Suit of the Week
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For busy working women, the suit is often the easiest outfit to throw on in the morning. In general, this feature is not about interview suits for women, which should be as classic and basic as you get — instead, this feature is about the slightly different suit that is fashionable, yet professional. Also: we just updated our big roundup for the best women's suits of 2025!
Wondering what the skirt suit looks like for 2025? I'm seeing a lot of these longer skirts like this J.Crew suit.
Unfortunately, I'm also seeing a lot of miniskirts, which… not great, Bob!
The high slit in this pencil skirt can cause its own problems, of course — but I suppose I prefer it to a mini skirt.
Brown suit is also trending (I think we also featured one last week!) — and I am seeing a lot of menswear-inspired ties.
The Madelyn jacket is part of J.Crew's four-season stretch suiting (I believe it replaced their Parke blazer), and has a lot of matching pieces and colorways — the pencil skirt comes in black, brown, navy, and cream, but there are also matching pants.
Sales of note for 9/5/25
- Nordstrom – Summer sale has started, up to 60% off top brands
- Ann Taylor – Friends of Ann Event: 30% off your entire purchase, including new arrivals
- Anthropologie – 30% off clothing and accessories
- Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything + extra 20% off
- J.Crew – Everyday styles from $34.50 — see our full roundup of what to buy for work at J.Crew
- J.Crew Factory – 50% off fall faves + extra 60% off clearance
- L.K. Bennett – 20% off all new-season
- Nordstrom Rack – Season Closeout: extra 40% off select clearance dresses, sandals, shorts, and swimwear(ends 9/11)
- Rothy's – Up to 50% off last-chance sales
- Soma – 5 panties for $39 + 35% off 3+ styles + buy 2 get 3 free panties — readers love these PJs and these no-VPL panties
- Talbots – 25-40% off select fall styles + extra 30% all markdowns — here are all the reader favorites at Talbots
- White House Black Market – 50% off all sale styles (ends 9/5)
Welp I just saw an ad that said “Seniors born 1941-1979 can enjoy these benefits”
like
I know 1979 isn’t YOUNG but i didn’t think i was senior just yet
LOL, that definitely doesn’t qualify as senior! Seriously, that’s ridiculous.
um, wut?? That’s a three generation window, easily.
(they are almost certainly just adjusting the ad to your birth year bought from some 3rd party data broker. I get “Seniors” ads, and I’m a 90’s baby)
Yup it’s one of those click bait-y targeted ads, they just input your birth year to get your attention. It’s gibberish.
Walgreens’ Senior Discount is 20% off for 55+ years old on the first Tuesday of the month, with prescriptions and a few other things excluded. I am not too proud.
WIBTA to back out of a volunteer thing? My kid’s school was looking for parent volunteers to put together the playbill for a musical. I have experience in this area, so I told the teacher I was happy to do it. Then two others volunteered as well. Even though I raised my hand first, she sent the info to all three of us and told us, “I’ll let the three of you sort it out!” I have zero, and I mean zero, interest in a group design project. That is a disaster in the making. I also would feel like a jerk saying, hey, I volunteered first, so I’m going to do it. Part of me wants to say, “Hey, I don’t think this job is well-suited for three people to share, so I’m going to bow out of the design. Let me know if you want help proofreading.” Honestly, I’m pretty annoyed, but I also recognize that I’m easily annoyed by this particular teacher.
This is when you supply a reason that isn’t your top reason.
“Hi Sally, I’m glad to see that two other parents have volunteered. I’ll let them run point on this one.”
I’d split it as one person in charge of the cover art, one in charge of the actual list of songs and participant info, and one in charge of laying out the various ad spots bought by companies or supportive friends & family.
So then she ends up nagging people and still doing all three parts one day in advance? Lol. Group projects when they’re not tied to bonuses and performance reviews are the devil.
Group projects when they ARE tied to bonuses and performance reviews are hell on earth.
eh, just saying this seems easier to split up with clear areas of accountability than many group projects. Jane is assigned cover art and doesn’t do it? Not my problem.
True. That would help at least.
Uh, that’s exactly what I DON’T want to do. No thanks.
I think it’s fine. I’d probably word my response differently.
Of course you can back out. A fib along the lines of “a family thing came up and I do not have the time to dedicate to this project”, and wish them success.
I would definitely bow out too – I’ve had enough group projects to last a lifetime. Just make up an excuse.
Drop out if you don’t feel the situation, I don’t think it’s a big deal. I don’t get the angst over having other people to work with, though.
Agreed this seems weird and dramatic but like fine then don’t do ut
+1. It is fine if you want to drop out, but I do not think this warrants being annoyed with the teacher. She probably thought it would be easier to have a team working on it.
I feel like this is the sort of thing that should be done in the time it takes to e-mail about it. Free labor for a playbill for a kids’ thing is . . . just a one-pager that will likely go into the trash, no? Unless you have ads or anything to place (and even then: trash). If the kids are in middle school, let a competent kid do their best with Canva and let them learn vs burdening a grownup.
“Shauna and Tai, I have 15 minute free today to do a draft of this. If one of you prefers to make this into an opus magnus, by all means. But if everyone else is pressed for time, I will send you a draft and if anyone feels moved to pretty it up, that would be fantastic but I understand if not.”
I would also just do a first draft ASAP and send it to the other two to change or not, as they like. (This doesn’t work, of course, if you’re gonna be mad at their changes.)
Just politely bow out now. This is not an AH scenario, like you committed to driving your grandma to a medical appointment tomorrow or are actively pet sitting until the neighbors get home next week.
So you wanted to design the playbill yourself, but now that you will have input from two other people you don’t want to do it? You’re being unreasonable. Is it possible that the other two people might actually have some useful input, even if you have more experience with these types of projects? If I were you I would mock up a design and send it to the other two parents for feedback. Or divide and conquer like someone else suggested. Volunteering for something and then backing out later is a good way to make a teacher dislike you.
I agree it’s a bit unreasonable, but also think you can back out if it’s truly that big of a deal to you.
I think your annoyance with the teacher is unwarranted. That being said, instead of bowing out, why don’t you email the other two parents and say, “I am happy to take the first stab at this.” And see how they respond. They may have volunteered just to be nice or helpful, but would be glad to have you handle most of the design work.
If you do want to bow out, I would not respond with the language you suggested as it sounds unnecessarily antagonistic.
Agreed. The teacher probably feels that they can’t play favorites and need to be inclusive of everyone who expressed interest. They DNGAF as to how it gets done, they just want it done. And they frankly have no clue whether any of you have any skills or expertise.
+1 I wouldn’t necessarily interpret the teacher response as suggesting the three of you work together. It could mean, “figure out which of the three will actually do this!” I think sending a message like anon at 3:19 suggested sounds reasonable, though I would follow it up with sending the product to all three and saying, “any major edits/issues?” to give them a chance to review. If you really don’t want to talk to them ever just send a note with a white lie that says, “so sorry, when I volunteered for this I completely forget about a huge deliverable I have at work. Sorry to bow out but if you need help with a final set of eyes for review, let me know!” or something.
You can of course back out with a made up excuse (“something has come up”), but I suspect the two other parent volunteers would be happy doing minimal work on this. Parents often volunteer to appear helpful, not because have any underlying interest in the project. Can you just explain to the other two that you have prior experience in this and will do the first cut? Then solicit minimal input from them on what you believe to be the final draft and send it off. I suspect the other two parents have much better things to do than fight for a creative role on a school playbill.
+1. I also like the advice to confront it head-on – “This doesn’t seem like it will take all three of us. I’m happy to handle, or if you would like to I’ll pass it off to you. Looking forward to the kids’ performance etc etc”
I have 1.5 days free in Phoenix on a work trip coming up in October. My work hotel is downtown near the convention center, but I could stay somewhere else for my free night to get an early start on a trail and am still undecided on whether to rent a car. I am hoping to do some hiking or trail biking (but would need to rent a bike), and also like museums and good food. I think any dark-sky activities are too far away to be practical, but would be happy to be wrong about that. I am not familiar with the area or local flora/fauna at all; is solo hiking safe assuming I have appropriate footwear and enough water?
Any pro tips, suggestions, recs for trails or guided hikes/bike rides vs solo?
Go to the Heard Museum! It is very much worth it.
100% the Heard.
You can look at All Trails (free app) and see the trails closest to you and based on your skill level. There are a lot of urban trails for hiking or biking in Phoenix, but not right near downtown (so most likely need a car). Dark sky activities are too far away for this timeframe.
Rent a car, drive the 2 hours to Sedona and spend the night up there. I promise you, the hiking and biking is so much better and worth it.
If you really insist on not taking my previous better advice, then choose whatever Scottsdale boutique hotel you like, Citizen’s Public House for dinner and Camelback for hiking.
The Mexican food is delicious (literally any restaurant). The cheap sketchy looking ones? Delicious. The fancy ones? Delicious. We literally eat Mexican food every day on our trips out there.
The Musical Instrument Museum is fun. The Heard Museum has an amazing collection and is worth the trip. I have mixed feelings about it as a whole, unless the exhibits have changed since the last time I went which was about 8 years ago.
Solo hiking is generally safe as long as you take precautions for the heat.
Just a vent, not looking to DTMFA and not letting it destroy my life. Why is planning meals for a family so hard? My husband only ever has ideas for takeout. It’s like yes, I know burgers and pizzas exist – I’m asking for ideas for healthy homemade meals that aren’t blowing the budget. He’s a horrific planner (at home, work, and everywhere else, so it’s not weaponized incompetence) and neither of us likes anything about this chore. I’m sick of bearing most of the load on something I hate too.
turn it around and recommend he grill every night? that usually shuts my husband up.
but you can do burgers and pizza at home, just saying. since i’ve been on a budget i’ve actually found meal planning easier because i’m only buying exactly what i need for one week and then i keep track and that’s what we have. no more of this “hey let’s just buy 10 lbs of chicken we always use it” and then twiddling your thumbs at dinnertime because everything’s frozen.
So don’t? Cook what you like for yourself. Don’t ask him what he wants. Or get meal delivery. Or sit down and make a two week meal plan with set meals on rotation. You both hate cooking and planning but you still need to eat so schedule a time with him and make a plan on how it will be dealt with.
Can you make your request a bit more narrow – like, do you prefer tomato soup and garlic bread, or chicken & rice soup on Tuesday? And a leafy green salad with chicken, or a bean salad with chard on Thursday?
But she wants HIM to come up with the suggestions. And ideally – cook them.
My mother was infuriated when she would ask my father to prepare dinner once in a blue moon, and then he would just want to order a pizza. That misses the point entirely.
Exactly.
I’ve found ChatGpt for ideas or a meal subscription service the best solution here. That way the conversation is – ‘these are the 10 ideas I found, pick 5’, or ‘here is what BlueApron’s options are this week, pick 3’.
+1.
Yep, hello fresh solved this issue for us.
+1 we’ve used Blue Apron for 10 years now and still happy with it.
I, too, hate meal planning. Can the two of you come up with a list of 15 meals your family will eat, and then just rotate through them?
Sympathies. My husband does not cook at all and fully supports doing take out whenever I don’t want to cook. Which seems fine, but then it puts the burden on me to plan and cook our meals so we’re not overspending or eating junk too much.
Yup.
Ding ding ding
Has anyone tried the Walmart service that gives recipes and also shops the ingredients?
+1 – Our local grocery stores often also have grab and reheat family meal options in the deli section. Or things like rotisserie chicken, pillsbury rolls, and a bagged salad are still a healthy dinner!
This sounds a bit type-A but over the Labor Day weekend I had my kids help me brainstorm a list of all our favorite family meals, and I taped it to the inside of a cabinet. So when we’re truly busy/tired/brain dead I can just ask them to pick out 3-5 options for the week and that’s what we eat.
Since neither of you likes it or is great at it (no shame there!), can you either 1) throw money at it (meal delivery service, healthier fancy takeout, half-prepped food like salad kits, frozen rice) or 2) lower your standards (ie. find 10 recipes you like and commit to just rotating through them, so it’s not a fresh plan every week; switch the bar from “what sounds good for dinner tonight” to “what would be *not disgusting* to eat”; dedicate 2 leftovers-nights per week; etc.)
Yes, I hear that it is annoying for both of you. It was the biggest argument in my house until I offered up this:
Each of us had to take full ownership for 3 days, then the 7th day was takeout.
There were definitely breakfasts for dinner nights (kids loved them!)
+1 – Breakfast for dinner, and ‘anything from the freezer you can reheat in the oven without mom’s help’ nights are big faves in my house.
In my house the day before/after Thanksgiving are known as ‘you can eat anything you want for the entire day as long as you do not ask an adult to make it for you’ (instituted when my kids were 8 and 10) and are almost more enjoyed than Thanksgiving dinner itself.
We call your second option “fend for yourself” night at our house! You can eat leftovers, chicken nuggets, pb&j, scrambled eggs, or cook yourself a 3 course meal. I don’t care as long as I don’t have to make it (and you don’t trash the kitchen in the process).
My childhood best friend had a fend for yourself night—the same night she always chose to eat w my family 😊
We already regularly do things like breakfast for dinner, super easy vegetarian burritos, etc. just annoyed today that even that is so damn challenging that takeout is his only idea.
Have the same meals every week. Plan once and let it go. Like Monday is x, Tuesday is x, Wednesday is x. Variety is overrated.
Yeah. Better than continuing to ask for what you won’t get. Just make it an automatic thing.
This is a good strategy and you can add variety through shelf stable seasonings. So maybe Monday is always sheet pan chicken and veggies with rice. But one week you use cajun seasoning, the next week you use soy sauce, the week after that you use italian seasoning and balsamic…whatever sounds good in the moment
I mean, being a horrific planner everywhere *does* sound like weaponized incompetence.
+1
Or potentially undiagnosed ADD. Has he ever been screened for it?
Not mutually exclusive with weaponized incompetence. Not fixing your own problems doesn’t absolve you of them.
It doesn’t sound like they really have a problem, just a lack of a system.
I don’t know where absolution is coming from. Whether somebody gets blamed or not, or gets perks or a pass or not, if they can’t do something, they can’t do it. Usually it becomes obvious in a situation where they desperately, desperately want to.
But there’s no evidence of weaponization if it’s not something somebody could easily learn or do in another context?
+1.
It is hard. If you care even a little bit about nutrition or variety it’s even harder.
In your situation, I would choose simple and boring. A maximum of 10 meals total in rotation.
And maybe design a day of the week to a theme, so you’re not thinking of *everything* every day. And never worry about repeating meals – it’s called favorites!
Monday: soup and bread. Can be from a can, can be frozen, can be slowcooker soup made during the weekend (dump and ignore).
Tuesday: fish. Frozen fish straight in the oven, defrosted fish in a pan. Carb and frozen peas or roasted veg as sides.
Wednesday: Pasta with sauce. Can be penne with pesto and tomato sauce from a jar, can be tiktok-y oven baked tomato and feta, can be Bolognese if you have some frozen.
Thursday: eggs. Fried eggs with baked beans, oven baked frittata, shakshuka, breakfast burritos.
Friday: takeway or fakeaway. Frozen pizza, stir fry with microwave rice and sauce packet, an actual takeaway, something easy to start the weekend.
Saturday: Make your own. Taco or salad bar, individual pita pizzas to add toppings, something involved with little prep beyond chop.
Sunday: Set a timer. Something roasting or slow-cooking, with leftovers or parallel cooking for Monday soup.
I get it! I know it’s “processed” but a “compromise” might be frozen burgers or pizza that y’all heat up. Dinner is in the freezer, ready when needed, ready to heat, boom, hubby is happy, you make yourself a salad on the side (if you’re a salad person, I really don’t care)
If you both hate it, outsource it. Back in the day I subscribed to the 6 O’Clock Scramble, now I rely on the Real Food Dietitians. I take their menus and shopping list, then dh and I split the shopping do each does it once a month. We split the cooking where I cook 2 weeks then he cooks for two weeks.
I would recommend trying a meal box, like Home chef, hello fresh or Marley plate. You can get as little as 3 meals, which combining that with your tried and true recipes may give you some variety & ease the planning/shopping for you. My husband is also a horrible planner. When we have the boxes, he will cook dinner. Something about having the meal boxes with the ingredients ready to go seems to make it easier for him.
good luck!
Instead of hoping that he takes the initiative, have a list of easy meals and tell him he is responsible for making one of them 3 times a week. Some of our repeats are breakfast for dinner, taco bar, pasta with meatballs, tortellini soup (tortellini cooked in Costco’s tomato soup, rice and beans with sausage, and chicken nuggets/mac and cheese, quesadillas. My kids are picky so I just stick to protein + carb + veg.
The issue is soliciting ideas, rather than delegating dinner to him. Consider wholesale delegation. Think – “I do not have the mental bandwidth to decide on dinner 7 nights a week, three nights are yours to figure out.” Then you actually let him figure it out without input. You might eat beans and eggs a lot (or hamburgers) but he will eventually learn.
If he doesn’t think there’s a problem it will just be cereal and spaghetti. Honestly only one of you should be taking ownership of this. I’d be really annoyed if someone was bugging me about what to eat over and over again. You need a system, not constant collaboration about stuff that doesn’t matter.
Ways I try to make meal planning easy on myself: keep a list of pantry meals, stuff I can make with things that I keep stocked; look in the fridge for what needs used, plan meals around that; microwave veg packs.
As for it not being weaponized incompetence, an inability to do or learn the task isn’t a dealbreaker, but being unwilling to put in effort to alleviate some of your load is. I say this as someone whose husband cooks maybe once every 2 or 3 months – he compensates being a terrible cook by always doing the dishes and keeping the bathrooms clean.
I know there have been posts on this – nothing jumps out at me, and I just need to buy something at this point. I carry a Nordache gray backpack every day to work. I need something nicer, as I got a huge promotion that will involve C-suite meetings at client sites (and my ratty backpack now has a hole in it). Here’s what I need it to hold:
– Notebook
– Hardcover day planner/journal – 8.5×11
– water bottle
-15″ thin laptop
-charging cord
– preferably a very very small pouch for pencils, etc.
The bag will go with me on a daily commute (1 hour) plus sit on my office floor/client floors a decent amount of time. It must close fully on the top.
Everyone is telling me to buy real, full leather from a company with a lifetime guarantee. I am very hard on bags and shoes. I switched from tote to backpack after years of shoulder pain. I am open to a briefcase style instead of backpack – thinking about one that converts…not sure. Ideas? Budget (ugh) $400?
What about something like this? https://www.quince.com/women/italian-leather-convertible-backpack?color=cognac&size=one-size&g_network=g&g_productchannel=online&g_adid=711300875227&g_acctid=978-058-8398&g_keyword=&g_adtype=pla&g_keywordid=pla-2353833958035&g_ifcreative=&g_adgroupid=167035262576&g_productid=46240434815146&g_merchantid=128669708&g_partition=2353833958035&g_campaignid=21634355658&g_ifproduct=product&g_campaign=&utm_source=google&utm_medium=paid_search&utm_campaign=&utm_term=46240434815146&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21634355658&gbraid=0AAAAAC4ZeNZ6cM8v3V0R858tXxdb-atAD&gclid=Cj0KCQjwuKnGBhD5ARIsAD19RsYiSdsjnIhftgUXsrrMBeO7AZB9hPpbksR2_fsxFL5y8OuuW9pMoJUaAkAsEALw_wcB
Full leather is so heavy and do you want to use the same bag forever?
What about Lo & Sons? I know a lot of professional women who swear by their backpacks, not leather though.
I’ve had a Knomo backback for work for maybe 8 years now, still going strong and looks like new.
Look at Rains. In particular – their two-way tote backpack and book daypack.
Also, Tumi Harrison and Brooks Pickwick. If your budget allows, Mismo.
Outside of your budget, but I would get this: https://mooreandgiles.com/mondo-quinn-commuter-backpack/?sku=A-CBP02-BA
or one of their other nice, fully enclosed backpacks.
This backpack recommendation just came out from Wirecutter, and looks good for your needs (and under budget!):
https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/troubador-apex-backpack-review/
In case anyone needs to stock up for fall/winter – Elemis sent me a 30% off code (which is as much as I’ve ever seen them offer) – FALLVIP
This suit is really ugly, right?
Totally. The proportions are off and the styling is confused.
Love the colour! The skirt isn’t great, but the jacket is fine.
Hmm I love it
I know front slits on skirts are a thing, but it always makes me think the skirt’s on backwards.
I just can’t with the front slit.
I can’t with the poop brown!
I don’t think it is something I could pull off, but I really like the top half. I would like a different skirt or maybe pants.