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Updated: Mar 19, 2019 81 Comments · by

Coffee Break: Crocodile-Embossed Leather Handbag

Coffee Break

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This bag is on a kind of great sale at Brooks Brothers — it was originally almost $500, and then it was marked down to $249, and now you can take an additional 25% off. I've heard a lot of really great things about Brooks Brothers accessories and shoes, and this is about as classic as it comes if you want a polished, old-school bag. My only minor problem with it is that it's 12.5 inches long and 10 inches high, which is probably fine for regular letter-size paper but not great for binders or legal-sized paper — so keep that in mind. In general, there's a lot of great stuff in the sale right now! Crocodile-Embossed Leather Handbag Two very affordable options are at Macy's and Kohl's.  This post contains affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. For more details see here. Thank you so much for your support!

Sales of note for 9.30.24

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Comments

  1. Senior Attorney

    Oh, man. I was all excited about this because on my monitor it looks like pewter metallic. And then I clicked through and found out it’s black. Just as well, I guess, because I need another bag like I need the proverbial hole in my head…

    • HSAL

      Now I want a pewter purse. My favorite winter shoes are pewter – they look good with both black and navy. Same with silver in the summer, but I think a silver purse would be too much.

      • Belle Boyd

        I had a silver purse and LOVED it! It was really versatile. I’d like another one, but I haven’t seen one lately.

      • C

        A full size silver purse might be a bit much (or not, you do you!) but I have a silver crossbody bag that I wear year-round and LOVE.

        • Ellen

          Rosa has a silver purse that she got at Nordstrom’s last year, and she has matching silver pumps. I recommend you go to their website and see if they are still on sale. She looks very cute wearing the pumps and purse! Personally, I prefer black b/c of my professional status, but she does not work so she does not care b/c she has Ed to earn money for the family.

      • Inspired by Hermione

        I have a silver purse and it’s great. Coach from a few years ago.

        I also thought this was pewter.

      • Senior Attorney

        I have awesome bright silver tassel loafers and they have become my go-to weekend shoes!

        And I have a small gold backpack that I love.

  2. Anon

    I’m looking to lateral to another law firm, and I’ve made plans to meet a junior partner at another firm for coffee tomorrow morning. What do I wear? I think a full suit may be too much (I normally wear business casual in my current office). Dress pants and nice top? Dress and blazer? I’m in DC. Thanks!

    • K

      I think you should just wear whatever you’d be wearing to work that day — considering the coffee is on a weekday morning, the person you’re meeting can hardly expect anything different. Obviously it should be one of your A game outfits that makes you feel great.

    • Anonymous

      I’d go for a sheath dress + blazer if that’s comfortable, if not separates like pants and blazer.

  3. Another old house Q

    I have an old house with old windows (the glass is wavy). We are going to add heated square feet over a deck to make a master bath/closet area, both of which will have windows (that will be new). Use wood? They won’t match the rest of the house (but will be visible from two sides of the house). Vinyl? Will all be white trim on the street side. We are in the SEUS where it is humid and rainy in the summer (and cool and very damp all winter).

    • Veronica Mars

      Vinyl. Wood rots. Even really nice wood will rot with moisture and time.

    • MKB

      We have an old house and had windows custom made from Marvin in wood to match our existing windows. We got “art glass” (the “Flemish” one) for privacy, which means that it doesn’t match our existing glass, but it actually complements it pretty well. And we went with wood, painted white (like the rest of our trim) on the outside, and stained to match the rest of our interior trim inside.

    • Anonymous

      I hope the people who would choose vinyl aren’t the same people who won’t use plastic straws.

  4. RNMP

    I’m taking my cat to her last visit to the vet tonight. I know it’s the right think to do but can’t help from being overwhelmed with sadness… I can’t really take time off right now and am doing my best to keep myself put together. Any tips to push through during tough times? Will alternatively accept hugs from internet strangers.

      • Ellen

        Yes, super hugs. I lost a cat and a dog to the vet, and it is very sad so hang in there b/c you have the power of the HIVE behind you at all times! YAY!!!

    • Anon

      Oh, here’s a really, really big hug.

      Give her a hug and a finger scratch between the ears for me, would you?

      Before you let her go, thank her for all the good times you had together, the fun you had playing toys with her, how much she means to you.

    • cat socks

      I’m so sorry. I had to do this about a month ago. It was such a tough decision to make. Logically I knew it was the right thing to do, but at the same time it was so heart wrenching. Just be gentle with yourself and let yourself grieve and be sad. Sending you lots of hugs.

      • Anonymous

        Same. Deeply sorry. You know it’s the right time when you know, but that definitely doesn’t make it any easier.

    • anon

      Hugs from me. One of the most comforting things someone told me after I lost my dog was that he was sure my dog had woken up in heaven, and heaven for him was his home with me, just feeling better.

    • Anon

      Oh, I’m so very sorry. Many many internet hugs to you. “When you are sorrowful, look again in your heart, and you will see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.”

    • rachelellen

      Lots of hugs. Internet strangers are just internet friends you haven’t met in real life.

    • Anonymous

      I’m so sorry. Seriously one of the hardest things in line to do. Keep remembering that what you are doing is out of kindness. Making an animal continually fight a fight that can’t be won becomes suffering.

      Everyone manages grief differently. So please take the next comment as only what worked for me. But I know I got a lot of solace from a few last photos of my dog before we put him down. In the days following, as I went over so many pictures of him from his younger and healthy days those last ones reminded me just how much he was ready and gave some peace. It’s such a struggle knowing when and wondering if it was too early or too late. Anyway, that helped me a bit to know I did my best to do right by him.

      I’m so, so sorry though. Truly so difficult.

      • anon

        Along these lines, I wish I had known my little guy was about to go so I could get a few more pictures in the yard or at home. I had a strange fifth sense about it when we were at the vet for a check up a weekish before I lost him, so my last pictures of him are in the vet’s exam room. In your case, maybe a picture or two of you holding him would be comforting in the coming days. So many hugs.

    • Leatty

      I’m so sorry. We had to say goodbye to our beloved dog last month after a year-long battle with cancer, and it was SO hard. The day he passed, I left work early so I could spend an hour just petting him, telling him what a good boy he was, and how much we loved him. DH and I took some last pictures with him, and the vet gave us a good 30-45 minutes with him at the office so we could love on him some more.

      • Anonymous

        So sorry. Tearing up at my desk right now. It’s maybe the least selfish act you can ever do in life for someone (yes pets are someone’s to me) who you love deeply.

    • BirdieMama

      I just lost my baby boy two weeks ago and I’m still a mess over it. He died while I was at work so I didn’t get to say goodbye. I knew he wasn’t feeling well that morning when I left, so I can’t forgive myself for leaving him alone. I just didn’t know how bad he was — birds hide how sick they really are as a natural defense.

      I am so, so sorry you have to do this. Sending you so much love and so many hugs. The truest act of love you can show a pet is to let them go when they are at that point. It’s so, so hard, though. I’m sitting here crying for you.

    • Ginjury

      I’m so sorry. She’s lucky to have someone as caring as you clearly are.

      Tips for getting through it: just cut yourself a lot of slack over the next few weeks. Sleep in, spend less time getting ready for work, eat takeout more, take lots of breaks, do whatever makes you feel a tiny bit better. It may also help to tel some of your colleagues so they know why you may not be as on top of things as you usually are. I think someone here recently posted a comment to the effect of, all the good work you’ve done has garnered you some good will to slide a little when you need to (at least that was my takeaway). This is hard, but with time, you’ll get through it.

    • NOLA

      I’m so sorry. At least you can be prepared and be there to comfort her and hold her. It always sucks, but I guess that sucks worse than the other alternatives. As for how to deal, listen to music and cry in the car, talk about her or don’t – whichever makes you feel better, be extra careful driving (I drove into a curb and destroyed a tire the day after my girl died), donate her things if they remind you of bad times, go to a rescue and let kittens crawl all over you (but be prepared that one of them might come home with you when you’re ready). Hugs to you!

    • Anon

      Still thinking about you and hugging my kitties extra tight tonight. I’m so sorry for your loss.

    • EmKay

      I know it’s difficult, but try to be as calm as possible during the vet visit. If you freak out, she’ll feel that, and she’ll be more distressed. Keep it together as best you can for tonight, be strong for her in her hour of need, and you can break down later.

  5. Anon

    Do you put work on nonprofit boards on your resume? If so, any tips on what header to use (service to community?) and how to describe?

    • anon

      Organizations, other experience, community participation. Service to community sounds a little pompous to my ear.

    • Anon

      I have at various times had a “Community Involvement” section on my resume that I’d put something like that under.

    • LifeScienceMBA

      If the non-profit is in your industry sector (think Girls & STEM) I have put “Professional Community Leadership”, if it’s unrelated (e.g. animal shelter), then “Community Ledership”.

    • Anon

      Yes.

      “Community Involvement/Leadership
      Board of Directors, XYZ Inc., 2015 – present
      Board of Advisors, QRS, 2012 – present
      Founder, Podunk Alumni Augusta, 2017 – present”

      I have so many that I don’t list descriptions.

  6. Anon

    Does anyone know of similarly-cut pieces to the MMLF Merritt Jardigan? Specifically i like the length and the subtle belt.

  7. Anonymous

    I can’t really believe I’ve been in the professional business casual/business formal world for almost 10 years without figuring this out, but… what are best practices for not letting blazers get stinky? Dry cleaning doesn’t really help get odor out in my experience, and I’ve had moderate success with alcohol and with baking soda, but I’d rather prevent this from becoming a problem in the first place, to the extent possible. I think the answer is that I need to wear shirts or dresses with sleeves if I plan on wearing a blazer, but am I missing something? I keep toying with natural deodorant, which seems to work okay at preventing me from smelling bad, but is not so kind when it comes to my clothes (plus it usually has some kind of shea butter or something, which also is not good for my clothes). I know dress shields are a thing, but I’ve never tried them. I guess worth trying for under dresses, but it doesn’t seem like this would help under blazers, which get taken on and off throughout the course of the day.

    • Anonymous

      This is why I always look for blouses with sleeves. There are so many cute sleeveless blouses out this time of year and I have to remind myself this is why sleeveless just doesn’t work for me.

      • anon

        I think this is the answer. Every time I wear a sleeveless top under a blazer, I regret it. I’ve never tried the dress shields but I probably should.

    • Anonymous

      I like Dry Idea, it doesn’t turn my togs weird colors. I also avoid poly tops, because two layers of poly — a top and a suit lining— ends up being too warm for me.

    • Magic Unicorn

      Wash your blazers. Not dry clean, but really wash them. Lay them in a plugged bathtub, add some gentle no-rinse wool wash like Soak or Eucalan, run a cool shower until they are soaked then gently prod them down into the water. Drain the tub, squish out as much water as you can, roll in a towel and walk on it to get out more water, reshape as best you can and lay flat to dry. Iron and steam once dry.

  8. Anon

    Where do you focus most of your energy? Do you feel like it’s worth the energy you put in?

    starting to wonder if I am doing it right. I always want to be doing more. More volunteering, more travel, more friend time and downtime and hobby time. But if I spread myself too thin, I fail at everything. Right now I am kind of coasting at work and putting more energy into travel and hobbies. It feels great until I start worrying that my career has plateaued.

    • Senior Attorney

      Right now I am president of my service club so that’s where most of my energy is going. My job is pretty easy so I’m pretty much on auto-pilot there. (It’s intense while I’m actually working, but doesn’t take up much/any brain space or time when I’m not.) Next is fitness, which I do with my husband so that’s nice “together” time. Friends/travel are taking a back seat for the moment and I’ve given up a couple of other boards but that’s okay. (Three months to go…)

      To answer your question, yes it is definitely worth the energy. Life has seasons and this is my season for doing this and I’m loving it!

    • anon

      This is hard for everyone to figure out, I think. Right now most of my energy goes into raising young kids and working full-time. Family life is #1 (that includes spouse, kids and extended family), and everything else falls after that. My career is growing, but slowly. Right now I don’t have a ton of bandwidth for time-consuming hobbies, but I try to carve out time for exercise, reading and the occasional night out with friends — things that fill my bucket so I can stay sane/not become a robot. I’ve accepted that volunteer work is just not happening on a magnificent scale at this stage in my life. I will do what I can, but it is not a priority. Lots of the SAHMs I know are ramping up in this area now that their kids are in school. My time will come.

      I think you have to remember that there is a season for everything. You cannot give 100 percent effort to all things at all times.

    • Vicky Austin

      Hm. I’m in a very crazy period right now – we just bought a house that needed a ton of work to begin with, and that was before we knew about the black mold under the bathtub. Sigh. So I guess most of my energy is going to the following three channels: 1) figuring out the move (what work has to be done on the house before we move into it, what work can wait until later, what stuff should get moved first and what can wait, various deadlines like electricity cutoff and when we have to be out of our apartment), 2) trying not to miss anything at work while my brain is stressing about unpainted shelves or something (I’m usually pretty organized but it’s hard to remember everything when the coworkers you need to work with can’t seem to come to work more than one day in a row), and 3) keeping it together (getting sleep, eating enough, knowing what’s for dinner, having clean work clothes that haven’t touched our cleaning-out-mold clothes, encouraging husband when he gets discouraged about how much work has suddenly cropped up with the mold discovery, not snapping at coworkers who insist that I need to watch videos of their shirtless teenage son doing pushups…).

      I’m sure in a month or so it will feel worth it and I’ll get to focus energy on hobbies and actually texting friends back, and I’m holding onto that hope for now. I’m not sure this answers your question, but it felt good to tell somebody about what I’m juggling lately, so thank you.

  9. Anonymous

    How do you keep your books organized at home?

    I have too many books, and when I get new ones, I tend to just squeeze them into a bookcase wherever I can make them fit, but that means they’re unorganized. I started rearranging them a few days ago, which is a huge project, and stopped halfway, because I realized I didn’t know how to order them efficiently.

    • anon

      Consider whether you need to keep them. I discarded (some to Half Price, but many other old law books to the recycle bin) about half of my books six years ago, and then most of the rest of them three years ago. I haven’t missed them. I kept a few that are reference types but there are so few of them that they don’t really need to be organized.

    • Anonymous

      You organize them according to how you will need to find them. So you could
      1. group according to subject: Cooking, (subdivided by soups, baking, grilling, etc.), fiction, coffee table books, etc.
      2. group according to how you remember the book: size, color, author’s name, etc.

      Efficient really depends on how you use the books once they are on the shelf. So the another thing to consider is whether it’s time to let go of any of them.

    • Lots to Learn

      I have all my books divided by fiction and non-fiction. Fiction books are clumped by author (alphabetized by title within that, or if it’s a series, in order) and by general genre: murder mysteries, fantasy, etc. Non-fiction are clumped by topic – books on religion or lack thereof, food, earth sciences, humor, parenting, recreation/games – but no organization within that clump. Big books of either type go on the bigger bottom shelf. I know people have talked about organizing by color, but to me, that’s when you care about the look of the room more than being able to find a book. I read and re-read most of my books again and again, so my priority is being able to find them again.

      • Anonymous

        I hear that critique again and just find it confusing. I love the way my colorful books are and it takes maximum three minutes to scan my shelves and find a particular one.

    • Inspired by Hermione

      I categorize them as fiction/nonfiction and then by general topic or genre within (although the topic/genres really only make sense to me- i.e. I know exactly if a book is on my “social justice” shelf, but others may not).

      • Housecounsel

        I keep very, very few, only very special ones. I used to fantasize about built-ins full of books, but now they feel like clutter if they aren’t very meaningful. I absolutely love that there is an entire library on a device that fits inside my purse.

    • Ellen

      Donate them to NY Cares or Good Will. Lots of people love to read, but cannot afford to buy books. I donated all of my books and have plenty of room for other stuff now. YAY!!

    • Anon

      I just saw this and it’s late, so you probably won’t see my response.

      I posted last week about needing to inventory my books and asked for tips. Someone suggested the app/website Library Thing so I downloaded that and spent way too much time inventorying (1/2 day if I’m being honest). I have >700 and that is without going into my kids’ rooms and that is without going into boxes of stored things … gulp. But I do recommend the app. If most of your books are modern, it’s as easy as scanning a bar code. This was not the case for me, but I digress.

      Things I learned

      1. Books get incredibly dusty. The dustiest books, by far, were those in my bedroom bookcase. Gross, I know, but remember – dust is us.

      2. I have a tendency to hold on to hardcover books. Especially first editions or old books or books I particularly liked. I always think maybe my kids or friends will want to borrow them. Friends have borrowed about 10 books total in my lifetime, probably have returned 5. My kids are not adults yet, but I’m suspecting they won’t be big customers either.

      3. I have the room (big, really old fixer upper house) so I just keep buying bookcases. At this point I have the parlor of my old house completely lined with matching bookcases. Does it look pretty? Yes. Is it dusty as all get out? Oh my yes.

      4. If I wanted to exercise more discipline, what I should have done instead of “I’ll just buy another bookcase” was adopt a one-in-one-out policy. And that is my new rule going forward, plus a goal of shedding 200 books total by 1/1/20.

      5. In terms of organizing, your actual question, my largest bookcase is almost all novels (except for the bottom shelf, which is extra tall and holds coffee table type books) and they are roughly alphabetical by author. The shortest shelf is the top shelf, so tiny little books, mostly really old (like first editions from before 1930) go up there. Books used to be smaller. I also have a bookcase dedicated to math related books (nerd here) and a bookcase that has mostly cookbooks, and a bookcase that has mostly craft and garden books, but I do have bookcases that have a mix of novels and biographies and non fiction, based on what fits.. and yeah it drives me nuts, but I currently know what’s there so I just try to live with it.

      6. I do not organize books by color, and if I were to walk into someone’s home who did this, I would assume the books were decorative and not placed there by someone who actually reads.

      7. I don’t hold on to paperbacks, for the most part. I tend to give them away as soon as I read them, unless they are some sort of reference book, or unless I know someone I am sure I can lend or give it to right away.

      I rambled in but I hope this helps. Clearly I do not subscribe to the Marie Kondo philosophy of read it, thank it, let it go. But I do have her books and they are in my library! Non fiction top shelf. Oh the irony.

      • anon

        Oh, the dust, yes. My ILs relocated about 10 years ago, and MIL refused to let FIL unpack any boxes of books until he found shelves with glass door. Most of the books are still boxed in the garage.
        I don’t appreciate DH’s preference for used books in poor conditions, although it is easier on the budget. I have a few I’ve re-read to shreds, but theyre still clean.

    • Anonymous

      I have a few coffee table books, a few reference books from school. Everything else is on Kindle. Who really needs books anymore. It’s just clutter to me.

  10. Anon123

    I got concert tickets to see Trombone Shorty, just realised after purchasing they are standing tickets only. I’m going to this concert alone, it will be my first time going where there’s no assigned seating. Is it worth going for this or will it be a really uncomfortable experience? Seems like a silly question but the floor usually can seem rowdy–this is my experience with pop and rap concerts. This is my first time going to see something more jazz/blues, wondering whether to resell this and forgo the concert?

    • Anonnona

      I’ve gone to a ton of shows that are general admission/standing. It has never been awkward, even if I’m by myself. I usually just grab a drink and scout out a spot toward the middle/back of the floor area. If people are going to be rowdy/dance-y, they’re usually in the front IME, but toward the back or near the bar you might run into people more interested in drinking or chatting. The good thing about standing shows is you can move around if annoying people stand near you or if you want a different vantage point. Have fun!

    • SC

      I’m a huge Trombone Shorty fan, and I would definitely go! Find a spot near the middle/back or up on the balcony if there is one. It’s a pretty energetic style of music, with elements of hip hop, so there will likely be some people dancing. But you’ll be able to find space where you’re comfortable. Have a great time!

  11. Sarah

    One look at this bag and we know that it is very strong and durable, and then I saw that it is crocodile embossed. Genuine leather is everything!

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