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Updated: Sep 29, 2022 91 Comments · by

Workwear Hall of Fame: Striped Ponte Blazer

The Personal Shopper (TPS)

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Our daily TPS reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices.

Striped Merona Ponte Blazer

Funny, funny: I always think I don't like stripes, but I apparently do like striped blazers — I keep coming back to the Old Navy one from last year, which is still available (right now only in XXL, but keep checking — I haven't been stalking it, but I feel like they've been refreshing the inventory on it frequently). Another entry in the category, though: reader favorite, the Merona Tailored Ponte Blazer from Target — now in not one but two striped versions. I've featured the black and gray, but there's a springier navy and white one as well. It's available in sizes XS-XXL for $29.95. Striped Merona Ponte Blazer

2017 Update: We're adding this blazer to our Workwear Hall of Fame! It keeps coming out in more colors and getting rave reviews. Target has them in regular, petite, and plus sizes, sometimes priced as low as $9.

Seen a great piece you’d like to recommend? Please e-mail tps@corporette.com.

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Comments

  1. Asideralis

    Ooh, I’ll have to keep an eye out for this. I love blazers, even for casual wear, and maybe I’ll buy myself a little something at my next “goal met” weigh-in. Mmm.

  2. Shopping Challenge

    All, I am looking for a medium gray blazer to wear with non-matching sheath dresses and occasionally skirts and blouses. It doesn’t have to be totally staid but it needs to be able to work on the more business end of business casual. I would also love something not totally memorable so I can wear it regularly.

    Bonus points if it came in tall sizes but that’s not necessary.

    Finally, it would be great if it could be $150 or less.

    Thanks!

      • Anon

        How’s their quality? Banana-esque, or more on par with Loft (or worse?) I need some closet fillers and I don’t think I’ve purchased anything there before (Limited Too circa 1993 is a different story……)

        • Anon

          Definitely depends on the item. I would say somewhere between Loft and Banana – the fit is usually better and more consistent than Loft (or Gap, for that matter), but I would say slightly lower quality than Banana.

          • marketingchic

            Comparable to Loft. You generally won’t see anything but synthetics at Limited.

          • Baconpancakes

            Synthetics, yes, but my Limited cropped straight-legs are still going strong 2 years in, with 1-2x weekly wear.

    • AIMS

      I like to look in places like SaksOff5th and Last Call for items like this. Not sure if this is too light, but this blazer looks cute (I’d just change the button maybe) and is less than $50: http://bit.ly/1FkjDWH

    • AIMS

      I posted a reply that seems to have disappeared (though it may reappear based on my experience on this s*te):
      in short, check out SaksOff5th and Last Call. Saks has a cute CK one and a slightly more interesting collarless Elie Tahari one, both would make cute separates, and they’d be just over $150 together (CK is $48, ET is $111)so you could even get both.

  3. Cb

    Small victories: Had my teaching observed this week and received very positive feedback. I was a bit nervous as he’s my exact opposite. He’s very formal, structured tutorials, clearly defined boundaries in the classroom, traditional discussion-based while I’m very informal, scribble all over the whiteboard, and use short activities and group work. It was super helpful to hear his thoughts, even if they were prefaced with “and I didn’t think that was EVER going to work….” and observe a completely different classroom dynamic than my own.

      • Cb

        Thanks! We’re just thrown into tutoring a bit so it’s always nice to have some validation that I’m doing something right.

        • NOLA

          Agreed! Nobody taught me how to teach in school so it’s rough going at first. I incorporate a lot more activity in my classes these days. Learn by doing works a whole lot better for many students. Or pair and share, etc. Good for you!

  4. Lyssa

    We’re taking a day trip to Nashville tomorrow to do some shopping and eat at a nice restaurant. Our main stop is Nordstrom’s, which I know is a normal store to a lot of you, but we don’t have one in my area, so I consider it kind of exciting. Anything in particular I should look for? I’m pregnant and don’t really need more maternity clothes, so a lot of things are out. Any other shopping or quick attractions we should check out while we’re in the area?

    (I realize that this is not the most exciting sounding trip ever, but I have a 2 year old, so our getting out is sort of limited.)

    • TO Lawyer

      I find Nordstrom’s exciting too because we don’t have one here. I like looking at the jewelry section – I find there’s a lot of reasonably priced options. I also like looking at bags but that’s because I’m an addict.

      • OttLobbyist

        Nordstrom’s is opening in my town today. It’s going to be a mad-house! People are pretty excited. What makes it good? Variety, quality?

        • AMB

          I am so excited about the opening but also plan on avoiding the mall for a few days… But the pictures I’ve seen of the inside make me very happy.

          • Me three

            I am excited too, but also no plans to go this weekend, I suspect it will be a madhouse.

        • Jennifer

          Customer service is the true stand-out for me. I also really like the Halogen line of clothing- it’s a lot of reasonably priced basics that have held up well for me over time.

    • Claire M

      No Nashville recs, but w/r/t Nordstrom: According to The Mom Edit, some stores now have a separate Zella section. I am obsessed with their leggings (and I’ve never been a legging person before). So, I would check out any Zella they have – that would be super comfy postpartum / during maternity leave too. Have fun!

    • not a paid spokesperson

      Nordstrom carries a few nice baby things that you would otherwise have to find in a fancy boutique or on line, but the selection is rather limited. For your 2-year-old, the store brand Peek has some fun, quirky tees with quotations from notable artists, authors, and historical figures. The shoe departments (kids’ and women’s) are also good.

      I second the recommendation re. Zella activewear. The prices are relatively moderate given the high quality. I read somewhere that the head designer was poached from Lululemon.

    • S In Chicago

      Lot of beautiful Cashmere wraps on end of season sale. Sort of thing you will use for years and works now and after pregnancy.

    • Nashvillian

      Trader Joe’s is across the street from Nordies here, so I would check that out if I were you. And the Hill Center (a block behind Green Hills Mall) has some great stores – including a couple of adorable baby/kid stores (I love Snap). Between the Mall and the Hill Center is the Plaid Rabbit. Super adorable, traditional baby clothes.

    • la vie en bleu

      Shoes! they carry all my favorite comfort brands I love trying on shoes there. ;-) and I second the Halogen brand.

    • cbackson

      The Halogen (or Caslon – they’re the same, but different departments) camis are super-useful, good quality, and well-priced. They’re sort of an evergreen item, so useful even if you wouldn’t wear them now. Also, I love the accessories section – and check out the juniors’ accessory section, not just the main one. You can often find on-trend stuff for so cheap that you’re find with the fact that it’ll be dated in a year.

  5. Madison legal community?

    Does anyone have thoughts on how hard it is to break into the Madison legal job market from out of town? I have a long-term goal of moving there, but would want to have a job as a lawyer there. I did live in Madison for a few years after college, but did not go to UW for undergrad or law school.

    • lucy stone

      I practice in outstate WI and am not a UW grad but I married one. I think it’s doable, but not the easiest. I know a few attorneys who didn’t grow up there or attend school there, but they’re rockstars in their specialty. Most attorneys there that I deal with went to UW and seem suspicious that there are non-UW law schools out there in the world. What’s your practice area and how long have you been out?

      • Madison legal community?

        I’m in general corporate now, just started in NYC biglaw. This is a long term plan, at least a year or two away, so I can still work to do things that will situate myself better to compete in that market.

    • MU JD

      It’s all about who you know in Madison. I’m a former Milwaukee lawyer, now working in county government, but I have friends who practice in Madison and they recommend you network from afar if possible. Find alumni that may be here, talk to friends of friends, maybe someone you knew after college knows someone, etc. Good luck!

    • WI Anon

      Given that there are two law schools in a small state and Diploma Privilege, not many attorneys leave the state making it hard to find a job. Out-of-state attorneys are looked at rather suspiciously. Also, due to Governor Walker’s Act 10, governmental legal positions are in a flux and many government attorneys are searching for private sector employment.

    • IL Anon

      I see job postings from the IL Bar Assocation for WI positions quite often. I know this doesn’t directly answer your question, but it means firms are posting with other state bar associations.

  6. AIMS

    DC question: what is a good area to stay for a weekend of cherry blossom gazing/museum going? We’re going to either drive down or take the train in and would like to walk around as much as possible or use public transport so central location is key. The last time I was in DC I stayed near Georgetown, which I liked but wondering if there are better areas to be close to major sites and good restaurants. Specific hotel recs welcome! Looking spend around $200/night, which seems reasonable for a nice hotel based on my quick search of Kayak for weekend of April 11.

    • Anon

      Not sure if it will be in budget, but the mandarin oriental is close to the museums and cherry blossoms. It is not close to good restaurants, other than the one it has (which is excellent). I would stay in Penn Quarter to be close to food and within walking distance to museums. Another option is DuPont to be within a few metro stops from the museums and be within walking distance to all the good food at night. You can walk from DuPont to the museums and cherry blossoms, but it will be a 2 mile walk, so you may want to reserve your energy so you can enjoy the mall.

    • Monday

      Not sure about specific hotels, but I’d do Capitol Hill! It’s lovely walking around, and you can walk from there to the Mall and all the museums that are near the Mall (many Smithsonians). It’s very convenient to Union Station if you take the train in. Plenty of blooming trees too, fairly quiet and very clean. Enjoy! I feel nostalgic just typing this, as I used to live there…

    • Jennifer

      Logan circle and 14th Street area are full of new, great restaurants, and is central and walkable to everything but not necessarily close to any one thing (and will be packed weekend nights). Foggy Bottom (around GW) is very close to the tidal basin and the Lincoln memorial side of the Mall where the majority of the trees are. Capitol Hill is the opposite side of the mall, but has a great neighborhood that also has good food options.

      • NOLA

        I always stay at One Washington Circle in Foggy Bottom. The rooms are actually suites with a little kitchen, there’s a Trader Joe’s a few blocks away, Georgetown is walking distance, as is the Lincoln and other memorials. There is a Metro stop 1/2 block away. The only downside is that it’s across Washington Circle from the GW hospital so you do hear sirens at night on occasion. But it’s a great location.

    • Anon

      Penn Quarter. Look at the Hotel Monaco. There is also a Courtyard by Marriott at 9th & F Streets, as well as the old Hotel Harrington, Willard, JW Marriott, etc. The Mandarin Oriental is close to the cherry blossoms, but is in a sort of odd isolated location, with not much around it. Take the train in – traffic can be a bear around that time of year, and hotel parking is expensive.

        • Senior Attorney

          LOL I stayed at the Harrington a few years ago and it was… vintage. And not in an upscale way. And the rooms are quite small. But if you’re not going to be spending a lot of time in the room you can’t beat the price and location.

        • LilyS

          I stayed there on a high school trip in 2011 (if it’s the one I’m thinking of – right opposite the big bookshop?). Nothing special but fine for what you need. (We’d come from the West Side YMCA in NYC, so it was luxury in comparison!)

      • Wildkitten

        I love the Hotel Monaco bar in good weather – they turn their courtyard into Happy Hour. It can get busy but is fun for a drink or two.

        • Kelly Andthenblog

          Yes! I’m with you, Wildkitten! I came to rely on the bar (…and fireplace!) this winter, too! My only gripe about Poste? The labyrinthine walk to the bathroom.

          • Wildkitten

            Now that I know the route I feel like a secret agent – who else randomly goes up to random floors of random hotels without being a guest? Hotel Monaco Happy Hour folks and Soviet spies, right?

        • Bonnie

          Poste is such a great spot in the summer. It doesn’t hurt that it’s right by my office too.

    • roses

      Bear in mind that April 12 is the Cherry Blossom 10-miler, so it may be difficult to navigate the mall area until about noon. Otherwise I agree that Penn Quarter is the way to go. Tons of nice restaurants there – Oyamel, Proof, Partisan, Zaytinya – but if you want to go “trendier” at night go up to 14th St. between P and U.

      • AIMS

        Thanks, guys! These are all some great tips and ideas. I love Union Station (almost as much as I hate Penn in NY) so very tempted to do the train. I’m making a note of all the recommendations for hotels and eateries. A few miles walking isn’t an issue, we are big walkers, but all good things to know, especially about the 10-miler!

    • Bonnie

      Definitely take the train. Between the cherry blossoms and the 10 miler, the streets will be impossible. Of what is left on kayak in your price range, I’d pick the Washington Hilton. It’s a long walk or short metro ride to the mall but is close to Dupont Circle and the restaurant mecca that has become 14th Street. Have fun!

  7. Topshop shoutout

    On the subject of reasonably priced blazers, I accidentally wandered into Topshop last night and was super impressed at their blazers and suiting pieces! They had a bunch of open blazers in blush and nude colours in a nice fabric (poly but not a pilly mess) for under $100 and what looked like some nice skirts and pants for suit separates. Not somewhere I would normally shop, but definitely a good idea for a cheap spring wardrobe update, if you need it.

    • AIMS

      Seconded. I stumbled on their blazers at Nordstrom last year while doing a bra fitting with my mom and was very impressed. I only tried the blazer separates (one in mint green and one in a black and white print) but they seemed well made, esp. for the price, and were very flattering on.

    • Anon

      I’ll second a shout out to unassuming topshop as well. I impulse bought a sweater there (in England) in 2007 and it’s still going strong. Color has faded a bit but it still looks good and other than that it’s held up like a champ.

    • Burgher

      I have surprisingly found some really inexpensive but nice blazers at H&M that I wear to death. Definitely more on the casual side though.

  8. Kate

    I got that knitted Target blazer in two colors and they were completely different sizes, even though I ordered the same size. One is cute, short and fitted like on the model, and one is longer and more businesslike. FYI.

  9. Spouse -- going to PT work

    I’m a junior partner (not big city) and my spouse is in a miserable job that makes him a wreck to be around (I’m concerned he’s going to snap and lose it). Rather than just have him quit his job (he is not from a generation that does that plus has obligations to an soon-to-be-college-bound stepchild), we were thinking of him working just PT (possibly at a new job, but his company might be large enough to do that at like a 50% pay cut). I hope that would keep his foot in the door in the job market, get his head together, and hopefully contiue to have good health insurance (he covers that; mine is awful and freakishly expensive) and work to fund retirement; I could cover any gaps, but think we’d get some mental breathing room.

    Has anyone else done this?

    Both of our children will be in elementary school next year, so they wouldn’t miss a parent who is gone when they are and it would help if I could work at work until 6 every day (instead of scrurrying out and then working at home until midnight each night).

    • Anonymous

      Idk why he would stay in a crazy making job even part time? Is looking for a new job without quitting or going part time not an option?

      Sounds like the issue isn’t having a full time job it’s this full time job. And with one kid starting college and 2 in elementary school I’d be wary about scaling back on income without at least trying a different job first.

    • Maddie Ross

      Just a quick comment – if health insurance is an important aspect of his job, I would definitely look into how much he needs to be working to maintain it. Dropping to 50% may not be sufficient to maintain it. He may need to be at least at 70% to maintain benefits, depending on his employer and their policies.

      • Spouse -- going to PT work

        Thanks — the thinking is that he’d go from a stressful manager job to more of a drone, so hours would go to strictly 8-4 and not all-hours-all-weekends like he is now. But you are right — lots of places require 30+ hours to get benefits.

    • Anon

      My husband works on a part-time/contract basis and it is really helpful to have him home in the morning and afternoons with our school-age children. I carry our health insurance however and his income is really more of our fun money. It allows us to put the kids in programs we otherwise couldn’t afford and to take an additional vacation every year, things like that. We could live without it, but it definitely helps make our life easier/gives us more options. However, my husband was not having a hard time at work prior to going part-time. We had planned all along for him to go part-time once our children were born (he stayed home full time initially, then added hours slowly as they got older.) I would worry that if his job is making him miserable staying at the same job might not help. He should maybe find a different job altogether (especially since you say you are concerned he is going to snap.)

    • Meg Murry

      If he’s really concerned he’s going to snap and lose it, is taking FMLA or a period of unpaid leave an option, to give him a breather?

      Even if your insurance is “terrible” – how terrible is terrible? If it covers the doctors you use, even if it costs more, it would be worth looking into. I personally stayed at a job that was not a good fit for way too long because I carried the health insurance for my family (my husband doesn’t have it and going part time meant no insurance). It can be stressful feeling like you “have” to keep a job you hate for your family’s sake – so remember that at least you have a plan B of your insurance, even if it isn’t great. In our case, we wound up buying insurance from the ACA marketplace after I left that job (and the marketplace opened) and while it was expensive, it was good to have a plan B for insurance without my old job.

      • Wildkitten

        On the other hand – if he’s going to snap he might benefit from more doctors than you are currently using, and you might see what mental health coverage you can get in the ACA (including if there are docs nearby who accept insurance).

        • Spouse -- going to PT work

          I’d love it if he were using them, but it’s like how I put off my mamogram for a few months at a time (but if there were some lump, I’d be in yesterday).

          I used to try to get him to get his head straight and then the job might not seem so overwhelming. Now, I think that if the job front up a bit, his head might straighten out AND he’d have time to work on that.

          We are wired very differently.

          At any rate, it’s more of a cost issue — the budget can take a hit with him working less, but when we throw the health insurance cost in there, it makes a huge difference over straight salary. If I carried the health insurance, it’s about 2500/month, which seems crazy (plus he can add stepchild to his but I can’t, so that leaves stepchid uncovered).

          • tesyaa

            Are you sure that your stepchild is not a dependent for insurance purposes?

          • Been there, done that

            Having previously been in a miserable job that did a number on me, I just wanted to point out that your husband’s way of thinking (get job sorted first, THEN head will straighten) is, at least in my experience, entirely correct. I tried really hard to get medical help while in terrible job – piles of therapy whenever I could squeeze it in, evaluated for medication, etc. – and absolutely nothing helped. Yet when I quit terrible job and started a new (pretty awesome, actually) job, it was like flipping a light switch. Within two weeks my therapist was describing the change in my emotional state as “remarkable,” and it felt like everything in my life became exponentially better.

            I know it’s not easy to contemplate giving up your current lifestyle, but please, do every darned thing humanly within your power to enable him to leave this terrible position. I took a 45% pay cut to get out of my bad job, and my husband had to take on our health insurance costs – I guarantee you that if you asked him today, he would tell you it was worth every single penny of lost income/added healthcare expenses to have “the old me” back. I feel like this is especially crucial because of your children – what life do you want them to have? The one with cheap health insurance and a father who is constantly on the verge of snapping? Or the one where maybe they have less things because mommy’s health insurance is expensive, but daddy’s not living in psychological crisis? As the person once in your husband’s shoes, I promise you, this is serious, and you as a family need to do whatever it takes to fix this.

          • Hollis

            Been there, done that: I agree with you completely. I was stuck in a job where I was crying every other day, and once I switched to doing the same thing in a different environment, for less pay, across the street, miraculously everything changed. I can’t even quite understand it myself, but I feel like I’m in a supportive environment now where people actually appreciate me and treat me well, where before I was in such a toxic environment that I just couldn’t be happy. A new job can work wonders.

    • Senior Attorney

      I hate to sound like a broken record, but how is your marriage? If you are the high earner and he becomes even a part time SAHD, in the event of a divorce you could well be on the hook for major spousal support and he could have the inside track for primary custody of your children (which means you will be paying major child support as well), and probably possession of the family home to go along with it. (“Your Honor, I did all the child care because all she cared about was her big career.”)

      Not to be all doom and gloom, but things happen and you need to know what you are getting yourself into.

      • Anonymous

        I wish you would cool it with this. Yes, you married a bad dude. But one person full time one person part time has worked for couples, usually with the genders reversed. There is no need to keep harping on. If he does become a part time SAHD she should be on the hook for spousal support- that’s the arrangement they are making. If between the two of him they decide that he is going to be the main child rearer, then yes in the event of a divorce he gets the benefits traditionally that sahms get. This is a lot of women’s ideal arrangement, and you keep trying to claw it back to the 50s. Some women like being the breadwinner, some men like being a part time or full time sahd.

      • Spouse -- going to PT work

        A good question! He has one divorce under his belt already, so he has a track record of how he deals with ex-spouses and litigation and drama. It’s a concern, but since I’m the high earner anyway, I’m pretty much already there. I am not so high of an earner in the big scheme of things, it’s more like my life is very stressful and his is very stressful.

        Rather than hire a person 10 hours a week to help out from 4-6 every day (which I’d like to do), maybe husband can just work less. The expense is not the same, but the stress might really go down and I don’t have to worry about nanny taxes.

          • Hollis

            Agreed, but if you live near a college, there might be some students who are willing to provide help to make some extra money.

    • RR

      My husband is part time, but in a much nicer environment. It works well for us and the profession and company are such that he doesn’t worry he’s losing professional credibility/contacts/standing.

  10. Maddie Ross

    Rnadom – but does anyone know how to get the “free” U2 download that they sent out to iTunes users back in December off their phone? I thought I had deleted it, but it keeps coming back. Not a U2 fan myself. Not to mention the creep out factor of just having random things sent to my phone.

    • In House Lobbyist

      Is that how that got on my phone? I couldn’t understand how I downloaded U2 and didn’t know it. I would like to get rid of it too.

    • mascot

      When you go into Music on your phone, does it show the little cloud with an arrow? That just means that it is available for download, but not on the device. I think you have to go through iTunes on a computer to actually hide the albums that show up. This article and the links therein might have more answers. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201396

    • Ellen

      Yay! Fruegel Friday’s! I love Fruegel Friday’s and this blazer, but at this price, I would not expect to much. I generaly prefer Brook’s Brothers or Ann Taylor, but you DO have to pay for quality! YAY!

      As for the OP, I got that U2 on my iphone and I realy do NOT think I asked for it, so I just deleted it. I do NOT like peeople stuffeing things in a download onto MY iphone, and my dad told me peeople download viruses that way. So he deleted it for me as he is a tech genious!

      Mom called to say she slipped on the ice this morning and landed on her tuchus! I told her I slipped yesterday and landed on my tuchus. Dad said that it is a good thing that both of us have big tuchuses, so we are prepared for the winter and to slip and fall on our tuchuses, if necessary! Mom said that “dad’s man” did a crappy job of snow shovelling and that is why she slipped on her tuchus. Dad refuses to shovell snow– he leaves that for the illegal’s, so that they can make a living. In our town, there are alot of illegals who will shovel your snow, or rake your leaves or do other stuff OFF the book’s.

      Dad say’s it is good for them to work, otherwise he would have to pay for their welfare check’s. I said if they are illegal how can they get welfare? He said they can. Does any one in the hive know if they can or can’t get welfare check’s if they are illegal? I need ot proove my dad wrong!

      There was these 2 guy’s stareing at me this morning in Starbuck’s, where I decided to get a latte. I smiled at them but they just stared back. I wonder if they are part of the ZOMBIE convention this week in NYC? So strange–usueally when guy’s oooogle, and I smile, they at least stop ooogleing! These two schmoe’s just kept stareing at me! VERY EEERIE! FOOEY on them! Myrna’s freind from work wanted to know if I would have sex with him. Can you believe it? The doosh gets drunk and passes out on my couch and he then thinks Myrna is goieing to recomend him for sex? DOUBEL FOOEY!

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