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This smocked dress reminds me of the ones I wore as a kid — with a few upgrades.
Instead of the itchy smocking of yore, this tank dress is made of soft 100% cotton. It jumps straight from playground playdates to summer parties. It even has side pockets for rocks, found pennies, and other treasures.
Primary’s Smocked Tank Dress is $28 and comes in four summery colors. It’s available in sizes 2 to 12.
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
Anon says
Any up for some vicarious Friday shopping? My 7yo needs shoes for a wedding this summer. She of course wants something as sparkley as possible, but it also needs to be comfortable enough for to wear around all day and on grass. We have basically never bought her fancy shoes (she wears sneakers in the winter and “practical” sandals in the summer), so any suggestions where to look? Her flowergirl dress is pale pink with a tulle skirt.
Anon says
Badgley Mischka makes kids’ shoes, if you’re looking for that kind of vibe. For example: https://www.zappos.com/p/badgley-mischka-kids-angela-platform-sandal-little-kid-big-kids-rose-gold/product/9951078/color/35560
Anon says
I go with childrenchic mary janes for this purpose – looks like they have “glitter” styles
NYCer says
I was also going to suggest this.
Anon says
i have a few links stuck in moderation, but may i offer a suggestion – is this an outdoor wedding? i would ask the bride if she could wear one pair of shoes for the pictures and ceremony and then change her shoes. my twins were flower girls this past fall and after the ceremony the switched into their sparkly jellies which are more comfortable for them. i actually also had to switch to flip flops bc the strap on my heels broke. but id be hard pressed to find a bride who isnt ok with this
Anonymous says
I wouldn’t ask the bride about changing shoes after the ceremony and photos are done. Just do it if that’s what you think is best. After official flower girl duties are finished, all bets are off. When my daughter was a flower girl at age 4 I put her in a different dress for the reception because I didn’t want her to destroy her white silk dress with red velvet cake etc.
Anon says
https://www.carters.com/carters-kid-girl-shoes/V_YF23E06H.html
https://www.target.com/p/kids-lisa-ballet-flats-cat-jack-blush/-/A-89529600?preselect=89467114#lnk=sametab
https://www.carters.com/carters-kid-girl-shoes/V_YS23K03H.html
https://www.zappos.com/p/hush-puppies-kids-josie-flat-little-kid-big-kid-silver/product/9166144/color/632?zlfid=191&ref=pd_search_1_sp_1
Anonymous says
My 5yo has these and wears them everywhere. The sole feels like a sneaker (flexible, etc) but the top is cute. Honestly, I wish they made these for adult women.
https://www.nordstrom.com/s/kids-right-ballerina-flat-toddler-little-kid-big-kid/7764988
Anon says
So cute!
Anonymous says
They are super cute and it looks like the brand makes other styles with flowers, etc!
OP says
Thanks all!
TheElms says
One more (very sparkly): https://www.striderite.com/products/holly-mary-jane-bigkid?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwi_exBhA8EiwA_kU1MitOLYpL5la3AVGi3Nbk3-yOppQWPmDxbRL7jgq4UX-2C7cbsloYuhoCIWUQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
Cb says
Any outdoor toy ideas for the bigger kid set? My son (6) has been happily playing all afternoon with some guttering, piping, and a pallet, but I wonder if something else would be fun.
Anonymous says
I actually cannot think of better big-kid outdoor toys than guttering, piping, and a pallet to build with.
I have always wanted a tree platform as a hideout for older kids but we don’t have a good tree for it.
Cb says
We don’t have the right tree either, but we have a little woodland that separates our cul de sac from the golf course, and I keep suggesting to the next door neighbour’s son (a carpenter) that we should build a den for our kids in the woods.
I’ve been trying to figure out how to safely elevate a pallet.
Anonymous says
Oh, it would be such fun to build a den out of sticks in the woods! Or put up one of those wire frames for vines to grow into a “green house.”
Anon says
We built a frame sort of like this one in our woods so that the kids can build and rebuild all sorts of things with sticks. https://www.instagram.com/p/C5CUOJwhVMG/
Anonymous says
The little real tool kit maybe? And some scrap wood if you can find it. Also a garden hose, a bucket, a small trowel, rocks…
anon says
Zip ties and painters tape can make outdoor building activities even more fun.
anon says
My 6yo loves tools! For his birthday, he and two friends (with parental help) made a very simple, maybe 1 square foot “frame” with some pex and an electrical outlet box added on. Six months later and he still plays with it all the time. Constantly. He’s hammered a bunch of nails in it, sawed it, etc. This week DH let him use a drywall repair kit to fill in all the holes he’d made in it, and it has been hours of him adding spackle, sanding it down, scraping it off, etc. I’d just lean into his interest and put up the bumpers – you decide what is safe and teach him to use safety equipment (glasses, gloves, etc.).
Momofthree says
Something to enable practicing sports (i.e., football/soccer goal, basketball hoop, etc.)You could also buy those things that strap on to a kids ankle so they can kick the soccer ball/ football & have it return to them.
Emma says
Just came home from my kids’ daycare Mothers Day event, which was scheduled from 10-11. It was very cute, but I’m fortunate to have a flexible WFH schedule and live 7 minutes away – lots of parents were unable to attend – and when we had to leave at 11 all the kids started sobbing hysterically… I guess it’s hard to find a good time for these things.
Anon says
I’m the resident grinch saying it’s also totally unnecessary! For so many reasons, including the disruptions you mentioned
also anon says
+1
busybee says
My kids’ daycare did it around dropoff time. Even so, my 2.5 year old was upset because it was louder than normal and just different. She cried at dropoff for the first time ever. Her teacher quickly took her for a walk down the hall, and I left shortly thereafter. Little kids are just so routine-oriented and the fun stuff isn’t fun when they’re stressed!
Anon says
Our daycare did these things at 4 pm so kids could go home after, so that at least solved one of the problems.
I actually liked attending daycare events and one of the things I like about public school is we have so many more opportunities to visit and volunteer than we did in daycare, but for Mother’s Day I just wanted a cute gift made by the kid with teacher assistance. I didn’t want to have to attend an event celebrating me when I’m already going out to do stuff with my family.
Emma says
4 pm would be much more convenient for me, and I think most parents! But I know some kids are on an early drop off and early pickup schedule (like 7-3:30) so maybe they didn’t want anyone to be left out?
anon says
My son’s school did muffins with mom this morning. Which I totally forgot about until I walked int a disheveled mess at dropoff.
I’m also WFH and flexible so I try to make it to mid-day activities when possible but its still annoying.
Boston Legal Eagle says
Happy Mother’s Day all – I hope your day goes as you want it to, whether that is time with family or time alone.
For those with bigger kids, do your kids at some point start to set up their own “playdates”/hangs, without parental involvement, before cell phones come into play? So far, all organizing has been through the parents, but our older kid is 8 and can certainly coordinate with his friends on his own, would just need rides. My husband says he was calling friends’ home phone lines at that age but that’s not really an option now. He’s not getting a smart phone for a while, but is it time for an in between? Access to some sort of messenger?
Anonymous says
8 is maybe a bit young, but among our set it’s common to let kids use an iPad or an old iPhone without a SIM for iMessage before they are old enough for phones.
Anonymous says
My husband is a middle school teacher and based on the issues his kids are having as young as 11, we are so so so leery of letting our 9 year old use any kind of messaging. It’s so hard to be deciding between not letting him connect to his friends and protecting his safety (and I’m just talking messaging, not even phones!)
Anon says
Hmm interesting question. My oldest is also 8, and he does not know the family’s schedule well enough to reliably plan playdates. I am fine with his making soft plans at school, etc, but then I follow up to make sure the other parent is on board. Back in the day, you could hear your kid talking on the phone to confirm plans were made. Going to the neighbors house spur of the moment is one thing, but I don’t think I would drop him somewhere based entirely on his relaying plans. Maybe around age 10?
Anonymous says
Yeah, I would not want my 8-year-old making plans without consulting me on the schedule, and I would not trust the 8-year-old on the other end to have okayed the plans with his own parents.
Anonymous says
This reminds me of the party that Ramona Quimby planned without telling her parents.
Spirograph says
Same. My kids are 7, 9 and 11 and do not have their own phones. They organize their own playdates at school and come home and inform me, “I have to meet friend at the woods by the playground at 10am on Saturday” or some such. For neighborhood friends, they just ride around on bikes and knock on doors until they find some other kids to play with or give up and come home (parents typically text to say so-and-so is at our place). For the friends whose I’m not comfortable with my kids self-transporting to, parents still text to confirm and adjust timing as needed.
Anon says
This is one of the things I most hate about modern day parenting! I had to set up all my own play dates around age 5-6 by calling landlines, but as you say that’s not really doable anymore (we don’t have even have a landline!).
My 6 year old has started making plans with her closest friends and actually just last week planned a play date with her bestie during the one weekend time slot they’re both free (Sunday afternoon). We regularly see this kid on Sunday afternoons, so it’s not rocket science, but the other mom and I were both kind of impressed that they planned a time and a meeting place and everything.
With families we don’t know as well, it definitely takes parental involvement and I imagine it will for several more years. I do appreciate my kid taking the initiative and tell the other kid she wants a play date, so when I text the mom she’s hopefully already heard about the plans from her kid, vs just having to make the request cold.
Anon says
I have an 8 and 11 yo and adults still are involved in planning. They can make loose plans at school, but parents confirm.
I don’t allow my 5th grader on messaging apps. Lots of parents have started allowing it this year and it’s resulted in tons of negative social drama. I’ll revisit next year in middle school, but we’re not going there yet.
I think kid-to-kid plans really start in middle school.
Boston Legal Eagle says
Makes sense. Our middle school starts in 5th, though I don’t think most kids get phones until 6-8th.
FVNC says
+1. I have a 10 yr old 5th grader (so lots of kids are 11 already) and a 7 yr old; kids often make plans at school and parents then text to confirm / modify as needed: “[Kid] told me she and [Other Kid] want to meet up this weekend. What day/time works for you?”
Middle school doesn’t start till 7th grade for us so we’re enjoying one more year of elem school friend-don’t-have-phones bliss!
Fallen says
We live in a walkable neighborhood and my 10 year old has been making her own plans for a while (she knows our schedule and what days she’s free). She will just text me from her Apple Watch to let me know she’s going to a friends or if a friend is coming over after school.
Fallen says
This started last year (4th grade) for the most part, once I felt Ok with her walking to school on her own and getting her an Apple Watch.
Boston Legal Eagle says
Does she have her own number with the apple watch? Or is it connected to your account somehow? Does she give out her number or is there some other messaging app they use? Cleary new to this!
Anonymous says
My son is almost 12, has a phone and uses it to text his friends, can walk around the neighborhood and takes the subway to school, and I’m still coordinating playdates. YMMV.
DLC says
we still coordinate logistics for our 12 year old to hang out with friends. She seems to be in the minority of her friends who don’t have a phone, though, so I do sometimes worry that she is not as social as she would like to be.
When I was growing up, all my friends lived in walking distance so we coordinated at school and then just walked to each other’s houses and called our parents to let them know where we were. Though I don’t know that I did this until I was nine or ten years old.
Dinner Menu says
Hi All! Hopefully a fun question for a Friday. We will likely be hosting an informal dinner for a crowd later this month. The purpose is to host some members of my husband’s work team who are visiting from international locations plus some local members of the team. Several members of the crowd are mostly vegetarian. I’m a lifelong Midwest gal, and while I certainly have some vegetarian dishes I make, I wouldn’t say that I have expertise in putting together a vegetarian menu for a crowd. Suggestions? If we have meat, we will limit it to chicken and seafood. Before I take the easy way out with grilled chicken breasts and shrimp skewers (or the really, really easy way out with a bunch of vegetarian pizzas), any ideas on a vegetarian spread for a crowd? Thanks!
busybee says
Taco bar? Can be easily made with beans, and chicken for the meat eaters.
AwayEmily says
Anything make-your-own. Tacos, sandwiches, salad.
If you do end up doing skewers, this marinade is amazing on mushrooms: https://www.seriouseats.com/grilling-yogurt-marinated-chicken-kebabs-with-aleppo-pepper-recipe
Anon says
I’m a vegetarian and have done Mexican-inspired with the grill for groups. I make black beans (flavored in some way, likely onion/garlic, some spices, and maybe peppers and tomatoes), grilled sweet potatoes (for sweet potato and black bean tacos or rice bowls – cut into thin slabs or diced with some onion seasoning, smoked paprika, and chili powder), grilled chicken (like https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/grilled-chicken-tacos-51175340), quick pickled red onion, avocado, cilantro, cheese, salsa, purple cabbage, tortillas, rice, corn if in season, random other veggies tossed on the grill, etc etc. Most of the components can be made or prepared ahead of time.
Anonymous says
If they are vegetarian for religious reasons, check on specific requirements. I once made a lasagne for vegetarian visitors from India that they couldn’t eat because there were both eggs and cheese in it. It was mortifying.
Anon says
That’s awesome you are doing that. I would be intimidated to host so many work people at my house and cook for them, but those kind of events can be so lovely and memorable to attend.
Anon says
I have a spinach pesto lasagna recipe that people love and it’s pretty easy. It does have eggs and (lots of) cheese so not vegan friendly and agree that with international guests it’s best to check what veg means to them.
Anon says
I second the burrito bowl bar. We do this a lot, and if there’s a Trader Joe’s nearby, it’s extra easy. Rice, roasted cubed sweet potatoes (sprinkle with salt, cumin, chili powder), carnitas (TJ’s is premade), black beans, shredded cabbage, salsa, sour cream, diced avocado, chopped cilantro, shredded cheese, lime wedges. Add a big bowl of tortilla chips nearby, some fresh fruit. Dessert can be berries, crunchy cookies (to eat solo or crush on top of the berries), Greek yogurt.
This menu accommodates vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free. Also pretty kid-friendly.
Anonymous says
Thanks, all! A taco/burrito bowl bar is a great idea and likely what I’ll go with. I’ll ask DH to double check dietary requirements.
DLC says
We often host vegetarian friends with a variety of things on the grill. For the vegetarians it includes tofu and halloumi and tempeh in additional to veggies. And then all the sides are vegetarian or vegan. The only thing that isn’t vegetarian is the meat that is grilled. You might have to check if people are okay with the veggies and meat sharing a grill. We have two grills so we do the meat on just one.
Anonymous says
I offered to buy lunch for the day care teacher and the parents were extremely generous. I was given $98 by parents and lunch cost $78 (tip included). I was thinking I’d go grab a Starbucks GC for $20 since I know they all like it. There are four teachers. Would it be better to do 4 $5 gc or one $20 one? Or should I just give the head teacher the cash? Or something else?
Anonymous says
Four $5 GCs
Anonymous says
Me: I am logging off now to go pick Kiddo up from school. As we discussed, you will need to walk the dog while I am gone so we will be ready to leave on time for Kiddo’s recital this evening.
Husband: But I’m working.
Me: I was working too until I shut down to pick up Kiddo. You have no meetings or deadlines this afternoon and unlimited PTO. And although I can do many things, I cannot be in two places at once.
This is a man who does 50% of the housework and likes being able to brag about his wife’s fancy job, not some 1950s caveman. This, my friends, is why women will never get ahead in this world.
Anon says
I also have that fancy job and could have written this. I just threaten burn out at work. Works marvels. We can get ahead we just have our priorities straight which hinders us but keep your priorities trust me.