Coffee Break: Vida Shoulder Bag
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I feel like we haven't seen a larger shoulder bag in years — it feels like bag sizes have been S, XS, XXXS… and then XL. This signature bag from Veronica Beard is a nice departure from that, and it's out in a bunch of fun new colors, including this cool snakeprint version. There's also a fabulous patchwork one that would be great if you wear a lot of navy.
The suede bag features “curved, Western-inspired panel details snake-embossed leather,” which I LOVE. There's something reminiscent of Art Deco or Gestalt images about the cutouts. There's the braided strap to use it as a handbag or shoulder bag, as well as a crossbody strap that you can add.
The bag is $750, at Veronica Beard (other versions in solid colors are as low as $595, though). You can also find it at Nordstrom!
Sales of note for 8/14:
- Ann Mashburn – Seasonal sale, up to 50% off – we just included them in our updated Top 10 Brands for Comfortable Heels!
- Ann Taylor – 25% off all suiting! Also, extra 60% off clearance — readers love this blouse and I always love the variety of colors/textures for this jacket (it's a great separate)
- Anthropologie – Extra 40% off sale!
- The Fold – Up to 50% off, further markdowns (new lines added)
- J.Crew – Up to 30% off
- J.Crew Factory – 40-60% off sitewide, extra 60% off clearance
- J.McLaughlin – Summer sale, up to 50% off
- Lilysilk – Anniversary sale, save up to 70%
- Me & Em – Sale! Up to 60% off (new lines just added, exclusively online)
- M.M.LaFleur – 20% off pants (Try code CORPORETTE15 for 15% off on other items)
- Nordstrom Rack – Clearance, new markdowns up to 75% off! Nice selection of Vince, Veronica Beard, Reiss and Rag & Bone, a ton of affordable work dresses from Calvin Klein, Maggy London, Eliza J, and Donna Morgan
- Saks Fifth Avenue – Take 25% off one item (ends Mon)! Great selection of Veronica Beard, L'Agence, Vince, and more.
- Talbots – End of season clearance, 60% off all markdowns. $24.99 pants and jeans
- Theory – End of season sale is on! Love all the colors their best-selling sweater tee comes in, and some colors are on sale.
- Tory Burch – Private sale, ends 8/19!
I’m struggling to adjust to all the increased costs of basic goods and also declining quality. A pre-made pizza crust that we buy to do pizza at home (to save money) is $12.99 for two small crusts per package. It’s only enough to feed a family of 3 because one of us is on a GLP-1. Every time we buy berries, no matter what store they’re from, there are at least a few moldy ones. A pair of toddler shoes that have some reputation for being good for growing feet start at $55. We tried the cheapest sandals at Target and they broke on the first wear.
I thought making low six figures would feel different than this.
Sometimes it helps to think about inflation (what amount of money was worth $55 in today’s dollars back when you set your expectations about toddler shoes?).
Some of the food pricing is just extortion I realize (and apparently the egg industry did get in trouble for price collusion, so the conspiracy theorists were right; they were conspiring).
For quality and food safety, I feel I need to make more an effort to make it to the farmer’s market. I never think of getting e. coli from blueberries (I’m usually more worried about hepatitis).
I agree that this is a helpful way to frame it. Similarly, my BFF told me that she’d promised herself years ago that she would never pay more than $5 for her drink at Starbucks, and now it’s more than that. I asked if she made that decision back when she earned about $40-50k less than she currently does – she has admittedly seen very large salary increases in the last 6 years after being underpaid for decades – and it was. I also have to remind DH of this when he said he used to be able to go to a Thai restaurant he likes and the meal was like $10 plus tax and now it’s closer to $20 plus tax, so he thinks it’s now too expensive. But the cheaper price was 20+ years ago when he was in college.
Without question, some stuff is just more expensive beyond inflation and there is definitely an ensh1tification aspect. Some things we just need to re-adjust our brains about what things cost.
OP here and I do catch myself referring to 20-years-ago prices for some things (like sweaters) but prices have also gone up so much in just the last 5 years. We needed a smoke detector and it was $65 at our hardware store, not much cheaper at Target. They used to be like, $20 within the last 5 years.
Partly this is true, and partly prices have really skyrocketed in the last 5 years. For example, the Nap Dress I bought in summer 2021 was $125 full price. The same dress (fabric, style, pattern) today, is $178. That is > 40% increase in 5 years and that’s hardly uncommon.
I am always flipping packaged fruits over to look at the bottom and I’m having a difficult time buying garlic that isn’t secretly moldy. It’s enraging.
not the point of your post, but i have had good success with the Toddler Parker sneakers from Target. and i buy them on sale
I make my own pizza dough in a bread maker I got secondhand on FB marketplace. It’s excellent and easy and cheap! Pizza is a staple in our house, so I feel you on that one.
I’m highly sympathetic to this complaint in general, but when you consider that berries are basically mold bombs in the making and shipping them anywhere is challenging, I still find it pretty much miraculous that you can buy fresh berries for a price that’s even vaguely affordable year round. That’s definitely not a case of declining quality, but something that was barely possible even a few decades ago (though I personally still don’t consider them worth it compared to either frozen or fresh local in season berries).
Supply chains and individual grocery stores can do wildly better or worse on both freshness and mold prevention. Sometimes it is where you live on shipping routes. Often it’s your local store letting mold settle in so that there are spores just waiting around for each new delivery.
Not a whole solution, but being willing to DIY rather than springing for premade convenience foods can be a significant savings. For instance, pizza crust is so very easy to make. Flour, water, salt, maybe yeast or a little oil depending on what style you like will taste more fresh and will cut that cost by an order of magnitude. Like, enough that you can buy the better shoes.
Although I do side eye a shoe that claims they are “better” for growing feet – is that because they are an actual medical device filling a need for the kid in question? Or just brand marketing, the way Golden Goose are “better” for me than Adidas?
I’ve realized every time I leave a social interaction, I beat myself up about not being right or perfect. This can run the gamut ruminating on things like responding to a story by relating instead of asking deeper questions, to panicking that a joke I made could have been taken the wrong way. Does anyone else have this? I think it is some type of social anxiety, but not sure if it’s in my head or if I am actually obnoxious/annoying in social settings.
It sounds like classic social anxiety. I’ve gotten much better over the years both with therapy and with simply caring a bit less. All human are boring, selfish, make weird jokes at times, etc. Unless you’re making racist/sexist/homophobic jokes, being loudly drunk and annoying in public, or monopolizing the conversation for over 5 minutes at a time I bet you’re perfectly fine and lovely.