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262 Comments

  1. The newest field of the law is called “fashion law” – does anyone practice in that field? I am thinking it would be great to combine one’s knowledge of copyright and trademark law with one’s special interest and knowledge in clothing design, construction, etc. and then to roll up sleeves and start ot practice in this new field. Maybe impossible outside of NYC and LA? Does anyone know?

    2. If you’re interested in the field, Fordham has a fashion law institute. It just began recently.

    4. Neat – I’m glad you posted this, I had never known it actually existed. Keep us updated on your findings and good luck getting into this! It sounds fun and I’d think more relevant as more and more start up designers using Etsy. Cool!

      1. The person who I replaced in-house transferred to a fashion company…I am totally jealous, as I work in a field that interests me very little (electronics).

  2. Question –

    I am getting married next year and having a very small, casual gathering. I would prefer a tea length wedding dress as opposed to floor length as I feel it looks less formal and will go with my theme more. My sister thinks they look juvenile and insists I will look like i am going to the prom.

    Has anyone had a shorter more casual dress for their wedding? Opinions?

    2. I think it looks silly when the bride wears a big, formal, poofy gown for a more casual wedding. Tea length sounds perfect to me.

      1. ^^ Agreed. My first (completely unreasonable) thought is, “the invitations said ‘nice casual,’ right? Am I underdressed? Is she overdressed?” :-)

    3. The only thing I would beware of with tea-length is that they could either (a) look 50’s if full-skirted or (b) create a frumpy silhouette if they hit at an odd point on your calf. Otherwise, I don’t read juvenile/prom into that at all!

      You definitely don’t have to go long, although I wouldn’t rule it out without taking a look at j.crew, etc, to see the more casual long options. Knee length is becoming more and more common now, too (and may be a good cost savings if you can get a bridesmaid’s dress in white).

    4. I think a shorter dress is better. A friend of mine always says that at a wedding, the bride is the only one in a costume and that makes it awkward. I wore a floor length dress to my casual wedding (J.Crew Sophia gown) and it was a little awkward – it’s one of the few things I would do differently.

      1. I totally agree with this. I had a small, casual wedding where my husband and his groomsmen wore suits. I would have looked ridiculous in a big dress – exactly as if I was in a costume and everyone else wasn’t. My dress – which was actually a bridesmaid’s dress from a bridal shop – was floor length, but not at all poofy and relatively simple in design. Tea length sounds fine to me, the only thing I would caution is that on some people, tea length dresses cut off at the widest point of the calf and make them look stumpy. OP, as long as you choose the right dress for you, it shouldn’t matter what your sister thinks. I have seen beach and garden weddings where the bride “just had to have” the big dress with a long train/veil and it really looks ridiculous in the pictures. It really does look like pictures of a nice party where the bride mistakenly showed up in costume.

      2. My sister wore that dress for her tiny wedding and it worked perfectly for her, but I think it would have been out of place if the wedding had been any more casual than it already was. In this case, the groom had on a suit, but if he were in more casual attire or the ceremony were on a beach, I think a tea length or even cocktail length dress would be more appropriate. I always think it is a bit silly to see brides at casual beach weddings in the frou-frou floor-length gowns while all the other women are in sundresses and the groom is in a hawaiian shirt and slacks.

    5. Yep. I had a very casual wedding… tea length skirt and top. I looked great. It was perfect for us and our wedding.

    7. I have a wedding question, too. How do you cut your guest list? Or get your parents to cut their list (friends, coworkers, extended family)? We are trying to keep it to 150. Will my distant cousins really be offended not to be invited, when I haven’t seen them in years? I find it hard to believe that people wouldn’t understand.

      1. If you’re paying for your own wedding, it wouldn’t have occurred to me that your parents had a say in who gets invited to your wedding. I certainly can’t fathom inviting your parents’ co-workers, unless they are specifically family friends you grew up with or something like that.

      2. If your parents’ friends don’t live in the same city as you, it may help to keep in mind that many of them will not attend, and many will just send a gift. I think my husband’s parents added about 25 couples to our list, but maybe only 3-5 of them actually came (since his parents were giving us a fairly large sum towards the wedding, I didn’t feel like I could tell them to cut people). For them, I think part of it was that they had been invited to the weddings of many of these peoples’ children, and they wanted to reciprocate.

        If they do live in the same city as you and your parents are paying, I don’t know that there’s much you can do, beyond making sure they are aware exactly how much each additional person will cost them.

      3. You need to come up with some (albeit somewhat arbitrary) bright-line rules. I chose not to invite people who lived nearby but had never met my fiance – I figured we couldn’t be that close if the friend had not met up with me during the three years we were dating. Family is different – fortunately, mine is not so big. This may sound weird, but I think if you need to cut off a group of people, I would say you cut off co-workers because seriously, after I left BigLaw, I haven’t been in touch with any of them.

        1. Thanks for all the advice! I am feeling less stressed about it after going through with my parents and understanding why they wanted each person and how likely it is that each person would attend, and they are paying, so I know I have to be more flexible. As far as coworkers, I am in a one year clerkship, and I do not feel like I need to invite coworkers, but I might if RSVPs come back and we have space, because it would be more or less local for them.

      4. Keep in mind that not everyone you invite will actually come. I think the general rule (although I may be wrong) is to expect 2/3 of the people you invite to actually attend. The larger the list the smaller this number will get. It will get even smaller if many guests live out of town.

        Although I’m sure that your wedding is very special to you, it’s not so special to everyone else you might invite. Some coworkers, distant relatives, etc. may be relieved not to be invited.

        1. Be cafeful with this, though! I just got married in October and my husband and I wanted to have a small wedding of about 80 so we invited 110, but all but 6 of the invited guests came to the wedding! We were glad so many people wanted to come and very happy to have them there, of course, but it did increase our catering bill pretty significantly.

      5. When I was married the second time, we only wanted 30 people so it was really tough! I did have to finally call my mother and tell her to stop inviting people to my wedding (aunts and uncles and cousins I hadn’t seen in years.) She thought I was being uptight and probably still does, but she wasn’t paying anything for the wedding and she honestly did not realize how small we really wanted to keep it.

        For deciding what friends were invited, I decided that if I hadn’t seen the person socially in a year, unless there were extenuating circumstances, I didn’t invite them.

        It worked out well, we got the very small wedding and intimate fun party we wanted, and I have no regrets.

      6. A trick we did was I did my list, husband did his and parents did theirs… roughly 80 people were on at least three lists, then people on my and husbands list, then on parent & child’s list…. we ended up with no single parent list guests. When MIL started her temper tantrum, we just explained we ere celebrating our wedding and wanted our friends and loved ones… she was free to have a dinner party and invite who she wanted……

    8. Since I was a kid, I’ve always dreamed about a tea length dress for my wedding day. Rock it. You’ll look great.

      If you’re interested in vintage-style, ModCloth.com is great for inspiration.

    9. I was at a casual (summer) wedding where the bride wore a white sundress from Talbots. She looked great, and every knew she was the bride. If you’re worried it will look too casual, maybe a short veil, or some other kind of headdress, could dress it up a little.

    10. I wore a tea length dress for my very informal beach wedding – loved it. Mine was sort of fifties-ish (fitted bodice, circle type skirt) but not too poufy – hit right around the knee and I went barefoot. IMHO, it’s a fresh, contemporary look.

    11. Wear something you love, and if you love something tea length, it will be perfect for YOUR wedding. I wore a tea length dress to my small wedding, and it fit the occasion. Plus, it was very flattering on me, so I felt really good in it, and that’s the most important thing. It was actually a very pale “blush” pink, and I thought that looked better on me than white or ivory. Look for a style that flatters your body type, and makes you feel wonderful. I friend of mine wore a gorgeous bright green tea length dress for her outdoor garden wedding, she looked great (it looked incredible with her red hair) and no one minded that she wasn’t wearing a formal wedding dress. So you don’t even have to limit yourself on color. Have you read any of Jen Lancaster’s books? She wore a black tea length dress to her Las Vegas wedding, I’ve seen a picture of it, it was a beautiful dress. But black would obviously not be for everyone.

      1. I have not heard of Jen Lancaster, but I am glad so many Corporette’s are in agreement with my decision! I know it’s my wedding and it shouldn’t matter what others think, but it is sort of hard to hear a close friend/family member tell me I am making a huge mistake when I feel like it will be more flattering and occasion appropriate.

        I actually really like the 50’s style look (not too crazy poofy though!) and can really see myself rocking it with a little lace bolero and my grandmother’s pearls (although I’ll be careful not to make it too constumey of a vintage look). I am pretty petite, and my calves are actually very tiny compared to my thighs, so no worries there! I think knee length or tea length will look better on my smaller, shorter frame.

        Thank you all!

        1. I’m very petite too and never wear long dresses which is why I didn’t want a long wedding dress. The long dress I ended up wearing was fine and pretty, but a short dress would have been much more “me.”

          Your sister will get over it. But you might not if you end up giving in to her wishes at the expense of your own.

    12. It’s your wedding and you should do what you want. I wanted to wear a short and unconventional dress for my very small desert wedding, but I let my sister and mom bully me into a more traditional dress (mostly because I was so sick of the wedding planning process and just wanted people to leave me alone). I still regret not sticking to my guns.

      1. funny, that’s precisely what our best man wrote on the hood of our car … “It’s your wedding, do what you want.” All of our parents kept saying that and then making permanent decisions about everything without consulting us. Kudos to you and other, contemporary, Corporettes for managing your own wedding! Yes, we just celebrated our 25th anniversary…

    13. I’ve been to a few weddings where the bride wore tea length. Where what you want.

      In response to some of the other posters, I have no problem with brides who wear anything from poofy ballgowns to white bikinis. No matter the venue. It’s the bride and groom’s day and they can wear absolutely anything they want.

    14. Though I would, and did, avoid any dress with “prom-ish” overtones in either its fabric or shape, a shorter dress can be beautiful for a less formal wedding. I wore a knee length ivory brocade sheath from Ann Taylor and Stuart Weitzman heels in a pale bronze color. Check out regurlar retailers as well as “event” and bridal sources – you might be surprised. I know someone who got married in an ivory silk sheath from BB – loaded it with pearl necklaces and strappy heels and looked wonderful. I am currently in looooove with the Wonderland dress at Peruvian Connection and wonder if something like that is what you have in mind. [ Sadly, I have no need whatsoever for this dress, though I love it so, so maybe some other Corporette would have a use for it? ] [ And no, I have no connection to Peruvian Connection – just keep drooling on my computer screen when I pull up a pic of this dress!]

    15. A friend of mine wore a what was basically a blue sundress to her casual, informal wedding, and it was an awesome time. She only caught hell from some of the older relatives there, but I’m afraid that pretty much happens about *something* no matter what you do.

    16. You could also consider playing with color. I had a small (30/40 people) casual wedding and wore a floor length dress, but it was green (my fav color – think calla lily stem green), which made it seem more casual I think than it would have looked in white.

    17. I think tea length would be beautiful. I initially wanted to go that route for my beach wedding but couldn’t find anything just right. I ended up absolutely falling in love with a dress that was floor length and a traditional a-line. The style was simple though–organza and had ribbon trim around the base. It actually was harder to find a dress without a ton of sequins, beading, etc. than I had anticipated. I ended up getting my dress at David’s Bridal of all places. (My shoes cost almost three times as much!).

      Anyway, just a tip to not rule out any stores or styles outright. Sometimes the less “high-end bridal boutique” you go, the more options you will find. And sometimes “less frou frou style” can be achieved in many ways.

    18. I had a tea-length dress from BCBG that was ivory with dark ivory embroidery all over it. I loved it and no one said anything negative.

  3. Tea length would be fine just make sure to pay close attention to where on your leg the dress hits. I’ve seen some mid-calf lengths that I think look a little frumpy. There are also many casual floor length dresses. Don’t count them out.

    1. I had a small not so formal wedding, and wore a not so fancy floor length dress. Worked well for me. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with tea length at all, but just put in my agreement here.

  4. I came back to work from maternity leave a couple of weeks ago but my baby is not taking the bottle and cries a lot and won’t nap because he is hungry. We introduced the bottle early enough, tried various techniques and bottles, and we’ve been persistent but he’s not getting any better. I am debating whether I should try and work fewer hours or work from home as a temporary solution but my partners are all older males and, while I think they’ll be open to any arrangement, I worry how this will change their impression of me. I’m a senior associate hoping to make partner in a few years (I have enough years under my belt but I lateralled to my firm only about a year ago). Any advice is appreciated.

    1. Who is giving the baby the bottle? With both of my little people, they wouldn’t take the bottle from me, initially. Is the baby in daycare, or in-home care? That person should be the only person, other than Dad, giving the baby the bottle until he/she understands. But some babies simply prefer to nurse….
      Are you still night nursing – (not sure how long your leave was from the post)? I have heard of mom’s continuing to to night nurse, so that the child’s eating schedule is flipped (long feeding break during the day, versus at night, but that can be very tough.

      1. My nanny is watching him, but it’s hard for her because she is watching my other two kids at the same time. Yes, the baby has been “reverse cycle feeding” and wakes up a few times a night to eat. I don’t mind it as much as I thought I would, but I’m tired every morning.

        1. Got it….

          I’d have the nanny keep offering. You may have to manage the reverse feedings until you introduce solids at 4-6 months. Depending on how far out you are, I would not ask for an official reduction in hours that I had not previously negotiated, but would just manage my schedule so that I was working more from home, as able from a practice perspective. (I was in corporate finance, and I can mark up a document anywhere…)

          If you have more than 3 years before you are up, however, I’d ask to work from home for X amount of time, to help with the transition….

    2. I feel for you. This happened to a friend (a law firm partner) and it was emotional hell. But it did not last long. Just make sure that the doctor is comfortable with how much/when the baby’s eating (in my friend’s case, the doctor was completely unconcerned) and just wait it out. It will be awful for you but I doubt seriously this will last long. I wouldn’t completely change my work situation for this reason alone.

    3. If it becomes necessary, I think working from home is better than working reduced hours. To me, working from home says “I’m committed to my job and will work hard even while balancing family commitments” while working a reduced schedule says “family’s my priority and I’m on the mommy track.” At least that’s how it would be perceived in my office.

      1. While this makes sense to me, it is hard for me to work from home, when my home is a small apartment without a separate office room. Also, while I can technically work, I need to print out docs and I am greatly aided by my firm’s high speed printer. I am contemplating leaving work in the middle of the day once in awhile to go home and feed the baby – it sounds crazy I know.

        1. How far do you live from the office? I did this with my first, but his daycare was only 10 mins from my office. With second, they were home with nanny so not feasible…..

          1. Thanks for the feedback – I didn’t know anyone actually did this. I live about 10-15 mins. from my home so I can go and come back in maybe an hour, with parking and everything. It’s a big change for me though because normally I take public transportation to work.

        2. If you live close, I think going home to feed is fine. I have a coworker who lives close by (10 min) and goes home once or twice a day.

          1. My husband (our primary caregiver) brings our baby to me to nurse at lunch. He takes a bottle pretty easily so we only do it once a week, but it has worked really easily for us. We’ve nursed in chambers and all over town at different eating establishments. Once he got over nursing with a cover it has been really nice.

    4. My second kid would not take the bottle until 8 months. One day I left her with the sitter and a bunch of breast milk in bottles for 10 hours and she never ate!! She is 6 now and still quite stubborn. We just kept trying and at a year I stopped breastfeeding and she was eating other stuff and she was fine with the sippy cup. She did sleep a lot and grew healthily. I think you could either do reduced hours or work from home and in a year or even less you will be back to normal and it won’t be such a big deal. Good luck.

    5. This may sound silly, but is the person who is feeding your baby allowing the baby to play/ bond while feeding? While I don’t have children of my own, I have watched two smaller cousins grow up – both of them required a decent amount of cuddling, wrapping little fingers around hair, etc, in order to take a bottle from anyone.

    6. This happened to me. My nanny ended up feeding the baby with a spoon or a little cup. He just wouldn’t suck on a bottle.

    7. I’m a little fuzzy on the details. Is the bottle formula or breastmilk? I’m guessing breastmilk. I would say keep trying. You can also try spoonfeeding breastmilk or even sippy cups. The baby will eventually get the hang of it or move on to solids. Some babies are stubborn! It may only be a month or two before you can start some solids? I know that seems like an eternity. My baby hated formula which I needed to supplement because I couldn’t pump enough and my supply dropped when I got super busy at work. His weight gain was so-so until he was switched to whole milk at around 11 months and then he got back on track. I would try to work at home for a couple of months if you can. I would tell them what you are doing and what your plan is so they don’t think you are simply taking advantage of your situation or that it is open-ended.

      1. You might also have the nanny wear a blouse you’ve worn (or slip a blankie or dishtowel inside your pj top overnight if that feels weird to either of you, and have her put it across her chest when she’s feeding the baby.) If the baby can smell your nice, familiar smell he or she may settle down to feed more comfortably.

        Re: working from home, if you do it on Wednesday your milk supply will benefit – you can nurse all weekend, pumping as needed, and then nursing as needed mid-week will help keep supply and demand correlated.

        Also, you might call your nearest La Leche League leader for suggestions .

      2. It’s pumped breastmilk. How old do babies have to be before they can sip from sippy cups?

        1. Peds recommend starting sippys at 11 months, or at least mine did, and he is Mr. “The American Pediatrics Association Recommends” usually. However, if you can’t get the baby to drink any other way, a sippy might work. You’ve gotten great suggestions so far, and I don’t have any better advice about the bottle – some babies just won’t take it, or are extremely fussy about how they’ll take it. My son would only take it from one of the ladies in his daycare room, and his daddy. That was it. Me, my mom, the other ladies in the room, anyone else – forget it. It was a hardship but we made it through. Similar to what someone upthread said, my son started out stubborn at 6 weeks old and is still as stubborn as the day is long, to this day, so watch out! :) But your baby will live, and be fine, just like our babies are, although I know this is worrisome. Hang in there.

        2. some babies never get bottles — got straight from breast to sippy. If your babe is not taking to the bottle, you may want to buy a few different sippies to see if the will take those.

    8. Oh, I’m so sorry about this–you are not alone! My first baby did the same thing, and I was working up to 36 h shifts as a resident at the time. The best lactation consultant I talked with, told me to try every single bottle out there (as well as droppers, spoons, and cups–even the little expresso cups from Starbucks), and we finally found a single drug store bottle brand that worked a little. Even then, he mostly reverse cycled until 6+ months old. He would take 8 oz total during my 36h shift at work, and then nurse for the _whole_ 12h I had off.
      As long as Baby’s having wet diapers and growing (and a pediatrician and/or lactation consultant can be really helpful in reassuring you), then it’s just really really annoying and frustrating, but not unsafe. The only slight good part for us was that I had a terrific milk supply (b/c of the non-stop nursing at home) and a great frozen stash b/c of all the milk he didn’t drink early on. I would still keep trying (since it’s only been a couple weeks, although I’m sure it feels like more). Best of luck!

      1. OMG! I’m terrified that my 3 month-old is starting to do this reverse cycling too. She hates the bottle. At least I only work 8 hour shifts. But, I’m not sleeping much b/c of all of the nursing at night.

    9. I just wanted to say thank you to everyone here for responding to my post. We continue to try different things but knowing that so many of you went through the same thing makes me feel like this is not that uncommon a problem. Thank you for giving me some empathy and long-term perspective on things.

    10. One more suggestion – one of my kidlets also wouldn’t take a bottle at first, and so rather than nursing him at night, I would bottle feed him myself while pumping. At some point, he finally relented.

      1. Oh man, I feel you! DS has been on reverse cycle since I started back to work (he is 8 months old now, I’ve been back to work since he was 5 months old), he is one stubborn little guy! And yes, I am always tired, he wants to feed about every 2 hours at night. We are co-sleeping because otherwise I wouldn’t get any sleep….

        As for during the day, we were told that if he is hungry enough he will take the bottle (of expressed milk) and that ended up being true, although it took a few days of a very fussy/screaming baby. And yes, only 1 style of bottle worked.

        One more thought, if you have the funds for it, is to hire someone specifically to deal with the baby for the first year or so.

  5. I know their style isn’t for everyone, but Coldwater Creek is having a 50% off everything sale through the end of the year–there are a few interesting jackets I’ll probably buy to add to my casual-blazer rotation.

    1. I LOVE their knit jeans for travel. Very comfortable on planes and the darker colors still look polished.

    2. Two more sale alerts:
      – Dillards online has some ridiculously good aale/clearance prices on Anne Klein, Jones New York, Alex Marie (which is one of their house brands I believe), Ralph Lauren and some other workwear “designers.”
      – Lord and Taylor is also having a pretty decent sale, they have some good basic tops for under $20 and some Tahari suits for under $100, which then become even cheaper with the 20 percent off code that’s active right now.

    3. CC isn’t my style personally, but I know several people who love it, and I give gifts to them. So maybe I’ll pick up some gifts. Thanks for the heads-up!

      1. Louise, I hope this is not taken the wrong way, but I really liked when you posted under your ‘blog’ id so I could link back to your website and see what you and Sean were up to/where you were, etc. I could probably backtrack a little and find you but I’m wondering what happened (not to be nosy…just curious/miss the ‘window’).

        1. Suze, I’m glad you enjoy visiting our blog. I removed the link after there were some negative comments here about people promoting themselves or “always pushing their websites.” I think those comments were aimed mostly at a few people like Shayna, but I decided that I didn’t want to stand out of the commenting crowd by having that blue link in my name.

          Since the majority of commenters here are anonymous, it just seemed better to go along with the crowd a bit and at least be unlinked.

          As you know, the three upper fields in the comment form are remembered by the browser, so one time months ago when I wanted to ask a truly anonymous question, my temporary “Anon For This One” type name linked back to the blog. That was a bit embarrassing!

          For your reference, the blog is here:
          http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com/

          1. If I remember the back-lash had to do with someone who posted a comment blatently promoting and trying to get traffic to her blog.

          2. Thanks Louise. Well, I knew we were frequenting the same places – just drove thru A-cadia last nite on the way over to Jax for some biz this week! Freezing for Fla., no??

            JessC – Was Shayna the blatant blog promoter? I haven’t seen her here at all lately….too bad we can’t all just enjoy the community here…

          3. There were a few posters who would often post non sequiturs with a link to their blog. Those were the annoying ones – not people who actually posted substantive comments but also included a link to their blogs.

          4. Suze – Nah, it wasn’t Shayna (she was driven off because people seemed to find her annoying for other reasons :-/). Like Anonymous above, I remember a couple really random comments made with people linking to blogs/sites – likely trolls, IMO. I also remember someone posting a comment and out-right plugging her blog. A few people responded that they found the shameless plugging annoying.

            Louise – Arcadia, huh? Looks ya’ll were pretty close to my neck-of-the-woods!

          5. I didn’t think the backlash was aimed at me, just didn’t want to get tarred with that brush.

            Yes, we’ll be in Arcadia for about a week. A bit of a backwater, but we like small towns. This part of Florida is so different from the coasts and the House of Mouse. We know lots of folks attending the rally, which makes it fun to catch up. Hoping the freezing weather ends soon!

  6. Has anyone heard back from any of the DAs offices in NYC about summer internships yet? I applied to several of them weeks ago and have yet to hear back. I’m wondering if that’s normal or if I should give up hope..

    On the same note, if I already applied to a (large) organization and have not heard back, is it advisable to apply again through the NYU career fair? Should I use the same cover letter then?

    1. On your second question, I would recommend applying to the NYU fair & then going to stop by their table, too. You never know when an in-person meeting will make a better impression than an interview conveys.

      As for the D.A. offices, they’re all on their own schedules (from what I recall Bronx and Queens usually go first, Manhattan & BK after). It doesn’t hurt to call their hiring depts & “check” on your application. It’s still very early — I assume you have not gotten your grades yet when you applied, so you may want to wait till you have your grades and then forward them your transcript, assuming the grades are worth bragging about. If not, just call or e-mail to check if they would like any additional info. Write something like, “I am very excited about the prospect of working at your office. I just wanted to check on the status of my application. Please don’t hesitate to let me know if you require any additional information. “

  7. Thanks to the rave reviews on Corporette, I bit the bullet and ordered a Clarisonic. This awful lijit search doesn’t return results from the comments of any posts, so any words of advice for someone who is using one of these device for the first time?? I am very excited about it!

    1. Love love love my Clarisonic.
      My advice would be to start with the brush for sensitive skin, even if you aren’t generally sensitive. It isn’t harsh, but it may take a few days to get used to using. Don’t be surprised if you see a little red-ness, like after a good facial, but it should not hurt, or look injured, so watch your pressure. Your aren’t scrubbing your face so much as letting the sonic loosen and lift the dirt, oil, dead skin etc… Once you figure out your timing needs etc, you can set it and not worry about it.
      I use mine once a day, at night, for good cleansing and then layering on my night moisturizer.

    2. Be careful and start out slow. I have very sensitive skin, and started out using it every day. Loved it at first, then my skin got irritated and abraded, and I had dry red scaly skin until it healed. Now I only use it twice a week , but I do have really sensitive skin (except my forehead, for some reason the skin there is tough and I can use it every day).

      1. This. It’s easy to overdo it at first. There’s also an effect, which I heard about but did not take seriously, where when you first look at your face after using the Clarisonic, you see millions of wrinkles you previously never noticed. I nearly had a heart attack. But once you moisturize, it gets better.

        Start out with the sensitive brush, on the least amount of time, and work up from there. The instructions say to use it twice a day, but that chapped my skin, big-time. Once a day is enough. I am now using a regular face brush at the medium setting once a day and that’s plenty. My skin is super-clear now (thanks to both the Clarisonic and the DDF sulfur mask that I got after I saw raves about it here) and people think I’m a good 5 years younger than I am, regularly. I’ve had mine for a year and the expense was absolutely worth it, I haven’t “needed” a spa facial since.

        1. I love the DDF sulfur mask!
          Question about the clarisonic: do you have to use their stuff or can your own cleanser be used?
          Also, for those with break out prone skin, does the clarisonic make your skin better or just irritate it more? I have been having lots of little break outs lately & would love to get something that clears them or makes my skin better, but am wary of anything that may make it worse. Thanks!

          1. You absolutely don’t have to use the Clarisonic brand cleanser, which I thought was fine but overpriced. I use Lancome Creme Radiance or another cream-to-foam cleanser and it works fine.

            I have had breakout-prone skin since I was 12 and the Clarisonic has really, really helped, and also helped with my blackheads. You may experience a temporary increase in breakouts when you start using the Clarisonic (I think I read something about this?) but it should stop pretty soon.

          3. Also, you can get the Clarisonic Mia for less, if you don’t want to spend $300. Amazon has them for about $120. It’s what I have, and I’ve been happy with it. It’s smaller, and only has one speed, but seems to do the job. It makes my pores look smaller, and I tend to get these little bumps on my forhead, not acne, but really hard to get rid of. I had a dermatologist laser them off one time, and they came right back. This is the only thing I’ve found that works.

          4. I used to use a gel to foam soap my aesthetician recommended with mine but recently switched to using Philosophy’s “Purity” soap and still have great results. It’s very gentle.

        2. I LOVE my Clarisonic! I also prefer using it with a foaming face wash (Boots Expert Anti-Blemish cleanser from Target) because I think it works better with more “cushioning”. I am 100% certain that it helps with my acne, as the frequency, severity and duration of my breakouts have decreased since I started using it. I use it once a day, at night, before applying an AHA lotion followed by facial moisturizer.

    3. Interesting info on Clarisonic…I may have to bite the bullet on that too, thanks for sharing info.

      Re lijit search – I complained in an earlier post, I just HATE it – Kat, we want to be able to search comments! What exactly is the utility of lijit compared to the old word search thing?

    4. I bought one as a gift to myself, and I LOVE it. Although I agree with everyone who says to start slow with it. I used it twice a day when I first got it, and then when the weather turned bitter cold, I had to switch to night only because my face was bright red and super dry all day. I also started using retin-as at night, and so far so good!

      Also, note that it may not make you look like a supermodel right away. You may need to use it continuously for at least a few weeks before you start to get really noticeable, lasting results. After the first time I used it, I could feel my skin get super soft and smooth, but my blackheads didn’t really start to reduce until the second week. And that was after a whole bunch of new ones popped up! So it might get worse before it gets better, but once it gets better then you’re golden! :-)

      1. I have always had blackheads on my hose and nothing gets rid of them. No cream, facial, tool, or wash has ever made a difference. Does the clarisonic help with these?

        I’m still in law school so I don’t have a ton of money and don’t want to invest in something so expensive unless its going to help. Can anyone attest to the blackhead clearing ability?

        1. Have you tried washing with oil? I make my own oil cleanser but you can buy one from Mac or DHC.
          I am usually very oily but this method has balanced my skin and really cleared out my pores

          1. I just checked out the MAC oil cleanser…is it a face wash or just to take off your makeup? A lot of the reviews say it’s awesome for taking off your makeup but you have to follow it up with a cleanser.

            FWIW I currently use the Neutrogena Liquid Cleanser (like the bar, only in liquid form), and it has taken everything off, even eye makeup.

        2. I can attest that it has definitely made my blackheads smaller so far. They’re not gone yet, but I have faith that they are on their way. Gross info – I’ve been told that my pores are abnormally deep, and the blackheads that are still there are ones that have been there for years. So this could be why they’re not gone yet. Maybe once the ecological balance of life that lives on my nose is disrupted enough they’ll go away.

        3. I have the same issue with my chin. There are tons of blackheads that aren’t very deep, but no products seem to help. I am hoping the Clarisonic does something to pull them out. I use the pore strips once a week, but they just come back right away.

        4. you may want to try a manual facial brush, you can get them at sephora for about $5. Its not quite as good as the clarisonic, but it definitely provides some benefit. It helped with my blackheads.

    5. I just ordered one as well based on the Amazon reviews- there is a lot of good advice on there, but you’ll probably have to read them for each model.

      1. I am so glad to read these positive comments re: Clarisonic. I *just* yesterday ordered one on a lark (and after reading reviews on Amazon). I’m really looking forward to receiving mine which I’m hoping will transform my dry & cracking winter skin!

    6. I hate to be the lone voice of dissent, but the Clarisonic did not make one bit of difference to my skin (a bit oily, prone to breakouts, large pores). I used it faithfully for many, many weeks – my skin never got worse, but it never got better, either. I finally gave it up.

      Just wanted to throw that out there. It really does seem to work wonders for many, but I am not among them. I hope it works well for you!!

      1. I will also share that a dear friend who is also a dermatologist was excited when we bought hers, used it regularly for quite a while, and saw no results (felt her skin got slightly worse, actually).

      1. I don’t get what the clarisonic brush does. Im not trying to be snarky, i have just never seen or used one. How is it different than exfoliating with a brush? Also, I am in my late 20’s and realizing that my skin is kind of dull. I’ve been thinking of using RoC retinol cream – does anyone have advice on the cream? Can you use the brush and cream together, or is that too harsh? TIA

        1. I think of the Clarisonic like one of those sonic toothbrushes, only for your face (and not really sonic, but you get the idea). It’s more than just an exfoliator, and it’s more gentle than using my scrub. For me, it supercharges my cleanser and cleanses my skin such that there is NOTHING left – no makeup, no moisturizer residue, no dead skin. I’ve found in the past few weeks that I’ve had to use less moisturizer and sunscreen because none of it evaporates – my skin is able to absorb all of it the first time around. Every time I use it I look like the day after I had a facial. :-)

          I use the brush and a Retin-A gel, but it doesn’t work for everyone. It depends on the sensitivity of your skin, and everyone’s sensitive to different things.

    2. Sometimes the store credit can’t be used online, although it can be used at Loft. It will say on the back of the card that they give you.

    3. Store credit cannot be used online, but it can be used at Loft, Ann Taylor Outlet, Loft Outlet, and Ann Taylor.

    1. I’m hosting a small-ish group of friends in the desert for NYE. I’m not nearly as good a hostess as I wish I was, and as of this moment I’m very stressed about how the group will work together. They are some of my favorite friends, and I think they’re all great, but they just don’t know each other yet. I’m hoping that if I provide them with enough drinks that’ll help, right? I’m planning a big pot of mulled wine and a make-your-own-hot-chocolate bar: a big pot of hot chocolate and a choice of “additions” like liquors, whipped cream, etc.

      Any party-throwing advice from my fellow Corporettes?

      1. something silly like pirate’s eyepieces or a bag of mustaches helps get everyone in the silly mood — and yes, liquor helps. you could always try team games like taboo or something…

      2. Last year we played 2009-themed games. We played Celebrity, with all people who were prominent in 2009, and Charades, with 2009-related clues. I prepared all the clues in advance and let everyone else play while I just watched. It was fun.

        In case you’ve never played Celebrity, you just write down the names of various celebrities on scraps of paper and throw them in a bowl. You play in partners or teams. When it’s your turn, you draw a name and you can say a one-word clue about who it is. Then your team has to guess. When they guess, you draw a new one, and so on, until your turn is up (normally we go 60 seconds per turn). If time runs out and your team hasn’t guessed the celebrity, you throw it back in; you keep the scraps of paper that they guessed correctly. Once all the clues have run out, the team with the most correct guesses wins a prize.

        You could also do 2010-themed taboo, pictionary or trivia.

        1. I’ve also had good luck with board games, but you do need to know your audience there.

          Other bonding-type activities – fondue or raclette, if you’re fond of cheese. You can do the former with chocolate too, but possibly not the latter…

  11. I need advice. I received a gorgeous pearl torsade necklace for Christmas, kind of like this but more white:

    http://www.saksfifthavenue.com/main/ProductDetail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524446255792&afsrc=1&site_refer=BZR002&srccode=cii_10043468&cpncode=22-92185043-2

    I am an attorney in a government office and make a lot of court appearances. Would this be too showy for a public employee or for court? I can picture it on other women but I’m not sure if it would be too much for me. I would probably pair it with one of my fairly conservative suits.

    1. I think it’s great, and wouldn’t hesitate to wear it as you suggest. I’m in BigLaw, not government, and wouldn’t bat an eye if I saw a gov’t attorney wearing it.

    2. I think it CAN look great, but it really depends on your frame and the neckline it’s paired with – I know what you mean about looking too showy. Wear it with something with an open neckline – a scoop neck or deepish v-neck, and keep everything else abou the outfit very simple. Then look in the mirror, and see what you think.

    3. That’s a beautiful necklace. I’d suggest wearing it with an outfit you’d wear to work and take a picture of yourself to see how you wear it. It might not look as bold as you think.

      1. I agree — that is a beautiful necklace, and I think if framed with the right outfit (particularly under a suit) it would not look showy. Wear it in good health! :)

    4. It is SO beautiful! Wear it! I would like one just like it, but I can only DREAM about having something SO nice for now.

      I work in the private secter, but it should not make a difernece.

      Anyone who says it depends is really JELOUS. Be proud you have a REAL man who gave this to you. My Alan is a wimp for the cheep costume jewlery he paid mabye $15 for. I am MAD at him.

      1. Oh Ellen, don’t you know by now that Alan ISN’T a real man, since you and he are apparently one and hermaphroditic?

      2. I think that is the first positive thing Ellen/Alan has said that was not about her/himself.

    5. Unless you’re a fairly well-framed person, I think this has the tendancy to be ovewhelming and too big in proportion. I have a very, very similar necklace, though a bit smaller. I can’t wear it to work, no matter what I wear, because I’m just too small. If I were a bit broader I think I could pull it off – I have seen larger (and I don’t mean necessarily overweight, but framed larger) women pull it off very well.

    6. It looks gorgeous, but I see your concern about it being a bit showy for work wear (due to the gold and bright color).
      Maybe start off by wearing it inside a suit with a button-up shirt underneath? That way only a little bit of the necklace will show, right around the center of your neckline but not all around.
      As you get comfortable you can start to wear it with more open necklines.

      1. I have a similar (but costume) necklace from J Crew. I regularly wear mine to court just like that – with a suit with a button-up shirt. I was surprised at how toned down it looks when most of it is covered at the top of the neckline. I wouldn’t think twice if I saw a government attorney wearing it. I’ve also worn mine with a v-neck sweater, and I think that works fine too, although it is a little more bold (if you are worried).

  12. Ladies — I need help finding a new bag.

    I tried looking this weekend, spent maybe 2 hours at various stores, and came away with nothing.

    I’m really clueless about handbags; I want something nice (not cheap looking), but I don’t want to spend more than 200-300. The bags I was most attracted to were Coach but I refuse to buy Coach because of the (perhaps silly) reason that I detest the “C” logos and don’t want to look like an 18-yr-old with my very first grown-up bag. I looked at other designer brands but nothing really stood out to me.

    Do you all have any general suggestions? I realize this is very open-ended! Other than the price range, I’m looking for something classy yet not too stuffy or unfashionable; medium-size, not like those giant bags everyone has these days; no recognizable logo unless very unnoticeable; simple but luxe. Where should I start?? Thank you!

    1. With you on the Coach thing. I was actually in there hunting for a new, simple but feminine work tote last weekend, and was totally turned off by the merchandise — everything was either too small for a laptop, rugged looking or bright colors, or had the ubiquitous giant C’s — even on the leather shoulder bags, which used to be safe!

      Check out the Kate Spade website – they have lots of bags on sale right now, mostly with small/no logos. I think you can get extra % off for signing up for their emails.

      Dooney & Burke also makes lots of bags that are plain leather — Macy’s and Bloomie’s have the best selection near me.

      Haven’t looked at them recently, but Brooks Brothers sells a line. Some are a bit matronly but it seems they’ve been trying to get some more modern styles in stores recently… maybe the same goes for their bags.

      1. I bought an MK Michael Kors bag last year that I just love! I bought the camel Hamilton bag: http://www.michaelkors.com/store/catalog/templates/P6.jhtml?itemId=cat8520&parentId=cat8501&masterId=cat000000&cmCat=&page=&view=all&filter1Type=&filter1Value=&filter2Type=&filter2Value=&filterOverride=&sort=&navid=viewall. I’ve gotten about a million compliments on it, and it goes with everything. I couldn’t be happier with it. And it is directly in your price range!!!

        1. Actually, now that I think about it, I’m pretty sure I discovered the Hamilton bag based on a Corporette’s suggestion!

        2. Ditto on the camel Hamilton bag. I have the tote version (there are two sizes). It goes with absolutely everything and is extremely sturdy! However, Cole Haan is a fantastic go-to as well.

        3. I like the style of that one! How big and how heavy is it? Unless I’m missing it, the site doesn’t even have the dimensions, and I recall that some MK bags I looked at in stores seemed heavy. Also – If I take off that longer shoulder strap can it fit comfortably on my shoulder with the 2 shorter ones?
          Thanks for your help!

          1. Yes, I can carry the bag with the two shorter straps (in fact, that’s how I always carry it). I would guess mine is about 14″ square, although a previous poster noted that there are two sizes. I don’t find it particularly heavy (at least as compared to other leather bags), but I am sure I’ve lost perspective after years of carrying similar bags. I saw them at Nordstrom last time I was there, so you could always go pick one up and see if you like how it wears. Overall, I’ve been very happy.

        4. I have the gray and black MK Hamilton bag, I love them. FYI if you have united miles you can “buy” the black one for about 25k miles.

      2. I just ordered this black tote from Brooks Brothers, and it’s on sale, if you are still looking for a work tote. I agree on Coach, I used to love Coach bags, the classic leather ones, not the fabric logo ones, but I just checked their website and didn’t see one bag I would want. They don’t really have any classic styles anymore.

        http://www.brooksbrothers.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Merchant_Id=1&Section_Id=473&Product_Id=1469025&Parent_Id=1034&default_color=BLACK&sort_by=&sectioncolor=&sectionsize=

          1. That one is gorgeous. I saw it in the store, too, and it looks much better than the picture. Perfect bag to have for years!

          2. Yes, it really stood out to me in the store. I’d really like to get it closer to $150, but that might not be possible. Sigh!

    2. I would suggest checking out the Cole Haan selection on Endless. I love Cole Haan bags and many of them are simple and elegant. None have obvious logos. I don’t want to post a ton of links but here are a couple that stand out:

      http://tinyurl.com/24j6qrr (I actually have a Prudence bag in a slightly different style and it is gorgeous, the leather is so soft.)

      http://tinyurl.com/23zezss (a friend of mine has this bag and it is lovely)

      http://tinyurl.com/289k5gj (the fringe on the zipper should be removable)

      But those are just suggestions – there are 100s of choices on Endless.com, and also try 6pm.com for discounted bags and Cole Haan’s own site as well for more selection. Or go to a Cole Haan store. Oh, and if Nordstrom has the bag you want and you find it cheaper online, call them or bring a printout of the online price to the store and they will price match.

      As for other brands, I second the rec for Dooney and Burke’s non-logo bags. B Makowsky also makes some pretty elegant bags; although I’ve never owned one myself I have a friend that loves hers. And also check out Nordstrom Rack, Marshalls, Filenes, etc.

      1. Oh, and also, I am with you on not buying a Coach logo bag, but if you find a non-logo bag you love that happens to be Coach, just go for it. Some of their bags are lovely.

        1. I have a plain black leather Coach that is quite nice. The logo bags are over the top, but the leather ones hold up well and you can send them back for repairs if they start to fall apart.

          1. I’ve got a few of the leather Coach bags, and there are no logos or outward indication that they are Coach bags. I love them. I have the Penelope in both black and blue, in two different sizes (black is a little smaller, but still looks like a grown up purse and not the purse that 14 year olds get for Xmas from the fancy aunt just so they can have a Coach bag).

            I hesitated to capitalize random words in there, a la Ellen. It was a hard urge to overcome ;)

          2. I agree. I haven’t looked at coach in a while, but they usually have a number of classic bags that do not have logos. You may be better off looking on the website rather than in the store, because the stores often do not carry everything. My last bag was a coach that I carried almost every day for 5 years until I got sick of it. I hardly showed any wear over that period.

            My new bag is a Kate Spade, and I have been very happy with it so far, but have only had it for about 4-5 months.

          3. kellyn, your comment made me laugh. Two weeks ago, I was standing in a store with two small Coach bags in my hands, one pink and one purple, seriously considering them as gifts for my 13 and 15 year old nieces. I decided to pass on the bags, so I guess I just narrowly missed being a “fancy aunt!”

      2. Thank you for all the suggestions! I really like some of the Cole Haan ones, maybe will try one of those..

      3. Am I the only one who finds cole Haan bags expensively boring? I mean how old is that design? I remember my grandmother carrying something like that!

        I would get a brahmin bag only if I find a nice plain leather ones and not the croc print leather ones.

        1. “I mean how old is that design?”

          Old enough to be timeless. Obviously not everyone’s cup of tea.

          1. Expensively boring is what I look for in most of my bags & much of my clothing ;)
            I guess to each their own. For me, the “interesting” frills often just look tacky or dated, or, worse, just plain cheap. That’s not to say all do. But in the under $500 range, it’s far too many, in my humble opinion.

    3. Let me pipe in with my usual suggestion – Fossil! Some of their stuff is awful floral print canvas but their leather is soooo beautiful. Cruise one of their stores, it’s wonderful (I know I’m a loser but I just love leather bags).

    4. Someone posted gorgeous leather bags from etsy a few months ago in the $100-$200 range. I spent about a week coveting them and then deliberately lost the link because I couldn’t afford it. If anyone has that link, it might be perfect for what you’re looking for.

        1. Those bags are beautiful. I’ve been coveting one for months but haven’t had the money to spend. Does anyone have one that could comment on the quality?

        2. Yes! I think I’m going to ask for one as a law school graduation present…

          I’d also like to hear how they wear. I tend to use my bags hard.

    5. I was in a similar position a few months ago. I ran across a Ralph Lauren leather bag in Macy’s and fell in love. It was around $300, not too big, not too small, supple black leather with red canvas lining. I can’t seem to find a picture anywhere, but (at least when I was looking) they had some fantastic stuff at Macy’s.

      The other brand I really liked was Dooney and Bourke.

    6. I have a great Kate Spade bag that I’ve had for abouuuut three years- really lovely brown leather (that’s held up amazingly) with a great green leaf print lining. There’s just a name stamp on the leather, but it’s very inconspicuous and it holds a ton of stuff, but isn’t gigantic or anything.

      It’s vaguely reminiscent of this:
      http://www.katespade.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3839520&cp=1863844.3744578

      but it’s a bit boxier and doesn’t have any tassels. In any event, I highly recommend her leather bags!

      1. I think Kate Spade is perfect for an everyday bag, good quality, a nice brand but not flashy, and usually available at a discount at TJ Maxx or the like. I’m not a bag-oriented person at all but have really enjoyed my KS purse.

    7. Take a look at Tignanello. They have some very nice, basic bags in quality leather. The wear like iron and come in a wide variety of sizes and colors.

      Their website isn’t very useful, http://www.tignanello.com/ but I found a nice selection on eBags: http://www.ebags.com/brand/tignanello

      Macys and Dillards carries this brand if you like to touch before buying. Previous season styles often show up at the discounters like Ross and Marshalls, but the styles are classic enough that I wouldn’t be able to identify 2009 vs 2010 vs 2011.

    8. Thank you all for the helpful and non-judgmental suggestions! This has given me some good options to look into, and I don’t feel quite as lost as before.

      You know, the funny thing about Coach is that a small (tiny!) part of me does kind of want to have one of those “C” bags — partly because sometimes I think that if I’m going to spend a few hundred on a bag I sort of want people to know it and I would want to show it off, and partly because my parents would never in a million years have bought me something as frivolous as that when I was a teenager, and partly because some of them do look really nice and luxurious. I’ve had to had a stern talk with this part of myself recently. The rational side of me says that if I’m going to walk around advertising for some brand, they should pay me to do that, not the other way around. I wonder if anyone else here has these sorts of conflicts..

      1. sometimes I have those thoughts too. Where I grew up, all the girls had Guess jeans with the zippers and the question mark on the rear end. I desperately wanted a pair, and my parents, being sensible people without unlimited finances, refused. They were right of course, but I also don’t think they quite understood how badly I wanted to fit in, and what that represented to me.

        Now, as an adult, I don’t buy logo things, but I do enjoy certain luxuries. I have a beautiful pair of cole haan heels with a bridle detail on the peep toe. When I look down, I know what that detail represents, and it fulfills some of that pre-teen longing without being outwardly garish. So that’s where I solve that problem.

        I just wanted to acknowledge your feelings — it’s okay to want nice things.

      2. Actually, I may be one of the rare people here who don’t mind the Coach logo thing, it’s individual Coach designs I like or don’t like. I think some of the ways they use their logo are innovative and funky and interesting — giving a nice texture, for example, when the logo is embossed on suede. Some of their materials and colors are beautiful. And, Yes, brands are a kind of in-club and sometimes you feel like saying, I made it to the club!

      3. If you want a logo bag, I’d wait until you’re ready to buy your second “grown-up” bag. If you’re only going to have one nice, designer bag, it should be one you’re comfortable carrying everywhere, and Coach logos would be way out of place in a professional workplace. (And personally, if it’s logos you want, I’d wait until you could afford an LV bag. Now that’s quality.)

      4. Jenny-

        I have a love affair with Louis Vuitton, and have pretty much every logo they have, except Murakhami but that is because I can’t deal with the colors! Like what you like. Buy what you like! I don’t worry one iota if someone thinks its fake, thinks its unprofessional, or any of the other disparaging remarks you hear from some posters. I know its real, and I am who matters!
        You can’t control what others think, so why stress too much about it? In almost all cases, their thoughts are more about them, than you, and I don’t necessarily mean envy or jealousy.
        I don’t think of it as advertising for some brand, I think of it as carrying a fabulous handbag that makes me feel happy, and when I feel happy I am fearless, and when I am fearless, I am fierce!

        Happy New Year!

    9. I bought myself two kate spade bags on sale for my law school graduation present to myself a couple of months ago and am enjoying them. I wanted a fairly simple, plain design that wouldn’t go out of fashion, so I got one in black and then a turquoise one for fun (still a simple design, but a wonderful color).

      I also agree with the etsy suggestion above–I eyed those for a long time when trying to decide what I wanted to get but couldn’t get myself to buy something online from a non-established store. If anyone got one, I’d love to hear reviews.

      And though I’ve never bought any, I’ve noticed Banana Republic and Ann Taylor occasionally have nice-looking bags in the $100-200 range, but again, I’m not sure about the quality.

      1. I’ve had great experiences with BR bags. I know styles can really vary (and in fairness, it has been a year or two since I’ve bought one there now), but the few purchased lasted for years without showing wear. I’ve also been pleased to find details like metal feet on the base, good stitching around the handles, pretty good suppleness to the leather, etc.

        I know the price range is propably higher than you are shooting for right now, but my favorite bags of late are from Kooba or Tory Burch. You can sometimes get them on a good sale by signing up for their emails or falling into lucky timing on a post-season at Nordies.

  13. Ok, I should clarify — over-the-shoulder, not cross-body; medium size meaning big enough to carry a book and water bottle but no bigger.

    TYIA!!

    1. Have you looked at Brahmin bags? I have one, and it is fabulous. Very well made, and the satchel size is perfect for what you describe. Just google it. Also, mine has a handy removable, adjustable shoulder strap.

  14. Corporette reviews – I got some nice Xmas gifts and thought I would post – hope someone sees!

    LL Bean wellie boots and wellie warmers – AWESOME!! Will keep feet dry and even a little bit warm when it is not too cold out. :)

    Pendleton blazer in a tweedy brown – also AWESOME! I got my usual size (8) and it fits nicely. Sleeves could be a bit longer (I am tall) but it is okay and the fabric is really gorgeous feeling.

    Land’s End Canvas tweed donegal dress – not sure if I am going to keep this one. It is cute, but quite big/boxy/floaty, and I think it is too short for work. Too bad bc it is very good quality, nice zipper, fully lined etc.

    1. I just ordered myself some wellie warmers to go with the boots I got for christmas-glad to hear you like them so much. Also nice to hear the pendleton stuff worked out-I’ve got my eye on a couple of things.

      Thanks for the update!

  15. Ugh. I have a friend who recently bought both the coach bag AND the coach shoes in the silver gray with the logo. She loves them but I cringe a bit, especially when they are worn together…

    1. Silver/gray leather is very of-the-moment and makes for a nice accent piece. Totally agree that a bag AND shoes would be too much. I bought a pair of gray boots that I’m afraid will look dated next year, but I love them so much that I’ll just wear the heck out of this year.

  16. I have a question for our NYC Corporettes on suggestions for something to do in NYC–

    I’m traveling to NYC next week with my father and looking for something for us to do together one night (Thursday). Last time we were in NYC together we saw a show on Broadway one evening, it was pretty good but of course rather touristy. Does anyone recommend any particular shows, plays, etc, that are out now? We’re not exactly the symphony folk, but also not the “Lion King” type… something middle of the road? Any ideas would be appreciated! Thank you!!

    1. Some of my family members saw Billy Elliot on Broadway a few weeks ago. It’s about a father-son relationship. If you dad likes shows, he may enjoy that one.

      Something like Blue Man Group might be a good fit. Although certainly very touristy, too.

      1. Um, Billy Elliott’s a good rec if your dad is okay with an extremely campy, gay-themed musical with a score by Elton John. It’s a good musical, but my dad would be bored out of his mind.

        occasional poster – have you seen Spamalot yet? It’s fantastically hilarious and likely to appeal to all tastes.

        1. Spamalot closed a few years ago.
          Billy Elliott appeals to a wide variety, so not sure I agree with the assessment.
          Phantom is touristy but such a fabulous production & such a classic that I would say it’s def. worth seeing.
          Other good shows: A Little Night Music (Bernadette Peters & Elaine Stritch, Steven Sondheim musical, caution: a bit long). La Cage Aux Folles (essentially Birdcage the Musical, but very fun). Colin Quinn: Long Story Short (comedy one man show, produced by Seinfeld, essentially one man show history of the world. Funny & mildly thought provoking, could spur some fun conversation). Memphis (not a masterpiece, but good music & dancing. If your dad likes rock&roll and r&b, he’ll probably enjoy).
          Off broadway: Avenue Q (adult Sesame Street — not for every parent, but fabulous). 39 Steps (Hitchcock meets Monty Python, very fun). Blue Man (touristy but fun; have dinner at Indochine next door to round off the experience).
          Just FYI: you could also save some $ by going to a TKTS booth on day of the show & seeing what’s there. They sell tickets for same day evening shows & next day matinees. Great seats at 50% off. Usually many of the choices I mentioned above are available. There’s one in Times Sq but it has huge lines. Go to the one in the South St. Seaport — no lines. They have a website (google tkts) that explains all the ins and outs; they also have an iphone app so you can see what’s there on any given day.
          One last rec. if you can get a ticket — Merchant of Venice, with Al Pacino & Lily Rabe. Fabulous. Best Merchant production ever. If you guys are at all into Shakespeare, try to go.

          1. I second Avenue Q. Not for every parent, but if it’s your brand of humor, it is absolutely hilarious.

    2. I’m not sure how old your dad is, but my parents and I went to see Jersey Boys when they came to visit me and they absolutely LOVED it because it was music they grew up listening to (It’s about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons). We also managed to get tickets the same day, but I believe we went to the matinee. It’s touristy, but apparently a big hit with my parents’ age group (I enjoyed it as well, though I had no idea who Frankie Valli was until I actually heard the music and went, “Oh yea, I know these songs!”)

    3. Agree with Jersey Boys.

      I personally LOVE Wicked, and while my boyfriend was prepared not to come because he thought it would be too much of a “chick flick,” he ended up loving it too. It’s very well done.

      1. My parents also loved Jersey Boys. 39 Steps was a winner too, though mainly because Dad spent the next three hours complaining how it differed from both the book and the various films!

        They enjoyed Billy Elliot as well, but they had seen the film. Frankly, I find the accents a little hard to swallow in song!

        (None of this was on Broadway, though.)

    4. I loved In the Heights. Its about a few days in Washington Heights. Its closing on January 9th (so sad!). The show was fantastic. http://www.intheheightsthemusical.com/

      Another one that I enjoyed was Fela. The music was fun, really the whole thing is about the music. It is about a civil rights leader in Nigeria. There are some extremely emotional parts about the story of Fela Kuti’s real life. Patti LaBelle is in it through January 2nd and she was absolutely incredible. http://felaonbroadway.com/

      Those are both a little less popular than Wicked, Phantom, etc that are the Broadway staples.

      1. Has anyone seen War Horse yet? Hubs and I are leaving for London in a week, want to catch a show while we’re there, and this one (and it’s raving reviews) has really caught our eyes. But when you factor the crummy exchange rate in, good seats are outrageously expensive so I want to make sure that it’s worth every penny before we purchase tickets.

        1. *its’ raving reviews–I have just committed one of my own pet peeves. The horror…

          1. This is second hand, but a good friend of mine in London has seen and enjoyed it. The National Theatre is pretty reliable, in my experience (I’ve only seen one real dud from them, and that was at least beautifully staged.)

  17. I had to mention that Ann Taylor failed me. I bought a pair of basic black pants in the modern cut earlier this week. I wore them yesterday and after about an hour, they were completely stretched out. They were so bad by the end of the day that I thought about buying a new outfit before going out with friends last night. Hopefully this is not a sign of things to come.

    2. I’ve had the same problem with Talbots. Their dress pants were such high quality in the past, now they stretch out after one or two wearings. I think quality is down at many places.

        1. I totally second this! And I won’t even THINK about buying a cardigan from AT Loft – that seems to pill the moment I get home!! I get very frusterated with paying a lot of money for clothes and them have them fall apart with less-than-normal wear and tear.

          1. Really? I have five or six cardigans from Loft that I wear in regular rotation and none have pilled.

      2. The last 4 pairs of pants I’ve bought from Talbots have fallen apart at the seam within 1-2 wears. It’s not me because even my hasty, office resewing holds forever. It’s them.

        1. Quality everywhere has declined. I had the stitching on a $550 bag fall apart in 1 month. It is all downhill. Not sure what to do other than buy vintage.

          1. There’s nothing worse than paying “good” money for clothes that fall apart. I have stopped shopping at Banana Republic because of this. Also, J. Crew is pretty bad quality a lot of times.

          2. I bought a black silk cardigan from J Crew about 15 years ago (yes I’m old), that I wore frequently for about 5 years. It never pilled or stretched out, and if it weren’t too small I could still wear it (it’s still in my closet, and yes, I hate to throw things away – someday I’ll lose that 20 pounds). Just an incredible weave. They really don’t make them like that anymore.

  18. Need planning help for a *good* thing! So, I’m coming up on 5-0 and hubs is taking me on a ‘big trip’ – my vision is ‘cooking school’ lite in Greece or France (ie, trip to market in am, prepare lunch, repeat 2 or 3 days, learn some special dessert trick…leisurely itinerary around that and enjoy surrounding environs, relax, etc…). Suggestions? TIA, my friends :).

    1. Look at Patricia Wells’ classes on her web site at patriciawells dot com. The Provence class was absolutely heavenly.

    2. Suze, I’ve never done any of the cooking schools because I’m not into regimented vacations (and some sound like they can be *very* intense), but the “lite” version sounds like a great compromise. I’m guessing that southern France would probably have the most opportunities and it’s definitely a beautiful, relaxing place with awesome food. I haven’t been to Greece but can also recommend Andalusia as a destination if you’re open to visiting Spain.

      My hubs and I spent a week at a gite (which is a fully-furnished rental house) outside Arles several years ago, and we loved it – loved the region, loved the food, loved the opportunities the gite offered as well. I think renting a house rather than staying in a hotel made it much more relaxing. The gite owner was very helpful in terms of giving us market schedules for the surrounding towns, recommendations for day trips, etc., and actually invited us for dinner one night. A few days we did bring things home for dinner, but of course we also took advantage of the many excellent restaurants. :)

      Anyway, regarding specific schools, I checked the Chowhound board for some recommendations and found this thread: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/605787?tag=post-content-4813435;post_4813435_content . Sounds like there are several types of opportunities around the Arles/Avignon area which would maybe fit your needs.

      BTW, what time of year are you planning to go?

    3. I think GAP Adventures has some great trips like this. Gapadventures dot com.

  20. Can anyone tell me where in Manhattan I can arrange for a used clothing pick-up? I am cleaning out my closets and have a lot of clothes I don’t wear any more, but which are useful for other women.

    1. Salvation Army will pick up stuff in New York, though Goodwill no longer does. For professional clothes, there is the organization Dress for Success, though I don’t know if they pick up or not.

    2. If you have any furniture to donate, Housing Works will come pick it up, and they will also pick up any clothes at the same time (they won’t come just for clothes, usually; they do take in-store donations, of course).

      1. Google “Charity Clothing” pick up. That’s who we always use. They come out right away and always leave a receipt.

  21. Following up on what Bonnie said, I had a similar experience a couple of weeks ago with Ann Taylor modern cut black pants. Mine did not stretch, but just as bad. Mine were so beautiful, black fine wale corduroy, good fit. But….they pick up every speck of lint, and though I have tried every laundry method they won’t come clean. Worse, I can’t clothes-brush them because the nap is upside down, i.e., you would have to brush from botton to top!! So they don’t look goodat all. And…I do not want to pay for dry-cleaning….

    1. I understand it’s not a long term solution, but a reg sticky lint brush doesn’t help???

  22. Ladies, a very nice person gave me a rice cooker for Xmas. It has a steamer, too. I am psyched. I recall reading that other things besides rice can be cooked in it. Can anyone recommend a book or website for this sort of thing??
    TIA.

    2. Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Vegetarian has a great section on cooking various grains and dried legumes in a rice cooker.

      I cook all kinds of grains (farro, millet, israeli cous cous, wheat berries, brown rice, etc.) in mine and it’s fantastic!

  23. Boden Review:

    Just got this dress. Fabulous. Very comfy. Very flattering. Good for work or play. Sort of perfect all occasion. I am a bit chesty, and while the neckline is not low, there is a bit of cleavage that can be seen if I cross my arms. But that’s mostly inevitable on my clothes. I would not say this dress is low cut. Bonus: it’s lined; smoothes everything. I ordered my reg size 4 & it fit perfect. Lots of sizes left.
    http://www.bodenusa.com/en-US/Womens-Dresses/Knee-Length-Dresses/WH212/Womens-Wool-Jersey-Dress.html?NavGroupID=4

    Also got this coat. LOVE. Limited sizes & colors left (4 & 8). But seriously recommend, if that’s your size. A touch snug, but mostly true to size. Can’t wait for spring to wear. Quality is amazing.
    http://www.bodenusa.com/en-US/Womens-Coats-Jackets/Coats/WK610/Womens-Colourblock-Milano-Coat.html?NavGroupID=2

    Got this shirt — looks blah out of the box, amazing on. Looks fab & unexpected & chic with a black suit (ordered the “smoke pansy”). Fit is true to size, but perhaps a touch too so. It is slightly snug on the hips. Since I gained a couple of lbs since thanksgiving, I am not worried (hopefully, will fit in a month), but for the hippy amongst us, I would say size up. Great for the price, though ($20!) & lots of sizes left.
    http://www.bodenusa.com/en-US/Womens-Tops-T-shirts/Short-Sleeved-Tops/WA279/Womens-Somerset-Top.html?NavGroupID=18

    Also got some cotton cardigans but those are too short. Not good. Probably won’t send back because too much hassle, but it’s too bad. Makes me think of those awful shrunken cardis from the 90s. Very Contempo Casuals circa 1997. But, again, great quality. Might keep for summer to wear open with sundresses.

    Hope that helps to someone.

    1. Are the cardigans the cropped ones? I have one of those and find that it really only looks good over a dress. With pants or a skirt, it just looks like my cardigan shrunk.

      But I have to ask–to0 much hassle to send back? All you have to do is fill out the form, put the stuff back in the pag, slap the label on and drop it in the mail.

      1. It is the cropped one! I think you’re probably right about it looking better with a dress, which is why I am not sending it back. I know it’s not a huge hassle, but I paid $34 dollars for it, return shipping will be around $10 & I already paid shipping to get it here. The way I see it for $25 I could always use a well made cotton cardi — which is how I figure it’s not worth the hassle (plus I have been spoiled by free returns!) . . . thanks for the dress suggestion!!

    2. Thanks! Great review. And I’m sorry I can’t help with the rice cooker – I’ve never used one.

    3. Those all look great! I don’t think I could work the coat – horizontal lines across the hips, not good – but I love that top. Only $20, nice. Thanks for the report!

      Oh, and I have that same cropped cardigan, in winter white. I am saving it for spring/summer dresses, too. It is the only item I’ve ever gotten from Boden where I was disappointed in quality – usually I am amazed at their good quality – but the cashmere is so thin and the fit in the arms so tight, that it’s really more suited to springtime layering than a winter sweater.

  24. Hi there. I have a bit of a random question for you all. I’m a 1L and am currently looking for internships for the summer. My grandmother just bought me a Speedy 30 in Damier Ebene Canvas. Is this bag appropriate to carry to interviews? I don’t know much about designer bags, so I want to make sure. Thank you!

    1. I could go either way with this one. I would err on the side of caution and not carry it to interviews, since you are still a law student. I have the same bag, but in the navy and cream version they released a couple years ago, and from my experience, it won’t fit a resume portfolio in it, so it wouldn’t serve that functional purpose. I only carried it for about one season, because I was annoyed by comments I received about it, plus, it didn’t suit my needs at the time. If someone that is interviewing you knows what the bag is, it might look a little obnoxious. If they don’t know what the bag is, it won’t matter either way.
      I never carried a purse to interviews that were on campus. I took one to my call-back interviews, but all my call-backs were conducted by men, so the purse issue didn’t seem to matter, as they typically don’t take notice, here in the rural Midwest, anyway.
      I will interested to hear what other Corporettes have to say about it, though.

        1. Sorry, I just now saw this reply. I had a lot of random girls on campus and even people who worked retail just flat out ask me how much it cost, if it was real, etc. Those were mostly women. A few of the guys that were made aware of what kind of bag it was would be a little snarky about paying that much for a bag, or ask if I had a small dog hidden in it, like Paris Hilton. None of the comments were outright mean, but it was an annoyance to have to address them at all.

    2. I wouldn’t carry any logo/pattern so obvious it could only come from one designer bag to an interview. It’s unlikely to help you, and it could hurt you if your interviewer happens to be the type of person annoyed by any visible logo (or worse, if your interviewer assumes it’s a knockoff). The Speedy 30 also isn’t really a professional bag, it’s more of a purse, and I wouldn’t bring a purse to an interview anyway. I’d bring a tote or briefcase of some sort that can hold a folder and a notepad.

    3. Right or wrong, logo bags, and LV in particular, tend to bring out strong negative emotions in some people – I wouldn’t want to risk it.

  25. I’m a few years removed from my 1L interviews (which thankfully went well enough that I haven’t had to interview since!), but I think I remember the conventional wisdom being that you shouldn’t have a bag, period. The only thing I carried into the actual interview room was a leather padfolio with copies of my resume and transcript, and a pen. If the interview was at school, I locked my bag in the career services lockers (if your school doesn’t have these, I’m sure a classmate or the CSO receptionist would be happy to watch your bag). If the interview was at a firm/agency office, I locked my bag in my car under a blanket. I have a keypad on my car that I don’t need keys to get back in, but I realize not everyone can do that–if that’s the case, I’d still consider leaving your bag and putting your car key in one of the pockets of your padfolio. (I just realized neither of these will work if you’re taking public transportation, so maybe other commenters will have a suggestion on that.)

    I know it sounds a little ridiculous to potentially go to such great lengths to show up baggage-free, but in this job market, I’d follow the old rules (similarly, I live in a humid Southern climate and think pantyhose are a torture device–but I still wore them to my interviews).

    2. It’s fine to carry a bag – normal, actually. I’d just advice to carry a work bag, not a purse.

    3. I always take my key off of my keychain and put it in my padfolio. I get nervous enough at interviews that I don’t want to have to worry about what to do with my bag.

  26. Just a PSA. DVF.com is having a pretty good sale right now, lots of nice dresses etc on sale, and then you get an extra 20% off of sale items with the code 2010SALE. I just got a couple of great dresses for about half off the regular price.

  27. I am a 3L. A long time ago some career services person (maybe even before law school? ) told me one should not take note during an interview. This is hard for me as I am a very firm believer in taking notes on things; I take notes in meetings, when I make phone calls, etc. However, I have followed that advice religiously. Now, I am curious to hear what the ladies of Corporette think! Note, I have had several internships which I itnerviewed for and got, but I have also had many interviews which did not result in me getting a job. I never took notes in any of those interviews.

    1. I say no notes. During an interview your attention should be on the interviewer exclusively. Taking notes might make it look like you are evaluating either the interviewer or the employer, and that’s off-putting, plus it might also look like you are not listening well enough to remember—especially if you are taking down names, etc.
      If you want to remember things for your own use later, stop and jot some notes right after the interview (in private).

    2. No notes. Your attention should be on the interviewer and you should be having a conversation. It’s not a lecture.

      1. I agree with the ladies above – no notes. I’d even go so far as to advise to keep the folio and tote both closed, unless you’re actively using them.

        The point of an interview is that they’re trying to figure out who you are. They’re trying to see if you fit in the company/position/etc. They’re trying to get to know you. Your lap should be empty – that sends a message through your body language that you’ll let them see who you are. Anything in your lab is a barrier between you and the interviewer.

        If there are specifics brought up in the interview, then it’s certainly ok to take a minute in the lobby before you leave the office to jot them down on your pad. It might even be ok, towards the end of the interview, to take out the pad and write a few things… but only after they’ve gotten to know you, and only if there are specific dates/figures that you want to remember.

    4. Generally, no notes. It’s fine to have paper and a pen handy in case someone mentions something very specific that you want to write down. I’ve had candidates do that with a particular case or article or something we’ve discussed, or a person’s name I’ve told them about that they may want to meet, and it didn’t put me off at all — in fact, it kind of impressed me. But just kind of general notes about nothing particularly remarkable, no.

      1. I agree with this. If there are specific things like an address or a publication to jot down (at most 2-3 per interview, I’d say, and typically none) that a reasonable person wouldn’t be expected to remember exactly, go ahead and write it down. But if the interviewer is simply telling you about the company, explaining the role, or talking about his/her experience, no, I absolutely wouldn’t recommend writing any of this down during the interview. And I certainly wouldn’t be writing while answering a question, or taking notes on what was asked (if I were interviewing and someone was noting my questions, I’d find that weird and vaguely suspicious, thinking – is she doing it to prepare for more important interviews elsewhere? is it to share the questions on the internet?).

        1. Thanks for all the feedback everyone. The times when I most want to take notes is when someone is telling me in great detail about a specific project that I could potentially work on, or explaining the hierarchy/organization of the agency. I really need to see things like that in writing (even if my own) to absorb them. But, I’ve made it for years without taking notes and it sounds like the person who advised me not to was right about that being the majority view.

          I guess, also, that I don’t need to worry as much about remembering *all* the details later. I’m always paranoid/hyper-sensitive about being less detail-oriented than other people so I have always compensated by being a conscientious note taker (which in other circumstances DOES help a lot with the fact that details are not my strong suit).

          Thanks again everybody for weighing in! Happy New Year!

    5. Personally, I can’t imagine needing to take many, if any, notes during an interview. What exactly would you need to be taking notes on? The questions the interviewer asked or the details about the firm? If you’re interviewing, you should have already done your research about the firm. And I agree with previous posters that it might be off-putting to jot down the questions asked.
      That being said, if the interviewer mentions a specific person, firm, article, publication, etc. for you to contact/look in to/read then that’s different. If he/she mentions something like that, say something like “That’s really interesting. Let me write that down really quick before I forget.” Pull out your portfolio/notepad, jot it down, and then it put it away. Or just wait until the interview is winding down and do it then.

      1. I’m an academic, so this might be irrelevent to law interviews, but I might well stop mid-interview to write a note to myself to send the person interviewing me a document. Say he or she asks, “How do you emphasize good writing in your courses?” I could say, “Oh, I have a great handout on writing that I give with every paper assignment; I’ll email it to you. Let me write myself a note to do that.”

        Also, if you have questions about the position, it makes sense to me that you would write them down beforehand, so getting out your list and possibly taking notes as the interviewer responds to your questions seems like a sign that you’re well-prepared and detail-oriented.

  28. It told me I was posting too fast-argh! I carried only a portfolio, where I kept extra copies of my resume/transcript in case an interviewer needed on. Did not take notes. Used the portfolio to keep my ID/debit card and as a place for business cards I was given.

  29. Thanks for all the responses! I appreciate it. Sounds like it will be safer to leave the bag behind.

  31. I have a question about champagne. We’re having some fiends over tonight. My plan was to make a pomegranate champagne punch but now I’m having second thoughts because our guest list has dropped to 10 or so. Should I just serve it individually and if so any hints? I’ve heard of putting a little grand marnier or a sugar cube on the bottom. Thanks!

    1. I would vote for individually, and then get some strawberries sliced up for the glass. You can put them on toothpicks in a pretty plate/bowl. When you cut up the strawberries sprinkle them with a little lemon juice & some equal/sweet&low (just a little, for some reason tastes better than sugar), and they’ll taste amazing.

      It’s simple & elegant. In my experience, mixing champagne with anything else just gives me a headache & is way too sweet. I think lots of folks, inc. many men who I assume will be part of your guest list, would rather go classic that way. But you can always have the option available by, say, leaving some fruit purees or juices for people to add-in on their own. Happy New Year!

  32. I have interviewed many people. NEVER take notes during an interview. If the interviewer gives you a phone number to call, they will write it down for you or you can put it on your phone. Your hands should be free and relaxed, or if it is an inerview over a meal you should be conversing and eating (not always easy, be sure not to order a sandwich or spaghetti).

  33. Grr. Late rant – I will probably be posting this again next week. Had year-end review and got my salary cut by 14%. What a great present. Not! Grrr.

    1. Yikes! So sorry to hear about that. I don’t know all the details of course, but if I were you I’d probably start looking for my next job.

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