Splurge Monday’s Workwear Report: Holly Butterfly-Print Button-Up Shirt

81 Comments

1. I’m looking to clean out my closet and read the post from a few months ago about ThredUp. Do others have a similar experience? It’s a bunch of used but well-maintained mall brands, mix of casual and office. Not worth my time on Posh, and workwear donations near me are looking for larger sizes. Great if I can get a little cash for it, but if not, I wasn’t wearing it anyway…

   1. I like shopping on ThredUp but haven’t found it worth it for selling.
      I have the best luck in local BST groups. I’m prepping to do a winter closet cleanout and everything will be $10 or less (similar brands to what you posted).

   2. If you are fine with getting literally cents for a few things and none for the rest, it’s at least going to be out of your house.

   3. I never bother trying to get money from old clothes anymore, I just donate. It’s not worth the hassle.

   4. Don’t bother unless you care about getting $1.42 for your entire donation.

   5. If you’re a facebook user, I’d post either as a “lot” by business clothes in a specific size for something like $20, or as a free lot by size. YMMV based on where you live.

   6. I agree with the others on the clothes – you get pennies for the clothing. Purses do seem to have a little better ROI. The percentage you receive of the price is higher, at least on nicer brands (I’ve gotten $50-70 on like a MZ Wallace bag for instance).

   7. I was pleasantly surprised that a consignment store near me would give pretty good deals on store credit. That model doesn’t work for me (very picky, unique hips), but I have a teen who is all about thrifting. Maybe if you can do in one drop-off this would work for you? Otherwise, donate, donate, donate. Your time is precious.

   8. When I was in a similar situation, I sent an email to the intern email list at my (large) company saying that I had a large package of business clothes in size x, and included a few pictures of things so they could see my style. A very happy intern took away all my clothes, we had a nice mentoring conversation, and joy was felt by all:-)

      1. Ha — the interns have nicer things than I do (likely gifts, but Gucci sneakers and Sarah Flint shoes). I have a mortgage and daycare, so I spend a ton more, but am in the use what I have if I can stay the same size stage of life.

   9. As long as you don’t have the expectation of getting a lot of cash for it, its ok to sell on. The motivation of getting a bit of cash results in the clothes leaving by house and stops me from driving around with a donation bag in my car for six months. Mall brands typically don’t fetch much, and designer sells for less than poshmark, but it is simple and fuss free.

   10. Donating makes a big impact to help people versus spending time and energy to get pennies on the dollar. I think with return to work, people especially need work clothes.

   11. I’m late to this thread, but if you’re on Facebook, there is an active and worthwhile buy sell trade loop going on in the Gee Thanks, Just Swapped It! group.

   12. I don’t care if its only a few cents per piece. It makes it easier for someone else to shop for my size in brands they like. I mean, that’s why I like Poshmark and Thredup although stuff on Posh is nicer. It is easy. I order a bag, fill it up and mail.

   13. From a financial perspective, you’re better off donating and taking the charitable contribution deduction. Plus, then you are helping out women who are struggling.

   14. Buy nothing groups on Facebook are good for this

   15. I’ve gotten emails from Poshmark saying they will now do all the listing/selling. I haven’t checked it out but think I will try this after my next clean out.

2. I have an in-person interview on Thursday in NYC (I don’t currently live or work in NYC). I’m planning to wear a blazer over a dress. Planning to wear flat tall boots to commute in for warmth and comfort but assuming I should bring a pair of heels to change into for the interview once I get to the office vs. wearing the boots, right?

   1. how senior are you and what industry? I would not bat an eye at an in-house attorney just wearing the boots, assuming they are dressy (a la Aquatalia). Philly.

   2. If your boots are dressy rather than wintery, just wear the boots.

   3. I wear dressy (Aquitalia actually) boots to winter meetings with clients. I feel that they pair well with winter skirts that are longer / looser and you can’t beat them for warmth.

   4. No advice, just sending good luck OP!

   5. If you want to wear heels to the interview, I would honestly just take a taxi or Uber straight there if your only option for commuting shoes is boots. Otherwise, what are you going to do with the tall boots when you walk in? I think changing from tall boots is fine once you’re working somewhere, or would be fine for an interview if the commuting shoes will fit in your bag, but if your boots won’t fit in your bag for an interview, I think you’re better off either not wearing the boots or taking a car.

      That being said, it is actually not going to be that cold in NYC on Thursday. As an alternative, you could easily wear flats (that would fit into your bag) and then change to heels for the interview.

3. ok, I’ve invested in a bit of cashmere and faced my first cleaning cycle this weekend. I went with what I think is the safest option – hand washing, rolling in towels to dry and then laying flat to shape and let air dry. But holy hannah, what an ordeal. Does anyone have success with putting pieces in a mesh bag on the delicate cycle of the washing machine? Is dry cleaning an (expensive) option? I washed two pieces, then had to do a load of towels to account for all the ones I got soaked try to dry those two pieces. Please tell me there is a better option!

   1. With my department store quality cashmere sweater, I’ve never hand washed, just mesh bag, delicate cycle, lay flat to dry. I never had it get misshapen or develop pilling. After 10+ years it did develop a hole though so maybe I wasn’t gentle enough, but that was good enough for me.

      1. Same. I’ve had some pieces 10+ years.

   2. I’ve always dry cleaned cashmere. No issues, my time is worth more than it costs.

   3. I always hand wash my cashmere in the sink and years after they are in perfect shape, for my is worth the (little) time.

      But the true is that I do the same with all my delicates/good quality since college as my mother teach me and as result I continue having most of the (I finish college 30 years ago).

   4. Not what you asked, but I’m wondering how you managed to soak so many towels for just two sweaters. You can squeeze much of the water out of the sweater before rolling in a towel. Don’t wring — just squeeze, several times. Pretend the sweater is a sausage and you’re squeezing it from top to bottom to get the filling all the way to the bottom of the tube.

      1. I’m wondering the same thing.

         1. +2

      2. Op here – the items I washed were a 100% cashmere lounge set, so long pants and top. After washing, I did manually squeeze out as much water as possible, then laid a beach towel on the floor; put the wet items in there and then rolled it up and got as much water out as possible. Needed to do that two more times before I felt like I had extracted enough water to lay the pieces out.

   5. I have always dry cleaned.

   6. I always dry clean. I’m willing to put effort into laundry and wash silk blouses at home to hang dry, but the babying required for sweaters is next level.

      1. Only if you make it next level. I wash my silk tops and my cashmere sweaters the same way. The only difference is that I don’t put damp sweaters on a thin hangar to dry and instead drape them over the shower rod in my bathroom.

   7. It’s a know your machine and your sweaters situation.

      My machine, which is otherwise excellent, slightly shrinks cashmere on gentle wool wash. Merino is fine, but cashmere shrinks a size. I solved this by buying sweaters a size up to shrink on purpose.

      Oversize cardigans with no pit contact I just air or steam. I have cashmere cardigans that have not been washed for years. (And no, they do not smell. Tight clothing absolutely do, but not oversize. )

      If you do want to try your machine, do a single item on the most gentle wash, gently stretch and dry flat. You might shrink it, or you could be okay.

   8. I hand wash stuff all the time and never involve towels.

      Squeeze out the excess (just squeeze, never wring) in the sink with your hands. Depending on how sturdy the damp garment is, I then drape it over a thick towel rod or lay it flat on a sweater drying mesh (or more realistically, an upside down laundry basket).

      If I’m doing a bunch of sweaters in one go, I will use the spin cycle on my top loader to get the excess water out before arranging them to dry.

   9. I hand wash most delicates (mine are mostly merino and silk). I bought a liquid hand wash called soak, which you don’t have to rinse — though I do anyway. I find that this delicate liquid soap, combined with handwashing, makes the sweater look better after washing and keeps the size and shape intact.

      I wash it fast and time while I do other things. I squeeze the excess water, and sometimes gently wring if I have to, …though I am careful. I then roll the rest in a towel. I go pretty fast….fill sink, set timer for 15 minutes, then squeeze/drain, fill sink again, time, wring in towel, and lay flat over a dry towel draped over two square stools or a table/ chair.

      I did place a merino sweater I had hand washed for about a year in the delicate cycle with my husband’s smart wool top (used soak in the machine) and after a year of handwashing it shrank slightly more than the first time I washed it, which was disappointing.
      I find if a sweater is something I am thinking of letting go of, I’m more likely to wash it in the machine, while I ‘baby’ my favourites and newer items. I do the same with bras too….hand wash when they are new, and after about a year throw in the machine. I will say though, that if the wire starts to hurt or they feel tight, I soak by hand again, and they are mostly revived. I hasten to add though, that I own many, and purchase one or two new ones a year.

   10. I check the news once a day. I am struggling; need a medical treatment that they are refusing to approve. Advocating for change at the blue state coalition level is a concrete step I can take. With the rest of my time I try to get enough sleep, plan healthy meals and do whatever else helps me reboot my stress level. We have been doing disaster films where a small group of humans band together and save the planet.

       1. If Democrats were reliable allies on healthcare they’d win more elections.

          I hope you can get your medical treatment covered one way or another. If it’s private insurance, all I can say is don’t trust anything they say!

          1. Because the Republicans have been such reliable allies? Please.

             1. Try to understand that voting Republican right now is a vote to burn it all to the ground, not a vote for something better than Democrats are offering.

   11. Don’t do it! You only need to wash it about once a year. Take care of your sweaters, and they will last.

       1. +1!!!

   12. Interested to see that many people hand wash their sweaters. I did this a few years ago with several cashmere sweaters, used cold water and a gentle detergent, and all of the sweaters shrank considerably. I later learned that it’s necessary to stretch and block sweaters back into their desired shape while they dry, and maybe pin them down during drying? I do not wear the sweaters I hand washed anymore because they are now too tight. I guess I could wash again and try to stretch them, but the earlier project was both time consuming and a total failure!

   13. I wear cashmere sweaters daily during winter and actually, I think handwashing cashmere is the easiest!
       I fill up a sink with warm water (not very warm, not hot, just slightly warm), add a generous cup of Eucalan (fragrance-free version, it really helps keep cashmere soft), mix it in and then add 1-2 sweaters, massage them a bit, and leave them soaking for 15mins. Then I rub a bit underarm area of sweaters, squeeze the water out, put each sweater into a mesh bag and run them through the gentlest spin cycle in the washing machine. Then I lay them on the airdrying rack. I have different brands, different quality of cashmere and all of them are in perfect condition – even after years of regular use.
       I have some cheaper ones which I have successfully machine washed in the past without any issue – on 30C, lowest spin cycle.

       1. Did you mean you run them through the gentlest spin cycle of the dryer?

          1. The gentlest spin cycle of the washing machine. I only air-dry cashmere.

   14. I always hand-wash my sweaters. Dry cleaning will shrink them.

   15. I wear the numi undershirt that protects against smells and sweat and dryclean my sweaters once a season.

4. I am really struggling with… everything (waves hand) and the only way I seem to be able to cope is by completely shutting out the world and news, disassociating, and watching escapist TV. I know this isn’t healthy but I have no idea what else to do. I already give money, volunteer, protest, call reps, etc etc and I’m just at a loss watching this and feeling so helpless.

   The hardest part is that everyone processes so differently. Life still goes on, so sometimes I’ll meet up with a friend and she wants to chat about a cute thing her kid did or a minor work drama and like, that stuff still matters and I want to engage, but this deep, unrelenting sense of doom and nihilism is always bubbling underneath.

   If I actually do just shut it all out for a day or two, I feel better, but that seems really irresponsible. I feel like I am watching my country fall apart in real time.

   I don’t even know what I’m asking. How do you all cope, I guess is what I want to know? What gets you through all this? Hope in a better outcome? Acceptance in what you can’t control? Faith in a higher power?

   1. When you say completely shutting out the news for a day or two “seems really irresponsible”, can you quantify what “irresponsible” actually means? Objectively, if you concentrated all of your political stuff to eg. 6 hours on one day (go to a protest or volunteer at an event, send out your emails), would you actually be having measurably more/less/the same impact as you are now?

      I’m asking because, my guess is that you are thinking this is a choice between your own personal well-being and your impact; but in reality, I strongly suspect the choice is more between you-have-bad-wellbeing-and-XYZ-impact and you-have-better-wellbeing-and-actually-the-same-impact.

   2. Minneapolis girl here and I feel you. What has helped me in this particular moment is literally re-training the algorithim so I’m seeing story upon story of neighbor helping neighbor, list of places where you can volunteer to help, stories of watching out for each other, etc. The love for this community, and the smarts and sneakiness and resilience and humor of our residents is something I will never get over. Oddly, this invasion has brought us together in a way our naturally reserved Nordic natures never could, and I am here for it. Plus, it is brutally cold here, which is when we thrive.

   3. Honestly I tune out and focus on my life. I know what’s hall, I can’t change it and I don’t waste energy on things I can’t change. I’ll vote accordingly but I’m not going to spend my precious life enraged all the time. I’d rather talk about my friend’s kids, travel, fashion, trends, etc.

      1. I think it’s the idea of wasting energy on things you can’t change. Voting and nothing else is a bit of a fallacy. There’s a whole lot you can do to make the times better, from volunteering to help those experiencing the most dire consequences to protesting. Turning a blind eye to protect one’s beautiful mind isn’t the right balance either.

         1. You do you girl.

         2. I’ll bite. I dispute the efficacy of protesting in this administration, I think it eggs them on and plays into their hands. I also am not aligned with the missions of many left groups that turned extremely antisemitic in recent years and so no, they do not get my volunteer efforts or dollars.

            1. Same. I cannot put my energy behind Escalation Wars. I fundamentally disagree that these actions result in positive advances/outcomes.

            2. You get the democracy and policies you put up with. Glad MLK didn’t feel that way.

            3. “In spite of temporary victories, violence never brings permanent peace.” — MLK
               “Violence as a way of achieving racial justice is both impractical and immoral.” and “It destroys community and makes brotherhood impossible.”- MLK, Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? (1967)
               “Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars.” – MLK Strength to Love (1963)

         3. Volunteer for concrete things, like volunteering to clear a trail or help a food bank process donations or do Big Sisters or whatever. Volunteering to mail pamphlets or call your senators or whatever is vaporware. You should be able to say what you did at the end of each volunteer shift, and it should be a direct impact, not that you were hoping to inspire someone else to make a direct impact.

   4. People have managed to find ways to thrive in much worse scenarios. Reading the memoirs of people who have been through worse always reminds me that I can handle this world.

   5. I am struggling too. I have family members in immediate danger and am frustrated that no one where I live even seems to know what is going on, much less care. The only thing that got me through last week was the fact that I happened to be rehearsing and performing a very powerful work of music in honor of MLK weekend that included themes directly relevant to what is going on in Minneapolis. The shared experience and connection with the other performers and with the many friends who were in the audience was life-sustaining. Now that it’s over I don’t know how I will cope. I can’t tune out the news; on the contrary, I have to spend a lot of time and energy trying to find and verify information about what is actually happening since the media coverage is so spotty.

      1. Keep playing music…

   6. I suggest you try to limit your news reading/listening to early mornings, and your political venting to certain friends/family members who can handle it.

      I am also concerned that your angst is also sounding like a plummeting mental health situation. You are not alone at that. But to preserve sanity you need to include cute kid stories and normal day to day activities to help you move forward. Some of us are better at doing that than others, but it doesn’t mean we are not deeply concerned. If anxiety is part of your normal genetic code, then you may need to schedule an appointment with your doctor to discuss approaches (therapy, medication) to help bridge you. Meanwhile, get a Happy Light from Costco and make sure you are sitting by it every morning while drinking your morning coffee.

      While you are doing a lot, I suggest you add some sort of exercise and / or more meditative type activities (ex. yoga, mindfulness, knitting, or even reading escapist books) to your schedule. And even though it is frigid cold where I am, the sun is shining. I hope you can bundle up and get outside and do something in nature that reminds you there are wonderful things out there bigger than us, that will be around long after we are gone.

      You can also volunteer more, in person, at your local political office.

   7. I feel the same way, and I’m not sure what to do. I read War and Peace over the holidays, and there’s a description of how people in Moscow were going about their business and having more fun than ever before in the couple months before Napoleon’s army arrived and the city burned to the ground – the social season was glittering. It resonated.

      1. Oh great book suggestion. I haven’t read that one in a while. I’ve been looking for something to read. Thanks!

   8. I don’t know but I took a really long bath and read a book on Ann Frank while in the tub.

   9. We aren’t built for constant news, even the most informed used to just read the paper with their coffee in the morning and watched the evening news. Small scale solution, PBS news hour (or cbc’s daily news cast) and print copies of the economist put in the bathroom every week. News consumption is largely reduced to better quality and less. This is the adult equivalent of when you show your kids 80s content because it is less stimulating.

   10. Unless you work in politics, I don’t think it’s necessary or healthy to keep up with the news minute-to-minute. I’m a bit of a news junkie, but I’ve found that listening to podcasts and setting timers on my phone to limit doom-scrolling is REALLY helpful for my mental health. I’ve had to be busy with some personal stuff and some non-political volunteer stuff, and it’s been great to do things like make sandwiches for six people or stuff envelopes for a Brownie troop instead of waiting and worrying.

   11. Solidarity. Right there with you.

5. Kinda repetitive, but this is not priced for synthetic fabric…

   1. You must know this but not all synthetic fabrics are the same.

      1. But they are all still synthetic.

         1. Sigh.

            1. Believe it or not, a non-zero number of us don’t relish the idea of wearing plastic, nor paying a premium to do so, regardless of how “unsame” that plastic is from other plastic.

            2. Viscose is synthetic, but in what world is it plastic or a petroleum byproduct?

   2. It’s viscose, not polyester. And IRRC correctly, they source from a more sustainable viscose process. And the same brand has gorgeous silk blouses with similar interesting prints.

      1. That’s ironic if it costs more because they made it more sustainable, but people who are judging categorically want it to cost less!

   3. OP here. Honestly, I’m not looking for a bargain when buying synthetic. I’m just trying to buy more natural fibers and finding it increasingly difficult to do so, particularly as a small boned petite.

   4. I don’t want to wear insect prints. Shudder. I’m ok with bug jewelry though.

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