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Wednesday’s Workwear Report: Carolina Pant in Four-Season Stretch

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A woman wearing a gray wide leg trouser pants and black belt with silver buckle

Our daily workwear reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices.

I live in a part of the country where snow boots are a necessity for several days each winter. This leaves me with a commuting conundrum when I have to figure out whether I’m trying to shove my pant legs into the boots or if they’re going to be wide enough to accommodate the wider ankle of the boot. (PSA: These have served me well for 12 years.)

This year, I’ve been leaning into wider-legged pants and have found that these pants from J.Crew are wide enough to wear untucked, but not so long that they’ll be dragging through the slush and salt of the sidewalks. It’s a delicate balance, but so far, they’re perfect. 

The pants are $75.99-$158 at J.Crew and come in sizes 00-24, 00P-12P, and 0T-16T. They also come in four other colors. 

Sales of note for 1/10:

  • Nordstrom – 2,400+ new women's markdowns!
  • Ann Taylor – 30% off your purchase + extra 60% off sale
  • Banana Republic Factory– Up to 50% off + extra 20% off
  • Brooks Brothers – End-of-Season Sale: clearance up to 60% off
  • Cuyana – Free shipping on orders of $95+ (readers love their totes!)
  • Express – All new and on sale, buy 1 get 1 50% off all women's tailoring and jeans
  • J.Crew – 25% off full-price styles, and up to 70% off sale styles
  • J.Crew Factory– Up to 50% off select cashmere + extra 60% off sale
  • Lo & Sons– Winter sale, up to 50% off — Reader favorites include this laptop tote, this backpack, and this crossbody
  • M.M.LaFleur – Try code CORPORETTE15 for 15% off
  • Neiman Marcus – Up to 75% off when you take an extra 40% off sale
  • Talbots – Semi-Annual Red Door Sale! Extra 60% off sale sweaters, coats, scarves, and shoes + extra 50% all other markdowns + Red Door Deals from $24.50

264 Comments

  1. Talk to me about compression socks and leg sleeves. A light bulb went off for me yesterday and now what I think is a 70s revival of high gym socks with my peers makes sense. I’m old enough to have worn support hose back when I wore panty hose with my suits because they were so much more durable and maybe thick enough for a bit of warmth. Plus they stopped the jiggles. Now, I’m back to shop in a post-hose tired leg world. Socks? Sleeves? What do you wear to the gym vs to an office job? I have enough tall boots to do this until the heat of summer and wear pants in the shoulder seasons.

    1. what problem are you trying to solve here? (1) circulation issues, (2) warmth, or (3) smoothing butt & hips? Compression socks or leg sleeves are going to do nothing about (3).

        1. Compression socks would be an easy place to start. I use them on long flights and my feet and ankles stay their normal size even after 10+ hours. Bombas are my fave for fabric quality – soft, breathable, but strong.

        2. I like Core-Spun by Therafirm. They’re soft like Bombas or Smartwool, and the lightest compression ones are great for travel or when I know I’ll be on my feet all day. They also come in sizes that fit everything from very narrow to very wide calves, so you’ll want to measure first.

    2. Compression socks aren’t appropriate for many workouts, despite what the late night infomercials on TV suggest. I wouldn’t add them to your workout attire without talking with a trainer.

      I wear them on airplanes and do find them helpful.

      1. I’m wondering what lets a trainer be qualified to weigh in on this? They may be, or they may have an option. IDK that this is something that needs a physical therapist (doctoral program) or an MD or just “my legs feel better when I do this” is enough for a person to decide on his or her own.

    3. Get fitted by a professional. Too loose is pointless and uncomfortable. Too tight is uncomfortable and can do lasting damage.

        1. Pharmacists, pt, and people at medical supply shops.

          If you get a prescription your insurance may cover the cost. Low level compression won’t need a prescription and they’re great for air travel or when you’ll be on your feet for a long time.

    1. Not doing that with my family, it’s too much work in my opinion.
      Also, we have other pre-Christmas traditions like advent calendar and St. Nicholas, since my family is German.

      1. +1 – we do advent calendars and St. Nicholas as well. Thankfully my kid decided the elf wasn’t fun once he realized it wouldn’t give him any gifts/candy.

    2. I don’t think I’d ever heard of it until I was an adult, so it just doesn’t mean much to me. I guess it’s a cute idea, but it doesn’t seem like an integral part of Christmas, if that makes sense. My daughter suggested wanting one a few times when she was littler (she’s 10 now), but didn’t press it and we never had the great urge to get one. I’m neither bothered by them nor interested in one.

    3. I posted a reply the other day that the complaining about this elf thing seems out of control. Move it ten feet or don’t, who cares.

      1. Literally the children care. They want to know why they have only one elf and not one elf per kid like their friend. Or why they don’t have elf pets or elf cereal or why their elf never does anything fun or brings them anything. Or why they are the only kid in their class without an elf (my kid the year before they stopped believing)

        We dodged the elf because my kids were just slightly too old before it became a thing in every single house at their school but I hear from friends with younger kids how much it has exploded. An elf for each kid, elf pets, baby elves, carriers so you can carry your elf to school without touching them, bringing toy filled advent calendars on December 1 and new Christmas pyjamas on Christmas Eve.

        One elf moving around occasionally might have been it in 2015 but in 2025 with the explosion of social media, it’s a whole other level of expectation and work for moms. I’m eternally grateful I dodged that bullet.

      2. it’s not moving it 10 feet. It’s remembering to move it 10 feet, every day, after your kid goes to bed, when you also have to make the magic, wrap the gifts, plan the holiday menu, plan the travel, do your year end reporting, service your clients, take a stupid walk for your stupid mental health, feed the dog, send cards, think of what to wear to the holiday events, remember the hostess gifts, all the things. It is a pain. I refused the elf as long as I could, because it’s just a way to punish moms for Not Making Things Special Enough (TM) but literally every child in my daughter’s kindergarten class had one except her so I got sucked in.

      1. Seriously. Feels like someone who wants to stir the pot and yell at moms who find it annoying.

        1. Yep. It’s annoying. I caved on the elf, despite my better judgment. Oh well. I do it because it makes my kid happy. I can do that while finding it deeply annoying. We forgot to do it a couple nights in a row last week, and my kid was like … is the elf DEAD? So we had to up our game this week.

    5. I live in a really diverse community, so a lot of people don’t celebrate Christmas or are immigrants who celebrate with their native country’s traditions, but it does not seem to have caught on here that much. My 8 year old daughter reports that only a couple kids in her class do it. It seems like an annoying amount of work that inevitably falls on the mom (it’s not just moving it 10 feet, you’re supposed to do creative things and it’s relentless – if you commit to it you can’t skip a day because you’re tired or slammed at work or whatever) and also the surveillance aspect is creepy to me. We don’t celebrate Christmas but if we did it would be a very easy thing to opt out of for me.

    6. We’ve had one for 10+ years since my oldest was a toddler, and I don’t understand why people make a big deal out of it. The elf moves around the house to different rooms. We’ve never done crazy shenanigans with it. On Christmas Eve, my husband has the elf do a scavenger hunt for the kids to find some candy around the house, and the elf leaves a note for the kids. It’s less than a minute of effort the other days, and now that my kids are big, they like the game of finding him every day. We’ve never been big on the “surveillance” aspect of it.

      1. My husband insisted on getting an elf over my strenuous objections. We took the “just move it around” approach, but our kid constantly complained that our elf was lazy because he didn’t have snowball fights in the kitchen with powdered sugar or fish for Goldfish crackers in a sink full of blue Jell-o like her friends’ elves did. Our elf remained lazy. I probably could have warmed up to just moving it as a fun low-effort thing, but the pinterest moms really wrecked it for the whole family and I never got over my resentment of the obligation.

        Now our kid is in college. Last year the infernal creature stowed away in her suitcase on the way back from Thanksgiving break, and this year it appeared in her dorm room during the first week of December. I have actually been enjoying this era of the elf.

    7. If your kids are really into the elf thing and you aren’t, I have a suggestion.

      I painted a moustache on each child with my thickest eyeliner and blamed the elf. They couldn’t wash it all off so went to school with a shadow of the moustache. A kid at drop off asked me why my daughter had this on her face. I told the kid the elf had done, these elves are naughty and mean sometimes. Mom overheard and asked me about it because she hates the elf too but her kid was obsessed like mine. I shared what I did. She did the same the next night.

      The trick is to follow up with a second night and have the elf leave a mess for the kids to pick up. My kids sent the elf packing and I’m not the bad guy for once.

      I’m divorced. The elf came into my home because my ex husband knows how much I hate the thing and bought one for the kids to bring to my house. Whatever dude. He doesn’t have an elf at his house. This year the elf was not mentioned once.

      3. I’m the one who asked the question and THIS is exactly the kind of answer I wanted to hear!

      4. This just would have resulted in my kids crying and asking why they got a mean elf and not a fun elf that brings advent calendars, elf on the shelf cereal and Christmas pyjamas.

      5. I….don’t like this approach. Do it or don’t do it, but man, this is a pretty messed up way to get them to not want to do it.

        1. Yeah, I don’t either. Obviously I don’t know OP’s kids or family dynamic but this seems really mean. Getting them made fun of at school? OP’s punishing her kids for something her ex did. Deliberately upsetting your children to make them hate something that would otherwise be fun for them is just… ugh. I feel sad for these kids. It’s really not fun for a child when a parent sh*ts all over something you like.

        1. That’s an interesting take. My ex was the one who set the kids up to experience the elf at my house. I didn’t have an elf. He dropped the children off with the elf and had told the children the elf lives at my home not his. At no point did their father discuss this with me. He manipulated the situation so I was always going to be the bad guy.

          If only family courts could recognize this as the abusive behavior that it is.

          1. You are drawing on your kids’ faces and sending them to school, and you literally are blaming him? Hun, get some therapy for your kids’ sakes.

          2. Yes, like I said. You need a different outlet to deal with your feelings about this that doesn’t place your kids in the middle of it.

      7. So you’re patting yourself on the back for being nasty to your kids for wanting to do a kid thing? I wouldn’t do that to my dog, much less a kid.

    8. I didn’t do it until my kids were 9 and 10. In the “little” years, it felt like too much effort along with everything else. Now I feel like I have bandwidth for it, and it’s fun. I don’t go too elaborate with it, he ends up in places that are easy to set up – laying in baby Jesus’ spot in the manger, on top of a picture frame, in my desk chair.

      I also buy 3-4 Christmas-themed treats (like Little Debbie cakes) before December so once a week or so he “brings a treat” for the kids and is posed with it. I set an alarm for 10 pm every night to remind me to move it, and trust me, I rely on it!

      I’ve forgotten to move him a few times, and I’m always just sort of vaguely like, oh yeah maybe he was too tired to go back to Santa last night. Then as soon as the kids’ backs are turned, I quickly move him, and it’s like oh wow he moved after all! They’re old enough at this point that they’re kind of in on it but kind of go along with it, so it’s fun.

    9. It’s not my jam. My little guy wanted on so badly when he was 5 or so but we decided against it. Part of the resistance is one more parental obligation but the real obstacle was that we’re extremely lukewarm on the entire Santa thing. “Do as you’re told, sit on a strange man’s lap and he’ll buy you things” was a message I got as a kid and not a cool thing to put on a child.

      We’re walking a bit of a line here but we kind of do a vague idea of Santa as a benevolent gift gifter rather than the judge of the children’s’ behavior so elf surveillance didn’t fit that narrative. It’s fine for other families; no judgement but I’m pushing back on the idea that it’s standard or necessary.

      1. Yeah, see this is what I feel like everyone is missing. You can just say no from the very beginning. The kids will get over it.

        1. You can say no but it’s also pretty lonely for your kid to be the only one in their class who doesn’t have an elf for all 7 years of elementary school.

          2. I feel like this is where families that have their own sense of identity and heritage have an advantage.

    10. I’m annoyed by anything that declares itself a tradition when released on the market (yes, I know it’s based on a tradition that is celebrated somewhere. But it wasn’t a wide spread tradition in the US and I had never heard of it before). My kids are still young, but I don’t plan to do it. We are doing the Christmas traditions from my and my husband’s childhoods.

      1. I think doing your childhood traditions is perfect! I feel like things have more meaning to kids when it’s something they know was special to their mom or dad at the same age.

    11. My friend sells Elf kits on Etsy – she’s thought up all the nightly moves, she provides the 18 marshmallows or whatever, she provides the elf’s little signs and accessories. It’s really fun that way! I too would be annoyed if I had to do the mental labor of it every day.

    12. It’s an invented “tradition.” A money grab. The idea behind a spying, narc elf is creepy. I will do it if my kids ask, but they haven’t.

      1. the person who invented it is genius from a marketing perspective, though i’m so glad to be Jewish. though my daughter’s public school class has one, which i dont love

        1. Not the person you’re replying to but my kid’s public school also has one. Oh and the teacher made sure to ask if we had one and then give me the sad face when I said no. Look lady, is it not enough that I’ve managed to pull off five festive dress up days this week? I promise there is enough merriment in this household.

          1. For a few years I fended off the elf at home by reminding my daughter that she already had one at preschool.

      2. I dodged the bullet by telling my kids we didn’t need a creepy spy in our house. It was the beginning of many discussions of how their information is shared (that have obviously gotten more nuanced and technical over time). But even at 3 and 6 it was an easy way out!

    13. We don’t do it. I don’t have a strong opinion about it though, we just never started it and now my kids are older and certainly do not care. To each their own!

    14. I honestly don’t like many secularized/commercialized Christmas traditions. As a kid I always liked St. Nicholas but thought Santa was corny and tacky. I have no idea where I got those ideas since my parents pushed Santa pretty hard!

    15. Welcome to the surveillance state, but festive Christmas version that is in your house. No thank you.

      1. Surveillance bit seems to be de-emphasized and now it’s mostly pranks and gifts. Surveillance of kid behavior while the elf is behaving badly always seemed totally illogical to me.

    16. My son counts up to Christmas with an Advent Calendar (easy enough for me to fill in early November) and counts down with one of those two block counters. I have no desire to do Elf on the Shelf.

    17. I’m the person that posted about my client’s suggestion that I should put together elf packages for people. (I hear you that it’s a bad idea, sheesh.) I was firmly anti-elf but this client said he got so much joy out of seeing his kids enjoy the elf. He got one of those kits online to help him come up with a few days of ideas but he did most of it himself. Importantly: his anti-elf wife doesn’t have to do any elf-related work.

      My kid is too little for elf but if he wants it then I would probably cave and just accept that the elf is going to… not move sometimes. Surprise! You never saw it coming — that he did nothing!

      Like, DH and I have a wine advent calendar; it’s one glass of wine per day. And we can’t even manage to keep up with splitting a glass of wine every day. I am not optimistic that we could keep up with doing something with the elf every day.

      1. I criticized the idea as a client gift, but to be fair, I actually do think that this would be a great idea for someone (really a friend, family member, or acquaintance) who you knew really enjoyed doing the elf thing.

    19. I actually like the elf. Our elf doesn’t do surveillance – I told my son the elf was too silly to make toys so Santa sent him to us to do tricks with us before Christmas. I really wanted to do it but my 3YO son and I were super sick on the first day I moved him, and my son cried and told me he liked him better in his prior location haha. So every morning my son checks to make sure he HASN’T moved. I’m hoping next year we can graduate to tricks!

      2. Same. I love Elf – it is a fun lead up to Christmas and I am honestly puzzled by people who feel like it is just all so much work (and I say that as a FT attorney). That said, our Elf (and our community elves) are pretty low key. But I think for people who are already overwhelmed and stressed by the holidays (and there seem to be a LOT of you this year), it is just one more thing when they are already tapped out.

        And we skip the whole surveillance thing, but I am also surprised so many people find that problematic given the whole “he sees you when you’re sleeping” bit of the Santa myth.

        1. Low key community elves are so important or neighbors who are one elf households. That’s manageable.

    20. My husband and I don’t want to do it (pregnant with our first) and my SIL/his sister is super mad that we aren’t doing it, because they do it for their 2 kids and it’ll be “obvious”. Sorry, but just because you had kids first doesn’t mean I”m required to do all the traditions you want.

    22. We never did it and it was never a big deal. My husband was the one who didn’t want to do it and that was fine by me. I do have one friend from school who posts all December about the elaborate pranks of her very naughty elf, which brings her joy. I just don’t care.

    24. If I see a photo of it on social media, I snooze the person until January. Enjoy it! Just don’t think the rest of us need 25 days of it. Keep it at home folks.

      Also, creepy af.

    25. Didn’t grow up with it, no one in my extended family does it, don’t get it at all.

  3. I’d like to make a personal website, but I have absolutely no idea where/how to begin. Any suggestions?

    1. GoDaddy will sell you the domain name, so you can be anon.com, and has a website builder that’s super easy to use. You can start out basic, and then add features later on if you need them. Their pricing is reasonable. PLUS, huge plus, they have very pleasant and competent phone support if you have trouble with something.

      2. +1 You can also get a domain name there, and easily have it connected to your site.

    3. What is the purpose of your website, and who is the audience?

      Do you want to present/promote yourself as a professional?
      Sell something you are making as a side hustle?
      Do you want to blog about your life or specific topics of interest?
      Do you want an easy place to keep family in the loop with updates, pictures etc. (i.e. do you consider restricted access)?
      Or do you want your own server to store photos, videos, documents etc.?

        1. I am an independent consultant in my field after a career of corporate work. I set up my business website on square space and it was easy peasy. I never think about it.

          Now, getting your own domain and getting email to deliver to name@businessname.com is a whole other thing. I use gsuites, or google workspace as I think it’s called now. But about once a year I find out my email isn’t working due to some glitch and I totally freak out. It’s definitely a pain, but necessary.

    4. That’s very 2000 and late. Why? No one does this now. Don’t you have any privacy concerns?

      1. I’m in a creative profession. Having a site with your portfolio is sort of table stakes if you’re job hunting. I find your comment really odd.

      2. Lots of people have one. I think it makes sense for freelancers to showcase some work they’ve done and have a central place for folks to find their contact info. If you google someone’s name, their website will come up and you can find their email, socials, etc. from there.

      3. For me, online privacy doesn’t necessarily mean don’t put any information out there, but rather, be judicious about the information that you share, and mindful of how private businesses monetize your data. In that latter context, building your own vs relying on e.g. LinkedIn can be a reasonable alternative.

      4. OP here. Uh, no, I don’t have privacy concerns. What on earth? This isn’t making a website about my family or anything like that. I’m a professor. Many, many professors have personal-professional websites, which feature their published work and discuss their research. That’s what I’m looking to do. My college is really bad about this kind of stuff, and LinkedIn isn’t something that people in my field really use.

          1. Maybe some coffee would make you a little less adversarial about something that really isn’t a problematic topic.

      5. In my field, it’s expected that you have a personal website that hosts your portfolio at least; doesn’t seem outdated. Having a “professional blog” part is optional but not a mark against you and could help (ie. no one’s going to think you’re a “thought leader” on your own blog; but if writing/communication is part of the job, it’s a natural place to showcase it).

        Anyway, yeah, squarespace is good, lovable is good if you want to double count this as your “look, I experiment with AI project”, Google sites is much more limited on design options but you can buy the domain name & do the design all in one, and it’s very easy to get started.

      7. Some people do, like authors. I find it frustrating when some people don’t have professional websites, to be honest. I prefer them over social media pages.

        1. If you need people to be able to see your portfolio, a website is the way to keep it organized and accessible. Social media is a disorganized junk heap. You can grab attention through social media, but if you really want people to digest your resume/writing samples/sample work/videos you need to send them to a website. Even if your videos are also on YouTube, which is marginally more orderly than social media.

        2. This is key – a lot of social media can be really problematic, while you manage your own website and content.

          Design with accessibility in mind to reach the broadest range of people.

    5. I used WordPress after buying the domain. I used one of their templates to build mine. Wix is another popular builder.

  4. As a resident of a locale that saw our first knee-deep snowfall of the season on Halloween, I’m LOLing at the idea of snow boots being a necessity for “several days” each winter.

    1. As a resident of a locale where it may be in the 70s for Christmas (and our summers are brutal), I’m wondering what are snow boots.

      1. Me studying abroad in France at 19…. realised that my California “winter” coat was not up to the job.

    2. I’m in the “need snow boots only for ski trips” area – though we get snow, it’s more often sleet, and in any event most often turns into mucky gross slush within hours, and as such I wear my rain boots with fleece liners for 95% of winter precipitation!

      1. I have one pair of utility snow boots, that I use for shoveling snow. They get used 1 or 2 times per year, and I’ve had them for 10+ years. If you have the storage space, it’s nice to have the perfect “tool” for the few times you’ll need it. If not, you can shovel snow in sneakers, but your feel will get cold eventually, and snow may work its way in around your ankles.

    3. I also live somewhere that can get snow from October to April, but I almost never wear snow boots. Good hiking boots are usually fine and way more comfortable for doing a lot of walking. Admittedly, I am in the city and I’m in a place more known for the cold than the quantity of snow, so we don’t get a ton of over the knee snow falls and the snow is usually on the drier side.

      1. Second the hiking boots – and we get a ton of wet snow. If it is really deep, I wear gaiters.

      2. I only bought snowboots when I had a kid and wanted to go sledding. I agree if you’re just an adult going to work and to walk the dog you don’t need snowboots.
        That said, I live in the Midwest and we get real snowfalls but not knee deep by Halloween – that’s a different level of snow intensity.

        1. I actually do a lot of walking in the city and winter hiking on trails, but again, hiking boots are way better for that than snow boots, which are just heavy and tend to give me blisters because they slip on my feet.

      3. Yeah, I have snow boots but I wear my hiking boots unless it’s extremely deep snow. They’re insulated and waterproof. Plus they are super comfortable.

    4. Eh, I feel like snow boots are one of those things that if you need them, you need them, and it can be pretty miserable to go without. In the Midwest, and I’ve always had a pair of snow boots. Some years, they get used weekly. Other years, maybe a handful of times.

      1. Same. It’s not just location, it’s lifestyle. I’ve always lived in places with a decent amount of snow, but I used to live in a condo building, have no shoveling responsibilities, and I could either stay home if it snowed or walk to/from the train on decently cleared sidewalks. I didn’t have snow boots then, just nice warm regular boots. Now I live in a house with a 5-year old who loves to play in the snow and a long driveway. I was miserable for the first two snows that we lived here before I got a pair, and now I use them all the time.

        1. Yeah, same. I’m in a place where it’s both windy and snowy, which creates a lot of drifting. Cannot imagine shoveling walkways in sneakers or hiking boots; that sounds miserable. And, it’s never predictable how quickly the sidewalks will get cleared, if at all. Even as a college student, I had real snow boots for walking around campus!

    5. I’ve had the same pair of Ugg Adirondack boots since 2014, and they look basically new. I only need them a handful of days each winter, but I’m always glad to have them. They are comfortably (for me) for my daily 4-mile walk.

      1. I have the same ones and I also love them, although I’m in Canada and it’s been winter here since October.

      2. Love these boots. Also, a firm believer that there are occasions when you actually do need snow boots. Just like, I am firm believer that when it is cold enough to wear a winter puffer on your runs you should be wearing gloves or mitts.

    6. So several days is usually a few weeks, and in your world, what? Wear inappropriate footwear for that time?

      1. I live somewhere where we have deep snow from October to April, and I’ve found that there is no consensus on “appropriate” footwear. Some people wear snow boots. Some wear rain boots with liners. Some like Bean boots. Some prefer hiking boots with or without gaiters. Some wear tennis shoes with thick socks. As with most things, the most appropriate choice is the one you can wear comfortably. I’ve never found a snow boot that my (AAAA) foot doesn’t slip around in, so for me it is hiking boots. It’s a little strange to assume that your appropriate footwear is the same as everyone’s.

        1. I’m hardly assuming that. I just think it’s ridiculous to ridicule someone for wanting dry feet even for a relatively short time.

          1. the first comment was just laughing at the thought of a winter during which snow boots are only needed for a few days, not laughing at purchasing them despite that…

          2. Yeah, I was just laughing maniacally at the concept of life in a place that doesn’t see protracted deep winter weather for multiple months on end. Meanwhile, I am looking out my window at a literal wall of snow that will be my reality for a minimum of 4 months, more realistically 5 or 6.

    7. In Maryland, I use mine probably 5 days per winter, mostly when my kids want to play in the snow.

    8. I live somewhere that gets several meters of snow (10+ feet) every year, my city has to haul the snow off in dump trucks when it plows because the snow banks get too big. Boots are a necessity, but I’ve accepted I live in an entirely different reality than most.

  5. Does anyone have experience with a steam closet for clothes? I have the space but just wondering if it could help me get more wear out of dry clean clothes and eliminate ironing from my life!

    2. Oh, man, that sounds amazing! Too bad my husband got there first and now it’s a wine closet!

    3. Look for info in reddit pages finance or big law bros who collect expensive suits, if you want recs or advice for particular steam closets.

    4. I don’t have one, but I have an enclosed shower with a steam function. I often use the steam function for clothes.

  6. My husband, two (elementary age) kids, and I will have an 8 hour layover at JFK on December 27 before an international red-eye. Is it reasonable for us to go into the city for a few hours, assuming no delays? Any recommendations? Husband and I have been before, but kids haven’t.

    1. This is the second similar layover question in a few days. I don’t think there’s an airport anywhere where 8 hours is enough time to have a decent experience outside of cleaning up and napping at an airport hotel. I would change my flights to have more time, at least a day requiring staying there, or way less.

      2. Completely disagree – 8 hours is soooo much time. You can have ample time for the commute, security, a delicious meal, and some sights.

        1. Yes, if you can speedrun things and know what you’re doing, which is easy as a solo traveler. I had an 8 hour layover in Detroit with kids and a grandparent. If it were me, I’d have explored a new city. But with that crowd . . . 8 hours in the Westin was heaven.

      3. Disagree. We had an unexpected 7 hour layover in Philadelphia this weekend. Instead of sitting in the airport with two kids (4 and 1), we took the train into the city and went to see the Liberty Bell and part of Independence Hall. The timing of our flights didn’t really allow for a meal in the city, but we would have had time for that as well.

        We had checked most of our bags because we were traveling with kids, so most of what we had with us was a diaper bag, stroller, etc. Our main regret was that we had checked most of our true winter gear (which was needed) before we knew about the flight delay.

        1. When Philadelpha was a hub for me, I really appreciated the train and always wish more cities had a similar system.

    2. I’d check out the hotel, especially if you can do any services without checking in as a guest.

    3. Yeah it’s very doable (and fwiw I was one of the posters who said no about going from LHR to central London with 7 hours). It’s only about 20 minutes to Grand Central Station on the AirTrain and since this is before your redeye you won’t be exhausted and can actually enjoy walking around. NYC is really magical at the holidays.

      1. Oh no! Please don’t tell people that they can get from JFK to Grand Central in 20 mins! That’s just going to break hearts all around!

        The AirTrain will take you to Jamaica Station in Queens and that’s about an 8 minute ride (not counting any time spent waiting for the train). Once you get to Jamaica Station, you still have to take the subway into Manhattan, which I would budget at least 30-40 mins for, depending on where you want to go. If you want to go walk around NYC at Christmastime, I think it’s definitely doable for a couple hours, but I would budget at least an hour-ish for travel each way.

        1. Sorry, I meant LIRR. The LIRR from Jamaica to Grand Central is much faster than the subway. The actual ride is exactly 20 minutes although you might have to wait up to 15 minutes for the train. I agree you have to budget significantly more time going back to account for potential delays, but it really shouldn’t take that long if everything goes smoothly.

          1. IF everything goes smoothly. This is public transit in NYC, on a holiday Saturday. That is a big IF.

          2. yeah I would say realistically assume it takes you an hour and a half to get into Grand Central from your plane actually arriving – like, wait to get off the plane, walk to the luggage storage place and do that, walk to the AirTrain, buy tickets, wait for the AirTrain, get to LIRR, buy tickets, wait for LIRR, get to Grand Central.

            In reverse obviously pad it in case of delays + the need to go through security.

            So could you go grab festive lunch and walk around a little? Yes.

        2. Yeah, on what planet is that only 20 min?! It could easily take a solid 20 min just to get to the subway station from the airport, not including time spent walking through JFK, which is huge.

          1. When you’re leaving the US, you can usually have your luggage checked all the way through to your destination. If you’re arriving in the US (ie, JFK is your first US airport) you have to pick up your bags and take them through customs, and then sometimes cannot recheck immediately.

          2. yeah bags will check through on that length of layover, but that doesn’t help with your carry-ons? I wouldn’t go on a trip with ALL my clothes checked…

      2. My question when I see people doing this is what are you doing with your carryon luggage? Even check through, are you going to bounce all around a city with your most important things and all that bulk?

        1. They have luggage storage at major airports including JFK. Definitely don’t take your luggage with you!

          1. But your carryon is usually filled with things you wouldn’t want to just leave somewhere, no? I don’t get this method of travel at all. You want to go to City X? Plan to go and stay there. Otherwise plan your flights to get where you’re actually going.

    4. What kind of flight or flights are you facing from JFK to wherever you’re going? I think it’s worth it to leave the airport to get to be outside and get fresh air, and eat a meal somewhere else, even if you don’t have time to be a tourist.

    5. Oof, I don’t think so. I’d budget at least 2 hours travel time on either end, plus the time to get through security when you get back, so you’re talking 5 hours of transit time for maybe 3 hours in the city. And it’s going to be cold. What would you realistically do during those 3 hours? Shop? Visit a restaurant? You can do those things in the airport, honestly. I wouldn’t try it.

    6. The TWA hotel is fun to explore if you decide not to go in. I don’t know how easy it is to store / retrieve bags at JFK but dragging a carryon around Manhattan is not fun.

      3. I say hang out at the TWA instead of going into the city. Like other commenters have said, the transportation time into Manhattan is not worth it.

      5. Our family of five just had this situation at JFK and I’m here to plug the TWA hotel for a Daytripper reservation. The only tiny downside is that reservations are not refundable and you can’t change the time you’ve reserved your room if your plane is late/early. That said, we did this over Thanksgiving week — spent the bulk of an 8-hour layover at TWA — and it was glorious! We’d had an early AM flight from home so some family members napped; others showered/freshened up before our overnight international flight, and some of us swam in the rooftop infinity pool (heated to 95 degrees year round!). We explored the whole hotel — cool museum vibes — and ate in the cafe. My kids (ages 10, 12, and almost 16) unequivocally loved it. HIGHLY recommend!

    7. I have done 8 hour layover at JFK! Yes, you can go into the city – agree that it’s more like an hour, station-to-station, then 20 minutes. If that sounds like too much, I’ve also just done a “train to Jamaica station, walk around and get a real, non-airport lunch”; if the weather’s nice, there’s a few parks nearby to let the kids run around. Not the Christmas-in-Manhatten experience, but at least a break from airports

      You sound like seasoned travellers, so this is partly dependent on your general time-needed-in-airports, but it’s much more doable if your bags are checked all the way through or no checked bags. If you really like to live on the edge, I have just not picked up my arriving bags at JFK, then come back 8 hrs later and grabbed them from the lost&found. Plus precheck & online checkin already done, and then you don’t need that much time at the airport.

    8. To give yourself ample wiggle room, I would assume a 1.5 hour commute each way between JFK and the city. Assuming you need to get back ~2-2.5 hours before your second flight, this would give you roughly 2.5-3 hours in NYC. You could get lunch somewhere near Grand Central and possibly walk over to Rock Center and see the tree (or walk down and wander around Bryant Park) and then head back. Or skip lunch and book a ticket at Summit One Vanderbilt to get a birds eye view of the city. Whether it is worth it or not is a personal question! Everything will be very crowded at that time of year. Definitely store your luggage at JFK.

      2. To add: I actually would probably take a cab or Uber both directions instead of the train, but I would still budget 1.5 hours for travel time each way. That way, you could have the cab drop you off somewhere other than Grand Central if you prefer to check out a different neighborhood.

        1. Cabs to and from JFK are actually less predictable than the trains. I have missed flights while stuck in hours-long traffic to JFK. Don’t bet on a cab being your savior unless it’s the middle of the night, and even then, budget extra time.

          1. I am the previous Anon, and I live in NYC too, so I am aware of the train vs. car arguments. I never said a cab was a “savior” – I told OP to budget 1.5 hours for travel regardless of whether she is taking a train or a car. I travel a lot, and always take cars to and from the airport. Yes, there is almost always traffic, but I still find it much more civilized than being on a crowded train with luggage. I have never missed a flight. YMMV.

    9. Yes, it’ s possible and can be fun but very tight. I’d store all bags and take a yellow cab into the city. The views will be part of the fun. To return, I’d budget 1.5 hours travel time (if you decide to take a cab or train) plus the 3 hours before an international flight to get your bags out of storage and go through screening. So if your layover is 8 hours, you may have about 2-3 hours of adventure.

    10. Another idea – you could take a cab to the New York Hall of Science, which is fairly close by in Queens. As science museums go, it is pretty mid, but they usually have an impressive gingerbread house display over the holidays, and your kids would probably enjoy it. It is also part of the old world’s fair site and right next to Ashe stadium.

      Or take a cab to Coney Island and the CI aquarium. The aquarium itself might be more busy than you expect, but the beach will not be crowded and is still iconically NYC.

  7. Any piano players who have tried the roll up keyboards? I’m looking for something I can take on work trips. Any comments, recommendations?

    1. I wouldn’t invest the money and luggage space. I often bring stuff on business trips to quietly “practice” my musical pursuit, and I never have the time or energy to do it even though I practice daily after work at home.

    2. You’re talking about the keyboard pictures, yes? Not an actual playable keyboard?

      I just bought one for a friend, who moved to a small apartment and had to get rid of her baby grand. She had gotten a roll up one, but didn’t like it and seemed to prefer ones that had a stiff cardboard structure and folded.

      Search for: Keyboard Kids Quiet 88 Reversible Keyboard Printed Cardboard Full Size Keyboard #116734006685

      This is the one I got. It’s dirt cheap and is supposed to be full sized, normal key size. The ebay store owner (who is a retired sheet music store owner) is lovely and answered my numerous questions about it. He said his mother had been a professional pianist, and when she was called the day before to perform Rhapsody in Blue (when the soloist cancelled due to illness), she brought this keyboard on the airplane and learned the piece on the plane. She must have been a prodigy. Well, the story alone sold me. And you can’t beat it for $3.95.

    3. My work trips are weeks to months and I wanted something where I could play and hear the music through headphones. Otherwise the cardboard keyboard is handy!

  8. I had a slow fall and now year-end is kicking my rear end. Any tips for managing multiple projects and deadlines all of a sudden and all at the same time??? I have done this in the past but haven’t had a brutal to do list like this in years. My top associate is out on leave so its juniors, partners who don’t do my niche, or me.

  9. As the year ends, I feel that a lot of my relationships are just transactional or situational. People I work with. People from a service organization. Various people I interact with because I have kids in an activity (music, scouts, etc.). I’m glad that I have a web of friendly connections, but they are really loose connections. I’d love to promote some to the friend bucket, but it seems like a steep hill to climb (and if you do more of an activity with people, like chaperoning a trip, you know the person better, but often it doesn’t seem sticky beyond the event).

    A lot of my family isn’t local and as my kids leave home for college in a couple of years, I’d love some actual friends from all of these friendly faces (or new faces). Husband is a homebody, but will socialize if I do, so this is on me if it’s going to happen.

    1. You could start by suggesting to one of the people — hey, would you like to grab coffee / lunch before/after our thing?

    2. I’m in the same boat. It’s hard for me to maintain connections when the situation has concluded because I’m either living in a different place or wrapped up in whatever it is that I’m doing (or feeling or not doing) that it’s exhausting trying to now have small talk when what my new situation is, is so different. I’m also not super on socials and with the demise of Christmas/holiday card culture, it’s harder.

    3. I have thought a lot about friendships recently- Why do you feel they have been transactional or situational? For me, I think the people I was crossing paths with weren’t a great fit, or they were just looking for something situational, so it made more sense to broaden my circle and meet new people. I did and ended up hitting it off with someone. You can and should reach out to some of the folks you know, but if it isn’t sticking then I would take it as a signal to move on. I am really keen to hear others’ experiences with this.

    4. You sound similar to me except that I don’t have kids. I’m a social introvert who is married to a less-social introvert who gets enough social interaction via his job. I’ll start with this: Making friends as an adult is hard, especially if you do not have a hobby, service organization, or religious group to facilitate interactions.
      In the last 7 years, I have worked very hard to turn the casual relationships into legitimate friendships and have had various degrees of success. Things that have worked for me are advance scheduling times to get together with women who I enjoy, so we often finish seeing each other and immediately schedule the next get together, which makes sure it actually happens. Also, I try to keep in touch regularly via text with memes, random thoughts from the day, pictures of what I may have done in regular life (like one friend and I both like to walk, so I’ll send a selfie when I’m going out for a walk and she does the same; another friend loves pretty flowers, so I send her a picture when I see pretty flowers in the neighbors’ yard, etc). It’s a lot of work, but it’s work that’s paid off. For me, good friendships need regular tending.

    5. What’s your question? If you like someone invite them to join you for an activity. “Do you want to get coffee some time?” is too vague. “I’m going to an art fair next Saturday, want to come?” is a concrete plan.

      1. Yes, this is the way. Also in the moment. After class or whatever, “Hey, I’m gonna grab a coffee — wanna join me?”

    6. Hi. I want to encourage you. I’ve shared before about how making local friends was a goal of mine the past few years and I’ve been pretty successful. I’m to share tips and thoughts if that’s what you’re looking for.

      1. I was thinking something similar; I feel like if an introvert is someone who keeps in touch regularly via text and puts a lot of work into regularly tending friendships, what is the word for someone for whom that all sounds like an awful lot!

        1. I think introvert/extrovert is a spectrum. I consider myself an introvert. I enjoy spending time frequently with family and friends in shorter bursts and also am happy doing nothing social for a few days. But I dislike having plans every day, long dinners, and weekend trips with others because those activities are draining.

          1. I like hanging out with people and don’t mind having plans.

            I think for me there’s something about being available by phone eighteen hours a day that wears me out differently even when it’s people I love?

    8. be brave and ask people for one on one time. Like do you want to grab coffee while the kids are at the scout meeting?

    9. Invite people to things! While you’re chatting, if a common interest comes up, tell them you’ll invite them to the next thing, and then do it! I invited a friend-of-a-friend to my gym with me when it came up in conversation, and she ended up joining and now we’re pretty consistent workout buddies. Talking about a new coffee shop? Tell them you’re planning on swinging by next week if they want to join you. And then text them when you do! Lots of people want to do stuff, but not a lot of people want to be the inviter!

  10. My teen daughter has requested “an oversized heavy cotton mock-neck sweatshirt that’s shaped like the Parke sweatshirt but doesn’t have an influencer’s name on it.” My searches have come up empty. Has anyone found a good dupe?

    1. Would the Carol Sweater at Nati do the trick? Quality of stuff I’ve bought there has been great.

  11. My college is giving me a young alumni award (graduated 8 years ago) and invited me to speak to my STEM major’s graduate seminar while I’m visiting for the award ceremony. These students will be mostly seniors doing the combined BS/MS program with a few full time MS students. Need some ideas for topics.
    I’m in an industry that some of them may find desirable so I can talk about that, but what do you wish you had known about the real world before you graduated that a semi-recent semi-successful grad can tell you about?

    1. IDK if you can say this at a college, particularly to a mixed group, but for me, it was that my career prospects would largely be defined or limited by the partner that I chose, particularly if I had kids with said partner. If I stayed solo, the sky was the limit. If I chose unwisely to partner up, particularly if I had kids with such a partner, just light my degree on fire.

      Enough random stuff comes at you (recessions, illness, government shutdowns, parental health issues), but this is what I’d escalate to known-hazard level.

      1. uh sorry this would be super awkward (and also… way to focus only on the downside! a great partner helps your career!)

        I would talk about soft skills becoming more important as you advance.

        1. “Surround yourself with people who cheer you on and challenge you to stretch beyond your comfort zone. Haters gonna hate; don’t make time for them.”

        2. I saw Tom Rickets give a similar talk once and he said that in the first half of your career your technical skills matter a lot while in the second half the relationships you have matter more.

        3. Sheryl Sandberg days literally this in Lean In and that book was hugely popular in schools and workplaces. I also heard non-famous women say it in real life.

          1. I didn’t say this advice was some niche secret, but a group of 22yos is probably not super likely to have read a professional advice book that was published when they were approximately 5th graders!

    2. How hard breaking in as a new grad, that you can do everything right and still struggle to find a position in your field. (2023 computer science masters grad here).

    4. When you are done for the day, don’t just go home and scroll on your phone endlessly. Invest in relationships with your peers, your alumni network, and with kind strangers who may become your friends. Going home puts a ceiling on your growth. Doing something with a human sows the seeds of your future.

    5. For a similar thing I said not to let the haters get you down and that it was possibly to get a job that uses your skills and make a good impact and pays actual money, but you have to be strategic about it. I figured it out, but it would have been helpful for someone to be supportive of this in the beginning

    7. If you’re involved in hiring junior/new grad roles, talk about what you look for

    8. A common issue I find with new grads, mostly those who went straight through college and grad/law school without taking a couple of years off to work in a real job, is that they do not ask themselves how they can be useful, they only ask what the job can give to them. So tell the students to look for opportunities to add value, because it’s through hands-on work that you really learn the business.

  12. I know I should just stop reading, but the news cycle over the past few days is just devastating. Shooting at Brown, Bondi Beach Hanukkah Massacre, Reiner double murder, the President’s response to the murder, a Professor at MIT was shot. Tips for ignoring the news? or at least coping with it better?

    1. Ignoring the news means ignoring it. Don’t look at it. Disable notifications or whatever on your phone. Don’t open social media. Pretend it’s the 90s.

      1. This is a good point. You’re informed op. You know the news. You don’t have to keep absorbing the takes of every pundit and podcaster.

    2. I subscribe to my local newspaper, the Economist, the Atlantic, and the NYT. When times get bad (like right now), I only read the local newspaper. Although this week that backfired, because a kindergartener in my state just got killed by a bus. But usually it works.

      1. Yes, in my hometown: a 16” drainage pipe got replaced with a 21” drainage pipe, a sandwich shop is opening “sometime,” a woman celebrated her 100th birthday, the city is preparing their snowplows for stormy weather, etc. ❤️

      2. I don’t remember posting this, but I could have! These are my exact reading habits too.

    4. Log out of/uninstall/unsubscribe from whatever app or account you are using to read the news. If you don’t want to feel completely out of touch, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Current_events or similar.

      If it helps to get some perspective, maybe read some critical perspectives on media and how much effort goes into exploiting ordinary human psychology to get people to keep reading? (Basically we are wired to feel like information about threats will make us safer, but there’s a point where we’re not making ourselves safer with the information, or we’re actually substituting the doomscrolling for taking steps that could improve problems in the world.)

    5. I can’t take another story on the Reiner murders, but I am so, so curious about how the Brown shooter has nothing but fuzzy pictures. It’s not like he’s out in the boondocks. But I keep checking back, hoping there is an update. Because if not, someone who’d do this is still out there.

      Also, the TA said that the shooter said something but he couldn’t understand it. No one else seems to have said anything. Was it mumbled? Not in English? Something else? I get that it was chaos, but usually this gets amplified / clarified. The nothingburger going on in Providence is a head-scratcher. Maybe there are some True Crime Moms out there who are on it, because it seems like this one is getting away.

      1. To be fair, all of RI is kinda the boondocks. I say as someone who studied in RI.

    6. For me, it’s a mix of choosing alternatives, and achievable goals that help me limit media. For example, having 30-40 podcast episodes downloaded, some content on my libby app, curating my reddit bubble with stuff like gardening and cooking subreddits, and having a few phone games too. So when I reach for the phone out of bad habit, I have a bunch of different things to redirect to, other than news websites.
      The other piece that I find useful is achievable goals, for example no news this weekend. That makes it easy in the moment to say ‘oh I can catch up on news later, but I won’t ruin my weekend with this’ and just move on. I’m overall a moderator (vs other people who are abstainers).

    7. Put your phone down and give yourself permission to become engrossed in something that nourishes you. The news will continue to happen whether you are monitoring it or not, and you can always catch up on it later.

  13. Rotator cuff injury, here. My friend is an ortho PA in another city. She did a quick read of the MRI results (just the summary, didn’t review images) and said it’s 100% surgical and PT won’t help pre-surgery. Official follow up with my ortho surgeon is this Tuesday but I’m trying to get a head start assuming the doc says the same.

    I’m in Boston. This place is flush with some of the best doctors in the world. While I’m not a baseball pitcher looking to make a triumphant comeback, I would like to have a really strong surgeon. I picked my current ortho practice a little randomly and due to convenience, but the doc was randomly assigned by the practice. He may be sufficient, perhaps even excellent, but a recommendation or further diligence would make me feel better.

    So, how do you figure out if your doctor is adequate? Or, does anyone have recommendations in Boston by random chance? I’m going to start pinging my own network for references since it’s a somewhat common injury/surgery. Ortho PA friend didn’t have suggestions and I don’t want to push her to provide medical advice or further input. She very willingly read my MRI but want to leave it at that.

    1. Team doctors for professional sports teams are likely to be quite good. Quick Google search led me to the team ortho for the Red Sox, you could likely look for the ortho for other sports teams and see what their availability is. They do surgeries for non-team people, too.

      1. i have a longer reply stuck in mod, which basically says this. my dad had shoulder surgery in houston by one of the Astros doctors

    2. poke around in your network. my dad came to my city to have this surgery and i asked a few friends who are physicians, as well as our local facebook group which has a lot of doctors in it. also- make sure you find a shoulder/rotator cuff person. like someone who specializes in that. realize that medicine, especially in these larger centers, is not like it used to be. many of my dad’s follow up appointments were with PAs rather than the doctor himself. You want to make sure you select someone not too ‘green,’ but also not someone who is on their way out. He went with the practice that provides medical care to the Astros. Also take into account the facility where the surgery will be performed.

    3. Do you belong to any local FB groups? Also in Boston and I can think of at least 2 groups I’m in where a question like this would be appropriate to ask.

    4. Take the sports doctors first. You want the person who has helped baseball pitchers make comebacks.

  14. Maybe a controversial topic – how often do you get crushes if you are married? I almost never do (17 years married) but have one now, and I keep telling myself it’s normal. Zero interest in getting to know him better or acting on it, just see him at the gym and find myself overly aware of him.

    1. Finding someone attractive is normal. Thinking seriously about acting on that attraction isn’t.

      Remember that you don’t have to deal with that person’s family, negotiate cleaning the bathroom, see their dirty socks on the floor, etc. You don’t know what they’re like when a pipe bursts in the basement. When you only see the polished, public facing version of that person it isn’t an accurate comparison to your spouse. If you’re not acting on those feelings no harm done, but of course it’s easier to find random gym guy attractive.

      1. +1 This is why crushes are fun. They’re fantasies. They don’t do anything bad, hurtful, or annoying, and you get to fill in the gaps — which are vast– with a fantasy relationship/kiss/connection/whatever. No vulnerability required, and a little excitement when you see them.

    2. Only once in my relationship, before we were actually married I think, when I was away from my then-boyfriend for a month. We have been together 18 years (HOW?) and married for 15.

    3. I get crushes at the same rate I did before I was married. Usually inappropriate crushes, so I wouldn’t act on them even if I were single. It’s sort of fun to think about, reminds me I still got it, or at least I’m trying to still have it!

    5. So I think you’re normal. Especially the part about not acting on it.

      But as a 49 yr old, I can’t say that I encounter many men in the 45-55 yr old range that are my peer group that are particularly attractive specimens of humanity. My own DH included; he just happens to be my not particularly attractive specimen and I love him for it.

    6. I have yet to have a crush on anyone else since I have been with my now husband (13 years). I have had many instances of noting “hmm, that is an attractive man” – but it was never a crush, just an observation that someone is good looking. I don’t know what would be considered normal here though!

  15. Anyone use a paper planner for personal goals/reflection? I have in the past and think I’d like to try it again, but getting hung up on what planet to get/layout to use. I used to make the layouts myself bullet journal style, but I’ve got a toddler so if there’s something that has a good layout already it could save me some time/help me stick with it. Any recommendations?

    1. I love paper and have a fresh book each year–though I wish I could find a cute, dates in multi-year planner. I use it for goals, appointments, as a journal, etc. There are lots of options for layouts, I would suggest searching for something similar to how you use to design your bullet journals. (Image search planner layout or similar to get an idea.)

    2. Silk and Sonder doesn’t require any doodling. You can just add labels to their layout for that month, and if you aren’t a colored pen person, they include colored stickers. I am not at all artistic so it worked for me. They have daily suggested topics for reflection and monthly themes. I find they make planning calming instead of daunting.

    3. I like the passion planner. I don’t really have passion but I like the layout and paper. I’ve been getting one for probably 7 years.

    4. Check out Sterling Ink — small business that’s woman- and minority-owned. I use their Common Planner (they have a couple different layouts/types) and the quality is excellent. I’m a consultant and have had a shocking number of clients comment on how much they like my planner! They have reflection space but also notebook paper built in.

  16. People who wear business clothes at least 3x a week – what profession are you in and where do you buy clothes from?

    Between offices becoming more casual + WFH I feel like this is becoming uncommon. Many of my friends don’t own a single suit right now.

    1. I love this question! I am a lawyer, I usually buy clothes from Ann Taylor or Amazon. I wish I had a larger budget lol. But with 2 kids in daycare at the moment that doesn’t make sense for me. I rarely wear jeans to work, I don’t necessarily need a suit but I usually wear black pants/nice shirts and blazers.

    2. lawyer. Jcrew/jcrew factory (surprisingly more from factory than regular j crew lately), Talbots, and Ann Taylor mostly. Occasionally Brooks Brothers, though a lot of their stuff doesn’t work with my body type. I don’t need suits as often as I used to and haven’t bought a new suit since Covid, though. Mostly pants + blazer, and the blazer is really more because my office is cold than I need to wear one these days. I really like the look of The Fold’s clothes, but have yet to order any since they’re online only in the US because I don’t want to play the order/return roulette trying to figure out my sizing.

    3. Litigator at a large firm with in-office business casual dress code. I am sometimes client-facing and also attend court proceedings, plus I generally find a more professional dress to be easier to navigate.
      I buy clothes from Ann Taylor, BR, J Crew, Brooks Brothers, and Bloomingdales generally.

    4. I have clothes that I wear primarily/only for work, but none of them are a suit

    5. Academic medicine. All the same places as *before* — Nordstrom, AT, BR, Boden, WHBM, MMLF.

    6. Law. I’m a litigator who still has to dress for court hearings, depositions, and client meetings. I tend to purchase from the department stores like Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and Saks (brands like Hugo Boss, Max Mara, Theory), or The Fold.

    7. I’ve commented before that the more senior you are, the less likely you’re in a matching suit for interviews — and that applies to Big Meetings too where men are in matching suits. Interesting jackets have taken over for Big Meetings and similar.

      1. This doesn’t seem to be true in law. The senior female partners still wear suits for court, depositions, etc.

      2. I think this is more of a generalization because the last few years suits have been back in style. I’m in the csuite and regularly wear them, but they’re more creative and interesting and not the basic black of my early career days.

    8. Comms/marketing. I buy most of my stuff at JCrew, Ann Taylor, and Banana. Both regular and Factory versions.

  17. Has anyone seen a work dress recently that:

    – is not plain black or plain navy blue. Black with some white details would be good

    – would be good for a pear shape

    – could be worn with various blazers etc

    I’m looking for a workhorse dress that is versatile but not boring

    1. Somethin like this?
      https://www.macys.com/shop/product/karl-lagerfeld-paris-womens-piped-trim-fit-flare-dress?ID=22829375&pla_country=US&CAGPSPN=pla&trackingid=&m_sc=sem&m_sb=Google&m_tp=PLA&m_ac=Google_Womens_PLA&m_ag=&m_cn=GS_Women%27s_Dresses_PMax_PLA&m_pi=go_cmp-20388296366_adg-_ad-__dev-c_ext-_prd-198913950458USA&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20383083966&gbraid=0AAAAAD-Tw4IGCvkjcjMMxSUL_6AGAHuio&gclid=Cj0KCQiAxonKBhC1ARIsAIHq_ls0H_qQCNlUAAZdHNF-jMFm2IJXwPgoTSgn9-QwRiVfPpHC4Xtih70aApqJEALw_wcB

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