Frugal Friday’s Workwear Report: Twist-Waist Top
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Our daily workwear reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices.
Banana Republic Factory is coming in hot again with some of the best under-$50 tops of the season. This 100% cotton top is an upgraded version of your favorite tee, with cap sleeves and a twisted detail at the waist.
This “pink crush” color is so perfectly summer-y that you’ll be reaching for it all season.
The top is $25 at Banana Republic Factory — with 20% off at checkout — and comes in sizes XS-XXL. It also comes in white, black, and “peri noon,” which is a lovely periwinkle color.
Sales of note for 6/24/25:
- Nordstrom – Designer clearance up to 60% off
- Ann Taylor – 30% off tops & sweaters + extra 30% off sale
- Banana Republic Factory – 50% off everything + extra 20% off
- Boden – Sale up to 50% off
- Eloquii – Semi-annual clearance, up to 80% off
- J.Crew – Big Summer Event: Up to 50% off almost everything (ends 6/26) + extra 50% off sale styles
- J.Crew Factory – Up to 60% off + extra 60% off clearance
- M.M.LaFleur – Try code CORPORETTE15 for 15% off
- Rothy's – Semi-annual event, up to 50% off seasonal faves
- Spanx – End-of-season sale
- Talbots – Extra 30% off markdowns (ends 6/24) + $24.50+ summer favorites
So good I had to share – the Cholula seasoning mix for tacos, ground beef etc is surprisingly good. I bought it once when I was feeling extra lazy but its actually really tasty.
Ooooh, I should try that one. We usually use the Trader Joe’s seasoning mix or the Old El Paso one.
Are mirrors inside closet doors tacky? It feels college, but also convenient.
I don’t really have a full length mirror, and in my apartment I don’t want to take up space with a floor one. I’m thinking of getting those stick on mirrors and putting it inside a closet door. Who cares, it’ll be useful and no one sees it?
I don’t think they’re anything. I wouldn’t worry about tacky.
A full length mirror comes in extremely handy, it’s not tacky.
No.
no.
No, and twenty years later with many cross country moves, I still have my dorm room mirror since it is the most flattering mirror ever.
I don’t think that something hidden from view of the casual guest can truly be tacky. It’s certainly not a high end finish to your closet, but this is up to you.
How would this even be tacky?
Who cares?
It’s not tacky, but you can get regular mirrors to screw onto your door. They’ll be a little better than the stick-on mirrors. Sometimes those can have a bit of a funhouse effect.
Target also has some that just hang over the closet door if you want to avoid the adhesive or screws.
Not tacky. Who would even see the inside of your closet door anyhow?
It’s not like a hiring manager is going to do a home inspection and judge you on that before making you an offer.
But if they do, make sure you hide your ponytail holders and water bottles. And the Birkin.
Never, OP! Lean into it, and make sure your skinny jeans are on full display, too.
You gotta be reaaaally invested in what other people think of you to have “is it tacky” on your radar for something on the inside of your closet door.
I am spending all next week at a lake house in northern MN. I get bitten by bugs and mosquitos all the time, and I am reading that MN is worse – both bigger bugs and more hours of the day, not just sunrise and dusk time. Any suggestions for bug sprays or clothing? It is going to be hot so denim does not excite me.
OFF in the purple can. It contains permethrin, not DEET, and doesn’t feel as nasty on your skin. I live in a similar area and it works well.
I think you mean picaridin, not permethrin? Permethrin is usually used to spray clothes, but is highly toxic to cats, so you definitely don’t want to use it around them. And DEET will destroy some plastics, like sunglasses, so picaridin is a good alternative.
But I live in MN and also opt to stay fairly covered up a lot of the time I’m outside, both to protect from bugs and sun. Lightweight, loose clothes are good, like the Athleta Brooklyn pants, and sun shirts from Columbia or Patagonia. I’m usually outside early in the morning when it’s cool enough to want to wear a light jacket on top of that too, which really makes it impossible for the bugs to bite.
Agree with this. I’d do both lightweight layers and the picaridin spray – we go camping on the North Shore of Lake Superior and the mosquitoes will bite right through clothing.
+1 for picaridin. Loose clothing doesn’t help much for me–they fly right up underneath skirts and loose pants or shorts, and if it’s lightweight they can still bite through it where it sits against your skin. If you’re sitting in one place, a fan is supposed to help because mosquitoes can’t fly well in moving air. At home we use a Thermacell device, which works pretty well. Shop carefully for these–there are two different types that use different chemicals, and one is toxic to pets. I’m still not sure what I think about humans’ breathing the stuff, even the less toxic version, but it works.
Now that my favorite 3M ultrathon lotion is discontinued, I’ve moved to either the Ben 100 or Repel 100 or OFF Deep Woods. All of these are very high in DEET so not a good fit if you’re sensitive to that. I am very allergic to mosquito bites so while I keep covered up, I just don’t take chances.
I’d get a thermacell to use when sitting outside. I also like “bug soother” natural brand if you want something in addition to picaridin. And I would spray your shoes with permethrin before you go. You can also get a bug repellent lightweight hoodie from various outdoor brands; might be worth it.
Not sure of the chemical content, but the wipes sold to hunters really work.
you might mean the Repel wipes, which are picaridin and work well for me, although OFF makes deep woods wipes (DEET) which are individually wrapped which can be really useful if you are traveling. Or hike with my relatives, who swear they don’t need anything and then are getting eaten alive. I always carry a few extra.
Mosquitoes are weak fliers. If you’re sitting out on a deck bring a floor fan or box fan.
yes, this!
I also like the Bug Bite thing. There was just a review of it in the nYT.
Tip for catching that one mosquito that gets in your room and drives you mad trying to kill it – get your hands wet and then go after it. The micro droplets from your hands seem to disrupt even further their ability to fly and dodge.
I have an older house with no overhead lights in a room with one window. It’s dark. Add sconces on either side of the non-working fireplace? Have some table lamps but it’s not nearly enough. Could enlarge the window on the line exterior wall but would need to do in another room with adequate light to keep the front of the house symmetrical. WWYD? I could throw in some small mirrors but don’t have the wall space for a large one due to a horrid built-in and a pre-A/C build meaning we lose a lot of space to pathways between rooms for cross-breezes.
Ugh. Lone exterior wall.
Floor lamp to bring some more light higher up.
My living room in my older house is pretty dark despite windows on two walls. One window is small and north-facing, and there’s a hedge shading the east window. I just leaned into it, painted the walls a darker color, and went for “cozy.” I have a table lamp next to the couch, an arched floor lamp in the other corner, and we leave the exterior door open (with full length window storm door) most of the time for a little extra light during the day, as long as the outside temp isn’t extreme. You’re not going to get light and airy out of a room with only one window, so I’d think about task lighting and room use.
Same. I have decent size windows in the sitting room and dining room but they don’t get the sun at the right time of day. I’ve leaned in with dark and moody. I am going to get a wall mounted anglepoise for next to the sofa for reading.
Sconces will help. Lamps at different heights will help (one on a table, one on a higher bookcase, floor lamps, etc). Enlarging the window seems like a significant expense – if that scale of investment is on the table why not just have an electrician add some overhead lighting?
If you’re going to hardwire sconces just add an overhead light too.
If you own the house, it’s worth a few thousand (at most) to install overhead lighting and get the associated minor repairs to the ceiling. Especially if there’s an accessible attic, the ceiling work is minimal.
I like the sconce idea, saves floor space. We just picked up a set from Costco for like $30. They’re not hardwired but they hold a charge for a long time and they’re hung above an outlet so they’re easy enough to charge when needed. It’s a touch light and they have three different brightness settings, which is great for our needs – in a nursery – where we want to be quiet but need enough light to change baby.
I got overhead lighting with a dimmer installed in my old, dark living room. It made a huge difference.
Plug in track lighting.
I think track lighting is an abomination, especially in an old house. Yes I feel strongly about this. Just get recessed lighting and use lamps when you want ambiance.
I would get a bunch of smart lights and add more lamps — with the smart lights you could set them all to turn on and off at the same time, either via remote or command. Also think about picture lights, behind-TV lighting, under cabinet lighting, etc/
Related to the old house question. What are your favorite sources for inexpensive lighting/ floor lamps? Like a step or two up from the halogen pole lamps that I had in my first apartment (and I guess date myself because the bulbs were halogen, not LED).
Target! Mixed in with the cheap-looking lamps you can always find a few really nice ones. Look on line and filter for Target brands. I think all of our floor and table lamps are now from Target.
Here’s one we have: https://www.target.com/p/oak-wood-tripod-floor-lamp-dark-brown-threshold/-/A-53318981?preselect=17299861#lnk=sametab
Thx! I like the one you linked to below.
I like Lamps Plus, they have a wide variety.
I agree with Target – I would avoid Ikea though. Lamps Plus is also good.
Favorite LED/light therapy face mask or device?
I found the reviews by Goals to Get Glowing (she has a website and IG) very helpful. Ultimately went with the Omnilux Men’s mask (waited for a Black Friday sale).
The CurrentBody series 2 is my fave, look for a code, you can generally get 10% off. I might also wait to see if there is a July 4th sale at this point.
Do so many people own multiple that they can make enough of a comparison
OP here-no, if assume not. Guess how I meant o phrase question was more which one do you use and do you like it? Seems like a pricey device and I’d like to hopefully get a solid recommendation.
*I’d
I can’t help but get freaked out whenever I hear about someone who was very fit experiencing a heart attack at a young age. I just found out this happened to the 36-something professional athlete husband of a professional athlete I follow on Instagram in our niche sport. He will ultimately be ok, but it was obviously a total shock. People have died young of heart problems in my family with no warning signs and I guess this is a reminder of that. Not sure what I’m looking for here and I suppose I don’t really have a point but just wanted to say something about it.
It is so scary and triggers my health anxiety all the time.
Yes, the husband of a family friend’s daughter who was perfectly healthy just died in his low 30s due to heart attack
Was it a true heart attack (blockage in the arteries) or sudden cardiac death, which is usually due to an electrical disturbance? So, so sad.
I think you mean a coronary artery disease heart attack?
Myocardial infarction isn’t always from blockage in the arteries, but I thought it still counted as heart attack. It’s relevant right now with people getting myocarditis from infectious disease.
These incidents are always disconcerting because when the person was overweight or older we can just blame them and avoid thinking it might happen to us.
If I had a history of sudden cardiac death in my family I’d definitely be talking to a doctor!
I hear you. It’s why there are defibrillators in more places.
I also get nervous about these news articles, especially when thinking COVID effects might be contributing to it (maybe inflammation related?) but I remind myself that this has been happening long before COVID–so its just scary, generally.
If i had a family history like yours, I’d definitely be making an appointment with a cardiologist.
If you are too young to remember him, google Sergei Grinkov. It can happen to anyone with the wrong genes. A cardiologist once told me that the first symptom of long QT syndrome is often sudden death.
These things run in families. If you have a family history of sudden cardiac death, book an appointment with a cardiologist and get a complete work up.
I always think of him! And treat heart health seriously. There are statins now (which people should use with just as much seriousness and no stigma, like how a diabetic uses insulin). My husband’s family has no adult men but him (on statins).
Girl, make an appointment with a cardiologist! (Or your PCP to start.) There are all sorts of tests and scans you can do.
Same. I navigate it by being on top of my screenings (everyone should have their cholesterol tested periodically in particular) and reminding myself to do the basic (but hard!) things like getting 150 minutes of exercise, getting 8 hours of sleep, etc. these are not guarantees, but they are the things in my control.
I didn’t realize how common it was until a close friend died in his early 40s of a sudden heart attack.
Given your family history, you may want to see a cardiologist to see if anything looks out of the ordinary that you can address now. But the single best piece of advice I can give you is this: If anything feels off, go to the ER. Every time. Don’t worry about being a burden. Don’t worry if it turns out to be nothing. Our friend would have survived if he’d gone to the ER instead of waiting at a nearby urgent care to be seen about his sudden shortness of breath. He (and his wife) didn’t realize it was a symptom of a heart attack.
OP here and this is such good advice. Someone gave me similar advice during pregnancy and I was so glad I heeded it because it led to early identification of a problem that could’ve been very serious. The nurses emphasized that they would always rather see you and have it be nothing then have you stay home to avoid being a bother and have a bad outcome.
There are things that no one can predict, but there are also heart issues we could screen for if we wanted. It’s sometimes proposed that we should screen high school athletes before letting them push themselves competitively. Usually it’s concluded that this would be too expensive. But with a family history, there are tests they can do.
One good and constructive thing for you to do, is to educate yourself and your family on common symptoms and warning signs for women. If you do get ill, you want to be treated seriously and urgently. Practise a few key phrases that will help you be taken very seriously at the ER.
OP here and don’t worry, I’ve been followed by a cardiologist since I was 22 years old. Doesn’t mean nothing will happen to me but we’re doing all we can to stay on top of risks.
The professional athlete part of the description might be the culprit here. DH’s colleague had a near-fatal heart attack around age 40 and subsequent treatment showed that it was due to damage he had from years of strenuous mountain biking.
Well, you’re going to die eventually. You’re afraid because you think it “won’t happen now” and this reminds you that it could. Being about to balance the realization that it could happen now with the fact that it probably won’t is a good thing — you don’t want to be overly drawn to either side of the mental spectrum. Your brain likes certainty, but certainty around your mortality is just an illusion.
I’m the poster who went to the ER a week or so ago because I felt weird and couldn’t breathe and worried I was having a heart attack. It’s been interesting to realize how much stuff my Apple Watch has. For example: I can take an EKG on my watch to detect if the rhythm is normal or not. It can track my “overnight vitals” and detect aberrations.
Bought these to wear to my business casual office and can’t figure out the right shoes – anyone want to vicariously shop? I have them in black and they are slightly cropped on me. Only requirement is that they have to be closed toe and not a super casual sneaker/running shoe:
https://shop.lululemon.com/p/womens-trousers/Daydrift-High-Rise-Trouser-Regular/_/prod11860288
loafers or modern ballet flats.
In an alternate universe I would trade my desk job for doing something outdoors, like being a postal worker. In our area we have mail slots so postal workers walk from door to door. I love walking outside in any kind of weather. An article in WSJ about a guy who was a postal worker for a year after losing his marketing job made me think about this. What are other jobs that involve walking outside all day?
Dog walking. Tour guide. Campus tour guides, both of my kids did this for several summer sessions, they developed great skills in walking backwards.
My SIL became a dog walker for about 3 years after she lost a job, and she loved it. She listened to podcasts. Another woman I know has done the same. Both are dog lovers and have done some boarding for the families they do walk for.
Land surveyor. Building inspector. Various environmental engineering roles involve tons of site visits and sampling in outdoor environments. Anything with your town or state’s department of public works is going to have the potential to take your job outdoors on a regular basis if that is what you want. What I’m trying to say is there are professional jobs in the outdoors that involve skills, credentials, and advanced degrees. The two things are not exclusive of each other.
But if you are looking for something easier to get into: landscaper, gardener, lifeguards, and other parks department roles involve a lot of outdoor time on a more seasonal basis.
Detailed landscape work?
Parks workers.
I just got back from a month-long vacation and now I really really want to be a tour guide!
My city has a downtown ambassador program comprising a number of employees and volunteers, many of them retirees who just want something that lets them interact with the public. They have uniform vests and can be found on the sidewalks in our downtown area. They work specific events, too, but outside of that they are just a friendly face available to give directions, pick up litter, snip spent flowers from the curbside planters, etc. They sometimes lead walking tours. Does your area have something like that?
My dad has been a mailman for over 40 years. He hates it and has always hated it.
My mom is a middle school science teacher, so is only at her desk for grading but otherwise on her feet and in a very interactive job. Loves it.
My brother does B2B sales, and is always traveling around his territory (our metro area so never overnight). He loves it. His company is sports related (he got into it as a former college athlete) so the demos are more active than others. And, he gets to spend his day working with his sport.
Finally, I work in government in a job thats a mix of desk work and field work. Field work includes, among other things, a ton of coordinating and meeting with other agencies and the public. Lots of site inspections and the like too so lots of walking. I love my job.
How do you explain to someone with limited scientific understanding why some bodies of water are crystal clear turquoise and others are brown/gray/green?
We have come to love an immigrant family from a third-world country. We took them to our country house for a week last summer. Because they had a two year old, we chose to take them to a local swimming hole along a river here: sandy beach for the little one, lifeguard, roped off areas marking shallow and deep swimming areas. The family seemed taken aback by everyone swimming, “The water’s dirty!” I looked around for trash or something they saw but I didn’t, and I realized that they just meant the water looked green-ish brown. Off the top of my head, I explained that the trees nearby drop their leaves and sticks in and tint the water brown, like tea. It wasn’t dirty, just natural.
The family’s coming back this summer and mentioned that they’d rather not go swimming where there’s tea water again. I can take them to a water park, and I was thinking about that before they even said anything, but, I mean, the ocean’s gray because it’s full of all sorts of decomposing stuff! And they said they wanted to go to the ocean. The mom specifically mentioned “clear waters like you see on the phone,” so I’m sure she’s thinking of the tropics, and you’re not gonna find those waters within an hour of my house ha.
Ideas for how to convey that natural waters aren’t dirty? (Do they think every creek and stream they drive over on a bridge is contaminated??) And why tropical waters are turquoise and American waters aren’t? I’ve been pondering this for a couple weeks now, so thanks.
Maybe show them pictures of different in-ground swimming pools that have different colored water because of the color of pool liner you choose?
The water is dirty. After certain procedures and on certain meds, I’ve definitely been advised to steer clear of the local swimming hole before. Fresh water is a bigger issue than saltwater since salt kills a lot (not all). They may be thinking of the tropics, but any tourist ocean beach has clearer, cleaner looking water than (for comparison) a great lake.
Yeah, I’m not sure your friends are totally irrational here.
Clear water can still have bacteria etc in it though. It’s just not the right metric. Mountain streams are dangerous regardless
Yes, I’m kind of wondering if OP does not think that every creek and stream she drives over is (at least potentially) dirty or contaminated. I’d swim at the local river that everyone else is swimming at too, but there are reasons the water park is using chlorine and it’s okay to be more careful.
Agree. I will not touch freshwater swimming.
The color of water is due to light wave scattering as sunlight travels through the water.
Water with minimal debris look light blue (like a clear sky) bc blue is the shortest wavelength and it’s scattered by water molecules.
The more debris, the more longer wavelength colors are scattered and the more tinted the water gets (in the sky, pollution creates beautiful sunsets bc particulates scatter more colors ).
Milk is white bc the lipids and proteins scatters all colors of visible light. Skim milk looks slightly bluish bc there is less lipid content and not all colors are scattered back.
I’m a scientist. There are a lot of different reasons why the water might look dirty. One might be that it is literally “dirty” with small suspended particles of sediment. Another is that it contains tannins or other plant substances, and tea is actually a good analogy for these. And then the most concerning one is when the water might actually look perfectly clean but contains microorganisms that can make you sick. There’s not a good correlation between water that looks dirty and water that can make you sick, though you generally don’t want to swim for a few days after it rains, which will often also make the water look cloudy with sediment run off.
Places with turquoise beaches only occur where’s not much sediment run off and not much biological growth to cloud the water (basically dead zones), plus sand that reflects light the right way. That doesn’t mean that they can’t still have sewage run off that makes you sick, though.
TLDR, even clean looking water often contains pathogens, so if they’re not into swimming in natural water, I wouldn’t force it and just go to a pool. But most beaches test and close if they’re above certain levels, so I wouldn’t stress about it if you have a healthy immune system.