Today’s reader mail comes from a reader who will be second-chairing a federal trial that is expected to last for more than a month…
First, do you think I should wear skirt suits every day or can I wear pant suits and save the skirt suits for days that I may actually get to examine a witness?
Second, how many suits do you think I need to keep on hand so that it doesn’t look like I am wearing the same suits over and over again? Any suggestions for making the same suit look different other than wearing different accessories?
And finally, any suggestions on where to find nice looking suits in petite sizes without spending an arm and a leg since I will not need that many suits after the trial is finished.
A good friend of ours did mock trial in law school (and did very well), and passed along her (esteemed) coach’s advice: wear skirt suits and be sure to cross/uncross your legs often if the other side is making a good point, and wear a lot of perfume. See? Golden advice. Whoever says sexism is alive and well is just crazy.
In all seriousness, though, wardrobe during trial is one of those times where the guys really do have it easier, because we guarantee you that they’ll wear, at max, three suits and five ties throughout the entire trial and not give a second thought to it. For you, though, we recommend sticking to dark suits, which, practically speaking, means we’d limit ourselves to three or four suits. One black, one navy, and maybe one in brown or gray. (If you’re prickly about your accessories matching, go with all black accessories and choose the gray suit.) Where possible, we’d get both the skirt and the pants to the set — J.Crew, Banana, Ann Taylor, or Theory all make separates (and, we think, petites). (For the petites question, we’ll be lazy here and link to our old post on professional dressing for petites for reference, as well as the blogs Petite Asian Girl and Alterations Needed, both of which we have recently discovered and been meaning to point readers towards.)
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Tagged as:
court apparel,
courtrooms,
Suits,
trials
Something on your mind? Chat about it here.
Pictured: Mikasa “True Blue” Espresso Cup/Saucer, available at Macys.com for $16 (was $23).
Tagged as:
age differences,
aging gracefully,
basic wardrobe items,
how many suits,
long hair,
trench coats,
trial,
wedding guests,
weddings,
white blouses
One of the most difficult things to figure out is what to wear to a professional conference. In theory, you’re there to network, meet your colleagues and the “superstars” of your field — and, of course, to learn a bit in the process. The whole process becomes a bit more confusing when you add the “vacation” vibe that many conferences strive for, by holding themselves in sunny places like Hawaii. It seems to us that you need to take a number of different considerations into account. (A lot of these problems are alleviated if you only attend conferences in Second Life.) For example:
1) Are your work colleagues going? If your work colleagues are going then, by default, you shouldn’t wear anything you wouldn’t wear to the office on a weekday.
2) Are you at all involved in running the event? Is one of your colleagues speaking? Is your company or firm sponsoring the event? If so, wear a suit. Depending on the kind of conference and the location, we might suggest a pantsuit rather than a skirt suit — you’re not interviewing, and, after all, you’re quite possibly doing glamorous things like manual labor.
3) What is your purpose in going? Even if it’s just to get a ton of professional credits while surreptitiously playing Brickbreaker all day, let’s pretend you’re there to network and meet people who can help advance/guide your career. Either way, we advise against pulling out the sweats you wore to your grad school classes.
No matter what, we would pack a blazer for the event — air conditioning frequently runs amok at conferences, and a blazer is a professional way to stay warm. Wear it with trouser jeans if you think the conference is uber casual; wear it with a jersey dress if you’re in hotter weather (Hawaii); wear it with trousers and a blouse if you think it’s business casual.
We would also recommend thinking of your entire visit, including your time on the plane and in your down time at the hotel, as “work” time — dress and act as professionally as possible (while, of course, having a nice time).
Readers, any other words of advice for professional conferences?
Tagged as:
attending conferences with colleagues,
business casual for a conference,
CLE conferences,
conferences,
speaking at conferences,
what to wear to a conference
In this feature, “What to Wear To…” we tackle attire for office events that are outside the confines of the 9-5 office day.
If you’re lucky enough to have a gym in your workplace (or nearby enough that there’s a good chance of running into people at your office), you may be wondering what to wear to the gym. Obviously, you’ll want to leave the thong-leotards and short-shorts at home, but what does that really leave you with? Particularly on a hot summer day, the choices can seem limited.
Choose moisture-wicking fabrics. These fabrics tend to cost more than your basic cotton or nylon, but they breathe more, wicking moisture away from you. This means you’re drier, lighter, and cooler — which then means that you can wear pants rather than shorts, even on hot days. Look for words like Dri-FIT (Nike’s brand), ClimaLite (by Adidas), and Double Dry (by Champion).
If you must wear shorts, go for modest ones. For example, these Moving Comfort Aero Shorts have the equivalent of a bike pant beneath a loose short — you won’t have to worry about what’s showing when you stretch. 
, available at Paragon Sports on sale for $23.
Watch your bust. Not literally, of course — we’re just saying that a good sports bra is essential. (Let’s face it, a good sports bra is ALWAYS essential, but in the corporate gym you’ll be making a scene if you wear a regular bra for a cardio activity.) If you’re busty, we can’t recommend Enell enough — sure, they’re ugly as sin (see the pic at right) but these things do the job.
Finally, wear a shirt. This is not the time to show everyone your rock-hard abs (but congratulations if you’ve got ‘em!) — cover yourself up. Our reasoning is simple: Do you want to see YOUR supervisors without their shirts on? It isn’t a man issue or a woman issue, it’s just a let’s-not-see-more-of-each-other-than-we-really-have-to issue. That said, there are tons of ways you can go with the shirt. You can stick with the trend and get a mositure-wicking fabric t-shirt. You could show your team spirit and don a company shirt. You could go basic and just wear a tank top, like these from Old Navy. Or, you can go our preferred route, and show a bit more personality with your workout attire and go for something from Threadless (reader-submitted hilarious designs, examples pictured below), Busted Tees (think more caustic/funny one-liners), or Glarkware (television-related products).
Tagged as:
Nike,
shorts,
t-shirts
In this feature, “What to Wear To…” we tackle attire for office events that are outside the confines of the 9-5 office day.
It’s the Aughts, and Blackberries and the Internet mean most work can be done from home. Still, there are times when there’s just no way around it and you’ve got to go in. This presents a special challenge: you want to look cute, cool, hip — but you’ve also got to look professional. If the hours are long you’re going to want to be extremely comfortable. Odds are good the air conditioning will be at full blast, so you also want to be warm.
We’ve found a bunch of great jackets that have a structured look to them, yet they’re made of fleece, jersey, and other fun fabrics — they’re almost as comfortable as your old reliable sweats. With a nice (non-ripped) pair of jeans, and a cute pair of closed-toe shoes (or even nice sneakers), these can maintain your dignity, broadcast your cool, and protect your comfort.
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Tagged as:
air conditions,
blazer,
blazers,
clothing,
double-breasted,
fleece,
fleece jackets,
Iisli,
jackets,
look cute,
polar fleece,
safari blazer,
sweater,
wear
This is another new feature: “What to Wear To…” — we plan to tackle attire for office events that are outside the office.
It’s the summer. Your office is flush with interns, either from law school or MBA school. In order to impress, the company holds numerous summer events, including <dun dun dunnnh> the cocktail party. Maybe at a restaurant, maybe at a partner or executive’s house/mansion. The question looms: What do you wear?
Honestly, the answer here is usually “a suit.” You simply don’t want to run the risk of looking like someone’s date. Still, there are times when a cocktail dress is appropriate — and when that happens you should strive to be as conservative and as ladylike as possible. In general, this means your dress should not be:
- shiny
- satin (it wrinkles anyway)
- strapless
- low-cut
- mini-skirted
- relying on a safety-pin in any regard
- appropriate for any of the following activities: being a contestant in a pageant, sleeping, or being a dominatrix
That said, here are some appropriate dresses:
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Tiered Skirt One Shoulder Dress by Twelfth Street, $255 (EDressMe)
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Embroidered Navy Rose Dress by Walter, $298 (EDressMe)
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It’s Only Love Dresses by Nanette Lepore, $495 (EDressMe)
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Serena Dress by Milly, $339 (ShopBop)
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Brushed Silk Dress with Beads by Castle Starr, $654 (ShopBop)
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Silk Dress with Rose Detailing by Rebecca Taylor, $271 (ShopBop)
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Dyan Dress by Elizabeth Gillett Ltd., $216 (CoutureCandy)
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70s Chain Spectator Dress by Yoana Baraschi, $350 (CoutureCandy)
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Tribal Eyelet Dress by Gold Hawk Clothing, $253 (Couture Candy)
eDressMe SALE – dresses 50% to 80% off
Free U.S. Ground Shipping at Shopbop.
Save $10 at CoutureCandy
Tagged as:
cocktail dresses,
cocktail parties,
Networking,
office cocktail party
