Coffee Break – No Slouch Medium Hobo

55 Comments

1. Threadjack, right out of the gate!

   Does anyone have these (or any Cole Haan shoes in this color, palomino)?
   http://www.colehaan.com/colehaan/catalog/product.jsp?catId=100&productId=396011&productGroup=396012&pwpHash=shop,pwp,c-100/f-10001%2B70016%2B3508%2B50111/ipp-40/pn-1/so-finalPrice|true&scrX=0&scrY=613

   I am extremely fair skinned (always get the lightest concealer/tinted moisturizer/etc.) and am looking for a pair of nude-for-me wedges. I recently got a pair of Cole Haan ballet flats and they are the most comfortable things ever on my my 6 month-pregnant feet/legs. I was hoping these wedges might serve the dual purpose of lengthening my leg line a bit and being more comfortable than my less practical pre-pregnancy shoes, but I’m concerned that these shoes are too pale even for me.

   Also, Cole Haan is running a deal through Monday where you can donate $5 to Soles 4 Souls and get 20% off your order of shoes. You can add the $5 donation right to your shopping cart at colehaan.com. No, I don’t work for them but now that I own one pair of their shoes I am obsessed!

   TIA!

   1. Keep in mind that patent won’t stretch like leather so may not be as comfortable.

      1. Thanks, Bonnie. They have leather as well in that shade.

   2. Ooooh, so pretty. But I don’t have any relevant experience with the color. Good luck!

   3. Not what you’re asking, but Ivanka Trump’s Indico pumps are as pale as she is – too pale for my skin tone but they were very pretty and comfortable. I was sad to return them.

      1. Aside from the color, what was your overall impression of Ivanka’s shoe line? Quality, comfort, etc. The price point seems really reasonable. For whatever reason, I have the extreme affection towards Ivanka trump for reasons I don’t understand at all. Maybe because I looked all over for a wedding dress with sleeves for a Jewish wedding, and she had th most beautiful modest wedding dress. Sorry. Afternoon rambles.

         1. My impression was excellent, especially since the shoes are available at Nordstrom (home of the fabulous return policy). I normally wear only made-in-Italy shoes because of the quality difference, but I would have kept Ivanka’s if the nude-for-her color was right for me. The quality seemed good, the leather didn’t seem cheap, and the heel seemed stable. I was pleasantly surprised – better quality than normally found at that price point.

            One thing I appreciated was that even though the Indico is a pointy toe, there was still plenty of toebox room (I’m looking at you, Cole Haan). I ended up going with a Via Spiga pair on sale for about $120 – they are better quality than Ivanka’s, but they should be for a regular $200+ price.

            I am stalking the leopard print Indicos ones, and may end up paying full price since they are so much less expensive than my usual shoes, and the right price I think for “fun” shoes like leopard.

         2. Just want to add that I completely get your adoration of Ivanka Trump. Perhaps it’s because I’m an Apprentice fan (yes, I know it’s trash), but she just seems awesome to me: she’s gorgeous without being showy about it, confident, strikes me as very smart and hard-working and not at all spoiled or Paris Hilton-like, and seems down-to-earth and relatable to boot. All in all, I just get the impression that if I knew her, I’d really like her and want to be her BFF.

2. Thread Hijack…Does anyone have any recommendations for a “starter” watch for young professional attorneys? I would like to invest in one, but would like to stay under $1k if possible. And, I should probably say up front (and please don’t take offense), but I really do not care for Movado’s. The whole blank face look drives me nuts.

   1. I would like to know as well, though I would not consider it a starter watch at that price point but as my forever fancy watch. :))

      1. Well, I actually agree with that assessment. I figured if I didn’t cap it, some of the comments may have been recommending pieces WAY WAY out of my price range. I’m not looking at Cartier or Breitlings. That’s for sure! ;-)

   2. There was a thread on this a while back. I’ll see if I can find it for you.

      1. Here as two threads with watch recommendations. Most are well under your price point, but there are some 1k recs:

         https://corporette.com/2011/01/14/holiday-weekend-open-thread-7/
         https://corporette.com/2010/03/05/weekend-open-thread-30/

         Search for “Skagen” in the thread to jump you to the comments.

      2. Found the threads, but my comment is in moderation. Just take out the spaces in the links

         corporette. com/2011/01/14/holiday-weekend-open-thread-7
         corporette. com/2010/03/05/weekend-open-thread-30

   3. I wear Coach’s Madison. Get it on sale during a Macy’s Friends & Family.

      1. Me too!!

   4. At the other end of the scale, I wear a super-plain Timex that I got for $49 at my local department store. It has a gold (painted) face and plain leather band. I figure that I *could* buy a fancy watch, but as long as it looks decent and tells the time, who is really going to notice or care? Only reason that I am saying this is – I don’t think there is any such thing as a “starter” watch. Wear what you are comfortable with and what works for your lifestyle.

   5. I like Concord brand. I think they are good quality without being too expensive, and you can get them for good prices on the sample sale sites.

   6. I wear a $100 Fossil that has lasted for years and looks great. I can’t imagine spending more than that – quality doesn’t really go up with price when it comes to watches.

      1. I have a $65 fossil watch that I love too :)

         1. I have a silver and blue Fossil that I love. Around $100.

   7. I have an Invicta watch that looks fancy but isn’t. But if you want a really nice watch for under $1k look at Tissot. Amazon sometimes sells them online with their own warranty. I read up a lot on them because I gave one to my husband for his birthday and they are an underappreciated (and thus underpriced) brand in the US, but not around the world. Definitely get one with real saphire glass. Oh and the Amazon watch forums are very useful, you’ll get lots of info there. My husband’s watch retails for $825 but I got it for $520 on Amazon: new, original, etc. Amazon matches the Tissot warranty because they sell “grey market” watches (bought from an authorized retailer). You can also go to an authorized retailer and haggle. Generally you should be able to get 20% off the retail price.

   8. I’ve had good experiences with Wittenauer. I also had a cheaper two-tone Guess watch that I use when I have to travel. A few times I had it at work, the partner I worked for complimented me on it…guess it looked more expensive than it was…

      1. Movados are nice. ESQ too.

      2. Well, Omega, I love my Omega. It has alternating pewter and gold links, and the watch face is mother of pearl. It goes with any jewelry and I’ve worn it every work day for a decade. It’s beautiful and classic. I think it cost around 1K.

         1. You got a great deal. I think Omega is generally over $1k.

   9. I love Michele. My graduation gift was a Michele watch from Costco, which I know cost less than $1k.

   10. Raymond Weil is a very nice brand.

       If you are at all sporty, I would get a Tag.

   11. I like my Skagen (Danish). They run about $100 to $300ish. Clean lines, silver or gold available, some styles have Swarkovski crystals- but not in an overly blingy way. They have a pretty thin profile. Macy’s usually carries them.

       1. I’ve never looked at women’s Skagens, but that’s the brand my husband wears, and I adore it. I hate how chunky and unfashionable all men’s watches seem to be, but the Skagen is very streamlined and attractive. I love it. He always gets tons of compliments on it, and it seems a lot more expensive than it actually is.

       2. I love the Skagen I got for Christmas. The band is low-profile so it doesn’t get in the way when I type, and although I hate bling the crystals around the watch face (in place of numbers) dress it up without being over the top.

   12. I’m surprised no one has recommended Michelle watches. I like that you can change the bands on them. I have a really basic one in a small rectangular face that I like a lot. They sell them at Nordstrom too, which is a bonus because of the great return policy if you decide you don’t love it.
       I agree with you re Movado. NMS.

       1. I am just going to throw this out there for the variety of opinions, but I am not at all a fan of Michelle watches. I would put it in the “fashion watch” category, as opposed to the “classic luxury or professional” category. Expensive, yes, but not really the same as, say a Longines or a TAG. This is obviously just my opinion, but to me, they seem a little vulgar or tacky, for lack of a better word. Expensive, yes, but so are clothes by Ed Hardy or Christian Audigier.

          A nice watch in my mind is something to do with tradition, stability, a certain proven something…… A brand named “Michelle” is not going to stand the test of time. Especially when I see the bedazzled ones, I just think, “gosh, this money could have been spent on something better with less bling and more substance!”

          There’s nothing wrong with fashion watches, but I think the OP was asking for recommendations for professional watches, not fashion ones. The best advice I recall from a past thread is that you are better off getting the lowest priced watch from the best line as opposed to a blinged out version of a lesser brand. I so agree. If you don’t want to spend a lot of money, Skagen is a fantastic brand, their mesh band watches are classics. For closer to a $1000, I would recommend Longines, Raymond Weil or Tag. For somewhere in between, a classic Swiss Army. You also can never go wrong with Timex — simple and inexpensive but without pretensions.

   13. I wear a Bulova that retailed origionally for about $550. I get compliments on it frequently – it’s not flashy, but it goes with everything and always looks professional.

       1. I love my Bulova.

   14. I have an Emporio Armani tank watch with a leather band and silver-toned face. It cost about $200 and I got it at Nordstrom.

       Before that I had a Coach tank watch. Unfortunately, I lost the Coach watch on the beach on my birthday.

       The Armani one is really nice, though.

       1. I have both a Bulova and a Citizen Eco-Drive watch, which I wear interchangeably. I have both in a silvertone metal, but that’s just my preference based on my wardrobe.

          What I like about both is that they’re both of such a high quality appearance that I don’t ever have to think about whether they are appropriate or not, even if I end up going from work to evening. And they are both workhorse watches; I’ve had them for years, with almost no sign of wear. I’d highly recommend either brand.

          1. Thanks so much everyone! Definitely gave me some great ideas where to start my search in the next few weeks. And, “Anon for this comment,” yes, I am looking for more of an investment, professional/luxury piece, not a fashion watch. I love fossil watches and have a couple I’ve gotten on sale or at outlets. And they’re great for the weekend, but I’m looking for a high quality watch that will still be beautiful and classic 20 years from now. For instance, my boyfriend just bought a GORGEOUS Breitling that I adore, but I can’t justify spending that much on a watch.

             Thanks again everyone!

          2. I know I’m late on this… but DEFINITELY check out Costco. My dad got my mom a beautiful watch from a very high end store and then my aunt got the same EXACT watch (different metal, though they carried both) in Costco for 3K less. Same warranty. Same exact watch. Way less expensive. Soooo worth checking out.

3. Anyone doing their taxes last minute? I’m usually on top of it (like filing in late Jan./Feb.), but it just didn’t happen this year. I knew I shouldn’t have waited…grr

   1. I just finished mine last night, and ended up with an unexpected refund! I had been procrastinating getting to them because I was avoiding the prospect of having to pay up.

   2. Federally, you have until Monday this year due to Emancipation Day, which I have never heard of before but is my new favorite holiday as I have not touched my 1040. My state matched the extension, but not my city, bless its uppity little heart.

      1. http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=233910,00.html

   3. Did them last night. Bitter pill, how much we owe. Do to multiple job changes, me getting paid by two entities (and taxing me at a lower rate) and taxes owed for child care, we have a BIG tax bill to pay. Grateful that we can pay it.

      1. Same boat. My husband and I both got raises last year and did 1099 consulting. We’re screwed. We have a post-tax-season meeting with our accountant set up so we can figure out how to avoid this next year.

         1. Thanks for the sympathy. I felt chagrined to discover it, since I do that end of the financial stuff in our house. We are moving this summer and each becoming sole proprietors, so I am so happy to be handing all tax stuff (As well as nanny payments) over to someone who has studied this. I have no ego about this, and while we’ll keep our eye on things, I don’t want to be the responsibility party.

         2. Same here. I teach as an adunct (in addition to my day job) and need to get my deductions increased to account for that.

   4. Finished mine last night. Turbo Tax saves my life every year during tax season. Getting a small, but completely unexpected, refund.

   5. We did ours a few weeks ago, but ugh! Self employmnt is a bitch!

      BTW, for any procrastinators, we requested and got an extension a few years ago with no problems at all. We didn’t owe, which might have made a difference (it was pure procrastination/laziness), but it was super-easy to request the extension, which went to August without any complaints. Don’t know if the law is the same now, but it might be.

      1. You get one extension automatically just by asking for one, but you don’t get an extension to pay. So if you owe and you don’t pay until October, you will owe some penalties and interest.

      2. AGREE RE: SELF-EMPLOYMENT!

         1. whoops, hit enter too soon. This is the first year that I’ve had significant income from my business — so there were no quarterly taxes last year, meaning we owe a TON right now. Like 5 figures. We had to take out nearly that to put in an SEP to lower our tax burden (and I’d rather keep the money but STILL, goodbye until I’m 59!) and then we also owed nearly $4k for the 1Q 2011 estimate. sigh. Fortunately I’ve been saving 25% of my business earnings since mid-summer, and that mostly covered the taxes, but yowza. Not looking forward to that big drop in Mint next week.

            1. Yeah. My husband got a lot of 1099-MISC income last year, so our fed payment is almost $50K (even though we paid estimated taxes, his income went up).

   6. Don’t get sucked into paying penalties! There is a safe harbor – if you pay 110% of your prior year taxes by January 15 of each year, you won’t be assessed any penalty payments if you end up owing taxes. We do this every year – look at our withholdings for the year compared with what we ended up owing in the previous year, and writing a check to the IRS equal to the difference + 10% of previous year taxes.

4. threadjack!

   Any DC-area ladies have recommendations for womens groups to join? After hibernating all winter, I am itching to get involved/get social. I know thats pretty vague, but I am looking for a wide variety of groups – anything from a book club recommendation, hiking groups, charitable organizations, and volunteer groups. There is a ton of stuff online on meetup.com and yelp – but I wanted to see if there are any Corporette-approved recommendations.
   Thanks!

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