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: check out our big roundup for the best women's suits!
You may think you need to save a fabulous outfit like this for July 4, but I say no — I think you can wear it year round!
In winter, I would wear it with navy tights (or, hey, these), I think — you could even add some cowboy boots (maybe these!) for extra oomph. In summer, I think the outfit as pictured looks great, but I'd add a patriotic manicure, patriotic jewelry, or a patriotic scarf.
Obviously, don't pair the suit with boots in summer, because that would call your professional judgment into question.
You can get the suit at Target and Opposuits. Prefer pants? Check out this suit.
(Psst: Want to see more content from this day in the past? Try this link.)
Sales of note for 4/17:
- Nordstrom – Beauty savings event, up to 25% off – nice price on Black Honey
- Ann Taylor – Cyber Spring! 50% off everything + free shipping
- Boden – 25% off everything (thru Sun, then 15% off)
- Brooklinen – 25% off sitewide — we have and love these sateen sheets
- Evereve – 1000+ items on sale, including lots from Alex Mill, Michael Stars, Sanctuary, Rails, Xirena, and Z-Supply
- Express – $29 dresses
- J.Crew – 30% off all dresses
- J.Crew Factory – Up to 60% off everything, and extra 50% off clearance
- Lands' End – 50% off full price styles and 60% off all clearance and sale – lots of ponte dresses come down under $25, and this packable raincoat in gingham is too cute
- Loft – Friends & Family event, 50% off entire purchase + free shipping
- Macy's – 25% off already reduced prices + 15% off beauty & fragrance
- M.M.LaFleur – Spring Sale Event – Buy More, save more! 10% off $250+, 15% off $500+, 20% off $750+, 25% off $1000+ (Try code CORPORETTE15 for 15% off if you find any exclusions.)
- Sephora – Spring sale! 20%, 15%, or 10% off depending on your membership tier; ends 4/20. Here's everything I recommend in the sale!
- Talbots – Spring sale! 40% off + extra 15% off all markdowns
- TOCCIN – Use code CORPORETTE15 for 15% off!
- Vivrelle – Looking to own less stuff but still try trends? Use code CORPORETTE for a free month, and borrow high-end designer clothes and bags!
How much do you consider the driver behind you when, say, you’re trying to turn left? I have actively been trying to care less (and just go when it’s definitely safe) but drove with a backseat driver yesterday who kept pushing me to just floor it
Channel your inner Don Draper and don’t think about them at all.
What do you mean, consider the driver behind you? I don’t care if the person behind me thinks I am waiting too long, but I do think about whether I’m doing something unpredictable (like starting and abruptly stopping) that will cause the person behind me to rear-end me.
+1.
I’m confused – you start by talking about the driver behind you (as in, the vehicle behind you) but then talk about someone in your actual vehicle. What’s your question?
I consider whether the jerk back there has been crawling up my tailpipe the whole way. If so, I decide that is that day I will drive as conservatively as possible. If that means neither of us make it through the left turn on this light cycle, so be it.
I do not “floor it” or make any unsafe moves just because some d1ck behind me is impatient.
Yes.
I am driving with my teens now and trying to tell them that they need habits for when someone behind them is honking so they don’t panic or make a rushed bad decision. That said, I urge them to think through their route and try to use as many right turns and protected left arrow turn lane turns as they can because they are safer.
Also, I don’t go when it’s not my turn even if someone is waving me on. I’ve had someone wave “go, go!” when I was stopped, as required by law, for pedestrians that the other driver couldn’t see. You def need to practice ignoring that kind of pressure.
Not at all. One of the first rules we learned in Drivers Ed was to never worry about the person behind you.
Just stay off your phone at the light and ignore both the backseat driver and the impatient people behind you in the turning lane.
Just stay off your phone when driving, period…..
I won’t do anything dangerous because the driver behind me is impatient. Everyone will get to their destination faster if I drive safely and in accordance with applicable law than if there is a crash because I didn’t drive safely. However, I do consider the general flow of traffic when selecting my left turns.
There are a couple of places near me where a left turn is legal, but it will take ages to be able to safely make a left turn at certain times and road design doesn’t allow for non-turning cars pass the turning cars. I select my route so that I do not to turn left at these places at busy times, even if I have to go a bit out of my way, because I don’t want to be the cause of unnecessary traffic back ups.
Same with your second paragraph (and I’m the person at 3:28 who was behind someone who managed to turn an intersection that normally does allow non-turning cars to pass turning cars into one that didn’t, and that was even worse than this normally is!).
Turn when you want to turn. Why would the person behind you factor into it?
Omg, I literally just was behind someone who was turning left and somehow centered herself in the middle of the intersection in a way that meant that even though there were two lanes behind her, no one could get through. And this was an intersection where there really should be a protected left because traffic is heavy and she realistically was only going to be able to complete the left when the red light hit. Don’t do that. I think at minimum, you need to not block people more than you have to.
Agree. Turning left when you don’t have a left-hand turn lane can be really disruptive if you don’t actually have the space to do it. I run into this turning into my sister’s DC neighborhood and I do whatever I can to minimize the disruption or make another, earlier turn if the traffic is more favorable.
It’s still fine to turn left when there’s not a turn lane. Sometimes you have to wait for a car when you’re driving, and that’s ok. It’s the way the road was designed.
Sure. Its not ok to be inconsiderate.
It seems like you’re trying to say that it’s not ok for someone to make a legally allowed left turn? Wouldn’t it be more inconsiderate to pressure people to drive unsafely or tie themselves into knots trying to find alternative routes because some drivers unable to tolerate traffic?
It’s exactly what I was trying to say.
Turning left is about the only time I think about the driver behind me. If I’m about to block the lane for 2-3 minutes making a ridiculous turn, I put my signal on way ahead of time to indicate, or try to make another less obnoxious turn if I can.
I mean, I consider that the best thing for everyone is to get there safely and expeditiously. An accident slows everyone down.
That said, I do consider that if I take longer than necessary because I’m fiddling with the radio or making faces at my son, it will impact the person behind me.
Younger me would ignore the person behind me. Current me will let an annoyed car behind me overtake, and I’ve pulled over to make that happen if they’re driving dangerously.
It’ll add a minute to my journey, but I have seen too many crashes and heard enough road rage stories to last a lifetime.
I drive a manual car and I have learned that I can’t be anxious about pressure from other drivers or I will stall out. I get honked at a lot, but I just have to do my thing and turn when I have time to shift. it’s a good reminder for me that in driving, as in life, you can’t assume you know what’s going on in anyone else’s car.
If it’s a big pickup truck with a driver likely armed I change lanes as soon as possible and take another route if I have to. If it’s a souped up car with tinted windows, the same.
My daughter is almost certainly going to be cut from a school team tonight. I’m not at an athlete and even when I did sporty things, I only did no-cut sports because I have rejection issues. For those that have been there, what’s the best way to help her processes this?
It won’t really surprise her that she didn’t make the team- she tried out for a middle school team where she would be one of the youngest players as a 6th grader and there were a TON of girls that tried out for a limited number of spots. Like, probably 4 girls for every 1 spot likely to go to a 6th grader. She’s better than half the kids that tried out but that’s not good enough here, and I think she knows that. She wasn’t even going to try out, then got herself psyched up to try out, then found out that it was going to be super competitive…and stuck it out anyway.
FWIW, she is playing a different sport outside school this season and is plenty busy so this is more an ego blow and the nail-in-the-coffin to a sport she was debating doubling down on or giving up completely. I’m just…sad for her and also a little annoyed that the school went out of their way to market/hype up getting kids to try out for the sport and they ended up with 40 girls trying out for a roster of like 15 max.
I think the doctor who didn’t match discussion from earlier this week may help: match her energy and otherwise don’t bring it up.
Yeah, that was really good advice. And if I were personally in this situation, I wouldn’t expect anything from my mom, as not making the team seems like the expected outcome. If my mom made a big deal about how sad she was for me, that would make me feel like a loser for something that’s pretty normal and not a big deal. If she seems really bummed out, then offer sympathy, but otherwise I wouldn’t dwell on it.
re: your last sentence, I feel like they always do that and it’s so annoying!
I’m sorry! I don’t have great advice but you sound like a great mom and I hope she’s not too disappointed.
The reality is that this is how life goes. It sounds like she’s pretty mature already, understanding that the tryouts would be so competitive and needing to psych herself out.
I was cut from my 8th-grade team, and though I was kind of expecting it, it still hurt. But it gave me time to focus on another activity that would have conflicted, and it turns out that I’m much more passionate about that one, and much more talented in that one. Getting cut from the sport where I wasn’t competitive enough was a blessing in disguise. I don’t suggest your frame it like that, but framing it as a conversation around doing a mix of stretch things vs. sure things, focusing on developing a new skill vs. doubling down on a core skill, and being honest about your abilities is a good life skill.
I will also note that it’s helpful to understand when age/seniority is a factor. If size and strength are key elements to success, then of course the 7th- and 8th-graders are more likely to get the spots, because on average, they are bigger and stronger. That’s a helpful reframe from “I’m not good enough”.
When I’m prepping kids for auditions, especially if it’s their first time, I work them on the skills of trying out, and emphasize that getting experience auditioning is valuable and something worth doing even if they don’t get cast onstage. Sports aren’t all that different. She went through the process and hopefully learned from it, whether she applies it to trying out for the same sport next year, or something else.
I would be SO PROUD of her for trying even in the face of poor odds! Such a good skill to learn.
Maybe think of this one as good practice if she wants to try again next year?
Right. If she’s super bummed, try to find some skills-based camps so she can try again next year.
Being involved in competitive activities in childhood is great for building resilience. No matter how she’s acting about it, make sure you tell her how proud of her you are. It’s a big deal to try in the face of likely failure, and you should make a big deal about it even if she acts like you’re cringey.
I would be very leery of getting my emotions caught up in hers, or forcing her to performatively emote. Remember, she’s allowed to take it in stride.
Oh, this is really hard. I think you can follow her lead on this. Would she be interested in trying again next year?
Also, my experience is that school coaches DNGAF about kids’ hurt feelings after tryouts or auditions. They’re trying to recruit as many good players as they can, and thus will cast a wide net.
I just bought a bright pink blazer. It fits nicely, but it’s much brighter than I normally wear. I was thinking over a black jumpsuit or over plain tee and jeans for casual Friday. But is this a mistake to keep it? Those of you with bright statement blazers- how much use do you get out of them? Is it worth it just to have for rare occasions? Thanks!
I don’t wear pink and black together. I wear pink and denim. Pink and white. Pink and navy. Pink, white, and a third color. I like high-contrast or a contrast with denim, but pink and black to me read as a harsh combo (like black and red). If you like it, keep it. Try on outfits and take selfies. See if you feel you’d be reaching for it.
To each her own. I like pink with navy, denim, and white, but I also think it can look really sharp with black. A pink blazer over a black jumpsuit sounds cute.
I think it’s fun in spring with pastel pink and in fall with red. I would wear it with all black or all white.
I have a bright pink blazer and love it. I wear it as much as I want to because it brings me joy. I DGAF if people notice I rewear it – that’s what clothes are for! To wear!
I say keep it and wear it whenever you want to brighten your day.
I like bold blazers because my wardrobe is fairly plain. I would wear a pink blazer on non-court days in the office and certain types of client meetings. I went to a client site this week wearing a gold blazer over a plain black outfit with gold jewelry for example.
I love my bright pink blazer with my black and white gingham shirt.
It might be bugging you because it’s really not in style right now. I wouldn’t wear that today but I might have 5-10 years ago.
Thanks for all the input! I am going to keep it! I tried it on with some options, and I think navy shirt & navy pants work well, and a white tee and denim for Friday works best. I’ve been C-suite for a year and I’m turning 40 soon. I’m noticing I’m drawn to more statement pieces now (or maybe just getting to that point of not caring so much what is in/out). I also found a matching camisole to go with it with jeans that I think will work for a night out. It’s Alice & Olivia in “wild pink” in case anyone is curious!
There’s a particular light near me with a very short protected-left interval (and regular backups of folks waiting to turn left that last more than one light); and so I try to be extra conscientious of watching the light carefully and going as soon as it turns instead of two seconds later out of courtesy to those behind me. But everyone forgets sometimes, and if someone waits a few seconds until someone else beeps to remind them, and then they’re the only one who gets to go that cycle – that’s a fleeting annoyance and we all move on.
I actually do honk at people in this scenario if they don’t go right away. We’ve all got to move and there are more cars waiting to go to a destination that we’re blocking if we don’t take advantage of the light.
Same. It isn’t just me; it’s the people behind me. If people dally when going through the lights, the backup becomes insane.
There’s a light near me that’s so bad like this that people drive straight and turn around a mile down the road.
Someone honked in a frustration at a driver in a red left turn lane. They panicked, and drove into oncoming traffic (Me) who was hitting the brakes and going whyareyouturningwhyareyouturning AIGGGGHHHHH!
I only knew of the horn after we talked.
Could you come up with a better, safer way to express your frustration that is less time consuming for everyone?
Why would you blame the honker in that scenario?
It was more about contributing factors. They honked after the turn signal was red. Even after we exchanged information and were dealing with administrivia, it was very clear that this was a very nervous driver.
Call me whatever, but I thought horns were to alert people to hazards, even to alert drivers to move out of the way When.They.Legally.Can. I can pound my dashboard in frustration, even cuss in my car. My one exception is that I will beep at deer to encourage them to stay away from cars.
It isn’t honking in frustration in OP’s scenario, it’s honking to tell them to move. But yes, DMV driving is usually some form of ridiculous .
Could use a virtual hug. A company that contacted me in early fall about a position that would be opening this spring just told me they don’t have funding—and even worse the hiring manager then trauma dumped on me and said he was hoping to leave (though I don’t know how likely). I was laid off from my really niche area in January and was really counting on this. I’ve been doing project work for them in the meantime and something big was supposed to go out to my network in April (think speaking/writing lots of eyes sort of thing) and didn’t happen after hearing effusive praise for the project the past few weeks. I now just feel embarrassed and defeated and kind of used. Project pay was ridiculous for the amount of time. I can’t believe how I let myself get so strung along. I started to tell my husband and just ended up crying.
I’m sorry, this sucks. *Hug*
Hug. I’m sorry for you. Can your husband take you out for ice cream?
I’m sorry. Sending you virtual hugs OP!
I’m so sorry, sending a big hug. You did nothing wrong here, so please don’t kick yourself.
I am here for you. That sucks.
What? I’m super sorry but also…can you meet him for coffee or something, and go for his role if he actually does decide to leave? What can you do to improve your chances when and if that time does come?
I’m also sorry to hear it didn’t work out for you. It’s a tough market and I hope you land something else.
Has anyone had a sleep study? Did you do the at-home one?
I did an at home one (where they give you the monitor and you diy the whole thing) a few years ago. It was fine; pretty easy to set up and the equipment wasn’t intrusive to sleeping. But it didn’t find anything significant (yet the doctor still tried to sell me on a c-pap anyway, which I found off-putting) and didn’t give me anything to help my problem (frequent wake ups), so I’m overall frustrated about it, but the test itself was fine.
My brother just did the at home one. Very easy.
Yes, I did the at home one. Learned that I don’t have sleep apnea but I do have restless legs syndrome. It was very easy to do.
If you are a paramedic, nurse, PA, pharmacist, or something else in health care, how did you find what it is you actually do? Is there a good career test to take? I work in finance and have a BA and a lot of math / science credits (but need a few more; that’s in progress). I want to do as much as I can before I pull the trigger on quitting work to go back to school and also have a clear vision of my path. But I don’t know how I can know better how those jobs are (and people say things like don’t go to nursing school if you don’t KNOW you want to be a nurse on one hand and then others say will do it because it’s so broad and flexible). I dont know how to move forward once my basic work is done in the fall. It’s analysis paralysis.
What are you expecting to gain by asking this question over and over here?
You need to actually do it, not take a test. You volunteer or shadow or get an entry level job. I’m a bio professor and most of my students interested in health careers are either already working in a hospital, pharmacy, or clinic or doing significant volunteer work. Nursing might be a little different (that’s generally a different degree but some bio majors go back for a nursing degree later), but I think it’s still somewhat common to volunteer or start as a CNA, I know some of my students have done that.
I don’t think I know anyone who went into one of these career paths without shadowing first (or becoming an EMT first). Shadowing seems to be something that comes up in the admissions process too. But I’m only familiar with young people going straight from BA.
Those are really different jobs though and different lifestyles; it would not be typical for a college student to be deciding between paramedic vs. nurse vs. PA vs. pharmacist.
Just want to throw this out there–do you have any interest in healthcare administration? Your background would put you on a great track and the problem solving that occurs isn’t as dry as most corporate finance roles.
Not sure this is the angle the OP is going for. Looking for a dramatic career change into health care I would hope is being driven by a desire to make a personal impact day to day on people’s lives, with a drive for actually directly giving care to people.
Honestly, most healthcare administrators are resented by patients and doctors alike. Although they probably make more money than most healthcare providers!
Good healthcare administration is desperately needed. I get that it’s not okay when administrators make decisions that cost lives and face no accountability in the systems we’re living with, but they are in a position to save lives.
Sounds like she is looking for roles where you actually talk to or touch a patient. With your hands.
She can start volunteering now if that’s what she wants.
Revenue cycle teams play a huge role in making sure claims don’t get denied and providing financial counseling in addition to working with tech teams–they touch everything from patient registration to helping authorizations meet payer requirements to clinical documentation to coding to negotiating with payers to providing charity care to supporting financial counseling. They work with IT to make sure data flows where it needs to and money reaches the hospital or practice as promptly as possible. On the finance side, that team plays a huge role in financial forecasting as well as strategic planning relating to service lines, clinical centers of excellence, and investments in facility expansions and community programs. It’s not everybody’s jam. But there are so many paths, including some with direct patient contact or physician contact, where they can make a big difference in the care experience for a lot of folks.
You make peace with the fact that you don’t know, and you give yourself grace to figure it out over a series of years. If you are changing careers, the best you can do is educate yourself as best you can and then leap. If you want to minimize the transition, then you look for a finance-adjacent role or health care admin, which gets you in the building, and build up a network of people who do direct care to better observe and bounce ideas off them. But honestly, if you are itching to do direct care, the only way you’ll find out if it’s for you is to do it.
wSJ has just put out an article that nursing is a sure fire path to prosperity. It offers so many paths beyond direct patient care if that’s what ultimately interests you. Many healthcare administrators have prior clinical background
I mean, talk to people who do those jobs? This isn’t rocket science.
You couldn’t pay me enough to go into the medical field but obviously it’s great for some people.
Observationally, having a schedule would annoy me, touching gross things is not my jam, I hate the environment in doctors offices and hospitals. I might like leaving my problems at the office but that’s about it.
How much shadowing and interviewing have you done? Nursing is such a broad field, you could work anywhere from a high intensity level one trauma center to a public elementary school to training patients in medication compliance from a specialty pharmacy. You could have intense 12 hours of touching patients and participating in codes/cpr on the regular or you could spend 8 hours doing paperwork. Or maybe 4 hours in a vaccine clinic and then 4 hours teaching baby care. I know nurses that haven’t touched a patient in years and nurses who ride helicopters into accident scenes and do inflight life support. What do you want to do?
Has anyone been out of work for a couple of years, and come back successfully at the same or a similar senior level?
Context: I’d like to take a career break of 2-3 years to stay home with my kids until they start school. Financially I have good savings and pension investments and my partner would still work full time, so there would be some income still…but I would like to hear from others about how to re-enter, things I should/might do to make the break helpful to my career etc. I don’t have enough money to retire early, and I also really know in my heart that I really want to take this break. I worked so hard for my seniority at work so am feeling conflicted.
Already tried looking at other roles, but there’s nothing part time or job sharing which would work.
I think it is really hard to get back on the horse if you’ve been 100% off of it. Kids lives, friends, and activities get more intense as they get older until they have mastered driving. We’ve never found a nanny who is legal and drives and will agree to be paid on the books for what is 10-15 hours a week and many jobs can’t accommodate or flex for that. Do you have local family?
No reliable extended family locally, but there is good childcare for school age kids.
You might post on the moms page for more thoughts. Most people there seem to think that being a working mom to school age kids is harder than being a working mom to daycare age kids, and I agree. If I were taking a 2-3 year sabbatical I would be inclined to do it when my kids were in early-mid elementary school. That’s young enough that they still want you around all the time and love hanging out with you, but old enough that you have to deal with K-12 school schedules, activity logistics and “bigger kid problems,” i.e., parenting is more about meeting emotional needs than physical ones.
I think there are a few posters there who took a break and came back, but not necessarily in really high-powered roles.
Thanks will post there tomorrow. It’s great to hear that there are people who’ve done it. Maybe it’ll be better to have a led senior position if things with kids get harder!
Very very low odds of that working out. You will take a step or several back unless you are very lucky.
I was wondering what might help. Non exec roles, pro bono work, speaking at conferences etc.
Staying in part time is the only way I’ve seen people not lose too much ground. Skills and networks get stale real fast.
I left my law job when my kid was a toddler. I planned to focus solely on parenting for a couple of years (other than being an adjunct). Right when I planned to leave, a law-adjacent, very flexible, part-time job opened up. I did that for a couple of years before going back full-time. There is no way I would have the career (fulfilling, I have now if I had fully stepped out for two years. Working part-time (and networking a ton during that time) put me in a position to be selective about my next role rather than just being desperate to get back into full-time work. If it’s at all possible, I would not stop working entirely.
I think this is pretty industry-dependent. Like in tech, I think it’d be next to impossible. In others? More doable.