ByKat Hours Updated
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Coffee Break: Piccolo Pump

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M.Gemi Piccolo Pump | CorporetteI continue to be impressed with M.Gemi's offerings for pumps, sandals, booties — they all seem chic and on point. Today I'm liking the look of the Piccolo, a kitten heeled pump with pointed toes and a studded details on the ankle strap. It clocks in at 1.75″, and I like that it has a bit of an edge to it; so many of the lower heels suffer from Comfort Shoe Syndrome and look frumptastic. This one is available in black, red, and a beigey “fog”; it's $248. M.Gemi Piccolo Pump Here's a lower-priced version with very good reviews. L-#

Sales of note for 1/22/25:

  • Nordstrom – Cashmere on sale; AllSaints, Free People, Nike, Tory Burch, and Vince up to 60%; beauty deals up to 25% off
  • AllSaints – Clearance event, now up to 70% off (some of the best leather jackets!)
  • Ann Taylor – All sale dresses $40 (ends 1/23)
  • Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything
  • Boden – Clearance, up to 60% off!
  • DeMellier – Final reductions now on, free shipping and returns — includes select options like Montreal, Vancouver, and Venice
  • Eloquii – $29 and up select styles; extra 50% off all clearance, plus ELOQUII X kate spade new york collab just dropped
  • Everlane – Sale of the year, up to 70% off; new markdowns just added
  • J.Crew – Up to 40% off select styles; up to 50% off cashmere
  • J.Crew Factory – End of season sale, extra 60-70% off clearance, online only
  • Rothy's – Final Few: Up to 40% off last-chance styles
  • Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
  • Talbots – Semi-Annual Red Door Sale – extra 50% off

And some of our latest threadjacks here at Corporette (reader questions and commentary) — see more here!

Some of our latest threadjacks include:

55 Comments

  1. I’d be tempted by the M.Gemi offerings…if they came in my size. Again, sized out at 11. They actually list some styles as being “available” in an 11 (well, euro sizing..42, I think). But none are in stock at that size.

  2. I love the lower price version that Kat shared. It’s a little more conservative than the M. Gemi version which I think would be great at the office. It’s conservative but a little edgy. The M.Gemi version looks great but more for parties or less formal settings (at least to me).

    2. Hmm, I think the featured ones actually read more conservative overall because the lower priced ones have more studs that would be visible on the front and they’re just shinier, which to me is always less formal. Funny how subjective this stuff is.

  3. Are puffy sleeves horribly out of style or frumpy? I’m wearing a purple button down with short puffy sleeves, wondering if I need to retire it. I do actually like it though.

    2. I wore a blouse yesterday from the Scandal collection at The Limited and it had somewhat puffy/pleats at the shoulders. And frankly, I consider myself to be very fashion forward.

    3. When did you buy it? There was a period in 2007-2008 or so where puffy sleeves got really popular, and tops from that time might look a little “much” now. A small puff or pleating? Totally fine.

  4. I just finished listening to the whole season of Serial. This was the first podcast I’ve ever listened to. Anyone have recs for something similar or similarly engrossing? Turns out I really enjoy podcasts and would love to listen to more!

    1. Serial is the only multi-part story that I know of, but there are plenty of podcasts that are super-engaging on an episode-by-episode basis. This American Life and Radiolab are the obvious choices, but I also really enjoy Strangers, which has stories with a more personal touch to them. If you’re a mom or interested in kids/parenting generally, I also really like The Longest Shortest Time.

      1. Thanks! I guess I should specify that what I’m looking for isn’t necessarily an episode-by-episode podcast, but a relatively well-researched, engaging story that is NOT about politics.

        1. Very occasionally This American Life will dip into politics, but you’ll know by the story title. You might also like Invisibilia, which is a pretty new NPR podcast similar to Radiolab.

        3. Yeah, that’s why people are making such a big deal about Serial. It’s really the first podcast to use the ‘serial’ format to tell one story over time. But hopefully it will start a trend?

          I still really like Radiolab because they look at an idea from many different angles in each episode, but yeah, it’s still stand-alone episodes.

        4. This depends on where your definition of “politics” ends and “history” begins, but Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History is terrifically researched and engagingly told. There are great archives too for a couple bucks a show, and each show is 1+ hours (the latest series on WWI is all 4-5 hr podcasts).

        5. My comment got eaten – apologies if this double posts. Depending on where your definition of “politics” ends and “history” begins, Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History might be up your alley. Definitely well-researched, engagingly told, and there are nice deep archives if you’re not into his current topic (WWI). One other thing of note: these are LONG podcasts, almost all of them 1+ hours, and the recent series on WWI is all 3-4 hours long.

    3. This American Life. That is the parent show Serial came from. The show is just genius. Go back to the early episodes / staff favorites. I miss hearing the original host -Ira Glass – who spent more time on air in the early days.

      The Moth.

      I listen to podcasts while I am cooking dinner.

    4. Along the lines of This American Life, I really like Death Sex and Money. I like Call Your Girlfriend. They can sound like annoying valley girls, but when they are discussing things they’ve read or are in the news, they are fantastic.

    5. I also regularly listen to Pop Culture Happy Hour which, you guessed it, talks about different movies, music, tv, books, etc in a really fun and entertaining way.

      I also really like Radiolab and Invisibilia which are more science-y but in a really interesting and accessible way. And I like the moth radio hour which has regular people tell stories (they also have live events in cities which are fun to go to).

      Finally, I love PlanetMoney and Freakonomics which both talk about economics in a really engaging and accessible way, I swear.

    6. Startup. It’s about two women starting a dating company and the challenges they faced with sexism, etc.

      1. I was so, so confused reading this because the last I heard it was about Alex Blumberg starting a podcast network. I googled though – Glad to see they started a new season!

    8. I just listened to an episode of BackStory with the American history guys (about the Lincoln assassination). It was pretty interesting and had a variety of guests.

    9. Nerdette is more of an interview show, about 30 minutes, with two charming and intelligent female hosts.

    10. I really like Craftlit – it’s basically annotated versions of classic literature done by an English teacher. (There is talk about crafts in the beginning if each episode but she tells you where to skip ahead to.) Very well researched and the readers tend to be good.

      For shorter form stories I really like the moth and stuff you missed in history class.

      1. Co signing this. Heather is fantastic. She predated Serial by at least 8 years, incidentally.

    11. Agree with The Moth and This American Life
      The Dinner Party Download
      Use a podcasts app like Downcast and you can search within categories.

      1. I would love a podcast in Mandarin that helped me keep up my language skills. Most Mandarin podcasts are too simple (teaching Mandarin as opposed to telling a story or having a substantive discussion in Chinese). Anyone have luck finding podcasts in other languages, or is this just not a thing abroad yet?

    12. My comment got eaten – apologies if this double posts. Depending on where your definition of “politics” ends and “history” begins, Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History might be up your alley. Definitely well-researched, engagingly told, and there are nice deep archives if you’re not into his current topic (WWI). One other thing of note: these are LONG podcasts, almost all of them 1+ hours, and the recent series on WWI is all 3-4 hours long.

  5. Has anyone ever been to San Pedro de Atacama, Chile? I’m in the early stages of planning a trip here and I want to know how many days I should stay in the area before moving on to Uyuni.

    1. Yes. I would say at least 4 full days. We stayed at Tierra Atacama and did half-day excursions every day and felt like we could have stayed even longer. Also, highly recommend Tierra if you can afford it.

    2. We did it ages ago, but it’s really worthwhile. Specific half-day excursions we liked included Valle de la Luna, the geysers (so good!), the lake at the border with Bolivia, and a tour of Chuquicamata, the largest open pit copper mine in the world. (Fascinating.) Agree with Nancy P that 4 days is good.

  6. I have volunteered to bring a dessert (homemade or store bought) for our office picnic cake walk tomorrow. Since there have been so many great food suggestions here in the recent past, I thought I’d ask here: What kind of dessert would you bring (or want to see)?

    1. Baklava. Always.

      Unless it’s cherry pie.

      Or peanut butter rice krispie bars with chocolate/butterscotch topping.

      Now I’m hungry.

    3. Strawberry Rhubarb pie or crisp. It’s that time of year!

      Banana Pudding

      Molasses Cookies or Oatmeal Raisin cookies

    4. I make cookies that are chocolate dough with peanut butter chips. Everyone LOOOVES them, a batch lasts approximately 4 minutes in my office

      1. Mmm…my go to cookie is a spiced (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves) oatmeal cookie with butterscotch chips.

        My mother thinks I ruin them by putting the extra spice and chips. She is wrong.

    7. Double chocolate walnut brownies. If anyone has nut allergies, then you could leave the walnuts out.

  8. I had no idea that items bought in DVF stores can’t be returned. I bought a dress at a store while on vacation & after trying it on some more at home realized that it’s a little too short for what I wanted it for (a professional dress). I’m tall though (5’11”) and it would be fine on most women. It would also be fine as a “fun” dress but I don’t spend that much on non-work clothing. It’s the Carrie dress in the Nectar color. It’s never been worn and has tags on. I paid $348 + tax (~$380) and I’m looking to resell it for $330. Anyone interested?

    1. What does this even mean? As long as you look like you must be suffering you qualify as professional? (Came out snarkier than expected… Wear what looks nice and what you find comfortable. Unless they’re wildly unprofessional no one is silently judging your footwear.)

      1. Except Kat, apparently. “so many of the lower heels suffer from Comfort Shoe Syndrome and look frumptastic.”

        Sorry, my feet are curling up in fear just LOOKING at that picture. Hard edges and a severe pointy toe? Cannot do it. I may look frumptastic, but my feet and spine won’t hurt at the end of the day.

    2. I only wear comfortable shoes. I think “comfort shoe syndrome” means stodgy.

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