Thursday’s Workwear Report: Textured Cardigan Sweater
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Our daily workwear reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices.
Even though it’s still 80+ degrees outside, my mind is turning to chunky sweaters in autumnal colors. I’m doing my best not to wish away the rest of the summer, but I’m really looking forward to getting cozy in some new knits in a few months, and this cardigan from Banana Republic Factory is at the top of the list. I love the texture and the gorgeous chocolate color, which will pair nicely with almost every other neutral in my closet.
The sweater is $66 at Banana Republic Factory — with 20% off at checkout — and comes in sizes XXS-XXL.
Sales of note for 8/14:
- Ann Mashburn – Seasonal sale, up to 50% off – we just included them in our updated Top 10 Brands for Comfortable Heels!
- Ann Taylor – 25% off all suiting! Also, extra 60% off clearance — readers love this blouse and I always love the variety of colors/textures for this jacket (it's a great separate)
- Anthropologie – Extra 40% off sale!
- The Fold – Up to 50% off, further markdowns (new lines added)
- J.Crew – Up to 30% off
- J.Crew Factory – 40-60% off sitewide, extra 60% off clearance
- J.McLaughlin – Summer sale, up to 50% off
- Lilysilk – Anniversary sale, save up to 70%
- Me & Em – Sale! Up to 60% off (new lines just added, exclusively online)
- M.M.LaFleur – 20% off pants (Try code CORPORETTE15 for 15% off on other items)
- Nordstrom Rack – Clearance, new markdowns up to 75% off! Nice selection of Vince, Veronica Beard, Reiss and Rag & Bone, a ton of affordable work dresses from Calvin Klein, Maggy London, Eliza J, and Donna Morgan
- Saks Fifth Avenue – Take 25% off one item (ends Mon)! Great selection of Veronica Beard, L'Agence, Vince, and more.
- Talbots – End of season clearance, 60% off all markdowns. $24.99 pants and jeans
- Theory – End of season sale is on! Love all the colors their best-selling sweater tee comes in, and some colors are on sale.
- Tory Burch – Private sale, ends 8/19!
I am a new supervisor and I have two peers that I have to coordinate with constantly. We manage different people but have to collaborate to respond to our leadership. One of my peers is very hot and cold towards me depending on the day. She will say one thing in a meeting and do the exact opposite minutes later. She is just difficult to work with and it is so draining. I find myself wanting to explain or defend my actions but it is exhausting and a waste of time bc the next issue will set her off. She looks past me in meetings and gives terse responses to me, but is best friends with our other peers. It’s just complicated and toxic. I worked really hard to get my position and I’m too drained dealing with her temperament and jockeying for the spotlight to excel at my job. Help!
I say this with kindness, but you’re giving her way too much space in your brain. I think the “let them” theory is wildly overused and oversimplified, but this might be a case where it actually applies. Do your job. Do it well. Cover your tail with your own boss. Or straight-up call her out when she says one thing and does another. Not in front of other people, necessarily, but in a private conversation.
I would be documenting everything in emails and speaking to her only as much as needed. “To confirm the action items, please see below.” She can stop getting excessive emails when she stops being a child.
A very random and specific ask, but does anyone know where I could get a super stretchy cami with no shelf bra? I’m getting shoulder surgery in a couple weeks so will need to maneuver it on without disturbing the bad shoulder.
I haven’t bought one recently enough to have a recommendation, and I’m not sure what your other criteria are, but I’d look for a high percentage of nylon in the fabric content, or if if cotton a high percentage of spandex.
Please help me decide whether it’s OK to sell my house in the suburbs and move into the city. Youngest child is a junior in college, probably headed to grad school. Older children already live in the city. Husband and I are certain we will enjoy living downtown; we did pre-kids and have spent some time pet-sitting for the older children in their downtown apartments. We absolutely love it. I work from home; husband works in the city and would be thrilled to give up his commute. I have no doubt our house will sell quickly. What is stopping us? The youngest child. I am afraid, and she has said, that she will feel displaced if we move out of the house where she grew up. Of course, she will have a dedicated bedroom in any new place; there will be no shared office/bedroom situation. Do I need to wait until she graduates? From undergrad? Grad school?
I am also worried about my pets. What if they hate city living?
Tell me I am crazy. As I read this over I feel a little crazy.
We moved back to the city with our 9 year old in April and absolutely do it! We are all so much happier.
I first read this as your youngest being a junior in high school and I was thinking oh yeah that could be an adjustment, but then I reread it and found out it was junior in college and I’m saying go for it! She’s allowed to have feelings but they shouldn’t stop you and your husband from doing what you want to do. You’ll still have a warm, loving household for her.
You do not need to wait. She’s an adult and she will figure out how to process her feelings. Also, who knows how long it takes for you to sell / find the right new place. Start now and live your life!
Sidebar: my parents sold our family home of 40 years when I was 36, married, with kids and a home of my own. It still was gut-wrenching in the moment. So there may be no easy time to make a transition like this from her perspective. Just do it!
(Also your pets will be fine)
I love the plan of moving back. The junior in college is approaching a lot of life transitions right now, so of course she likes the idea of a stable home base, but I think the sooner you move, the sooner the new home will feel like home to her too. I wouldn’t wait for her to graduate since I would aim for fewer big changes at a time.
It sounds like your older children have pets in the city and it is going fine for them. Any move is a big deal to pets, but the key is just to make sure their needs are still met, and I believe they will be fine!
If she were a college freshman, I’d tell you to wait a bit. But she’s a junior. It’s OK to make the next decisions for you.
I am of two minds – I love living in the city and for people who love it will always advocate for it.
My mom moved into a new house at the very end of my senior year of high school and, then during my sophomore year of college, she switched my brother (who was still at home) into what had been my room, so I never really had a room in that house that felt like mine completely. It made it really hard to feel completely comfortable when I came home for breaks, especially for summer. It also made it difficult to feel at ease when I ended up moving home for 4 months after graduation before I found a full-time job. And this is coming from someone who moved around a lot as a child and is generally super independent from my parents, so I’m used to moving and flying solo.
She’s a junior in college, so really two more years? If you can wait until she graduates from college and help her settle into her own place, I think it will go a long way to helping her tr@nsition to full adulthood.
I never actually moved home ever again after the summer between soph and junior year – was only there for a week at a time max. Go for it.
I was the youngest and the only child left at home when I went off to college. My parents moved out of my childhood home right before I went to college. Yes, I felt displaced. No question about it. It was very, very strange going “home” to a generic bedroom in a house I’d never lived in, in a town I’d never lived in.
Would I have wanted my parents to stay where they were for another 4+ years so that I wouldn’t have to feel that loss and displacement? No, I wouldn’t have wanted that, either.
So many people I know are doing this and love it. It also prevents rebound kids. I would 100% go for it. Your pets will be fine too, our dog loves being a city dog.
Youngest’s feelings are real, but should not drive your decision. We were in a similar but not identical situation some years back – moving from a suburb to a downtown row house in a medium sized city while kids were in HS. Kids were able to stay at their school and drive (about 15-20 mins each way), but oldest was super sad about leaving her childhood home. She wound up loving living downtown. I’m guessing in the end your dd will be psyched to have a place in the city too.
Two home questions:
Does anyone have a recommendation for small lamps that run on battery or recharging? I want two for the fireplace mantel to serve as very necessary light in a dark room until we can afford to install proper sconces. Style is classic/grandmillennial.
Next, the pantry in our new place sucks. It’s just a small cupboard with deep shelves. It became a mess instantly and it’s impossible to reach anything that isn’t right at the front. Should we install sliding drawers? Is it worth it to do that for an old cupboard that might need to be replaced eventually? There is nowhere to put a larger freestanding cupboard and I’m not even sure how/if we can meaningfully improve this pantry without a full demo and renovation, which isn’t in the cards anytime soon.
Would something like Poplights work or is that not quite the style you’re looking for? I grabbed two for closets that didn’t have overhead lighting and they’ve been great.
I would get a quote for the sliding drawers and then assess. We have them (in standard cabinets) and love them. One other option that I use for our refrigerator (which is so poorly organized internally but not yet ready for replacement), is deep clear plastic bins. They slide out easily so that I can have different categories of items in different bins, and just pull them out if I want the yogurt or fruit from the back instead of from the front. I got mine from Walmart. Not an ideal fix, but works in the short term!
Ooh, good pick. I’m hoping to add a few cardigans to my fall wardrobe. I’m stuck on whether to order my regular size or to size up for a little bit of ease.
BRF is kind of killing it with fall sweaters. I also like this one in olive.
https://bananarepublicfactory.gapfactory.com/browse/product.do?pid=11764580010003&rrec=true&mlink=5050%2C12413545%2Cbrproduct1_rr_1&clink=12413545&vid=1#pdp-page-content
My mental health is not in a great place right now due to some life stressors. This time of year is just … really hard. And I’m having a hard time falling asleep, which is making everything worse. Even if I manage to stay on an even keel most of the day, bedtime is when anxiety rears its lovely head. I’ve tried journaling, listening to podcasts, reading, deep breathing exercises. It’s not working. This, too, shall pass, but I am so miserable and trying to keep it together.