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Updated: Apr 18, 2023 119 Comments · by

Coffee Break: GrandPro TopSpin Sneaker

Coffee Break

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white sneaker with beige lining around the sole

Sneakers for work, of course, are still controversial — know your office before wearing one! If you CAN wear sneakers to work, it can even be controversial what KIND of sneakers are appropriate.

Here are a few things that I think this one has going for it:

  • It doesn't look like it was run over in the street.
  • It isn't super chunky/athletic.
  • The design is just a BIT more than your basic white sneaker — that beige leather strip around the sole almost makes it look like it has a platform look

All in all, I like it! It's $150 at Nordstrom and Cole Haan, available in sizes 5-11. (There are six other colorways as well.)

Psst: I'm going to update this post on the best sneakers for work outfits soon — what are your latest favorites, readers? What do YOU look for in a sneaker for work?

Sales of note for 9.10.24

About Kat

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

Comments

  1. Senior Attorney

    Oh, man! I need more sneakers like the proverbial hole in the head, but those are tempting!!

    Anyway, question: We’ve seen some great women’s washable blazers here lately. Has anybody seen the equivalent for men? I’m looking for a packable, washable navy blazer for my husband to add to his travel wardrobe.

    • Anon

      I know everyone loves them, but I have just never warmed to the look. I have lots of shoe-looking shoes that have soles almost like sneakers though, Naot specifically.

    • Anon

      I give a lot of kudos to Gen Z for making comfortable, cushioned footwear fashionable. I regret all the miles I walked in my 20s in ballet flats.

        • Anon

          Embarrassing admission – many times, how far I was willing to walk in my shoes was a determining factor for where I was willing to lunch. Sheer stupidity (but cute shoes.) I’m in comfort shoes now.

      • Anon

        My Gen Z daughter will never know the pain. The world is different now! (And she’s going to be a teacher, so no heels anyway)

  3. Nina

    I’m editing my moms resume and while I’m good at writing resumes in general I have some more specific questions:

    – Do you always keep the year you graduated college or grad school on your resume? Or is there a year / level of seniority where its better to remove that?
    – My mom has been at the same company, with a lot of promotions etc for most of her career. Does it make sense to include the internships or entry level jobs before that? On one hand maybe only having one “thing” under experience looks odd, albeit with a lot of subsections. On the other hand these entry level jobs aren’t too relevant anymore

    • Anon

      You can make the different roles into their own jobs. I’d think you’d want to do that anyway, to show her experience.

      • Nina

        I was going to separate them out under the same general heading, with separate bullets and time periods for each one etc

      • anonshmanon

        agreed. 2015-2020 role a, company a
        2021-present role b, company a
        that’s totally fine.

    • Anon

      I’m mid 50s. I dropped years off graduation a long time ago, and got rid of small short term jobs as well. No one cares.

    • Anon

      A resume is not a laundry list of everything you’ve ever done. It should be a curated document that reflects skills and accomplishments relevant to the job you’re seeking. Delete the old stuff.

      If she’s been at a company for years, she does not need to include years of graduations. Degrees are enough. There’s no hiding that she’s an experienced/exec level candidate. She should leave on years for jobs though.

      Follow Wendy Weiner or JT Donnelly of WorkIt for more resume tips. They are both great.

    • Anonymous

      I’m 42, so probably a little younger than your mom. My resume is a page and a half. At this point it’s a curated, fairly bespoke list of my career highlights that’s specific to the role I’m after. I’ve done marketing, product management and consulting but I play up whatever is relevant for the job.

      • Anon

        This. A resume is not a permanent record, it’s a marketing document. Take off irrelevant information and at a certain point, in most industries, anything that pegs you as old. This includes graduation years, old experience, aol and yahoo email addresses, your actual physical address at the top, objective statements, etc.

  4. pugsnbourbon

    We could use some good vibes – our pug had a couple seizures this over the weekend. My wife is taking her to the vet this afternoon, and I hope the news isn’t too bad. She’s 14, so we know we’re on borrowed time, but I’m wishing hard that we get a little more with her.

    • AIMS

      Sending you and your pug all the good vibes. It’s so hard. Fingers crossed 🤞

    • Anon

      I have a dog that had 3 very bad seizures, and then no more. That was about 8 years ago, so there is hope. If you are using pills for flea and tick control, or something brand new, switch back to the older, liquid, back of the neck.

    • Anonymous

      My senior dog had some seizures and with meds, he lived another five amazing years. I hope yours is as lucky as ours was.

  5. Horse Crazy

    Coming back to thank everyone for their campaign database recommendations yesterday and well wishes – I really appreciate it. It’s so exciting to be working with a young, progressive woman who really cares about our community – it helps restore my faith in politics and humanity!

  6. Anonymous

    Peri/menopausal women: if you know you’re being fantastically unreasonable and overreacting due to hormones, how do you operate with family/friends who are pissing you off? Smile and shove your feelings deep deep down until you can assess at a later date?

    • Anon

      Yes. I mean, you can’t just start yelling at people because you are having a bad day.

      • Senior Attorney

        Of course! What’s the alternative? Go off on them like a crazy person?

    • anonshmanon

      I guess, although I would frame it as pushing pause on venting my frustrations. If I’m still pissed in 3 days, I can always complain then.

    • Cat

      having gone through this from the child’s perspective, it was a good 5 years when I dreaded my weekly phone call with her because I knew something would set her off, just not what. And then she was mad because I didn’t want to spend more time with her. So thank you for trying.

    • Anon

      step away, take a break, invent an excuse to get off the phone? removing yourself from the situation when you know you can’t handle them right now.

    • Anon

      This was just me, but during that time I found my usual glass of wine really increased my irritability, and I had more arguments in the evenings because of it. I have semi-learned not to have wine when I’m stressed out, even though that’s counterintuitive. And honestly, I had to pretty much cut out the wine due to flushing/rosacea, another gift of peri menopause.

    • Anne-on

      Yup. I actually talk about it openly with my son (tween with neurdivergence) and articulate that I’m having a rough day/irritable so I may need a bit more time alone, or that I’ll need to take a walk/read in quiet/watch a comfort show (insert means of self soothing here).
      We did/do talk SO MUCH about self-regulation and how it’s 100% ok to be feeling any way at all (angry/mad/crabby/etc.) but it is not ok to take your negative feelings out on other people just because they are near you/your family. We are always ok with him needing space and support to manage disregulation (which I would imagine feels a lot like free-floating blind rage from what he’s said when he’s having a meltdown). In turn it’s made him pretty good for his age at understanding when we need space too!

      • Anonymous

        This. Tell your family you need space and do what calms you down. The problem for me is that my husband thinks my solo time is selfish/lazy and doesn’t understand why it’s necessary.

    • Anon

      I would talk to my doctor about medical interventions like hormone replacement therapy. My mom was horrific to be around in that phase and I would never want to treat my loved ones that way.

      • anon

        +1

        The mood swings have been wildly difficult for me to deal with. I never had an ?PMS type symptoms my entire life, and this is shocking to me, and I think is much worse.

        I do find that I have to physically move myself away at times, when I feel myself getting riled up. Sometimes I just stop and say “I can’t talk about this right now”, apologize later if needed, and increase my stress outlets (get outside for a walk, just take a few breaths etc..). Sometimes I even have to prepare myself before making annoying customer service phone calls, because I have zero patience for incompetence anymore…. ugh.

        What is hard is that my (mostly male) family .. and even doctors… are not very sympathetic in general. So I have found a new doctor and I am going to beg for hormone replacement therapy. I truly regret I was not more supportive of my mother, who went through a terrible time for years, and struggled until a long list of supplements/medicines before a doctor finally gave her an estrogen patch. How I wish she was alive to give me guidance.

        This can go on for years… I waited too long already to start it. I hope other posters will learn from these threads and stand up for themselves in their doctor’s appointments during perimenopause.

    • Trish

      I verbalize my feelings. “I feel aggravated right now because I am getting my period. Please forgive me if I am a little grouchy.”

    • Anon

      I have awful insomnia and several consecutive nights of sleeplessness leave me quite irritable. I’m a grown woman so I use my words: “This isn’t your fault and has nothing to do with you; I feel like roadkill. Can we stop having this conversation/may I make dinner in peace/whatever?”

  7. Anonymous

    Can I wear white boots to a very casual wedding over Memorial Day weekend? My dress is brown/blue/green floral: 70s vibes. I just really hate open toe shoes.

  8. Walnut

    I’m attending a services for a friend who’s husband passed from the same cancer for which I’m currently NED. Saying “I’m so sorry” while giving a hug seems insufficient? Anyone have some ideas for a couple sentences to offer my sympathy and commitment to continuing to offer support (which I have done and will continue to do.). They’re deeply religious.

    • Anonymous

      I think I’m sorry and a hug are sufficient, along with any other support you’re providing. You certainly don’t want to draw comparisons between the two of you. I do like to say something like: I’ll always remember …. our last visit at your birthday party, where Mr X brought the house down with such a thoughtful toast, or something along those lines.

    • Anon

      I’m sorry.
      He’ll be missed.
      He was a wonderful person.
      I’m sorry for your loss.

    • Anon

      “You will see him again.” (Unless their religion has a reason for not believing this.)

      • AIMS

        That’s so very specific and personal that I wouldn’t say that unless you know that’s something they really believe.

        The things I remember being the most comforting are really big hugs and just people being comfortable with silence. Grief is so awful. There is nothing you can say to make it better really. But being able to just be there for the person thru that awful discomfort is such a help. Everyone tries to say something and much of it falls short that sometimes a really sincere i am sorry, he will be so missed and just human contact (hand, hug, whatever) while they grieve is the best you can do.

        • Being present is the mitzvah

          “But being able to just be there for the person thru that awful discomfort is such a help.”

          When Jews attend a shiva, literally physically being present — not talking or saying anything specific, or brining food or anything else — is the whole point.

          • Anonymous

            I really love this so much. I wish it was more part of my Christian faith. I think many of us prefer to bring or do rather than “be” with people who are grieving. Being with people in this way is vulnerable and takes time.

      • Anon

        I’ve lost loved ones and, having no belief in any kind of afterlife, would have found this devastating because no, I won’t. I’d really advise against say thing unless you have very confident in someone’s religious beliefs.

      • Anon

        Please do not say “you will see him again”, “he’s in a better place”, or anything indicating the death is gods will. Please don’t say he’s “in the arms of Jesus” unless you are absolutely sure that’s exactly what they believe. Even if your friend does have a religion that these phrases would fit, these kind of statements deny a grieving person their very valid feelings. These kind of statements aren’t actually helpful.
        I’m so sorry for your loss, sharing a story or memory about the person, just hugging her and saying I’m here for you, these are all far more affirming things.

      • Anonymous

        I do believe in an afterlife and do believe I’ll see the person again, but this is the last thing I’d want anyone to say to me at a funeral service. Please do not say this to me.

        Your hug and “I’m so sorry” sounds exactly right. It is not sufficient (because nothing is sufficient at a time like that), but it is enough.

      • Anon

        Wow, you atheists are an unempathetic bunch. I would not say that to someone who isn’t religious, but for people of deep faith, they firmly believe that they WILL see the person again. That doesn’t mean it’s okay or God’s will or you can’t mourn (Jesus Himself wept); it means something very specific.

        • Anon

          For me, it’s not even the fact that it’s a religious statement. It’s the fact that it is kind of invalidating the person’s current pain of losing a loved one. I understand the sentiment comes from a nice place, but it is just another way of saying, “look on the bright side!!”

          What I’ve wanted when I lost loved ones is for people to see that I am hurting, acknowledge the hurt, and maybe share that they were also hurting. Saying any variation of “You’ll see him again,” “He’s not in pain anymore,” (which isn’t a religious statement) just felt like they were trying to skip over the really hard part of missing someone badly.

          • anon

            Exactly.

            It is invalidating, makes you feel selfish with the implication that if your loved one was still there with you “they would be in pain” and in a worse situation. Just so many bombs.

            I was surprised how many people said things to me that were painful. All I really needed was a hug, and saying “I’m sorry…. it’s awful”. Instead people said…. “it must be a relief….”…. “it is a blessing”…. “they’re in a better place”….. “he suffered too long”. Usually those people ended the interaction with “let me know if you need anything” and then I never heard from them again.

    • Anon

      Having been on the grieving side too many times, “I know you loved him so much” would be a very nice thing to hear.

    • anon

      Other’s have provided you with a good script for this week. But set a couple calendar reminders over the next few months to check in on your friend. If she is that type of friend, in a month send her a pinatagram with a note of “in case you need to smash things … or, just want to keep this cute creature around”. Or, send her an absolutely silly (or inappropriate card) just for laughs. Honestly, it will be the little silly things that will mean more than having exactly the right words on how you will support her.

    • Anonymous

      Just a quick note to say I wouldn’t bring up your own cancer unless they do (I have colon cancer NED (knock on wood) so know it’s tempting to want to say what a horrible disease–but it’s not what they want to be thinking about. Just focus on them–I’m so sorry for your loss. If it seems appropriate and you’re comfortable, you can also follow with a specific memory of the person or attribute that you’re going to miss.

  9. Anon

    Has anyone here learned a foreign language as an adult, with no prior experience with it? Did you self study or do a class?

    I was talking about regrets with a friend and said a major regret is that I never learned Japanese, and then I thought about it and realized that there’s no real reason I can’t do it now, except that it’s “hard.” My thought is to use a combo of self study websites/videos and books and then get a tutor for conversation and pronouncing job practice, but my main goal would be to read contemporary literature. Classes are tough for me because my schedule varies week to week.

    Curious if anyone has any wisdom to share?

    • anon

      Do it! You may be able to barter conversation with someone wanting to improve their English.

    • AIMS

      I say do it! I had a great aunt who died and one of the things said at her funeral was that she really regretted not having had kids (she couldn’t) and always wanted to play the piano and learn a foreign language, and I thought how sad that she didn’t do the last two which were so within her control! I know lots of people who learned foreign languages as adults. Your plan sounds like a good start. I would throw in movies to help in your quest.

      • Senior Attorney

        That’s so funny! Just this morning I was thinking that the very minute I get home from my birthday/retirement trip in October, I am going to start seriously learning piano and Spanish like a real student, with scheduled daily study and practice. So yes, I say let’s do it!

    • Anon

      Do it. Play around with different materials, from classes to online programs (Duolingo, Rosetta, etc). Watch kids’ shows and news with subtitles. Once you figure out your learning style and preferences, you can consider upgrading to a paid version of whatever works for you. When you plateau (when, not if), change it up with a different program and focus on a different element (say, move to soap operas or youtube or go from Rosetta to a human-human). Have fun and remember 90% of the people you try it out on will be highly entertained and happy you are trying. Source: diplomat, learning a new language at 47*
      *although yes we have an actual school for this

    • Anon

      Im doing Italian Duolingo. But tbh I’m only hoping this will get me to the point of being able to communicate reasonably well while traveling. I think it’s hard to get totally fluent from Duolingo especially for someone like me who finds the written comprehension much easier than speaking and listening.

    • Junior Associate

      I recommend Italki for language exchanges although not sure how well represented Japanese is on the platform.

      For self study, Minna no Nihongo series was the gold standard textbook for Japanese when I was learning it (very briefly) and very intuitive + conducive to self study or practicing with a tutor / language exchange if you wish.

    • Cb

      Late to this but I learned (terrible but workable) Dutch with self teaching a month long full time course. And my pal is learning Korean with a weekly zoom course. She always thought she was rubbish at languages but she’s loving it.

  10. Anon

    Is heartburn a perimenopause thing? I’m late 30s and have been waking up a lot in the night with heartburn, which has never bothered me except briefly during pregnancy 5+ years ago. I’ve made lifestyle changes like elevating my pillow, not eating for a couple hours before bed and sleeping on my left side but it’s still happening.

    • Anon

      I kind of think it’s an aging and weight gain thing. I haven’t heard it expressly linked to perimenopause. Stop eating several hours before bed (I stop at 7 and go to bed at 12) and take antacids or omeprazole.

    • Anon

      Have you gained weight? I put on some weight in my mid-thirties and started having issues with mild heartburn. I lost the weight and am now in my mid-forties and it hasn’t returned.

    • Anon

      It’s not necessarily related to perimenopause. I had terrible heartburn for a month a couple of years ago, and finally went to my PCP and then a GI doc. I was on Rx-strength Nexium and Pepcid for about 3 months, then tapered off under the GI’s supervision for another 3 months. They wanted me to totally end the symptoms so my esophagus could heal and recover. I also learned more triggers and am more careful with my food/drink. Beer+burgers is too carbonated and fatty = very bad news, but I can do one or the other, for example. Spicy food in moderation. No huge meals. I cut out diet coke almost entirely. Every body is different. I know it’s going to be a bad meal for me – say, Thanksgiving! – I can some meds and am careful for the next few days. Over time the acid can do a lot of damage to the esophagus, so it’s important to get it under control.

    • Hollis

      Same girl same. Had horrible heartburn 15 years ago when pregnant, and not again until now, but I’m in my mid 40s. I discovered a “hack” if you don’t have any meds on the ready. Drinking a teaspoon of baking soda mixed in a half cup of water will cause heartburn to go away in 10 mins. I think – but I’m not positive – that it’s worse if I eat really spicy food for dinner. Getting older sucks.

      • Smokey

        Actually getting older doesn’t suck, and it certainly beats the alternative!

    • Anon 2.0

      My mom was struggling greatly with heartburn and interesting her dentist recommended a mild toothpaste – apparently the super strong minty types can actually cause heartburn.

    • Anonymous

      Has your diet changed? I started getting heartburn when they brought in free La Croix at work. I have to stick to one, early in the day.

    • Anonymous

      Check that your pants are fitting you. I get terrible heartburn with some clothing that’s restrictive. Even yoga pants.

    • anon

      Yeah, this is a rough common problem with aging. Or sometimes your specific anatomy/genetics can make you prone to have reflux worsen with time. For some people losing a little bit of weight can help.

      Since you don’t mention triggers yet, see if you can figure out which dinner foods lead to problems at night and start avoiding them. Kind of a drag…. Also try not eating for 3 hours before dinner. You can also try sleeping on a wedge pillow (tons online) or putting a block under the head of your bed frame to put your whole bed at a slight angle.

      But if those simple things aren’t working, and you are waking up every night, talk with your doctor about taking a medicine regularly (maybe just a night) to try to prevent this (PPI or H2 blocker). Because reflux is rough on the lining of the esophagus over time and can lead to other complications. So if you have more persistent reflux it is sometimes worth checking in with a Gastroenterologist for a one time assessment – they sometimes will take a look to see if there’s anything else that can be contributing to your symptoms, like I hiatal hernia.

      • Anon

        Not really, but I kept a food diary and couldn’t find any correlation between foods and the nights that it happens. I also don’t eat a lot of the common triggers – no alcohol, coffee or spicy food.

        • anon

          For me, it is more with greasy foods, tomato etc…

          You should see a doctor then (your PCP is good to start), and I’d try an over the counter medication nightly (maybe take it as directed before dinner) to see if it has any effect. Many people take these medications long term, but there are pros/cons so it is good to talk it out with the doctor. Make sure you tell them it was happening every night no matter what you ate, and ask if you should see a gastroenterologist for an evaluation for a hiatal hernia or an endoscopy to look for an ulcer etc..

    • Anonymous

      I don’t know, but I have experienced it being correlated to hormonal shifts. I had a serious multi month bout that resulted in an endoscopy immediately following having a pituitary tumor removed that had prevented me from having a cycle- as soon as it was gone and my hormones were able to resume normal function POOF horrible heartburn. Same with pregnancy, right from the beginning so way before it was due to a baby taking up space.

  11. Help me wear sneakers at work

    I love these sneakers, but I struggle to figure out how to integrate them in a work look. After spending the last 3 years in scrubs, I’m ready to go back to my business casual wardrobe but I’m so comfortable in my sneakers. How do you style them with slacks in a business casual environment? I’m a high waisted pear and my recent attempts with straight leg pants looked out of proportion. Any blogger who could be good inspiration?

    • Anonymous

      I think these shoes would look good with long wide legged pants and with straight legged pants hemmed at the ankle so there is no break

    • Jules

      The Rosamund Pike character in “I Care a Lot” wore white sneakers with a yellow suit and it looked fantastic. I cosign Anon at 4:45’s advice.

    • Anon

      You just wear them with slacks. It takes the eye a minute to adjust, but once you do it’s fantastic.

  12. anon

    I keep getting Insta ads for Aura and Modern Citizen, and both seem to have cute dresses. Any experiences with these brands?

    • Anon

      I just got a couple of tops from Modern Citizen, and they are not impressive. One of them looked like a dressier version of a black t-shirt, and it’s actually just a black t-shirt, but significantly less stretchy, so it’s not even comfortable. The other top looked just the opposite-kind of a casual version of a dressy top, and it is actually quite dressy and, again, uncomfortable. I ordered a black knit dress from there last summer that stalked my social media, and it was Old Navy-level quality. I wore it a couple of times and donated it. Three strikes for me.

    • Anonymous

      I have a long-sleeved faux-wrap maxi dress from Modern Citizen that is my go-to winter dress for not work moments – dinner, brunch, theatre, etc. It is super cozy. I get unsolicited compliments on the dress. And just this week I accidentally put it in the dryer after babying it for tow years and it came out great I will probably pull the trigger on a short sleeved dress for the warm seasons this year.

  13. Ginger

    Those are my sneakers! I have them in 3 colors (shown, ivory/leopard and navy blue/silver). They’re very light and they’re my go to vacation sneaker. I’ve walked up to 10 miles a day in them with no issues.

  14. Moose

    Asking again to reach more folks – favorite “milestone” birthday gifts? Looking for men and women, have family turning 30, 60, and 75 this year. Thanks!

    • Photo Book

      My husband turned 60 last year. I changed my Shutterfly password to “[DH’s name]60,” created a project called “[DH’s name” birthday book” and asked friends and family to log in and upload photos or notes. I gave everyone a deadline. After the deadline, a family member with a good sense of aesthetics and I arranged the images, picked a color scheme etc. I had it printed and delivered in time to give it to him for his birthday. Most family are on other continents and could not travel. He loved it.

      PS: when we were done, I changed my Shutterfly password back to one that only I know.

    • Monday

      For my sister’s 30th (she’s mildly into astrology) I got her gold stud earrings of her zodiac sign. She put them on immediately after opening. Some 30-year-olds already have fine jewelry, but she didn’t have any yet and I don’t think I did at that age either.

    • Anon 2.0

      I don’t know if it’s a “milestone” gift per se, but for the 75 year old I’d go with a consumable. I have started sending my grandparents locally made jams and jellies and they are over the moon and rave about them.

    • Anne-on

      For the ones turning 60/75 I’d go with an experience focused or sentimental gift. My parents hit 60 over a decade ago so my dad got a digital photo frame that I’d pre-loaded with wedding/family photos. It was a huge hit! For my mom’s bday my SIL coordinated a family photo shoot and us kids paid for the photographer/framed a photo for her. My parents are approaching 75 now and if health issues allow I’m planning on doing a weekend away with my mom or a brunch/shopping trip for her next ‘big’ bday. I think life stage matters a lot for the 30-yr old – most of my friends were newly engaged/newly married around that age and skipped big birthday parties. I mostly bought things off of their registries as or sent champagne/treated them to dinner.

    • pugsnbourbon

      When I turned 30 I got myself a big tattoo. YMMV :)
      My mom turns 70 in December. She’s happiest when we’re all together, so I’m starting to plan a very laid-back party all us kids can get to.

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