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Updated: Oct 31, 2018 74 Comments · by

Coffee Break: Shirt Lock Belt

The Personal Shopper (TPS) |

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Shirt Lock BeltThis solution won't work for everyone, but a reader wrote in responding to our very old post on how to keep your blouses tucked in — and noting that these Shirt Locks work wonders. They seem to be mainly marketed to the uniform set (as in, school uniforms and coach uniforms), but I could also see them being a simple solution for women who don't like the other options such as bodysuits. This Shirt Lock was the product recommended by the reader ($18-$23ish at Amazon), but there are a number of different products for shirt stays. Shirt Lock Belt (L-3)

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:

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Kat Griffin is the founder, publisher, and editor-in-chief of Corporette. You can read more about her here.

Comments

  1. Anonymous

    At what size do you feel comfortable in a bikini?

    Do you ever think “that woman should not be wearing a bikini”, and at what size is too big?

    • Anonymous

      Personally, there is no size at which I feel comfortable in a bikini. I’m pale and I like lots of skin coverage.

      I do sometimes think “that woman should not be wearing that” but it’s not about size- if your nipple has fallen out, or I can see your butt crack, I think you have made a poor wardrobe call.

      I’m far more likely to see someone larger in a bikini and think she looks great and confident.

    • Anonymous

      If someone is not at the beach or pool, or other swimable body of water, then I might think “that person should not be wearing a bathing suit”, but other than that, it’s none of my damn business, regardless of what size they are.

      I personally feel comfortable wearing a 2-piece bathing suit that fits… the important bits are covered and nothing is digging in anywhere.

    • Bonnie

      I feel uncomfortable in a bikini until I get to the beach/pool and am reminded that most of us do not have model bodies. I don’t think there is a too big size but there are inappropriate bikinis and there are people who wear bikinis that come dangerously close to wardrobe malfunctions.

      • Rosemagilly

        Yup agree with this. It also makes me sad when ppl (esp my friends who I love) are clearly uncomfortable taking off their cover up at the pool / beach etc. No one is paying as much attention to you as you are to yourself! Enjoy your life!

          • Gail the Goldfish

            Yep. My discovery of the long sleeve rashguard/swim tee/whatever Land’s End is calling it this season for sunburn prevention has been life changing.

    • Clementine

      If it fits, wear it. I’m not the body police and although I’d rather you not be completely falling out of whatever piece of swimwear you have chosen, it’s more of a ‘choose the appropriate size, please’ issue than anything. It doesn’t matter if you’re a size 0 or 26 – choose what fits your body -even if the size tag says something different.

      Signed, the pregnant lady wearing a bikini all summer because it’s too hard to go pee 400 times in a one piece.

      • Anonymous

        I read it more as someone personally insecure looking for reassurance that her size is “acceptable.” Sad, but not trolling.

      • emeralds

        Okay, I’ll go a little deeper here. I (along with the 10 pounds I’ve gained in the last 9 months because of a change in medication) was recently at my BF’s parents’ house. They have a gorgeous pool and everyone was hanging out there, while I had to stay inside for a bit wrapping up some work stuff. My BF’s brother’s GF is a conventionally gorgeous woman–six pack, thigh gap, the works. This is the thought that went through my head when I got done with work: “I cannot put on a bikini and go out there with [other GF] because I will look like a whale* if I stand next to her.”

        Then I realized that would make me someone who let my insecurities with my body stand in the way of doing something I really wanted to do, namely, a cannonball off the diving board and spending time with people that I like. No thank you.

        *Factually inaccurate.

    • KT

      Are you a person? Can you get on the beach/go to the pool? Then you can wear a bikini, and screw anyone who says otherwise. Life is way too short to cling to wraps and sarongs–wear what you want to swim (it’s HOT!) and have fun.

    • Killer Kitten Heels

      I agree with others – if whatever bathing suit you’re wearing to the beach fits you, I’m not going to notice you (except maybe in an “I wonder where she got that great bikini” way). My attention is far more likely to be drawn to someone who is over-dressed or strangely-dressed for the beach/pool (like someone in long sleeves and jeans when it’s over 100), or someone who is wearing a suit that doesn’t fit them properly (because then I’m thinking “whoa, imminent wardrobe malfunction”).

    • ALN

      I’m a size 14, and I love bikinis! No one can make me feel bad about my round tummy or my cellulite. However, I have to be wearing one that fits. For me, I need an underwire, full coverage top and adjustable side-tie bottoms. That combination makes me feel confident enough to swim, lay out, play beach games, whatever.

      Or, alternatively, if you don’t feel comfortable in a bikini, go to a nude beach. Problem solved ;)

    • Anonymous

      Whatever size you are! Confidence is beautiful at any size. And regarding the comment about a thigh gap being a sign of a perfect body, I’ve been a size 2 and a size 10 and I always have a gap. Its genetics, not perfection.

    • Wildkitten

      1. Never 2. Never. Like most people I’m obsessively critical of my own body and completely oblivious to everyone else’s.

    • Anon

      I never feel good I a bikini as I live in an Asian country whose women are known for petite, slim figures and no one here has any cellulite ever!

    • Killer Kitten Heels

      Gas for my “new” (then 10-years-old) Suburban. Actually, most of my first-job paychecks went to gas – I think I got like 12 mpg on that baby.

    • Cat

      – babysitting as a tween – Bath & Body Works nail polish or body wash, for sure
      – drugstore as a teen – clothes that my mom wouldn’t buy me; food/movies/etc with friends; saving for college spending money; gas (although it was less than $1/gallon then, thankfully!)
      – first “real” paycheck as a lawyer – a very nice steak dinner with my husband, and loans.

    • cbackson

      My first ever jobs were odd jobs around the neighborhood when I was 7 or 8, so I don’t remember. But my first job that had a paycheck? I used the money to pay my long-distance bill to call my boyfriend who had moved away to another state with his parents.

    • layered bob

      pie at the all-night diner that my teenage friends and I liked to go to in the summers after work

  3. Anonymous

    I would love a tales from the wallet on annual home maintenance and renovation costs! Including budgeting, saving up for renos, when home improvement loans are worth it, what types of renos actually add value, etc.

    I’m buying a place soon, and trying to figure out a budget for annual costs, but I also want to do some renos, and I want to make sure the changes I make are ones that I’ll get back in house value.

    • Former home owner

      Someone here suggested that you should budget what you spend in house payments for annual maintenance. That seemed like good logic to me. So if your monthly home payment is $800, you should set that aside monthly for home maintenance.

      • Anonymous

        Wow, that seems like a lot! So, basically save the equivalent of my mortgage every single month for maintenance too? Like, if my mortgage was $1500, save an extra $1500/month?

        • HSAL

          I think they meant annually, but save it in monthly increments. So $125 a month into a dedicated maintenance fund.

          • Anonymous

            OH, this makes way more sense- it may be a bit low, but that seems much more reasonable

          • lsw

            I do this with what I call a “personal escrow” account – send $X into a savings account that is separate from my normal checking/savings, and I can’t touch it except for home stuff.

            My best advice is to prepare to spend WAY MORE in your first year than you think. Don’t go crazy buying the perfect $500 ceiling fan because you might get a $2,000 plumbing bill you weren’t expecting.

    • abcdefg

      My ‘homebuying for dummies’ book suggests 1% of the value of the house each year. Obviously, some years will be 0% and some will be 3%, but it will probably average out to ~1%.

      • Anonymous

        That seems like a lot of money. My house is a cheap house for my area but 1% of its value is equal to half my pay cheque. That’s four times my mortgage payment.

    • padi

      I had a list of projects to be done, approximate cost, and relative priority. Each year, I would pick one or two projects based on priority and my present pain points. For example, pipes in bad condition had #1 priority one year but new carpet had #1 priority another year even though I twchnically needed some other repairs.

      My reno budget varied from year to year depending on which projects I had decided to do and emergency repairs. One year was about $20k, another year was about $2500.

      I found it helpful to have a list of projects in a notebook and have a rough idea of when I would do each project. So projects, like fixing a leaky roof, replacing a water heater, and replacing a garage door was listed as “when needed” because I planned to let them go until failure then dip into savings. Big projects were budgeted for by only doing minimal projects the year before.

      I had a 3/2 1200 sq ft poorly-flipped house built in 1980. I ended up expecting to spend about $10k per year on reno and maintenance for the first 5 years but less thereafter.

    • KT

      It really depends on you, your tastes, and the age of your home. If you have an older home, savings the equivalent of a mortgage payment every month isn’t crazy–that would go a long way to replacing a roof, fixing or replacing broken pipes, etc. Those costs can run into the tens of thousands, and when they are needed, they’re needed fast.

      For a newer home in good shape, savings about 10-20% of your monthly mortgage payment each month is plenty. That will cover smaller things (like if your washer breaks) and help you bulk up savings for the more fun renos.

    • Anonymous

      Kitchens and bathrooms add most value in renos as long as it’s not too custom. Annual maintenance’s cost can vary. But generally, let’s say the home is worth $100,000 then put aside $1,000 for annual home maintenance. You may not spend it in one year but another year it can stack up like replacing an HVAC system.

  4. Bonnie

    Anyone do exercises in their office? I’m working on 200 squat and 100 pushup plans but would like to add something.

    • anon

      I often close my door at lunch and do pushups, situps, squats, lunges, planks, jumping jacks, high knees, mountain climbers, and burpees.

    • AIMS

      I’ve considered keeping some 5 lb. weights under my desk. I don’t really like to exercise, but I feel like it would make my dull conference calls more productive. My other solution (looking at shoes online) is proving too distracting.

    • lsw

      I have been recently thinking about setting an alarm to remind me to drop and do 5 pushups every hour or something…I figure if I’m wearing a dress or suit I can just close the door.

    • mcmc

      I go on two walk breaks for 10 minutes. It so nice to get moving and I find I am much more productive after.

  5. soaps

    I’m always wearing a suits, so I never even thought to try sit ups, squats, lunges or anything else that would require a lot of movement. Maybe I’ll give it try later.

    But I have a desk bike that I love. Helps me stay awake and does double duty as a foot rest! And my office has a pull up bar on the door frame in the kitchen, which none of us over utilize…

    • Parfait

      I kind of want to get one of those under-desk bikes. I keep procrastinating on measuring to see if I have enough knee room for one.

      • soaps

        I bump my knees at least twice a day, so I always have little bruises. Still worth it though, it usually only happens if I’m not paying attention.

    • anon

      I use hand weights and do a full body workout over the course of the day — one or two sets at at time, spread out over the whole day. Not as much of a conditioning workout as doing the whole thing in one go with minimal resting, but it is better than nothing. Started doing while pregnant because I was too tired to go to the gym after work, and have continued now so that going to the gym after work would mean not seeing the kid.

  6. Anonymous

    You know when you’re in an office with an open-door policy, and there are certain people who, when they walk by your office, crane their heads and look at you and just stare and stare? Ugh. I hate that so much. Why, people? Why?

    • another anon

      YES. A thousand times yes! What do you think you’re going to catch me doing in here, taking a nap? Mind your own beeswax.

    • ace

      I’m not the Anon, but I do like Orangetheory Fitness. I am a non-runner and appreciate being tricked into running. Also, the HR monitor makes it easy to tell when you are working hard (and not phoning it in).

    • Anonymous

      It’s an excellent interval workout, no two workouts are the same, it is really challenging. I like group fitness classes but don’t like female-only stuff (barre, etc.) and too manly stuff (crossfit, etc.), so orange is perfect for me.

    • Noodle

      I’m not the OP but I adore Orangetheory for so many reasons. I’ve been going since December. Im NOT a gym person. Nor was I a runner. I’m crazy in love – I go at least 3, usually 4 times a week at least. It’s always changing, which keeps me interested and working really hard. I’ve seen enormous progress in my speed, distance etc. also intervals are exceptionally more compelling than plodding along on the treadmill for a defined amount of time. I love that it incorporates weight training also. Super helpful instructors, everyone goes at their own pace and level. Also the HR monitor tells you just how hard you are working and let’s you quantify progress. I love it!!let me know if you have any other questions!!!

    • WestCoast Lawyer

      Ok, I’m curious now that I see they are popping up everywhere. But I can’t tell from the web site how expensive it is. Can anyone comment on how much the different levels cost (or is this like 24 hour fitness where the answer depends on what day you walk in the door)?

      • ORANGE THEORY

        No prices on the official website, but the unlimited “pass” was $159/mo. There were two other levels below that for 4 and 8 classes a month, but I don’t recall those prices.

      • anon

        Same prices as above ($59 for 4, $99 for 8, and $159 for unlimited) for the Chicago suburbs.

    • Anon

      I hate when companies do that, but Lands End does have the chat functionality and I have always found them to be supremely helpful.

  9. Noodle

    Personally, I pay 139 per month for unlimited classes. I go at least 16 times a month so it’s very affordable imo

  11. Laurs

    I’ve just got a new job – to just below C-level in a non-profit – a fairly hefty promotion with a much bigger team

    As a result my wardrobe needs a bit of an update – currently a shifts and cardigans or pencil skirts and t-shirts sort of office. Suggestions?

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