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Coffee Break: Polka-Dot Mary Jane Heels

Camper TWS 21879A lot of comfort shoes either look like a) men's shoes or b) clown's shoes — crazy colors, unnecessary details like stitches and embroidery, and a general lack of sleekness. These 2″ Camper pumps, for once, don't seem to fall into either category, and I think they'd be great commuting shoes for some women (who might switch into kitten heels or the like after walking to work), and great wear-everywhere shoes for some other women who have problems with normal heels. While it looks like the polka dot pair is only available in limited sizes at Zappos (for $170), there are a ton of iterations of this shoe:  Zappos has it in plain black, and Amazon has it in a surprisingly large number of colors for for $119-$160 (here and here). (Readers, do any of you own this shoe? Any reports?)  Camper TWS 21879 (L-all) Psst: Looking for more comfortable heels? Check out The Corporette Guide to the best brands, bargains, and tips!

Sales of note for 12.2.24 (Happy Cyber Monday!! See our full sale listing here!)

And some of our latest threadjacks here at Corporette (reader questions and commentary) — see more here!

Some of our latest threadjacks include:

145 Comments

  1. Any recommendations for a round brush? Apparently this yields better blowouts than a paddle brush, but Googling yields an overwhelming number of options. Thanks!

    1. I usually just go to Sephora or beauty.com and sort by the highest rated product. I have one that I purchased in 2003 or so and its held up remarkably well, but I don’t know the brand. I know natural bristles (boar or porcupine?) with venting is optimal for a blow-out.

        1. This is why I wish sites like Yelp would break their ratings down into categories. Because, to those people who give one star because you thought the hostess was rude when she said there’d be a 90 min wait if you had no reservation and so you didn’t even walk into the restaurant let alone eat there, I hate you.

      2. Thanks. Will try to look for a natural bristle version. Agree that ratings are imperfect, but they’re a useful start :)

        1. Oh, I know, I use ratings all the time. But everytime i even think of ratings I think of that comic and I laugh about it. ;o)

          1. It’s the xkcd effect. I feel like all conversations eventually lead to “Oh, there’s an xkcd about that!” ;)

    2. I like my Marilyn brushes. The tuxedo brush is for volume, the S brush has combination bristles and it’s my favorite.

    3. I have been doing this for decades. Hands down (after all that pulling and rolling and drying, what a relief!), my favorite is the Spornette Prego. I use the 2 1/2 inch version. I buy them from folica DOT com. Link to follow.

  2. I am back in my office with the relative’s! They are lookeing at everything as if they never saw an OFFICE BEFORE! They LOVED the Statute of Liberty and the boat ride was VERY nice. Today the weather in NYC is perfect! YAY!

    As for these shoe’s, I wonder if I can LOG any mile’s with them and the fitbit. I am weareing my NIKE AIR’s, and the manageing partner think’s I look dumpy weareing them. I reminded him that I am TECHNICEALLY OFF today, so he is lucky that I am even IN TODAY, but I did have to check my EMAILS, which I can’t do right now from home b/c the teck guy messed up the setting’s in my APPLE to get it runneing at work. FOOEY ON HIM. I did get it to run the INTERNET so the relative’s could check their face book’s. I have alot to tell the HIVE, but they are waiteing for me now and stareing into my pitiful office for me to go so I have to go now. YAY!!!!!

    1. You are a very diligent worker, Ellen — taking time on your day off to come in and check e-mails! We should all be so diligent!

    2. I like to imagine Ellen as someone like “Anonymous Lawyer” — a law student putting up these posts as a complete joke.

      1. Confession: I enjoy reading her posts. They’re generally positive in a loopy kinda way.

        1. Confession: I enjoy reading her posts. They’re generally positive in a loopy kinda way.

  3. My friend has a few pairs of Camper heels, she swears by them. She is a lobbyist in DC and bikes every day, so they are something she can bike in, and spend hours on end on her feet running around all day. They are really well made and last for a long time even with hard wear, and the rubber soles make them super safe for wet conditions and marble hallways. I’ve always wanted to get a couple of pairs, but I don’t wear heels enough for it to be worth it right now.

      1. Well, she lives in Cap Hill, so she doesn’t go very far most of the time, anywhere from a few to a dozen blocks each trip. But also, she wears mostly heels like this, low, chunky heels with rubber soles. And most of downtown DC is pretty flat and easy to bike.

        The thing that blows my mind more than the shoes, is that she is also wearing sheath dresses most of the time! And pencil skirts! But yes, she bikes everywhere, and she is totally hardcore. ;o)

        1. I’ve always wondered, but never really stared because it seems rude – when women bike in tighter dresses, like sheath style, or pencil skirts, do they put the seat under the skirt (like sitting with only your undies between you and the seat) or do they tuck it under and sit on the skirt? It seems like the first way is kinda weird, and the second way has a high potential for flashing everyone/ripping your skirt.

          1. Well, I will speak for my friend again, since when I was biking all the time I almost always wore jeans, or really full skirts ;o)
            But Friend tucks the skirt under her butt, but also wears bike shorts/other stretchy shorts under her skirts, to prevent her tights from tearing, and also to keep from flashing anyone. Also, in the hot DC weather, to prevent chafing. I hope she doesn’t mind my discussing her underthings with strangers on the internet. ;o)

          2. I occasionally bike in skirts and put the skirt under my bvtt, over the seat. I wear bike shorts under the skirt so it is okay if it rides up some, then remove the shorts once I arrive. Not my favorite biking outfit but doable.

          1. I have a short bike commute of 15mins on my road bike and I always dress in workout gear. I hate biking in regular clothes…so restricting. And there’s always the worry of bike grease!

    2. I owned an almost-identical pair of Camper shoes (same style in plain black leather) and they were incredibly uncomfortable. I thought they’d be great–rubber soles & heels, only 2 inches, no pointy toes–but they were awful. The rubber has no give, and there was zero cushioning inside. There was also no arch support whatsoever. Granted, I have very high arches, so almost no shoes have enough support for me, but these were even worst than most other brands. If I wore them for more than a few hours it felt like my feet were going to break in half.

      Campers also run extremely narrow, which I didn’t find out until after I’d bought them and couldn’t return. I wasn’t super impressed with the construction, either. Because the heels are all rubber with no heel tap, the heel itself wears out, instead of a replaceable tap. The button on one shoe fell off during my college graduation ceremony!

      I put them aside with shoe stretchers for about a year, and they finally got wide enough to wear them fairly comfortably with insoles. However, when I took them in to the cobbler to get the button replaced and to see if I could have heel taps added, the cobbler was really disorganized and lost them. (It was run by an older guy who seemed to have fried his brain with too much pot back in the day. The perils of living in a hippie town!) I’m just glad that it wasn’t a pair I really liked.

  4. Job search TJ: I work in a fairly niche practice area and we frequently work with other firms, either as co-counsel or opposing counsel. I’ve identified a couple of these firms as firms I would potentially like to work at and I do get face time with associates and partners from these firms. I’m just not sure how to show these firms my interest without sending them a resume/cover letter. Plus, I don’t want it getting back to my firm that I’m job hunting. Is there a way I can discreetly tell these firms I would like to work there?

    Thanks all

    1. Why not send a resume/cover letter? It’s really not done to tell someone’s employer that they’re looking for a job with your firm, so I wouldn’t worry about that. Are you looking to switch now? If so, write a letter explaining why you’re interested (saying that you’ve worked with some of their attorneys, and name them, and say how impressed you’ve been with them will always go over well — plus they’ll probably then seek out these people for input on your work, which gives you a leg up). If not, if you think a case is winding down and it’s one where the firm is co-counsel, ask one of the associates at your level to grab lunch sometime and use that time to ask about what it’s like to work at their firm. For opposing counsel, this can all be a little trickier. I’m tempted to say wait to talk to them until after the case has been fully resolved, but depending on your practice area, this could be years. I would say most of these tactics could work, but I probably wouldn’t invite the associate out for lunch. (Although if you wind up bumping into one of the associates socially, I think you can certainly talk about what life at their firm is like.)

      1. I guess I’m concerned because my firm and these firms I’m interested in are very similar and all fairly small so I’m just concerned it could get back to my boss that I’m looking before I’m ready to admit it. Plus, if he finds out, he’d take it really personally and it would affect my current position I think.

    2. I’m also in a niche practice area and the partner I worked for is personal friends with many of the partners at firms where I wanted to apply. When I was job hunting, my recruiter suggested sending a resume with certain info redacted (my contact info, name, and I replaced the name of my firm with “Vault 50 Firm” and similar changes to hide the names of my schools). She would call HR to explain why she was submitting a candidate this way. Only if the firm wanted to interview me, and I wanted to interview with them, would she reveal my identity. It seemed kind of strange to me but it worked and I got several offers and a new job.

  5. For comfortable heels and other shoes for those of us with problem feet, I heartily recommend barkingdogshoes dot com. I have found many, many great recommendations from Kirsten who writes that blog. My latest favroite Mary Jane is the Softspots Sophia pump.

    2. Boy, Diane Lockhart is sure having a hard time on Good Wife. Will she extract her revenge as a Judge? She knows where the bodies are buried.

      2. I have to admit I have not yet watched last Sunday’s episode, though I did record it. Can’t wait to see my latest travails. I love all the clothes on that show, even though I cannot possibly afford most of them.
        @zora — yes, I have them in red. It’s a rose (almost light maroon) color. Love them!

        1. Sorry, but i don’t think i spoiled your tivo. Diane as judge-to-be has been a story line since last season and her being embattled was blasted 20 times during the episode advertisement/preview during Sunday Nite Football. Seeing one advert would have been more of a spoiler than my post. You still have to watch to find out what happened.

    1. aww what size are you? They aren’t the polka dot, but over at amazon they have most sizes from 5 to 11.

  7. So I actually saw this as someone’s facebook status today, but I thought it would be fun to discuss on here…what healthy essentials do you make sure to always get at the grocery store? and (I am adding this part) what little indulgences do you always have on hand?

    For me, healthy
    (1) organic spring mix/ spinach/kale
    (2) bananas
    (3) hummus
    (4) apples

    Indulgences
    – Good coffee
    – Red wine
    – Dark chocolate

    1. I’ll play! Fun topic –

      Healthy: (1) fruit (whatever looks good in the produce aisle); (2) pre-chopped veggies for stir fry; (3) baby carrots; (4) greek yogurt; (5) fresh seafood/fish whatever looks good; (6) pre-sliced chicken breast for stir fry

      Indulgence: (1) chocolate pudding (I know…for DH, I swear); (2) cheese; (3) some kind of rice cracker, popcorn, salty snack

    2. Healthy:
      -hummus/carrots/celery/grape tomatoes
      -greek yogurt
      -apples or other fruit in season (right now – my fave Concord grapes!)

      Indulgence:
      -coconut frozen fruit bars
      -whole grain goldfish
      -white wine

    3. My healthy foods are boring, but here’s what I get for delicious indulgences:

      -Cheddar Goldfish crackers (I do get them in the individual packets so as to prevent consumption of an entire school in one go)
      -Mini peanut butter cups (YUM)
      -Vast quantities of whiskey (although I feel this classifies as a healthy essential, at least if we’re talking about mental health).

      1. Do you get the mini peanut butter cups from Trader Joes? Because those are delicious. As are the dark chocolate PB cups.

        2. They had the dark chocolate PB cups at the checkout in the impulse buy section yesterday and I barely made it out of the store without them.

    4. I try to add lots of variety to my diet, so I usually pick whatever looks best at the market. But, generally, I buy one of each from the following categories every week, or a mix of the categories. 1, 3, 6 and 7 make “snacks”, and everything else is combined into meals to makes lunches/dinners.

      (1) apples/pears/bananas/berries
      (2) spinach/chard/kale/salad greens
      (3) bell pepper/snap peas/green beans/cucumber/celery
      (4) broccoli/cauliflower/brussels sprouts/tomato
      (5) beans/tofu
      (6) almonds/walnuts/flax seeds/hemp hearts
      (7) plain yogurt/cottage cheese
      (8) garlic+onions+fresh herbs

      For indulgences, always good chocolate and a treat from the bakery (usually a cookie). In the summer I also usually get popsicles. I know my list looks healthy, but I really only eat well during the week, and the weekends are a free for all.

    5. Healthy:
      -Spinach
      -Carrots
      -Peppers
      -Greek yogurt
      -Avocado

      Indulgence:
      -Sourdough bread
      -Granola
      -Baking ingredients (nice cocoa, fancy nuts, etc.)
      -Milk & cream for making ice cream :)

      What makes me laugh is that my grocery list is nearly identical week to week (with some seasonal swaps). Sometimes I feel like I’m shopping on autopilot!

      1. omg – yes. I always buy the first package I see of the season, becauses they’re fresh off the presses and oh so good.

    7. Food fun!

      Healthy:
      Arugula, tomatoes, cucumbers, and some sort of cheese for salads
      Apples (hello, honeycrisp season!)
      Baby carrots
      Greek yogurt
      Avocado
      Quick-cook oats for my desk at work
      Frozen veggies for fast dinners

      Indulgences:
      Dark chocolate
      WINE, wine wine (red)
      Some sort of cookie (now and then)
      New nail polish or a fashion magazine

    8. Fun thread! I do my shopping at Trader Joe’s so a lot of this is specific to them:

      Healthy:

      Kale
      Apples
      Greek yogurt
      Walnuts
      Ready to-heat fresh seasoned brussels sprouts
      Heirloom cherry tomatoes
      Ready to-heat fresh seasoned baby potatoes

      Indulgences

      Chocolate pudding
      Two (and a half) Buck Chuck
      Frozen mac n cheese

    9. Healthy:
      Whatever fruit that looks good;
      Kale;
      frozen stir fry veggies, edamame & soba noodles;
      sweet potatoes;
      almonds & cashews for snacks;
      Fish at the fish market;
      Kashi bars.

      Indulgences:
      Wine…red & white:
      the occasional nice steak from the butcher;
      fancy chocolate usually some combination of dark choc, sea salt and caramel.

    10. I’m on the road today (well, just this afternoon and I am already at my destination) so all healthy eating goes out the Amtrak window!

      Indulgences:
      Chocolate anything
      Pretzels dipped in Nutella
      Pistacchio ice cream

    11. Fun!

      Healthy:
      1. Fruit- whatever goods good/is on sale
      2. Veggies- Red Peppers and cucumbers
      3. Pine nuts- I snack on them really, really slowly

      Indulgences:
      1. Cheese- whatever is on sale at the cheese counter- usually brie or bleu
      2. Wine or beer
      3. Some kind of carb for work snacks, currently Terra Taro chips- so yummy!

      Probably two nights a week we have a cheese and veggie plate for dinner, and the rest of the cheese and veggies get consumed as snacks.

    12. like others, I tend to buy roughly the same:
      healthy:
      – greek yogurt, including small size for snacks at office
      – spinach, tomatoes, peppers
      – shrimp / tuna

      indulgence:
      – wine, of all sorts
      – baking goods, I love baking

  8. You guys — My firm just invited me to participate in a national trial college next summer. Very similar to the NITA trial program, except run by ABOTA. It’s a week-long course where lawyers from all over the US teach us about trial skills, we practice, then we do a mock jury trial at the end.

    First, I am just really excited and not sure where else to talk about that excitement.

    Second, has anyone been to one of these programs before? Any words of wisdom (things you wish you’d known? Ways to stand out? Things you did to prepare?)

    1. I did NITA as a junior associate. Such a great opportunity– only now do I realize how awesome the training at my firm was. I did not prepare and probably didn’t do the reading for the hypothetical cases they gave us, because I was young and lazy. So I would say read the materials. Other than that, go and have a good time. At mine, we met associates from other offices, which was a great experience, as well.

    2. Im not sure about the ABOTA program, but if its really is similar to NITA, my advice would be not trying to “stand out.” the purpose of these programs is not to make you look good, its for you to learn. you dont need to impress anyone, you just need to work on various skills they will teach you.

      1. Good point. In asking that, I should have added that one of the partners from my firm will be there, so I do feel some pressure to excel in some way if possible. But maybe I should plan to excel in my willingness and ability to learn and improve…

  9. Reporting back on a previously featured item: I think this is the first thing I have ever bought after seeing it here, the Marc by Marc Jacobs knit plaid dress from several weeks ago (link to follow). I debated for a long time but went for it because it’s my favorite color, looked super practical for work and non-work use, and is machine washable. I got it and love it.

    The fabric is thick and while it’s fitted it isn’t a bandage look. It’s knee-length on me at 5’3″. I expect to wear it year round: on its own for spring/summer, and with tights and a cardigan or jacket in fall/winter. It would also make a great “skirt” if I wore a sweater or even button-front shirt on top. Looks like all sizes are still available, though alas it’s still full price.

      1. Oops, forgot the good news: I got a 20% off friends and family code by googling, and I think it’s still in effect. If you’re ordering anything from Bloomingdale’s make sure to check!

  10. Reposting from the earlier discussion on dresses with sleeves, because I am just so happy to have a relevant item to recommend:

    I just got this Tahari by ASL dress from 6 pm — short sleeves and a v-neck, which is my holy grail — and it is great. It looks very loose and even frumpy on the model, but I found it to be very fitted. I’m an hourglassy 12-14, with a big bust and a bit of a middle-age pooch, and the 14 fit really well (well, with spanx). I wore it with fancy jewelry to a charity dinner and can wear it with a blazer or sweaters to the office. Although you can’t see it very clearly on the photo, it has fancy seaming/origami type detail around the bust that I had always thought would not work on me, but it looked great. Strongly recommend.

    http://www.6pm.com/tahari-by-asl-s-s-bi-stretch-basic-shift-black

    And should have added, both the fabric and the lining have some stretch, so it’s comfortable but still looks tailored.

  11. I’m a 1L getting ready to apply to summer jobs. My career counselor is very insistent that I need an “interests” section on my resume – “something to give the interviewer a taste of your personality; a conversation starter.” But 1) I don’t think I have any “hobbies” (before law school my job didn’t allow a lot of free time), and 2) the things I do make time for are very… domestic. I bake, clean, sew, volunteer in the church nursery, do yoga for exercise. No windsurfing or fiction writing or anything interesting. I don’t really see an advantage to putting “babies, baking, cleaning, sewing” on my resume. Do I need “interests?” And if so, how do suddenly develop a new, conversation-starting hobby during my first semester of law school!?

    1. I would not do this unless you have something really interesting to add. Not that your hobbies aren’t interesting, they are just not for a resume. And, even if you did have something “interesting” to add, I would not add it unless you were national windsurfing champion or something.

      I do think its a good idea to come up with a nice answer to “what do you like to do in your free time” question in an interview.

      1. To add to this, I don’t think you have to be national champion, but I do think it has to be a serious interest/hobby and one you are comfortable discussing.

        I am involved in a fairly unique sport. A candidate listed the same sport on said candidate’s resume, so naturally, I asked about it during our interview. I’ve never seen someone stammer and backpedal so quickly – clearly, the candidate did not expect to end up talking to someone who actually participates in that sport. It didn’t reflect well.

    2. Curious what our Lawyer folks have to say, but as an HR person, I typically find these pretty irrelevant. If you’re so active in something that you spend tons of time and win awards etc. being productive in it, maybe include it, but otherwise it kind of assumes that you and the hiring person won’t be able to have a human conversation by yourselves and need a prompt.

      1. Have you met most lawyers? They need all the crutches for normal human interaction possible.

        2. So, so true, especially when the rest of your resume is something that hiring lawyer types (predominantly cis white males) might not relate to.

          I have a very artsy-fartsy background. Putting that I love both college and pro football on my resume made talking with a bunch of guys super easy – I am guessing that otherwise, we would’ve strained to find some common ground. I wasn’t even thinking of interviewing strategy when I included it; I just listed that and a couple of other quirky things and it really made the “would I want to work with this person” questions easy to answer.

          1. A candidate for a job here put down ‘bellydancing.’

            I thought it was cool, but one of the people in the screening process dinged her for ‘poor judgment’ in listing such a thing as her hobby. They were basically doing some advanced, roundabout version of sl#tshaming but avoiding saying so.

            What a sad narrow world they live in that they consider such an activity shameful.

    3. Disclaimer — I’ve never been on a hiring committee. My feeling is that I’d rather not have any interests listed than have generic ones. I also generally feel that the interest section can go wrong so easily when the interviewer thinks they’re boring, generic, or weird that it’s not worth the stress of deciding what to put.

    4. I might be in the minority, but I love seeing quirky interests on people’s resumes. It makes me think that they have personalities outside of work. I think you’re selling yourself short. Baking is a totally valid interest, especially if you can be a little more specific (pies? cakes? cupcakes? gluten-free?). You can put sewing your own clothing, if that’s what you do. Do you have any TV shows you love that other people love as well? (when I was in law school I watched Lost, along with the rest of the world). Do you read any good magazines, such as the Economist, New Yorker, the Atlantic, etc? Anything that you can saw 5-6 intelligent things about could be an interest. Be creative.

    5. I’d list baking, yoga, and volunteering for sure. You don’t have to specify that you work with babies, and I’d omit sewing (“crafts” might be a better phrasing though). Honestly very few people seem to have super interesting “interests.” I listed British period pieces as one interest and that seemed to go over well.

    6. I think some interests are better left off resumes. For example I’ve seen candidates list tv shows as an interest, which strikes me as a little too casual. I think volunteer work is great to include as an interest! Some people list travel, reading, etc. Common? Yes. But the idea is that it gives you an opportunity to tell a story/chat about something other than your work experience for a few minutes. And from time to time your interviewer with have a shared interest and that makes you a little more memorable/they can imagine working with you and asking you about your weekend.

      Coincidentally, I work at a firm that takes baking *very* seriously (there are no less than three annual bake-off events, each with different rules). So candidates that list baking are always asked about favorite recipes, etc. That said, we might be an anomaly :)

      2. {Sigh}

        I want to join your firm. Ours has a crazy ultra-competitive ultimate frisbee group.

        1. agreed! I learned quickly that “baking is for social, not professional, events” but KC’s firm sounds great :-)

          1. Is this idea from NGDGTCO? I’d be more inclined to think it was more of a “know-your-office” thing.

            Also a “baking isn’t highly regarded in certain workplaces because it’s associated with women traditionally and that workplace has sexist views” kind of thing.

          2. My dad is a very accomplished amateur baker who works in state government. His co-workers become very, very unhappy if he doesn’t bring some sort of homemade dessert on his birthday and to office potlucks. :)

          3. Susedna, it was a “know-my-office” thing at my most recent job… which was a “workplace has sexist views” place. :-/

          4. I read this and want to growl in frustration

            Can I just get a time machine and go to a future when we don’t have to wade through other people’s sexist nonsense?

        2. Ultimate sounds awesome! We could use a few more active activities to work off the desserts, that’s for sure ;)

    7. Actually, baking/cooking and some sort of fitness activity (e.g., yoga) are pretty common things to have under “Interests” on your resume. It’s there to give the interviewer something easy to chat with you about. They won’t hold it against you that you’re not an ultramarathoner.

      1. I’m firmly in the don’t-list-your-interests camp.

        At best, they’re conversation starters.

        At worst, they dominate the conversation. Then back at the office, when the recruiting committee reconvenes, it goes a little something like this:

        Hiring Partner 1: So what did you think about layered bob?
        Hiring Partner 2: She was great. Really engaging. She apprenticed with a master rug-weaver in Tibet, and she taught me a lot about Tibetan rug weaving.
        Hiring Partner 1: Why is she interested in our firm?
        Hiring Partner 2: She never said. We talked about Tibetan rug weaving the whole time. It’s so interesting!
        Hiring Partner 1: Okay, hire the man then.

        This is the last thing you want to happen. And it happens. All the time.

        1. I’m with Kanye West – it could end up hurting you. If you absolutely have to have something, and can’t think of anything besides crafts (and I’m a huge crafts, baking, sewing person) put “European travel” even if you’ve only been once or generic “travel”. Or nature hikes even it it’s just in Central Park or Golden Gate Park. Or photography, even if it’s only on Facebook. You could list “volunteering” even if it’s teaching at your church.

          Other ideas that don’t need much “practice” to be considered a hobby:
          NYTimes Crosswords or suduko
          Geneology
          Following your undergrad alma mater in X sport

    8. Hobbies are fine. Party tricks are risky. Summer associate interviews. One candidate mentioned they liked skiing and had competed, so a lot of people remembered them as a skier and brought it up. Another candidate mentioned that they were good at building card houses. So several people broke out decks of playing cards.

      1. This reminds me of an older French movie – “le diner de cons” where the people in the club had a contest every week. Each member vied to bring the guest who’d be voted biggest idiot. One such guest was a man who built elaborate models of landmarks with matchsticks.

        The movie made me cringe because the people in the club were so mean-spirited. Sadistic, even.

    9. I think they’re a little silly to include on a resume, especially if you only have generic interests. And then there are the weird ones that stand out or that dominate the interview. However, at my law school we were *required* to use a standard format for resumes that included interests, and at my firm (NYC BigLaw) pretty much every single candidate has them listed because they use the standard resume format for their school and many of the top schools tell or require students to include them. You would look strange if you were the only applicant without them here. If you’re applying to somewhere where most other applicants will have them, put them on, otherwise, leave them off.

    10. Having had to do an interview a day for weeks on end of summer candidates, sometimes talking abut the interest listed is the only thing I can ask about since I hate the “tell me about a time you faced a challenge/your weaknesses” type questions You can only hear why someone’s favorite class was torts/contracts so many times.. I don’t care what’s listed as long as you can carry on a conversation about it. You would be amazed on how similar all the resumes we get are and how many candidates answer all questions with a two word answer. You don’t want to be the one that people talk about because it was painful to spend 30 minutes speaking with you.
      Also, given that all law schools tell you to add interests to your resume, it always makes me question the candidates ability to follow directions if it’s left off. Last thing a firm wants is a junior associate who won’t/can’t follow directions. (Random side note, but resumes are not the time to show your creative formatting skills.) Having said that, if you had an extensive pre-law school career, it’s probably not necessary because that already shows a lot about your personality and gives the interviewer a starting point.

      1. The follow directions thing is a silly nitpick, in my opinion. I went to law school after having held several “real jobs.” I was a 30 year old adult woman who is capable of thinking for myself. I can take suggestions of the career center, but I am not required to “follow directions.” I do have a brain and decision making skills. So if I don’t want to put that I bake or jog on my resume, it’s because I think it’s not relevant to my professional capabilities and I don’t think its a good way to sell myself. Not because I’m incapable of following directions.

        Edit: I just read your last line, which I obviously fell in line with, but I still stand by the idea that not wanting to list jogging on a resume is not indicative of being able to follow directions.

      1. In contrast, our management encourages interests because the pay is crap and the hours are weird.

        The new-fangled thing is managers coached to give lots of praise.

        Another way to avoid paying us more!

    2. I’m not sure about that, but when Kat started the post with “A lot of comfort shoes either look like a) men’s shoes or b) clown’s shoes,” I thought she was illustrating the post with an example of the clown shoes. Personally not a fan!

    4. Actually Camper heels look weird online, but look surprisingly cute on someone’s feet. Honestly. I mean, they obviously aren’t stilettos or anything, but they look like normal, professional basic pumps.

    5. Agree. I can’t get on board with the clunky comfort shoe thing in a professional setting.

    1. Great idea! The coat is beautiful! It will be cold or at least cool eventually, right?

    3. It looks gorgeous! Did you buy it online or did you try it on? I adore Tahari coats but they are cut too straight and narrow for hourglassy me

    4. Small quibble (with the brand, not you) – but when is a peacoat no longer a peacoat? I figure if its not boxy and double breasted, and doesn’t have the notched collar (which this is not and does not) – it’s missing the main hallmarks of a peacoat.

      This looks more like a single breasted trench – or just a plain wool coat – than a peacoat.

      1. Seriously, it’s like calling Jcrew’s Lady Day coat a peacoat. It’s just not. Words have meaning, people (again, generic people, not specific people)!

    5. The shape of this coat is lovely and it doesn’t look like it’s too thick (material-wise), which is good bc your area doesn’t really get too cold. So, good purchase!

  15. This is likely highly unreasonable…but I had a bit of a freak out today. I’m almost 27 and am in a one year relationship with a 30 year old. We haven’t discussed marriage in great detail. I’d say he needs some time to have serious talks re marriage.

    I want to be married with children (to said boyfriend) by 31/32. Boyfriend wants to move in before he marries anyone. I’ve been doing the math in my head, and it seems like he and I really need to start having conversations about all of this in the next year or so. Because, well, we need to figure out moving in, getting engaged, saving for a wedding, being married, and then having babies. Does all of this seem do-able in the next 4 years? I know I’m being ridiculous but it’s just been that sort of day. Heaven help me.

    1. Deep breath, girl. No where in there do you mention how you feel about said boyfriend, or moving in with him, or if he feels ready to move in, or if he wants to have babies when you do (or at all!). I understand that women have a biological clock to deal with, but finding the right person to have babies with is WAY more important than the precise age you get married and start having babies. If you feel ready to move in together, then talk with him about it, and indicate that you see it as a step towards marriage. See where it goes from there.

      Also, maybe it’s just you freaking out about your life, but it sounds like you might have some control issues in that you have difficulty dealing with situations you can’t control. I mean this in the best possible way – you might want to see a counselor about that.

      1. Funny you say that–I just scheduled an appointment this morning. Mostly about issues with focus at work–but I should probably investigate the control thing because you aren’t the first one to mention it. And no offense taken! I love the corporette community (and the sometimes brutal honesty that comes with it)

      2. She said she wants to marry him and have his babies. So I’d say that says how she feels about him. Did you read her comment before you tore her to shreds?

        1. I don’t think roses is tearing the OP to shreds at all. The OP said she thinks she is freaking out, roses is confirming that she is. I don’t think it was said in a mean way at all. We talk each other down from freak outs around here all the time.

        2. I apologize for being too defensive. She knows exactly how she feels, but she should talk to him, and still be flexible with her timeline no matter how that conversation ends. And she shouldn’t stick with him after a certain age if she wants biological babies and he isn’t seeming to be on board.

          1. I almost got super defensive about the polka dot shoes above, I just barely restrained myself from posting. ;o)

        3. Yeah I didn’t mean this in a mean way at all – it is really hard to convey tone online. I know she wants to marry him, but it’s unclear whether he wants to marry her. It’s understandable to freak out about these things, but that doesn’t mean it’s healthy.

    2. Also, I think you have plenty of time to do those things on that schedule. Move in/engagement: 28/29, marriage 29/30, babies 31/32. Very do-able schedule. Many people do all of the above in 9 months or less.

      1. Yes. I got from “started dating” through “move in, buy home together, get married, get pregnant” in 11 months. (At age 29/30.)

    3. All of the above (roses’ comments and Wildkitten’s), plus – is it really the end of the world if you don’t meet your own schedule? I ask that seriously. My very Type A schedule was originally: get married at 28, have babies at 30. Neither of those things happened, for various reasons. It happened much, much later, and I’m fine (28-year-old me would never have thought that could be true), and think that it’s probably better off this way after all. I would counsel you to take a deep breath and just enjoy your relationship, which is pretty new still. Don’t put this pressure on yourself or your boyfriend. You’ve got plenty of time to figure this out.

      1. Much as I agree, this may be the kind of thing that one has to experience rather than be told. I used to have all kinds of plans and schedules, too, and I was just not trying to hear that I might not be able to meet them. Then life happened, and much of it was not fun. If I could do it again, I would still have gone for all the same things, but I would have made more of an effort to cushion the landing if things didn’t go quite as I hoped. I’ve since realized that this is what happens to most people, in some way or another–it’s just easy to think you’re going to be the exception when you’re in your twenties.

      2. +1

        But if it makes you feel better, I bought a house with, married, and had a child with my husband within three years of meeting him, almost to the day.

    4. Breathe! Yeah, you’re freaking out a bit. If boyfriend is the guy you want to do all of this with then you have plenty of time, but for your sake you guys should discuss some of these things. IMO, a year together is plenty of time for you two to begin discussing your future (even in very vague, “this is what I want, do you want that too” terms).

      1. Agreed. I’m surprised that you haven’t discussed it since it’s important to you. After one year, it’s more than fair game. If marriage+kids is part of your happy future and it’s not part of his, then you may want to cut your losses and move on. Or, you may be pleasantly surprised by his thoughts on the subject.

        1. Or (not to say the OP’s boyfriend would do this, but it’s what happened to me and just something to brace yourself for), BF could say, yes, he wants those things, just not right now, and you move merrily along in your relationship thinking BF will be ready eventually, until one day five years later you realize he’s really quite happy with none of those things, and you both move on. That could very well happen and it’s not a bad thing necessarily, you just have to learn to accept what comes along and take it as it comes. And really, it’s OK in the long run.

          (Though Monday, I think you may be right about this being something you have to live through! If someone had told me this at 28, I probably would have thought they were just being bitter.)

    5. You’re not being ridiculous.

      These are big important things that matter. I think you should talk with your bf in a non-ominous, no-ultimatum way. Does he want the same things in life? (Marriage, children)

      And does he want them with you? (all-important)

      How he reacts to the conversation can be revealing. Mature adults of any chronological age should be able to tackle these topics reasonably and without lies or evasiveness.

  17. OH YEAH! Season Premiere of Hart of Dixie is finally up on Hulu tonight!!! WOOOO!!! sorry, this is super exciting to those of us too cheap to pay for hulu plus ;o)

    2. for future reference, the cw actually puts the episodes up on its website earlier than hulu does (at least it did for the Hart of Dixie premiere) – just figured that out a couple days ago! (signed, also too cheap to pay for hulu plus)

      1. it’s just so hard to keep track of which different sites to go to on which days… so, apparently i am cheap AND lazy! ;o) But thanks for the headsup, I’ll try to remember that.

    3. I blame this site for my watching this addictive series in addition to The Good Wife.

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