Splurge Monday’s Workwear Report: Single-Pleat Trouser
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Our daily workwear reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices.
I'm going to need everyone to ignore the terrible hemming on these trousers just for a moment while we really focus on the gorgeous color. Argent is known for making fabulous suits in surprising colors (do we all remember the hot pink suit in 2020?), so I'm not surprised that they're cranking out beautiful pants in a variety of colors.
I've been on a colorful streak lately, so I'd pair these with a light blue oxford shirt or a bright yellow short-sleeved sweater to really keep that up, but they would also pair nicely with neutrals like navy, black, and camel.
The pants are $350 at Argent and come in sizes 0-14. They also come in taupe, soft pink, and maya blue.
Sales of note for 6/26:
- Amazon Prime Day is still continuing! You can check out our roundup here… Also don't forget that sister site Shopbop is offering 25% off a lot of great brands if you link your Prime account, including brands like A.L.C., Aeyde, Alex Mill, Alice & Olivia, Anine Bing, Barefoot Dreams, Beyond Yoga, Birkenstock, Black Halo, Clare V., Cult Gaia, Farm Rio, Ferragamo, Frank & Eileen, Jenni Kayne, La Ligne, Marine Layer, Nili Lotan, Printfresh (!), rag & bone, RAILS, STAUD, Stuart Weitzman, Theory, TWP, Veronica Beard, Vince, White & Warren, Xirena, and Z-Supply
- Nordstrom – Designer clearance, up to 60% off!
- Alexis Bittar – End of season sale, up to 50% off
- Another Tomorrow – Seasonal sale, 50% off select styles
- Ann Taylor – Semi-annual sale! 300+ new markdowns, extra 50% off al sale styles Readers love this blouse and I always love the variety of colors/textures for this jacket (it's a great separate)
- Athleta – Semi-annual sale, up to 60% off reader favorites like Brookyn and Endless pants, and the Pranayama wrap is marked down to $55
- AYR – Ooh, good sale section — but lots on final sale. Readers love (LOVE) these comfy work pants and these jeans.
- Banana Republic – Up to 60% off sale styles
- Boden – Summer sale, up to 50% off – readers love these dresses, these blazers, and the brand's fun suiting
- COS – New pieces added to sale, up to 50% off
- DeMellier – Summer sale: Final Reductions
- The Fold – Up to 50% off, further markdowns
- Hobbs – Up to 50% off, extra 20% off sale
- J.Crew – Summer sale – extra 50% off all sale styles
- J.Crew Factory – 50% off all stores and sitewide, plus 60% off clearance
- Jenni Kayne – Semi-annual warehouse sale
- Lo & Sons – Summer sale, up to 50% off
- Lululemon – Summer sale!
- Margaux – Save up to 50% off, including archive sale
- M.M.LaFleur – Fourth of July sale! 70% off occasion styles (Try code CORPORETTE15 for 15% off on other items)
- Nordstrom Rack – Clearance, new arrivals up to 75% off! Nice selection of Vince, Veronica Beard, Reiss and Rag & Bone, a ton of affordable work dresses from Calvin Klein, Maggy London, Eliza J, and Donna Morgan
- Ruti – Semi-annual sale, up to 70% off!
- Sarah Flint – 30% off select styles (we just ranked these shoes as some of our top 10 most comfortable heel brands)
- Splendid – Up to 60% off women's sale!
- Strathberry – Up to 20% off select styles
- Stuart Weitzman – Summer styles now up to 40% off
- Talbots – 40% off your purchase and 6/26 only: 50% off all T by Talbots
- Veronica Beard – Extra 25% off sale
I’m a middle manager at a medium sized company. I recently joined a project where I am the only more senior woman, and I am strongly getting the feeling that one of our investors is not taking me seriously, directing questions that should go to me to other people etc. What are your best tips for handling this? Just act normally? Anything in particular to do?
I’ve had situations like this but a while ago when I worked in finance, and have been lucky that it hasn’t been an issue recently. I also feel a little odd because I joined this project part way through – if it had been a project I started I wouldn’t hesitate at all.
your note at the end about joining midstream — is it that Investor has worked with the other people before and so until you’re a known quantity, Investor is going to their contacts? Easier to tell your team “hey, for questions like XYZ, please (copy me in and tag me to respond) (forward to me to handle rather than replying directly)”, than to change Investor’s behavior directly… but Investor gets to know you and your role regardless.
Agree. Unless there are more overt snubs, it seems very plausible that the investor is operating out of habit. I think having your team redirect or copy you in is the cleanest route to take if the investor just hasn’t fully processed that you are now the point of contact.
Communication over email/Slack has been okay actually, this is more about during Zoom meetings. I’ll remind my team though, can’t hurt.
This is a very generous interpretation.
yeah I mean, it could be that Investor is a j-ass. but it’s not like some big confrontation is likely to end well for the OP…
Do you have an ally on the team, someone you trust? It might be helpful to have someone else actively redirecting questions for a while.
My sister’s getting married in a month and I’m a bridesmaid so I’m going to be in a zillion photos. I realized I’m months overdue for a Botox touch up and I’d like to get that done before the wedding. But because it’s (slightly less than) a month away, I’m afraid it’s too close in time. What would you do? (For what it’s worth, I’ve never had a negative reaction to it before, except for some slight unevenness once because I didn’t listen to my injector’s advice about doing more units in one side where my muscle is stronger; she was right.)
I would go get it done. I usually look normal when I leave, but I certainly look normal the day after. One month away wouldn’t concern me at all, especially if you’ve done it before and been fine.
I would schedule an appt this week.
It only needs about two weeks to work, and I see results usually in the first few days. I think your timing is right when I’d do it, not too late.
I would get it done BUT ONLY for forehead (if you usually do that) and/or just the 11s. I’d avoid anything around the mouth because you don’t want a weird smile in pictures or for something to go weird with drinking or eating where you might dribble. You can always add later, but you will be looking at pictures forever and don’t want a weird smile.
Surprised by how much I like this pick styled with the chartreuse top.
These pants are beautiful.
I love Argent. I have several of their suits.
What hem would be recommended for these pants? The shoes seem more problematic as pointed toe/elongated would generally be better with the wide leg. But I struggle with hems
Skimming just above the ground, maybe up to 1/2″ from the floor. Not puddled like this, but neither floating up at the ankle like some of the other colors show.
I find pants like these normally require a shoe with a bit of heft. For shoes, I have a pair of Chloe block heel 70s inspired platform sandals from a few seasons back that are work horses for pants like this is in the summer. For the hem, about half an inch about the ground.
I just did a big chop and my hair is above my shoulders (but below my chin) for the first time in years. I need some styling and product suggestions!
Hair is fine but thick and mildly wavy. Happy to use heat tools to straighten or let it air dry with product to encourage waves.
I’m still having luck with the Marc Anthony Strictly Curls line if you want to try bringing out the wave a bit more now that it’s not weighed down.
I have similar hair (wavy, fine but a lot of it) and like RoZ Hair Milk for an air dry leave in. Also like the oil but if I picked one, it would be the milk serum.
I like Not Your Mother’s curl cream. It’s light and not greasy, kind of disappears into my hair while also coinciding with all my best hair days.
I have similar textured hair and like the Bumble & Bumble air dry cream
If you needed washable pants a teen girl in women’s sizes could wear to a summer office job in air conditioning 5 days a week, where you’ve already done some mail order roulette, next option for in-person wold be places like JCF and BRF? It seems like they think colored khakis or ankle-length wider leg pants will be OK. I have a bias against linen and gauze for not looking crisp or being versatile.
Yep, or old navy usually has some office-ey options to try on in person
Sometimes I wish we still had the Limited for foolproof office pants.
Did she already try and reject the Pixie offerings at Old Navy?
Isn’t the express editor pant still around?
It is; I feel like it’s more hit or miss on fabric and longevity, but it’s worth seeing what they have right now.
J Crew Factory Lizzie pants are a great option here
Gap’s 365 trouser is my go-to work pant. They’re a wide leg high waisted trouser and wear like iron. I throw mine in the washer and dryer and haven’t had any issues.
Old Navy also has a lot of trouser-type pants so that would be a good option too.
Thrift store, for something cheap and good enough. This is a summer gig and we’re already a month into summer.
I love my JCF work pants.
My option for in-person would be a shopping trip to a mall or row of big-box stores, or your local factory-store outdoor mall, and just going in and out of stores, looking only at the racks of pants and taking an armload to the dressing room. If you’re not looking to spend a lot of money, start with Kohl’s and JC Penny. Even Target. Gap factory and Banana Republic factory may have some. Along with Loft and Old Navy.
I’d definitely start with JCF and BRF, I’d also check out Talbots especially with a July 4th sale going on.
Honestly? Teenage me had the most success hitting the racks at TJ Max, Nordstrom Rack, or Target for this type of thing. I really needed to try on all the shapes and cuts to figure out what worked for my body. Online shopping was much more smooth once I had an idea of what I needed, and also understood that I needed to shop for my actual measurements and not the size my vanity wanted me to be.
Kohls and JCPenney, honestly.
Old Navy, Nordstrom Rack, TJ Maxx, JCF or BRF. if there is a Clothes Mentor thrift store near you, that is also great for workwear.
My husband and I will be in NYC this Thursday, and we’re looking to book a last minute dinner. Suggestions for places you could actually get a reservation? Looking for sit down, niceish, good vibes. Preferably located in Midtown or lower Manhattan. No budget and we’re open to any cuisine.
My husband and I will be in NYC this Thursday and we’re looking for a last minute dinner spot. Suggestions for places you could actually get a reservation? Looking for sit down, niceish, good vibes. No budget and we’re open to any cuisine. Preferably in Midtown or Lower Manhattan.
I’m an old, so I get into all sorts of places by showing up early as a party of 2. It may just be bar seating, but it’s never nothing. If you call and talk to a human, they may have no real reservations but often will tell you that you can get a spot if you show up right at X:00. Party of 2 will also really help you.
Please indulge my little brag!
I have complained before about my awful junior staff member who was recently reassigned. I got a replacement a whopping 4 weeks ago, she’s perfect. I went on vacation and she processed 97% of requests that came in and there were no errors. I’m so happy I could cry. My work load is half now because I can actually delegate! The problem was never me.
WTF is happening to my hair. Hair is fine. The grays are coming in as either long hair that behaves or wisps near the crown that are heathens. And while my hair is generally straight, even if you air dry it and run a brush through, some pieces are maybe a bit waved (like the underneath parts behind my ear). And there is a cowlick off-center at the crown. I feel like I need to channel my small-town southern grandmother and go in for a roller set and half a can of hairspray every week to just have it looking uniform and civilized for an office job. How do you get all of the hairs to just behave? What product even exists? Do I see what trying to be curly does or will that make it worse?
I have hair like this. I used to do a blowout with a round brush every morning, but any humidity would return it to its usual texture. I finally gave up and got a pixie cut.
How long is your hair, and how are you currently styling it?
I am now on Team Peplum, even though I thought it wouldn’t work for a pear. I feel that it’s good when I have a tucked-out item that ends in a peplum as it seems to float over where I get larger and look a bit more intentional while giving me somewhat of a waist and shape (vs just being a boxy rectangle). It’s good when an item has fabric on it to float over my hips vs looking like a casing.
Are peplums coming back? As another pear, peplums have always been one of my favorite cuts. The older I get the less I care about being on trend, but I do like being able to find the features I like on things for sale again.
Yesterday’s OT reading was the binding of Isaac. Right after that, there was a call for children to follow the cross out of church for story time, noting that they would be returned prior to communion.
I just about had a cynical cackle.
Heh. I wonder how many other people noticed the irony.
My doctor is starting me on a low dose estrogen patch today. I’ve already tried an estradiol cream. Plus I’m on oral progesterone and a testosterone cream. Can anyone chime in with their experiences with estrogen patch – good, bad, ugly? I’m 52 and menopausal.
It’s FAFO season. Great aunt has fallen, gone to the ER, and then fell again. She lives with aunt, who is 60+, still works, does some cooking in the kitchen. Great aunt is now limited to one floor of house, with no bedroom or full bath (but a half bath); it’s her house. They seem to function as a unit. Is the better route likely that they both to to a 2BR independent living apartment (will have a full kitchen so aunt can cook; GA can get PT/OT and can have day sitters come in if needed while A works)? “Assisted living” seems to mean just a microwave and mini-fridge and might cost too much for A to pay for given her relative youth and higher level of functioning. The house’s condition makes in-home rehab with PT/OT unlikely and since nothing was medically wrong, the hospital just sent her home, so there isn’t going to be a post-hospital rehab stay while we figure this out.
FAFO seems oddly aggressive. She didn’t fall to spite you, did she?
No, no one ever does. But I can think of how many of us have talks with parents, etc. about shouldn’t they tidy up, shouldn’t they downsize, shouldn’t they move closer to family. No one wants to. Everyone plans to die in their sleep and have a binary end of life: alive and slower than than 100% powered off with no lingering. But that’s not how it works out. It’s really heartbreaking when the plan doesn’t work out because you often witness a lot of suffering that didn’t have to happen. And I don’t work in health care, so I wasn’t used to that the two times it happened in my immediate family.
Is there any workplace in the United States where senior management operates competently and in good faith? Or is every workplace rife with manipulation, information hoarding, micromanagement, and gaslighting?
I wouldn’t know. I make a point of interacting with my exact relevant circle and doing the best job for them and not engaging otherwise and trying to avoid. Ignorance is bliss.