Corporette.com

Updated: Nov 1, 2018 50 Comments · by

Coffee Break – Reba Flats

Coffee Break | ·

This post may contain affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Elizabeth and James - Reba (Nude Suede) - Footwear Zappos has some great sales on Elizabeth and James shoes today, and I find myself intrigued by these interesting flats. The bows on the vamp strike me as a little preppy, maybe a little sporty, but ultimately I think I like them. I'd wear them with cigarette pants or (if allowed by my office) ankle-length pants, for a gamine, Audrey Hepburn-esque look. They were $240, now marked to $121.82 at Zappos (available in “nude”, pictured, khaki green — and 6pm has them in black). Elizabeth and James – Reba (Nude Suede) – Footwear (L-4)

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. Always a NYer

    I can’t seem to wrap my head around the little string bows companies insist on putting on most flats. I’ve been looking for a pair of cute and comfortable flats but refuse to buy any with detailing like this, too young looking for my taste. And it’s too bad because it looks like a cute shoe without the string.

    • Janie

      I agree. Wondering if anyone’s tried the plain flats from Land’s End… the reviews seem to be all over the place.

      • Artsygirl

        I have a pair of the Lands’ End plain flats. I would recommend sizing up a half size or maybe even a whole size — mine are getting progressively more comfortable as I break them in, but there is much less room in the toe box compared to, say, the Lands’ End Terrain Janes, which I also have. Also, they aren’t nearly as cushy as I expected. I thought they’d be more like Clark’s, but they are not as comfy.

      • Eponine

        I had a pair of the Emmas from Lands’ End, which I returned. The “padded footbed” had the padding in a really odd place and it just felt like I had a lump in my sock, not like a cushion. They also shredded my heels and rubbed on the sides of my feet. YMMV, of course.

    • AIMS

      Brooks Brothers has very classic cute ballet flats in leather and suede (currently on sale, actually). Lots of colors. No bows (some with buckles).
      Look both in “regular” women’s merchandise and in “clearance.” The other nice thing with theirs is that they are actually comfortable. So many flats leave my feet in worse shape than 3.5 inch heels, I sometimes wonder what is even the point.

      • Always a NYer

        Agreed, I have a pair of Tory Burch flats that leave my feet with at least three blisters each. But, I then have 3 inch heels that just leave my feet a bit sore at the end of the day. I’ll take sore over blistered any day. So the search continues…

    • soulfusion

      Every summer I am on the hunt for a good pair of summer flats and this year’s winner are these from Kenneth Cole Reation (Slip Around): http://www.zappos.com/product/7774966/color/552
      They are comfortable out of the box, have a bit of cushion and I never got a single blister from them. Also, I am recovering from a couple of crazy, ridiculous blisters on my foot right now and these are the one pair of shoes I’ve been able to wear that don’t aggravate them. I have the pewter which is on sale and am tempted to pick up the Indian Coral. I wear a 7 or 7 1/2 and have these in a 7 1/2.
      Oh and I should mention I’m also a NYer and I have a hard time getting a pair of flats to last more than two summers since I walk to and from work (and everywhere else in between) but these don’t appear to show any signs of wear and I bought them in the spring.

    • mamabear

      Not quite flat (but more comfortable than a true flat) Ecco Bouillons have either a button, a buckle or a bow. No string in sight. Love them.

    • Anonymous

      i think marais usa has a lot of cute flats – i got a pair that were a little stiff at first (very stiff actually) but have started to break in nicely.

  3. Insurance Advice

    Anyone have any advice about purchasing long term care insurance? My fiance turns 49 tomorrow, so I think he should start looking and purchase before he turns 50 next year. Any and all suggestions welcome. Thanks.

    • mamabear

      Yes, buy it from a company with top marks for financial strength, because though you’re paying premiums now, you won’t need the benefits for hopefully 30+ years. You want to be sure the company will still be around. Check S&P or Moody’s ratings. Ask your agent or broker to do that for you.

      • Insurance

        Thanks. Any suggestions about buying the inflation adjustment and which kind?

  5. Anonymous

    I have a small diamond (1/4 ct) I’d like reset into a necklace (or something). Any tips on how to do that? I’d appreciate any tips on (a) how to select a jeweler (Seattle, if anyone has experience here), (b) ideas for resetting, and (c) any other tips you care to share.

    Thank you!

    • eaopm3

      I had a diamond reset into the equivalent of an Elsa Peretti, diamonds-by-the-yard setting and I love it. Of course, it was only one stone, but the setting was the same around the stone and the setting was attached to the chain the same way.

      I don’t have any recs for a jeweler, though.

      • eaopm3

        Oh, and re: the cost – I got the diamond set in white gold, about two years ago and it cost me about $150, as I recall. The setting itself had to be custom-cast and created, but the chain was obviously just something they had in stock an adapted.

        • JC

          Price of gold has gone up significantly since 2 years ago… you might want them to price it out for you before you commit.

        • stc

          I had a great experience with Sally at Fancy downtown (by the Moore theatre)-she did our wedding rings and was really creative but also did great simple stuff (ie my husband’s wedding band is much more avante garde than mine and we each love ours).

    • Diamonds

      I think your first decision is whether you want to drop your stone into a pre-existing setting or pay someone to design and/or make a new setting. Cost will be a major factor; designing and making a new setting could be very expensive.

    • Kanye East

      Design considerations: what metal do you want (platinum, gold, white gold, silver, etc.) and what kind of setting do you want (prong, bezel, tension, channel, etc.)? Do some google image searches and read up in advance to figure out what you like before talking to jewelers.

      Two jewelers I’ve worked with in Seattle & recommend: Turgeon Raine (got wedding rings through them) and Green Lake.

      Turgeon Raine sells some of their own exclusive artisan pieces, in addition to jewelry by lots of other jewelers and manufacturers, and they can probably point you in the right direction if you’re stumped. Green Lake specializes in custom jewelry using wax casting (www [dot] greenlakejewelry [dot] com), and they’ll work with you to create exactly what you want. Most of their work isn’t exactly my style, but they’re great craftspeople and are well worth talking to.

    • Kanye East

      One more thing: if you’re not in a hurry, you might consider waiting for the prices of precious metals to calm down. Gold and silver are both ridic high right now.

      • MaggieLizer

        Kanye, do you know if an etsy jeweler would be able to do something like this? Do you have any recommendations how the OP might protect herself when shipping her jewelry. It’s a little unnerving to entrust a diamond to someone from the internet, but it seems like many of the etsy vendors have been around long enough to build a good reputation.

        • Kanye East

          I’m sure there are some great jewelers and metalsmiths on Etsy who could do an amazing job, and I can’t vouch for any personally right now, but I’d start with the Metalsmiths team (www [dot] etsy [dot] com/teams/5627/aspiring-metalsmiths) or the Custom Order Corner (www [dot] etsy [dot] com/teams/7677/custom-order-corner-the-new-alchemy).

          At a minimum, use expedited shipping you can track and get insurance if you send your stone to someone who’s not local.

  6. Barrister in the Bayou

    I try to stay away from little bows and details on shoes that make them look too frilly, but I have to say that I actually think these are cute. Maybe for the weekends and to lounge in with some skinny jeans if the shoes are too casual for your office. I can already think of a handful of things in my closet that I can wear these with.

    • Bonnie

      I don’t mind these either. I’m going to be stuck in flats for a while so just bought a couple pairs with details.

  7. Miriam

    Does anyone have any tips for studying for the MPRE? I am taking it on Friday and every keeps saying it is easy, but I’m still worried. I’ve been doing the practice questions, but with my clinic and internship this summer I’m exhausted!

    • kellyn

      Do a few practice tests, see what you are getting right and wrong, and read the rules you’re missing. And as I’ve heard it, think of this as a general rule: the right answer is what would Jesus do, minus one notch. Lawyers are not expected to be perfect, but close.

    • Anonymous

      If you have the Barbri book, the mini-review at the front can be helpful if you haven’t taken PR and need some sort of framework to start with. But I agree with the above that practice questions are best.

      Also, don’t psyche yourself out during the test if it seems really hard. I thought it was hard during the test and could’ve easily freaked out, but thankfully I remembered what everyone had told me about the generous curve. I passed easily thanks to that curve. You’ll be fine!

    • Two cents

      Please don’t make the mistake that I made and not study. I barely studied and failed. As much as everyone likes to say that the MPRE is so darn easy, it wasn’t for me obviously (and I’m no dummy, I graduated top of the class). Just do a bunch of practice tests and study a bit more than you probably need to. The answers are surprisingly not that intuitive. It’s annoying to have to take it again.

      • Diana Barry

        Yup. I didn’t study at all the first time and failed (by one point!!!). I studied the second time and passed no problem, but I was very embarrassed to have failed (I was the straight A, aced every standardized test before that person).

  8. Valleygirl

    not really a fan of the shoes – in general i like ballet flats but these look really young (as in something a elementary school kid might wear?) to me…

  9. Jr. Prof

    Love the color and the pleating at the front. But why does that lovely pleating have to be hidden under a string tie that will be dirty in two seconds???

  10. Anon For This

    I just found out that, not only did I get a higher July bonus than my former boss, despite being at his level of seniority for two months, as opposed to his two years, I also discovered that I got a higher bonus than he did last Christmas, when I was *still* his deputy.

    He is a really nice guy and a very good boss, who does his job well. Finding this out has made me feel absolutely miserable. I certainly earned what I got, but it’s so disheartening to see that he’s been treated that way.

    • Digby

      Just keep in mind that unless you see the actual payroll records to confirm this, it may well be untrue. People lie about pay-related matters like crazy – co-workers lie to make themselves feel better or to make you feel worse; bosses lie to make you think you got more than the average so you won’t complain, to make you think you got less than the average to encourage you to look for a new job, or to telegraph to you that your star is dimming…

  12. AN

    I have a similar pair that look like suede Oxford flats and they’re lovely for the weekend. For work, not too sure….

  13. Curl Friend

    I’m a little bit preppy, a little bit sporty, a little bit country, a little bit rock ‘n roll, and I just don’t like those flats. I hate the faun color; it’s slightly more palatable in green. As much as I rail against high heels, I’m not a big fan of ballet flats, even on Audrey Hepburn. Weird proportions; no support.

Back to Top

About

Work with Corporette®

Serious Stuff

work fashion blog press mentions