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Updated: Aug 3, 2021 78 Comments · by

Coffee Break: New Nylon Watch Hill Stripe Medium Tote

Coffee Break

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So when I was doing our roundup of the best work totes for women last week, I was … maybe … kind of … delighted to see that old school Kate Spade bags are back on the market. These were HUGE when I was just out of college, as a much more affordable alternative to the uber-popular nylon Prada bag that was also everywhere. (I've often wondered how many of the omnipresent Prada bags were $20 fakes from the street.) The Kate Spade totes were a little boxy but were your basic black nylon tote. I can't tell you how many magazine events I went to where like 90% of the girls had one of these totes.

I don't remember how much they cost at the time, and it never even occurred to me to buy one at a store. (I was pretty solidly in a mindset of “I am on a Very Tight Budget!” at the time.) But I did go to a Kate Spade sample sale in hopes of scoring one for a discount, back when sample sales were big business — I vaguely remember waiting outside in line for upwards of an hour. At the time the black stripey imagery was everywhere for Kate Spade — if I remember correctly it was the lining for some of their bags, and a lot of their store imagery/bags was black stripey also. (I wound up getting a beautiful red patent leather bag at the sale with a tiny little bow on it at the sale for about $50, which I still have and have almost never used because it was too slender for me.)

ANYWAY: the basic black tote is back if you want the Classic. This black stripey tote (pictured) has the same uber-functional design, but I like the fun callback to the early days of Kate Spade. It's $198, has an interior slip pocket and an interior zipper pocket, as well as a flat base for stability.

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Some of the best work bags for women as of 2024 include great totes from Cuyana (with a zipper), Tumi, Tory Burch (lightweight, a laptop tote), Lo & Sons, and Madewell (north/south). Also try this highly-rated organizing insert or these clever pouches with some of the less structured bags! If you're looking for a budget tote (or one in a specific color) check this Amazon seller (22K+ good reviews) or this Amazon seller (60K+ good reviews).

black tote bag
Cuyana
a great interview bag for females (and great work bag in general): the Tory Burch Ella
Tory Burch
black leather tote bag
Tory Burch
black laptop tote
Lo & Sons
black laptop tote
Tumi
one of the best work totes for women in the north/south shape: the Transport tote from Madewell
Madewell

(Looking for a luxury work bag? Here's our latest roundup…)

Sales of note for 9.10.24

Sales of note for 9.10.24

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Comments

    • Cat

      Please yes. It is beyond time to allocate the costs of being unvaccinated directly onto the unvaccinated, please.

      • Anonymous

        Agree. It’s time to make it truly inconvenient to be unvaccinated. The honor system for masking made it extremely easy and low-cost, but it’s time to reverse that trend. You shouldn’t be allowed at stadiums, on planes, at workplaces, or in restaurants without proof of vaccination. People can stay home, watch games at home, work from home, and get takeout.

      • anonymous

        If you’re vaccinated, there are no “costs” to you from the unvaccinated flying.

        • Cat

          Maybe not a specific cost to me, but a cost to society in general — increased opportunities for spread, variants, and further waves of shifting restrictions.

        • virus

          Untrue. You can still catch COVID again (ie. breakthrough infection) from the unvaccinated, who are more likely to be carrying virus. By them traveling, they are spreading disease to more populations.

        • Ugh

          There are because you can still get a breakthrough infection and many vaccinated adults live with unvaccinated children under 12 whom they can then spread it to. Glad there aren’t costs to you though!

        • Anonymous

          There is a definite cost as a population to having so much virus around—from breakthrough infections risking long COVID to increased spread to the immune suppressed and children. To health resources being eaten that could otherwise go to those with non-COVID conditions. To becoming a variant factory that risks far less effective vaccines for all going forward.

        • Anon

          Yes, there is. The more people the more unvaccinated people end up with COVID, the more hospital beds they take up, causing problems if you have to go the hospital for a routine issue like a car accident. In NH yesterday every single hospital bed in the state was full.

          • Curious

            Yes! We are at 88% full in WA state and I’m hoping to heaven I have an uncomplicated delivery of this baby in <5 weeks.

      • Cat

        We *are* flying everywhere – if you’re going international, airlines are serious about enforcing the required negative tests / vax status, so IMHO it’s safer than domestic!!

    • Anon

      I am vaccinated and I absolutely want everyone to get vaccinated, but this idea is terrible. Imagine the litany of cases this excludes – immunocompromised people who cannot be vaccinated, cancer patients who cannot be vaccinated, people who want to but cannot yet get vaccinated because their country does not have adequate supply. It would be a mess and a rights violation.

  2. Anonymous

    Is Sherwin-Williams “matte” finish the same exact thing as Benjamin Moore flat? With flat, I use a roller in a plastic bag to periodically touch up scuffs (always with the scuffs; I cannot have nice things, and that includes walls). I try to do this quarterly. I don’t need to repaint the whole wall — the flatness of the paint lets me roller over just the scuff.

    Will “matte” do that? I am really not confident that this will work (and kicking myself for going with SW). I always seem to learn things the hard way.

    Hive, what say you? Are they the same thing and touchups will be the same? Or do I need to prepare to repaint the whole wall so there isn’t a texture mark or other weirdness on the walls.

    • Anon

      I can’t get past the fact that you touch-up your walls QUARTERLY. I paint once and not again for a decade. Magic erasers as needed.

      I never use flat paint because it’s so unforgiving, so I can’t say, but it appears they’re both the companies’ no sheen level. Eggshell’s a more forgiving finish for the next time you paint.

        • Anon

          Isn’t that the whole point of magic erasers though? Yes, the way they work is by being an extra fine sandpaper but they clean up stuff marks on walls. If you don’t use them on walls where do you use them?

          • Aunt Jamesina

            They change the appearance of the finish of the paint. I think this is more problematic with glossier finishes since the eraser-ed portions look more matte.

      • Anonymous

        OP here — plaster walls in a very old house, so flat eases the lumpiness.

        • Cat

          If your walls are already painted, why not try your normal touch-up in a place that isn’t visible so that if you’re unhappy with the effect, it won’t matter?

          Practically speaking, I would look into magic erasers. yes they do sand away the scuff but if your walls are already uneven I can’t see how the <1mm sanding would make a material difference…

          • Anonymous

            I find with magic erasers that they leav marks in anything with a bit of sheen. Sadly easy to see in bright sun after a year of WFH. I never noticed before.

      • Anon

        She doesn’t have a choice with flat paint. I also have flat paint and I walk around doing touch-ups every six weeks. Flat paint is terrible. Do not recommend.

      • Anon

        Eggshell is a more forgiving maybe in terms of dirt, but it’s much less forgiving in terms of appearance. Sheen highlights imperfections in your walls.

      • Aunt Jamesina

        I think you sort of need to do this with more matte finish walls because they hold on to stains and oils from your skin far more easily than glossier finishes. This is why I gave up on matte paint, no matter how much more sophisticated it might look :-)

    • Anon

      My walls are SW Natural Linen in a flat finish. I can’t say how it compares to other flat finishes as this is my first experience living with flat paint. I love the color. I hate flat-finish paint and will never have it again if I can avoid it. I can’t stand not being able to wash my walls, and repeatedly painting over stains and marks. If repainting the whole interior of the house wouldn’t cost us $7500, I’d do it in a heartbeat.

  3. Anonymous

    Has anyone used Madison Reed hair color? I get my hair professionally colored by a friend and do touch ups on my own from time to time. I’m just wondering how it compares to salon hair color. I find the salon color has more depth and shine than a drug store option like Revlon.

    • Anony

      I’ve used it before and while I like the kit, it didn’t give me 100% gray coverage so I stopped using it (the $26 price tag hurts too). For context, I have a lot of thin dark(est) brown hair with probably 50% white/gray at this point. My 2 go-to box dyes are Garnier Olia Darkest Platinum Brown or just Darkest Brown (prefer the platinum one though) and Revlon Total Color in Darkest Brown (it’s a newer, vegan one). Both give me 100% coverage, are easy to use, and have (what I think is) close to salon shine and depth (especially the Olia Platinum). Every 3 weeks, I use the Clairol Root Touch-Up since my hair grows so fast. It’s the best touch-up dye that I’ve found and actually covers the grays. I haven’t had my hair professionally cut or colored in like 2+ years now but get compliments quite often on the color, so I must be doing something right haha

    • Anon

      I like it. Like the prior poster I didn’t get 100% gray coverage but I’m not sure I really want to leave it on 45 minutes, and I’m sure there’s some user error. The truth is I’m lazy and it’s better than not using dye, it’s easy, and they ship it to me. Most of all I have found an exact color match and I don’t want to try again with another brand. I found their online tool really, really good at giving me a match and that has made me a fan.

      I also like that my hair is in great condition after using it for a year, and I am worried about other brands possibly frying my hair.

      Last, they advertise that they have dimensional color. I thought it was just marketing speak but somehow it does work that way. My hair is not all one color after I use the kit – it has various subtly lighter and darker colors – and it looks more natural that way to me. And the handful of remaining grays around my face also seem more natural looking to me, so I’m fine with it.

    • Anonymous

      Color & Co from Loreal is much bette. It’s truly professional color and the support is terrific.

  4. Anon

    In the spirit of this being a clothing blog, have we discussed Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s wardrobe? (NOT her politics or her beliefs, just her clothing choices.) Do we live in a post-dress code world? Should we? Does “professional dress” still exist in our increasingly casual society? Is it a vestige of Victorianism on its final legs? Discuss.

    It was Sen. Sinema’s clothing in these two photos that made me think of this:

    https://images.wsj.net/im-377002?width=860&height=573
    https://www.vox.com/22553888/joe-biden-infrastructure-deal-bipartisanship-democrats-republicans

    And here’s an article from last year discussing what Amy Coney Barrett wore for her confirmation hearing that’s relevant: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2020/10/13/amy-coney-barrett-dress-criticism/

    • Anonymous

      I think Sinema’s clothing is like the rest of her brand: crazy AF and not in a good way. Which isn’t to say that someone ELSE couldn’t wear those clothes — just that you see her in the clothes and then you see her being crazy and it’s like “yep checks out.”

    • Anon

      Depends on where you are I suppose, but out here in the Bay Area, we’re far away from mandatory Ann Taylor and I applaud her bold choices.

      • Anon

        HM I’m also in the Bay Area but in an older industry and I don’t think her look would fly here. It’s not that they’re too colorful, it’s that they’re too informal, like something you’d wear to a weekend barbecue.

    • Anonymous

      I’m sitting here in crocs + socks, so I have no shade to throw. I think that women’s clothes are more fluid in terms of categories than men’s, and she’s from the West, so they DGAF historically what we east coasters think of them (I applaud this). Have you been in DC in the summer???

    • Cat

      I am 100% in favor of women wearing professional attire that is not “a suit just like a man’s but shaped for the woman” but when the men are in suits I don’t think a racerback sundress is equivalent formality.

      The Fold is my platonic ideal of equivalent formality.

      • anne-on

        Fwiw, I despise Barrett’s politics, and wrote to the Fold customer service about them dressing her and how disappointed I was. I got a prompt email back that stated nope, they didn’t dress her, but they can’t stop her from buying their stuff with a strong subtext of ‘we dislike her too but can’t say that’.

        • Anon

          I didn’t think Barrett was dressed inappropriately at all. Not a fan, but it has nothing to do with her clothing. I am surprised to hear it caused a hubbub at all.

        • Anonymous

          Wow srsly? Bizarre to jump to “the Fold is dressing a nominee for SCt” instead of “professional woman bought clothes”

      • Anon

        Yes this. I love bold colors, prints, shapes, etc. But she literally looks like someone who wandered in off the street in both of those photos. It just simply doesn’t match the level of formality in either case.

        • Monday

          She does look out of place in photos where everyone else is in business formal–suits or near suits.

      • Cora

        The orange sheath dress is perfectly fine, but I’m not a fan of the orange tube top situaiton

      • Jules

        Agreed. I actually have loved some of her looks – with jackets and skirts, usually – while simultaneously wanting to slap her. And I’m all for color in the professional world. But this dress is just way to casual for this event.

    • Anonymous

      Oh wow, I literally gasped out loud when I pulled up the first picture of her in the sundress! I interned on the Hill less than 20 years ago and would not have even been allowed in the building in those clothes. I mean, I get that the elected officials get more leeway than interns, but it’s those clothes still seem crazy to me. I work in an extremely casual law office and would never wear that to work!

    • Anonymous

      Dress codes are for minions, junior associates, etc. Bosses get to do what they want. I don’t think that a woman senator should be less able to do this than a woman law partner.

      • Anon

        I mean sure. If a partner wore either of those outfits to a clerk cocktail event, a day at the office, etc., fine, don’t care. If she wore it to a hearing in the 11th Circuit, I’d think she was a clown.

    • Monte

      I just think she is a terrible dresser, but YMMV on how important that is. I love color and big necklaces and am generally more comfortable with a good amount of skin showing, but to my eye she just looks awful — clothes fit poorly, have hemlines/details/necklines that look really out of date, and most egregiously, her clothes are just the wrong level of formality. I hate women’s bodies being policed, but if bro is in a jacket and tie, I don’t think a halter dress is the right look.

      That said, I am a black biglaw partner so I both resent the fact that she has the privilege to dress like a buffoon without repercussion and wish it were available to more of us.

  5. Anon

    This is exciting news. That means it’s only another 10 years or less until my beloved Longchamp tote swings back to trendy from cheugy.

    • anne-on

      I have fond memories of feeling *very* fancy when I was able to save up for and buy this bag for my senior year of college and then wore it into the ground for my first few years of working.
      The early 2000’s sample sales in NYC were GOOD – my first job was in SoHo and I remember calling friends to alert them to the Kate Spade/Burberry/cashmere/fancy shoe sales that were almost every other week down there and drooling over the L’Wren Scott storefront on my walk to work.

    • Anon

      I’ve written before about visiting the Longchamp store in Paris – the big on on the Champs-Elysses – and when I wandered in it was all nylon Le Pliage bags and just tons of young women going through them, almost like a sample sale.

      I asked a sales associate if they carried the Penelope line (an all leather bag I had been ogling online.) He said, of course, that is on the second floor. The first floor is just for Americans to buy Le Pliage. haha

      That said I have a Le Pliage that I absolutely love to fold up and take with me when I travel, because I can use it as a carry on on the way home if I buy too many goodies on the trip. Mine isn’t a shoulder tote though, it’s more of a folded .. not quite duffel, I don’t know the word. I think it’s called the weekender. It folds to something quite small and when unfolded holds a lot and is surprisingly sturdy.

      • OP

        I have the shoulder tote and the weekender. I discovered them in airport stores as a teen and bought one about a year before they became super common. I love how much lighter it is than my cuyana tote! I also have a longchamp leather bag that’s incredible and my every day bag.

  6. anon

    Posted late so reposting in hopes of a few more responses. Thanks to those that responded on the morning thread! What’s your favorite ergonomic keyboard and/or mouse? Since it seems like most of this stuff is designed for an average man’s hand, I’d love to hear from anyone who has found good equipment for smaller hands. I’m looking at a split keyboard (logitech ergo k860) but am concerned that the distance from Shift to the middle keys (h, g, t, etc.) will be such a stretch as to undo some of the ergonomic benefits. Currently I use a mac magic keyboard, and the size is right for my hands, but want a more ergonomic layout. I also bought a thumb trackball mouse, which I think I like, but again seems a tad large for my hands.

    • Curious

      I have medium small hands (small for my 5’8″ frame, can play octaves barely) and love my Anker vertical mouse.

    • Anon

      I haven’t tried the latest version, but I’ve been using older versions of the Logitech Anywhere MX mice for years. I have very small hands and lots of hand pain, but have found it’s much more important to use small mice/keyboards than anything specially designed as ergonomic, which is usually too big and just causes more problems. It’s also really key to get desk/chair height and alignment correct. If I do that, I have no problem with a normal keyboard (the small kind with no num pad so I can keep my mouse hand in the right place). YMMV, of course…

    • anonshmanon

      I’ve had an Evoluent vertical mouse for ~6 years now, helps with wrist strain from endless powerpoint or graphic work.

    • Anom

      I am a small petite and find regular size keyboards give me shoulder issues, so I use what’s labeled as a mini keyboard for my WFH set up. I’ve been using it since last March and it’s been working well for me.

      Perixx PERIBOARD-407B US, Wired USB Mini Keyboard with 11 Hot Keys – Glossy Black – US English Layout https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0053O9ZNQ

  7. Horse Crazy

    Alaska Air has insane flight deals from my city to Maui right now, but rental car prices are still bananas. Is it possible to do Maui without a rental car, or am I crazy? I haven’t booked anything yet, so no idea where we’d stay.

    • Horse Crazy

      It would just be me and my SO – we don’t have kids, if that makes a difference.

    • Anon

      I would find it hard without a car – I like to go into town and to drive around and find being stuck at a resort tough. That said, if you stayed on Kanapali beach, there’s a lot to walk to and you could probably Uber into town.

    • Anon

      We reserved a car on Turo for our October trip to the Big Island Very expensive for the week compared to what we’re used to paying for rental cars, but we can’t see how it will work to do what we want to do in Hawaii without a car.

  8. Anonymous

    What is the dress company that people have recommended on here a few times? All I can remember are Karen wrap dresses but I think that is wrong.

  9. Anon

    My nylon Kate Spade was a knockoff bought on the street in NYC, lol. I used it for years!

    • anne-on

      There is a (probably apocryphal) story about the Kate Spade people walking over to Canal street to buy the fake bags, taking them apart in the office, and shamefully realizing that the fakes were better constructed than the real bags ;)

  10. Anon

    Y’all – thank you to however told me to take the interview a couple months ago when I first posted about leaving public accounting. Offer is being worked out right now for a role I’m excited (scared but excited) about. Got the call as I was walking in the door after the last round of interviews so hopefully I can be giving my notice in a few days.

    Advice for getting from accepting an offer and through your notice period? Trying to time it so I have a week or so off between the two, and start the new role after labor day. Any rituals or ideas for letting go of an old job and refreshing yourself for something new?

    • Monte

      I love the notice period. I do a lot of work to get memos into shape so that I am confident my (soon to be former) colleagues never have reason to reach out again, collect all the docs at my current job I may want in the future (privilege/work product issues aside), and then try to do the social stuff with colleagues I like to maintain those relationships. I get that that might be hard now, but to the extent you can schedule (outdoor) lunches or coffees with colleagues who are genuinely happy for you, I find it really invigorating.

      And in the downtime, I plan how what new processes I want to adopt at the new job, hash out new business/educational opportunities I hope will be available at the new gig, and then think about the silly stuff that may be fun — new places to eat near the new job, what I want to wear when I start, people at the new job who I want to be sure to meet relatively early — the stuff that makes walking into an entirely new job exciting when you are just getting your bearings and otherwise potentially overwhelmed.

  11. anon

    We have bedbugs!!!
    I searched this site for tips but came up empty.
    Any advice? I feel so gross, itchy and scared. ( Will post in am if this is too late )

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