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I’ve been marching through the conference circuit, and I always pack a pair of flat loafers like these.
Paul Green’s moc-toe flats have a cushioned footbed and grippy outsole that will keep you going from breakfast buffet to plated dinner. The pebbled leather upper has a horse-bit accent across the vamp, reminiscent of another classic loafer.
This loafer is $359 and available in black, cognac, and denim (probably best for the flight home). It comes in sizes 5.5 to 10.5.
Sales of note for 8.30.24
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- 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
- Boden – 20% off
- 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
- Lands’ End – 40% off sitewide; 50% off backpacks, 40% off kids’ apparel
- Loft – Summer sale, 30% off new arrivals; up to 50% off much more
- Talbots – 25% off regular-price purchase; 70% off clearance
- Zappos – 28,000+ women’s sale items! (check out these reader-favorite workwear brands on sale, and some of our favorite kids’ shoe brands on sale)
Kid/Family Sales
- Carter’s – 50% off everything
- Hanna Andersson – Up to 40% off everything
- J.Crew Crewcuts – 40% off sitewide; extra 50% off sale styles
- Old Navy – 50-60% off; 50% off pants for the family
- Target – 20% off select clothing for all; up to 50% off home; up to 30% off select nursery furniture; up to 30% off kitchen & dining
AwayEmily says
I have a (very) poor man’s version of these — Target has a loafer called the “Hayes Loafer Flats” that are $20 and shockingly good — they are in-between enough that you can wear them with a skirt or pants. I had a pair I wore constantly for years (and got tons of compliments on), and finally replaced them last week. The old ones are still fine, actually, they now just live at my office for emergencies.
Anon says
Any fun Olympics traditions with kids? My daughter is 6 so this is the first time she’s really old enough to care about it, and we’ve been traveling for most of the summer but are coming home this weekend and are both looking forward to a lot of time vegging on the couch with the Olympics on.
Anonymous says
We always pick a secondary country or two to cheer for if our country isn’t in a final. We learn a little about the country with the kids. We’re Canadian so we’re in a lot of stuff but we don’t win/make the finals in a lot of stuff. Kids are old enough now that sometimes they pick different countries.
Anonymous says
Globe or world map to find the countries on during the opening ceremonies and we always eat the cuisine of the host country for the opening ceremonies (except for Sochi)
Anonymous says
Love this!
Anon says
Ooh thanks for giving me permission to get takeout from my favorite French restaurant on Friday!
AwayEmily says
Orthodontia advice, please! I feel like I see kids getting braces way earlier than when we were kids. Can someone with older kids talk me through the process? At what age do we first visit the orthodontist, and what kinds of questions should we be asking? How do we find one that’s decent? The one I went to as a kid was awful — I had to do three separate rounds of braces and my teeth are still messed up. When I google it, all the advice seems to be on orthdontists’ webpages, and I’m not sure I trust them to give me accurate information.
Anonymous says
It depends on what needs to be done. Braces are usually 11/12/13 depending on when all the adult teeth are fully in. But if you need an expander first, that’s usually done at ages 8/9/10.
Do you expect that your kids will need braces? I had braces due to thumb sucking for way to long. DH had an expander (as did his brother) because there was not room for all his teeth to come in. His brother also had braces. It looks like only 1 out of our 3 kids will need orthodontia.
Anon says
i got braces in the 4th grade. i mentioned to my kids’ dentist that i ended up having 4 adult teeth pulled as part of my orthodontia plan because there was not enough room for my teeth and they said that is not really done anymore and an expander would be used instead.
Anonymous says
It varies a lot I think. I had two pulled and braces. DH had none pulled and an expander but no braces. His brother has two pulled, expander and braces. BIL had the best result but was also in orthodontia the longest and super consistent with his retainers after. Youngest is currently being assessed for two teeth pulled plus expander or just expander. I don’t love the idea of pulling healthy teeth and glad things have moved away from it.
Anonymous says
Yeah both my husband and I had adult teeth pulled due to not enough room, and I had so much orthodontia (2 retainers starting in Kindergarten, then braces from 3rd – 8th grade, headgear, etc.). I was convinced our son would have the same giant teeth problem. But he’s 12 now and doesn’t seem to, at least not so far.
We initially asked his dentist for advice. The dentist suggested we have an orthodontist look at him, which we did around the time he turned 11. The orthodontist said we could if we wanted to eliminate a small gap between his front teeth, but otherwise he seemed fine. I was kind of shocked.
My son did just lose another molar, so apparently his permanent teeth are still not all in; hopefully I haven’t jinxed anything. I assume he will likely need to have his wisdom teeth removed.
anon says
We did an expander on top for our 7 yo who had a very crowded mouth. The ortho wanted to follow that up with 8 months of braces, but her teeth looked pretty good to us. We ended up getting a second opinion mid-treatment and opted not to put braces on a 7 yo, which would then require her to use a retainer. It seemed like too much. We’ll revisit in the 11/12/13 yo age range.
Teeth says
my kids’ dentist suggested an Ortho consult when they were ~8.5 yrs old. the Ortho didn’t charge for it, just a brief visit to check on crowding with instructions to come back in 9 months. My daughter has to get checked again this fall (when she’ll be ten) as she’s lost most of her baby teeth. My son has a full year before his next check in (boys are usually a yr behind girls for braces).
but basically your dentist should prompt you if they are concerned and then you’ll end up with yet another medical provider and set of appointments to stay on top of ;)
Anonymous says
Our dentist was the one who recommended our kid see an orthodontist. Even then, it was just a free consult to see how things were growing in. We were there to review need for an expander, didn’t need it, and just got braces at age 12. We got the dentist referral, and asked two other families for referrals and went with one of those three options. The thought is two rounds of intervention is less invasive than one later. I’m not sure I agree, but that’s the theory.
Mary Moo Cow says
Kids are getting braces earlier, so my dentist and orthodontist say. Our family dentist recommended a consult at age 8, when DD had lost 5 baby teeth and adult teeth were coming in to a crowded mouth. Orthodontist has had us come twice, 6 months apart, and said she’s keeping an eye on it as DD loses more baby teeth, and set an appointment for one year from last appointment. This process seems to be in line with what I’ve heard from other families: dentist makes a recommendation around age 8, kids are either on the “wait and see” track or the “early intervention” track (which, ortho explained to me, can be a few rounds of braces, or spacers and then braces, or something in-between.)
My dentist recommended a specific provider, but I asked a few friends for recommendations, and all of them saw that provider, so that’s who we went with.
Anonymous says
this is exactly the course we are on. We go to a pediatric dentist and there are orthos associated with the practice. It is pretty obvious that our rising second grader will need spacer or similar, but even so they don’t expect any actual interventions until 8-9ish. Incidentally that is when my dental work started…..
Anon says
Your dentist should tell you when it’s time for an ortho consult. And recommend one too – so hopefully you have a dentist you like or if not, I’d start there!
Anon says
+1 I just assumed we wouldn’t do anything until the dentist mentioned it.
Spirograph says
It’s worth asking your kids’ dentist and also seeking opinions from at least two orthodontists before you start treatment. My oldest got braces when he was in 4th grade and will need another round in middle school…this was recommended because he was a thumb-sucker and had a big overbite with protruding front teeth that is (supposedly) best corrected earlier and also more of an injury risk in case of a fall or other facial impact. My daughter just has crooked, crowded teeth, and she’s waiting til middle school.
Ask about treatment plan (number and frequency of visits, one or two rounds of braces, expander, etc.)
emergency appointment availability, payment schedule. Ask friends and neighbors whether the practice is well run, friendly, and on time. For me, this is one thing where convenience is key…all other things being equal, prioritize somewhere near your child’s school.
AwayEmily says
Thanks all. This is super helpful. Next step is to chat with our dentist, who I do really trust.
Anon says
Can anyone who currently lives in Europe or who has lived in Europe in one of the cycling nations comment on whether it’s the norm for women to bike commute throughout pregnancy? A friend and I were discussing this and she said everyone in the Netherlands continues to bike, but then I’m not sure if this is one of those myths that gets repeated like “all French women drink during pregnancy.”
Anonymous says
It’s not a myth. Women will generally bike into the late second trimester. Most women are off work for the last couple months because that’s how maternity leave works so it’s not like they are biking to work every day at 9 months pregnant. Might pop out to the store or something but can get uncomfortable once the belly is bigger.
Europe has tons of protected bike trails and biking on a designated bike trail (NOT a lane in traffic) is about the same level of dangerousness as walking. This is based on family/friends in Germany/Switzerland/Austria/Northern Italy.
Anonymous says
This is a really good article that talks about the structural differences between US vs Europe and why biking is so much safer – https://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/trnews/trnews280WesternEurope.pdf
Snarkclerk says
German here, so less of a biking nation than the Netherlands or Denmark but still common enough.
I stopped biking when I was pregnant and developed an actual bump, so maybe around 16 weeks? My OBGYN talked about a shift of the center of gravity but also said that many women keep riding their bike. I also have friends that continued way into their third trimester.
Cb says
I stopped about 12 weeks because it was icy out. If I were pregnant now, as a much more confident cyclist, I’d have probably cycled for longer.
Anon says
We’ve never lived in Europe, but my husband works closely with a bunch of people in Denmark and travels there a lot, and yea women there bike for most of their pregnancy. I definitely think it’s less of a myth than “all French women drink wine while pregnant” which my BFF living in France says is total BS.
Anon says
I’m French. Some of the people I know continued to bike, some didn’t. Everyone has different risk tolerances and different alternatives – sometimes the bike is by far the best option, they enjoy it and feel safe. Some people take a more cautious approach/are nauseous/are high risk and stop. But it’s more common and less frowned upon than in North America. I also know lots of people who biled with very young babies, way before 1 as recommended around here.
Also re: drinking – in my experience almost everyone is less strict, but it’s more like I’ll have a sip here and there, no business as usual.
Anon says
I keep my 4-year old’s room pretty neat, and it is bright and cheerful with fun decor. Actually, most of our house is fairly tidy. But my bedroom is a complete disaster – clothes and makeup all over the floor, a dresser that I haven’t got around to fixing, burned out lightbulbs that haven’t been replaced, overflowing hampers, etc. Why is this? And can anyone else relate?
Anonymous says
IMHO, everyone needs a place where they can just let it go a bit. For me it is the laundry room and a portion of my home office. You can’t be 100% perfect everywhere. If you don’t like it, my advice is to just choose another space to be untidy. It’s like Monica’s closet on friends ;)
Anonymous says
I’m the same. Burn myself out on the rest of the house and my dresser/primary bath are a state. What helped somewhat was upsizing the hamper, large tray instead of jewelry box on my dresser and a tray on the bathroom counter for makeup/skincare. Stuff on the tray is usually messy but overall the look is much better. Controlled chaos that I can realistically maintain.
Start with the lightbulbs. Then fix the dresser function. It will help.
Anon says
I’ve always trended toward the messy side, but I do try to keep my house in decent order, both because clutter is mentally stressful and because I want to present a tidy face to guests. But my bedroom is also pretty bad…I think it’s because it’s more out of sight than any other room, both for me during the day and to guests when they visit.
Does it bother you? I know it bothers my husband (who keeps his belongings in our room pretty neat and put away), so every 2-3 weeks I will put on a podcast and power clean.
Anon says
I suspect my house isn’t as neat overall as yours. But my bedroom is by far the worst of it. No guests are ever coming in to it, so it’s always at the bottom of the cleaning list. I desperately need to clean out and organize my closet, but the time involved seems overwhelming. So, instead, the clothing I wear just lives on a chair and the floor
Mary Moo Cow says
My version of this is my home office. I don’t have an ADD/ADHD diagnosis, but I picked up an organizing book for people with ADHD by Susan Pinsky and found it to be enormously helpful. It gave me permission to abandon the dream of whole house Home Edit Style and focus on practical but not pretty organization — open face white plastic bins for stuff instead of drawers full of perfectly folded and color coded socks, for example. It also recommended the floor up deep clean and tidying method, which made an outsized impact on my office: pick a time to tidy and start with the floor. Once the floor is clear, move up one visible level, and keep going, saving the top of shelves for next to last and the drawers for last. I think other tricks that work are letting yourself have some pockets of your house where you have permission to let stuff pile up and committing to a rotating, time defined tidying schedule (like 10 minutes a day in the kitchen daily plus 30 minutes in the bedroom on Mondays, in the home office Tuesday, etc.) I’m not the most consistent, but when I do commit to that, my whole house is tidier.
Anonymous says
Counterpoint: I find that if I give myself permission to let things pile up it gets overwhelming quickly, even if it’s just one pile of packages in the corner of my home office. For me it’s much easier to follow the “touch it once” rule. In the bedroom, this means that dirty clothes go straight into the laundry basket when I change clothes, clean clothes go straight into the closet or dresser as each load is folded, jewelry goes right into the jewelry box after it’s removed, makeup goes back in the drawer immediately after use (as in powder goes back in the drawer before bronzer comes out–nothing gets set down on the counter), the throw blanket gets folded and set back in its place when I get up from my armchair, the TV remote goes back in the nightstand drawer when I turn the TV off, my coffee mug goes into the dishwasher the first time I go downstairs in the morning, etc.
Which Pool? says
The main public pool in town is pretty nice: big, clean, shallow entry and slides for little kids. And I really like that it is one of the few public places where the group reflects the true demographics of the area: Spanish spoken, lots of average and larger bodies, and visible economic and racial diversity.
Unfortunately, almost every time we see someone with nazi tattoos. Some are blatant, others are coded ones that I wouldn’t notice but DH recognizes. Presumably everywhere I go in town the same people are walking around, but the tattoos are covered up. (No, we’re not moving in the immediate future, although the time may come.)
There is a new pool opening up as soon as it passes inspections. It will have the shallow toddler entry, but it’s much smaller, like maybe 10% of the size. It’s also in the wealthiest neighborhood, with less diversity in every way.
Annual passes cost enough we will need to pick one pool. Which would you take your kids too?
Anonymous says
How old are your kids?
OP says
2yo and expecting another
Anonymous says
I would do smaller pool for the next year or so because I found big pools overwhelming when I had two littles with me.
I wouldn’t avoid the other pool because of the tattoos. I would plan in advance how to explain to the kids what they are in case it comes up but you’re a couple years away from those things being issues.
Anonymous says
+1, if you ever take more than one kid to the pool by yourself you’re going to want the pool with LESS features/slides/etc…We stopped going to the pool closest to my house because it had 7 slides and water buckets and fountains. I was constantly afraid one of my kids would drown. Once my oldest started swimming really well last summer (at age 6, but we pushed swim lessons at Goldfish for 3yrs) we could go to a bigger pool. Still didn’t go to the pool with all the slides. Now both kids are swimming at ages 7 and 5 and I can relax (a little) at the pool. Until then you just want a nice easy place you can keep an eye on them.
Colette says
Where are you living that there are a lot of nazi tattoos around?? Genuine question.
I vote for the place without nazis.
You can take your kids to other diverse places without nazis to fulfill that need.
OP says
West coast USA
anon says
Agree, join the second pool. I think I’d just generally like a smaller pool, too.
Anonymous says
The first one. You’re going to have to explain Nazi ideology eventually (and also the people in the wealthy area probably have those views too, they’re just not as blatant about it).
Anon says
+1 to both these points (and I’m Jewish), although honestly I’d just go with whichever pool is closer to home. My best local mom friend has a rule that her kids don’t do activities that aren’t within a couple miles of their house, and I’m starting to feel like adopting her strategy after a summer where I spent waaaaay too much time in the car driving kids to camps and activities.
Spirograph says
+1. I am also am shocked, having never seen a Nazi tattoo in the wild (are we talking a swastika?! I’m probably in denial, but giving people the benefit of the doubt, I understand a similar symbol has a different meaning in other cultures) but I probably would stick with the existing pool unless the new one is better in some tangible way like more friends, more convenient, swim lessons at better times, etc. Avoiding hate doesn’t make it go away, and there are much worse ways for kids to become aware of it than a question after passively observing a tattoo at the local pool.
Anon says
what other meaning does a swastika have? as the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, this would make me so uncomfortable that i think i’d have trouble enjoying my time at the pool. i have never seen a Nazi tattoo in the wild, though i’m sure people do have them under their clothes.
Anonymous says
It is originally a symbol in Hinduism I think, that’s where he stole it from. If you google the recent Ambani wedding you can see the original version on some of the car decorations.
Given that OP was not familiar with some of the references, but her DH was, I think it was more coded ones as well like cornflowers or the SS letters in that specific font.
Anon says
It was originally a Sanskrit symbol that meant “well-being.”
Colette says
The Sanskrit version goes the opposite way. A swastika is just a swastika. No excuses.
Anon says
Non-practicing Hindu here. The swastika is a religious and cultural symbol in Hinduism and Buddhism, and has not stopped being used by Asian cultures even after the Nazis appropriated it. Growing up my mom drew swastikas on doorways in our with vermillion powder to provide blessings to guests who enter our home. In the West the symbol is associated with Nazis and hate, and it is understandably upsetting to many, but it is important to know its origin and meaning in Asian cultures, at least to avoid misunderstandings.
In OP’s case I think the people with swastika tattoos are neo-Nazis.
Anon says
Do more of your friends belong to one vs the other? Which one is closer to home?
If there are so any offensive tattoos at the existing pool, I have to think that there will be at least some at the new pool. [I have never seen a Nazi tattoo in the wild, so this is truly shocking to me!]
Anonymous says
Yes, we live in a deep-red area with a militia and book banning and all the trimmings, and even here I have never seen such a tattoo in real life.
Colette says
If you are trying to take your kids to the first pool on the basis of “diversity” I don’t think that this pace is doing what you want it to.
Any space that is tolerant of hate symbols is not diverse and honestly I’d be worried about my children in this space.
If you want more diversity in your life, sign them up for extra curriculars with diverse populations of children.
And honestly, I’d examine where you live (is this Idaho) where the schools are totally segregated and people feel comfortable showing hate symbols. That’s just really alarming.
OP says
No not Idaho. Sadly I think you vastly underestimate how many places have racism and bad schools.
Diversity and inclusivity are not the same thing. I have the privilege that I could chose to stay in a like-minded bubble, but if I do, there are a lot of less privileged people I won’t meet. I’m genuinely not sure which is the better option in many cases.
Duct Tape says
I feel like my life is duct taped together right now. I was hospitalized last week for what I thought was severe dehydration (low BP, fast heart rate, super light headed), and turns out I had pneumonia and was held for 2.5 days to get lots of fluids and IV antibiotics. DH, who had comfortably been in a job for 10 years with max flexibility, started a new job the day I was admitted. So we spackled before/after 9-5 childcare together while also juggling his new commute/home routines. I’m about 8 days post diagnosis and finally feeling like a shell of myself but for utter exhaustion. But of course my 6 year old was diagnosed yesterday. Thankfully she’s not nearly as sick as I was. Praying the 8 month old doesn’t get it next, but I feel like it’s inevitable. My job is client facing, go-go-go at all times and I just….. cannot. Plus, DH is in a really good new company but it’s week 2. He can’t exactly be asking to dip out to take kids to pedi apts and so forth right now.
The only way out is through. The only way out is through. The only way out is through. End rant.
Anon says
Oh my goodness that’s a lot! Can you reach out to neighbors or your 6 year old’s friends’ parents? I’m sure lots of people will want to help. I hope you and your daughter recover well and no one else gets sick.
SC says
If you’re still feeling utter exhaustion and you now have a sick child, an 8 month old, and a husband with limited bandwidth, I’d encourage you to take more PTO or even unpaid leave. Take care of yourself and your kids until you’re all well. Get coverage at work, communicate what’s going on with your health and who your clients should reach out to, and they will understand.
I hope you’re all feeling better very soon!
DLC says
I would pick the pool where there are kids that your kid would know from school. Also it’s probably hard to tell at this point if your kids will want to join swim team or not, but having a swim team was a big deal to our kids when we joined.
Is your concern explaining the tattoos or interacting with the people who have them? I think those would be issues handled differently for me.
OP says
Concern is interacting with the people, plus someday explaining why we chose to interact that way. The future-school-friends is an interesting consideration, but I feel like it could be an argument either way. I have no doubts that we are in the best school district, but I do feel like I need to intentionally expose them to diversity because school will be 100% white.
Anon says
Yikes I think a school district being 100% white is a much bigger problem than lack of diversity at a pool. Are there really no good school districts that are more racially diverse?
OP says
It’s definitely a problem, but a surprisingly common problem. Redlining is a b!tch. And public schools are in such a crisis right now, almost everyone I know who has any kind of alternate option is pulling their kids out by middle school or high school at the latest. The one exceptional school district is a main reason we chose our house.
Anonymous says
Eh, I think people stress out about that on this board way more than people do in real life. Some areas are just really white. I grew up in an all white area because my family has been there for 5 generations. There was no option within an hour that was more diverse. But it’s not like we didn’t travel or learn about diversity in school. I went to college, got exposed to new people and learned a lot, and live in a very diverse neighborhood (racially and economically). We joined a private pool because we witnessed a lot of bad behavior at our public pools and they were also more crowded. My children are exposed to diversity in our neighborhood, our church, school, and out in the community and through our friendships.
Anon says
Ugh. My kid had a friend over after camp today. Normally when kids come over for play dates they pretty much disappear into our toy-filled basement. This girl has been whining to me all afternoon that she’s bored and wants TV. I did a science kit with that was a saved birthday present, and that went ok, but she’s turned her nose up at pretend play, all my kid’s toys and a bunch of arts and crafts/Lego/activity kits. This is a good friend of my kid’s and we haven’t had major issues when she’s been over before, and I know the family doesn’t give her endless screen time at home. I’m not sure what’s going on but I need a stiff drink.
Anon says
sounds like a bad day/maybe camp is just tiring. my kids (age 6) struggle with post camp/school playdates bc they are just done.
Anon says
It’s half day camp, so shouldn’t be as tiring as school/full day camp, but yeah that may be a factor.
Anonymous says
Seems like a post-day camp thing. My kids are always wiped after daycamp and want to veg out and watch TV. Their camps are usually very outdoorsy and/or active. Even when camps are a slower pace, they are often more physical and active than a school day.
Next time you could plan for that like make popcorn as the snack or a movie related snack like popsicles for Frozen and have them watch a movie or something vs random scrolling through shows.