Cancun). All-inclusive, and under $2500 for two.

        4. I have to plug playa del carmen, royal hideaway again. I loved it. It sounds like just what you need but if it’s not there are a ton of other resorts and it’s much quieter than cancun but only an extra 1/2 hour drive and the hotel usually provides the transportation.

  11. Cap Hill Style had a link about the return of the J.Crew Cece flat in an updated version. I loved the old version and owned several pairs, which I ran into the ground. I would buy more in a minute if it was the same shoe.

    Have any of you tried the new version and what did you think?

    1. The dress is beautiful – I hadn’t clicked on the link to see the zipper in back. I think I’m okay with zippers like that, though. I only hate them when the zipper tape is visible.

      1. It’s not really an “exposed” zipper, it’s a visible zipper. Though, I agree with the OP that I prefer an invisible zipper almost always.

        1. I also really prefer invisible zippers. My personal pet peeve is items that have an exposed/overly visible zipper on purpose, when the dress or top doesn’t even need a zipper in the first place. Why add extra cost to the garment like that? Who cares if it looks trendy from the back?
          I recently bought a dress with an exposed zipper because it was on clearance enough for me not to care (and I don’t work in that formal of an office) but I agree that it needs to stop – it tends to make things look cheaper to me, not nicer.

    2. Exposed zippers don’t bother me either; I don’t even notice them. I ordered the long-sleeved version and hope that the availability of all sizes is not a bad sign.

    3. I like this dress but I love the sleeved version more. I sort of wonder why Kat didn’t feature that one–the sleeved one–instead…we are always crying out for sleeves, and crying out about sheaths without matching jackets. Just seems like a missed opportunity for a win!

  14. Men’s Fashion TJ- Does anyone know a brand or model of men’s dress shoe that is particularly good for men with high arches?

    1. Allen Edmonds seems to be good for my spouse’s narrow feet. I’m not sure about arches but don’t high arches tend to be narrower feet?

    2. I highly recommend Pedag inserts for shoes – you can get them on Amazon on Footsmart.

  15. Late in yesterday’s thread, someone asked about flat irons for curly hair. Mine is the “Infiniti pro” by Conair. $20 at Target. Works great.

    1. I have curly hair and I swear by my GHD iron. It was an investment but hast lasted 5+ years so far and is amazing.

  16. Spurred by the discussion above about bonuses, does anyone have thoughts on whether to roll the entire bonus into a retirement savings account, so that you save the tax hit? (I’m in Canada but I assume there are similar options in the US – we call it an RRSP, but I think that’s the same as a 401k.)

    Last year I rolled my entire small bonus into the RRSP rather than take a 45% tax hit on it. This year I think I’ll get a bigger but not huge bonus (not NY style, my market just doesn’t bonus like that). I still have tons of student loans, but my monthly contribution to my RRSP is small and my bonuses are the only substantial contribution I am making at this point (mid twenties). Also I get a tax refund from rolling it into the RRSP that I won’t from paying down student loans. It seems to make sense but maybe I’m crazy?

    1. So I’m Canadian too (but not an accountant) but FWIW, here are my thoughts: your tax refunds seem to plateau at a certain point based on your RRSP contributions. So I would contribute as much to your RRSP as would get you a maximum refund, and then throw the rest at your student loans. And then I would throw your tax refund at your student loans too. Which I think would maximize your bonus.

      1. This link might help:
        http://www.ey.com/CA/en/Services/Tax/Tax-Calculators-2014-RRSP-Savings

        The reason the savings plateau is because RRSP contributions essentially “reduce” the total income you’re paying tax on. So, if you’re paying tax in the highest bracket, an RRSP contribution is worth more UP to the point at which you’d be sitting in the lower tax bracket.

        The highest federal bracket is ~$138K, and 29% (I’ll ignore provincial, just for illustrative purposes), if you make $150K, putting 1 dollar into your RRSP will net you a $0.29 federal refund. The next lowest bracket is 26%, so you’d only save $0.26 for each dollar beyond that. The next lowest bracket is 22% at $90k. Functionally, including provincial taxes can get you save you close to 50% on income in the highest tax bracket if you put it in your TFSA

        My system is to donate up to the next lowest tax bracket, put the rest of my desired savings in my TFSA, and then the rest into student loans.

        This maximizes the RRSP contribution room (and therefore tax benefits) available to me over the long run, maintains my savings rate for retirement through my TFSA, and allows my to pay off my student loans. Note that my student loan interest rate is lower than my TFSA growth rate, I would change my assumptions if interest rates went up.

        This only works if you have enough space in your TFSA to make up the rest of your savings. Additionally, you need to consider whether you are better off using a TFSA over RRSP generally.

        This way, the amount of RRSP contribution room I have will be even bigger as I make more money (aka sit in a higher tax bracket) so I can contribute to my RRSP more at that point, ease off on my TFSA, and maximize my tax benefits.

        Also, you don’t “save the tax” on RRSP, you are deferring it to the point at which you take it out of your RRSP (you are taxed on initial contributions+growth when it comes out). RRSPs are considered more effective if your tax rate will be lower in retirement.

        TFSAs are post-tax contributions, but you are not taxed at all when it comes out of the TFSA. TFSAs re considered more effective if your tax rate will be higher in retirement.

        Functionally, my plan is to max out both.

        1. This is great!

          Thank you (and also thanks for linking to that calculator). I’m going to copy and paste your post for future reference.

    2. More contribution to a retirement fund is better than less. I spent my summer internship in annuities and saw frightening statistics about how little people save.

      The caveat to that might be that if you’re close to having enough money saved to buy a place rather than renting, and the bonus would make a big difference, that might be better (on the basis that the sooner you buy, the sooner you can be mortgage-free).

      My personal plan is to concentrate almost entirely on saving to buy an apartment, and then on aggressively paying down the mortgage, until I’m 26/27ish, and then rapidly raise my retirement contributions.

    3. We have a parallel option in the US. Speaking from what I suspect is a position closer to being old and relying on my savings and investments than you, if you can roll over the entire thing, do it. You will be happy later. (Unless you think your tax rate will be so much higher later, when you use the money, that it will overshadow the years of pre-tax compounded returns.)

      1. Not sure if you have this option in Canada, but in the US I would urge you to consider a Roth IRA. The idea is that you would pay tax on the money now but not on withdrawals from the account. In your mid-20s you’d have about 40 years of tax-free gains to retire on!

  17. I have a work trip to Houston coming up in two weeks. I would normally wear black tights with my suit in January, but it looks like it’ll be in the 50s/60s. Will black tights look off? I’m in the Midwest and probably wouldn’t wear tights at that temperature, but wasn’t sure what was common in Houston.

    1. I wore black tights in Houston in January for work trips over the past few years and didn’t think twice about it. My legs would have been warm enough in sheer hose though.

    2. People will definitely still be wearing tights for temps in the 50s. It’s not unusual to see knee length coats for 65 degree mornings down here–as a former Midwesterner, I find it hilarious.

    3. We in Houston are wimps about the cold. We bundle up like its 30 below. Tights will not be an issue.

    4. I’m not in Houston, but you’ll be fine in black tights. We Texans jump at the chance to dress for the cold, and 50 degrees is definitely a winter temp here. Houston is a foodie town, so find a great restaurant while there!

    5. It’s 45 degrees in Houston today and I’m wearing black tights. You won’t look out of place wearing black tights in January. I’m from the northeast and agree 50s/60s is not that cold, but I like to wear layers and don’t get enough opportunities to do so in Houston so I tend to dress for the season even if it’s a warmer day.

      1. Weather is all relative. We do have the long, hot, humid summers and trade the wrinkle-prevention for the cold of you Midwesterners and East Coasters. It’s all relative.

        Agreeing that the black tights will be just fine here. Enjoy your time! Great museum district if you have the opportunity. Shopping mecca at the Galleria too. None of that is near the Bush Airport though.

        Have fun and welcome!

      2. Hello from Houston which has been gray and full of 44 degree days. Mild for the rest of the US but too chilly for us plus work in a super cold office next to some super drafty windows. I wear black tights everyday from mid-Oct to mid-March with my winter dresses and skirts. That does seem to be the norm around here for those that dress up. Enjoy your time in Houston. We have some great restaurants and museums.

  18. Do you think you have to wear a jacket with a long sleeve black dress (good quality, Theory) to an important business meeting? What about a business reception?

    1. Business meeting – if the men will be in suits, absolutely – you should wear a full suit too, not a dress and non-matching blazer.

      Business reception – dress is probably fine unless you are making some kind of presentation or need to look like you project authority.

  19. Kat I sent a tech q in an email about a weird popup that always comes up on your website but just thought I’d ask – is anyone else getting weird popups asking me to download flash player or a popup that says it’s going to a phishing website? -_-

    I am also not digging the automatic videos in the ads and is primarily why I have not been coming to corporette as frequently recently, not sure if this was addressed anywhere.

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