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Coffee Break: Skimmer Flat

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white ballet flat skimmer in a white and blue peacock print; there is a flat bow across the front of the shoe

I have a feeling we've featured these skimmer flats from Cole Haan before because I've heard a lot of good things about them — but they're on sale today, hooray!

The shoes feature a flat bow across the front, as well as laser-cut perforations and scalloped edges — and promises arch support and “shock-absorbing tech.” Nice!

The shoe is regularly $165, but is currently marked to $123 at Nordstrom. It's available in four colors (with most colors still in stock in all sizes 5-11, but some down to “last few”.)

Sales of note for 3/15/25:

  • Nordstrom – Spring sale, up to 50% off
  • Ann Taylor – 40% off everything + free shipping
  • Banana Republic Factory – 40% off everything + extra 20% off
  • Eloquii – 50% off select styles + extra 50% off sale
  • J.Crew – Extra 30% off women's styles + spring break styles on sale
  • J.Crew Factory – 40% off everything + extra 20% off 3 styles + 50% off clearance
  • M.M.LaFleur – Friends and family sale, 20% off with code; use code CORPORETTE15 for 15% off
  • Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
  • Talbots – 40% off 1 item + 30% off everything else (includes markdowns, already 25% off)

84 Comments

  1. are there any really really light weight pants that are cut like a real pant or a jean and not a pajama (like gauzy or linen, definitley not lined)

      1. they are not lightweight though. i mean they are lightweight compared to, say, wool pants but i’m looking for super thin for the hottest day of summer but pants.

        1. In that case, I think that athleisure is your friend, but only to a point. Athleta Trekkie material may stand away from your body more than the drapey fabric they make Brooklyns from.

    3. Anthopologie Maive Collette linen pants. Come in lots of different sizes. Not over wrinkly after wearing all day.

    4. maybe a tencel blend? i haven’t tried them yet but the Enza Costa everywhere pant is on my list.

    5. Tailored or fitted pants in unlined, very lightweight fabric will tend to bag out in the butt.

      1. Linen in general is going to stretch/bag out everywhere. Especially if unlined. Btwn that and the wrinkling, it’s just not a good fabric for tailored applications. It works better for relaxed vibes.

    6. I bought some very lightweight hiking pants from LL Bean to use when I want to Africa in February. They might fit the bill, but they were a little bit cargo-y. Which was great for safari, but might not be what you are looking for.

      1. Ooh, sorry to highjack, but I would love to hear if you used a tour company for your safari and if you recommend? Thank you LawDawg!

    7. A friend was wearing some from Aerie the other day and they were really cute and comfy!

    8. The AirEssentials line from Spanx is incredibly lightweight. I know it’s under the “loungewear” category, but I think many of their pants styles could do double duty as office wear (depending on your office).

    9. Gap had some wide-leg cotton gauze pants last year that were so popular they kept running out of stock. They are back this year, but I’m not sure if the quality of cut is the same. Either way, they are light weight and may be worth looking into.

    10. I have the Kule City Pants in Cambrey. They look like jeans but are a light cotton fabric. I also have multiple pairs of lightweight chinos, a mixture of Talbots and JCrew.

    11. I just bought a pair of Barbie pink linen trousers from Talbot’s. They’re tailored like a real trouser but slightly heavier than the most gauzy Old Navy linen etc.

    12. I have a pair of tailored trousers like this from a previous season from &Other Stories. They are thin cotton gauze, and would have been unwearably see-through if they hadn’t been black, as is I wear black underwear. They bag out in the knees and bum quicky, and have to be washed and hung dry between every wear.

  2. I just don’t find flats like these substantial enough to wear with most pants silhouettes these days. With more voluminous pants I want something chunkier.

    1. I feel like they are excellent for where my actual ankles are showing. I like a chunky boot in winter, mainly for traction and because I can wear wool socks and stay warm. But when my skin is showing, I like a flat (or something like this, with a nominal heel) over all other shoes (both visually and for comfort) with a bit of a point.

      1. IDK — I wear white pants a LOT and also a fair amount of blue. They’d be at home in the right outfit. I wouldn’t wear with a sheath dress, but I generally don’t wear sheath dresses anymore.

        1. My issue isn’t with the print but with the lack of visible structure. It makes them look cheap, like something I picked up at Payless? I know they have arch support inside, but from the outside, I can’t tell.

      2. Kid me in the 1980s would have LOVEd these and thought them the height of sophistication.

      3. Eh I think you could style them a couple ways. You could lean into the femme/kitsch and wear with something light and floaty – midi skirt with some volume – or you could play with contrast and wear them with something more streamlined/serious.

    3. I think these are perfect for those of us who still work in more business formal offices, we do exist! I still can’t get my eyes to like the look for chunky loafers with more formal dresses and these would look great with my navy/seersucker/lighter colored summer outfits.

      1. I think you bring up an important point that sometimes get forgetten on this site.
        Not only do our different body shapes mean that different cuts/lengths/styles work better for our bodies, we all have different work settings/lifestyles that require different options too.

      2. I actually really like these shoes. I just know the shape would not work with my foot shape, sadly.

        I cannot get behind chunky loafers at the office. Nobody in my more conservative environment is wearing that, and I don’t think they look good with work pants.

      3. +1. I have gone through several pairs of these over the last few years. They are well constructed and work with many of the things I used to wear with pumps.

  3. Has anyone gone to an all-merino or mainly-merino wardrobe? I’ve started following the Wool And FB groups re ways to style items for their 100 day challenges. I’m not that much of a minimalist, but I like the idea and also the idea of re-thinking your existing items and shopping your closet. Are there any accounts out there, like “J Crew re-new” or “punk out your Talbots and Lands End items”? I need creative help, not more clothes.

    [Today, I put together an outfit and realized that black pants were too somber and that a softer color would make the outfit sing a bit. I went with a medium denim and the outfit was easily 50% better for just a little bit of mental labor.]

    1. where do you live? i’m in NY and it’s only mid may and the thought of an all merino wardrobe sounds…. warm. is this a real thing?

      2. I feel like the very sporty people I know like it for things like hiking and camping trips because a merino-nylon blend is warm when it is cool but cool when it is warm, dries very quickly, and doesn’t smell. I have loved my newer fashion merino items, especially over my old friend cashmere, but have not gone all-in.

        Oiselle has a number of wool items and Santa bought me a wool jaquard turtleneck heavy shirt / lightweight sweater that I like a lot and wear when I’m travelling.

        1. I feel like I’m one of those people and I do actually wear wool socks year round. But otherwise I’m still a hard no on wool in the heat. In the summer I definitely switch to other fabrics, in part because you want clothes that fit differently. You want things that are lighter and looser in a way that I’ve never seen from anything made of wool, at least not without it being prone to instantly getting holes.

    2. I would literally sweat to death in an all merino wardrobe. I know wool is supposed to regulate heat and sweat or whateve but in SEUS heat and humidity? No ma’am.

      I feel like you’re asking two different questions here: 1) does anyone do an all merino wardrobe and 2) are there groups of people who do solely J Crew wardrobe styling. Not sure about the styling part but I bet you could find some people on instagram who do this. Or start your own!

      1. There is a reason sport fabrics replaced wool. The breathability and shape retention just don’t compare.

      2. The right wool fabric is great in the humidity. Ibex Woolies 1 were my base layer in N. Florida summers for many years. It made going from over-AC’d indoors to swampy outdoors and vice versa as comfortable as possible, and they held up so well. Likewise, very thin wool tank and socks were my go-tos for running in the heat.

        1. The idea of sweating in wool gives me hives. I know it’s a thing but it sounds SO uncomfortable.

    3. I have a lot of wool clothing because I prefer natural fibers. I’d never go all-wool though; I like clothes too much and want other options.

    5. I mourn the disappearance of 100% wool sweaters and lined wool pants at average person price points, but no way I’d wear anything wool in the DC summer!

    6. I wear almost 100% wool tops – plain longsleeve shirts from Costco, merino cardigans from Lord & Taylor and the Gap, and Icebreaker hoodies. Wool underwear and pants (especially knit, unlined pants/leggings) wear out too quickly for them to be a staple. My barrister’s robes are wool and i find they breathe a lot better than my polyester/acrylic blazers. (

    7. Ew, ew, ew. Wool is hot and itchy and it stinks to high heaven. The 100-day wool dress challenge is just like the “I never wash my hair” thing. What is the point?

        1. Oh, wool does indeed stink. Ever sat on the subway next to someone in a wool coat or sweater on a rainy day?

          1. I’m in the middle here. It has a distinct odor but I wouldn’t call it a “stink”. I personally love the scent of damp wool, and find it cozy. It’s for people who like “odd” scents like they love the scent of gasoline or whatever. I don’t think it’s inherently offensive, like garbage or durian or something pungent and sour.

      2. The point for many people (I am one of these people) is to make a conscious decision to walk away from these made up prisons we’ve created for ourselves surrounding grooming and the types and sizes of various possessions we need in our life. Fine that you want to wash your hair every day. Lots of people don’t and exist perfectly well. Same if you want to wear natural fibers and own fewer items by re-wearing items constantly. Cool if you don’t want to, but it’s not a failing for other people to choose a different set of values.

      3. I assume people are Febreezing, airing out, and dry cleaning/washing the dress as well as wearing protective under-layers, not just slapping it on sans wash 100 days in a row.
        But I agree that sometimes the performative conscious consumption can be a tad eye roll.

    8. not wool related but for style creativity try searching pinterest for “corporate goth” or “corporate bohemian” or “dark academia” or another combo of seemingly incongruent words. heck, try “talbots punk” and see what happens. as you save images the algorithm will generate similar ones for you. good luck!

    9. I live in a full four seasons place, and I wear wool all year round. Some all wool, some wool and silk blends. I wear other fabrics as well, but a lot of wool.

      Layers in winter, looser items in summer. My summer dresses in wool work well up to 85 F, and okay to maybe 90. Great for a hot outside and aircon inside situation. Beyond that, it gets itchy.

    10. I own several wool& dresses and my two short sleeve ones I do wear in the summer in DC. They are actually pretty light weight.

    11. I wear merino wool as a base layer in winter and a hiking t shirt in summer, and I find it very comfortable in the heat. But I have tried a few different brands of the “looks like normal clothes but athletic stuff” merino shirts and dresses for travel and it just always looks like “traveling clothes”. Not terribly so – I do like them for traveling, they’re a good mid ground on techy vs fashion, but I never reach for them at home.

  4. any good cooling/breathable anti chafe short underwear recs? don’t need to be tight or smoothing but want to avoid panty line. THigh society are $30 a pair which seems a bit steep for underwear.

    1. I don’t think that thigh society bills its shorts as underwear. I think of them as undershorts to wear under dresses vs underwear. Way too sheer for what I’d be comfortable with under a dress.

      1. OK… point remains, looking for something to wear under a dress for less than $30 a piece.

      2. I find the Jockey skimmies to be pretty much exactly like Thigh Society, and they can be pretty cheap at Macy’s with sales.

    2. Ex Officio. They’re pricey but mine have lasted for 5+ years (I hang them to dry and wash on cold delicates cycle.)

    3. Men’s boxer briefs like Hane’s are affordable and breathable. Not sure about lines with tighter garments.

    6. uniqlo made airism ones last year but i thought they had some compression to them
      there are cooling jockey shorts
      yummie makes ultralight shorts that are shaping

      but if thigh society is only $39 why hunt to save $9?

  5. I’ve been listening to the Tortured Poets Department as my workout music for the last week or so and I’m surprised at how much I’m enjoying it! I had a really bad rebound situationship after getting out of a long term relationship in my early 20s and so many of the songs are so evocative of the feelings I had back then. I can do it with a broken heart is definitely my favorite but so long london and loml would have been on repeat on my ipod way back when. Also ‘but daddy I love him’ so well captured that delusional ‘it was all meant to be, and you’re all haters if you can’t see it!’ energy I know I had.

    1. I love TTPD! Sometimes you want to listen to songs about being crazy and depressed.

      1. These twin songs parallel my life wildly well. When Love Story came out I was in high school dating my high school boyfriend who family/church people disapproved of solely because he wasn’t from our religion. Fast forward 20 years and we never broke up, I left the religion in college, and we’ve been happily married for 15 years. “There’s a lot of people in town that I Bestow upon my fakest smiles” is such an amazing lyric.

    3. I have been enjoying it all too and love the same songs! Also like the black dog and the smallest man who ever lived. I didn’t love it on the first listen but now I do! I am surprised how many songs seem to be about Matty H. Do you think there are less about Joe because he is so private and maybe she wanted to respect that? In any event, it is a great album!

      1. My guess is things with Joe deteriorated over such a long period of time that she’d worked a lot of those feelings out already.

        1. Yeah I think most of those are on folklore, evermore and Midnights, believe it or not.

          1. 100% – I firmly believe Exile is about Joe and you can’t convince me otherwise. The duets between her and Aaron Dessner really captured that slow fade of love into resentment and one person needing to have the courage to step up and end things.

    1. not sure where you live or if this is common but i take mine to the farmers market near me, there’s a guy. i don’t have great faith in my ability to do it.

      1. I took my knives to the farmer’s market and the guy there sharpened them with an electric sharpener that you could buy for home use and messed up the edge. I would find a real professional knife sharpener if you don’t want your good knives destroyed; if you don’t care, just buy an electric sharpener and do it yourself. I miss the knife stores that used to be in every mall.

      2. My small-town hardware store has a guy who sharpens blades of all kinds. Lawn mowers, chainsaws, pruning tools, and kitchen knives. He does amazing work, although he sets his own schedule and you usually have to leave your stuff for him to take care of next time he is in. That can be up to 2 weeks, but he only charges a few dollars per blade so it is worth it.

        They also have a different guy who makes copies of keys on a similar random schedule, and who also does a phenomenal job of matching paint colors & finishes. I will be quite sad when these gents retire.

    2. I have the one recommended by Wirecutter and I’ve been happy with it.

  7. What darling shoes! However, I would never pay that much for shoes with man-made soles –or I would just never buy shoes with man-made soles (except sneakers). I found some similar Brooks Brothers flats on eBay with leather soles for about $30.

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