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Updated: Mar 9, 2021 106 Comments · by

Coffee Break: Polly Embroidered Dress

Coffee Break

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Last year we featured a hot pink T-shirt dress with pineapples on it from Boden in a discussion on splurge purchases on basic items — and I must say I regret not buying it! I was looking through Boden recently and was excited to see that they have a ton of great T-shirt dresses and fun weekend tees.

Currently I'm eyeing this gorgeous navy T-shirt dress with rainbow pineapples, but they also have a version in red with parrots. The dress comes in petite, regular and long sizes, sizes 2–22. NICE. It's $98, which, sigh, but where else will you find a T-shirt dress embroidered with rainbow pineapples?

I also feel I must bring your attention to this lovely T-shirt dress with polka dots (including a navy version with rainbow polka dots) and this “fun voop tee” (literally the name from Boden) with foil-printed details.

Sales of note for 10.10.24

  • Nordstrom – Extra 25% off clearance (through 10/14); there's a lot from reader favorites like Boss, FARM Rio, Marc Fisher LTD, AGL, and more. Plus: free 2-day shipping, and cardmembers earn 6x points per dollar (3X the points on beauty).
  • Ann Taylor – Extra 50% off sale (ends 10/12)
  • Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything plus extra 25% off your $125+ purchase
  • Boden – 10% off new styles with code; free shipping over $75
  • Eloquii – Extra 50% off a lot of sale items, with code
  • J.Crew – 40% off sitewide
  • J.Crew Factory – 50% off entire site, plus extra 25% off orders $150+
  • Lo & Sons – Fall Sale, up to 35% off
  • M.M.LaFleur – Save 25% sitewide
  • Neiman Marcus – Sale on sale, up to 85% off
  • Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
  • Talbots – 50% off 2+ markdowns
  • Target – Circle week, deals on 1000s of items
  • White House Black Market – Buy one, get one – 50% off full price styles

Sales of note for 10.10.24

  • Nordstrom – Extra 25% off clearance (through 10/14); there's a lot from reader favorites like Boss, FARM Rio, Marc Fisher LTD, AGL, and more. Plus: free 2-day shipping, and cardmembers earn 6x points per dollar (3X the points on beauty).
  • Ann Taylor – Extra 50% off sale (ends 10/12)
  • Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything plus extra 25% off your $125+ purchase
  • Boden – 10% off new styles with code; free shipping over $75
  • Eloquii – Extra 50% off a lot of sale items, with code
  • J.Crew – 40% off sitewide
  • J.Crew Factory – 50% off entire site, plus extra 25% off orders $150+
  • Lo & Sons – Fall Sale, up to 35% off
  • M.M.LaFleur – Save 25% sitewide
  • Neiman Marcus – Sale on sale, up to 85% off
  • Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
  • Talbots – 50% off 2+ markdowns
  • Target – Circle week, deals on 1000s of items
  • White House Black Market – Buy one, get one – 50% off full price styles

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

Some of our latest threadjacks include:

About Kat

Kat Griffin is the founder, publisher, and editor-in-chief of Corporette. You can read more about her here.

Comments

  1. Anonymous

    In case anyone else is interested, the Athleta Interstellar Blazer is currently on sale for $79.99 in a few smaller sizes. I’d been eyeing it for a couple years now but the original $198 price tag made me hold back.

    • long life

      How do you wear this?

      Like… I’m confused… it is out of workout material, right?

  2. Anonymous

    I need some new shorts for biking (haven’t bought any in ages) and my usual go-to for all things outdoors, REI, doesn’t have any good options in a looser, more casual fit. Any ideas on where to look for a few options that won’t break the bank? I’m a size 12 pear with an ample butt and I’m looking for something with a full chamois and more of a “regular shorts” look (rather than Spandex) and with *functional* zip pockets. I’ll be mostly mountain biking but also some road riding. TIA!

    • BB

      Check out Terry biking shorts. They have some loose padded shorts with pockets! I have one of their spandex-y ones and it’s been super comfortable.

    • Anon

      Have you checked EMS? They’re still around even though they shut down a bunch of stores.

    • Coach Laura

      Terrybicycles is the best women’s online biking shop, no contest imo. They have shorts with pockets and liners, some removable. The Metro bike short relaxed is one with good pockets and looks like a regular athletic short, not a legging-type short. I’ll post a link to follow. Title Nine might also have something.

      I usually wear bike shorts under stretchy cargo-type water shorts with pockets. (Columbia brand from amazon.) They look like regular streetwear shorts and the liner shorts are barely visible. Then I get double-duty out of the shorts.

    • Anon

      I also mountain bike with occasional road bike cross training. I found that shorts with an attached/detachable chamois to be uncomfortable. Instead, I wear spandex Louis Garneau, Terry or Pearl Izumi shorts and wear a pair of loose shorts over top. I like Fox, Dakine and Yeti for top shorts because of their zippered pockets (I just remove the removeable chamois), but you can pick any shorts over top (including mens)- they don’t have to be bike specific, just what is comfortable to you.

    • Anonymous

      Thank you! Terry and Pearl Izumi both look promising. I’ll check out the reviews to see if any pears can comment on fit.

      • Cat

        FWIW bike short sizing can run tiny. I am a 6-8 and take a L in most Pearl Izumi.

      • BB

        Late on this, but I am also a hippy size 12 and my Terry shorts fit well although like I said, they are stretchy spandex.

    • Anonymous

      I love Talbot’s and this dress but I describe myself as 27 going on 77 so I’m not exactly a style icon.

      • anon

        Me neither. My style has always skewed more classic than my peers’, which was tough as a 20-something but is kinda awesome now that I’ve hit 40.

        • Anon

          I made the snarky Talbots comments. In truth I have been shopping off and on for work clothing at Talbots since I started my career. However, I make a distinction between classic work clothing and “jaunty” red, navy, or kelly green cotton knit sweaters with little embroidered sailboats or lobsters on them. That’s straight grandma in suburban Boston for me. I would put a pineapple-embroidered tee shirt dress in the same category.

          • Anonymous

            I’d wear this dress with nude heels and a giant straw hat to drink on a waterfront patio.

          • Anonymous

            This. There’s classic (chambray shirts, blazers, boat neck sweaters) and then there’s dated. I do think this skews later, not former.

    • anon

      Agreed, and not in the kids on Tik Tok are making scrunchies new again kind of way (although I hate that too).

      • Anon

        I love that scrunchies are new again because I wear them around the house (or as Carrie Bradshaw said, for washing my face) and pretty velvet ones are much easier to find now!

    • Lyssa

      It reminds me of the sort of thing that would be absolutely adorable on an elementary school teacher.

    • kitten

      It looks like something that got rejected by Salvation Army and then sold by the lb for scraps. Or something that lady from the “ain’t no body got time for that” news video would wear if she wasn’t planning to go outside.

  5. Anonymous

    A good friend’s dog just died. She’s in Brooklyn and I’d like to send flowers or something. Any delivery recommendations?

    • brokentoe

      I try to send a donation to a local humane society in the dog’s name. Owners are always touched.

    • Anonymous

      Thank you for the recommendations so far. I should add … she lives in East Flatbush, if that makes a difference.

    • Anon

      Also, the book Dog Heaven by Cynthia Rylant. I am unsure about the concept of heaven for people, but the vision of what dog heaven would be (dog biscuits shaped like squirrels and mail carriers) so captures the essence of dogs that I believe.

      • LaurenB

        +1 on this book. When my children were young, my mother’s dog died, and she sent my children that book “inscribed” from the dog to them telling them this is where he was now and he was looking down on them and I, too, am not sure what I think about heaven for people but OMG, I tear up just thinking about it!

    • Anon

      When my dog died suddenly, many friends sent flowers. Three friends did things that were simply so kind:

      1) commissioned a portrait based on a really great insta portait of my dog.
      2) sent me a framed photo of my dog (scraped from my FB) and a card telling me that I was a really good dog mom and her death was not my fault
      3) my SIL actually mailed a card that was “from my dog” saying that she loved me, she knew I missed her, and that she was having great fun playing fetch and doing all the dog things in heaven.

      They were so well received. I am crying as I type this. It never gets easier, but remembering your friend’s dog, and doing something really sweet (even a little kooky, like 3)) was really so incredibly touching. It was such an emotional time. And my friends understanding that as a single chick, my dog being my family–it really meant a lot.

  6. Anon

    I swear my robe tries to give me wedgies most days, so I wear underwear basically always. I guess from this morning, there is a list I missed re what you don’t wear underwear with? I remember some pantyhose with built-in undies and I hate running shorts with panties (the elastic on those chafes or fits me weird — I am a giant pear and maybe that’s the problem).

    • Anon

      I follow the tik tok of a bridal salon owner. She did a PSA video the other day reminding people that if you have a fitting, you have to wear some sort of panties that day, and people were actually arguing with her in the comments.

      So 1) one occasion you need underwear for is bridal fittings, and 2) think carefully about trying on something that has been tried on before.

      Also in the gross out category, I ordered a new bra from amazon and it arrived today with deodorant and sweat marks on it. Like, a lot.

      • anon

        That is … foul. WTF are people thinking?! This reaffirms my stance of washing everything before wearing, though.

        • Anon

          I realize Tik Tok is mostly Gen Z and super woke, but some of the comments were about how she was being a prude and just didn’t want to see women’s bodies, and many were that she was policing women’s bodies. I give up.

          • Anonymous

            Yeah I’m so tired of the ultra woke crowd because they constantly do shit like this. They also like to force person-first language for disabilities, no thanks I’ll address my own disability however I damn well please tyvm.

          • Anonymous

            I don’t see how that is gendered. If she sold tuxes for men, she probably would want them to wear undies to their fittings too.

          • Anon

            That is so, so dumb. Honestly, I worry for Gen Z because they won’t be able to identify sexual predators or maintain sexual boundaries without feeling apologetic for predators. A man could flash them and they’d say “but we can’t k*nk-shame him.”

          • anon

            Slightly different than the wedding dress example, but I hate that people who dress more modestly — not for any deep, meaningful reason but just because it’s their style preference — are told that they must feel deeply ashamed of their bodies. No shame here, I promise! I’m pretty pleased with my imperfect figure, but just prefer to keep the sun and wind off my cleave and upper thighs, thanks.

          • Anon

            Yes! I love my body but dress super modestly whenever I’ll be outside because I’m fair and want the sun protection. Multiple people have shamed me for it.

    • Cat

      I wear underwear with everything- even bike shorts. I’m comfortable so i don’t really care if it is correct or not!

      • PolyD

        Same. I also wear half-slips, which I have been told is “old-fashioned.” I can’t figure out how something you can’t see is old-fashioned. I just prefer a slip to having my dress creep up my legs because it’s sticking to my tights.

        Or to my fake-Spanx, which I wear in the summer to prevent thigh rub.

    • pugsnbourbon

      I don’t wear underwear under workout leggings or bike shorts (the tight kind). I work out at home, but when I went to gyms I was religious about wiping stuff down.

      One year in HS our volleyball team got hand-me-down uniforms from the boys soccer team – and the shorts had built-in briefs. SO gross. Grabbed my mom’s seam ripper and went to town.

      • Vicky Austin

        Ugh, we had school-issued unisex running shorts for track and cross-country with built-in mesh underpants. They were awful. When I was a junior the girls all rebelled and went in together on bike shorts printed with our school colors. I never touched the mesh underwear shorts again.

        • pugsnbourbon

          Yep, the next year we all got cheap black spandex shorts. My mom wouldn’t let me get the 2″ inseam though lol.

      • Anon

        OMG, I love running shorts with built in briefs. Makes it so easy! I’ve always found them comfortable.

    • Anonymous

      I wear underwear with everything except swimsuits and leotards. I could not get away with going commando under leggings.

      I shudder at the idea of the draft you’d get in a bridal gown.

    • AIMS

      I would sooner go totally commando under a long skirt than skip underwear with any pantyhose. That material just doesn’t feel healthy to me for all day wear without a barrier.

  7. Anonymous

    Has anyone installed a wall-mounted towel warming bar/rack? Recommendations, thoughts? Thanks!

    • Anonymous

      We have one and LOVE it – it is the best thing for a tiny bathroom. We have a 5 rung one and hang 3 towels on it in the space of one towel bar. They overlap but never get mildewy because of the dryer. It is really useful to plug it into a timer so you can have it come on before your normal shower times (and stay on for a bit after to help dry the towels if that is a concern). Ours is now plugged into a smart outlet, and I can tell Alexa to turn the towel warmer on if I bathe at an unusual time. It really is a worthwhile and practical luxury for me.

      I will report back tonight if I can find the specific brand; my husband got it on Amazon several years ago.

    • Hildy J.

      I can tell you one to avoid, and hopefully the poster below has a good suggestion. Mine is also from Amazon, ANZZI brand, model TWAZ012BK. I had it installed as part of an overall reno that ended just before lockdown started, and unfortunately it looks nice but provides essentially no heat. It’s kind of funny to see all the questions from would-be buyers asking about how safe it is, when I can essentially lean against it and feel nothing. It’s sad because I love the idea.

    • Anon

      There is a subr3ddit called “wildbeef” that deals with talking about forgotten words (the sub name was used when the original person forgot the word “cow”) and I find it incredibly amusing and comforting these days.

      • Ribena

        I once forgot what an airport runway was called and got to ‘road for aeroplanes’ before the person I was talking to helped me out. And that was pre pandemic!

      • Anon

        My nephew forgot the word for toes the other day (he is little) so he said “foot fingers.” :)

        • Lyssa

          We drove by a cemetery a few weeks ago, and my daughter pointed out the pretty flowers. I said, “Where, oh, you mean in the cemetery?” And she said “What’s a cemetery?” and I explained it was the graveyard we were driving by, and she said “Oh, I just thought it was the rock country.”

          So, that’s our household name for graveyards now. Rock countries.

    • Anonymous

      Not gonna lie. I warned my husband that his gas gauge wasn’t content (dissatisfied). He’s like, you mean the conTENT gauge is lit (contents range from empty to full). Oof.

      • Gaslighter

        That’s hilarious! Love it! Gas gauge so sad ? talk about being “gaslighted” ?

  9. anon

    A spinoff of something that came up this morning: What do you think your work wardrobe will be like in After Times? The same? More casual? IDK, office wear is going to be a tough sell after a year of being comfortable at home. I miss some of my pretty tops, but I’d be OK with burning every pair of work trousers I own. I would love to go more casual, but I don’t expect that to fly in my environment. (Maybe I’ll be surprised?)

    • Anokha

      All I want is for leggings and tunics to be work appropriate. I haven’t worn work pants in a year, and I’m confident they wouldn’t fit me anyway at this point!

    • Anon

      Probably roughly the same? If offices bring people back, I think they would expect people to dress professionally and it seems like most of the companies that are going fully remote are in tech or higher ed or industries like that that were already pretty casual clothing-wise. Maybe a slight shift towards more casual, but I don’t think it will be dramatic.

    • Anon

      I’m never going back to the office so I expect to only wear my blazers and nice MM La Fleur type dresses for external/ in-person meetings and conferences.

      I’ve always said I have two categories of clothes – work clothes and sweats. It’s not 100% true, I do have dressy clothes that aren’t for work, and I have tried to up my weekend game over the last few years, but it’s mostly true. So at the beginning of the pandemic/wfh, I was wearing items more in the “sweats” category. When I finally realized this was going to last for a while, I started wearing more of my business casual clothing – blouses, cardigans (not the button up kind) and ankle pants or dark jeans. Since Christmas, I have been replacing the blouses that were worn out or too delicate to be thrown in the wash – but honestly I was just sick of them. So I got a handful of new blouses, wear a different one every day, and I feel like I’m “at work” when dressed this way rather than in the sweats. I anticipate this is my new work look going forward.

    • Ribena

      More casual. I think instead of a full wardrobe of smart-ish (we were one or two steps down from a suit), I will wear smart casual (dresses, probably not jeans unless really good ones with a blazer) most days I go in and then have a couple of PROPERLY smart outfits for when I need to be suited and booted. So more akin to when I was in tech, but a notch less casual than that.

    • Anonymous

      I expect mine will be more formal than before, but I have been pretty informal for a while, even before the pandemic. I lost some weight and sorted out my closet in the last year and what I kept leans more formal. I am in a small law office where we have clients in regularly. Only one of us is a suits-daily person, but we tend toward business casual, not casual. I definitely don’t see myself wearing prairie dresses or tunics with leggings to work (or anywhere, frankly) anytime soon. I have grown my collection of flat shoes over the last couple of years, but I still don’t feel comfortable wearing a suit with flats. I got a rude awakening recently when I wore heels for a traffic court appearance (my own) and found that they had shut down the elevators and my hearing was on the sixth floor. I was extra unsteady on my feet not having been in slim heels in months.

    • Monday

      I’m a health care worker but not the scrubs-wearing kind. (I sort of wish.) At the beginning of Covid we were allowed to relax the dress code to include jeans. I have worn almost exclusively jeans since then. I used to think we would eventually go back, but now that it’s been so long and no harm has occurred from allowing it, I can’t really picture them taking the trouble to reinstate a more formal dress code again. I’d be annoyed if they did. Things that can’t be machine washed or stand up to frequent washing are out for me, maybe permanently. I’ve also gotten used to actually liking the clothes I wear to work, instead of grudgingly buying “meh” items to fit the dress code. I don’t want to go back.

      • pugsnbourbon

        I’m going to keep wearing jeans until I am explicitly told not to (higher ed support staff).

    • CountC

      Mine will be the same – I love my work wardrobe and am excited about wearing it again. Sometime. Hopefully.

    • Flats Only

      I am very curious to see, since I started remotely last summer. I understand that “before” it was “business casual, no jeans”, but I am sort of hoping that in the “after” jeans seem dressed up enough to at least wear on Fridays. Fingers crossed.

    • Anonymous

      It depends how it feels. I’m personally feeling very, “I can get it done whenever whenever however” after managing everything successfully from home for a company that forbade WFH previously, so more casual makes sense. But I’m suspiciously curious if the dudes I work with are going to have really biased attitudes against women and I’ll have to manage some kind of power look- not shoulderpads lol but some kind of, “Im your coworker not your SAH wife” look.

    • Anon

      My onsite work wardrobe is heavily dictated by safety and PPE use, so it will never change.

    • Of Counsel

      My firm definitely skewed toward the more casual end of business casual for both staff and attorneys, but I do not think that court attire is going to change which means there is always going to be a cohort of people in business formal.

      But I think a lot more people will be working from home when they are not in court/deposition/mediation (and less of that will be in person). Oddly I suspect that will make what people actually wear in the office MORE formal since it will be a select group. Hopefully that means a decrease in the thermostat wars between people with short sleeves/bare legs and people in suits.

    • Anonymous

      I expect it will be officially the same dress code but people will take more liberties. Personally, I’ve been edging toward the smart casual end of business casual for a few years, and I feel like others have too. No more panty hose. More flats, infrequent heels. More jersey and other stretchy fabrics, even for blazers. Slim cut ankle pants instead of pants that need to be tailored for every heel height. Understated jewelry instead of the bib necklaces of my young professional life, like the J Crew bubble necklace that was so popular. Maybe it’s time for the pendulum to start swinging back to more formal attire, but I don’t think it’s going to happen overnight.

    • anon

      Mine is definitely more comfortable and more goth, and going to stay that way – really just focusing on picking what I like and makes me feel good vs what I’m “supposed” to wear. That being said, I work remotely for a software company so even if I go in person they are a “whatever goes” place.

  10. Anonymous

    Can we talk vaccines? No, not THAT vaccine. I am talking about Gardisil. I understand the window for getting the vaccine has been broadened to age 45. I am in my late 30s and my doctor has asked if it is something I want. It had never crossed my mind since I always thought of it as something kids today get in their tweens/teens. Is there any reason not to get the shot? (other than cost, which I will have to cover out-of-pocket but is not exorbitant) Has anyone here gotten this vaccine later in life? Why did you decide to? Thanks.

    • Anon

      I wish I had gotten it after the recommended age as I got high risk HPV in my 30’s. So yes, get it! The only reason not to would be if you are married and will never be exposed to a new person (and if the worst happens, you can get it then).

      • OP

        I am not married and I think that is part of the calculus my doctor made when she asked the question. But I would never assume I would not ever be exposed to another person — by my choice or someone else’s. I hope married women are also being offered the vaccine.

        • anonshmanon

          I think we had tangentially related discussions here in the past, about OBGYNs suggesting STD testing to married women. Some people found it simply practical, some people thought it would imply mistrusting their spouse. I think there was also one story where the dr was very pushy about it. One approach definitely doesn’t fit all here.

          • Anonymous

            That seems like a calculation for the patient to make, though, not the provider. In my early 20s I had an old white male doctor shush a nurse who reminded him that he was supposed to offer me STD testing, telling her it wasn’t needed in my case (after assessing me as a “nice girl” at an elite law school, I guess). Boy, what he didn’t know . . .
            I agreed to the testing to make a point.

      • Anon

        I’d get it anway, if married and under 45, because what if your husband has an affair/ fling/ one night stand? I know everyone likes to pretend that would never, ever happen, but would you bet your life on it? Because in reality it happens a lot.

    • Anon

      It’s on my post-Covid to do list. I’m same age as you and married with kids but if I’m widowed or divorced I might be dating again and what if I’m 45+ at that point and no longer eligible to get it? Then I might unnecessarily get HPV. I don’t see a reason not to get it unless you are the very rare person that has allergic reactions to vaccine ingredients.

    • Get the shots

      I got my shots last year at 36/37. I always wanted the shots, but didn’t have health insurance in my early 20s… and then I aged out. My shots ended up being fully covered by insurance. But I went in not knowing if I would be denied coverage because of my age. I believe my doctor said the out-of-pocket was around $600. If you could potentially prevent cancer, why wouldn’t you?

    • Anon

      Get it! As an old who has to undergo extra screenings because of the HPV variant I carry, I strongly encourage you to protect yourself to the extent possible. I wish this had been available to me when it could have helped.

    • kitten

      Another vote for getting it! I may have lied about my age a couple years ago in order to get it at a drugstore since my family initially disapproved of it……

    • anon

      I got it at age 41 when I was single. It made sense to me because I knew I would have new partners. The age thing really doesn’t matter – HPV is a risk at any age. I think it’s just that most people are more likely to have more partners in their 20s and maybe early 30s, but since I was still dating, it made sense to me to get it. I guess if you’re long term partnered up (and sure it’s monogamous) it makes less sense because it doesn’t do anything with any HPV you’ve already acquired. My insurance covered it in full but I would have gotten it either way, the cost wasn’t huge.

    • anon

      I’m mid-thirties, married and recently got the Gardasil vaccine. I didn’t get it when it was offered when I was much younger because I was low risk. I’m still low risk, but my perspective changed: cancer is awful and I can take this vaccine to prevent cancer caused by HPV. How would I feel if I got such a cancer after I turned down a vaccine?

      No side effects and insurance covered it 100% (I was expecting to pay, so happy surprise).

    • Anon

      Are you married or single? I would get it if you’re single, no question. If you’re married, it seems like more of a gray area. My OB said she typically only gives to women who plan to have a new partner in the next X number of years (I forget what X was, but I think it was pretty short, like no more than 5 years). I didn’t fight her on it because in addition to being married and monogamous, my husband and I use c*ndoms for birth control every single time, so even if he did cheat on me the odds of me contracting anything are very low. I probably would have pushed her harder to give me the shot if we didn’t use c*ndoms.

    • Anon

      I got it after my divorce in my late 30s. Easy peasy. I really don’t see a downside.

  11. Scented candles?

    This is probably too late in the day, but I’ll give a shot anyway. I would love your best warm weather candle scent recommendations. I am a huge scented candle person, but I’ve never really found scents that please me for spring and summer. My perfect smell would be pretty herbal with just a hint of floral and just really, really fresh. Thoughts?

    • Anon

      I want to try the Diptyque corriander candle – I bet it would be that scent profile.

    • Anonymous

      Atelier Cologne Clémentine California. It is so light and fresh but more complex than your typical citrus or floral. Just such a unique scent. The citrus also has notes of sandalwood and pine and almost a floral and spice as well. It smells like being at a fancy hotel but isn’t overpowering either. I used to be a big fan of Jo Malone scents (the blackberry and bay is still one of my favs) but this is in it’s own league. It’s just summer.

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