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Wednesday’s Workwear Report: Larkspur Cotton-Silk Mock-Neck Cardigan

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A woman wearing blue jeans and an off-white cardigan

Our daily workwear reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices.

This mock-neck cardigan from Banana Republic offers something just a little different from your typical crewneck cardigan. Something about the high neck makes it look slightly more formal, and the cotton-silk knit looks really luxe.

This alabaster off-white color would go with everything in my fall wardrobe, but it also comes in black and “radicchio burgundy.” 

The sweater is $148 full price at Banana Republic — with 40% off at checkout — and comes in sizes XXS-XXL. 

Sales of note for 10/12

  • Ann Taylor – Flash Sale: 40% off full-price purchase + 60% off sale styles
  • J.Crew – Friends & Family Event, 30% off for loyalty members (ends 10/12)
  • J.Crew Factory – 50% off at stores and sitewide, 20% off $150+
  • Lo & Sons – Fall Sale: Up to 40% off
  • M.M.LaFleur – Fall Refresh Event, up to 25% off (Try code CORPORETTE15 for 15% off on other items)
  • Nordstrom – 6,200+ new markdowns for women (Also, weirdly, they have the Fall 2026 Chanel collection, which I feel like is a first for them, but it's like a catalog for you to call for an appointment… very strange.)
  • Nordstrom Rack – Extra 25% off select denim (ends 10/12) + up to 50% off DV by Dolce Vita and more
  • Old Navy – 40% off everything (ends 10/12). Also, the Old Navy x Altuzarra collab is here! All sizes (up to 4X!) of the blazer in the collab is still available.
  • Talbots – Friends & Family Event: 30% off your entire purchase
  • Theory – End of season sale is on with extra savings (new prices are marked)

114 Comments

  1. Is there a good way to turn airline points into hotel stays, specifically American Airlines points? I can’t easily host overnight guests but have a to. Of unused miles. And some Marriott and Hilton points, but never enough.

    1. AA does let you book hotels with miles – go to AAdvantage Hotels. But it’s usually such a horrible ROI for use of the miles that I’m never tempted.

      1. Yeah you can do it but it’s almost always a horrible redemption rate.

        Buy yourself business class flights somewhere with the airline miles!

    2. How to Book Hotels with AA Miles – Log in to your AAdvantage account on the official American Airlines Hotel Portal.

      Note that they probably use Expedia on the back end so it can be difficult to resolve issues if something goes wrong.

  2. Lip balm question: is there a specific ingredient that makes your lips more dry rather than preventing dryness?

    I typically only need lip balm once or twice per day in the dry winter season to keep my kisser hydrated. However, I picked up a new tube (one of my go-to brands but in a different formula, since my usual one was out of stock) and it feels like it is dehydrating my lips rather than protecting them. I would like to avoid this again.

    2. Could be anything, which is unhelpful. Maybe there’s a fragrance in it that your skin is sensitive to.
      I’ve been using plain ol Aquaphor for years, its the only thing I can tolerate.

      1. I use either Aquaphor or straight-up Vaseline. Anything labeled “intensive care” has something in it that irritates the heck out of my lips and makes them peel.

        1. +1

          My dermatologist, who identified many of my skin allergies, always recommends plain vaseline. And definitely not the cute flavored vaseline lip options, as many folks develop allergies to the fragrance additives.

    3. Yes… There are whole lists of ingredients that can dry out lips that are also frequently used in lip balms.

    5. I heard beeswax is actually drying, so I avoid Burt’s Bees. I don’t think it’s really popular anymore, but EOS is also very drying. Aquaphor is great and you can get a tiny container for your purse.

    6. the NYT had a good story on this a while back… gift link and quotes below:
      https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/30/well/live/chapped-lip-balm.html?unlocked_article_code=1.DVE.Ty6w.vXcc9WsH5NIB&smid=url-share

      The most effective lip balms contain ingredients that attract moisture (known as humectants), add moisture and oil (emollients) and form a protective barrier to seal in moisture (occlusives), Dr. Awan said.

      Look for products that contain petroleum jelly (commonly listed as petrolatum or white petrolatum on labels), castor oil and glycerin, Dr. Rogers said. The American Academy of Dermatology also recommends lip balms that contain ceramides, hemp seed oil, dimethicone, mineral oil and shea butter. Coconut, avocado and extra-virgin olive oils help nourish chapped lips, too, said Dr. Danny C. Del Campo, a dermatologist in Chicago.
      …
      Dr. Awan said people often enjoy the cooling, tingling sensation from ingredients like peppermint oil, camphor and menthol, but they can cause irritation so you should avoid them. The academy also suggests avoiding items with fragrance, flavorings (like mint, citrus and cinnamon), salicylic acid, eucalyptus and lanolin (a fat derived from sheep’s wool that the American Contact Dermatitis Society named the 2023 Allergen of the Year).

        1. Not the person you’re responding to, but beats me. I use Lanolips exclusively and it’s been a game changer for me. I just put on a thickish layer at night and my lips are good to go. I don’t use any lip balm during the day and don’t need to.

        2. You don’t have to, but many people develop topical allergies over time, with repeated exposures. Lanolin appears to be one of those.

    7. OP here with details: Burts Bees OG is my GOAT. I wanted to cut back on plastic packaging, so I tried Ethique over the summer. The Juicy scent is great and while it doesn’t have the tingle that the Burts Bees has, it hydrates nicely. That slot was empty when I went to pick up another recently, so I tried Ethique’s So Cocoa version instead. This cocoa one feels like I have to reapply it every 5 minutes and my lips keep getting more and more dry. I also don’t care for the scent.

      For science, I compared the ingredients between the two Ethique ones. They are entirely duplicates of each other except that the Juicy includes coconut oil and grapefruit oil. Perhaps the coconut oil is what keeps me feeling hydrated?

      None of the three contain petroleum (which tracks; I feel like petroleum lip balm doesn’t hydrate but only pauses the drying out until it wears off, while also making my teeth feel waxy). And Burts Bees includes my favorite mix of tingly ingredients and lanolin . So…sorry NYT article.

  3. I bought a pleated midi skirt in “slate” from Jenni Kayne but I haven’t worn it yet. I like how it looks with an oversized sweater but it’s not oversized sweater season yet. How would you style it for business casual and/or out to dinner with friends? Link in next comment.

      1. Thank you for the link, I just snapped that up. I’d probably go casual with a tshirt and fitted denim jacket for now, sweater and boots later, probably wouldn’t try to make it work at the office because midi skirts get caught in my chair.

      2. My belts tend to wander all over from where they should be sans belt loops, so IDK how she keeps this from being a disaster (does she have people for that)?

        1. Yes I love this look but how does she make it work with the belt not having a mind of its own?

    4. out to dinner with friends I would wear a fitted tank, and for bus casual, a slim fit short sleeve shirt. Like an elevated/woven t shirt, I guess you’d call it. Other people would look nice in with a blazer or jacket as well, but that would be more than my bus casual office calls for.

    5. I have that skirt in a different color (navy) and wear it with a fitted, sleeveless merino crewneck top, also from JK, in the same color. I wear this outfit at least once a week in the sleeveless months (which are nearly all of them here in the SEUS). I have also worn it with a short-sleeved baby blue cashmere sweater when I need sleeves, and I figure this will take me through most of our so-called winter.

    6. Another vote for a short-sleeve sweater shell. If you are unable to wear animal fibers, Brooks Brothers has pima cotton sweater shells right now that are very nice.

      1. Because they tend to be made very well with good fabric, wool and cashmere. You have to pay for quality.

    9. How do you all wear these if you are short? I feel that all stairs are hazards with this length on me and I’m 5-4, which I think is technically not even short but average. All pants are high now but all skirts are so long.

      1. This is why ladies are taught to pick up their skirts by pinching some of the fabric in one hand before ascending or descending stairs. You have to do this with any full-length or “maxi” skirt.

        1. Bonus, you get to feel extra fancy and princess-like when you ‘gather your skirts’ before descending the stairs.

        2. I feel very Delicate Victorian Lady when I do that, but in the Year of Our Lord 2026 I am doing it a LOT.

    10. PSA there is a 100% cotton sweater by Halogen on sale for like $50 at Nordstrom rn.

    11. I own this skirt in an espresso brown color. I thought it would be so useful, but I have never worn it. Every time I think about wearing it, I decide it’s not quite the right thing. It feels too fancy/dressy for either casual wear or the office. I might wear it with something sparkly on top for an actual dressy occasion, but I have other better options for that.

  4. If you work from home and aren’t on zoom a lot, what is your typical outfit? Makeup choice? I really struggle looking out together at all anymore.

    1. Realistically, workout clothes in the morning until I walk the dog at lunch, then whatever I’m going to wear out to evening meetings/activities for the afternoon. That’s usually a plain t-shirt or cotton sweater with wide-leg jeans.

    2. t-shirt & shorts in the hot months, leggings and sweatshirt in the cold months. I do change out of my sleepwear every day (even if it’s just changing from one t-shirt to another) but otherwise very casual.
      I never wear make-up, but I didn’t when I was in the office either.

    3. I have some video calls when WFH and wear workout clothes with a presentable top over them. Basic makeup that is enough for camera – for me that’s concealer, blush, mascara, brow gel, and lip gloss. Hair usually pulled back neatly in a clip.

    4. My usual full face of makeup and hair styled. Leggings or joggers. I try to wear a decent looking top (sweater or nice sweatshirt) that can’t double as pajamas. If I’d be embarrassed to run into an acquaintance then it’s too sloppy. But occasionally in the depths of winter I say screw it and wear something cozy.

    5. Athleisure and no make-up, but I do put on moisturizer with sunscreen. Then I’m ready to go for a walk at a moment’s notice when it’s convenient for me. It’s all about reducing friction to exercising.

    6. I usually wear jeans or leggings and a nice top or sweater. Sometimes I wear a fleece or something more casual. I always put on make-up and make my hair look decent enough. For me, getting dressed every day in something presentable is a way to combat depression and the general blahs.

    7. Basic makeup, black t shirt, St John knit blazer.

      I have fired lawyers who show up to video calls unshaven and unkempt. (Has not been a problem for women in my experience.) So I am mindful to look appropriate on screen.

    8. I don’t really care about being put together to WFH.

      I’m clean and wear clean decent clothes but I don’t wear makeup, I don’t dress up. Why bother?

      1. OP here – this was always my thought! that i should be comfortable with myself to not wear makeup etc at home. but 10 years in and I just feel like a slob all the time since I only really go “out” out once every 2 weeks (or less).

        1. Ok I’m a SAHM but I feel like a slob wearing my workout clothes 6 days a week. Once a week, I put on real clothes and makeup. I get a lot of comments from my family: “Why are you wearing real clothes?” “Are you and dad going on a date tonight?” But it makes me feel like a human. My outfits can be a dress or just jeans and a top. My makeup is bb cream, eyeshadow and mascara. I should add a lip color but I usually forget. Anyway, that’s what I do to feel less in a funk. Maybe it could work for you?

          1. Not a SAHM but I fully love that you do this. I don’t understand why people don’t have some inherent pride in how they dress and also, do you never ever leave the house or see anyone else?

      2. I commented above that I wear makeup and do my hair every day. If I don’t it’s the equivalent of staying in pajamas. Sure it’s easier to skip that stuff (and I will if I’m sick or working crazy hours) but after a while I feel lazy and sloppy.

    9. I have Teams calls most days, so for those days I wear athleisure pants and a blouse or sweater with full work makeup and jewelry. If I don’t have any calls scheduled, there’s still always the possibility that someone will call me, so I will do a nice but more casual top with less makeup. I still put on some jewelry, because I feel like it makes a big difference in how polished I look if I get a call.

      1. +1 – I am on at least 3+ hours of zoom calls a day so I wear jewelry, a nicer blouse/sweater, minimal makeup, and then either jeans or soft pants depending on how blah I feel.

    10. I wear leggings and a long line bra, or a tank with a built in bra and wide leg athleisure pants. I have button down or cardigan nearby for zoom. I wear earrings and a necklace most days.

      I have eyelash extensions. I throw in lip color if I’m on camera.

      I’m a Black woman with my hair in braids, so I don’t have to do my hair.

    11. Leggings and tanks in the summer. I can throw a cardigan over them for a video meeting. I actually wear more interesting tops in cooler weather because there are sweatshirts with different necklines.

      I don’t wear makeup at home. I may put on some to present in a meeting, but I also don’t wear a lot of makeup normally.

  5. Do we think that woven flats will be trending again next spring and summer? When I tried to order the Margaux woven flats this summer they were sold out. Now they are on pre-order for next season. If I wait until spring they’ll probably be sold out again in my size. Should I risk ordering?

    1. I do, shoes like that have a few seasons before they really go out of style and they’re relatively new on the scene.

      1. Disagree. There is always some variant of this shoe at all price points. It’s a shoe that’s always appropriate for sunny weather/resorts.

        1. How are you disagreeing? I’m saying I do think it has another season in it per OP’s question.

    3. I think so as well. I wore the heck out of my Margaux Fonteyn Jane this year and will be dropping them off at the cobbler soon so they’re ready for next year. In case you haven’t tried them I choose the Fonteyn Jane because of the closed weave on the toe box, my toes would catch on the more open weave styles.

  6. if you like to treat yourself to one or two new nice sweaters every year, which ones would you look at? i like to set sale alerts at the beginning of the season, ha. I feel like cashmere from too many places is puffy and scratchy lately so I kind of prefer merino or silk blends.

    1. How are you setting sale alerts? I keep meaning to do that with my wardrobe holes.

    2. Bloomingdales has a ‘statement’ sweater category and lets you filter by material. I generally go to Tuckernuck, Brooks Brothers, and LLBean.

    3. Brora cashmere is lovely but very expensive. I have just not found good quality cashmere sweaters below $300. Brora typically has their big sale in January.

    4. There’s a cashmere/silk fair isle sweater at Ann Mashburn that is gorgeous, but is $600, so I’ll see if it makes it to the sale.

        1. True to size I think. I’m an 8/10 in jcrew pants, and take a size M in Ann Mashburn dresses (the only things I’ve purchased.) They are a bit loose, but fit.

  7. Any suggestions for, like, vision boarding, life assessment workbooks, identity development exercises? I’m about to have a milestone birthday and go on a bucket list solo trip for it, and I’d Iike to spend some of the time thinking about my forties and what I want out of them. I really love my job and am in a good place financially and don’t want to pursue dating/relationship, so a lot of what I’m seeing in the “self-help” section feels like it’s trying to fix problems I don’t have.

    1. I think Designing Your Life is the classic here, and someone I really respect and admire recommends it as well.

    2. The Year Compass template is online. I can’t stand most vision board-adjacent activities but I liked this one!

    3. where are you going for your solo trip? i think some spas/wellness retreats really excel at this. miraval, canyon ranch, etc. a (rich) friend just went to one that i’m trying to remember the name of, she spent like 2 weeks somewhere fancy in california.

  8. Anyone have any recommended tools for cleaning up old photos stored on an iPhone and in iCloud? I’d like to free up space by deleting junk photos (16 slightly different angles of a random sunset, the 4 slightly blurry versions of the family pic, etc.) I’m sure there’s some decent automation out there for this but I’d like the option to manually review since there are some pictures I have in mind that would almost certainly get flagged as junk but that I want to keep for sentimental reasons. I’m really liking the idea of finally getting rid of July 4, 2008 blurry fireworks videos, though.

    1. Low-hanging fruit: filter to screenshots and skim through for anything that I do need to keep, put it in an album, then delete the rest. Repeat with selfies.

      More robust: go through my library to the earliest days, pick a month, clean it up. Do the next, repeat until I can’t deal and make note of what year & month I stopped. Next time, start there and keep going. I can clean up a couple of years’ worth in a quiet evening this way.

    2. I use the app Slidebox – you swipe left and right like on a dating app whether you want to keep a photo.

    3. Somone on this site once suggest searching for today’s date on your photo app. You will get all the photos from today for all the years. You can then delete accordingly. I do this for a week or two in a row every once in awhile and it keeps things under control. Also fun to look back at “September 23 2015” or whatever pops up.

  9. My job is completely casual except for a few instances a year when we have meetings or conferences. We recently hired someone who has pretty much always worked in casual industries and doesn’t really own business formal clothes. Would it be overstepping to ask them to buy business formal clothes for these events? Of course you buy clothes for work but that’s usually something you wear on a much more regular basis.

      1. I mean, of course we would. I just don’t really like the idea of requiring someone to have to spend money for a work event outside of the day-to-day.

        1. That is a normal part of a job. I have two go-to suits that I wear a couple of times a year.

        2. I disagree that buying clothes for work only applies to clothes worn on a much more regular basis. I think it is normal to have to own something to wear for annual or quarterly occasions and still saves money vs. having to dress up every day. It’s also actually common that these clothes can be used for other occasional business formal occasions in life. This is NBD. If it seems like a really big deal maybe they’re underpaid?

        3. What is the alternative? Excluding them from valuable networking events? Having them show up looking like they (and by extension your company) don’t know what they’re doing.

        5. Listen to the consensus here – you do NOT need to worry about this. That’s needless anxiety over something very routine.

        6. Telling them the dress code doesn’t mean you’re making them buy a brand new wardrobe.

    2. Depending on your role (boss or peer or ???), it seems like a kindness to loop them in. For a new job, I specifically asked my manager about what people wear for an annual meeting and appreciated her candor.
      As a boss, I think you can say “the expectation is that we’re all present in business formal attire” – as a peer, I’d soften it to “headsup that we’re normally more casual but for the annual meeting the expectation is business formal.”
      I’m not sure how you know that they don’t own business formal attire, but you might be overthinking it – to me you set the expectation and they make the decision to obtain what’s needed (e.g., borrow/rent if they’re not able to purchase).

    3. If it’s external events (conferences or sales) where you don’t control the dress code I think you let them know what the expectation is and it doesn’t matter how frequent it is – it’s part of the job. Is it someone junior where you’re worried about financial hardship? Otherwise if it’s internal and you influence the dress code maybe you raise whether it needs to be that way.

    4. I think I’d say something like, “the dress code for upcoming event is a lot more formal than our day to day. We’ll all be wearing (insert examples – suits, blazer and slacks, etc.). Let me know if you need any guidance on what to wear.” If the event has pictures online, you could refer them to the pics.

    5. Not overstepping at all. I need 3 different types of wardrobes for work and it’s fine. I have elevated casual for most days, field clothes for being in the field, and business attire for big meetings.

      And I’m at a non profit so I’m not making all that much and it’s still fine.

    6. Agree with everyone else. I, for one, would be very grateful for a heads-up in advance.

    7. Don’t assume they need to buy attire (they may have something and just don’t wear it around you, they can borrow from their roommate, rent or thrift an outfit, whatever).

      Just clue them in that the dress code for these events is more professional than the usual workday. Tell them early enough and be clear that the normal workday attire would be underdressed, so you are giving them an early notice so they are not left scrambling to put together an appropriate outfit at the last minute.

      1. “Early enough” = a few weeks in case they have to order something and have it altered. You can’t just run to Nordstrom, buy a suit, have the pants hemmed, and pick it up a couple of days later anymore.

    8. Tell them what the dress code is and let them figure out how to meet it. I would be mortified beyond belief if my boss neglected to tell me what attire was customary out of concern that I couldn’t afford it or wouldn’t want to spend money on it and then I showed up wearing jeans when everyone else was in suits. Your employee can buy a cheap suit, borrow a suit from her mother, buy one at a consignment shop, wear her interview suit, rent something from a rental service, or even choose to invest in a quality suit. It’s her choice.

      I only wear business formal a few days a year now, but I keep a few outfits on hand. It’s just part of being a professional.

    9. All adults in a corporate environment should own business formal clothes. I cannot believe this is even a question.

      1. Not sure I agree. I work in a big company and we have people working in labs and customer service on our corporate campus who may never have an occasion for a suit. They may wear separates like pants and blazer for interviews.

    10. The overstepping is worrying about this and being up in their business about what they own vs. just making expectations clear.

      1. Totally! Presumably this person is an adult and can be trusted to procure their own clothing.

    11. If you manage this person or attend these events as their superior, you should bring it up at their review, noting that they are representing the company at those events and their attire needs to be formal or on the high end of business casual, not casual, going forward.

      If you don’t, and you have a close mentoring relationship, you can bring it up at coffee, at your own peril.

      If neither of the above are true, this person can look unkempt at the risk of their own career.

      1. You should absolutely bring it up *before* their review – and really, preferably before the event! Don’t wait! This is such an easy thing for a person to fix.

        If the pushback is coming from the individual (ie you let them know the board meeting is a blazer-occasion, and they want to expense one because they don’t own one), they’re out of touch

      2. Just tell them now, regardless of your role. If you are their manager, waiting for their review is really weird and mean. Why would you act as though they were at fault for your lack of communication about the dress code?

    12. Like others said, you don’t ask her to buy clothes, you just let her know the dress code. I understand the concern because business formal clothes can be quite expensive, but this person could buy basic black pants and rent a blazer from someplace like Rent the Runway. Even places like Target are trending blazers for cheap.

    13. Not overstepping. My office is business casual with jeans and sneakers allowed (basically on the casual side of business casual), but we have one big weeklong event some of our team members attend every year which requires business formal attire.
      This is spelled out to those who attend.

      I’ll be representing the team next year, and will go buy two suits this fall, as my old suits from the 10-15 years ago don’t fit anymore. I will not spent thousands on it, but understand this to be a necessary expense to do my job.

      If we hired someone, I would tell them what the expectation is.
      Presumably, you pay people enough so they can afford to buy a suit?

      I’d make sure you communicate this with enough advance notice so that they don’t scramble last minute.

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