ByKat Hours Updated
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Frugal Friday’s TPS Report: Tall Teal Notch Neck Dress

Dorothy Perkins Tall Teal Notch Neck Dress | CorporetteOur daily TPS reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices. I've been seeing a lot of what I'll call the “mullet” trend with dresses, pants, even blazers — it's one color on the front and another color on the back. I'm not a fan of this, in general… and yet, I love this teal notch neck dress from Dorothy Perkins, which incorporates that element (at least, the upper back of the dress is all black). I like the dark teal color with tiny polka dots, I like that it's machine washable, and I like that it's 110 cm long (43″). I also like that it's $44, full price. Happy Friday! Dorothy Perkins Tall Teal Notch Neck Dress The pictured dress comes in sizes 4-18, but here's a few plus size options that are similar: here and here. Seen a great piece you’d like to recommend? Please e-mail tps@corporette.com.

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185 Comments

  1. 43″ is good for tall people, but on my (5′ 4″, probably just slightly under average height) it would be totally dowdy.

        2. I don’t understand. This was a (semi) helpful comment that was actually *related* to the item of the day. How is that not a useful observation?

          And since we’re playing – I’m 5′ 3″ and have little or no idea what inch length skirt or dress (or even trousers) works for me. So this post was helpful.

      2. And because usually everything is a mini-skirt on giants like me. This is perfect. Thanks for flagging, Tesyaa.

      3. Plus, lots of people don’t want to spend the extra money on the costs of hemming, it can be a pain in the butt to get to the tailor, and yeah, it’s nice to have it pointed out. As a 5’2″ person, I don’t always remember to check length but things get dowdy really quickly.

        1. this is another issue entirely though. you cannot and should not expect clothes to fit you properly off the rack. once in a while you hit the jack pot, but usually it wont fit. whether you decide to actually get the tailoring done is your choice, but to get clothes to fit properly, a tailor (or knowing how to sew yourself) is a necessity.

          1. Srsly? Nearly all my off the rack clothes for very well. That’s why I buy them. I try things on and keep the one of six that fits without tailoring. Absurd to say you need a tailor for everything.

          2. What? No. If you have a nice figure, things fit all the time with few exceptions.

          3. If you have a nice figure? What does that even mean?

            Clothing isn’t made for people with a “nice figure.” Different brands work better for different body types and to say that clothes don’t fit a person off the rack because she doesn’t have a “nice figure” (whatever that means) is completely ludicrous.

          4. I’m with Anon-oh-no. Tailoring takes fit to a new level. Things are not meant to fit off the rack as most of us do not have the fit model’s exact body type/dimensions. I draw the line at tailoring fast fashion type things but 80% of my stuff is tailored in some way – hem, taken in, sleeves shortened, etc. And I agree with Ginjury – this has nothing to do with having a ‘nice figure’ – whatever that means. Different brands work better than others for me but I still get most things tailored in some way.

          5. I’m sure that tailoring is better than not tailoring, but not everyone wants to or can afford to have the majority of their clothing tailored. It’s an individual decision. There’s nothing wrong with looking for things that will fit you well enough without tailoring.

            I’m pretty amazed at people who can afford or are willing to spend the money to have almost everything tailored. If that’s worth it to you and you’re not, like, skipping meals to afford it, great, more power to you, but it seems extremely expensive to me.

          6. “you cannot and should not expect clothes to fit you properly off the rack”

            Lol, I can’t? I certainly can, and a lot of the time, stuff *does* fit me perfectly off the rack. Can’t recall the last time I got something hemmed. If it doesn’t fit, I won’t buy it. Sure, maybe tailoring takes things “to the next level” but for me, when everything I buy fits pretty darn well off the rack, that cost isn’t worth it.

            Besides, I’m not sure you actually *read what I wrote* in this righteous crusade against someone posting the length of this dress (I’m rolling my eyes at you and the original anon). The fact that someone isn’t interested in getting a dress hemmed is *a valid reason why that person would be interested in knowing the length of the dress before spending hundreds of dollars on it.*

          8. I also do not tailor (maybe 5% of my clothing gets altered). Maybe I spend a little extra time finding clothing that doesn’t need tailoring, but going to the tailor takes time too. The few times I’ve needed tailoring I’ve had a hard time fitting it into my schedule. Now that so many shopping s!tes include measurements, it’s easy to tell if an item won’t fit and move on to a different choice.

            If an item is perfect in every way and just needs a quick hemming or sleeves shortened, OK. If it’s not so perfect and needs complicated alterations, the time and money aren’t worth it to me.

          9. Tesyaa- yup. I am that girl who will have a collection of clothing that needs tailoring or mending just piled up in my closet, waiting for that magical day when I’ve got the time and inclination to pop over to the tailor’s and drop that money. I also choose to invest my time up front on stuff that already works, knowing myself and that I’m unlikely to bother to get most of my banana republic purchases taken in or up two inches.

          10. I have “a nice figure” and most things still look better altered to emphasize a nice figure. Almost anything off the rack can be tailored a bit. If people don’t want to, fine–but you don’t know until you try something on if it will need some extra work.

            People are weirdly feisty in this thread.

      1. Since I rarely actually read the titles, I didn’t realize this. It would have been nice for Kat to include the regular sized, 40″ dress as well since it was really easy to find. I will say that even a 40″ dress would have to be hemmed for me to avoid looking dowdy.

        http://us.dorothyperkins.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?searchTerm=Teal+Notch+Neck+Dress&storeId=13065&productId=16988831&urlRequestType=Base&categoryId=&langId=-1&productIdentifier=product&catalogId=34072

      2. Eh, this seems fairly off to me. It says women that are 5’8″ and up need 41″ or longer to be knee length. I’m 5’11”, so a solid three inches above this cutoff and I would say 40″ is what I’d call knee length on me. I can get away with 38.5-39″ inches in some brands (different brands measure a bit differently), although that’s not really knee length. I’d imagine there are plenty of 5’8″ women that consider 38″ or 39″ knee length though.

  2. +1 – 5 foot 4 and chesty – don’t see any place up there to put the b@@bs.
    Restarting yesterday’s what are you doing for Halloween post because I’m curious and I think it still has legs. What are you all doing/wearing for Halloweeen – at the office if you do it and afterwards?
    We celebrated Halloween at the office yesterday because most of us are off today on a regularly scheduled off Friday (municipal government). I was a tuxedo cat – cat ears, black and white outfit with a black skull and crossbones bowtie I borrowed from DH, and my first (and successful but wow – labor intensive) attempt at cat eye makeup. I actually loved the cat-eye which helped my hooded eyes pop and would do it again for every day but I just don’t have a half-hour in the AM just for eyes.
    We are doing nothing today because our street gets no trick-or-treaters as there are better pickings around the corner on the north-south streets for some reason and the kids go there.

    1. Schools are closed here, so the office is pretty quiet and not festive at all. It was a costume-optional day and no one has dressed up (we are pretty old; if it were 20-somethings, I expect things would be different).

      I live on a street like your N/S streets — lots of houses on small lots, good street lighting, on-street parking, very safe, little car traffic and I swear people commute in just to trick-or-treat. [The manion-y area adjacent to us gets virtually no trick-or-treaters since the house per block ratio is out of whack.]

    2. Officemates dressed up in ugly holiday attire. It is proving to be pretty epic.

      Tonight, our whole little family will be dressed in all black–oldest is going as a vampire (found a tuxedo shirt, black blazer & red vest at goodwill yesterday!), youngest is a witch (found him a black shirt, pants & leather jacket). Hubs and I will be in black with leather jackets too. ToT-ing with friends with kids of similar ages in a different neighborhood (with close-set houses): 10 kids 6-and-under. It should be awesome.

        1. We have Christmas Jumper Day at work every year where people wear the worst holiday themed sweater they can find!

          1. I have started a collection of ugly Christmas sweaters as the parties are starting to get regular in the holiday season. I think it’s hilarious. Rusty Zipper is a good s!te for original vintage 80’s ugly sweaters.

    3. My Halloween will be a sedate affair since I am broke and exhausted – I expect horror movies, takeout and booze on the couch because I was up till stupid o clock sorting out my costume for work’s “fancy dress friday”. After 11 metres of fabric, a roll of duct tape, a ton of hand sewing and too much swearing I am now wandering around dressed up as a giant spider. (Or, a drunken bottle brush, depending on who you ask because I have hairy, wiggly extensions on me)

      …. I may have gone a bit overboard but there’s prizes and my team needs recognition? XD

      1. Good for you – taking one for the team! I get that. Great team costumes at my work yesterday included Alice in Wonderland, and an office in mourning for their boss, who is retiring in January… I would like to see an office of BoxTrolls personally. Or minions and Gru. I have been a minion but could totally be Gru. Or The Incredibles.

    4. Not dressed up at work today. Kids are ToTing tonight in our neighborhood — our 2-year-old is Mickey Mouse and our daughter is Peppa Pig. Tomorrow, we have an adults-only Halloween party. Husband is going as a football player (complete with pads and helmet) and I’m going to be a pineapple!

      1. A pineapple! Love it! Gives me a whole range of fruit and vegetable ideas for next year…

        1. One year my daughter’s friend dressed as a bottle of ketchup (red clothes, hand lettering, white hat) and my daughter dressed as mustard (you got it, yellow clothes, hand lettering, red hat).

        1. Me too. I love the way female friendships are portrayed, and it’s so fun to watch a show about professional women who have fulfilling lives whether they are partnered or not!

    6. Wine, takeout and a movie on the couch – one of my friends is joining me. I am unbelievably excited for a chill night and ok really wine and takeout.

      1. Ths is my dream Halloween. I will be out in the (maybe) rain trick or treating with kids.

    7. I’m mentally over Halloween – our town had the Halloween parade last Saturday (Fire Trucks + Marching Band + Truck with Straw Bales in a trailer for kids to sit in= parade in our town) and good friends had their Halloween party. Trick or Treat was last night, but our school’s Halloween party is this afternoon. I feel so sorry for the teachers today. I admit, I was that parent that let my kids have too much candy and stay up too late last night, have another piece this morning and a few more in their lunch. Sorry teachers! At least tomorrow is Saturday?

      I was in a rush today to take care of last minute stuff for the last day of insurance open enrollment and getting the kids costumes to school and totally forgot about Halloween for myself. Not that my costume was much more than a cape from Goodwill, but oh well.

    8. I live in a suburb so my Halloween will be spent distributing candy (full sized bars bc deep down inside I’m still 9 years old and thrilled about full size bars) and trying to keep my dogs from scaring off all the children.

      1. The houses with the full-sized candy bars were the BEST. So you’re awesome:-)

    9. Going to a viewing for a lovely human being; wish I was dressed up and celebrating tonight instead.

  4. I’m not a big fan of the different color front/rear, but I love a sheath, especially with cap sleeves at a minimum. I do love the teal color, though a little more saturation would be lovely. I can see this paired nicely with purple, or navy, fuchsia, or brown.

    I know this has been covered, but in light of the poor search function, tell me what you do for commuting/walking/pants hems. I don’t have super tall heels–most of my heels are 2″ or less. I have some pants hemmed for those shoes, and others that are just for flats. I am thinking more about walking to work, but I don’t want to walk in any heels, or wedges, really, either. What do you do when you commute in flatter shoes than you’d wear at the office? Cuff them? Hem tape?

    1. Depends. Sometimes I commute in boots with a 2 inch heel. In winter I tuck them into my warm boots. I roll the cuffs and pin them on occasion.

    2. I haven’t figured this one out either. Recently, I’ve just been rolling them under and safety pinning them on the inside. When there’s snow on the ground, I do tuck them into boots. Both methods make me feel really dowdy/frumpy.

      My heels are all 2.5″-3″ so I’m considering getting some Zakkerz or clogs to wear on my commute, but I don’t think either of those will make me feel more chic on my commute. I may try to find some comfortable boots with a heel, but I have to walk 1-2 miles per day so I don’t know how well that would work out.

      All this to say, I clearly haven’t found the answer, but, if they don’t make you feel dowdy, perhaps clogs would work for you since they’re generally 1) comfortable and 2) have about a 2″ sole.

    3. Safety pins. I just turn the bottom under and pin it, each leg gets 3 to 4 pins. Low cost low effort. I keep the pins in a pocket of my work tote so I don’t lose them.

    4. This isn’t something I’ve implemented yet because of finances, but I think I’m going to resign myself to only wearing tapered pants that hit the top of my foot, rather than the few trouser-style pants I own. With my body shape, the trousers frankly make me look frumpy and the commuting issues are just so annoying. So that would be my solution.

    5. In light of Kat’s thinking she needs a redesign, which I don’t think is really necessary, I’d say I don’t mind duplicative type questions and I don’t think we need to apologize for it. Also, styles change often as do available items. I pulled up the circle skirt “hunt” post the other day and everything featured was sold out or gone. Sorry for not having advice on your pants but I’d just like to see us stop apologizing for things that aren’t problems or that make one person cranky.

    6. It is an issue. For this reason, I rarely wear pants to work because on any given day I have to walk somewhere, like to an offs!te meeting or lunch or retail therapy “lunch”. I’ve tried clogs but in general find them very uncomfortable on my funny feet. Best I have figured out is safety pins and wearing skirts and dresses most of the time…

    8. I commute in sport pants (nylon hiking pants usually but sometimes yoga pants) and carry my work trousers with me. Change into work trousers and work shoes at the office. (Most work shoes live at the office in a shoe cupboard.)

  5. Gorgeous. Want, want, want. I almost did it, then remembered that I spent $450 on flights for the holiday season yesterday, and restrained myself…. telling myself it’s for the best, I can’t afford new things right now, etc, but dang, it’s hard!

  6. This is pretty. I need some advice on office politics. A supervisor’s husband has been injured at work and were all being asked to contribute because finances are tight. I know that people a keeping track of who gives how much for baby shower, so I’m hesitant not to participate in this too. That said, I’m slightly irked at being asked to dig into my pocket to help out someone who makes much ore money than I do. Am I wrong here? I like contributing to retirement and bridal/ baby shower gifts but my office is huge on collections for just about any reason. What do you think?

    2. It depends. Just because they make more money than you doesn’t mean that the misfortune of an accident hasn’t made things legitimately hard for them. Maybe they were negligent in not having enough insurance or a rainy day fund, but you can’t fault others for collecting. Either participate or don’t, and don’t think twice about it after that.

      1. What? You can absolutely fault this. A supervisor should never be accepting gifts of more than nominal value from subordinates. If the supervisor knows this is happening they should shut it down.

        1. I agree about not “gifting up”, but a major illness or injury could be extraordinary circumstances, and in those cases, I’d expect people to be compassionate about the desire to collect, even if they don’t want to donate themselves.

          I do hate the idea that people keep track of whether people give, or how much.

    3. Is it likely that the husband has some sort of disability policy (if work pay would be affected) and health insurance / worker’s comp? If an hourly-worker person isn’t working (say someone who cuts hair as an independent contractor renting a chair at a salon), that’s where I clearly see a potential need. This must seem different to you.

      I do support a friend’s FundMe (or whatever it’s called) account so that they can pay for hotels for visits to a young (40s) family member who has to be in a distant assisted living facility (and I know they do not have the means).

      And yet at my well-paid well-insured former place of work, we got an e-mail to support the future college expenses of children of a person in his 50s who died suddenly. That was a head-scratcher.

    4. Speak with coworker and offer to cook a freezer meal or two? Mow the grass? Then you can at least respond to the panhandle question with “I’ve already spoken with Jane, and I’m going to help set them up with some meals”

        1. True, but it has a different feel/connotation. Cash is cash is cash, and there’s always the keeping score issue. Cooking an aluminum-roaster-pan full of mac & cheese wouldn’t cost but more than about $10, and no one has to know.

    5. Inappropriate on many levels, but I would still give something.

      Honestly, food is the appropriate useful gift in this acute situation.

      1. It really depends. The family might have complicated food issues you don’t know about. And in some cultures, apparently, cash is the proper response to a death in the family, or to a wedding.

          1. Actually, I know many African-American families where taking a collection of cash is expected in response to a death. I am absolutely sure they are American – their family has been in our country longer than mine.

          3. I don’t think there’s any one American office culture. At the very least, there are major regional differences.

      2. When my parent was almost killed by a car (hit crossing the street), and was hospitalized for months in the ICU, I will never forget the friends who brought a meal every night to where my family was sleeping (on floors) so we had food. We would have eaten dirt, if someone handed it to us with a spoon, and were grateful for everything offered. Everything tasted delicious, especially when you realized you hadn’t eaten since the last donated meal.

        But asking for cash money? No. My parent would have been mortified. My parent was also not injured at work, so I agree there is something odd about the OP’s situation if other insurance through his (the injured’s) work is not kicking in, if this is a senior employee/spouse as you say. But who knows…. maybe there isn’t any appropriate coverage at his work and he will have to sue. That can take years, and it is true that loss of income, out of pocket deductibles/co-pays/co-insurance, uncovered medical expenses can be staggering high for those not familiar with these experiences with severe injuries. And often once lawsuits are settled, the settlements are not always great and they can vary wildly.

        Is the OP’s colleagues husband now severely disabled, like now paralyzed or with a devastating traumatic brain injury from an accident at work? Something that will be utterly life altering? This is a rare incident where I can imagine asking for financial assistance, but this is not usually done right after injury unless the family is struggling with a major expense that insurance will not cover (ex. transfer from out of state to a local hospital, if the injury occurred elsewhere…. ). People often do fundraisers later to help pay for more rehab, uncovered equipment for the home etc…

        1. I hope your parent has made a full recovery. Thank you for sharing your experience/thoughts on the meals and cash.

    6. Yay! Fruegel Friday’s! I love Fruegel Friday’s and this notch dress, tho Frank would sureley try to stick his finger’s into the notch to see if his finger’s could be used as the key’s to MY boobie’s! He is gross, and seem’s to be getting worse, even tho his wife gives him all the sexueal attention he can handel. I know b/c I talk to her and she say’s he get’s all pooped out from the activitie’s, but it does NOT seem to stop him from pokeing at other women’s boobie’s and tuchuses! Even Madeline get’s poked by him and she realy does NOT like it even tho it IS male attention for her boobie’s and tuchus! FOOEY!

      We are all dressed up in our Sex in the City outfit’s, and Madeline is in now with Mr. Big–I mean the manageing partner. I hope she is behaveing herself, and moreso that the Manageing partner is also! How wierd it would be if Margie found out the 2 of them were “acting out” their role’s from the TV show. FOOEY! And I have to get his furniture once we move? DOUBEL FOOEY if I have to Lysol everything, which I was goieng to do anyway b/c of him useing the seat for more then one thing.

      Noah is a littel ticked at my dad for banning him from me for the time bieng, b/c of the Ebola. He also think’s the nurse in Maine is lookeing for publicity, but should NOT be to outspoken about all this b/c peeople don’t like to know there is any chance of Ebola nearby. I hope this all goe’s away soon, b/c Noah is NOT goeing to wait around forever for me, as there are alot of cute nurses and other young women who will sureley provide him with “comfort”, as Myrna says.

      Myrna is running in the marathon, and I told her I would go over to First Avenue to watch about 2 hour’s into it, but I do NOT want to stand around freezing my tuchus off for the 2 second’s she will pass me by. There usueally are alot of peeople there, and last year 2 guys pinched my tuchus in the crowd, but I could not even call over a policeman b/c it was to crowded. Men take alot of cheep shot’s at us b/c they know they can get away with it. I have NO interest in pincheing any man’s tuchus. DOUBEL FOOEY!

      We are all going out for lunch dressed up in our Haloween outfit’s and will be eating at the manageing partner’s favorite place near Penn Station. Margie and the baby will be joining us. It should be fun! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    7. I’d feel the same way if I was you. I’d also wonder about the presence of disability insurance/ worker’s comp/ any other type of back up program designed specifically for this situation.

      In my office I’ve spent hundreds on baby gifts, birthday gifts, wedding gifts. On the one hand I like doing it, on the other hand…. there’s no real choice, and that irks me.

    8. Maybe the cost of being in your office is ponying up for these really strange collections? I’d be unimpressed but in some places, this is the culture and it seems like your office may be one of those.

    9. Sometimes disability can take some paperwork before they pony up, and the expenses can show up before the money. At least, that’s what the AFLAC duck keeps telling me.

    10. This sounds inappropriate to me. If there was an online fund set up that was made known in case people wanted to contribute, then OK, but it should not be an office-sanctioned obligatory situation.

      I’d probably begrudgingly pony up the minimum I thought I could get away with, though, just to not ruffle any feathers or be “that person”.

    11. Another vote for inappropriate but unavoidable. Look at the bright side – if something happened to you it sounds like your coworkers would pitch in to help.

      1. Yes, I would try to look at it that way and give a little, and consider it paying it forward/paying it back for all the nice things others have done for me when we’ve had minor emergencies (and hope I never am in a situation to need an office collection myself)

      2. True. Although if I suddenly passed away, my survivors would be financially sound and my husband would probably find a few hundred bucks in cash from my coworkers strange.

    12. In my office, we had the EVP of sales ask the entire company to donate to one of his sales guys. We have a corporate charity program, so they were asking that we donate through that to an earmarked account. Apparently, one of his sales team members got diagnosed with cancer right before christmas. He was out on disability, and our company has disability insurance, but it is all based on salary. Our sales team (except for the senior management) is like 80% commission based, so this guys salary (and subsequent disability check) was peanuts.

      It was sort of hard to swallow for some, because the guy typically makes well into the 6 figures, and the way it was worded, it really tugged the heartstrings of people making much less. I did contribute, and our corporate charity fund matched what everyone donated, but still, the whole thing felt icky. (1) what a lousy company that we have to ask our employees to contribute because we don’t have a better benefits plan for commissioned employees? and (2) when you’re so heavily commissioned like that, there are Very Important Implications– like making sure your benefits/ life insurance cover your actual income vs salary– there are supplemental plans, and this guy didn’t buy one. Finally (3) the guy is now in remission and there was NEVER a thank-you. We had people making $45k donating $500+, which is a LOT. And nobody got thanked.

  7. I realize this is a really random threadjack, but my husband and I are considering fostering a child. We are obviously looking into all the official resources, but I was wondering if anyone had any personal experience – good or bad – with being a foster parent? I don’t know anyone with personal experience with foster care and would like some firsthand accounts. FWIW we have no children of our own and both have steady, relatively flexible, full-time jobs.

    1. I don’t have any advice, but I just wanted to say that it’s wonderful you are thinking about doing this!

    3. I have a friend who did this (but fostering to adopt) and used to find emergency guardians for children through a court program (back when I was childless).

      I think it can be very different if you’re temporarily fostering v fostering to adopt. I think it can also be hard (in different ways) to have a child who is very small v an older child v a school-aged child (the latter two may have friends and the last kind may need the stability of staying in a home school and continuing activities).

      Many of our emergency foster parents didn’t work and one drove a school bus (so no schedule creep for her and summers off). Many had grown children or older children, so were used to being parents. Time and flexibilty are your friend.

      Maybe a way to see if this will work for you (schedule / temperment wise) is go through the guardian ad litem training that is probably available in your area. You don’t have to be a lawyer and there are tons of children who need an advocate (without the additional work of having physical custody).

      1. This is interesting. I’ve honestly never considered the schedule issue (which is dumb of me, I know). I’m pretty sure I don’t want my own kids, but am open to potentially fostering or adopting if I somehow feel the urge to raise kids later in life. I guess when you foster, it’s not like you can leave the kid with a nanny since that would kind of defeat the purpose. I suppose unless I take a much less demanding job, fostering might be out.

        1. Actually, nannies and daycares are a-ok in the foster system (obviously accounting for child behavioral issues). Our bio kids attend a daycare center that is licensed to take in foster kids as well. Other than making sure your care center/provider of choice is appropriately licensed and/or has the relevant background check/s on file, you’re good to go.

          It’s my understanding that foster kids often have a lot of appointment needs (doc, social worker, etc.) but everyone we came across is pretty accommodating. Two working parents is often the norm, so you have to work around those types of schedules now.

        2. Also, its important to note that fostering kids is often *hard* – like really hard. Many foster children have serious mental health, behavioral, and physical health issues. My cousins fostered to adopt a little boy who, when he came to them, was a six year old who weighed about what a 3 year old should weigh. Its been a challenge but he’s now much healthier, calmer, and doing much better in school. But it is NOT easy.

          I guess what I’m saying is that being a foster parent needs to be a passion, not just a back-up plan if you decide suddenly that kids are totally your thing.

        3. I think the schedule thing can be a big hurdle. A lot of these kids need more support from parents than just evenings and weekends. I’ve seen people quit their jobs to have time tend to foster kids needs. God bless everyone who does it, it’s very much needed, but a ton of work.

    4. Yes yes yes yes yes. I don’t have experience with foster care myself but my husband and I went through the licensing process this summer. Our plans to foster are now on hold due to some complicated family stuff, but we’ve learned lot by going through the licensing and have friends who have adopted two boys out of foster care and housed countless others, so they’ve been terrific resources for us. FWIW, we have two little kids of our own.

      I couldn’t find much online when we started out except the blog Fosterhood, which makes for an interesting read. In our state, the first step is to sign up for a series of licensing classes — we did this with the attitude of, “Well, we’ll learn about foster care in these classes and then decide what to do.” I will admit, we went to class every Tuesday night in the summer and then IMMEDIATELY out for a cocktail in order to decompress/discuss. We live in a very poor area and the stories were incredible to me. That said, there’s also a ton of good stuff that comes out of the foster network.

      I wish foster care was something more people talked about — the demand is enormous and the rewards, I know, are huge. If you want to leave an anonymous email or even just respond here I can do my best to answer your specific questions. Our close friends (they’re actually super distant relatives) who got us interested in doing this are awesome and supportive. Their experience has been outstanding — though, I caution you, not without its many challenges! I think foster care is an incredible thing and I’m hopeful our family can get back on that path soon.

    5. This is awesome. I have never fostered a child myself, but in a previous, pre-law school job, I worked with many children who were in the foster system, and thus interacted with both the foster and birth families on a regular basis. A few things I observed:

      -The children had a wide variety of behaviors and needs. Many of the kids seemed to adjust to foster care quickly, continue their regular performance in school, etc., whereas some of them (understandably) had all kinds of troublesome behaviors and were significantly more difficult to deal with. I don’t think you can know what kind of kid you’ll get in advance. I will say that all the kids I worked with had been removed suddenly from their parents by the state without advance notice and placed in foster care, which would be traumatic for any kid. Not sure if this is the kind of foster care you’re considering.

      -Some of the kids had been in foster care for years, shipped around from house to house. Often these kids had trouble trusting that a foster parent would stick it out, care about them, etc. I would be ready to be very patient.

      -You may be heavily involved with social services and (possibly indirectly) having to deal with the birth family, who may be difficult to work with. Be prepared to spend time on appointments, etc. I also saw foster family get frustrated with irrational or dangerous behavior from the birth families, and frustrated with their (the foster families) lack of power in the situation. You cannot control the birth family, or make them better, and there is probably a team of people involved in the kid’s life, not just you.

      -Now that I’ve stated all these difficulties, I will say that I saw many foster families (sometimes couples, sometimes single people, young and old), be a huge, wonderful source of stability in the lives of children who may never have known that before, and I frequently saw strong bonds of real love between foster families and foster children. I also saw a number of foster children get adopted by their foster families after the birth parents dropped out of the picture (though this too can be a long and frustrating process).

      I hope this helps! It’s fantastic of you and your husband to consider this.

    6. This is so great that you are interested in doing this. I have represented kiddos in the foster care system. The best advice I can give you is to trust your gut, know your own limitations, and don’t say yes b/c you feel bad. There is nothing worse than a foster home that accepts a child who they know they cannot handle and then when things do not work out the kid is shipped off to another foster home. Be honest with yourself about the age/gender/disability/culture/etc that you are and are not equipped to handle.

      It is better to say no before a child is placed with you than to ask for that child to be removed from your home.

    7. I would love to learn more as well. Fostering is something I’ve always wanted to do, and my husband is also on board, but we both work in professional jobs. Does anyone know of any household with where two working parents have succeeded at being foster parents.

      Our current thought is to go through the training and try being relief foster parents for a while before trying to make any decision about a longer term commitment.

    8. The blogger at jenloveskev.com has started the process of become a foster parent and she blogs about it. You can read those posts by going to her blog and searching for “foster.” She and her husband haven’t had any child(ren) placed with them yet, so it’s more just her talking about the process of becoming licensed.

      Friends of mine (a married couple) adopted two older children (biological siblings placed at the same time, approx. ages 7 and 9) through the foster care system. The kids had a lot of problems, especially the older one and it was a lot of work, and the kids continued to have difficulties (learning disabilities, behavioral problems) even after the adoption. My friends are happy that they adopted through fostering, but it can be very difficult. One of the adoptive parents is a psychiatrist (or psychologist?) and had experience working with mentally ill individuals, so that may have helped.

  8. I need some help with “going out tops.” Seems like everything in my closet is work-appropriate. I’d like to show a little bit more skin on special occasions out with DH, but have nothing to wear, and don’t even know what stores to go to for this….help? And yes, I recognize how funny it is that I’m asking this here!

    1. If you have a Plato’s Closet around, since they’re catering to the younger set, they generally have a lot of that sort of thing, if you are looking for something that you don’t need or want to drop a lot of cash on.

    2. I got 2 or 3 sequin tops last year from Nordstrom or NeimanMarcus.com – house brands, I think, on sale, but I love them. They’re short sleeve or dolman sleeve so I love them year-round (and we don’t do a lot of date-nights).

    4. H+M tends to have some fun trendy stuff too, and you won’t be paying a lot of money for it either.

    5. Try BCBG, Guess, Express, or Aritzia. I think BCBG always has great options that are sexy and sophisticated.

    6. My very favorite going-out top is a black sequined tank. It has a fairly modest v-neck and the “sleeves” are about two inches wide, so it doesn’t show a lot of skin, but it’s festive and the bare arms say “not at work/showing some skin.” I got it at JC Penney, of all places, but you could find something similar almost anywhere, I think. I also like a soft fuzzy short-sleeve sweater with a lower-than-work-appropriate neckline. Again, it doesn’t show a whole lot of skin but the texture says “touch me,” which is fun for Date Night.

    7. Check out Nanette Lepore — back in my single days, I’d love her shirts for a fun classy going out look

  9. It does seem inappropriate to me to be asked to pitch in for medical expenses for the boss. Typically gifts and contribution requests are among peers. I would respectfully decline.

  10. Thanks folks. Apologies on the typos. I think the part that bothers me is the giving of cash, unsolicited. Last month a beloved coworker passed away and a collection was taken up to give to her husband. It’s just seemed very crass to me. There was no indication he was in financial trouble. I sent flowers instead. If it was a donation in her name I would have felt differently.

    1. RE: the recent death. Until I started reading this blog, I had no idea that people would perceive a gift of cash to the family as crass. Many, many cultures traditionally take up a collection after a death. It is not intended to imply that the family is strapped for cash, although there should be some recognition that expenses related to a funeral and burial are often unexpected. Even well-off families are not prepared for a $8,000 hit on top of medical bills.

      But I sympathize with your feelings about being hit up for collections at work all the time.

  11. Eh. I understand how this is frustrating, especially since this type of fundraising is frequent and isn’t done anonymously, but if I lost a spouse (and their income), I’d certainly appreciate the money more than I would flowers.

    1. I hope everyone goes out and buys sufficient life (and disability) insurance right this minute.

        1. I really don’t feel like you were! It does seem to be the case that cash is appropriate in other cultures (didn’t know!), but I think the fact that it’s a) at work and b) for a supervisor that makes it a little dicey.

          That said, probably easiest to just donate and call it a day

      2. And then watches Double Indemnity.

        My old firm insured people with mid-six-figure salaries to something like 3x income (doubled if you were traveling on firm business or it was an accident).

        I had my own insurance (so I could get sacked / leave if I found something better) so my parents wouldn’t get stuck with my mortgage and other bills.

        And also disability, since I fervently believe that I’m more likely to linger than to up and die quickly (and I want the good diapers, should it go that route).

        But, if something happened to me abruptly, it would be like hitting the lottery for my survivors. I’m OK with leaving them the funeral bill (and will come back to haunt them if anyone tries to pass the hat for that).

    2. I worked at a mid-size firm that provided disability for the attorneys and managerial-level staff, but not secretaries and other staff (like reception). A staff member had a surgery complication and was out for several weeks unexpectedly, without pay. The other secretaries did a collection for her, and another associate who contributed several hundred dollars was told that he was by far the bulk of the total contribution and that the other contributions were mostly $20s from the other staff. Then the partners, only one or who of whom contributed (and in that $20 range), and who took home more every month by not paying for this young woman to have disability insurance, touted how the firm “was such a great place to work because look how much our employees care for each other.” *That* is what rubs me the wrong way about these collections.

      2. Yikes!!! Fwiw, if it were support staff, or even someone at my level, I’d feel differently. I’m not trying to judge their personal finances but it’s frustrating bc the supervisor is politically important and makes much more than me. I’m not close enough to offer food and for all I know she’s mortified that this is being done on her behalf. But whatever I guess I have to pony up.

      3. That’s sad. I’ve usually given generously for babies, weddings and illnesses of co-workers. A boss’s spouse is reaching a little but if they’re doing it so boss can buy takeout, thus freeing her to care for her spouse, I can see the logic. For friends, I always make a casserole and bring bagged salad and a loaf of bread plus cookies but that is problematic if one doesn’t know dietary preferences or prohibitions. If a coworker did that for me, it would go to waste because of food intolerance (wheat) and allergy (milk) at my house.

  12. Shopping Challenge! My sister needs a dress for her rehearsal dinner. She’s been finding all these white sundresses, but they’re all sundresses. She’s in the northeast and it is likely to be cold.

    We’ve tried RTR and she’s not thrilled yet… Anyone can find a dress that she might like. She’s looking to spend less than $75 (yes, really) and is 5’7 with an hourglass figure.

    4. Why is she looking for white dresses to wear to a rehearsal dinner in the northeast during cold months?

      1. I say this in a totally non-snarky way- Have you ever had a younger sister get married? Sometimes you don’t ask questions and just spend hours of your life getting emailed various white dresses for a rehearsal dinner because it’s what she wants.

        1. Brides wear white to all the wedding things. It’s a new trend. I for one will pick a different battle.

        3. Are you me? I am so grateful this wedding will be over in less than 2 weeks! I love you sis, but gah, I am so tired of helping with your wedding.

          The good news is if you sister is like mine, when you hit the less than 2 weeks mark, a lot of things start to fall in the “eh, that’s ok, we don’t need to worry about it anymore” or “lets just pick one and move on” stage. That is so much easier to deal with

  14. I’m having trouble transitioning to adult life.

    I recently graduated college and have moved to a new city. I have friends in this city and try to see people once a week, but am otherwise single. Work keeps me busy and it is difficult enough to cook and feed myself and find time to fit in exercise, let alone a relationship or a family. I read books or surf the net to pass the time on the weekends and go do solo activities like a coffee shop or the gym. I’m in a routine, and the routine sucks.

    I think I come home to an empty apartment, night after night and ask myself if this is the next 10-15 years of my life. If so, does anyone else find adult life this depressing?

    1. I think everyone goes through phases like this. I certainly have. I’ve gotten out of it by taking up a new hobby, joining a club, getting a boyfriend(!), changing my workout to something more social, etc.

      It sounds like you have more time on the weekends. Can you find a meet-up group or club that interests you? Plan a solo activity that you’ve always wanted to try?

      It’s less about finding a thing you are super passionate about and committed to and more about finding things to do and try. Good luck!

    2. This is why people get married, have kids, join social clubs, gyms, and churches, volunteer with charities, have hobbies, etc. There’s so many things out there worthy of your time. You just have to put yourself out there. Enjoy no longer having homework and replace that time with activities you enjoy. Note: this comes from a lawyer who literally gets less than an hour a day for activities and it gets entirely consumed chatting with my husband. I’m jealous of your freedom, lol.

    3. I used to move a ton and work at work way too much, and I vowed not to be a hermit.

      Can you cancel your cable / internet at home, at least temporarily? And adopt a college mindset — time alone in your home = your doing it wrong. You can’t stumble into human contact as easily as you can in college, so a scheduled activity will help with that. Pub Trivia team? Something with a local alumni group? A young adult group at a church or a tennis / sports league? The key is to have real interactions with actual people and not just more screen time.

      I read Bowling Alone on the subway. I know it’s an old book, but I helped to remind me that connectedness is important.

    4. Don’t worry — you’re going through a huge transition, and no, adult life does not have to be lonely and depressing! But you will have to make more of an effort to meet people and keep busy in your free time than you did in college. Could you do some volunteering in the community? Are there social clubs/groups you could join? Could you take a class in something that interests you where you might meet people who share your interest?

    5. It’s a hard transition, but I’m 30, single, busy, and come home to an empty apt most nights and don’t hate my life at all!

      For practical ideas: instead of surfing the internet to kill time on weekends, make food ahead so you have a plan for the week and more breathing room at night.

      Do a big exercise push on the weekend- a 2 hour walk alone is much more rewarding than 2 more hours of HGTV.

      I like to make something fun on sat night and have myself a little cooking wine dance party thing when I don’t have other plans.

      And when you find yourself panicking tell yourself “get a grip self! We are learning how to be an independent adult! It does not need to happen over night but it will happen.”

    6. This is a new, scary, and exciting time. This is when you get to start figuring out what’s important to you and how you want to live your life! Time to try lots of different things and experiment with new routines.

      You already have figured out that solo time in your apartment is not doing it for you – that’s an important step! Now what? Do you have interests that can become social? You mention books – can you find a book club? If you are into running, is there a hash group or running club? Or, for example, if you like photography, are there photowalks in your city? Can you take a cooking class? Do you want to try speed dating or online dating to get out more in your new city? Are there volunteer opportunities? Or do you want a small part-time job?

      It will feel uncomfortable, to show up somewhere and not know anyone. Be patient with yourself as you try new things. And even though you’re lonely and feeling unmoored now, find ways to be content with your own company and value the solo time.

    7. Get a roommate! I had roommates for my first few years of adult life and it made the transition easier.

    8. Agreed, adult life is depressing. And I’m married so I get to feel extra guilty and even more depressed about being depressed. Do you think it’s related to the change in seasons or reduced daylight? The past few weeks have been a super bummer for me. I feel paralyzed, trapped, disconnected, I don’t care about anything. I could get pregnant just to try that, but I don’t see myself as a mother yet and that’s a terrible reason to have children.

      I have no idea what to do either, but I get it.

      1. Oh I know! See a psychiatrist and get treatment for your depression. Adult life is not depressing and dear god no don’t get a baby to see if that works! Get yourself to a doctor.

        1. +1 Having a baby is very likely to make your depression worse. Please don’t even entertain those thoughts until you get treated.

      3. I hear you about the change in season. Seasonal affective disorder is a real thing, and it usually starts about this time of year for those of us who live farther North. See your doctor. A “light box” may perk you right up.

    9. Along with an alumni group and pub trivia, if you play sports, consider joining an intramural adult league. A friend of mine is a field hockey fanatic and plays outdoors in the fall and in the winter joins an indoor league. It’s a good way to make friends, get out, and get exercise.

      Volunteering is an option, as is taking a class at the community center/one of the adult education classes. Take something fun like a language or a cooking class or a pottery class.

      I’m also going to second the roommate suggestion. It’s nice to just have someone else around, to have another presence. By nature, I’m a homebody, and if left to my own devices, I’d go into hermit mode, so I like having roommates because it forces me to interact with them, at least.

    10. Can you make plans to do things with your friends that you both need to do anyway? Like cook dinner together? Not necessarily a big production – you can just as easily make scrambled eggs or Mac and Cheese for 2 people as you can for one. Or even go grocery shopping or to the Laundromat together

      For me the best thing to do is have standing dates – on Tuesdays I do X with person Y. Even better if person Y is understanding of a crazy schedule and isn’t strict about doing X at exactly 6 pm.

      Another suggestion – not my thing, but a lot of people in my area are into intramural sports leagues. And there are leagues for everything – even Skeeball. Just a thought.

    11. Okay, so I graduated loooooooooooong ago, but I moved to a new city a couple of years ago and I went through about nine months of this. Here’s what I’ll tell you: adult life is NOT depressing. You have freedom, glorious freedom! As someone who was once married, I’ll tell you that while you have the comfort of another person (assuming a good relationship…in my case, what I often had was the depression of the gap between what a relationship *should* be and what I had, which was FAR WORSE than being single), what you don’t have is the pure, unadulterated freedom of unencumbered adulthood.

      Here’s what I did when I first moved: Joined a running group. Took tennis lessons. Took golf lessons. Joined a church. Found random activities on Meetup and went to them. Joined the Junior League. Signed up for alumni volunteer activities. Joined the young members groups at local museums and went to their activities. I was basically prospecting for a social life, and eventually, I struck it rich: not all of those activities resulted in friendships, but some of them did (I now have tennis friends, church friends, and museum friends). My problem now is that my social life is *too* busy – I have to force myself to take a breather between crazy social activities and my crazy job.

      You have to be willing to put yourself out there, and it’s not one-time – it’ll be 6-9 months of going to stuff solo – but eventually it works out.

      1. +1

        When I left my husband I realized I had no life to speak of apart from my marriage. I just tried a whole bunch of stuff and eventually (after many more months than I’d hoped for), it started to happen. I now have gym friends, dance class friends, Rotary Club friends (Rotary has been a real game-changer), and friends I met through the one lady who was persistent in striking up a friendship with me when I moved to the Bachelore*t*t*e Pad. And those friendships have led to other friendships.

        Like cbackson, I am amazed to find that I am often overwhelmed by the number of social events on my calendar. At this point my challenge is to try to be a little more discerning and realize I don’t have to say “yes” to every. single. thing.

        And yes, standing dates are great. Tap class on Tuesdays with A, drinks after work on Thursdays with B, once-a-month theatre with C, and so on. It’s a lot easier to be alone some (even most) nights if you know you have plans for later in the week.

    12. Wow! These should be some of the best years of your life. Like others pointed out you have alot of freedom and not too many responsibilities at the moment. Enjoy it. There are few stages in life when one gets to experience this. To make things more interesting, look into doing some activities that involve being in a group in your new city. It could be something sporty, a book club or even doing trivia night. You can also take a class at a community centre in something that you are interested in. If you would like a relationship then along the way doing some of these things, you might meet someone. Establish a simple routine like say movie or game night with some of your friends. Also try and go out to events by yourself: you could try outdoor summer concerts, or a play or musical. Nothing wrong with enjoying your own company. Some tips for exercise and meals:
      For exercise: If you don’t always have time to go to the gym, use workout videos at home on some days.
      For meals: Get into the habit of making something on the weekend that can last a few days. Some people make one big meal, refrigerate and have it through the whole week. If you prefer a little variety, then do the prep work for the ingredients on the weekend. When you come home all you need to do is throw everything together for your stew or stir fry or whatever else you are making. You can build a number of meals from a whole roast chicken for example from having it with a side of veggies with rice, to a salad, or for lunch as a sandwich.

      Finally, if living by yourself continues to get you down, then find a room-mate, make sure it is someone you think you can get along with. A bad match usually results in a whole new set of problems. Extra bonus, a roommate saves you some money on household expenses.

      1. Ugh to the idea that anyone time should be the best in your life.

        I agree there are lots of things to improve here but so what if the early 20s aren’t the best time? I rather think retirement will rock.

        1. Yes, retirement can rock and it does for many people but let’s not pretend that you will have the same energy levels that you do in your twenties. You are only young once. These years when she is “unencumbered” as some people put it, and able to support herself don’t come too often for most people. Best to make the most of them.

    13. I’m in the exact same position, and I feel the exact same way. I’ve tried online dating, which really only takes up time on the weekends, and has been a good way to meet people and get to know the city.

      Also my last semester in college my roommate’s cat adopted me, and I have to say it, he’s probably the best thing that happened to me. It makes going home to an empty apartment, not so lonely. I’m more of a dog person, but I have to had it to cats for being more low maintenance while providing some much needed cuddles. Adopting may be something for you to consider. Maybe try getting an older cat/dog whose personality is a little more set already and you won’t have to spend the time potty training it which can be super time consuming for kittens/puppies.

      Everyone is saying get a roommate, but after college roommates you couldn’t pay me to move in with someone again.

    14. Hi, are you me?

      I totally get how you feel because I’m pretty sure I do exactly the same thing as you. Some changes I’ve made – I’m going to participate in nanowrimo in November, and try to go to as many write-ins as possible – might meet a few friends!

      I also have lists of places I want to visit in the area, including restaurants or snack shops. I’m lazy so I don’t exercise as often as I should, but I go to the mall on weekends sometimes – walking and shopping is exercise, right? Plus, going shopping doesn’t mean you have to buy anything.

      I go to industry events/conferences and seek out mentorship opportunities to meet people. It’s weird going in not knowing anybody, but just striking up a conversation with anybody in the room will get things rolling. I tend to do this a lot since I moved to this city where I don’t have very many (or any) friends. I think if you sign up for things and people expect you to show up (like a conference, or book club meeting), you’ll go and your schedule will start to fill up with activities so you can break out of the routine.

  15. I adore this. What is the sizing like for Dorothy Perkins? Anything else I should watch out for?

    1. I think they run a bit small, especially narrower through the hips. I’d try your usual size plus at least one size up, especially for fitted things. I haven’t ordered from them in a while, but I think they have free returns now, right? When I ordered they didn’t, and it cost me $10+ to send back 2 shirts.

      1. The web site is unclear, but the FAQs seem to say that international customers (which would be US shoppers, since it’s a UK company) do not receive pre-paid return labels and have to return at our own costs. Anybody have experience with this?

        1. I’ve ordered from them before and if you do need to return something, you are on your own for packaging and shipping. I think it cost me $7 to return a few things last time I ordered from them.

  16. Anyone else just find out that patterns for carving pumpkins are a thing? I’ve always just thought that everyone on Facebook was way more talented than me since my jack-o-lanterns haven’t improved since I was eight…

    2. YES! My husband brought home a bunch of “pumpkin stencils” the other day and I thought he was insane!

  17. We’re doing some family photos in a few weeks and I’m trying to find a good resource for clothing that photographs well. Any help would be much appreciated!

    1. Solid colors (prints can look funny when photographs and/or can quickly look dated). Interesting necklines or collars. Make sure the colors everyone wears are harmonious and also put different colors sit next to each other so you don’t blur together. Same with background; don’t wear a navy sweater and sit on a navy couch, for example. I’d stick with tailored stuff instead of flowy.

  18. Can anyone recommend DC volunteer opportunities that are good for new/inexperienced attorneys? I don’t have a lot of experience but I want to get involved in the community–and I’d like to use what few legal skills I have if possible! I’m not yet a member of the DC bar but will have an application pending within the next month or so. I checked out the DC Bar’s pro bono page but got a little overwhelmed by the number of organizations, so thought I’d ask if anyone had specific recommendations.

    I’m open to all areas of law!

    1. The last man on Earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock at the door.

      (Google two-sentence ghost stories for entertainment)

      1. In this vein:

        You get up in the middle of the night and put your hand on the light switch, but someone’s hand is already there.

        You live alone.

    2. Check out the scary stories thread on Jezebel – I read them yesterday and definitely had a few goosebumps walking to the bathroom at night! :)

      1. I read that a few days ago!!! SOOOOO creepy! WTF, why would you just randomly poison people?

        Reminds of one of the Dear Prudence “hall of fame” letters where a wife wrote in that she thought she was being poisoned by her MIL every time she ate at her house, and it turned out to be true (she got a divorce)!

    5. My work building is haunted and I lived in a haunted apartment in college. In a class today otherwise I would give you full stories.

  20. What are the names of inserts that you ladies put into high heels? Are there any inserts that provide arch support or shift your weight? I could swear that we had talked about these before, but I can’t seem to find them. The ones they sell in drugstores are wayy too small for my size 10 feet, they are too short and too narrow to do anything.

    1. I swear by my superfeet dress shoe inserts. They’re the only thing that make shoes comfortable for me and are big enough. I’ve got a few pairs so I can rotate them. available on amazon and zappos

  21. So, I am seriously upgrading a purse. Would like to hear feedback on the Brea MM. I am thinking of the Epi materials. Anyone have experience with that? I can’t tell from photos, is there a clip/loop inside the Brea MM for keys? I am 5’4″ – would it be unwieldy on my frame? How functional/easy is the zipper to use?

    If there is an alternative (w/option of shoulder carry), I’m open to suggestions.

    My current non-fancy bag is too tight (horizontally) for my wallet to easily come in/out…otherwise I would not be making a jump, let alone a big jump over the moon! I have a Tignanello out of saffiano leather from DSW, also a satchel style. It is 12 x 8 x 5

    Would the MM at 13×8.8 x 4.9 be comparable in size?

    If so, I should move up to the GM?
    at 14.5 x 20.5 x 5.5?

    I’m going through a factory overstock place, not a true B&M store as I don’t really care about the store services and the attached big time pricing. So I can’t really “see” the bag. Non refundable unless defective.

    Oh, this is an advertizer on the PurseBlog … called Luxury Handbags Outlet. I’m cautious because you can only link to it through the Purse Blog. If I copy and paste the url from my browser window, it doesn’t come up.

    So anyone worked with them before?

    1. Well, I have read all of the materials on the website and it is just too good to be true. Therefore, I know it is a scam. And there is no real contact information for the company.

      In any case, expecting end-of-year profits for my company, I am still interested in thoughts about going to a higher-end satchel style bag…

      It doesn’t have to be LV. It can be any brand, but I’d really like to stay at or under $500. To me, that’s a splurge…so that is why I was temporarily insane and thought about an outlet purchase.

      Thank heavens I had the presence of mind to do more research.

      So I am curious to suggestions for REAL bags at REAL prices :)

      top zip
      satchel style w/removable shoulder strap
      feet
      place to hang keys
      not an observable, widespread logo bag
      silver hardware
      black, cobalt, any red, charoal/gunmetal grey, amethyst

      TIA. Phew.

  22. Do you ever feature something that isn’t a sleeveless shift dress? I live in Chicago for God’s sake! 10 months out of the year it is bitterly cold, and the other two months I have to endure blasts of air conditioning wherever I go.

    2. And I live in California and live in sleeveless things year round., yet I didn’t feel the need to complain about the wool coat that was featured the other day.

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