Suit of the Week: J.Crew Factory
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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.
J.Crew Factory hasn’t pictured this suit together, but there are multiple pant styles that match the fabric and colors of this basic blazer.
Is it amazing and different? No. But it’s affordable and basic — a great starter suit (or an “Ugh, I need a suit for ONE thing and don’t want it invest heavily in it” suit).
While you’re at JCF, do check out the multiple colors of the Broadway blazer, including the linen iterations — I don’t see any matching pants, but it’s interesting to me because it looks like a much more affordable dupe to the reader favorite from J.Crew, the Going Out Blazer.
The pictured blazer and matching pants are $29-$74 at J.Crew Factory — try code EXTRA15 to take yet another 15% off if your cart is over $100.
Which are your favorite brands for affordable women's suits, readers? I’ll put some of our other favorites from our recent roundup of budget-friendly suits below…
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Some of our favorite budget-friendly interview suits for women include stores like Banana Republic Factory*†, J.Crew Factory*†, Mango*, and Express†, as well as widely available brands like Anne Klein Executive, Vince Camuto*, Calvin Klein*†, and Tahari ASL. For a vintage vibe, check Amazon seller Marycrafts*. (* = some plus sizes also, † = petites)
Sales of note for 2/7/25:
- Nordstrom – Winter Sale, up to 60% off! 7850 new markdowns for women
- Ann Taylor – Extra 25% off your $175+ purchase — and $30 of full-price pants and denim
- Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything + extra 15% off
- Boden – 15% off new season styles
- Eloquii – 60% off 100s of styles
- J.Crew – Extra 50% off all sale styles
- J.Crew Factory – 40% off everything including new arrivals + extra 20% off $125+
- Rothy's – Final Few: Up to 40% off last-chance styles
- Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
- Talbots – 40% off one item + free shipping on $150+
Sales of note for 2/7/25:
- Nordstrom – Winter Sale, up to 60% off! 7850 new markdowns for women
- Ann Taylor – Extra 25% off your $175+ purchase — and $30 of full-price pants and denim
- Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything + extra 15% off
- Boden – 15% off new season styles
- Eloquii – 60% off 100s of styles
- J.Crew – Extra 50% off all sale styles
- J.Crew Factory – 40% off everything including new arrivals + extra 20% off $125+
- Rothy's – Final Few: Up to 40% off last-chance styles
- Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
- Talbots – 40% off one item + free shipping on $150+
And some of our latest threadjacks here at Corporette (reader questions and commentary) — see more here!
Some of our latest threadjacks include:
- My workload is vastly exceeding my capability — what should I do?
- Why is there generational resentment regarding housing? (See also)
- What colors should I wear with a deep green sweater dress?
- How do you celebrate milestone birthdays?
- How do you account for one-time expenses in your monthly budget?
- If I'm just starting to feel sick from the flu, do I want Tamilfu?
- when to toss old clothes of a different size
- a list of political actions to take right now
- ways to increase your intelligence
- what to wear when getting sworn in as a judge (congrats, reader!)
- how to break into teaching as a second career
OMG — I wish I could staple a $20 to every e-mail I sent out to [some people] so that they maybe, maybe, maybe get read. PLEASE READ is apparently not sufficient.
Any other tricks? I do feel like people are just innundated with channels to keep glancing at (slack, Bloomberg, texts, etc.), but short of actually shouting, how do I make sure that the one or two important e-mails from me a month get read?
What’s the context? Is this for work, a social thing? Why is it important that they be read? Who are you sending them to (teammates, people senior to you, group members, etc.) and how many? If they’re repeatedly not being read, then you will probably have to change the way you communicate this information.
Agreed – this is frustrating but what’s happening so that it’s not being read.
Is it a company-wide email? Is it the subject line? Is it a lengthy form-type email? Is it repetitive? Is it clear that this is something that must be read?
I have one team we work with that just chronically doesn’t read the emails they get sent. They are just really bad about it and (unfortunately) we need X product from them with changing parameters pretty often. So… they get a 15 minute call with me where I attach the email to the meeting invite and then basically force the issue in the meeting.
I have email overload so I kind of get why people don’t fully read them. I know you say you’re only sending out one to two a month, but everyone thinks their emails are important, y’know?
I do go back and search for emails in case what I suspect they contained suddenly becomes relevant to what I’m going at the moment.
I feel your pain. Everyone complains about meetings, but trust me, we could have fewer meetings if people would read their emails. Better yet, they could do their work so people at my level wouldn’t need to email them. It’s hard working somewhere where low performance has been tolerated for years – it’s such a night and day difference from my last job where no one needed email reminders to complete basic tasks.
yeah, the big announcements at my org are in the email newsletter at least once, then often are emailed at least twice by different levels of management, yet we will still spend 10 minutes of all-staff meetings relaying the same info, and it’s just so much wasted time.
Can you call these people and alert them that you need an answer or are giving them important info they need about xyz and tell them to look out for your email that you’ll be sending when you get off the phone? That would get my attention.
Short of actually using your voice to talk to people… or moving your office next to theirs (wish I was kidding)…I don’t think there’s anything one can put in a subject line to get a highly recalcitrant email reader to read. As someone who has had to write all kinds of ALL CAPS, HIGHLY URGENT, PLEASE REVIEW DEADLINE IN ONE HOUR, [NAME OF PARTNER- READ THIS!] missives in subject lines…. I feel you.
I understand why you don’t get the results you want. “PLEASE READ” isn’t the call to action you think it is. “Please read” could signal – there are doughnuts in the break room, there is a fire and you need to evacuate the building ASAP, our CEO just got hit by a bus, or the FDA has just announced that our products have been found to cause cancer. Just say in the headline what it is and what you want them to do.
Any recs for a dentist and primary care doc in Houston? as close to downtown as possible. thanks!
so these are not in downtown but my husband and I absolutely love our dentist, Dr. Ginger Marblestone. Always on time, never tries to sell me on stuff. I just went to see Dr. Bhakti Khatri and really liked her, also didn’t wait at all, but the practice is a bit antiquated in that they don’t yet use an online system to communicate with patients, but she said they are switching to one soon
+1 for Dr. Khatri! I’ve been seeing her for years. And my dentist is Dr. Tjoia at BRSH Dental.
Is Dr. Ginger Marblestone a real person, lol?
I really like Dr. Kelly O’Brien for my primary care doctor. No strong opinion on dentist.
Google says she’s real!
I wish my name were Dr. Ginger Marblestone…
My dermatologist’s name is Devika Icecreamwala. Not likely to forget that one!
I am going to inherit a large-to-me sum of money soon (in the hundreds of thousands if that is helpful) and am young to be doing so. What kind of financial planner can I talk to about this and does anyone have specific recommendations in Maryland? General advice welcome also.
You’re likely to get a wide range of opinions on what to do from this p a g e. Read them but know that they may not be right for you. I think what you do is so dependent on a number of factors that we simply don’t know and even with some additional color from you, may not be sufficient to truly offer you sound advice – what’s the bigger picture? Retirement? Debts? assets? Current salary and future earning prospects? What are your goals? I work in finance and still happily use a financial planner. You can definitely do it on your own with enough research and reading, but I love the third party input. I think it’s a great idea and hope you can find someone to at least have an initial meeting with.
Thanks! This was unexpected so wrapping my head around goals is even difficult at this point. I’ve seen a few threads and know there are lots of varied (and helpful!) opinions here around things like this. Totally understand that without a really in depth look at our personal circumstances situational advice isn’t super possible here!
Go for a FEE-based financial planner, not one who works on commissions. Signed, someone who paid $2500 for a financial planner, spent hours with him going over our assets, and then got recommended annuities he gets a big commission for.
Broad strokes: 1) pay off all credit card debt — 2) pay off your biggest student loan (or most high interest one) — 3) invest a chunk in an admiral index fund in Vanguard (VTSMAX)
+1
Look for a fiduciary. There are a lot of snake oil salesmen in the world of financial planning (I say this as someone in finance). A fiduciary is required to act in your best interest. The fees may seem steep but it’s worth it because they’re giving you the best advice for you not selling you the product that makes them the most money.
+1. Ignore the spam that your bank sends you about investing with their products.
FWIW I was in the same situation and talked to a few financial planners. I read a few articles about fee-only fiduciary financial planners for young adults and looked at websites like XY Financial Network to identify a few names. That said, for me and my needs and that amount to invest, Vanguard was the best for me. Their personal advisor services assign you to an actual person that you talk to several times per year (or as much as needed). They work to your goals but totally stick to the Vanguard philosophy. If that’s what you’re looking for, it is much less expensive than individual advisors in that dollar amount range. I promise I don’t work for Vanguard! Good luck!
This is what I would do too.
You could start by looking on the NAPFA (National Association of Personal Financial Advisors) website – they’re fee-only advisors, and you can search by state. I would check the websites of the ones near me, and maybe call a few and try to get a sense of what kinds of clients they specialize in (really wealthy? small business owners? people already retired?), and make an appointment with the one who seems like a good fit. If that person doesn’t seem right in person, move on to the next person on your list. You may have to pay for a few one-hour meet-and-greets, or they may provide the intro session for free – but it’s important to find someone you feel comfortable with, and with whom you can discuss whatever issues you have. If you feel like the person is talking down to you, or not taking your concerns seriously, they’re not the one.
Or, you can check out the financial advisor services offered by Vanguard, Fidelity, etc. Those two charge a percentage of assets that they hold for you, and you won’t get your own dedicated rep – each time you call, you could end up talking to a different advisor. They’ll ask you about your risk tolerance and investment time horizon, and invest your money according to one of their templates. Vanguard is cheap (can’t speak to Fidelity) – I think their service starts at 0.3% for an account of $50k.
This may seem patently obvious, but keep in mind that whatever decision you make, you can always change if you’re not happy. If you start with a local financial advisor and aren’t happy, you can switch to the online services at Vanguard/Fidelity/whoever, or vice versa. Whoever you’re switching the money to will be happy to help you move it ;o).
Yes, this is a better-worded synopsis than my post above. One note, I do have a dedicated vanguard advisor that I speak to each time (this may kick in above some $$ threshold that I think is within OP’s range). I can call or email him directly. Also I had no idea how the pricing worked when I was in your shoes, but the individual fee-only planners I spoke to charge 1-2% of assets under management/year.
I went to a fee based planner to get started, but now I pretty much rely on my VALIC advisor, who is great. He’s getting commission either way, so I may as well get some work out of him. I like the guy well enough that I moved other assets over to him. I do have some index funds, but I also have higher-commission targeted funds that have been kicking the tail of my index funds over a long horizon. These are managed funds where I buy individual shares instead of a piece of an index.
What I particularly like about my advisor is that he tells me what he has his dad invested in, then we do some version of that for me, as I am about his dad’s age. :) My advisor has a vested interest in his dad’s returns, after all.
I like Vanguard Personal Advisor Services. The fees are low, you can do it from anywhere, and you save money by focusing on Vanguard funds.
Talk to someone rich & get their advice.
Before you meet with someone, think about what your goals are, because that’s going to be one of the first — if not the first — question that they ask. Do you want to retire at 50? Work part time or stay home with kids at some point? Do you want to own a home in the next 10 years (or pay off the one you have if you already own)? Do you have life insurance? Do you want to be a large-scale donor to an organization you care about? Is it more important to you that you pursue growth (with risk that you might have down years) or stability (with risk that you might miss out on big market increases)? If you have a sense of your priorities (however vague, and they can change over time!) that will help a planner tailor advice for you.
There are some red flags with financial planners. They should be very straightforward with you. Their fee structure should be known. Their methods of generating returns (if they invest for you) should be clear. Their returns should show fluctuations with the market; too-consistent returns are a sign of fraud. Checks should not be made out to the financial advisor’s firm; they go to custodians. You should know what assets you own, when they are traded, what they were bought/sold for, and what the fees are.
Sheri Mergenthaler with HeimLantz in Annapolis.
When the pandemic started I miss people and now when I leave the house for an hour I miss my cat
+1000
My two brother cats are SO spoiled after a year+ of lockdown, I think they’d start barfing in my shoes if I ever tried to go back to commuting to work full time. Fortunately, no plans to do that.
Haha, same!
Omg, same. I also only got my cats during quarantine so I feel like they are going to miss me so much when I’m suddenly gone 10+ hours a day when we return to the office (…I know it’s actually going to be a lot harder for me).
Readers who get 10,000+ steps a day as a matter of course (not as a runner/walker), how do you do it? I’m at 2500 if I don’t actively walk around but it’s hard to get over 6000 without a 20-40 minute walk in my day.
I purposefully walk to hit my steps but I to hit over 5k, I have my FitBit remind me every hour if I haven’t hit 250 and then I move until I do unless I’m in a meeting where I can’t. I take phone calls on my head set and I pace around either my house when home or my individual office when in the office. I try to add an extra loop onto things. So, if I run to a store to get an item, I walk the perimeter/outer aisles one more time before I leave. I park a little further away than most. That gets me to 5 or 6000. Then I I just need 1-2 miles and I get that either walking outside or on my treadmill while I watch trash tv.
I don’t have a car and walk or take public transit everywhere whenever I leave the house. On the days that I don’t really go anywhere, I get very few steps, but except during the height of the pandemic that rarely happens.
I have a car but use it 2-3 times a month and walk/bike/take transit everywhere else I go.I live 3 blocks from a subway stop but I almost always walk the 15 mins to the next stop and get on/get off there. I walk for all of my errands.
On days I wfh, I walk for about 10 mins in the AM and about 10 mins after work to help the transition. On days that I go to work, I do a lap of the floor every hour or so. I drink a lot of water so I also get steps in to refill my waterbottle/walk to the bathroom. I’m overall a pretty active person, so even at the height of the pandemic I didn’t have many days where I stayed in my apartment all day.
That being said – to hit 10k steps I still need to go out and take a walk. My rule for myself is that I either workout or I hit 10k steps/day so on rest days I take a 30ish minute walk. On days that I run I hit the 10k while I work out, but on days I spin or lift, I don’t usually hit 10k.
I don’t think you are missing anything!
Yeah for me I need a solid hour long walk or a heavy walking commute!
This. When I travel to a city, I routinely hit 15K steps per day. At home in the suburbs, I have to take the dog for a long walk and go out and do errands and run around doing housework to get anywhere near 10K in a day.
Unless you’re working in a warehouse or a mailman or something I think its very hard to hit 10k steps without intentionally taking a walk or going for a run
I think most people with desk jobs are in the same boat. So I schedule that walk as a matter of course.
Even with a heavy walking commute in Chicago – walk to train, walk from train to office, walk to get lunch, back to train, train to home, I got about 7500 steps in.
I average 15k by doing as much as humanly possible on foot, doing meetings walking when possible, and scheduling after supper walks. I can do 12.5k relatively easily but have to hustle to get 15k and get 20k a few times a month.
I don’t know how anyone could do it without an intentional exercise walk or run. Last week I met a friend for lunch 9/10 of a mile away, walked there and back, walked half that distance and back to run an errand later that day, and still only hit 6,700 steps.
(I will say I don’t use a fit bit or apple watch. I’m relying on my iphone to count my steps, in the embedded health app)
That’s reasonably consistent with my step count for that distance, plus incidental walking around the house. For me, 10k is about 4.3 miles.
I only get lots of steps if I intentionally go for walks throughout the day. Maybe go around the block on my way in to the office, take the long route for coffee, go for a walk at lunch, go the long way to the bathroom in the office, intentionally make multiple trips upstairs and down at home rather than trying to condense everyone into one trip, take another walk after dinner.
Just go on the walk.
I think this is a geography/lifestyle question. In an urban environment, hitting 10k is not that difficult, just trying to get groceries/get to work/etc on. public transit + walking. If you are not in an urban environment, can you walk somewhere – a coffee shop? a store? from home and make that a regular habit? Then I would do a morning, after lunch, and evening walk. Podcasts/audiobooks are good for walks when you don’t. actually have to get anywhere!
The Broadway blazer is actually oddly better for me than the original J Crew going out blazer. Recommend.
Awesome, how so? I’m considering which to get.
Help! I’m petite and curvy. I’m looking for some work pants in gray – something like MM La Fleur Foster or Eileen Fisher washable crepe. These are both gape a bit at the waist and the rise fits me funny. They either look frumpy if I size up or like leggings if I size down. Would like to spend a little more so they look nicer longer. Point me in the right direction, please.
Dress pants rarely ft right without tailoring. I would buy the larger size and take them to your tailor.