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I was browsing through Madewell's bestseller list recently, and they had a whole section on “keep forever bags.” That's a big claim — and perhaps an entire post on its own. After all, I've seen a LOT of bag styles come and go just in the past few years.
Still, I do really like this simple, modern, crossbody — and honestly, for the price ($148) I'd be OK with it just lasting a few seasons.
You can get the bag for $148–$168 at Madewell and Nordstrom. If you want a fancier bag strap, check out the Madewell selection.
(The Transport line is a HUGE reader favorite for larger totes — and there are a few colorways and styles of the Transport line included in the 2021 Nordstrom Anniversary Sale!)
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!
Sales of note for 8.30.24
- Nordstrom – Summer Sale, save up to 60%
- Ann Taylor – 30% off full-price purchase; $99 jackets, dresses & shoes; extra 50% off sale
- Banana Republic Factory – 50-70% off everything + extra 20% off
- Bergdorf Goodman – Final Days Designer Sale, up to 75% off; extra 20% off sale
- Boden – 20% off
- Brooks Brothers – Extra 25% off clearance
- Eloquii – Up to 60% off everything; extra 60% off all sale
- J.Crew – 40% off sitewide; extra 60% off sale styles
- J.Crew Factory – Extra 20% off orders $125+; extra 60% off clearance; 60%-70% off 100s of styles
- Lo & Sons – Summer sale, up to 50% off (ends 9/2)
- Madewell – Extra 40% off sale; extra 50% off select denim; 25% off fall essentials
- M.M.LaFleur – Save 25% sitewide
- Rothy's – End of season sale, up to 50% off
- Spanx – Lots of workwear in the big sale, some up to 70% off
- Talbots – 25% off regular-price purchase; 70% off clearance
- White House Black Market – Up to 70% off sale
Sales of note for 8.30.24
- Nordstrom – Summer Sale, save up to 60%
- Ann Taylor – 30% off full-price purchase; $99 jackets, dresses & shoes; extra 50% off sale
- Banana Republic Factory – 50-70% off everything + extra 20% off
- Bergdorf Goodman – Final Days Designer Sale, up to 75% off; extra 20% off sale
- Boden – 20% off
- Brooks Brothers – Extra 25% off clearance
- Eloquii – Up to 60% off everything; extra 60% off all sale
- J.Crew – 40% off sitewide; extra 60% off sale styles
- J.Crew Factory – Extra 20% off orders $125+; extra 60% off clearance; 60%-70% off 100s of styles
- Lo & Sons – Summer sale, up to 50% off (ends 9/2)
- Madewell – Extra 40% off sale; extra 50% off select denim; 25% off fall essentials
- M.M.LaFleur – Save 25% sitewide
- Rothy's – End of season sale, up to 50% off
- Spanx – Lots of workwear in the big sale, some up to 70% off
- Talbots – 25% off regular-price purchase; 70% off clearance
- White House Black Market – Up to 70% off sale
Some of our latest posts here at Corporette…
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…
Senior Attorney
I love the look of saddlebags but I find them unwieldy in practice. I like to be able to dig into my bag on the go and the flap gets in the way.
anne-on
If you can get over the cost (and you’re in the market for a designer bag) I have been SHOCKED at how useful my Hermes Evelyne is. I knew I wanted a daily use bag vs. a small chanel clutch type of bag, but this thing is a serious workhorse. I did buy a special organizational insert but it is both dressy/sophisticated enough to be my nighttime bag as well as fit everything I need to cart it around for a day of sightseeing/at theme parks. It was a promotion gift to myself about 5 years ago and I would replace it in a heartbeat if I needed to.
AZCPA
I feel the same way about my medium size Chloe Marcie – it’s a similar shape to the Evelyne, and I find it to be an incredible workhorse. I carry day to night for all but the fanciest events, and the crossbody strap is so handy.
BeenThatGuy
I’m so glad you posted this. I’ve been eyeing that bag for months and I haven’t been able to pull the trigger. I’m going to do it!
Anonymous
I cannot get over the cost, but I looked up both of these bags and can see why they would be functional (and lovely, just not at a price I personally will ever pay for a bag).
AZCPA
I’ve had great luck on Poshmark for the Marcie – I now have two and bought my mom one as well. Two were new with tags, another so gently used it might as well have been NWT. And all for about half the sticker price. Still not cheap of course, but much more palatable.
Anonymous
Do you have the 7″ or 11″?
Cat
My thoughts exactly! Pretty but one of life’s minor irritations to use in practice. I’ve had a few over the years and have donated or resold all of them. Top zip all the way.
anon
Same. It’s too bad, because I love the style.
Anon
This one doesn’t look like it has a flap though? At least from the pictures on the site… am I missing something?
Senior Attorney
OMG you’re right — it’s a faux flap!! My world is rocked…
Anonymous
I love saddlebags and don’t have this problem at all! I just flip the flap over, and full access to everything. :D
Zoom Meeting Tops
I just started a new fully remote forever professional job with lots of on-camera meetings. I have a hodge podge of mostly athleisure from my former job. I’d like to simply my morning by purchasing 5 short sleeved, polyester/non-wrinkle tops in non-memorable colors/prints that I can just through in the wash on delicate.
The Anne Klein shell would work if it wasn’t sleeveless, but that’s not a good look for me.
Is there anything similar with short sleeves?
Zoom Meeting Tops
Ugh typos – sorry
anne-on
They’re not as cheap as you might like, but these look really nice:
https://mmlafleur.com/shop/product/tops/nejvi-top-mosaic-print-goldenrod-ivory
If you’re ok with some ruffles:
https://www.nordstrom.com/s/1-state-ruffle-sleeve-mixed-media-top/5924417?origin=category-personalizedsort&breadcrumb=Home%2FAnniversary%20Sale%2FWomen%2FClothing%2FTops&color=930
In general – you can search JCrew/Nordstrom/Bloomingdales by sleeve length and shirt type – filter for short sleeves and ‘blouses’ under tops and you should turn up some good options.
Zoom Meeting Tops
Ooh – and I forgot about the anniversary sale!
pugsnbourbon
I bought one of these tops from Uniqlo and I’m really impressed. It has a really nice drape.
https://www.uniqlo.com/us/en/women-crepe-jersey-crew-neck-french-sleeve-t-shirt-433710.html?dwvar_433710_color=COL09&cgid=women-t-shirts-and-tops-fashion-tees
pugsnbourbon
Whoops it looks like that specific top is almost sold out. This one also looks promising: https://www.uniqlo.com/us/en/women-drape-crew-neck-short-sleeve-t-shirt-437618.html?dwvar_437618_color=COL56&cgid=women-t-shirts-and-tops
Zoom Meeting Tops
Thank you so much!
Cora
I bought some plain tops from Banana Republic and Express for this purpose. They’re basically elevated tshirts, but very versatile
Veronica Mars
Loft, my friend. They have what you need.
Zoom Meeting Tops
Thanks :)
Anonymous
I really like the Halogen cap-sleeve blouse for this.
Another anon
+1
Zoom Meeting Tops
Thank you
Anon
Walmart! Seriously. They have a v-neck tee in a fancier fabric than a normal t-shirt. I wear it under my suits as well as by itself on Zoom calls. Lots of colors. I have maroon, navy blue, olive, black….
Zoom Meeting Tops
Thanks!
MechanicalKeyboard
Oooh. I’m always in need of these. Do you have the name of the shirt?
Anon
Brand is Time and Tru, though I also have some from No Boundaries from a prior season. I think it’s this shirt but I’d have to see it in person to know for sure. They sell both, the fancy work t-shirt and the relaxed j-crew style cotton t. Hard to tell online what’s what but this seems like the fancier one.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Time-and-Tru-Women-s-Core-V-Neck-T-Shirt/678823754
Kelsey
I highly recommend the Dakota Jersey Top from Boden. They are pricey but go on sale and are sometimes on poshmark or ebay also. The back is made from a stretchier material so they are super comfortable.
Anonymous
Google is so creepy. I have Gmail and so does a relative. For some reason, Google added my relative’s flight to my calendar, even though my relative never emailed me her flight information, did not add me to her itinerary, and did not even tell me the airline or date of her trip in a text or phone conversation. It’s not a big deal in this situation, but I’d hate to think of how Google’s snooping and lack of privacy could harm women who are trying to escape from abusive husbands or get a secret abortion or anything else where you’d want actual privacy for safety’s sake. Heck, even something like a job interview could get copied to your boss’s calendar. Time to switch to ProtonMail full-time!
Anonymous
You can share stuff to other people’s calendars. Your relative probably just thought they were telling you about the trip and didn’t realize it would show up in your calendar. Unless you share the job interview to your boss, they can’t see it.
Anonymous
But she never shared the details of the trip with me, at least not on purpose. She never emailed me an itinerary or even content describing her itinerary. I have nothing to do with this trip!
bbb
I’ve had this happen with my brother in law who I don’t see often – like you, I had nothing to do with the trip, and we don’t even email much. It was a total privacy violation.
Anonymous
The calendar add is the sharing. When you add something to your calendar it gives you options to add it to other contacts calendars, if she wasn’t paying attention she could have accidentally added to your calendar.
I know because I use this feature all the time to add stuff to DH’s calendar, or one or more of the kids’ calendars and I’ve definitely accidentally added to the wrong calendar before when I wasn’t paying attention. I think you can lock your calendar so other people can’t add.
anonymous
My mom forwards me her emails from the airline with her flight info and then I see it show up on my calendar. That’s helpful for me b/c I sometimes drive her to/from the airport. I’ve never had the flight info show up on my calendar otherwise.
AFT
This happened to me once, and was actually helpful because my mom had purchased her flight early and miscalendared the date… so when I got a reminder about the flight in a few hours on Wednesday and I was expecting her Thursday, I was able to call and she managed to catch it.
Anon
I’ve posted about this before, but I’m still a bit weirded out by the Google Books results I get if I search the names of various people I know (first and last name in quotes). In some cases, the books are relevant to their professional interests. But in other cases, the books seem to reveal personal interests that I wouldn’t necessarily want Google to advertise!
Anon
For a while my aunt’s photos from her phone would auto download to my Google photos all because she had needed to log into her account on my phone once, or vice versa (can’t remember which it was). I would hate to think that my photos are also popping up in someone’s account like that.
Anonymous
Isn’t this like basic internet though? If you’ve logged into something on someone else’s device make sure you are fully logged out when you leave.
Sleep test in a lab
So I saw a sleep doctor today because of varied symptoms (eye twitching, unreasonable daytime exhaustion, inability to focus, inability to lose weight) and she wants me to do a sleep test in a lab, and said from there maybe we’d do CPAP or surgery. (She also said my tonsils were barely visible because my mouth was “so crowded” by tongue etc.) Any tips for sleep test in a lab, or navigating further Qs?
Anonymous
If you get a choice for a home test or one at their lab, push for the lab. It’s far more accurate. (So much so that my doctor encouraged me to go out of network to a lab, as she knew my insurer was likely to deny it and have me at home otherwise.)
I was nervous, but it’s honestly no big deal. They let me watch a bit of TV until I fell asleep. The cords are a pain because they hook you up to monitors on your head (paste in your hair), legs and arms. But know that they can undo everything in a few seconds without having to re-attach from scratch. So if you have to get up and pee, it’s super easy to have them undo it, and let you walk (and they won’t accompany you into the bathroom or anything like that). Ask about the timing. If they want you to go to bed earlier, it might be good to try to get in that habit in advance. And if they do find apnea, don’t let it bring you down. I was kind of depressed at first about the idea of having to wear a mask at night. But I tried different styles and have one now that I like and I truly don’t even think about it anymore. (And using a CPAP is much quieter than snoring–my husband approves). And the difference in using it has been life changing. Like seriously–so much more energy, so much better focus, so much less moodiness. I can’t say enough how drastic of an improvement it brought to my life. I wish I had a lab test sooner, as I feel like I wasted a lot of time in my life feeling like I was just dragging. (My prior GP literally told me to drink more coffee when I complained about being so tired all of the time. In fact, that was what triggered me to go to the new doctor who gave me the sleep referral.) If you do end up needing to use a CPAP and have any questions later, please feel free to post. I’m happy to share any tips on cleaning and what not. I seriously could be a spokesperson, it has made my life that much better now.
Sloan Sabbith
Agree. I was diagnosed with apnea in February 2020 and my life is so much better. I’m no longer drowsy all the time.
Anon
If the point is to see how you breath while you sleep and not whether you sleep, they may be find with you taking something to help you sleep. Since mine was about how many times per night I would stop breathing, I could take a benadryl or unisom or xanax. I’d check before doing that.
Anon
Xanax is really not a med that’s recommended to help people not stop breathing!!
migraines
And nevermind that Benadryl and Xanax are TERRIBLE routine sleep aids.
Anon
I recommended it for a one night thing, not routine, and after talking with your doctor. Not as a regular occurrence! I specified an anti anxiety med because people are often anxious for the test. My doc approved it, maybe she was wrong.
Anon
Aren’t Benadryl and Unisom the same drug?
Random Question
What do you keep on top of your dresser in your bedroom?
Anonymous
Nothing — I knew it would just be a messy space so we got a hutch-cabinet thing on top of our dresser. I have a hidden jewelry drawer inside one of my drawers that works far better than a dresser would for keeping my stuff corralled.
busybee
My jewelry box, necklace tree, and a single perfume which is on a tiny little glass tray.
Anon
A mirrored tray with some pieces of jewelry, face creams, and perfumes on it. A photo of me and my husband.
Anonymous
The TV.
Anon
Crap. So much crap.
Anonymous
+1 it’s hopefully only temporary though, yay renovations…..
Sloan Sabbith
Books, lamp, Alexa, candle.
test run
I don’t have a dresser in my bedroom (it’s in the closet), but I have a console table that has our sound machine (the dohm machine I was singing the praises of a few days ago), a ceramic bowl filled with foreign coins, a candle (or two), and a few piece of art/photographs propped against the wall. It also usually has a baseball cap of my husband’s on it, just to give me the opportunity to move it once a day.
Anon
I have a tendency to pile up crap on dressers and now only use armoires (can’t even reach the top).
anon
All of my jewelry either on a rack or in various decorative dishes, several photographs, some decorative tchotkes, and a wooden box that contains detrius I haven’t gotten around to admitting I don’t need yet.
Senior Attorney
One thing that really helps is to put one or more pretty trays on the top of the dresser. Some how even if there’s the same type and amount of crap, it looks better on a tray rather than directly on the top of the dresser.
Anonymous
No dresser. The closest would be the nightstands, which has lamp, tissues and alarm clock.
My fantasy self has a dressing table with mirror for makeup, often worn jewelry etc, but in reality I keep all he stuff that people has mentioned above in cupboards.
Anon
Nothing. Clutter stresses me out, plus we have cats.
Anon
I have two gilded, mirrored vanity trays with perfumes and jewelry on them. I love the look because my decorating aesthetic is 1940s femme fatale. And yes, I have even chosen perfume for the look of the bottle.
Anonymous
When we moved in it was bare except for a framed wedding photo. Now it has piles of cr*p.
Pep
The TV, a couple framed photos, a jewelry tree for necklaces I wear often, and a little porcelain dish for change and stuff I pull out of my pockets at the end of the day.
Vicky Austin
Jewelry dish, fabric red-and-white Christmas tree that was a late gift from my sister and which I like too much to put away.
Mattress recommendations
Can anyone recommend where to get a twin sized mattress that we could get shipped to us relatively soon that would work for what will eventually become our kid’s bed (he’s a newborn now so it’ll be a while) but also work for visiting grandmothers/guests etc (so we’d want it to be pretty comfortable and firm – my mom has a bad back). I love IKEA mattresses but we have no IKEA nearby and shipping is almost as much as the mattress. I have Keetsa mattresses that I love but they are out of all their twin sizes. Macys doesn’t ship to our area. There aren’t any great big box stores nearby (we’re in a smallish town).
AZCPA
I’ve been super happy with our Leesa, and a friend has the Casper both in Queen for herself and twin for her son, both have been pleased. I’d go with one of those, since their business model is based on shipping them.
MechanicalKeyboard
I just looked at the Keep-Forever bag selection at Madewell and I’m impressed. I HATE shopping for purses so I prefer materials that last. I don’t care for logos, prints, or extra details but don’t want bags that look like they came from H&M. These are right up my alley.
Monte
I was really disappointed by the quality of my Madewell tote. It barely lasted 6 or 8 months of regular use before it looked haggard. I got mine about 2 years ago, though, so maybe the materials have changed.
Anonymous
Has anyone with older kids that are still too young for their own bank accounts (<18) used Greenlight debit cards (I understand from a friend that you can use your major bank bank account to set up / monitor / move funds over / etc.) or something else for kids? Businesses do not seem to want cash these days and I don't want to give my kids my debit card or a credit card. I'd like to put their allowance on something not full of junky fees and to actually feel the pain of spending. As a teen, I kept cash b/c my parents' bank wasn't walkable from our house and I needed to co-sign any withdrawal slips (it was a savings account) even though I had a job and worked.
Oddly, where I work puts us unto a banking group where we are supposed to have access to private bankers, but they all seem interested in financing $$$ second homes and not practical things of average families.
Anonymous
It’s not that hard to do this. You set up a joint or custodial back account and get a debit card. Most banks can do it easily.
Anonymous
I have not used Greenlight, and it does seem like a good solution. But why are your kids too young for bank accounts? Is it because they don’t work and don’t actually have enough money of their own to make it worthwhile? In that case, they probably don’t need an account. Otherwise, you can open a custodial or joint account in their name. Having my own account as a teen (14, I think) was one of the best things my mother did to prepare me with life skills. And we certainly were able to open an account for me when I went to college at 17, though it must have been a custodial account until I turned 18.
Anon.
Is there a reason they can’t have their own bank account? Pretty sure I had my first checking account when I was like 14.
Cat
Same, I opened my first bank account in middle school (deposited all that babysitting cash!)
Cat
Same, I opened my first bank account in middle school (deposited all that babysitting cash!)
Anonymous
+1 same here
Anonymous
I didn’t think that minors could have anything but UGMA / UTMA accounts and that even then you have to worry about low-balance fees, which can be onerous for small-fry sized accounts. I have no idea really, except that with those accounts, they legally are the kids at age 18, so depending on your kid, that could not end well with $$$ in it (like college savings). I didn’t have a bank account until I was 18 and the fees were crazy b/c my balance was so low.
Anonymous
It’s not that hard. Just don’t put their college savings in there.
anonchicago
I had my own checking account from age 14. Parent just needs to be on the account, but in all practicality it was my money from babysitting, gifts, etc.
Anon.
Minors can also be listed on joint accounts with a parent. Looks like most of the major banking players have a product marketed for teens with no minimum balance and zero or very low fees.
anon
Same here. It wasn’t a big deal.
Anon
Did you write checks on said checking account? Answer to that question will show how old you are. Things are different now.
Anon
Yes, my almost-15-year-old son has used Greenlight since he was 12. I wrote a long response to another question about it here: https://corporette.com/tie-neck-sheath-dress-2/ scroll down towards the bottom and there’s a conversation about it.
Greensleeves
Yes, my kids have Greenlight cards and we’ve been very happy with them. You can fund from a bank account or a credit card. I have it set up to autofund their allowance to the card each week, and it checks in with me before doing so to give me an opportunity to stop it. We also set it up to direct part of the money to Savings and part to Donate – both of those are restricted so they can’t just spend that money. They can set up savings goals for themselves if there are particular items they want to save for. They generally haven’t had any trouble using the cards, either in person or online, but you can restrict where they can spend if you want. They’ve been especially helpful when kids are traveling without us, like a school trip or vacation with a friend, because it’s so easy to add money. Once my oldest was driving and working, she got a checking account for her own money, and we continued to fund the Greenlight card as needed for gas we covered and errands we asked her to run, like stopping at the grocery for something for us. The kids have an app and so do I, so we can both easily see their balances and spending activity. You can also easily deactivate the card, which is handy if your kid leaves the card somewhere – not that I have recent experience with that!! Overall, I recommend them.
Anonymous
Both my kids- 16 and 14- use Greenlight and it’s worked really well, no complaints. Even better now that they can add the cards to their Apple wallet, as my son constantly loses the physical card.
anon
Does anyone have a good magnesium supplement to recommend? I get menstrual migraines, and this is apparently one of the treatment options.
migraines
I just get the costco supplements, Kirkland brand when available. I knew one of the best headache neurologists in the country and he always advised his patients get their supplements at Costco.
Anonymous
If in the UK – I like the Boots own brand ones, simply because the pills are very small and easy to swallow, which matters to me if I’m feeling a migraine coming on, and getting nauseous.
Anon
I use magnesium glycinate, which is supposed to be easier on your stomach than other forms and better absorbed. I buy the Doctor’s Best brand from Amazon, but have have no particular attachment to it, it’s just the easiest place to find it since the stores near me only have magnesium oxide, which causes digestive issues. It really seems to help my headaches, though. Whenever I run out or cut back for some reason, they get worse.
Alyssa
If you were going to take a couple random days off because your job is stressful and you have plenty of PTO, which day of the week would you do? I feel like taking a random Friday off makes it obvious / is suspicious in the summer. Would Mondays off be relaxing?
Cat
Why is that suspicious? You’re taking a vacation day, not sneaking out early, right? I would think summer Fridays would be a great time to take a few days since lots of people are on vacation, taking 3 day weekends etc. (Either that, or work Fridays when fewer people are looking for you, and take a few Mon-Tues long weekends off?)
Anonymous
Friday. Just say you’re taking a PTO day. Ic you’re pretending to be sick, Wednesday. Means Tuesday is a bonus Friday and beaches/lakes not crowded
Anonymous
Yeah I don’t understand what’s “suspicious” about taking long weekends. You’re not lying and sneaking around if you’re using accrued PTO. I generally prefer taking Mondays (and Tuesdays if you’re making a 4 day weekend) off because Fridays tend to be light anyway, like the previous poster said. But I definitely take Fridays sometimes too, if it fits my schedule better. I am actually taking the next four Mondays and Tuesdays off work (some of them as part of a whole week off) but that’s driven by some external factors including a nine day (ugh) daycare closure from a Monday through the following Tuesday.
Anonymous
Since you used the word suspicious, I’m assuming you want to take a vacation day masquerading as a sick day?
If so, Tuesday or Wednesday.
But really, if you just have lots of days accrued, and want to maximize your benefit from a day off? Mondays.
Mondays are brilliant days off. You are well-rested from the weekend, everybody else is working, and everything is open and ready for business if you want to do stuff (apart from museums in countries where Mondays are closed day at museums), and if you’re travelling, Sunday night to Monday is often the cheapest day to get a hotel room.
Senior Attorney
Agree with Mondays. And the best part is that you get the four-day week afterwards.
And just own it — don’t pretend you’re sick if you’re not.