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For busy working women, the suit is often the easiest outfit to throw on in the morning. In general, this feature is not about interview suits for women, which should be as classic and basic as you get — instead, this feature is about the slightly different suit that is fashionable, yet professional.
If you're hunting for an affordable, washable suit, do consider Banana Republic's line of washable Italian wool suiting. It's just the basics — suit, trousers, skirt, sometimes a matching dress — but they win rave reviews from readers and have been bestsellers for years.
Even better: The affordable suiting is available in petite, tall, and regular sizes 0–20. The pictured blazer is $198 full price, a matching skirt is $98, and the various different fits of the pants are $98–$110.
This post contains affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. For more details see here. Thank you so much for your support!
Hunting for more basic, mid-range suits for women? These are some of our favorites…
Some of our favorite mid-range suits for women (which sometimes have such frequent sales that they come down to the same range as our “budget” suits) include Ann Taylor, J.Crew, Talbots, Banana Republic, Brooks Brothers, and Antonio Melani. (Talbots and J.Crew usually have plus sizes, and the others offer petites.)
Sales of note for 9.30.24
- Nordstrom – Beauty deals through September
- Ann Taylor – Extra 30% off sale
- Banana Republic Factory – 50% off everything + extra 20% off
- Boden – 15% off new styles
- Eloquii – Extra 50% off sale
- J.Crew – 50% off select styles
- J.Crew Factory – Up to 60% off everything + 50% off sale with code
- Lo & Sons – Warehouse sale, up to 70% off
- M.M.LaFleur – Save 25% sitewide
- Neiman Marcus – Friends & Family 25% off
- Rag & Bone – Friends & Family 25% off sitewide
- Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
- Talbots – Fall Cyber Monday sale, 40% off sitewide and $5 shipping
- Target – Car-seat trade-in event through 9/28 — bring in an old car seat to get a 20% discount on other baby/toddler stuff.
- White House Black Market – 40% off select styles
Sales of note for 9.30.24
- Nordstrom – Beauty deals through September
- Ann Taylor – Extra 30% off sale
- Banana Republic Factory – 50% off everything + extra 20% off
- Boden – 15% off new styles
- Eloquii – Extra 50% off sale
- J.Crew – 50% off select styles
- J.Crew Factory – Up to 60% off everything + 50% off sale with code
- Lo & Sons – Warehouse sale, up to 70% off
- M.M.LaFleur – Save 25% sitewide
- Neiman Marcus – Friends & Family 25% off
- Rag & Bone – Friends & Family 25% off sitewide
- Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
- Talbots – Fall Cyber Monday sale, 40% off sitewide and $5 shipping
- Target – Car-seat trade-in event through 9/28 — bring in an old car seat to get a 20% discount on other baby/toddler stuff.
- White House Black Market – 40% off select styles
And some of our latest threadjacks here at Corporette (reader questions and commentary) — see more here!
Some of our latest threadjacks include:
- What to say to friends and family who threaten to not vote?
- What boots do you expect to wear this fall and winter?
- What beauty treatments do you do on a regular basis to look polished?
- Can I skip the annual family event my workplace holds, even if I'm a manager?
- What small steps can I take today to get myself a little more “together” and not feel so frazzled all of the time?
- The oldest daughter is America's social safety net — change my mind…
- What have you lost your taste for as you've aged?
- Tell me about your favorite adventure travels…
Anonymous
Are you/have you changed your behavior at all because of Delta esp if you’re vaccinated? I know the vaccine covers it but not as perfectly as it covered alpha etc. Are you back to masking if you had stopped? Double masking if you were masking before? Staying out of restaurants etc. if you otherwise were going? Staying home more? Just living regularly?
Anonymous
We never opened up as much as others due to a high-risk condition that may not be vaccine-responsive, but we did open up slightly (more trips to pick up food, less delivery, etc.). We’ll probably keep things at the current level and continue to mask in all indoor spaces with others indefinitely. Since it’s so cheap, easy, and effective and the honor system is an utter joke here, I don’t see a reason to stop.
Anonymous
Our town is extremely well vaccinated and continues to be COVID free since April. We are business as usual.
I check vax rates of other towns/areas we visit and adjust behavior accordingly, mainly how strict I am making my <12 kids wear their masks and wash hands. We don't bring the kids to eat indoors, but frankly, it's just become habit now. They behave better outside anyway.
Anonymous
I never stopped masking indoors/grocery shopping, and have only eaten outside all summer. I’m weighing whether or not to fly in October (2 trips, Chicago and Florida). Trying to schedule all doctor checkups for before Thanksgiving/Xmas if not in the summer.
Anonymous
I too scheduled all appts for this summer and am so bummed my physical got bumped because the office put it into the system wrong and now the only open appts are in October. It’s in N. Va where things have been relatively good but IDK if I’ll want to go then. Took the appt for now and we’ll see how things are then.
I’d think hard about Florida. 1 in 5 new cases in the US is there and while things could improve by Oct., who knows because I don’t think vaccination is extraordinarily high + the state is packed with visitors at all times from all over the country.
Anonymous
This is absurd. You’re vaccinated. Surely your doctor is vaccinated. You can put on a mask and get medical care in October
Cat
Yeah – I went for my dentist, derm, and physical appointments last fall and winter during the unvaccinated surge. I see no reason to worry about doing the same things THIS fall.
Also, people keep bashing FL but if you are a visitor it is super easy to do only outdoor living and dining and stay distanced if you want. Just don’t go to Miami. We’ve spent so much WFH time there this year, both pre and post vax (and tested 4 times throughout all negative and have tested negative for antibodies pre-vax), that it’s kind of amusing to me to hear people thinking that they are going to catch Covid merely by stepping foot in the state!
Anonymous
Everyone has to decide their own comfort level. For me, though, as a high-risk person with a possibly not-responsive-to-vaccines condition, I’ve only delayed things like routine dental cleanings. I’ve continued to get my routine cancer screenings and other important medical visits, even during the surge times (which were STRONG where I live – Bay Area). I wear an N95 every time and also take comfort in the high vaccination rates in my town.
Anonymous
Fla can be done but it’s totally dependent on where you go, including which airports you fly into. The calmer, more retiree parts of the state in the west like Naples etc., I wouldn’t hesitate. Vaccination for seniors is really high across the board – something like 75%+ so that accounts for a huge % of the snowbirds going thru those airports. Miami or Orlando – hard pass; Miami gets the young party hardy crowd and Orlando gets families from literally everywhere, many unvaccinated kids who’ll be back in school by Oct; families who legit don’t believe in vaccines but think this is a good time to do Disney etc. And even West Palm is seeing a huge spike in cases right now, which surprises me a bit given that it’s a wealthy kind of place that isn’t attracting young people but it’s a wealthy republican kind of place so politics may be at play.
Anonymous
I mean we’ll see about Oct. I get what that poster is saying. I’m not saying you CANNOT go to a medical appt in Oct., but why is everyone assuming that how it is now is how it’ll be then? Maybe things will improve if vaccination really upticks and we just have these variants. Maybe it’ll be worse if we get more variants as each variant seems to evade the vaccine a bit more. It’s great that people went to drs. and dentists pre vaccine, during surges, but many (most?) of us didn’t and are catching up now until it becomes unsafe or uncomfortable to do that and then we’ll suspend it again until next year. I don’t see what the big deal is here.
Anon
To the Florida comments, I would also avoid Ft Lauderdale and honestly most of that area up to Palm Beach (Delray, etc) just because a lot of the pro-Trump anti-vax crowd likes to vacation there – see the Asian hate incident in Delray on twitter the other day.
Though now fox news and other conservative outlets are recommending the vaccine (and acting like they always have) so that may improve things.
Anon
+1 to Cat. We were and still are more cautious about Covid than 99% of the people we know, but we did a December 2020 trip to Destin when we were all unvaccinated and I don’t believe it was unsafe in any way. We drove, stayed in a private rental house that had been empty for 48 hours before we checked in, picked up curbside takeout/delivery food and didn’t get within 20 feet of anyone and even then only outside. In fact, we considered that trip part of our two week quarantine for our daycare kids before seeing my parents at the holidays and my parents were even more cautious than we were (rightfully so since they’re 70ish with underlying conditions). You can go to Florida safely despite it being a hotspot. Obviously if you plan to go to Miami, stay in a hotel, dine indoors and hit the bars, it’s a different story.
Anon
@Anon at 4:00, yes, I told my husband last night that Sean Hannity recommending the vaccine is going to save the country! Not really, but I think it may cause a significant bump in vaccination.
Anonymous
3/4 of my family is vaccinated (1/4 is too young). I had wanted to take them to a movie on a very hot day, but nixed that b/c it is inside and the younger kid would want snacks. We went to the pool instead.
Other than things like that, no. We did go to a family funeral recently where everyone had been vaccinated. I think that months ago the older people would have been scared out their minds. Now they were OK with in-person visits, hugs, and 1 unvaccinated kid who only does outdoor activities. I tend to shop for the family solo and believed that the kids should come to help and understand how meal planning and budgeting works, but they can learn that later and just help unload the car when I get home.
Cat
Yes, Pfizer, but continuing to mask indoors in public and not dining out indoors. (Still WFH anyway). But… only because I have to test negative for upcoming vacation plans rather than fear of illness.
Anonymous
I’m living my regular life, but continue keeping my kids out of indoor social situations.
Anon
My husband and I are fully vaccinated. We haven’t changed anything yet but I may consider wearing a mask again if that becomes the norm again.
Anon
I’m using a more protective mask for masking indoors and skipping unnecessary indoor outings. I have a lot of people in my life for whom vaccines don’t provide great protection, so it’s important to me not to be a vector or an incubator for a variant even though I don’t think I’m likely to get sick myself (I’m high risk, but it looks like my vaccine did work).
Senior Attorney
I had eased up on masking but am going back to it to stop giving cover to the #$*(% anti-vaxxers who are free-riding on the “no masks for the vaccinated” rule. (Also it’s been mandated for everybody again where I live, for just that reason.) We canceled our September trip to Croatia because I wasn’t feeling good about it for a few reasons and the Delta variant was the last straw. I’m in charge of a social group that had tentatively planned to resume in-person lunch meetings in August and seriously considering putting the brakes on that.
Anonymous
I’m sorry your trip can’t happen, but I think it’s the right call. I hope you can find a fun substitute closer to home!
Anonymous
I’m off to Croatia next month with zero worries. The vaccine works.
Anon
I agree the vax works and I don’t think you’re going to be hospitalized or die on your trip, but do you really want to be sick?
Anonymous
Great thing is, I’m not riddled with pointless anxiety and have zero reason to believe I will be sick on my trip! Thanks for trying to bring me down, but I’m excited and doing it and it’s going to be great.
Anon for this
We are planning a Greece trip for September and are only cancelling if the borders close. Direct flight to Athens so everyone on the plane will either be fully vaxxed or have tested negative within 3 days prior. Once there, 95% of our plans are outdoors, including dining. So, we think the odds of getting sick on this trip are pretty similar to the odds of getting sick on any trip, which could always happen.
Anon
@Anonymous it’s not pointless anxiety, it’s very well supported by the data, but I do hope you don’t get sick on your trip.
Anonymous
The data does not suggest it is likely for vaccinated people to get sick. Your paranoid anecdotes do.
Duckles
It is pointless to worry about Covid when you’re 1) vaccinated 2) healthy and 3) there is no end in sight. It would not be fun to get it but it’s not going away so it sounds like you’re willing to live without travel for (several years? A decade? Forever?) and are fear-mongering about getting sick to take the joy out of the experience for everyone else.
Anon B
@Duckles, There is in fact quite a bit of anecdotal but still concerning evidence among disparate healthy, athletic people that even mild-to-asymptomatic COVID leaves them with noticeably reduced lung capacity. It seems like a continuing and scary problem for runners, cyclists, hikers, etc… really anyone who pursues aerobic activities. Just the other day, a poster here mentioned that members of the Australian ski team who had mild COVID are evidencing COPD and may never race again. I’ve heard of the same issues from acquaintances who measure their performance during training and still see significant performance losses even over a year after recovering.
I’m proudly vaccinated, don’t wear a mask outside unless I’m in a crowd, and do take the risk of lifting in a well-ventilated training gym in the mornings maskless when I’m the only client there, but I wear a mask in any indoor public space and an N-95 when traveling. Long-term lung damage is scary.
Senior Attorney
I’m not worried about getting the virus so much as the possibility I might contribute to spreading it to vulnerable people while there, even though I’m vaccinated.
Anonymous
There’s no evidence this happens
Anonymous
There IS evidence that asymptomatic transmission is occurring. That’s why people are concerned.
Senior Attorney
Well then I encourage you not to change any of your behavior.
Anonymous
We were going to the movies for the first time since the pandemic this weekend (vaccinated). I think we’re still going, but I’ll wear a mask. It’s going to be a battle to convince my husband to wear one, though. I’m not wearing a mask at work (where I have my own office and rarely see other people) or trips to the grocery store, but sitting in one place inside for 2 hours concerns me more.
anon
Living regularly. I’m double-vaccinated, no kids or high-risk conditions, and both my personal life and career have taken a huge hit in the last year from being unable to socialize normally. I’m not willing to forego normal socialization — including eating indoors, going for drinks, attending personal and professional events — any longer, especially knowing that this virus will be with us for years to come. I think that many people’s perceptions of their personal risk post-vaccination is a bit warped right now — and I say this as someone who didn’t shop in-person for over a year. I can’t imagine making any further sacrifices to my personal or professional life simply to avoid what really is now just like the flu (if you’re vaccinated). My risk of death (or even long-term health problems!) from driving on the highway now far exceeds my risk of those things from covid. And no, I’m not a Republican. I am a progressive urban blue-state millennial who was been pro-lockdown and pro-mask for over a year. Masking in grocery stores and other indoor errands? Sure. But I do it for the comfort of others, not for myself.
Anonymous
YMMV but I think for many of us now, we aren’t worried about a cold or flu so much as the long term effects of that. We have no data on that yet and pre vaccine even very mild cases could lead to lingering health issues; no one has published yet on whether break thru cases can cause the same. My personal calculus is life essentially on hold (though nothing like 2020) until we know, but that’s because of a heart issue. In your boat, I’d likely see it your way.
Anonymous
This is just not true.
Anonymous
What is not true? That people are worried about long term issues with break through cases? That there isn’t anything definitive from the US that says such long term issues won’t happen with break throughs? Yes it is true. If you have a study, let us know — believe me I’m ready to party.
Anonymous
That there’s no data on this. There is. It has been studied.
Anonymous
I mean I just read an interview with the head of infectious disease at UCSF who says no there is NOT definitive data that says that a vaccinated person w a break thru case can’t get long term effects. So I think I’ll go with that guy, as opposed to an anonymous stranger on the internet. But thanks.
Anonymous
There is ample evidence that mild and moderate cases can lead to long-term consequences.
Anonymous
Yes this.
Anon
Six months after a relatively ordinary case of Covid, I suffer from fatigue, headaches, intense hip joint pain and sinus issues so bad that they lead to massive infections and require antibiotics. I feel like crap for about two weeks every time that happens. My heart beat has remained elevated. People who are unconcerned about mild Covid are fools. It may well impact your health and your life well after the sickness itself has gone.
Anonymous
I’m sorry for what you’re going through. That sounds miserable.
Anon
Thank you. I’m an essential worker who had to be at work all of 2020. I did my very best to avoid it, but failed.
Anonymous
No. I’m continuing to live my life, and wear a mask in stores and on public transit.
Anonymous
FWIW – I’m seeing slightly more masking now in stores in N Va than I was 2 weeks ago. 2 weeks ago I would have said about 40% in my bro ish area were masking, now it looks more like 50-55%, not the bros but older shoppers, women etc. So at least in an area where they took it seriously before and vax rates are decent, some people are listening to delta news.
Anonymous
Building on this, how are people who got J&J behaving? I know a few people who got it and are seeking out Pfizer now, but I know at least one person who had COVID and then got J&J and he feels perfectly protected as is. Of course we don’t know enough yet to say with ANY certainty that people should run out to get Pfizer, but I’m interested in anecdata at this point.
Anonymous
I got Moderna and would try something else for what I think is the inevitable booster so that I’ve got the broadest spectrum of protection possible.
Anon
I’m in a state with very low vaccination rates and know 2 people personally who were fully vaccinated and tested positive with significant symptoms in the last couple of weeks. We are masking everywhere and sticking to outdoor options as much as possible (and stewing at home about all the @ssh0les who haven’t gotten vaccinated!)
Anon
Yes, I’m back to masking when I leave the house. I just really don’t want to get it and I don’t want to spread it to anyone. I also think wearing a mask in public creates peer pressure for all but the most strident unvaxxed people to wear one as well. Leading by example, basically.
Anon
I also was tentatively planning a trip to Europe for a friend’s wedding this fall and Delta has changed that for me. I don’t think I’m likely to die or be hospitalized if I get it (I mean maybe, but probably not) but I definitely don’t want to risk testing positive before my trip home and having to quarantine in a foreign country. Not even just the hassle, but work and $$ as well.
Anon.
Oh my goodness, this is adorable. The strident unvaccinated people you admit can’t influence are far and away the most at risk from Covid and most likely to spread Covid to others. Pleasee continue whatever you’re doing to make yourself feel better (by which I mean virtuous and/or sanctimonious) but I’m glad you can admit it’s basically just safety theater. I’m case you didn’t realize, almost no one is going to wear a mask just because you’re wearing one. Unless you’re Kim Kardashian, you’re not important enough to steer others’ behavior just by wearing something. Bless your heart.
Anonymous
Never stopped masking so continuing to do that any time I step out of the door of my apartment, including taking out the trash. Not double masking yet but tempted because all the under 30 crowd in my building has ditched masks and is obviously out partying, and you do have to walk by them, share elevators etc. Hadn’t dined indoors yet so not doing that still. Still doing mostly curbside pickup for takeout. I do go into grocery stores but not all the time – maybe every 7-14 days and try to go at off times like mid day on a weekday, not during peak times like weekends. Not traveling yet and IDK when I will. Still WFH until supposedly Sept but I don’t see the office reopening in Sept or me going back so we’ll see about that. So yeah life hasn’t changed all that much for me.
Anonymous
I’m 38 and no way am I putting on a mask to take my trash out because I have one weirdly anxious neighbor.
Anonymous
I didn’t ask you to put on a mask to take out the trash. I’m wearing mine. I would appreciate it if you could wear one in enclosed spaces like elevators but honestly I don’t expect that of you either because I know your type, so I’ll do what I can for me, thanks.
Anonymous
My type is fully vaccinated and wore a mask for a year and a half. Thanks.
Anonymous
This is where I’m at. I’m not going to fight those people whom I KNOW won’t attempt to make others comfortable. It doesn’t matter to them. To them, everyone else is crazy/paranoid/demanding and undeserving of 1 minute of mask-wearing.
Anonymous
But now won’t with a surging variant that the vaccines aren’t 100% or even 90% protective against. Yep I know your type.
S in Chicago
And your type has no idea what the health is of others in the elevator and if you’ll be a vector. But screw kids and the immune compromised, because a mask is such a huge burden. ‘Merica.
Anonymous
I could be your neighbor and I’m not just out partying, I’m hosting parties!
Anon
Yeah! F#^* everyone else amirite!
Anonymous
we are not dining indoors (but comfortable dining outdoors) and still masking when going to indoor things like stores. we only socialize indoors with friends who are vaccinated but honestly with people we’ve socialized with 100% are vaccinated (or tell us they’re vaccinated)…
anon
I am wearing masks indoors, but otherwise not changing my behavior at all. DH, I and our two littles got Covid in January and we were very lucky b/c it was nothing more than a runny nose/sore throat for DH and I, and no symptoms at all for the kiddos. We plan to travel later this summer (road trip only, but that’s because the kids are too young for a long flight anywhere).
Anon
We never got back to “normal” but a combo of Delta and the lifting of mask mandates has caused us to pull back on anything indoors where masks are not required, including things we were doing before like library, grocery store, nail salon, etc. I have unvaccinated kids at home (yes I know they don’t usually die, but I’m worried about long term health issues short of death; also anecdotally been hearing from friends in peds that Delta hits kids harder). Kids are still in school (with masks for all), we do outdoor dining, we’re flying this week (with N95 masks) but won’t fly after the TSA mask mandate expires, we see vaccinated friends and family (and their young kids, if we know the family is being cautious), and one bookstore in our town and my hair salon still require masks so we go there, but otherwise we’re pretty locked down. Red state with low vax rate if it matters, although thankfully everyone in our social circle (including all the daycare parents we know) are vaxxed. We’re not Missouri, but numbers are rising pretty steeply here, and never got super low.
anon
Living regularly.
Coach Laura
I have an incurable lymphoma – which lowers one’s immune system – so until I was vaccinated I was 100% locked down. Then I had Moderna x2 and as part of a Leukemia Lymphoma Society clinical trial I had my antibodies tested and had a high spike protein antibody response to the vaccine. Washington state was one of the last three states (Oregon and Hawaii) to open up, and since then I have been going into stores unmasked if allowed and have eaten indoors in restaurants 3-4 times. But I work from home and don’t do much else that is risky. My county 16+ is 81% first vaxxed and 75% fully vaxxed.
I do have some fear of getting the Delta variant but an infectious disease specialist that I follow (Monica Gandhi MD from UCSF) has said that covid will become endemic and most people will eventually get covid even having had the vaccine. That being the case, I’d rather get covid now rather than in 12 or 24 months when my lymphoma might be out of remission. I am in no way taking any big risks except going into Costco without my mask and eating in a restaurant. But I’m not being a hermit anymore.
Anon
Monica Gandhi is kind of a quack who has said some really irresponsible things in the name of removing restrictions, particularly around kids (and I say that as someone who firmly believed schools needed to open with precautions in place). That said I do agree it will become endemic and most people will eventually get it. The zero Covid ship sailed a long time ago, even before we had the crazy infectious variants. We have four endemic coronaviruses that cause cold-like symptoms and they may have started as deadly pandemics like this. Some people think the Russian “flu” pandemic in the 1890s was one of the four coronaviruses we now live with.
Anonymous
I’m not a fan of hers either. She keeps saying “well CDC says…” or “I trust the CDC” even when CDC is saying things that aren’t backed up by evidence or when CDC is not actually tracking data on the question at hand (like breakthrough infections that don’t result in death).
Anon
And she cherry picks CDC guidance based on that makes her happy. She’s against children wearing masks even though cdc says everyone who is unvaxxed (including kids) needs to.
Coach Laura
I disagree. I’ve read hundreds of doctor opinions and believe that Gandhi has a balanced approach to covid.
Anon
She has said Covid is no big deal in kids which is just demonstrably not true. The best estimates are 300-600 pediatric Covid deaths so far, much more than a typical flu season, and that’s based on a year in which we had a lot of pandemic restrictions including many schools closed – it surely would have been higher if every school in the country had been open. There are also plenty of studies that suggest long Covid is a real concern in kids, and she conveniently ignores those studies. She has heavily advocated for children not wearing masks, even in crowded indoor settings like schools. She and other anti-maskers say it’s about “getting back to normal” but the kids I know almost uniformly don’t care about masks, and understand that the simple act of wearing a masks allows them to safely get back to school, activities, friends and other things they actually DO care about. I’d much rather have school with masks than a series of massive outbreaks that cause school to be virtual for months on end. The overwhelming majority of parents I know feel the same way. Even if they aren’t super worried about the virus itself as far as their kids go, they want to mitigate cases in schools so we’re not doing virtual school for two weeks every month.
That is not to say there aren’t plenty of “experts” who are way too far in the other direction (cough Eric Feigl-Ding cough) who claim every new variant is the end of the world and we need to immediately lockdown again, despite the fact that vaccines are widely available to adults. Eric Topol and Bob Wachter are good middle ground experts who are confident in the power of vaccines and generally optimistic that we don’t need to return to lockdowns, etc., but also don’t want to ditch the non-pharmaceutical interventions like masks prematurely. They both recognize that Covid isn’t going to kill most healthy kids but also that we don’t know the long term effects of this virus and it’s not crazy to want our kids to be vaccinated before we let the virus ran rampant through pediatric populations. Both those guys also seem better at admitting when they’re wrong than Monica Ghandi. I have seen them both of them take back previous statements they made based on new evidence (in fact just in the last week), and haven’t yet seen her do that.
Coach Laura
Of the 335 children who have died “with” covid less than 5% DID NOT have comorbidities. “Results: 42 studies containing 275,661 children without comorbidities and 9,353 children with comorbidities were included. Severe COVID-19 was present in 5.1% of children with comorbidities, and in 0.2% without comorbidities. Random-effects analysis revealed a higher risk of severe COVID-19 among children with comorbidities than for healthy children; relative risk ratio 1.79 (95% CI 1.27 – 2.51; I2 = 94%). Children with underlying conditions also had a higher risk of COVID-19-associated mortality; relative risk ratio 2.81 (95% CI 1.31 – 6.02; I2 = 82%). Children with obesity had a relative risk ratio of 2.87 (95% CI 1.16 – 7.07; I2 = 36%).
Conclusions: Children with comorbidities have a higher risk of severe COVID-19 and associated mortality than children without underlying disease. Additional studies are required to further evaluate this relationship.”https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33227520/
There are other studies and other experts besides Gandhi that feel that the covid risk in kids that don’t have leukemia or kidney disease or asthma or are overweigh is close to – if not – zero. I can post more studies if you wish. These are the kids that should be worried and masked. Not healthy children.
https://en.antaranews.com/news/175950/covid-19-increases-risk-of-death-in-comorbid-children-study
“Children are at extremely slim risk of dying from Covid-19, according to some of the most comprehensive studies to date, which indicate the threat might be even lower than previously thought.
Some 99.995% of the 469,982 children in England who were infected during the year examined by researchers survived, one study found.
In fact, there were fewer deaths among children due to the virus than initially suspected. Among the 61 child deaths linked to a positive Covid-19 test in England, 25 were actually caused by the illness, the study found.
”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/in-children-risk-of-covid-19-death-or-serious-illness-remain-extremely-low-new-studies-find-11625785260
Carrie
Disagree. Dr. Monica Gandhi is one of the best in the field, and is thoughtful and data driven. The data is evolving constantly, and as a physician educating the country she is also dependent upon the CDC to guide her official recommendations. If anything, more people I hear criticizing her are disturbed that she is talking about what is the best for populations, and each individual (especially posters on this board) will ultimately want to do what is best for them/their kids based on their personal comfort levels … and are not driven by data alone. So, for example, when she expressed the fact that the thousands of elderly dying daily during the worst of the pandemic India might deserve vaccines a bit more than 1st world countries who are anxious to immunize their children at the same time… well… she had a point. But not one that American soccer mom’s care to hear!
But calling her a quack? She’s the top of her field and respected throughout the world. That level of ignorance is what I’d expect from the right making sweeping generalizations about Fauci.
Coach Laura
Agreed
Duckles
Living regularly as soon as I was fully vaccinated. IMO there’s no end game here so your choices are live normally with risk or worry about every choice for the next several years, and I can’t/won’t live like that. I do still wear an N95 for bikini waxes, doctor’s appointments, and after getting the flu on a plane might go back to wearing them there. I’m mask-free at the gym, restaurants, etc. though.
Anon
Same here.
Anon
We’re living life as normal, basically as it was pre-pandemic. We wear masks where they are required but don’t bother in most circumstances. We went back to the gym (masked) when our gyms reopened in May of last year and are still going now, without masks. We didn’t eat in a lot of restaurants before the pandemic so not eating in them now is not a hardship. Ditto going to the movies or doing a lot of indoor activities – this is where it’s nice to be “outdoorsy” because most of what we do for fun (hike, bike, swim, fish, golf, camp) is outside anyway. It’s been nicer to be outdoors lately as many people who were forced outdoors for entertainment by lockdowns/restrictions have gone back to…whatever it was they were doing before the pandemic, I don’t know what that is.
My feeling about the Delta (and other variants) is that I’ll worry about something when it’s time to worry about something. I don’t believe in borrowing trouble. I haven’t seen data that vaccinated people are significantly at risk. When actual data (and not anecdotal boogeyman horror stories) gets shared about vaccinated people getting long Covid or getting hospitalized or dying from a variant, then I’ll worry. Frankly, I think the pop we’re seeing right now is the result of record travel over Fourth of July weekend earlier this month. I traveled in late June and the Phoenix airport was busier than I had ever seen it. There was bound to be a case increase when everyone started circulating again, and now we’re seeing it. 97% of people in ICUs with Covid are unvaccinated. I’m fine and will continue to do what I’m doing until there’s better and more information that shows me I need to be worried.
LaurenB
I’m still masking at the grocery store/retail outlets – it’s no skin off my back. I’m still not going into large crowds (though I have little need to). I’ll go to restaurants now but wear a mask until eating, and I’m still social distancing which is plenty fine with me. I am getting my hair cut and colored, though not as frequently as pre-Covid. Haven’t gotten a massage yet. Doing most workout classes outdoors – the ones indoors are still pretty socially distant.
Anonymous
Can anyone help with study tips?
Lawyer who has been out of school for 15+ years so I’m not used to studying anymore. Am taking a finance certification series of exams with a potential career switch in mind (or if not just to get some more insight for what I do). I’m on the last of a series of 3 exams (though the others were in 2019) and omg I CANNOT STUDY. Part of it is I work from home right now AND study at home so it’s just all boredom with no change of scenery. So I’ll study for 45 min and that’s it for the day. I’ve given myself the slack to do that on my first pass thru the materials/my outline. But reality is having gone thru all the info once now, if I can make myself focus, I could probably just get this done in say 3 weeks and take it by mid Aug and be done with it. It’s a bit of a memorization test with formulas etc.
How would you best do this? I used to be more productive studying in libraries etc. because I’d feel like it was a waste of time to haul myself anywhere and then sit around and waste time. But I live in a southern city where masking and distancing are over and every coffee shop etc. is packed, so that isn’t an option for me because I’d go anyplace and instead of focusing on my own studying be thinking of how many unmasked people are near me, how close the tables are etc. I live in an apartment tower so I have no outdoor space; weather permitting in school I used to be able to study for hours sitting outside but that also doesn’t work in August in the south. So I guess I’m looking for tips on set up or scheduling study time in my home.
Anon
I can’t study at home either, so I’d find a way to make a library work. Since it is summertime, libraries can be pretty quiet. If you’re vaccinated and wear a mask, and if you can find a library with a quiet corner you can hide away in, that’s the way I’d go. Maybe a local college near you has a library that’s open?
Aunt Jamesina
Some libraries even have private rooms you can check out!
Anon
Rent a coworking space
Shelle
I like to either sit with a friend who is also doing some kind of productive activity for a solid time block, or if that’s not possible I’ll arrange to have a friend act as an accountability partner: call to tell them I’m beginning my study time now, call them at an agreed stopping time to tell them how I did. I feel pressured to focus when someone knows I should be doing the thing!
Anon
I am an actuary so I studied for nearly 10 years after graduating with my BS. I also took a break in the middle and came back to it when I was almost 40, so I learned what had changed about my study habits in the interim.
In my 20s I had to go to a library to study. I just made it a habit to go certain weeknights and religiously both Saturday and Sunday mornings until about 12 to 2 PM, depending on how close to the exam I was. My best library was an open to the public university library where everyone was studying, not a public library with the moms bringing their kids in to find books.
In my late 30s, I found that noisy restaurants worked better for me than quiet libraries. I changed my commute to arrive at and leave work earlier, then on my way home, I stopped at any of 3-4 cafes/restaurants along the route and tried to study from maybe 4:30 to 7. I combined my studying with dinner because I wanted to support the restaurants that let me do this. I would always ask them first if I could occupy a table for a few hours, and the hosts were always very cool about it. I think by arriving early and on a weekday I wasn’t taking a table they could otherwise turn, and of course I always tipped well.
Two weekends before my big exam and probably two full days before it were cram days where I just spread out everything on my dining room table and devoted my life to studying. My kids were little, my husband hadn’t had to deal with me studying in my 20s and I was almost done, so he was very cool about finding things for the kids to do that occupied them for a whole weekend. He took them out of town, he even stayed at my mom’s with them without me there, which I thought was so sweet of him.
It’s worth it to really put in the hours on your first attempt to knock it out than to half-ass it and then have to take it again. I promise.
Anon
I realize Ididn’t speak to masking, by the way, but it wasn’t an issue when I was studying. That might change things for me.
I also wanted to tell you that when you’re “in the zone” you’ll be able to study at home. I could always tell I wasn’t in the zone when other things I otherwise never wanted to do, like deep cleaning the refrigerator, suddenly became more important than studying.
Aunt Jamesina
I’m taking an online class for a certification that is largely self-paced and I’ve had a hell of a time buckling down and focusing. I think a lot of it is tied to just too much unstructured time and screen time in the past year and a half. What has helped me is getting out of the house (typically to the library, mine has private rooms you can check out, so see if that’s an option for you!), making as much of the experience analog as possible (taking notes on paper, printing off certain items that are easier to highlight or annotate on paper), listening to some good music, and giving myself a designated block of time to do it sticking to that schedule. I do Monday evenings (and occasionally Tuesdays) so I can get it out of the way at the start of the week and not spend any of my weekends thinking about it.
Aunt Jamesina
Oh, and I use a browser blocker that cuts off any distracting websites during that time, and I leave my phone in the car. I basically can’t do anything aside from work on class.
Anonymous
I’m going to my cousin’s….wedding celebration (?) at the end of the summer. She got engaged in 2019 and had a private marriage during COVID with just her husband’s parents (they all live in the same town across the country from her family). The celebration is at her mom’s house, I assume some kind of small . We got an invite but it’s incredibly unclear what kind of party this is. There is no registry info– they are not registered anywhere and they are mid 30s professionals, own a home together, etc.
Do I show up with cash? A bottle of something celebratory? If I get something with their wedding date, I go with their 2020 private ceremony date and not the 2021 party, right?
Other ideas? Budget is fungible; an appropriate gift is what’s important.
Anon
Call up your aunt (her mother) and ask her these questions. My bet is that the bride feels weird registering for a wedding that already happened and just wants to celebrate with family and friends. Do not overcomplicate this.
One idea for a present: engraved champagne bottle.
Anonymous
My idea when I got the invite was engraved champagne. I use their 2020 wedding date, right?
Anon
You ask her mother.
LaurenB
Or maybe let’s not participate in drinking culture? Surely you can think of options other than cash and alcohol?
Anon
OMG, let people live. There’s nothing wrong with moderate drinking. I hate prohibitionist scolds.
Anon
Do they want gifts? I’d get a gorgeous card to wish them well and maybe a bottle of wine – maybe. I feel like professional 30-somethings aren’t registering for a reason – they don’t need anything and they just want to celebrate with you. (I can’t tell you the last time I went to a wedding for someone that had a registry – I think quite a few brides who have passed their mid-20s view gifts as unnecessary, but this could just be my social circle.)
Anonymous
Wow this is weird and I find it rude.
Anon
Different anon here – Why is it rude? They don’t have a registry so they don’t want stuff. A wedding isn’t always a gift grab.
Anonymous
I think it’s always rude to not send a gift for a wedding. A registry is just a guide. Not having one doesn’t mean not to give a gift.
Anon
You’re apparently not seeing all the responses here from people who truly didn’t want anything.
Anon
Anonymous at 3:55, if you’re in the States, I think you’ll find that attitudes surrounding gift giving at weddings have changed in the last decade+. Fifteen years ago, I remember etiquette guides saying what you’ve expressed here, but as the age of first marriage (and thus financial status/security of marrying couples) in the US has increased, as well as an awareness of consumerism and its corresponding environmental effects – couples really are opting out of receiving gifts. Lack of a registry can often be taken as a very clear statement by the couple that they don’t want anything.
Anonymous
Heaven forbid us elderly mid-30s brides still want to be celebrated just like a knocked up teenager.
anon
+1 If I don’t register for anything, I DO NOT WANT ANYTHING.
Anon
I empathize! Got married in my mid-30s, we already had all the things, and basically only did a registry because of family pressure. We kept it secret and gave it only to people who asked. I feel awkward about it now because it only had ‘aspirational’ things that probably seemed quite pretentious to some of my working-class family.
If I were to do it over again, I’d make clear that we just want people to come celebrate without gifts, and stand by that (or provide a non-profit to donate to).
Anonymous
I would never assume to just skip a wedding gift. Super tacky unless specifically instructed (and even then I’d still do something to acknowledge). My friends are equally worth celebrating whether they are doing OK or poor, and it seems kind of gross to judge them that way regardless.
Anon
I think that sometimes the lack of a registry is a signal that the couple wants cold, hard cash.
Senior Attorney
Agree with the above, and also you can never go wrong with cash.
Anonymous
Why would you get them something with their wedding date? Write them a check. Go to their party. Wear something festive. This isn’t hard you don’t need to call anyone.
LaurenB
Agree – why would you provide something that emphasizes a wedding date that wasn’t what they really wanted but was unavoidable? Also by cash I hope you mean a check, not a fistful of bills? Or a gift cert to something they’ll enjoy.
Ask
Agree that you call and ask. Sorry if I’m misreading, but you almost seem judgy about it. Yes, it’s an unprecedented type of wedding celebration cause of the situation the world is in. I’m rarely one of those “omg!!111 the pandemic!” type of poster, but many were robbed of celebrating milestones. Just cheerfully ask and be happy for them.
Anonymous
Ask what? There is nothing confusing here.
Anon
Some people really don’t want gifts. My husband and I asked anyone who insisted that they wanted to buy us something to donate to their local children’s hospital. So I agree, ask her mom, but if they still don’t say anything, a nice card and a donation in their honor to a cause they like would be a very nice way to celebrate and honor their marriage.
Anon
Give them cash. It’s customary and while people claim they genuinely don’t want anything, it would still be weird in most circles not to give anything.
Anonymous
And if they’re really so unwilling to allow people to support them, they’re welcome to donate that money to charity themselves.
It’s weird and hostile to be like there is literally nothing you can give me I could possibly appreciate. You aren’t such a princess you can’t figure out cash.
Anon
Wow weird take. Maybe take a break from the internet for a while.
BelleRose
My two cents: we got married in small wedding during COVID, and are now having a party for our 1 yr anniversary next month (fully vaxxed attendees only). It felt a bit weird to put registry info on the invite b/c we didn’t want it to feel like a gift grab (esp since some people already sent wedding gifts last year), so we’re just giving registry info to people if they ask. So if you want to give something, agree with asking cousin’s mom. Even if they don’t have a registry, she might have some good ideas.
LaurenB
You’re not ever supposed to put registry info on an invite.
Aunt Jamesina
It’s a wedding reception. In traditional American etiquette, registry info isn’t ever supposed to be included on any sort of wedding event invite, only on shower invites. If you don’t find a wedding registry after searching online, then give a check. Easy!
Anon
Google their names to see if they have a registry. Write a check/bring cash. We got a bunch of those am ex or visa gift cards and while I of course appreciate it, those are a bit of a pain to spend, so cash/check is more convenient in my opinion.
Anon
Google’s failing me. My client needs to send a formal letter to a four recipients at two federal agencies. The recipients vary in their “rank” at the agencies. (Think like a director of a relevant department, two senior staff members, and one long-time staff member who specializes in this.) I need to put the mailing address blocks at the start of the letter. Do I a) ignore their rank and just put the addressees in alphabetical order or b) honor rank and alphabetize within rank for the two equal department heads at different agencies? If b, do I alphabetize by the staffer’s name or the agency’s name?
Senior Attorney
This is a very fun puzzle. I would do (b):
I have played around with this and would alphabetize by department and then by rank within each department, and then if there are people in the same department with identical rank, I would alphabetize them:
Margaret Chase Smith, Director Of Artwork
Susan Brown, Senior Staff Member of Artwork
Joseph Abercrombie, Director of Teapots
Mildred Gustafson, Senior Staff Member of Teapots
Louis Pickle, Senior Staff Member of Teapots
Anthony Adverse, Junior Teapot Associate
Senior Attorney
I know that’s five but trying to show possible variations.
Senior Attorney
Or… maybe I like by rank/alpha:
Margaret Chase Smith, Director Of Artwork
Joseph Abercrombie, Director of Teapots
Susan Ziska, Senior Staff Member of Artwork
Mildred Gustafson, Senior Staff Member of Teapots
Louis Pickle, Senior Staff Member of Teapots
Anthony Adverse, Junior Teapot Associate
Or alpha/rank:
Joseph Abercrombie, Director of Teapots
Margaret Chase Smith, Director Of Artwork
Mildred Gustafson, Senior Staff Member of Teapots
Louis Pickle, Senior Staff Member of Teapots
Susan Ziska, Senior Staff Member of Artwork
Anthony Adverse, Junior Teapot Associate
I might like the last one better. I think whatever you do, you want to make it clear you are trying to be deferential to rank.
Senior Attorney
And may I just say this is the kind of ridiculousness that I just live for…
Senior Attorney
So on second thought, the first one I posted shows the most intentionality, I think.
OP
Haha! SA, what a fun little comment thread here :) Thank you!
Anon
hahaha I love this level of obsessiveness.
anonymous
I would like to be considered for the position of Associate Staff Member of Artwork, please.
Senior Attorney
You’re hired!!
Anon
This looks good to me (and reminds me of something that might appear in the Chicago Manual’s Q&A column!).
anon
HSV Poster from this morning’s thread – I wrote a novella, please check back later.
Anonymous
Do you personally know anyone who has gotten break through covid after 2 shots (or maybe 1 step removed – like you don’t know them directly but learned it from a trustworthy source, not looking for stories from Twitter). If yes, what were the circumstances – what area of the country, what do they do (client facing or wfh), etc. It’d be interesting to know what people are seeing esp since there isn’t aggregate data out there.
bbb
My hairdresser got it from a bachelor party. They were all vaxed and only a few got it, and the symptoms weren’t bad apparently. I haven’t seen him in about a month (my husband heard from his hair dresser); last time I was there, he was still masking (we both were). We’re in Texas, but I don’t know where the bacherlor party was.
buffybot
Yes, 2(ish), both in the UK. One was my coworker who works from home but I have no idea of his social activities. He and wife had just gotten second shot so not full immunity; their eldest child was the one with the initial positive test and she’s not yet eligible for vax. Whole family apparently tested positive and he was bad-flu sick (but not hospitalized); their preschool aged daughter had a very bad fever. The other was a coworker of my husband, supposedly full vaccinated. Like a bad cold for him. He’d been out and about and actually in the process of opening a pub so pretty public-facing.
Ribena
LOTS of this in the U.K., because cases are so dang high here, and also so is general testing. My understanding is that in the US there generally isn’t routine testing of vaxxed people but there still is here in the U.K, plus we are encouraged to regularly use rapid lateral flow tests. Sure, they have a non-trivial false negative rate, but they’re better than nothing, is the idea.
Anon
There was a men’s retreat outside the city where I live where 27 people got Covid and only 2 of them weren’t vaccinated! I heard the news from a friend whose husband was there and it was also reported in our local news. And of course there is the story of those Democrats from Texas who spread it to DC.
Anonymous
Those Texas people are idiots. Did they not do a bit of thinking before getting on a plane and visiting with officials and being indoors a lot?! Like prison escapees, they should have separated and gone off into the great outdoors. Not good for the photo-ops, but better than being reviled as grandstanding mass spreaders.
Yes
A woman in my professional circle who received both doses of Modern had a breakthrough infection. She said it was like a bad cold. Didn’t feel short of breath or anything. As a parent who is always catching her (adroable but germy) kids’ colds, this made me feel better.
Tara
Yes, my dad. He was fully vaccinated with Pfizer, more than a month after the second shot. There was a family emergency and he lived in a house with some relatives who have been less-than-strict about COVID restrictions for a few days.
Kitten
Yes, LA. I hung out with a small group of vaccinated friends last week and now 5 of them have Covid symptoms and 2 confirmed positive as of today. All 20/30s and two of them are pretty sick. One says he’s the sickest he’s ever been in his life. I feel a little off and am waiting for test results. I had extremely mild covid last year so I am a potential breakthrough + reinfection.
They all had Pfizer or moderna, except I had J&J. Up until now I didn’t personally know of any breakthrough cases. To varying extents, this friend group has been traveling/going out to bars/parties since vaccination in March/April with no issues until now. I would have to think they’ve all been exposed multiple times before and were fine until the delta strain hit. The only bright side is we found out we were all exposed almost immediately and began quarantine days before any of us experienced symptoms.
Anon
So in your case it seems like a vaccinated person spread it. That’s disappointing. I was still holding out hope that most breakthrough infections were due to exposure to an unvaccinated person.
Anonymous
My good friend’s dad tested positive in May, in New Jersey, after having been fully vaccinated since February. He had no symptoms whatsoever, at any point, but got tested before a surgery as a routine matter and had to reschedule the surgery (he tested negative just a few days later). She’s not sure how he got it, he’s retired but had been socializing a bit.
KS IT Chick
Yes, in Kansas. She got both shots of Pfizer. She was in a van for a few hours with people she believed to be vaccinated, but they weren’t. She never ran a fever, but otherwise she said it seemed like a bad cold plus losing her ability to smell and taste. She had the cold symptoms fot about a week, lost senses for about 10 days. (Taco Tuesday at a local food truck gave her notice that she had smell back.)
Anon
I know several in the US and UK. They ranged from cold like symptoms (sniffles, headache but not fever) to flu like (laid up in bed with fever, chills, bodyaches but no need for medical attention) to hospitalization. The one person I know of who was hospitalized was 70 and didn’t die. None of them were doing anything especially risky, they just seem to have caught it from normal things like going to the grocery store and dining outdoors with vaccinated friends. I fully believe the experts who say that by this winter everyone will have been vaccinated or had Delta (or both). It seems crazy contagious. I’m sad for my kids who likely won’t be vaxxed until the spring.
midwestern anon
I know at least two people. One pfizer and one moderna. We all work at a hospital in the Midwest and were among the first in our state to get our vaccines. We’re likely exposed to COVID daily at work, but neither knows where they got it for sure. Both were symptomatic (fever, moderate cold symptoms) and happened before delta was running rampant. My institution discourages asymptomatic testing so who knows it anyone else had it.
Realistically, we’re all exposed to COVID near daily at work, plus whatever you’re doing in your free time. You’d expect 5-10% of our cohort to have symptomatic infections based on the initial trials.
Anon
By that logic, wouldn’t 100% of you have had Covid before the vaccines were developed? I don’t know about with Delta, but pre-Delta the vast majority of exposures didn’t result in infection.
anon
Last year each infected person was infecting like 1-2 people, with Delta its like 8-9, it’s a lot more contagious
Anon
Yes several. A friend’s mom, in her early 60s. She had mild cold symptoms and was fine. Another friend’s mom (late 60s) also got and was very sick for two weeks but was fine. Another friend’s entire family (mom, dad, unvaccinated kid) got it after having had it once already and then (the adults) getting J&J. They were pretty miserable for two weeks but fine. Friend’s mom’s friend’s daughter is a doctor who got it post-vaccine and was hospitalized and in serious condition for a while, but ultimately recovered.
Anon
Yes. My friend in N Va! He was fully vaccinated with Moderna in Jan (he’s a teacher), came down with Covid last week, got it presumably through his unvaccinated (under 12yo) child who showed symptoms and tested positive a few days before my friend. He said he felt awful and was not mild.
Anon
Yeah people forget that “mild” means not hospitalized, it doesn’t mean you sneeze for a day or two. I had swine flu in 09 and didn’t come close to getting hospitalized but I felt like death for 2 weeks and spiked a 105 fever.
Anon
My brother got it, he got both Pfizer shots back in March. Lives in AZ, traveled by car to L.A. at the end of June for a vacation. Came back and had flu symptoms, tested positive twice, three days apart. His live-in girlfriend never did test positive despite being with him 24/7 for multiple days in a row. He was moderately sick (he said more like a bad cold than a bad flu,) for three days, had low energy for about another week. He self-quarantined the full ten days to avoid spreading it. He’s totally fine now, back to work, etc.
Anon
A friend of a friend was vaccinated and symptomless but had to quarantine before being allowed to take her return flight home from Paris.
Anonymous
Yup. Husband attended an outdoor wedding last weekend where attendees were all vaccinated adults plus a few children who had negative PCR tests with 72 hours. Bridesmaid started feeling sick Tuesday, got positive test Wednesday. Four other guests have tested positive since then- one symptomatic, three asymptomatic. Not sure how many other people may have it, as this is all people self reporting and is being spread via texts among friends, not via official channels. Husband has luckily tested negative. It’s real, and I’m now concerned for the first time in a long time that it’s going to shut down schools again this fall. Ugh.
anon1
Yes. Elderly neighbor (91) fully vaccinated, and her adult son (mid fifties) fully vaccinated, and possible now other family members, all also fully vaccinated. Neighbor mostly home, adult children working, wearing masks, but out and about. Thankfully all have mild symptoms, but mild still means sick.
My under-12 kids were recently quarantined because of a Covid case in their summer school classroom. I thought they were all wearing masks, but even with masks, the quaratine policy had them out for a week — and thankfully negative tests.
Southeastern PA.
The Original ...
Just wanted to share… I am officially ABD, y’all!
I also got permission to defend in about a month (I went a non-traditional way in this process, most are ABD for quite a while before defending).
PS I’ve been here since the beginning and shared a number of losses and hardships. At one point, they hit so many in a row that some accused me of being a tr011. So if you’re in the thick of something, just know that you’ll come out the other side. Post when you need support and post to celebrate when you’re successful after your survival time. Sending love and can’t wait to celebrate you in the future; even though I know that may seem a while away, it really isn’t! <3
Anon
Congrats!!!
Anonymous
Not an academic, so forgive me if this seems rude. Is ABD a sort of purgatory that you go through before someone decides you can defend your dissertation? And what do you do for income during this period? It seems arbitrary to have people in this paused step for a while (but maybe it’s not pausing and you are getting paid for being a TA or something).
OP
Not OP, but in my case ABD (All But Dissertation / All But Defense) means you have to finish all your qualifying coursework and projects and any other requirements for you to graduate with your Ph.D., other than defending your dissertation.
The delay from ABD to completion could be writing your dissertation or doing some associated research which must be completed before you can defend. In my case I had some “premeetings” with my dissertation committee during which they told me what I need to complete (additional checks on research) before they will officially certify my defense.
Anon
CONGRATULATIONS!!! :) :) :) :)
Anon
I don’t know what ABD is, my first guess was A Big Deal, which you clearly are! So congratulations!!
Anon
All But Dissertation.
Senior Attorney
Woo hoo! That’s amazing news!! Congratulations!
Jules
Congratulations!
Better shoes?
Any recommendations on what better shoes I should buy? Here’s my situation: mid-30s, maybe only 5-10 lbs overweight, but MAN my feet are a mess by the end of the day. Like my ankles will crack if I circle my feet, generally the arch feels tight, my toes also sometimes crack. There is usually a little bit of pain, but not always. At night I roll my feet on a tennis ball and that helps a lot but still this is now a daily issue. I wear flat white leather keds almost daily, sometimes strappy greek sandals, and then Nike’s at the gym. I think the issue might be shoes but I’m not sure which ones would help the problem.
Anonymous
Something with better older-person foot support like Hokas? My feet vastly prefer them to anything but Keens.
Anonymous
I think you need more support, or cushioning, or both. Try wearing Birkenstocks or Danskos and see if that helps? With both kinds of shoes I think you need to get used to wearing them (a few hours one day, a few more the next, etc.) before you just start wearing them all day, but I personally love Birkenstocks and there’s a reason so many chefs who are on their feet all day wear Danskos. Even something like Aerosoles, or something else with a little cushioning (even if it’s not actual support) might help.
Anon
Yes, these are good recs. But I do also think a podiatrist. They’re so good at figuring out what the issue is, and recommending specific shoe styles.
Steer away from a podiatrist that caters to mostly old folks if you can. I went to a “sports podiatrist” and at least she understood that I wasn’t going to wear white New Balance to work every day.
Anonymous
Keds are trash shoes with zero support
Cat
So neither keds nor flat sandals have any arch support. I’d suggest starting with that – think Birks.
Anon
What are your arches like?
AZCPA
What does your day look like? Are you standing all day? Walking? Or mostly sitting? If you are primarily standing, a cushioned and supportive floor mat will probably be more effective than changing shoes. But if walking, then definitely something more supportive than keds/sandals, since neither of those provides any support. I’d look at slip ons and oxford styles from Rockport, Naturalizer, Vionic, Ecco in that case.
For the gym, I’d make sure your sneakers are in good condition (they wear out shockingly fast – like 6 months if you wear them daily) AND fit properly. Getting fitted at a running/sports store will help.
Anon
oh hi, you need an orthotic and probably a wide shoe. Go see a podiatrist.
Anonymous
Try some shoes with some sturdier soles and arch support. Look for sneakers to replace your keds, that are more like the Nike shoes you wear at the gym (even if they don’t look sporty). For your sandals, make sure the sole has some substance, that it is shaped to provide arch support, and that the straps/closures are sturdy so the sandal fits closely to your foot.
Anon
What are you doing to keep your feet and ankles strong? There are tons of stabilizer muscles that don’t get much use if you’re primarily sitting or walking on even/paved surfaces. Just changing up some of your walking to a natural, less groomed surface will help.
As for shoes, get fit by someone who knows what they are doing. The shoes you describe are functionally no different than being barefoot, aside from keeping you from getting cut if you step on glass or something. Even sneakers have varying degrees of support.
Anon
If this wasn’t a problem for you before the pandemic, consider that it just might be Pandemic Feet (official medical term haha). Years ago, I was out of work and horribly depressed for a year, so I was a total sloth and practically existed on my couch. When I started doing stuff again, like just go to the mall for an hour to look around, my feet were killing me. After I resumed a normal, routine level of activity, my foot pain vanished. In the meantime, yes, I bought some comfortable shoes.
allieoops
Vionic shoes have hard footbeds and great support — they make some cute styles (ymmv). I would avoid the Keds — there’s really no support there. Hoka’s tend to have lots of support. You may also try putting insoles into shoes you already have. Superfeet are a brand I use, and I find it really helps my feet.
Anonymous
Try to wear slippers at home. I wear Vionics slippers. For shoes, I find my orthotics in running shoes provide the best support for walking any distance. Better than Vionics shoes.
anon
Keds are awful and unsupportive, Nikes aren’t great (IMO), and Greek sandals are super flat. Girl, you need to get some shoes with actual cushioning!
Anon
Suggest olukai or kuru
Anon B
Look up Kuru Footwear- they target the issues you’re having and seem to provide a range of options. I’m a big fan of their walking shoes and their clogs. Have found that they run small, but at least they have a generous returns/replacement policy. Also Oofos for around the house…
Anon
525 anon here thanks for oofos, I’ll look at them. If you also like kuru try olukai
Anonymous
I would go to one of those shops for serious runners, and have them fit you for runners suitable for your feet.
Vicky Austin
I had two good productive days this week and today is just. Very much not.
Anonymous
Same except minus the productive days. Dealing with an incredibly stressful elder care issue and my concentration is destroyed.
Walnut
Girl, it’s only Wednesday. I’d say you’re killing it.