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Updated: Apr 14, 2021 99 Comments · by

Coffee Break: Ruby Loafer Pump

Coffee Break |

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In my office, I keep a file cabinet full of high heels — mostly the ones that are only good for walking around the office. As we emerge from the After Times, perhaps I need some heels I can take outside the office.

Square toes and loafers are both trending for spring, and Tory Burch’s Roby Loafer Pump combines the trends while keeping things classic enough for work. The 2.5″ stacked block heel simultaneously provides lift and stability. The distinctive chain-link detail across the vamp and on the heel separates it from the pack.

I cannot wait to wear these to get a cup of coffee I did not make.

The shoe is available at Nordstrom for $378. It comes in Dulce de Leche/Coconut (a warm cream), Perfect Black, and Sierra Almond (pictured), sizes 5–11.

A similar shoe at a lower price is from Amalfi by Rangoni; it's on sale for $162 (marked down from $270) at Nordstrom.

Sales of note for 9.30.24

Sales of note for 9.30.24

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

Some of our latest threadjacks include:

About Ann

Ann is a working mom, a longtime reader of Corporette and CorporetteMoms, and has been writing our morning fashion advice on CorporetteMoms since November 2020! She is a public interest lawyer in Washington, D.C.

Comments

  1. Anon

    These are cute, but I know myself. I do not have the patience to clean the crud and pet hair out of the bitty links around the heel.

  2. Anon

    What kind of flower arrangement would you send for the loss of a pet? The same that you would send for loss of a person? Just wondering if there’s anything more creative or caring that I’m not thinking of. I’m also buying a memorial brick at the local animal shelter and sending them the certificate (shelter hasn’t been built yet) in a week or so.

    • Anon

      Something smaller and more subdued – no one is expecting a $200 flower wreath for a dog. Maybe in yellow to signify the friendship from the dog. Honestly any gesture is appreciated, most people don’t acknowledge the loss of a pet of a friend.

    • cat socks

      I think any kind of flowers with a heartfelt card would be lovely. If there are any pets still in the household, make sure they are pet friendly. For example, lilies are toxic to cats. The ASPCA website has a list of toxic/non-toxic plants for dogs and cats.

    • brokentoe

      I always make a donation to the local pet shelter in the deceased pet’s name.

    • Anon

      I always do this for a close friend (she fosters medically fragile cats, so loses more pets than the average person). I give a small bouquet that matches the fur colors of the pet (or as close as possible, like black magic roses for a black cat).

    • Horse Crazy

      My sweet coworker sent a pretty potted succulent with a card when my cat died. It was really nice.

    • EB

      One of the corporate online flower places does a flower arrangement shaped like a dog. I actually try hard to support local florists when I can, but if you were so inclined to send something like that, it’s a thing.

    • Anon 2.0

      I would do a small flower and a donation to a local rescue/shelter on their behalf.

  3. Lyssa

    Oh, dear, I have a pair of shoes that look very similar to this, that I bought ages ago and just loved for a long time, but eventually decided that they just looked too stodgy and dated and stopped wearing them. But every time I clean out my closet, I remember how much I used to like them and never have managed to get rid of them. They’re still in a corner, in need of a good dusting. And now I’ve officially kept them long enough that they came back into style, haven’t I?

  4. Cat

    These look so much like my dressy shoes from 1999-2000 or so. Give me a miniskirt and a chunky turtleneck to complete the look.

  5. anon

    Man, this is … ugly. Like an expensive version of Casual Corner circa 2002.

    • Anonymous

      Agreed, but I am super curious how long it will take before my eye accepts these as stylish again. It often happens that way for me.

      • Anon

        Related, I am having a low-key crisis seeing Zendaya with a mullet. Did we not learn this achy breaky lesson already?

    • Anon

      Carol Brady FOR SURE wore these.

      I honestly think they are so ugly. Maybe that’s because I was never the right age when this style was actually “in.”

  7. Anom

    Does anyone have experience with an elementary school aged child who couldn’t pronounce R? My 5 1/2 yr old kindergartener can’t say R. Her school says not an issue but I wonder if that’s just because they (DoE) don’t want to pay for speech therapy. Curious about how others have treated the issue or if your child grew out of it.

    • Anonymous

      Never, ever rely on the school for anything. The school’s goal is avoid inconvenience and expense to itself, not to help your child. If you are a zealous advocate for your child, you might be able to convince the school to do the bare minimum required by statute. That’s it. If you have concerns, I’d start with your pediatrician.

      • Anon

        Yes, if a child’s articulation isn’t interfering with their educational progress, the school isn’t responsible for speech therapy. There are lots of ways to spin that (if they can’t pronounce words correctly, maybe that’s interfering with their reading ability)

      • Z

        Yes, if a child’s articulation isn’t interfering with their educational progress, the school isn’t responsible for speech therapy. There are lots of ways to spin that (if they can’t pronounce words correctly, maybe that’s interfering with their reading ability)

      • Anon

        Yes — the school will do the minimum and that is not always what is best. I’d talk to your pediatrician and maybe get some referrals for testing. The thing to identify is if speech would improve things for your kid and if there is any speech or other deficit that may get worse over time. Like what does your kid need to make the highest use of his/her potential. My school expects non-poor parents to just do things outside of school, which is impossible if you work FT, so they have no interest in making an OK kid better (or anything else if it won’t get them on the 11:00 news).

    • anon for this

      Following – my kid will go to K in September and can’t say R. And as much as I love hearing her talk about wabbits, I don’t want her to get teased. I think we are going to pay for a few private sessions this summer to work on articulation and see if that helps — she’s good on all her other letters.

    • Monday

      My SO’s 8-year-old daughter has been improving her R pronunciation steadily over the year+ I’ve known her. It varies based on how hard she’s trying these days. If she really cares to get it right, she does. I assume it will come without effort soon.

      Erik Singer, fun and handsome dialect coach on YouTube, talks about how difficult and unnatural the American R sound is, and says it’s very common for kids to take a long time to master it.

      • Monday

        To clarify, this is only when R is contained within the word, such as “hard.” When an R begins the word she has no problem now–but maybe she did before I knew her.

    • Anon

      Keep an eye on it as adult teeth come in. I was sent for years of speech therapy that did no good. I finally got braces as an adult, and my orthodontist outright said the speech therapist “must have been an idiot” because my oversized front teeth and overbite made it impossible to form certain letters without smashing my teeth together.

    • AnonMom

      My (much) younger sister didn’t start to enunciate her Rs or Ls until somewhere in elementary school. I think being around other kids and hearing them talk did more to help with that than anything we tried before then.

    • Anon

      I was the child in this situation. I had W-R substitution, which was particularly unfortunate because I have an R in my first name. I would probably never have grown out of it. My parents actually moved me to a different school so I could start speech therapy in third grade, but it took several more years to correct it and I was teased mercilessly.

    • InHouse Anon

      Our now 7-yr old has been in speech therapy on and off since she was about 2, most recently for about a year because she couldn’t pronounce the R sound (she was in first grade). Interestingly, the therapist told us the standards (whatever they are; I can’t remember) are being or have been rewritten such that acquiring the R sound by age 7-8 is now normal, rather than earlier. All that to say — I think this is normal based on what this therapist told us, but also children can benefit from therapy for this issue (ours did). And sadly now we can no longer joke that she “just has a Boston accent.” :)

    • Anonymous

      We had services through our district that halted due to the pandemic so we’ve ended up paying out of pocket for speech via zoom this year. It has made a huge difference for my kid – he started receiving services at school at age 5, and now he’s 7 and his speech pathologist said he doesn’t need further services. It cost $125 per week for a one hour session. I am mad that the district just dropped this, but he didn’t have an IEP.

    • Terry

      I was told that our school based speech therapy would not address the R mispronouncing unless child still made mistake at age 8, as it was not developmently an issue until then. Of course, they have a big uptick in speech therapy for third graders!

      If you are concerned, you can request an evaluation from the school, in writing.

  8. Anonymous

    My Peloton is in my office and visible from my webcam. Does anyone see this as a problem if I’m doing video interviews for an in-house position? If I try to blur the background it does weird stuff to my face/hair and I’d much rather do interviews from my office than dining room, but also don’t know if the Peloton sends a bad message in an interview.

    • Senior Attorney

      I literally can’t imagine that it would, but I am sure there is some awful person out there that would have a problem with it.

      To me, it says “I’m staying fit in the Pandemic.”

    • pugsnbourbon

      There’s been a rowing machine (stood on end for storage) in the background of every wfh video meeting I’ve attended. Sometimes people ask about it but no one cares. I think you’re fine with the Peloton. Good luck on the interview!

    • EB

      I would move it if you can (are they heavy? I don’t have one). I don’t think anything of my coworker’s peletons in the background during normal work, but if they didn’t move it for a court hearing, I would cringe. I think of this like wearing a suit to an interview even though you don’t wear suits everyday. You are showing up as your most professional.

        • OP

          OP – haha, that’s exactly what I was thinking! Normal works calls it’s fine, but if I’m wearing a suit and trying to look really put together, I wasn’t sure if it was detracting from my professionalism (and it’s too hard to move it). Curious to see what more people think…

    • anon2

      Nope. I am currently in-house and did a phone/video screen for a new job with my dog on my lap to keep him from barking the entire time (which is far less professional than a Peleton in the background). The potential employer loved it!

    • Anon

      It may actually be a good talking/connection point. Just leave it. Also, let the cat do its thing for the same reason.

    • Anonymous

      I’d caution against this. My friends and I ruthlessly make fun of peloton (and the associated cult).

    • Anonymous

      It wouldn’t matter to me. On the other hand, one of my fellow panelists dinged one of our candidates because she didn’t like her camera angle and the fact that you could see the ceiling in the background. So to play it safe, I’d move the Peloton.

    • Anon

      In the first 6m of WFH, I used camera without blurring, but noticed people were distracted by the background/apartment/things. I would get comments on “what is this Teams background called”, “how beautiful”, “so many plants”, “you have a bike”, “i have that book too”, “oh, you miss Poland based on the poster”…. I started blurring background to keep people focused. Would I mind seeing your cat or bike during interview? No! It would help me even get a better sense of who you are and would you fit in. But I would also love your hot-pink or bright-yellow jacket as I am not a lawyer. If your industry is conservative, I guess the bike has small wheels and you can move it out of the frame/room for the duration of the interview.

    • Anon

      I would not have a bike in the background during an interview. I’d err on the side of caution.

  9. Horse Crazy

    Did anyone who got their second Pfizer vaccine feel side effects immediately? I have my second tonight and it’s an hour drive home for me. It just occurred to me that I might not feel great driving home…

    • Anonymous

      No. Took me about 12 hours, and most people I’ve talked to had at least a couple hours delay. I think you’ll be fine.

    • Z

      Unless you have some kind of rare reaction from the shot, you probably won’t start feeling anything in that first hour other than a potentially sore arm. Most of the people I know (I get my 2nd in 2 weeks) said it really hits at 10-12 hours post-vaccine.

    • anon

      You’ll likely be okay. Most people’s symptoms don’t kick in for at least a few hours.

    • Senior Attorney

      I’ll be the contrarian in that I got a pounding headache almost the minute the shot was in. It didn’t in any way keep me from driving home, though (I also had a longish drive). You might want to put some Tylenol in your bag just in case.

    • Carrots

      I just got my 2nd Pfizer yesterday and I definitely felt the sore arm and some fatigue onset within the hour or so. They did tell me that onset for the 2nd can be a lot quicker than the first.

    • Anon

      I got my second today. Felt fine until about two hours after. And now i feel like i accidentally took a sleeping pill in the middle of the day

    • Anon

      I started feeling a little tired that night, like maybe 5 hours post shot, and then hours 12-36 were… not fun… but hey, better than covid!

    • brokentoe

      I had my second on Tuesday. I had absolutely no reaction to my first, but did develop a mild headache within a half hour of the vaccine. Wasn’t bad enough to take a Tylenol, but Senior Attorney is right – pack some just in case.

    • Horse Crazy

      Thanks, all. It looks like I don’t really have the option for my SO to come anymore, so I think I’ll bring some Tylenol and hope for the best!

      Hooray for everyone getting vaccinated!!

    • Anon

      One of the firefighters at our clinic said to get extra hydrated after and not to work out. It supposedly helps with the symptoms. Kind of makes sense because I get headaches and achy when I’m dehydrated.

    • LaurenB

      If you’re going to have a reaction, you’re either going to have the immediate reaction (which is why you have to wait 15 minutes before leaving), or it’s going to take 8+ hours for it to take effect. You are not going to be ‘stricken’ and unable to drive home. And, for the people who have had side effects, I am aware of no one who wouldn’t have been able to have gotten themselves home — they felt chilled, but wouldn’t have been unable to drive or anything if need be.

      • Silly Valley

        After my first I felt like crap within twenty minutes, and had another hour or so to make it through before I got home. But hopefully most folks these days aren’t having to go so far for their shots ( it was an employee only event).

  10. AnonATL

    It may be a little late in the day, but has anyone had success with those thermacell or dynatrap lanterns for mosquito prevention? I don’t want to spray the whole yard but they get bad here in the summer and my baby loves being outside on the porch

    • pugsnbourbon

      Yes, the thermacell stuff works. Caveat that the little machines + refills are expensive and not particularly sturdy (both broke after a summer of use). Even with those issues, it’s worth it to not be eaten alive in my backyard.

    • Sunflower

      I’m a human mosquito magnet. Mosquitos will be eating me alive while my husband sitting next to me isn’t even touched. Thermacell MR 300 Portable Mosquito Repellers are the ONLY things that have ever worked for me and, believe me, I’ve tried everything. I can actually sit on our patio and have a drink at twilight during the summer now, which used to be impossible.

    • Anon

      Thermacell work. And we have great luck with Spartan Mosquito Eradicators. They’re little plastic tubes you hang in trees in your yard and they draw mosquitoes in. The come with a powder in them that you add warm water to and shake up, and it apparently smells like humans (or whatever it is that they’re attracted to), and they go drink it and then they explode, and ya can’t bite or reproduce if you’re not alive.

  11. ATL

    Following up on the earlier post from today: what shoes do you wear on dates in spring/summer 2021? I feel like all of my spring and summer shoes are dated or just not right for current looks. Chunky wedges seem dated, flat sandals are not my thing, heeled sandals seem to dressy, sneakers are too casual…I have “work flats” but those aren’t quite right either.

    Is this why the flatform was created? Help!

    • Anon

      I just got Toms Majorca heeled sandals. They are very comfortable, and look very cute on my giant feet. They are going to be my “going out” shoes this spring/summer, if and when I actually go out.

    • Anonymous

      I had never heard of “flatform” before now, but looked it up and can confirm that this is my current favorite shoe type for casual wear right now. I spent last summer in flatform sandals and slides and just spent some time this afternoon looking for some similar shoes for this year. (Also in ATL) I am also a fashion sneaker person. I bought wedge sandals last year and felt then like they were not quite right and I’m even less excited about them this year.

  12. Anonymous

    Has anyone who reads here had COVID-19? I know it varies, but what was your experience with it?

    Last month my boss took time off. She said her and her husband were going to have a small staycation, just the two of them. They actually traveled to Mexico instead and didn’t tell anyone or quarantine when they got back. There have been several cases at work. I have q test booked tomorrow but I have symptoms so I’m pretty sure I have it. I don’t feel terrible yet. My co-worker is in the hospital. I’m so angry because I have been as precautions as possible and taken steps to be safe when I’ve had to come into work. I’m really hoping I get over this quickly. My vaccination appointment is scheduled for next week but now that is pushed back.

    • ZYL

      Anecdotal, but every time I’ve *thought* that I’ve had covid, I have not in fact had covid. This includes when my own boss got diagnosed with covid and we had been socializing maskless for weeks prior to her diagnosis. I’ve gotten tested a bunch and even when I’m absolutely sure I’m going to test positive, they have all been negative. Same thing with the antibody tests.

      Just because covid exists, doesn’t mean that things like sinus infections, colds, strep, etc have disappeared…you may have a bad cold! Or allergies!

      • Anon

        Several coworkers have tested positive and one is in the hospital – please don’t downplay what OP is going through with an unlikely “it happened to me so it must to you” situation.

    • No Face

      WOW, I am so pissed at your boss. Just before your vax appointment! I hope you recover soon, and find a wonderful job somewhere else. I hope your co-worker recovers too.

      I never had covid personally, but I’m in a red state so I know many, many (so many) who have had it. Symptoms and severity are wide-ranging, but most people recover just fine.

    • Anon

      Yes. I had a fever and bad headache for two days and didn’t work (I am WFH due to Covid). Felt a bit better after that, but was very fatigued and my chest hurt a bit. The fever came back at one point for one afternoon and then broke again. I tried hard not to take tylenol or advil for the fever, since I figured as long as it’s at a reasonable level (101 or so) it’s just killing the virus. I felt bad for about two weeks total, with a couple of breaks where I felt well enough to take a short, slow walk in in the sun. For about a month after that I found I was fine with normal day to day activities, but anything strenuous like walking uphill would remind me fast that my lungs were still healing. I would say I was totally better 8 weeks after the onset of symptoms.

    • Cat

      The frequency of outrageous stories about bad Covid behavior lately has me wondering if we have a new form of tr-ll but I’ll report my anecdata…

      Never had it personally but have known 6 people who did. One – nothing but a runny nose for a few days. One – bad sinus headache on and off for a few days. One (75yo) was fatigued for 2 weeks and temporarily lost taste and smell. One had muscle and joint aches for about a week. One had a 100 degree fever for all of like, 5 hours. One had a lower backache for 2 days. None of them had a cough! None had to go for medical treatment, thankfully, just managed symptoms with OTC meds as needed.

      Feel better!

      • Anonymous

        Ymmv but I personally know people who have travelled to: Mexico, Banff, & Tremblant. Those are just the people brave enough to admit their sh*tty behaviour. I’m sure there are many more who are lying, just like OPs boss did.

        • Anon

          I have a friend who wanted us to come over for an outdoor gathering. He and his wife have reportedly been “locked down” as we have been (and really have been) so it should have been fairly safe. But then I FB friended his wife while we were trying to find a good day to get together, and saw that they had been to Puerto Vallarta, skiing in CO and to the wife’s home state, and apparently all over the place locally, many mask-less pictures with groups of friends, etc.

          • anonshmanon

            This has been one of the big lessons for me over the last months, that every time a sentence starts with ‘We’ve been staying safe and sticking to the rules’, the specifics of what each of us feels is safe are very broad ranging. Same for the experience of living through this pandemic. Based on personal choices but also government restrictions and hot spots, we’ve all had a hard year, but each in our own way.

      • Anonymous

        I don’t think so. We’re just getting a very small snippet of what a huge proportion of this country is like.

    • kitten

      I’ve posted about it already, but I had an extremely mild case. Smell and taste was gone for 2-3 days and I slept more than usual. If it weren’t for me potentially being contagious I would have been out going for runs the whole time, to give you an idea of how mild. I know a couple dozen others who had mild cases as well.

      It’s really annoying that you got it so close to your vaccine appt, I’m sorry. I don’t know how many days into it you are but at some point it’s extremely unlikely your case would suddenly turn from mild to severe (I think I read 10 days but I’m sure there’s much more info now). Make sure you’re getting lots of vitamin C and D.

  13. Anon 2.0

    Ah, the updated Pilgrim Pump. Perfect for just peeking out underneath your long, modest skirt as you prance around killing a chicken for dinner and scrubbing ye old unmentionables on the washboard.

    Hard pass on these.

  14. Anon

    Does anyone know that early Friends episode where Marcel the monkey poos in Monica’s shoe while Rachel’s babysitting? Monica asks which shoes, and Rachel answers, “Those awful pilgrim ones you think go with everything.” YUP, these.

  15. Gandrealla

    Oh my. Absolutely not. This is bringing back cringeworthy memories of my teacher in third grade. In the seventies. Please no. Remove that shoe please.

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