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Updated: Dec 26, 2019 79 Comments · by

Suit of the Week: Boden

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. I have adored this happy green tweed ever since we first featured it as a skirt a few weeks ago for a morning workwear report — so when I saw this blazer I wondered if they were a match. I wrote to Boden to ask, and we now have confirmation: the jacket (in green and herringbone) matches the skirt, as well as this A-line dress. (Not a match, apparently: the assorted tweed pants they have in similar colors.) The black and white herringbone is very traditional and cool, while this bright green is a lovely pop of color. The pieces are $130-$220, available in regular and petite sizes 2-18, at Boden. (Nordstrom does have a few of the pieces, though in limited colors and sizes.) (I didn't ask about the navy tweed, but my guess looking at the SKUs is that the blazer and skirt match in the navy as well.) Looking for plus sizes? This green tweed jacket comes up to size 20, and Talbots has a wide range of sizes for a nice gray houndstooth tweed.  This post contains affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. For more details see here. Thank you so much for your support!    

Sales of note for 9.30.24

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Kat Griffin is the founder, publisher, and editor-in-chief of Corporette. You can read more about her here.

Comments

  1. lsw

    What’s a current dressy black shoe that’s not open-toed/sandal? I’m not sure what silhouette I’m looking for. Prefer not super pointy as I have a wide toebox.

    • NOLA

      I’m loving the Sam Edelman Hinda, but it’s pointy. I love the cross strap.

      • Never too many shoes...

        NOLA, this is a really cute shoe. How is the fit? I see they come in leopard….

        • NOLA

          I haven’t ordered them yet… just lusting after them. In general, Sam Edelman fits me really well. I just bought two new pairs of shoes, so I’m trying to be good!

    • Anon

      Would you do black suede? The Lazio Kessy is a kitten heel black pump at Comfort One, on sale now for $99.

    • S in Chicago

      Posted in wrong thread below. But recommended Hope Naturalizer if you’re looking for business and Walking Cradles if you’re talking dressy at cocktail levels.

  2. Anonymous

    I’m a midlevel attorney (lit), I feel I have progressed as expected by all metrics, but I have one problem that I can’t seem to improve and I don’t know why: Proofreading. This has consistently been a problem for me since 1L year. Having someone else proofread for me is rarely an option. For major filings I do the trick my writing professor taught me, which is print it out and read it out loud. However, the volume of drafting I do (emails included) makes this not feasible for EVERYTHING. I just stop seeing errors after reading my own writing for so long, so my normal proofreading always misses stuff. I really embarrassed myself yesterday sending a draft to a client that had a big error I somehow missed despite my proofreading! Help?

    • Anonymous

      1. When you do your final read, review the draft in a new font. Change back to your preferred font before sending.
      2. Make a checklist of items you are looking for in virtually every draft and then use it.

      • Anonymous

        Also, in addition to a standard proofing list, I often create a document-specific proofing list. For example, if halfway through drafting I decide to refer to a party differently, I make a note to be sure I search for the old and new name to be sure the final is consistent. Or if I know that I am using an old document as a template, I will be sure to do a final search for terms/names relevant to the old document that should be changed in the new one.

    • anonymous

      Can you read out loud without printing? I remember reading a tip on another site where someone had mentioned reading backwards.

    • Another anon

      Have not tried this, but recently read about the Grammarly plug-in for Word and Outlook. This might catch some of what you miss?

      • Brittany

        I love Grammarly! I work in marketing, and Grammarly has been a lifesaver when sending mass emails to 100,000+ people. It integrates really well in the Chrome browser and there is also a desktop app where you can copy-paste your text into Grammarly for a final check.

    • Lilliet

      I used to be able to catch things by reading on the screen, but in paragraph reverse order. So, last paragraph, penultimate paragraph, etc.

    • Anon

      Are you taking full advantage of spellcheck? When you print and read aloud, do you read backwards, sentence-by-sentence, from the end? Have you tried using text-to-speech instead of reading your drafts aloud yourself? When there’s no time, have you tried only looking for the kinds of mistakes you make most frequently? (Is there a pattern, such as missing words, swapped words, “sounds alike” errors, or something else?) Have you tried zooming in your screen so the font of an email or draft is ginormous as you proofread? (There are other visual tricks you can do to make your writing look “fresh,” like changing the font, the colors, and the line spacing.)

      • Anonymous

        Have not tried the visual tricks! Thank you I will try it out! I think most of my errors are things word often misses, like double words (it sometimes picks it up, sometimes misses), missing words, and misnomers. Very rarely is it spelling or grammar, my brain just seems to gloss over the using the wrong name etc

    • Desserts backwards

      What kind of mistakes are these? Spelling/grammar or substantive but minor?

      • Anonymous

        What happened yesterday was I had copied and pasted the client’s entity name (Parent company and subsidiary company) and address from another brief but forgot to change it to the correct subsidiary company. So it’s more like carelessness? I think that’s why I miss it, it’s not flagged by my word processor as incorrect and my frazzled brain glosses over the detail

        • Anonymous

          For something like this, as soon as I copy and paste it I highlight it so I know to come back to it and fix it. Same thing if I need to find a citation for something and put in a placeholder (usually CITE for me) but I highlight it so that I make sure to come back to it.

    • Anonymous

      I recently discovered the read aloud function in word. The document is read to you. I found that quite effective for catching errors. You can stop it and make the correction and start it up again.

      • Anonymous

        Yes, this is how I proofread. I need someone else to read it to me to catch mistakes and Word will read it to me!

    • Anonymous

      1) if your company has a library or steno office they may do a readthrough for you — one Yalie I knew had them do this for every single memo or brief
      2) read outloud

    • anon

      Not a naturally great proof reader but have two tactics that helped me:
      1. Finish early (yes, difficult I know) and let it rest overnight. It is amazing what pops out after letting the document marinate for a bit.
      2. Take the final draft and copy over to a new document and increase to double space between sentences. The extra white space helps me.
      I’ve heard about starting backward, but my mind doesn’t flow that way.
      Intrigued by the read-aloud Word function.

    • Anonome

      What kind of errors are you making? Wrong facts, wrong homophones, sticky-fingered typos? There are different strategies for different issues.

      • Anonymous

        I would say wrong facts. The error I am most likely to make is wrong name or address, things like that. Usually things that someone unfamiliar with the facts would not know were wrong. Also a bit of double words or missing words, which I find word sometimes misses and sometimes catches, oddly (I think this is where I could use spellcheck better).

        • anon

          Here is what I do for the specific issue of making sure you’ve changed party names/addresses throughout a doc: as I’m drafting, I keep a list of words that I need to find/replace later. So if the party’s name is Mary but the party in the brief I’m using as a form is Joe, I put “Joe,” “he,” “his,” “him,” and “Mr.” on my list. Then when all the drafting is done, I control+F for each of those terms to make sure I’ve removed them all. You can do that for any issue of that type.

        • Anon

          I have the same issues – there’s a program I use for transactional docs that might help called Litera. One feature it has is listing all the variable items in a contract all in one place, so I can quickly scan through the list and make sure all the parties names and such are right.

          I also do the control F of gender names, titles, etc. that Anon at 5:33 mentioned.

        • Anonome

          I would suggest in that case that you start each new document by adding a searchable string to your known problem areas, and training yourself to CTRL + F for it before you finalize. For example, Mr. John XYZ Doe. A search function will take you to every instance you need to double-check.

    • Alena

      I’m not a native speaker, and I use Grammarly a lot. It catches all basic and mid-level errors, review articles, punctuation and can also check for plagiarism. Totally worth the money for me.

  3. S in Chicago

    Depends on how dressy you mean. I love the Naturalizer Hope with dresses. It’s so comfy. If you’re talking more like cocktail attire that’s a comfort shoe, I’ve had good luck with Walking Cradles (Shelby and Caliente are both extremely walkable and come in wide widths –so it’s easy to tuck an extra cushion pad under the balls of your feet for even more padding).

  4. Pregnancy disclosure

    Reposting from late post on morning thread:

    I’m pregnant and starting to show… I’m petite so any belly protrusion is hard to hide although I’ll be going shopping this weekend to see if I can find some loser dresses.

    I found out I was pregnant after my first week at starting at a new job. Ideally I’d like to wait until the end of the year bonuses but that seems more than likely impossible. I definitely want to hide it until the end of my probationary period which is another month away. Would you tell soon? Keep hiding it/not confirm it until after the probationary period? There isn’t an official policy on pregnancy leave and I am not eligible for the longer maternity leave since I haven’t been at my firm for more than a year.

    FWIW- I haven’t been sick or otherwise shown signs of pregnancy. I have my own office so hide behind a blanket most of the day and try to stand up straight, suck in my stomach as much as possible when around other people. I live in SoCal and it hasn’t quite gotten cold enough for giant sweaters etc.

    Any suggestions on hiding the bump longer or when and how to tell the office would be helpful

    • anonymous

      The blog Extra Petite had a post a while back about how to hide your bump at work and provided some different clothing recommendations.

    • Anon

      FYI, in California all employees are eligible for pregnancy disability leave from the first day of employment (unlike FMLA/CFRA, which have an hours threshold for eligibility). So it doesn’t matter what your firm’s policy is, if you qualify for pregnancy disability (and you will for at least the first six weeks after birth, potentially longer if you have a csection or complications) you are entitled to leave.

      I know this wasn’t your main question, but just wanted to make sure you know you have protections even though you’re a new employee.

    • Anon

      Depends on how large a bump you’re trying to hide. Your timeline is unclear. How many weeks along are you now and how many weeks along will you be at the probationary period?

      • Anon

        She said that the end of her probationary period is a month away, and said she found out she was pregnant right after she started the job. Assuming a 90 day probationary period, she found out she was pregnant about 8 or 9 weeks ago and is probably 12-13 weeks along.

    • Anonymous

      Untucked loose blousy tops were my solution. Bonus is that you can wear them postpartum.

    • Anon

      Vertical lines, as in wearing an open jacket like the jardigan, will help hide a belly.

      • Irish Midori

        Dark colors on top also help. A black shirt with a jacket or topper is usually a good minimizer.

    • EB

      If you just started your job, I imagine people do not know you well and are much less likely to notice because they don’t know you well. Weight gain or acting a bit different likely won’t register to them. So try to hide it, but don’t stress as I bet most people won’t catch on.

    • withtatertot

      I’m super late to this, but in case you’re still reading, I wanted to share my experience which may be reassuring. I am 18 weeks pregnant with my second, and my body feels and looks very different to me – protruding belly, none of my pants fit, in maternity pants since 12 weeks. This is not how I look if I’ve just gained a few pounds. And yet I still almost daily get comments about how I don’t look pregnant, or they “can’t tell at all.” With my first, I got those comments until 22-23 weeks. I think we are all just much more sensitive to changes in our bodies (especially while pregnant!) than other people are, and see things that others don’t notice. I agree with others’ recommendations for blousy untucked shirts, under a loose topper like a blazer – with that combo you can really go under the radar for a long time, especially with people who don’t know you well. Good luck!

    • anonymous

      Ha! The material reminds of that green fuzzy stuff on miniature golf courses.

    • Anon

      I just can’t bring myself to wear a full suit in these bright colors. As a separate piece, that green skirt is fire.

  6. Ellen

    Kat, I love the Boden and the Green, and would get this, but Dad does not like me in Green. I think I look good, but he thinks I look like a leprechaun. I am not sure why, but he says only Rosa should wear green. Does anyone else in the hive have this kind of reaction from their parents?

  7. Job Interview Advice

    I am in-house supporting a sales team and about to interview for a similar position at a different company in the same industry. I want to leave my current job because the work-life balance is terrible, because our sales team expects us to be available 24×7 and deliver with near instantaneous turnaround time. I think I should be honest about this during interviews, to avoid accepting another job with similar issues and especially when I cannot point to other reasons for leaving because the new job is so similar to my current job. When asked why I am looking to leave, what is the best way to phrase that reason without implying that I’m not a hard worker or dedicated to my client’s needs? Any other in-house lawyers who support sales out there? Is it fairly common for such jobs to require constant availability?

    • Anon

      I’ve found that in these situations, it’s helpful to have concrete examples of your work ethic, and, if applicable, any negative reactions to that not being enough. From my own interviewing: “I worked for 30 hours over a weekend, and was screamed at – literally screamed at – on Monday morning for not being available during church.” (Trust me, this was a 40-45 hour a week role, not BigLaw.)

      Or “I once needed to speak to (specialist) who needed support, and her availability was only after 11 pm due to time zone issues. I set up a midnight phone call with her. I am happy to do that when needed, however, it became a problem when (example).”

      • Anon

        Hmm — you’d go with such specific examples in response to what “why do you want to leave your current job?” I wouldn’t do this. It seems negative. It’ll make them question whether it’s for real or you’re just trashing your employer. I’d do what the poster below suggests — keep asking questions until you figure out the real work life balance. Or if you want to be blunt MAYBE do so AFTER you have an offer — when you can call up a future coworker/boss and ask them bluntly re work hours/expectations and maybe offer 1-2 extreme examples with the caveat of — I’m a hard worker, but am not looking for a similar situation for the rest of my career.

        • Anon

          Actual experience trumps theory, and actual experience is that this leads to job offers.

          You actually do not have to plant your lips on corporate a$$ during an interview. You can absolutely explain why the current company is a problem – so long as it is not a normal thing – and get a job, because people respect those who respect themselves and others. The framing is that you’re not a person who tolerates toxic work environments.

    • Anon

      Nope, don’t say that’s why you’re leaving. Do ask questions that will get you the information you want about work/life balance.

  8. Vein problems

    I don’t have varicose veins, but my mother has had them (always wears support hose, even under pants). I had jobs in the past where I had to stand 8 hours at a time (cashier) with limited movement. It didn’t bother me at the time, but now that I’m older and have had kids, I feel like I can see the veins in my lower legs swelling if I wear dresses and my feet feel all tired and swollen at the end of days I’ve been doing a lot of standing (not so much if I’ve been walking or moving around a lot). Job is sedentary (8 hours of chair sitting).

    Does anyone else have this? Worth it to go to a vein specialist? Is there any real treatment?

  9. Dresses for Fancy Christmas Party for Work -- help!!!

    Any early recommendations for where to shop for a party dress for spouse’s fancy Christmas party for where he works? I’ve failed in the past, and have worn Black Work Dress with Sparkly Necklace and Shoes. Bad. But work is busy and I’ve got work travel and deals closing next month, so I’d rather start shopping early, especially since this is not my jam. Need shoe help, too (and also: wear tights? Or just s*ck it up and maybe my legs aren’t super-warm when I’m briefly outside).

    If it helps:
    In my 40s, so can’t pull off F-21 minidresses
    5-4
    125#

    This year’s wild card: there is a Celebrity Employee, so there is some perceived need to up our games so that Celebrity Employee doesn’t think that we are all schlubs (I am not a schlub, but I may dress that part) and that we look sharp. I’m game! Usually I’m not into dressing to impress strangers, but in the small world that it is, Celebrity Employee always struck me as a decent guy long before he became celebrity employee.

    • pugsnbourbon

      How do you feel about jumpsuits? Black jumpsuit, statement earrings, and funky shoes would be my choice.

      • Anonymous

        I loathe them on me (short torso means that fabric is always bagging somewhere or the waist isn’t in the right place; bathroom floor will always be foul) but like them on others. I think it would have to be something velvet or sparkly to read fancy enough, no?

    • NOLA

      I would look for a sequin dress. I actually bought a long-sleeved lined blue sequin dress at the end of season last year, knowing that I would wear it. I wore a blue sequin shift dress (from Lulu’s) with tights last year for Christmas, with a leather peplum jacket with funky sleeves. Very festive!

    • Coach Laura

      I’ve often ended up wearing a black dress so solidarity. Nordstrom has a Shimmer Wrap (house brand) in a pretty blue for $39 that I was thinking of purchasing to keep for emergency dressing-up of LBD.

      Talbots always has a lot of dresses good for work holiday events. Not trendy but useful source for that type of dress but it looks like it’s too early. Maybe try again in early November.

    • Anonymous

      I like Sue Wong cocktail dresses, they are really well made and don’t feel like nightclub gear.

    • Annony

      I really liked a lot of things I saw in the Formalwear section of Ted Baker’s site. Of course, my favorite was the $900 maxi dress, but many other options.

    • Anon

      Look at the brand Tadashi Shoji. Almost anything from him will be fine, and will be an obvious special occasion outfit that does not telegraph “work dress”.

    • Irish Midori

      White House Black Market is my go to for holiday dresses for grown-ups, but perhaps not as upscale as you need (I do not live in fashion town.).

    • Alena

      Look into Oscar de la Renta, Lanvin and Carolina Herrera, there are plenty of discounted options in online outlets like outnet and yoox
      Also, check out Rent the runway, they can deliver you plenty of options to choose

  10. Honey

    I’ve been unemployed since June when the company I worked for went bankrupt, but I just landed a job with a 48% bump in salary. (Yay!!)

    The new job starts in 2.5 weeks and I finally feel like I have time to relax. What would you do with this time?

    • Anon

      Everyone’s going to say go to the doctor, take care of chores, etc., but I disagree – 2.5 weeks with a job waiting for you at the end is a gift. Go check out museums, go on hikes, take a fun class that’s only offered during the day, be a tourist in your own city, kick off a new exercise routine, or do anything else that you’d find fun!

      • +1

        This! I would be me, if me were a sophisticated tourist traveling in my own city. I would do all sorts of fun classes, go to the gym in the middle of the day (swoon), and eat my way through town.

    • Anon

      Wow! Congrats!! Enjoy this time!! Pamper yourself and get ready for the new job!! Do some things that you find fun and relaxing

    • Anon

      Go to a fancy spa, lay around in bed eating doughnuts, take a few baths, sleep in.

    • Anon

      I would travel but that’s always my answer to what to do with a significant chunk of time off.

    • Anonome

      Since you’re free specifically at this time of year, I’d go on a short leaf peeping trip (if that’s feasible where you live). I always wanted to do that, but my husband is never able to take vacation time in the fall.

    • Monte

      Sleep late, go to the gym at off hours, eat delicious late lunches with plenty of wine while reading books, wander into a museum or movie during the middle of the day, and volunteer during the day at my no-kill shelter to walk dogs.

  11. S. C.

    TJ: I just found out I have an interview next week at a legal aid organization for a staff attorney position. All of the photos on their website show the attorneys working in jeans, with occasional khakis. My interview outfit is a black pencil skirt and one-button jacket with a pattered black-and-white blouse, black low-heeled pumps, hose, and conservative jewelry. Should I wear my normal or do I need to go with a dress and jacket or something else less conservative? I don’t want to come across as stuffy.

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