Tuesday’s Workwear Report: Pip Zip-Up Ponte Midi Dress
This post may contain affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Our daily workwear reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices.
I have a feeling that this zip-front dress from Boden is going to be a little controversial, but I’m really into it! I love everything else about the dress — the sleeves, the collar, the scalloped details. Would I prefer it without the zipper? Probably, but I think it’s unobtrusive enough that I could live with it. It also gives you the option to bring the neckline up a bit if that’s more your style.
The green color is really calling to me, but there’s a navy polka dot option that’s beautiful, too.
The dress is $199 full price — $149.25 with code today — at Boden and comes in sizes 0-20/2 and 0P-10P.
Sales of note for 10/27:
- Nordstrom – End of season sale, 10,000+ new markdowns
- Ann Taylor – Flash sale, 50% off everything, online only.
- Banana Republic Factory – 40-60% off everything + take 25% off (if you don't have StyleCash to spend)
- Boden – 25% off everything (Sunday-Thurs), 15% off (Fri-Sat), 10% Sunday
- The Fold – Up to 25% off with their Workwear Mix and Match offer
- J.Crew – 30% off your purchase with J.Crew Passport
- J.Crew Factory – Extra 15% off $100+ and extra 20% off 125+ — and take an extra 60% off clearance with code
- M.M.LaFleur – Fall style event! 25% off $500+, 30% off $750+ — try code CORPORETTE15 for 15% off
- Nordstrom Rack – Up to 70% off new markdowns, including Boss, L'Agence, Reiss, Spnx, and Veronica Beard
- Soma -Friends & Family Event, 25% off Entire Purchase – readers love Cool Nights PJs and these no-VPL panties
- Talbots – 50% off one item (regular price) and 30% off everything else
What’s the laziest way to donate to a food pantry right now? Look for Amazon lists? Go to Costco? Don’t know of any near me.
Donating money is the easiest way and also lets your donation go the farthest.
Food banks can buy exactly what’s most in need and often secure good bulk deals that aren’t available to members of the public.
Here’s a list if you want to find your local food bank: https://www.feedingamerica.org/find-your-local-foodbank/all-food-banks
Thank you for donating!
As a side note: food banks are like warehouses that then disburse to local food pantries. Donations to either/both will help!
Our local pantry gets food from the food bank, Amazon and Jewel, and also offers rent assistance.
Worth checking if your company offers donation matching too!
Definitely cash! Our food bank buys huge boxes (seriously huge, probably like 4 feet wide and 4 feet tall) filled with pasta, beans, rice, etc. and part of what volunteers do is weigh the correct portion and bag it and seal it. It is my kids favorite task when we go volunteer because they like the scale and the heat sealer lol.
Money. They can do so much more with cash in hand than you and I can do by buying food to donate.
+1
Money. They can stretch it so much further than you can, and it’s easy. Most will have a clickable link on line and you can donate one time or set up a recurring donation.
Money and shelf stable goods if there is a good drop off point near you.
Cash is always best.
Money. Just give them money.
Thank you for the inspiration. I just donated cash to Feeding Westchester.
Thanks for asking the best way to do this! Money is definitely the most useful – they can buy whatever is shortest right now, and they can buy it wholesale so your dollar goes way further.
I set up a recurring donation to our local food bank. Easy-peasy.
Same here.
Money is the best option not only because it’s easy but also because people often give food that food pantries don’t need. Or give impractical things like canned foods and no can opener.
Thanks for this reminder! Donated thru charity navigator.
Search online for your local food pantry, and go to their website and they may have a way to donate online. I just checked mine (thanks for the reminder) and they have a way to set up single or recurring donations.
Former food bank employee here. Donate money! Frankly, they can do more—buy much more food— with it. They have access to deals and can buy at a volume that means money goes much farther!
Feeding America. Donate cash.
And don’t forget to check if your company has a matching-gift program!
Happy Halloween week! I realize my tolerance for scary and even creepy has fallen drastically and I am now in avoidance mode. I am ok with this! Do you like scary movies and if so, what do you recommend to someone just getting into the genre (during a weekend day)?
I have zero interest in gory-zombie-creepy-scary. I choose to interpret scary to include Hitchc-ck suspense!
This is me. I have zero tolerance for modern scary, but love movies like Rear Window or Vertigo.
I don’t like gory movies but I did like Weapons a lot.
I do not enjoy scary movies at all.
DH and I have been watching through Twin Peaks, and I find it to have enough spooky mystery atmosphere without anything too scary (there are a couple of very quick instances where a bad guy is scary, other than that it’s fine). Also the Haunting of Bly Manor is the Mike Flanagan TV show that is a little less scary and more on the emotional side of ghost stories (avoid Hill House, it’s pretty scary).
The original Hill House movie (The Haunting 1963, the one that doesn’t mention the Hill House in the title) was not too scary and made for a pretty good Halloween movie one year (kind of on the long side). I have not been tempted to watch any of the sequels or remakes!
I prefer all my scary movies to be funny in some way so here are some horror comedies:
Tucker and Dale vs. Evil
The Lost Boys
The Burbs
Ready or Not
The Frighteners (probably the most legit scary on this list)
Army of Darkness
Tremors (barely scary but technically a monster movie)
Abbott & Costello – Meet Frankenstein, Meet Dracula, Hold that Ghost, etc.
Just watched The Lost Boys again and it’s so fun. Highly entertaining.
I love the relationship between the two brothers. Mike could be too cool for school when asked to look after his little brother, but he does it as asked.
These are more light and funny than fully comedic, but we really enjoyed Attack the Block and Slash/Back.
For comedy comedy, the Simon Pegg horror comedies pair pretty well with Tucker & Dale.
Add ‘Cabin in the woods’ to that list
I love scary movies and especially love atmospherically scary, which you get more from older films in my opinion. My top older Halloween movies are “The Uninvited” (1944) and “Dead of Night” (1945). Both have an autumnal feel and light creepiness.
I never liked scary or gore. I try not to overthink why others enjoy this.
I prefer suspense over gore and jump scares. Alien is a fantastic movie if you want to watch something that won’t give you nightmares.
Disagree. I got nightmares from Alien.
I got nightmares from the Alien part of the Great Movie Ride at Disneyworld (rip)!
Hard same! I was going through a very hard period at work when I watched Alien, and I had nightmares for a full week after watching it.
I am not a fan of scary movies and I particularly dislike the really gory stuff. I’m generally ok with suspense. That said, I watched a few with my son when he was in high school and getting into them. I was fine with The Shining and I found the original Halloween pretty tame. I’m also a fan of Zombieland – it’s funny enough to keep me engaged and I like the actors/characters.
We finally watched the original Halloween last year and didn’t regret it. It has so many memorable scenes; I keep thinking of the early scenes of the nice neighborhood, slightly decorated, that made it feel so real despite where it was heading.
I do not like scary movies of all kinds, and prefer good-natured Halloween fun. Psycho thrillers, gore, jump scare, and escape-type movies are just not my thing.
I think it’s ok to not be into a certain genre.
I do like scary movies, but my tolerance varies a lot at different times (including “no tolerance”). And there are whole genres I just won’t have anything to do with (sorry Saw, Final Destination, I think all of A24, etc.).
But as for enjoying them, I think for me it’s partly that I find the entire medium of film a little inherently creepy, and scary movies lean into that instead of pretending it away? I’m thinking of classics like 1977 Suspiria, 1948 Red Shoes, or the best Hitchcock movies. Recently we watched Night of the Hunter and it really stuck with me. So maybe classics are what I’d recommend starting with, unless that’s not really what you had in mind?
I also like movies that start with some kind of real life anxiety or trauma (usually specific to women) and externalize it somehow, or that work through fears and stigma of something real (like mental illness or disability when this is done right). I can definitely remember times when e.g. babysitting was scary, and I guess it feels cathartic to see those experiences of fear acknowledged even at the same time as they’re distanced through extremely unlikely/impossible scenarios. (I have met more than one person who had terrible nightmares as a child who really appreciated Nightmare on Elm Street as counterintuitive as that may sound!)
Finally I have a weakness for pulpy B popcorn movies featuring things like vampires, pod people, monsters, etc. if they’re good. Maybe this is because I get bored easily and appreciate the effort to keep me entertained!
Dark Water, Cure for Wellness, that first act of Barbarian, and the House of the Devil are the ones that spring to mind that I really liked for starting with real life anxieties.
For a B movie that hasn’t been mentioned yet, Jennifer’s Body (it was a little gory but not very serious about the gore).
Nope, I don’t like scary movies, never have, never will. If I’m watching alone I’ll even close my eyes or turn off the sound at the tense parts of pg-13 movies.
I don’t enjoy scary movies at all. I’d rather watch Hitchcock or a psychological thriller. I will be enjoying my annual Hocus Pocus and Practical Magic rewatches instead.
I don’t like scary movies and honestly even trailers are too much for me. It just takes a few seconds of seeing something to live rent free in my head for years, and I never quite know what it might be. Like the scene in the 6th Sense with Donnie Wahlburg in the corner of BW’s bedroom haunted me for years!! I often will google the full plot and ending of the movies because it’s always something stupid and it takes away whatever power the images have.
But: I’m fine with most haunted houses (?)
I don’t like over-the-top gore like the Saw franchise, but otherwise I like scary movies a lot. Here are some suggestions off the top of my head:
– the original Blair Witch Project
– Somewhere Quiet
– Train to Busan – def has some gore but a great watch
– I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House – slow burn
Oh! I also like to watch Halloween episodes and specials – like the old Disney cartoons and especially the Boy Meets World Halloween episode. Much more lighthearted and nostalgiac.
The Bobs Burgers halloween episodes are great!
I do not enjoy scary or gory movies and see no reason to force myself to build a tolerance. My beloved Halloween standard is It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.
I enjoy a good clever/funny horror versus slasher/terrifying. Movies I’ve loved:
– All things Jordan Peele
– The Menu
– Ready or Not
– Cabin in the Woods
– Scream & its copycats – I Know What You Did Last Summer, etc.
The Mike Flanagan series on Netflix (Haunting of Hill House, Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, Midnight Club and Fall of the House of Usher) also qualify for my weird taste. Beware that some of those are horrors that also inspire big feelings.
I completely forgot about The Menu, Scream, and Get Out and I enjoyed them all. I loved Fall of the House of Usher as well. I’ll have to check out the others you listed!
I do not watch scary movies–hard stop. But I did watch The Menu (walked out of the room a few times, but didn’t mind it!)
Funny story: Back in the day I used to enjoy watching Key and Peele, but their Halloween sketches were actually a little too scary for me. I feel quite vindicated now that Peele has gone all-in on horror!
I don’t often like horror movies, but I do like suspense movies, like Hitchcock (Rear Window, Vertigo, Rope, The Birds, Dial ‘M’ for Murder). Parasite felt quite Hitchcockian to me as well. As for more typical scary movies, I did like Sinners and 28 Years Later. Silence of the Lambs, Jaws, Shaun of the Dean, Night of the Hunter, and Carrie are also classics worth watching if you haven’t seen them.
I meant Shaun of the Dead, not Dean. It is a little gory, but more of a comedy than really scary, if that’s your preference
Yes, I love scary movies (but not gory movies). I recommend Sinners for a new release–it was spectacular. I also recommend Sleepy Hollow for a middle-of-the-road scary experience.
For those who like psychological thrillers more than horror, I liked The Invitation a lot.
I prefer the ghosts/witches type of spooky over horror and gore.
Is health insurance with a copay or coinsurance better?
It’s just me (48) and my husband (53). Over the years, we’ve always done a high deductible plan. We do all our preventative medicine appointments, which are covered by insurance. Every now and then we’ve had to make appointments for when we’ve been sick.
Recently my husband started seeing an orthopedic doctor for steroid shots in his knee. Eventually he’ll need a knee replacement surgery. My OB/GYN is recommending an ultrasound to check on some polyps and there’s a possibility I might need surgery.
I’m leaning more towards the copay plan, which costs more but could be helpful if we have more specialist appointments.
You can have copays under both HDHPs and “regular” plans. Preventative care often has no copay under either of them. As we’ve needed more care, we’ve compared the cost of (OOP premiums + copays for “sick” visits + tax disadvantage of NOT having an HSA) vs. the cost of (OOP copays for “sick” visits – tax advantage of keeping the HSA) and decided that the best long-term strategy is keeping the HDHP, maxing out the HSA, and just paying all copays out of regular cash flow, not reimbursing ourselves. I realize that’s a privileged spot to be in, but if you’re high earners, don’t discount the triple tax advantage of the HSA for retirement planning.
Thanks. This gives me something to think about. Before I got laid off from my job last year, we were both on separate health insurance plans with HDHP and both had HSAs. I was in a contract role for a year without health insurance or a 401K and just now got converted to a full-time employee. Unfortunately it’s a pay cut from what I made previously, so we’re not as high earners as before.
This is exactly how we’re doing it, too.
Copays are only for office visits. You will still have to deal with deductibles and coinsurance for procedures and tests.
Whether a PPO or a HDHP is a better deal depends on the parameters and premiums for the plans you are offered. Every open enrollment season, I make a spreadsheet that compares total costs for every plan option at various levels of health care consumption, factoring in tax savings from an FSA or HSA. For the plans offered by my employer and my husband’s employer, the HDHP always comes out ahead at any level o f health care consumption. I also prefer the fact that the HDHP allows us to use an HSA, which does not carry the same use-it-or-lose-it risk as an FSA.
It depends on the plan. My plan also has copays for ER visits and a lot of procedures and imaging are free as long as they’re in network.
This analysis is what I do, too, with the same result.
I think the picture is more complex. For most plans, coinsurance kicks in after you’ve met your deductible, and co-pays might run in parallel.
You also need to look at the network of providers your plan covers – often, copays or coinsurance rates change depending on whether your provider is part of a preferred network, vs. in-network but not preferred, vs. out-of-network. For things like surgery, often, anesthesiologists are contracted out, and you might end up with a separate, non-network bill even if the surgeon is in-network.
I do the math every year, and have always concluded that the high deductible health plan makes most sense for my family (with me covering myself and kid, and my husband having a separate plan with his employer just for himself). My in-network deductible is under $4000, which is on the lower side for HDHPs, I think.
More specifically, I try to calculate the true out of pocket costs, including premiums, deductibles, and any co-insurance/co-pays, and counting employer HSA incentives against the balance. I run various scenarios where with healthcare expenses a) under the deductible, b) between deductible and OOP maximum, and c) above the OOP max. Scenario c) would mean several tens, if not 100s of thousands of billed healthcare expense.
In all but the “catastrophic” scenario of a new severe diagnosis requiring extensive surgery or treatment has the lowest premium HDHP plan been the logic choice for our family. We’re in our 40s, and the costs we saved in the last 10 years using the HDHP with HSA vs. a plan with higher premiums more than make up for any years with an unexpected ER visit and follow up specialist appointments. Our plans cover most networks in the area, so we’re not restricted in seeing any specialists.
This rationale to pick the most economic plan may change as we age and chronic conditions like diabetes etc. become statistically more likely.
+1
For me, actually, the HDHP usually comes out ahead even in the catastrophic scenario (ie you’re gonna meet your family out of pocket annual max). Obviously can’t promise that’s true for you and your husband, but don’t switch to a higher-premium-lower-deductible out of a general sense that “HDHP’s are for young healthy people with low costs” – it’s often not true.
Yeah with the meds we are on, meeting the out of pocket max happens in a few weeks for each of us even if nobody ends up in the hospital, and HDHP so far has made the most sense.
True!
I was thinking more of a catastrophic (from a cost-perspective) scenario where you end up needing special specialist care – think about travelling to a Mayo/Cleveland/MD Anderson clinic for cancer, or needing to see out-of-network providers. Some HDHP plans are quite restrictive with provider choice.
Most of us don’t have coverage that covers out of state care.
This is highly individual, depending on your medical needs and the specifics of your particular plan options. As someone with reasonably high health care usage (but not so high that I go much over the out of pocket max), I was definitely better off with a copay plan. That’s no longer an option for us, so given the choice between two coinsurance plans, the HDHP plan makes more sense. But if we moved back to where we could use the copay plan, that would be way better. It really adds up when you’re paying hundreds of dollars for every doctor’s visit instead of $20 and we use the HSA, but it isn’t as great of a benefit as for others because we still have more retirement account eligibility than we have income to contribute (15% of income to a 401a, plus 457, 403b, and Roth IRA).
As a general rule, HDHP + HSA is great for low utilizers and high utilizers, but if you’re in the middle, you may be better off with a more traditional PPO.
There are a lot of spreadsheet templates online to help you compare. You need to add up your known costs – premiums & HSA contributions – and then estimate your utilization. One easy way is to look at your EOBs from this year’s healthcare services and plug them into a spreadsheet. If you expect to meet the deductible, what are your out-of-pocket costs for the plan after that? What’s the out-of-pocket maximum for each plan?
Generally, co-pays are a set rate you pay for a doctor’s visit and co-insurance is a percentage you pay medical services other than doctor’s visits. So in a PPO plan, you would likely pay a co-pay for your husband’s visit to the orthopedist, but you would pay co-insurance for the joint injections.
In the long term, HDHP + HSA is usually the best choice. And if you already have a funded HSA, that lowers your risk of choosing that pathway. But do spend some time comparing the options.
Also consider your level of comfort with unexpected medical expenses at inopportune times (because that it is when they always come up). Although it makes more financial sense for us to do a HDHP + HSA, I stick with a PPO every open enrollment. I get too stressed with the unexpected. My employer also gives a $10K HSA on retirement, so that makes losing out on an HSA a bit more palatable.
Remember that HDHPs will have an annual out of pocket max. Once you have at least that much saved in your HSA, you are protected from a major inconvenient expense. And HSAs can be invested and grow tax-free, so $10K at retirement is a fraction of what you could have saved.
But the out of pocket max on most plans is much higher than the max you can contribute to an HSA. If you have many medical expenses, you’re always going to be spending most or all of your HSA. I know you can save your receipts, but but most people don’t have the money do that, and even if you do, that doesn’t make sense to do unless you’re maxing out all other tax advantaged savings (we work for state government and have many retirement plans and decent incomes, but nowhere near as high as most people here, so we’d rather claim our medical expenses and put more into retirement accounts that are less restricted).
Annually, yes, but within 2-3 years you can get there. As I said, this works best if you’re high earners who can cashflow the copays as needed, but has huge long term advantages.
I do not follow your logic, tbh.
If you have the funds, why would you not put some money in the HSA now, and earn the free employer contribution? It’s free money that can grow over time! And who knows whether you’ll be at that employer until retirement age. I’d rather squirrel away all of the money I can get now instead of hoping for a bigger sum later.
And what does “unexpected” really mean? If you have a HDHP plan, in theory you just need to have some sort of emergency fund covering your out-of-pocket maximum, if you’re really anxious.
To me, it’s also a calculation of “what is the maximum damage” vs. “how likely/often” is it expected to occur. Let’s say every 5 years you may have a high-cost event:
If I can save $2,000 on premiums with a HDHP and $2000 from employer contributions in my HSA every year, in 5 years I will have $10k + interest in my HSA (free money!) plus $10k+ interest on the amount I would have spent on premiums. If I now have that expensive health event, I can tap into those funds and spend down the HSA if need be. And that’s not even taking into account any tax savings through my own pre-tax HSA contributions.
Back of hand math, in the plans I was offered HDHP premiums + out of pocket max was still lower than the PPO plan, but you have to commit to maxing out your HSA every year. Now, my current company only has PPO options at a low premium (not real people problems) and honestly, I miss the HSA option.
The term is “back of the envelope” not “back of the hand”.
In a world where no one sends letters anymore, and therefore often does not have an envelope, I like back of the hand. Ingenious. I am also one who writes on my hand (like I child, I know), so this was very funny for me to read. I will use it in the future.
Language evolves.
Do the math carefully. At my employer you *always* come out ahead with the HDHP, regardless of whether you have zero, low, medium, high or very high healthcare expenses. I ran the numbers for dozens of scenarios and the HDHP won every time. Basically, the lower deductible for the other plans is offset by much higher premiums, so you’re just paying the costs upfront rather than at the time of getting the medical care.
If the zipper stays in place then its a nice dress. The exact category of work dress I need right now – nice/distinct enough to be work without a blazer, formal but not stodgy or “first year investment banker”
To me, this dress looks like a costume from Mad Men.
You say that like it’s a bad thing…
I feel like on me, I need a flowy bottom but would be worried that the high waist would make any tummy prominent enough to read “maternity” vs “perimenopausal shape-shifting / former pear but working what she’s got.”
Just ordered something else from Boden and hoping it works. Will report back.
Boden is short waisted. If I order any of their dresses I have to get a Tall and then hem it.
Doesn’t really read authority like a work dress. Really loud and not the right shape. Seems more like something to wear to an event or work dinner.
Not trying to be controversial, but if it’s “not the right shape” what is right now that doesn’t look like the “first year investment banker” the OP derided? I feel like both of you are talking about more fitted dresses.
It’s too flowy for a professional. Flowy = admin.
A plain green dress is loud??
I like it.
I need some slip-on shoes that are good for rainy ground (think camping) and light snow (walking across the parking lot after skiing). The Merrell Jungle Mocs (while ugly) would have fit the bill but didn’t work for my feet. Any alternatives? I have wide feet.
no advice on mucky camping, but ankle-height Uggs are my go-to for swapping out of ski boots. Heavenly wriggly freedom!!
Hard to say which is best – a powder day or the feeling of taking your ski boots off.
For those of you who don’t ski, picture the relief of taking off a restrictive strapless corset bra, a tight sports bra, and a pair of heels you’ve been wearing all day off all at the same time. I love skiing and have comfortable boots and a great sock system and… it’s sheer bliss to take them off at the end of the day.
I wear my classic shearling Uggs on dry days and Ugg snow boots in the slush. I was so disappointed in Sorel boots (heavy, hot, tear up my achilles) but the Ugg snow boots have been comfortable and functional.
Bog boots? Or maybe croc boots?
Keen has some waterproof slip-on boots that might work.
Any specific ones to recommend?
I love my xtratuf dock boots and think they’d fit the bill for you!
Thank you, these look promising!
Most of these recommendations are brands that don’t carry wide. I’d look at the men’s equivalent or search brands with wides that you like first and then see options (like i know naturalizer has wide options and vionic).
Get Keens. They’re all fugly, but they’re great for my wide feet.
Oh good to know – they don’t seem to have wide sizing but if they run wide, great.
I usually wear a wide in other brands, but I have many pairs of regular width Keens. I just wish they were better looking.
I can’t keep them on my narrow feet!
Crocs
I’ve been buying Merrell Jungle Mocs and hiking boots for close to 20 years. Used to be a big fan; the Jungle Mocs are warm and great on ice. However, my past 2 pairs of hiking boots / trail runners only lasted a year or so and now I’m trying other brands. The new shoes don’t seem to be made as well.
I love the northface thermoball either the mule or bootie. So cozy, they don’t come in wide width but i find them pretty forgiving.
Danners are pricey, but many of their boots come in wide widths.
I love scary movies and especially love atmospherically scary, which you get more from older films in my opinion. My top older Halloween movies are “The Uninvited” (1944) and “Dead of Night” (1945). Both have an autumnal feel and light creepiness.
There is a person who reports to me who was somewhat of a political hire. She’s got friends in high places. I found on two occasions that she lied to me about her work. When I confronted her about it, she gave me a “who me?” innocent explanation, trying to make it seem like she just misunderstood what we had agreed upon, even though there’s no way that is possible. I need to address this with her in our one on one meeting today, but I need to do it very delicately because of her political ties in the organization. Any tips on how to word this? Like, what I want to say is, “please don’t lie to me, it harms our relationship, makes it hard for me to trust you, thus making it hard to work collaboratively with you in the way that we both need to do to be successful.” I know she’ll be defensive though, so I’m not even sure its worth addressing. But I feel like if I don’t, its giving her permission to keep doing it. Thoughts?
What exactly is the lie? Did she claim she did something but didn’t actually do it? Did she hide issues in a project from you? Did she misrepresent contributions from others?
My answer would depend on what the “lie” is.
First lie: she didn’t tell me about something I needed to know about, when I asked her to about it, she said she didn’t have a chance to tell me–this is not true because we had a one on one meeting, along with a few other opportunities for her to tell me. It has to do with a client so it was important that I was informed. I think she just wanted to be at the center of it and not include me.
Second lie: we agreed that she would draft a proposal and send it to me for review and editing before sending it to another team for their input. Instead, she sent it to the team for their input before sharing with me. When I confronted her about it, she said, Oh, I was just so excited about the proposal that I wanted to share it right away, and when I said, Ok, but we agreed on the course of action yesterday, she said, Oh, sorry, I misunderstood. This was a fairly important proposal, also to be shared with a client.
Basically, she is undermining my authority and trying to cut me out because she wants to be at the center of things. I don’t care about being at the center of things but I do need to weigh in on stuff like this and be generally informed about it.
On one, I always forget things like this. On two, I’d just make sure going forward there’s calendar time specifically tied to the two of you looking over proposal drafts before they goes to the wider team to “respect everyone’s time.” And make sure she gives you written timelines (that unfortunately you’ll need to refer back to her via email so that she doesn’t “forget”) that indicate the order of operations, and include your review time.
I wouldn’t usually bother, but since you say she’s a “political hire” this just means you have to manage differently. It’s a learning experience for you, too.
I am not sure I would bother addressing these two things things at this point, but I would make sure to have everything in writing going forward (requests, follow-ups, timelines, etc).
“She is undermining my authority and trying to cut me out because she wants to be at the center of things…”
I don’t know how to advise you about this. I don’t know if this perception of yours is accurate. I don’t know what your path forward is. BUT . . . if this is true, you’re in a soured working relationship that is broader than these two situations. You are going to end up locked in all kinds of conflict with her. Do you have a mentor or coach you can discuss this with?
I think you are reading a LOT of bad intent into a situation here that doesn’t necessarily sound like it. Frankly, you sound paranoid and anxious. You might be right, but you’re going to have to be aware that that’s how how you’re currently framing this is coming across.
+1. I would be forward looking in your meeting today and not mention these two perceived “missteps”. The script from AIMS below is good.
I agree. People don’t always remember everything. What’s important to you may not have been top of mind for her, but that doesn’t mean she was intentionally cutting you out. You are assuming she has the worst intentions, mind reading fallacy.
I think the only way to address this in your situation is to accept her explanation at face value and go from there. It doesn’t matter if it’s true or if your perception is accurate (per another poster). Just say, “two things we need to work on. One, please make sure you always check in with me about X because I need to know this due to Y reasons. Two, please remember to send any drafts to me because blah blah…” You don’t need to call her a liar to say that she needs to do things differently in the future. Agree that if this continues to be a problem you need to figure out how to documents things in writing ahead of time.
So not fun; however, I would paper her ahem butt. Everything in writing, all requests, follow ups, due dates, explicit detail on everything requested, no exceptions. Limit any discussions of whatever you are asking her to do, use email. “I forgot” is your plausible rationale for this.
I have one of those and while its a pain, it certainly keeps a paper trail that confirms me covering all the bases, and puts the problematic person on notice that there are records being kept. This is also known as CYA.
This is the answer.
She is not confused. She knows what she is doing. You just need to draw a gentle but firm boundary that you will document things in writing.
So after today’s meeting, there is the short follow up email you send saying thanks for meeting and you’re glad that it was clarified that xyz is the communication route for all abc projects going forward. You need to be clear as to what applies prospectively or her next move will be to say she thought your feedback was just about that one project. You will need to reiterate these instructions on each project. Because of her connections, you will need to maintain a positive and friendly tone when communicating in writing.
Maybe treat her like she’s stupid … act like you believe she doesn’t understand things — for example, have her start putting in writing her understanding of her assignment up front and updating you in writing at key points, etc.
I wonder if addressing it directly will help your situation. This might be a case for micromanagement instead.
This is where I would land. Accusing her of lying is pretty much guaranteed to sour your working relationship; and you’ve mentioned this is a political hire with friends in high places. I think if you tell a report “there’s a pattern of you lying to me, and it needs to stop”, there’s a 90%+ chance you need to end up firing them. If you can’t do that with this report, think carefully before you go down that path.
What you can do is *pretend* these were honest mistakes, but of course, still mistakes, like a very junior hire with no good judgment yet would make. If you believed that, you would do things like: have her send you the schedule of draft-review cadence (not just “send it to me first” but “send to me Oct 28th, I send back to you Oct 31, goes to outside team Nov 2nd”); more frequent checkins, you attending client meetings more often than sending her on her own, etc.
Agreed. I would recommend taking her explanations at face value, and then adjust how you manage her going forward. Accusing her of lying is a sure fire way to make her not like you, which is risky if she truly has friends in high places.
And it’s also just terrible management!!!
Also true!
“I’d like to talk about how to best make sure we’re on the same page in terms of how we manage projects. What works best for you to make sure we both understand how we’re going to share information and drafts? I tend toward meetings followed up by emails to make sure there’s no miscommunications, but if there’s something that would be more useful for you, then I’d love to hear it.”
Put it on her plate.
Is this your first time managing others?
You’re thinking about this wrong. Start her from the same starting place as anyone else you’d hire or work with. Your perception of her being favored is getting in your way. Second, if she is connected, she’s someone to work extra hard on getting along with. Bring her into the fold and do everything you can to work well with her. If she’s actually connected as you say she is, you want her feedback on you to be “amazing boss” not “irritating micromanager.” Lastly, there’s always going to be someone favored at work for reasons. Your best bet is getting in with them, not sideways.
Yes, please don’t firebomb the relationship. Walk back your own thinking. People can rise up quickly in their careers. Sour, paranoid managers I’ve worked with fired/laid off talented people. These managers are still in their same jobs, while those who reported to them skyrocketed at big-name orgs, despite being thrown under the bus. It’s short-sided to treat people like the most important thing they need to do is fall in line under you. Sure, work out the process, but treat them with respect.
Best stores for flat riding-type boots for skinny calves? This is for my kid with adult-sized feet but such skinny legs that everything we’ve tried looks like a sad pirate costume, not the sleek look she is going for. I had given her my old LaCannadienne Passion boots and they had a bit of looseness still (and then they died, but after 10 years of combined service). Maybe we need stretchy / cloth or a stretchy back? And LC was my budget for me, but for her, was hoping to get something for less. Her feet are done growing.
I just saw an ad for Ariat boots that had various options for calves. Can’t vouch for them personally on the calf front, but I have a pair of pull-on boots from them that have held up over the years.
Look at equestrian specific shops not general boot stores. They will have better narrow calf options. Decathlon also sells equestrian boots that are reasonably priced.
Try this company? https://www.slimcalfboots.com/
IIRC either Nordstrom or Zappos lets you filter by calf circumference.
I’m not a skinny calved person myself but Jean from Extra Petite (a blog) has a lot of skinny calf recommendations.
+1 she has really good recs
Actual riding boots come in narrow calf sizes, though they may be too equestrian and not fashiony enough (the tops will have a curve instead of being straight, and they’ll go a little higher up on the leg than most fashion riding-style boots). If that’s not a deal breaker, check out a local tack shop. Ariat’s boots are generally pretty comfortable.
Are loafers still on trend? If so, what kind? If not loafers, what flats?
I’m in-house in a suburban office with mostly men now, so I can’t observe what the young associates or well-dressed partners wear nor what people on the street in mid-town are wearing. I’m 49, fwiw, calling out “young” associates.
Loafers live outside of the trend categorization.
I kind of agree with this. I just got these and they have instantly become wardrobe workhorses: https://www.nordstrom.com/s/corinne-loafer-women/8309793
lol the years 2003-2023 would like a word
Ballet flats in interesting shapes (a more elongated-square toe, mary jane strap, etc) are popular among the 20-somethings in my office.
The toddlers & tiaras white ruffle socks with loafers trend, thankfully, has passed.
Certain kinds aren’t trending, like the big lug soles and oversized versions. Classic loafers are fairly timeless. I want to like them but find I hate my outfits any time I finish them with a loafer and end up changing into a pointed toe flat.
I have some with giant rubber treads. They are comfy but I wish I had something a bit sleeker, especially in the office. On a rainy day, they are awesome though. Maybe a thin rubber sole vs what I have for aesthetics. Mine are black and I wouldn’t mind a cordovan / oxblood pair that was sleeker.
I have some super fancy Italian oxblood loafers and I find that when I am struggling to pick a pair of shoes, they are usually the answer.
Who is the maker? That’s exactly what I need.
Looking for a good 45th birthday present for a dear friend, up to $350. She likes a fancy and sentimental gift and usually Id just go with Tiffany but nothing is speaking to me.
Hermes scarf?
This is my go-to.
+1
Aren’t Hermes scarves more than $350 these days? I think they are more in the $600-800 range.
The skinny Hermes Twilly scarves are around $250-$300.
Ah ok, that is true.
FWIW, I would not want one of those twilly ribbons as a gift, so make sure you know your audience if you are going this route. I do like the beautiful $700 Hermes scarves though. ;)
I feel like if you don’t have an item already in mind, you should go with a shared experience. A friend taking me to a delicious dinner would mean far more to me than some trinket.
FWIW, a nice gift resonates with me far more than someone treating me to dinner. I go to dinner with my friends all the time, same with concerts and girls trips. All of that is just the normal relationship. But I treasure special gifts my friends have picked out for me and fondly think of them when I use or see the item.
But a gift isn’t special if you have to crowdsource it.
That’s ridiculous. Gathering ideas and “crowdsourcing” doesn’t make gifts less special; it just starts the thinking process and offers the possibility of previously un-considered ideas.
Oh come on. The people you are closest with are the hardest people to buy gifts for. I love gift suggestion threads because it helps ME with my gift-buying.
+1 same, I like a nice gift. I like pretty nice things and I get enjoyment out of things for many, many years. I get that a lot of people do not and are experience people, but for me a nice gift is very likely to give me more enjoyment in the long run.
My vote is for the Hermes scarf.
Ugh, you are my friend that I stress about buying for, often over-extend my budget for, because I know you like “nice gifts”, and then blow it.
The last time I did this I bought a pricey accessory for my nice-gift-friend, and when she moved and was donating stuff, my gift was on the top of the donate pile.
I don’t buy birthday gifts for friends anymore, except for dinners or flowers/consumables. I mean, how old are we – 12?
I have a newborn so specifically looking for a gift as a replacement to a shared experience. If not, I’d be joining her in Madrid for the big celebration!
A fantastic meal, a spa day, or really luxe pajamas.
Similarly, but differently, a Jim Thompson silk twill “shawl”? (It’s an oversized silk scarf, in various gorgeous patterns, a bit off the beaten path, but VERY fancy.)
+1. I have one and love the size without spending 1k at Hermes.
Caviar gift set: https://thecaviarco.com/collections/caviar-gift-sets?srsltid=AfmBOop3Y_mbY6xS6EFvM0mXb1MhIxf75Ugr6jxx8we0Q6D2B804SfkJ
Champagne Club: https://sommselect.com/products/champagne-master-selection-4-bottle-tasting-experience?utm_term=&utm_campaign=Pmax+%7C+Lead+%7C+Wine+Clubs+%7CWC&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&hsa_acc=5548475401&hsa_cam=23146950884&hsa_grp=&hsa_ad=&hsa_src=x&hsa_tgt=&hsa_kw=&hsa_mt=&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23151372475&gbraid=0AAAAAoKWzc9ki09jPftFh3WZv3XRgo-GT&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIrODZsprHkAMVqCmtBh0W6Q4MEAQYAiABEgJb2_D_BwE
Pajamas: https://printfresh.com/products/champagne-and-caviar-eco-satin-rittenhouse-set-lavender-spritz?variant=41771877531782&nbt=nb%3Aadwords%3Ag%3A23141969494%3A183922994141%3A779219516310&nb_adtype=pla&nb_kwd=&nb_ti=pla-2444655467429&nb_mi=127579251&nb_pc=online&nb_pi=shopify_US_7387385561222_41771877531782&nb_ppi=2444655467429&nb_placement=&nb_li_ms=&nb_lp_ms=&nb_fii=&nb_ap=&nb_mt=&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23141969494&gbraid=0AAAAADMYrBfRJFBOcszFET-LG-xNVpp49&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIn-nuhJrHkAMVex6tBh2qMRr1EAQYASABEgL3p_D_BwE
Thank you!!
What does sentimental mean in her context? Conventionally coded as sentimental (jewelry, etc) or can it mean something that will make her think if you every time she uses it or looks at it? If the latter, a super fancy version of something she uses frequently, like candlesticks or serving dishes? Cashmere throw blanket? A fancy vase and a six month fresh flower subscription? The kind of beautiful planter that she’d never buy for herself?
Has anyone tried Ann Mashburn flats in real life? I have stalked them forever but we don’t have a local store. I saw the chicest woman in the Harris Teeter the other day wearing what had to be a pair (the buckle flats). They were so pretty and perfectly styled. I have weird feet and need some room around the ball joints on one side (or leather/suede that flexes). This rules out some brands entirely. I can’t go with wides because my heels barely stay in B-width shoes.
Nordstrom sells them. Easy returns.
They are my favorite flats! I find them comfortably wide enough in the toe box and not too tight overall. I have narrow feet but can’t stand having my toes pinched. I can’t wear Stuart Weitzman, for reference, because they run too tight for me.
Yes! I have some. They run narrow, in my opinion. I have a normal width foot and my AM flats always feel a bit tight around the ball of my foot.
Ladies abroad: is the foreign press covering Trump? Tearing down the East Wing, killing people in the Caribbean, threatening a third term? Any of it, some of it? I’m just curious how much attention the fall of Rome is getting abroad and what sort of take the media there is giving.
You could go look at international news sites . . .
Nope, absolutely no foreign press covers any American news. Been that way for decades. Kinda surprised you didn’t know that.
Lol.
Sometimes I wonder whether OPs here are too lazy to google.
(I would say though, that the East Wing thing is not very much a focus in international news – tariffs, the will-he/won’t-he back Ukraine, threatening to annex Canada/Greenland; USAID/pepfar cuts in some countries; and culture wars issues that are also playing out in other countries are getting more coverage)
All of this is reported on in major German news outlets, to varying degrees of detail.
Go to dw.com, https://www.spiegel.de/international/, BBC, Le Monde in English etc.
The Guardian, based in the UK, most definitely is.
Yes, Trump is definitely covered. Not so much the White House (sorry I don’t think people outside of the US care that much) but the insane international policy, yes.
Okay, please give me the good, the bad and the ugly of buying a historic home that needs to be fixed up. 1930s, beautiful charming details, clearly needs a new roof, floors, wallpaper removal. There’s no central air. We don’t need to move in for 9 more months and we have the cash on hand.
If you’ve got the cash, what’s your question? You need to find a contractor, and possibly an architect, who jives with you and get on his schedule. Finding the right person can take months.
Generally speaking, 1930s houses were well-built, but each era has its own quirks that you’ll have to be on the lookout for.
I’m surprised you have to replace the hardwood floors. Must be quite the roof leak.
If you have an original art deco bath, please, please restore it rather than demo’ing it.
And old house is a difficult love. And I’ve never had one that mice weren’t able to find a way into (often just a basement, sometimes they die in the walls, sometimes they are running around and you are screaming). How do you feel about that and/or a cat?
Haha, not OP, but also have a 200+ year old house and a perpetual mouse problem. The cat only helps when he feels inspired.
When the mice die in the walls, you smell the stench of death that they talk about in crime shows. And then there will be million flies. They will follow the sun as it moves over your house and where ever the light is brightest, there will be maybe 30 files buzzing behind the blinds against the glass. Fun times.
I lived for 20+ years in a house built in 1892 and, although we did have mice (even with multiple cats), something died in the walls only once. This was right as we moved in, it felt like we were living in Amityville! But it was not an ongoing problem, and I would not avoid buying an older house for fear of mice dying in the walls.
I love my old home but yeah we occasionally get mice despite keeping everything clean.
I think this depends on where you live. I’ve lived in several old houses (in MD and ATL) and while they all have had issues, mice has never been one of them.
VA, NC
I think the clay soil settles and the crawl space is inviting in bad weather. Inevitably there is a gap they get in.
My next house will be a poured concrete bunker.
Yes, old house in VA in the clay soil. This is exactly right.
I have a 100+ year old house, and ever since I added the ultrasonic sound emitters in the key rooms of the house (on each floor), I have never seen another mouse. I got this great advice from our almost as old local hardware store owner. You have to use they correctly though – read the directions.
And of course you need to plug up obvious major entry points.
it needs new floors? or just refinished? Where are you located? I guess you could do mini splits for AC. Reddit will be your friend here
Spend the money for HVAC with ducts as opposed to mini splits. The exterior view of an older house is important.
100% agree in the HVAC comment here. I have a century home that’s retrofitted with high velocity AC.
I also recommend following the century home Reddit. We’ve been thru it all over there!
I would wonder a lot about the electrical system.
I’m just jealous!
Me too. In my city, a disgusting, non-updated 3-bed, 1 bath 1970s ranch on a bad lot is $1.4M minimum.
I have a historic home that we’ve done extensive renovations to, many diy. Be honest about what you really can do yourself and what you can’t. You also need to understand the state of the house – bring inspectors, contractors, etc by if you don’t have that knowledge. You may have cash but if you have to replace roof, electric, floors, etc it can quickly get very expensive.
Our house was built in the 1920s. It’s in pretty good shape so we haven’t done too much work on it other than putting in a new electrical panel and minisplits, which is presumably what you’d do if you want AC (if you do this before the end of the year, you can still get the tax credits for heat pumps and electrical panels, plus your utility company may also have credits). We don’t have mice, but we do have cats.
I’m in the middle of doing this, though the house is late ’50s rather than ’30s, so I can’t talk about the Historic Home aspects of what you’d be taking on, but “big renovation on older house” is within my wheelhouse. The whole top-to-bottom process is going to take us longer than 9 months–we really underestimated how long the design and bidding process would take, and we did not find that contractors accurately accounted for that phase when the told us “sure, we can be done by [date]” in initial conversations.
I’d also urge you to be wary of thinking you have a good handle on everything that will need to be done. Surprises will probably emerge along the way, and I second the other poster’s reference to the electrical system (we ended up totally rewiring, which was not something we originally thought we’d need to do). This is also a cautionary note with respect to the idea that you have the cash on hand. You might, but it also might turn out to cost a lot more than you expect.
Overall, we’re excited for this house, and we’ve been fortunate throughout that the process has been pretty smooth (crossing my fingers that I’m not jinxing what’s still to come), but I think it’s hard to do a reno, at least on an older house, that doesn’t turn out to be a bigger project than you thought at the beginning.
We have a beautiful 1920s craftsman but agree with everyone else, there is always something to fix and it gets expensive fast. In the five years we’ve owned it, we’ve: replaced the roof; refinished the floors; upgraded the electrical panel and fixed a lot of old wiring; got new insulation for the attic; replaced several windows; and replaced the 30-year old boiler. We still have a big list for the next couple of years, including remodeling one of the bathrooms and replacing the back deck.
It depends on the house- older houses can range from ‘requires cosmetic updating’ to ‘basically a teardown but the historical society won’t let you do that’. Hire a contractor or 2 to look through (you can bring contractors to an open house!) and give you an estimate, then double the time and triple the cost.
1930s vintage basically guarantees asbestos or lead or at bare minimum mold somewhere in the house. There’s a good chance you’ll want to remove walls based on the smaller size of rooms in older houses, and if you want to remove walls, you’ll have a rough go of it, and will need to install carrying beams or the like. If earthquakes or hurricanes are a factor where you live, the chance it’ll be up to modern code tends to be pretty poor, but if it’s survived a few decent sized events, it’s probably solid.
It sounds like you’ll want to add air conditioning- is there space in the walls to make that possible, or are you going to be modifying walls to hide ductwork? Keep in mind older houses are typically less airtight than newer houses so you’ll probably want to improve insulation/weatherstripping if you’re doing a HVAC project.
Are there historical preservation requirements? Any chance you’ll be limited to specific materials/ window styles etc?
Lots of great advice. Is this home in a historic preservation district by chance? If so, I’d take a glance through their posted meeting minutes/agendas and just see if you agree with previous decisions made. I owned a 1920’s house in a historic district and ultimately sold it for a historic home not tied to a preservation committee because it was hard to find common ground with the volunteers on the committee sometimes.
Avoid a place where a committee will have to approve all your changes! My in-laws are in an endless fight with their historic preservation group and their renovation is costing them double what they’d planned.
Further to the discussion the other day about whether college early-decision agreements are binding, here’s an article (gift link) about a college punishing a whole school for a student backing out: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/26/business/tulane-early-decision-colorado-academy.html?unlocked_article_code=1.w08.3xoo.Y-nCRnTin7D1&smid=url-share
oh yes, i might to follow up on that. i went to Penn, which is ED, I had a classmate who also applied to Harvard, which was EA, and got “stuck” going to Penn. Perhaps legally she could’ve withdrawn from Penn, but there is no way on earth her high school would’ve let her do that
How can a high school actually “let” or prevent a student from doing this? From what I remember I corresponded directly with the college.
Legally, I don’t think they can, if the student is willing to burn bridges. But they can do things like say that a student who withdraws from ED is eg. ineligible to be part of the alumni org. If the student is still a senior, a private school could even treat it as a disciplinary issue, assuming they have some kind of out-of-school conduct policy – and suspend or expel them.
The school does send recommendation letters and transcripts. At my large public school it would have been implausible to claim that meant my school was endorsing my application in any way, but at a smaller school, they might be claiming (realistically or not, I don’t know), that the school knew the student was breaking the early admission deal with Tulane and went along with it.
But if ED agreements aren’t binding, how can you be breaking a deal? How is there any deal?
Is it sort of like a proffer: if you let me in, I will have my parents pay full tuition (and won’t damage your stats too badly) or I am poor and need aid but have such stellar credentials that you’ll gladly buy them?
The school might choose to “punish” the student somehow to avoid burning bridges with Penn in this case. If the school ignores the “infraction”, Penn will “punish” the school by not taking students in subsequent years. It’s all pretty ugly (or it used to be back in my day). My friend applied to a highly rated 6 year med, got it, and turned it down, and people talked about it for years.
They can threaten graduation, at least at a private school. I’m not sure it would be legal for a public school to do that.
I’d be really curious if Tulane believes/knows the high school encouraged her to withdraw – it seems like of nuclear option otherwise (although maybe a form of trying to intimidate other kids out of doing it).
Even if the high school did encourage her w
To withdraw (which I highly doubt), this is punishing the other students in the next few classes not the high school. Maybe they are counting on the peer pressure to stop this from happening in the future?
This seems bonkers to me, unless Tulane plans to be rolling in applicants the next 3-5 years. The demographic cliff is real – there were not as many kids born 2008-2013 or so. Colleges like Tulane used to get about 25% of an incoming class internationally, but the current uncertainty about student visas have affected this. Tulane is shooting itself in the foot here, by letting it be known that it is punishing an entire elite school.
Or it is taking a stand and making sure this doesn’t keep happening.
It strikes me that this kind of censure is the only way these schools will be able to enforce ED agreements. I’m sure they’ve thought about suing students and parents who back out of ED, but I doubt that would work.
For the record, I’m not wild about binding ED but it’s fairly far down on my list of Bad Things About College Admissions. My kid is going through the process, and I’m having a lot of trouble believing that the overly complex, “holistic” review of students really produces a better result than schools that have a more straightforward admissions process.
I agree there is a lot wrong with college admission, but binding early decision is pretty high up my list. It’s just one more way to give upper middle class students a leg up in admission, since anyone worried about financial aid can’t do it. I don’t think rich people need anymore advantages in college admission.
It’s my top 10, for sure. Related: how do you feel about legacy admissions?
*in
I feel like there are two kids of legacy admissions:
— one is the one several generations deep, that maybe has given buildings or six-figure gifts
— one is recent, where a first-generation kid went to a very good school (Michele Obama went to Princeton, Bill Clinton went to Georgetown).
IDK if you treat them both the same or not, especially when funds are scarce. But I get the recent grads being resentful that they had to fight their way in and their kids won’t be able to take advantage of what true generational wealth already has.
That said, nothing is fair in college admissions. I’d look at axing water polo and ski team and field hockey and lacrosse and equestrian and crew athletic admissions as really perpetuating #1 and axing that as a redundant double-count of something already unfair.
I’m fine with legacy admits; I enjoyed hearing the stories about mom and grandpa attending the same school that I was attending. I felt like it helped me appreciate what it’s like to have had that tradition going back generations.
What on earth do you have against lacrosse?
I think that it’s a bipolar distribution — only the very well-off and the very poor can do it (since you can always pull out for finances, but these are also meets-needs schools). So it’s really the boarding-school crowd plus really wealthy suburbs doing it for the full-pay good-credentialled crowd and select needy very very high credentialled kids. The good (but not stellar) kids who might need some aid are not an institutional priority.
this ED thing is extortion an tulane, in particular, is gaming the system but basically filling the whole class with ED which means their yield is 100%. that said, the whole point of ED is that you are saying you are going and private high schools take it very seriously. they don’t want something like this to happen. Re the girl who “had” to go to penn… what exactly did she have in mind? why would she have done that?
The most interesting tidbit in that article was the mention of the antitrust lawsuit filed against a whole list of elite schools. As the parent of a current college student who could not afford to apply early decision, I am here for it.