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Updated: Oct 30, 2018 114 Comments · by

Thursday’s Workwear Report: Print Popover Blouse

The Personal Shopper (TPS) | ·

This post may contain affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Our daily workwear reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices. Print Popover BlouseI know readers always say they vastly prefer popovers to button-front dress shirts — but they can be somewhat difficult to find regularly. If you like prints, Nordstrom brand Hinge has a ton of great ones right now that are getting great reviews. I like this pretty white and blue one, which makes me think of the old joke, “put a bird on it” (although I'll take that over the current theme of “put a ruffle on it,” sigh). The machine-washable blouse is $69, available in several different prints in sizes XXS-XXL. Print Popover Blouse 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! Seen a great piece you’d like to recommend? Please e-mail tps@corporette.com.

Sales of note for 9.30.24

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Comments

  1. NYC Anon

    If anyone is interested in a NYC meet up please email me at NYCorporetteMeet at gmail. Obviously no spaces in the email address.

  2. Coffee/acne connection

    Has anyone noticed a connection between coffee and acne? TIA

    • lemon

      Coffee, no, but maybe the dairy if you use creamer or milk? I’m not super sensitive to dairy myself but have heard/seen info online that it can be problematic for skin.

    • Anonymous

      Not personally, but I have heard people say it. Caffeine dehydrates you, so it makes sense if your skin is dry that quitting caffeinated coffee could help.

    • Anonymous

      TBH i started drinking more water (and not changing my coffee intake) and this resolved for me.

  3. Anonymous

    I always get a huge zit during the week leading up to my period. Starts out red, turns white, then leaves a scar that takes months fade. Last time I asked my derm about it she said something like my skin is never going to perfect. Because of the scarring, this is increasingly unsatisfactory. I already take spiro for rosacea, use clyndamacin as a spot treatment per my derm (doesn’t work on these) and use soolantra at night. This doesn’t happen when I’m on hormonal BC or an antibiotic, but those are not good solutions for me. Any recs?

    • Anonymous

      Insulin has a role in the pathogenesis of acne and you can improve that by altering your diet.

    • Anon in NYC

      Is it the same zit / same place? Can you get a cortisone shot to reduce the inflammation? It’s more of an “emergency” dermatological solution, but it can solve the immediate problem fairly quickly (and perhaps avoid the redness/scar). As for the scar, I’d try a vitamin C serum or a retinol (not sure about the interactions with rosacea/your other stuff) .

      • Anonymous

        Different places on my face, and once on my chest just for fun ;) Thanks for the suggestions.

      • OP

        Different places on my face, and once on my chest, just for fun ;) Thanks for the suggestions.

    • Anonymous

      Niacinamide helps reduce pigmentation. Do you have a niacinamide product in your routine?

    • Anonymous

      Are you using a retinol? I also take spiro (for hormonal acne actually, so I don’t think BC is neccessarily the only option, but sounds like you’re using one of the other options already! I take 50mg 2x day — maybe a higher dose?) + use tretinoin cream and this combo has kept almost all cystic acne spots at bay. Also look in to hydrocolloid spot patches (a couple brands make them at target, sephora has them too) for the occasions they do happen.

      • Anon

        +1

        Also, I keep a small hydrocortisone steroid cream at home and when I get one of these I use a tiny bit once or twice to treat it myself. Much easier than seeing derm for each one. But use this extremely sparingly as it thins the skin and is not ideal to use persistently.

        The Retinoid is a great combo and will help with the scarring.

        What dose are you on of Spiro? I also found that I needed to push my dose a bit higher to get rid of all of the cysts. It can be dehydrating…. One option is to go up to the higher dose for the 10 days before your cycle, and then go back down.

        And finally, maybe change your derm if she is not being responsive to your needs.

    • anne-on

      Do you use the pimple patches? I find those AMAZING for drawing out the goop in a big hormonal pimple and then also decreasing the scaring. That plus a niacinamide serum (and vitamin c) are excellent for fading redness.
      Pimple patches – https://www.amazon.com/COSRX-Pimple-Master-Patch-Patches/dp/B00PBX3TN6/ref=sr_1_2_s_it?s=beauty&ie=UTF8&qid=1526568873&sr=1-2&keywords=cosrx+acne+pimple+master+patch
      I also find that using a VERY high % AHA cream directly on the spot itself helps it come to a head faster. I’ll use the Paula’s choice 10% glycolic 2-3 times a day, just on that spot, applied with a q-tip. And if you can keep that one spot covered with a patch it will also speed up the healing process quite a lot.

      • Ginger in Tech Support

        I second the pimple patches. They take down my hormonal acne overnight. I tend to pierce the zit with a sterile needle and then put the patch on. Make sure you put it on BEFORE you put on moisturizer. Otherwise, the patch will slide right off.

      • mascot

        These patches are awesome. My skin heals much better when I use them.
        I’m also one of those people who saw a correlation between regular dairy consumption and increased hormonal acne. Substantially reducing my dairy intake seems to help decrease my monthly chin breakouts around my period.

    • Anonymous

      I was in your boat and thought my skin would never be perfect, but it was a process and I’m mostly there. Here is what worked for me:
      1) I got rid of ALL harsh products, including retinols, and focused on repairing my moisture barrier with a Korean skin care regimen. This was absolutely vital. You’re building the foundation for healthy skin.
      2) Only after babying my skin for months and months did I begin to use actives. Right now using Curology and it’s legit amazing. My mix has a retinol plus multiple anti-inflammatory ingredients.

      I also did kick this off with an oral antibiotic/anti-inflammatory, which helped jump start the process while I was getting my skin healthy. I know it’s not a good long term solution for you, but it’s good short term in the very beginning, if you can swing that.

      • Korean Skin Care Regimen

        Can you share the skin care regimen you used to clear up your skin?

        • Lilly

          I’m not the person you asked, but here’s my two cents worth anyway. I fell down the korean skin care internet rabbit hole in January. My skin was good, but I wanted glowy.

          There may not be another person’s skincare regimen that is perfect for you. One of the points of the method is to customize your skincare regimen, not only to you, but based on your skin’s needs on any given day. After hours and hours of wandering the internet, I would point you to two particular sources. One is Reddit, specifically the community info posts in the asianbeauty subReddit. IMHO, all the regular user posts are 99% chance of being a pointless time suck. Feel comfortable skipping them. To find the community info, if on mobile, once in the asianbeauty topic, use the three dots at the top right of the screen to open a menu where one of the selections is “community info”. Scroll down to the new user topics where “new user guide” and “the AB routine” are probably the most informative. (If I just gave navigation instructions to a Reddit pro, my apologies!) Secondly, see the internet blog “Snow White and the Asian Pear”. In her menu is a topic “help for beginners”. It is very useful. This is probably where I learned the most. It turns out that the key to glowing skin for me was learning that skin can be oily and dehydrated and how to add a lot of hydration without creating a greasy mess.

          Beware sourcing products from Amazon. You might get what you paid for, you might get a counterfeit product.

          And lastly, I personally found the whole regimen a bit overwhelming, and a bit too much, for me. I ended up incorporating a couple of new steps and a few new products to my existing skin care. Certain products are used every day, others are added in as needed.

    • Annie Q

      I struggled with cystic acne my entire life — from my teen years all the way through to menopause. It got worse during menopause but now, thankfully, I am acne free. The only prior period in which I was free of cysts was for about 12 years or so after I did a course of Accutane. The brand name Accutane drug is off the market because its manufacturer could not compete with the generics, but there are still generics being sold, albeit with very tight controls. My dermo’s view was that some of the theories out there that Accutane causes hallucinations is just internet hysteria, but that it has in fact been linked to gastro problems such as Crohn’s. It caused zero problems for me and gave me about 12 years of freedom until with menopause my problems came back for about a year.

      I recently went on a ketogenic diet to get my weight under control. It worked wonders for me in that regard (36 pounds gone! and it gives you a feeling of wellness that is incredible!) but there’s a theory out there that keto might also cure acne. I would have tried it 30 years ago if only I had known.

      A few things I learned that might be helpful: Avoid any foundation with silicon in it, which means anything that contains an ingredient ending in -cone or -con. These trap bacteria on your skin so they have nowhere to go but into your pores. Try a mineral make-up instead (but if it contains bismuth, a filler, it may cause redness; sigh, it’s all so complicated). Never have a doctor inject a cyst with cortisone to make it go away quickly — this never worked for me at all, and my two worst scars are from the two times I tried this. Also, try using a lot of benzoyl peroxide in the days leading up to your period; you can slather moisturizer over it to fight the dryness. Products with sulfur and resorcinol help fight redness and can smooth your skin as well if you have any inflammation.

      All that said, the causes of acne differ from one person to another and some of it is just hopelessly intractable. Cysts are just horrible. I totally feel your pain.

  4. Help!

    My work just told me that a TV network wants me to appear as a guest expert on a news talk show.

    I’ve never been on camera before, and am scrambling to think of what to wear and need shopping help.

    I’m plus size (about 18w), which makes it tougher. Plus, I’m very very pale, with nearly black hair, so my usual go-to black outfit is out I think, because otherwise my hair might blend into my clothing.

    Any suggestions on what to wear? It’s business dress, so dresses or suits. And I’ll only be visible from the waist up, if that helps. And what jewelry should I wear? (bonus points for specific tops or links)

    I’m planning on getting my hair and makeup done, but any suggestions on what colors to wear/what to avoid would be appreciated?

  5. workplace napping

    Does anyone regularly nap at work? Is there a way to do it and not become that weird person who naps? I find it draining to be “on” for 8-9 hours all day and would like to close my office door and close my eyes for 10-20 minutes but in our office a closed door usually means “knock” not “stay away” so I run the risk of interruption.

    • Anonymous

      Lordy, no. But I cannot nap — I need a good 2 hours of sleep for a nap and then wake up in a stupor.

      Instead of nap, try a brisk 15 minute walk / supply run to another floor / etc. That will not peg you as the weird one who naps.

    • K

      My cube mate takes a nap for a bit after lunchtime. Feet on desk, headphones on, snoring. No one else seems to mind it. Not sure if I could do that, though.

    • Anonymous

      one of our admins naps in her car during lunch. i’ll admit to finding it weird that she can’t stay awake for 8 hours but no one else in my office seems to mind

          • Never too many shoes...

            Idling your car for 20 minutes with the AC on so you can nap, just burning gas and emitting exhaust for your own comfort, is mind-boggling in its selfishness.

          • Anon at 10:41

            Yo, relax, I don’t do it. I was giving the poster an answer to her question.

        • Anonymous

          Unless you’ve taken a serious sedative, you would wake up long before you got seriously ill. Dogs and babies die in hot cars because they can’t just open the door and get out. But if you’re not incapacitated, you’re not going to roast to death without being aware of it.

        • Anonymous

          I don’t think it’s dangerous for a full-grown adult to do this for 20 minutes with the A/C running (if you’re outside) and the window cracked, or inside (garage) with just the windows cracked. I’ve sat awake in my car in a parking lot waiting, doing work, etc. for these same periods of time. You’d notice it getting uncomfortably hot within a couple minutes if you had your car fully closed and parked outside in the summer (which is why it’s especially dangerous for kids and babies and pets, since they can’t regulate their body temperature like we can)

    • Cat

      “Is there a way to do it and not become that weird person who naps?”

      No, sorry. Can you step outside for fresh air?

    • Anon

      Can you nap in your car over lunch? I doubt anyone will notice. But definitely don’t nap on your work’s time.

    • Linda from HR

      There was one week where I was super tired, due to a variety of events keeping me out until midnight or 1AM, and work was slow, so I just closed my eyes for maybe 10 minutes, while sitting upright with my back turned to the opening of my cubicle. I don’t think anyone noticed, and man did it feel good!

      But regularly? Not at the office. When I worked from home once a week I would often tune into Grey’s Anatomy, lie on the couch, and nap through an episode, then guzzle an energy shot and get back to work.

    • Anonymous

      I sometimes go to my car and nap for 15-20 minutes. I live in a place with real winter and our garage is not heated, so this only works from about about April-October.

    • Anonymous

      One of my friends was like this and it turned out that she has a sleep disorder similar to narcolepsy. If you’re truly tired frequently and fall asleep at the drop of a hat, it might be worth talking to a doctor.

      • AL

        This – a friend of mine was tired all the time and ended up being diagnosed with sleep apnea.

    • Anonymous

      I’m pretty senior and not in any sort of casual / tech environment. It is really, really, not done where I work (or anywhere else I’ve worked) and would caution you that this is 100% know your workplace and likely to get you in trouble / tagged with a bad reputation anywhere it is not 100% OK and regularly done by people who are your peers.

      • Anonymous

        Senior associate at BigLaw, when I’m routinely working until 2am, I often close my door and take a 10-20 minute cat nap. I think its pretty common. Generally, if someone knocks and you don’t respond they go away. I think its really a know your office situation.

    • Anonymous

      I wish. This was my favourite part of being a nanny back in my student days – I slept when the baby slept!

    • Anon

      Definitely a know your office situation. I used to work at a very nap-friendly law firm and boy do I miss it!

    • Anonymous

      Would closing your door for 10-20 minutes just to sit, relax, have your coffee, read a book for 15 minutes over lunch, etc. give you enough of a recharging boost to get through the day?

      I’ve been a car napper in the past, on occassion, but not on the daily. And I worked where my car was a good 7-ish minute walk from my desk.

      • Anonymous

        +1

        When I need to recharge at work, I get out and find somewhere to read for a little while. And make sure you’re taking a proper lunch break too, if you can.

    • JHC

      I take a regular nap at work, but I’m my own boss, so I’ve go the latitude to do it. As for pointers, I have a couch in my office, even though I only see clients in my conference room. I usually set a timer for 20-30 minutes, take my shoes off, and zonk out. It’s one of my greatest pleasures. When I was an employee at a large firm, I do recall taking naps during my first trimester, and I just shut the door, turned my chair away from the door as though I was looking through my credenza for something, and snoozed. My secretary was the only person who ever walked in while I napped, but I was able to pretty easily look alert and handle her inquiry. Also, see Arianna Huffington. She’s a huge at-work napping advocate.

    • Sam

      When I was heavily pregnant and feeling terrible I have occasionally napped in my car or in the mother’s room with door closed. I figured other mothers would understand and they would be the only ones to walk in. I recommend being very circumspect about it though.

    • anon

      Why are people so judgmental about this? There are lots of people who would benefit from a 10-20 min nap throughout the day (whether due to pregnancy, chronic illness, feeling a little bit under the weather, or whatnot) and it’s no different in terms of your work ethic than any of the other styles of taking a break for the same amount of time that have been mentioned here.

  6. Paging Kate Middletown

    Just saw your reply yesterday about the Plated code. Here is my email:

    lily gr becker [but without spaces] at google’s mail? thank you!

    thanks!

  7. Anonymous

    My husband does. Everybody definitely knows he’s a person who naps, but they’re all pretty good natured about it, and know if his door is closed for 20 minutes that’s probably why so they don’t bug him. So maybe he was a little uncomfortable with it at first, but now the fact that he’s been so open about it (and is otherwise available and does good work, etc.) makes it pretty easy for him to get away with. I’d imagine whether this would work or not would depend in a large part on office culture.

    • Anonymous

      Shoot, sorry, this was meant to be a response to the question about naps above. Oops.

  8. BigLaw -- senior / partner Q

    Say you are senior, like a senior associate / counsel / income partner. People are moving around in your niche, resulting in an AmLaw 50 firm needing to replace their person who left. If you know people there (and they know you and you are in the city), it is totally weird that you’d get a headhunter call and not a direct call?

    Whenever I’ve poached people or hired a lateral, I’ve worked all relationship angles I can figuring that no one really takes headhunter calls (I don’t except by accident and I don’t return them).

    • BC

      There is nothing sinister about a headhunter filling an opening for a firm–that’s their job! And many lawyers don’t consider recruiting to be part of their job, so they are happy to outsource that. If you’re interested and you know someone at the firm, I wouldn’t find it strange for you to reach out and say, hey, a headhunter called me, what’s going on in your department? But you need to respect that you heard about it from the headhunter and can’t undermine the headhunter. They could sue the firm if the firm hires you directly after the headhunter tipped you off.

      • BigLaw -- senior / partner Q

        This went below for some reason:

        The dynamic seems just so odd.

        And TBH, my area is so small and we talk all the time. So small that I knew this firm would need to be hiring before the firm itself knew. So if you know me and want me to come work for you, why not call me and make your pitch? B/c I will run into you at lunch in a week and then I’ll just come out and ask anyway . . .

        • Anonymous

          It’s not personal. They are doing whatever they normally do when they have a position like this to fill.

        • Anon

          I doubt they told the headhunter, “call Jane.” They more likely gave the headhunter the criteria for the position and he or she found you that way. The fact that you know the people in the department is probably a coincidence.

          I wouldn’t think anything of it, unless I was interested in working there, in which case I’d reach out directly (I don’t think you have an obligation to work through a headhunter you haven’t engaged when you already knew about the opening.)

        • Hollis

          Lots of reasons for this. Headhunters reach out to people who seem like they are the right fit but that I would not consider the right fit either because I know that person and they’re experience isn’t exactly right (headhunters are not all lawyers so they may not pick up on subtle differences in types of transactions, etc.), I know they don’t have the right personality or work ethic or mindset for the position we have in mind (e.g., they are not hard-working or hate networking or whatever), and mainly – I don’t want to waste my billable time cold-calling a bunch of random lawyers at other firms in the off chance that they would be interested in lateraling over to my firm. So, I’m outsourcing the task by having the headhunter handle it – the vast majority of people they contact are not going to be interested in making a move.

    • Anonymous

      BigLaw firms have processes. We need to hire someone, get approval from firm management to backfill role, call recruiting, recruiting goes through their process which includes letting headhunters know about an open position. While I have seen/heard of people reaching out directly, particularly in a smaller specialty, it’s generally much more common for the BigLaw machine to just do its thing.

  9. Anonymous

    I know Loft is one of those stores that seems to have a sale every other day, but I’m trying to decide if I should wait or not. I’m eyeing a few dresses that seem to be marked down already by about $20-30. Should I wait for some kind of 40% off everything sale, or will the dress prices have gone up by then (and maybe be sold out in my size)?

    • Anonymous

      If the dress is down to $20-$30 I would jump on it. They will likely be out of almost all sizes by the time it dips any lower than that.

    • Torin

      You can always monitor prices for a month after you buy and get a price adjustment if it goes down further.

  10. Anonymous

    This is a really pretty top and exactly the kind of thing that’s perfect for my casual business casual office.

  11. BigLaw -- senior / partner Q

    The dynamic seems just so odd.

    And TBH, my area is so small and we talk all the time. So small that I knew this firm would need to be hiring before the firm itself knew. So if you know me and want me to come work for you, why not call me and make your pitch? B/c I will run into you at lunch in a week and then I’ll just come out and ask anyway . . .

  12. Work solutions needed

    Does anyone have solutions to a work environment where poor performance is rewarded and pro-active problem solvers are not? Essentially, the people that bring problems to light and attempt to solve them are the more visible ones and the workhorses. The higher-ups pile on more and more work to these people because they are the responsible go-getters, but obviously they have the added risk of taking on so many projects and problems that they also get all the blame anytime something goes wrong. The non-productive people that do nothing come out looking like the golden children because they have no projects, no problems to solve, and thus no complaints about any of their work.

    • Anonymous

      Can you say hey, my plate is pretty full right now, but I think Lazy Larry has the bandwidth to tackle the problem?

    • Torin

      The problem that you can try to solve is whether or not your workload is too onerous for you to do a good job. If it is, speak up and tell them you’re at capacity and can’t take new projects. It’s then your boss’s job to allocate the work to others.

      The problem you can’t and shouldn’t try to solve is how the non-productive people are perceived. You can’t force people to agree with you that someone else is a poor performer.

      • Work solutions needed

        I guess that’s the problem I have- my boss agrees that they are non-productive and don’t get any work done and tells me so…yet, they still get raises and are rewarded at the same level, when I pick up all the slack and take all the heat.

        • Torin

          Then as I see it there are two solutions: stop caring, because caring clearly provides no rewards, or find a new job where your hard work will be rewarded.

    • Anonymous

      Sounds like this is a great workplace for slacking off! But if you don’t enjoy slacking off, you should probably find a new job elsewhere.

      Motivated people hate this idea, but to some extent our jobs are what the people who pay us say our jobs are. You may well want to do extra work for the sake of your career, but it will create friction in an environment where the effort and outcomes aren’t valued or rewarded, so I think it needs to be part of a plan to get out of there.

      • Torin

        +1 to your second paragraph. The culture of your workplace isn’t random. It’s created by management’s attitudes, policies, etc.

      • Work solutions needed

        Thanks to everyone for replies, even if quitting and/or finding a new workplace isn’t what I wanted to hear. I needed to hear it!

  13. Please help

    In the last month my boyfriend has broken up with me, work is out of control crazy with long nights and weekends, my aging dog is struggling and near the end, and now….I think I may have bedbugs. Please help. I was already in survival mode (left foot, right foot…) but this has made me want to curl up in a ball on my floor (obviously not in my bed).

    Those of you who have survived and gotten rid of bedbugs, please give me your best advice. I’m in a rental apartment so I will have to involve my landlord (and luckily my state has some strong tenants protections so landlords can’t retaliate for this) and professionals. But please tell me your success stories – what kind of professional got rid of them? Could you avoid toxic chemicals (see, aging fragile dog)? Did you get rid of all your furniture or could it be saved? What worked and what didn’t? It all seems so daunting. I just want a way through this and to come out on the other side.

    I’m still hoping it’s just mosquitoes or some other biting bug but I wake every morning with painful itchy welts. (was trying to blame it on stress but it’s definitely something biting me). No sign of any bugs or blood smears or anything yet.

    • Veronica Mars

      OK, don’t panic. Go straight to heat treatment. Insist on it. Also, get yourself a silk or cotton sleeping sack from Amazon. Spray it with permetherin insecticide. Sleep inside that to protect your body from the bedbugs at night. They have kinds you can tuck your pillow into as well. Permetherin will not kill bedbugs, but it does repel and slow them down, that plus the sheet should protect you from some of the misery. Also apply as directed. You need A LOT of it for the sleep sheet. Good luck.

    • Flats Only

      I got bedbugs from travel. I washed my sheets, and took the mattress pad and the comforter to the laundry mat for a wash. I vacuumed the mattress and replaced the foam topper. I wiped out my suitcase with lysol. No more bedbugs. Unless they’ve been a problem for weeks and weeks they have probably only infested your bed, not your whole apartment. Try what I’ve described before you call in a professional.

    • Anonymous

      Be forewarned that you may be responsible for the costs. The best approach, as I understand it, is to get rid of soft items – mattresses, sofas, etc. – and then high heat. The chemicals are not in as much favor because the bugs are becoming resistant. It may require multiple treatments, and if you’re in an apartment or townhouse, your neighbors may need to be treated. Do you know the potential source of the bed bugs?

      I’m sorry. As a landlord and owner, bed bugs are one of my worst nightmares.

      • Linda from HR

        Do you know if renter’s insurance usually covers the treatments? I’ve never dealt with an infestation myself, but knowing my insurance would help would probably give me peace of mind.

        • Anonymous

          I had them a few years ago. Luckily our landlord paid for the treatments but I spent about $1500 on getting everything in my closet dry cleaned (not sure if this was actually necessary). I looked at my renters insurance policy to see if I could submit that and it specifically did not cover pest control issues.

      • OP

        I think in my jurisdiction there’s a specific law for this that requires the landlord to cover it unless they can prove that the tenant caused it. (The city has a big problem with bedbugs and this law is intended to make sure they are dealt it professionally and thoroughly. Whether it’s fair or not is debatable.) I have no idea where the bugs came from – could be from another unit. I haven’t really traveled anywhere for a few months, had my sister visiting about 6 weeks ago but the problem only started a week ago so that seems like a long gap.

    • Anonymous

      Had bedbugs years ago, have not had a recurrence since. I hired a professional ASAP and my landlord was nice enough to split the cost with me; if I had waited a bit and worked through the landlord, he would have hired one of his own guys and paid for the whole thing, but I didn’t want to wait. I got the whole apartment treated twice, laundered literally everything that could be laundered (kept it double-bagged between treatments), and a friend lent me a PackTite, which was also really helpful. I took a little bit of a risk on keeping all my upholstered furniture (except for the bedspring that was the original site of the infestation), but it was fine.

    • Torin

      Maybe replace your mattress and pillows and immediately put the new ones in bed-bug proof mattress/pillow protectors?

      • Torin

        Also I am so sorry all of this crap is happening to you at once. Hang in there.

    • Anonymous

      I am so sympathetic because I’m horrified by the possibility of bedbugs. But they are not known vectors of disease, and they really can happen anywhere, to anyone who spends time in public places. I know this still sucks, but I hope that might help you avoid unnecessary feelings of fear or shame.

    • Gigi

      How awful — I am really sorry to hear that you’re going through all this.

      For the bedbugs, you need an independent inspector, not one affiliated with a pest-control company. There is a difference between one bedbug (or other creature) and a full-on infestation, and a pest-control company will be motivated to categorize as a bedbug infestation even if it’s not bedbugs and/or not an infestation. If you’re in NYC, use Discovery Dogs. If you’re not, you may want to reach out to them anyway and see if they can recommend a company in your city, it you’re in a big city.

      If it turns out you have an infestation and need to be treated, you can hire people to pack up your house — again, if you’re in NYC, I can recommend PestPrepNYC, or your independent inspector may be able to give you some names (definitely look into the bad reviews, and look at multiple companies). You need things to be packed up properly (totally sealed, and clothes dried at a really high temp.) They can also recommend the exterminator. We had a bad experience with a big-name exterminator, who is incentivized to spot infestations everywhere and then do a mediocre job of treating in order to get called back for multiple rounds. You want to do it once and get it right.

      For mattress protector, we got this on A mazon: HOSPITOLOGY PRODUCTS – The Original Sleep Defense System – Waterproof / Bed Bug / Dust Mite Proof – PREMIUM Zippered Mattress Encasement & Hypoallergenic Protector.

      You will get through this.

    • Anonymous

      +1 to heat treatment (don’t waste your time with the toxic chemicals; the heat treatment works better anyway).

      I personally had success after tossing the mattress and treating the bedframe and surrounding area with diatomaceous earth (it’s non-toxic, but you can’t get it in your lungs, so you need to wear a painting mask when you surround your bed with it), but I think I noticed the bugs almost as soon as they showed up. I don’t know if there are pros you can call who use this protocol; in your circumstances, I would go straight to the heat treatment so you know it’s handled.

    • EWG

      I had the same fears as you and it turned out to be dust mites. not bed bugs.

      I would say get someone to come in and do an assessment RIGHT AWAY before the infestation spreads.

    • Anonymous

      Okay, don’t panic. Bedbugs are a pain, but they are not dangerous, do not carry diseases, and can be thwarted. Bedbugger.com was a good source of info for me (5 years ago now admittedly) – but avoid the message boards if you are feeling anxious. We had bedbugs 1.5 times in our NYC apartment – one time confirmed, one time suspected – and also encountered them at a hotel. My husband is highly allergic; i don’t react at all to bites. We did not get rid of almost anything. We used the crappy pest control service our landlord paid for (in NYC landlord pays), who sprayed our rent-stabilized apartment with unknown chemicals. We ran our clothes and bedding through the dryer on high for 20 minutes, than stored things we weren’t using in plastic contractor bags tightly twisted and tied. My husband would line a plastic hamper with two bags, but in a stack of folded clothes, compress them in the bag to push out as much air as possible, then twist the top of the bag and knot it. This produced an airtight plastic-enclosed brick that we labeled with duct tape and stored in a stack in our 1 bedroom apartment. We kept out a small number of clothes to wear that we washed and heat treated once a week. We tried to keep shoes and bags out of the bedroom. Rubbing alcohol will kill bedbugs, so you can also spray things that can’t be washed with that. We encased the mattress after it was chemically treated and are still using it years later. The bed was sprayed down, not replaced. We did not do anything to furniture and clothes in other rooms – we just dealt with things within about 10 feet of the site of infestation, since bed bugs are small, fragile, and stay close to their food source. We put our wool sweaters in the dryer -DRY – to heat treat them and they were fine. We asked a neighbor to keep our cats overnight on days the apartment was sprayed. I think it took at least 2 treatments for the confirmed infestation, but that is normal due to the life cycle of the bugs – you have to come back and spray after any eggs have hatched IIRC.

    • JLAC

      I worked in pest control for years. This is completely treatable, but probably one of the most stress inducing pests. Definitely have a canine sweep. A good company will identify bed bugs or tell you if it’s something else. (If you’re in NYC or surrounding area I have a couple of recommendations, if you’re somewhere else I may know companies, I have contacts nationally). Heat treatment is the quickest and most reliable way to treat bed bugs, but most expensive. Its also the least amount of prep work so in that respect is the easiest option . Chemical treatments involve cleaning all clothes and bedding and keeping them out until the treatment is done. The only time I’ve seen a landlord pay is when the bugs came from other tenants. But have someone come right away to inspect for your peace of mind.

    • Shanana

      two ideas to add, as it sounds like you don’t know for sure thats what it is yet:

      – Have you recently changed your laundry detergent? I get that exact reaction any time I try anything by tide of with a fragrance.

      – As you mentioned your dog is ailing, if he has been visiting the vet more often he may have picked up fleas. Is he also itching? I know personally I get itchier than my dog does if he gets a single flea.

    • Sarah

      I’ve had bed bugs two different times at different apartments. I was horrified each time, but don’t panic. Both times the problem was fixed and went away.

      Talk to your landlord. They will send a bed bug professional to address the issue. In my case, the landlords didn’t blink an eye and were super practical and solution oriented. They paid for all the treatments and arranged it. You will probably need to wash all your clothes and put them in bags while the treatment happens. You will have to vacuum up your apartment and clear floor areas in closets etc.

      The bed bug guys came to my apartment and sprayed down the mattress, carpet, couches, etc. It takes about two weeks for the bed bugs to process through and go away completely. The exterminators came back for a second treatment, but we didn’t have to wash all our clothes again. Just the bedding.

      I know it seems terrible now, but you will be okay! Just take it step by step. Just treat it like a mild illness, something you definitely did not want to have happen, but you need to deal with it.

    • Lilly

      I don’t have any advice, but here is sympathy and a hug from an internet stranger. Take good care of yourself.

  15. Ginger in Tech Support

    For my plus size girls, Dress Barn is selling all their dresses for $24.50. They have a few really cute dresses that are totally work appropriate. It also stacks with the DB Dollars.

    • kk

      yep, i frequently wash mine in a gentle cycle on cold, and hung to dry. it has been fine for 2+ years.

    • Triangle Pose

      Totally fine. Take out shoulder inserts, wash cold on gentle/delicates cycle in a delicates bag. Lay flat on drying rack to dry. I have 2 and they are like new. I have washed 2 times each.

    • Mm LaFleur Jardigan

      Thank you! I didn’t notice the care tag said dry clean only until I had worn it once…

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