Coffee Break: Nina Flats

62 Comments

1. Shailene Woodley was giving big Emily Dickinson vibes last night, and I think that the high vamp flat goes with fall and dark academia sort of fashion. It can get costumey quickly though (IMO).

2. I don’t love the look. As a very petite person with average size feet (5’, 7.5 shoe), I look for leg lengthening and foot shortening.

   1. They’re so ugly. Who is buying this stuff??

      1. Maybe me? They are less clunky than loafers but I need a shoe with some real estate in the leather to hide various neuroma pads. Plus, as a narrow-heeled person, more shoe in the front of my shoe tends to hold my foot in it better.

      2. Everyone? I feel this they’ve been at Tuckernuck, the default for suburban moms and no ones’s definition of cutting edge fashion for years now. It’s fair to hate them but where do you live that you’re not seeing them?

         1. I live in a major city and I never see these. In my mom’s suburban hell they are common though.

            1. What are they wearing in your major city? I feel like I’ve been seeing them for years in New York.

         2. Somewhere where people don’t buy ugly things just because they’re trendy, I guess?

            1. Same.

            2. OTOH, I feel that shoes on me are consumables and I’m frequently shopping for trail runners or my most basic work shoes. For the runners, I can never get the same color twice and unless you are getting Varas or basic ballerinas, styles get tweaked and updated (snipped toe? almond toe? pointy toe?). Sometimes it’s what’s out there that your foot likes best. There will be another pair before they get too dated to wear because shoes just wear out.

3. The shoes look like they’re much too big and/or wide for the model.

   1. And/or there’s some oddly AI enhanced toe cleavage.

      1. Yes, how does she have toes there! Or how long are her toes.

         1. I think they’re maybe the ends of the model’s metatarsal bones?

            1. Okay that makes more sense. I guess my feet are fat compared to a model!

      2. Agree this is some AI weirdness. Look at some of the other colors and finishes, because some of the photos are of actual shoes on actual feet.

4. Small town non profit board member here. I just found out a board I’m serving on doesn’t have D&O insurance and doesn’t feel it necessary. I am the only one pushing for it. Am I wrong? Where I used to live, it was a given that boards were insured. Is my risk tolerance miscalibrated or is theirs?

   1. That is a genuinely interesting question. I would want D&O insurance, too, and have never been on a board without it, but I am a lawyer, and I think lawyers tend to want to insure everything up to its neck.

   2. If it’s small, I think it would be inexpensive and might broaden the pool of those willing to serve. My employer won’t let us be on boards without it (but I’m sure people do not realizing it or not aware of the policy).

   3. It’s cheap; insist on it.

   4. As a data point, I’ve only ever heard of D&O insurance because of this board. It was not a thing I would have ever known about or known to ask about!

      Which doesn’t mean your risk tolerance is the miscalibrated one, but maybe also it’s just not on anyone else’s radar

      1. I’m not a lawyer, but served on boards and previously lived in towns with loads of local, state and federal employees and attorneys, so probably more policy and governance oriented than most places. This board seems to think that any concessions to modernity will ruin things, and one person talked to her relative who is a lawyer somewhere who said it’s not needed (I know a guy who knows a guy). I’m thinking when D&O is voted down, it will be my sign to resign from this board. It’s a shame, because it serves a needed role in the community.

   5. Neither side is unreasonable. Small boards come out both ways on D&O insurance, and speaking from experience, it can be harder to get a stand alone policy than you would expect. If you are a lawyer, I might check with your firm if your work D&O policy will cover you, especially when you are voluntold onto the board.

   6. I don’t think either position is necessarily wrong. There are different norms in different places.

      That said, there are definitely nonprofits that seem to think that the purity of their intentions and/or “doing paperwork” (i.e., collecting permission slips or signed releases) are going to mean that no one will ever sue them. I think this position is naive at best.

      One thing that helps me sleep at night is a (relatively inexpensive) umbrella policy for personal liability.

   7. I would want D&O insurance, too – even for a non-profit arts organization with a miniscule budget – I think it makes sense just in case….

   8. I wouldn’t serve on one without it.

   9. In my state, boards of non-profits are exempt from civil liability for actions taken in good faith. If your state has something similar, I would be satisfied with an agreement that the organization has to pay for your legal counsel if you are actually sued. It’s not bulletproof, but it’s reasonable. But if you want insurance, of course you are also reasonable to insist on it.

   10. I would want D&O insurance. Perhaps as a compromise, I’d see if I could get a rider on my own umbrella insurance to cover this kind of work, but I think it’s unlikely that I’d be able to purchase that.

       I think indemnification of directors is important, but not enough to feel comfortable given that a small nonprofit isn’t likely to have the money to actually pay the legal fees if a director is sued.

       Do the other directors not realize that you can do everything right and still be out tons in legal fees even if you ultimately prevail?

5. what’s your favorite savory snack in the afternoon? i don’t think i can stomach another protein bar today.

   1. Goldfish crackers

   2. Roasted chickpeas with curry powder on them.

      1. Do you make your own? If so, do you roast straight from a can?

         1. I do this a lot; drain and roast at like 425 for 20 min. I add salt or a spice blend.

         2. Yes. I do either the oven or the air fryer. It’s faster in the air fryer (7-8 minutes), but the flavor is richer in the oven (20 minutes). I spray them with avocado oil and toss whatever seasonings I want on them in there.

   3. Hummus on a pita or carrots, black bean dip on tortilla chips, chex mix

   4. Real talk? Crunchy cheetos eaten with chopsticks so no orange fingers.

      1. Man, I really love a 4pm bag of crunchy cheetos. Some habits die hard.

   5. Healthy? Roasted and salted pistachios, cottage cheese, bite sized pieces of cheese (it’s dairy!).

      Objectively unhealthy but so good? Cheez-Its stolen from my son, Takis if I want a burning mouth, or whatever processed cheese crackers I can find.

   6. Locally made salt & pepper beef jerky or salted pistachios.

6. There was a discussion yesterday of whether edgy glasses are outlandish or just fashionable. Where do we draw the line? Do big thick frames give too much of a vibe? Does it depend on the color or shape? I get the ones for example where each lens is shaped differently like one is square and one is circle. But what about aviator glasses (not sunglasses) or bright pink or red big thick ones or the like? Does it depend on the outfit or the wearer? I want a certain pair but I do worry it is “here comes so and so with her glasses” – similar to how I feel when I wear a big trendy hat, ha ha.

   1. I’m totally in the camp of Get the Glasses.
      I often have two pair — one in a more subdued frame, and one the statement frame that my heart really wants.

      1. I like this answer because it goes to the core issue: are you buying the glasses because it makes your heart sing? I support that completely. Or are you wearing glasses to make people think you are smarter or more interesting? This is where fashion glasses get a bad rap.

   2. No real answer. Whether they are outlandish or fashionable depends on the amount of … however you want to call it… gravitas, style, vibes that you have.

      1. I guess that makes sense. Akin to someone wearing a sexy outfit but not pulling it off. You have to make sure you pull off an intentional look, otherwise people will see it as a piece of dress-up.

         1. I like your outfit and I agree. I also think the glasses you mentioned are about a 7. And I like them a lot.

            Op, from my perspective, again take with a grain of salt where I’m coming from, theyre edgier, meaning more fashion forward, than the colored aviators. The all one color aviators are not terribly fresh and throwing a bright color on them doesn’t feel edgy to me. Fun and creative with the right styling? Absolutely. But not really edgy as much as bold.

   3. You can have, say, red frames without them screaming RED FRAMES. Colored frames add a nice pop of color to so many people’s faces.

      The glasses that make me irrationally angry about their ugliness is the ’80s glasses, though. The ones where the lenses take up half your cheeks. They weren’t attractive the first time around and they sure aren’t now.

   4. Why not drop a link to the pair you like if you want opinions?

   5. When I try on eyeglasses, I often look best in the more blingy ones, but I just don’t dress up that much on a daily basis. So to me I think it depends on the rest of the outfit and accessories.

   6. I’m team edgy glasses. I’m picturing round frames with a wire aviator piece like we saw this summer in sunglasses. To me those look edge but cool.

      My current frustration with this board is that I don’t know anyone’s style so it’s hard to put into perspective what they’re going for or where the advice comes from.

      If it helps: I’m wearing whalens from warby in a tortoiseshell that has a bit of blue in it. I think they’re maybe like a 3 on a scale of 1-10, 10 being edgy? I’m working from home but on camera and going to back to school night. I think the super thick buddy Holly glasses are not edgy so much as classic. Tortoiseshell is pretty classic to me, even in an offbeat color combo.

      My outfit today is barrel leg olive green pants and a blue and white button up. Collar popped in the back and sleeves rolled up. Denim ballet flats from ferragamo with a high vamp like the shoes above. Woven loeffer Randell hobo style bag in Camel leather. So that’s, to me, solidly in the side of classic preppy, but with reasonably current cuts and accents.

      If my outfit sounds absolutely awful because ewww who would ever wear those things please feel free to ignore.

      1. I think we could easily swap glasses, but we would have totally different clothes, I’d be in straight jeans, oversized blazer, and nothing white unless it’s shoes. I like your whalens a lot, and would agree that they are a 3 of 10 on an edgy scale. I would think something like Cubitt’s Matilda in honey yellow would be a 7.

      2. Does anyone else remember a time in this board when we would describe what we were wearing?

   7. Two years ago I bought glasses from Pair Eyewear. They manufacture “toppers” for the frames which have magnets in the top corners. I have “base” glasses in a clear pink color, but then I have some burgundy colored frames or even “wood simulated” frames, etc. in case I want to wear something different. I even have a sun glasses top (that is much cheaper than prescription sunglasses). It is nice to have options!

   8. I have a pair of normal looking tortoise frames for work, and a more fun pair for weekend. My current weekend is from Zadig and Voltaire.

   9. I wear big frames exclusively — usually with a pattern or in a bold color. I get positive comments all of the time on my glasses. If I have to wear glasses, I want them to be fun.

   10. Will your daily driver glasses be your statement piece? If so, I think you can pull it off. If they will compete with other accessories or elements of your outfit, I like the idea of having two pairs (one subdued and one that stands out). I went with two pairs that are subdued, but one is from Pair so I can occasionally add on a pop of color or a nod to a seasonal holiday with a frame topper.

7. did anyone watch Widow’s Bay? how scary is it? I have an extremely low tolerance for scary movies but after the Emmy wins I’m interested…

   1. I absolutely loved it. But as far as scariness goes, there were definitely some high tension scenes and some “dead things are gonna getcha” scenes, so if that’s the sort of thing that bothers you, you probably won’t live it. But there’s not really any gore, if you’re more worried about that.

   2. I haven’t seen it and will wait to see answers. I finally saw Good Boy and felt it was not too scary.

   3. I’m not really into scary or gory stuff and I thought it was fine (not gory at all, just a little scary). I also didn’t think it quite lived up to the hype, but I love Matthew Rhys and will watch him in pretty much anything, so I still enjoyed it overall.

   4. There are maybe 2 episodes with jump scares. If you want, you can google and figure them out. It was a great series. Truly one of the best I have seen in years. I recommend it to everyone and I also do not like scary movies.

   5. Wow I guess I am more of a scaredy cat than I thought but I could only watch about 4 episodes and then it got too creepy and scary for me. Too bad because I am a big fan of Matthew Rhys!

8. I’ve always loved Nina shoes. In general I’m not a fan of the higher vamp – including these shoes. I have plenty of flats – some with straps like Maryjane’s – some without. I’m not going to bother with the high vamp ones.

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