ByKat Hours Updated
Comments 105 Comments

Suit of the Week: Gucci

woman wears black suit with jacquard pattern all over it (faintly visible)

For busy working women, the suit is often the easiest outfit to throw on in the morning. In general, this feature is not about interview suits for women, which should be as classic and basic as you get — instead, this feature is about the slightly different suit that is fashionable, yet professional. Also: we just updated our big roundup for the best women's suits of 2024!

Happy Wednesday! This Gucci suit is so interesting, and I can't quite decide if I like it or not (although I'm leaning towards yes). The double-breasted blazer and pleated trousers look nice, but what really elevates the suit is the interesting jacquard pattern to the fabric.

The description notes that it's made from “wool that's jacquard-woven with the brand's logo in a tonal colorway.” So if you're not a logo girl, then this is not the suit for you.

I like! The blazer is $3800 at NET-A-PORTER, and matching cropped pants are $1300. It looks like they have a logo suit in light blue, camel, and cream, as well.

Hunting for a suit in a print or pattern? Some of our latest favorites for more traditional prints include M.M.LaFleur, which has a lovely houndstooth option, a plaid, and a black-and-white check; J.Crew also has a number of striped suits, and Brooks Brothers has a gingham suit. Banana Republic has a nice mid-brown plaid as well as some nice pinstripes.

For more unusual prints and patterns for suits, Boden has an vaguely 60s inspired “diamond terrace” pattern, and Theory has a suit in a tortoiseshell print. (Boden has a huge number of suits with crazy patterns right now, actually.)

Sales of note for 12.5

105 Comments

    2. It looks like something a celeb would wear with wet-look hair and no shirt. Def not for the workplace!

    4. I’d definitely wear it as separates for day-to-day and I would wear it as a suit at a conference or some kind of event.

    6. PR, museums, galleries, performing arts, event management, publishing conferences, arts or young hip humanities professor presenting a paper or interviewing…

      1. I can only imagine somebody interviewing for an academic job in a suit they paid 5 k for… I have to agree that it will look great on an event manager, though!

    9. I have neither the role nor the industry nor the body type to pull this off but I /wish/ I did

    10. To the extent the jacquard logo is readily recognizable, no, not at that price — Gucci should pay the customer for the free advertising.

  2. if you could have a “luxury bathroom” for yourself, what would you get? assume cost is no limit… i can never quite decide what i’d want because big showers are too cold but small showers don’t feel $$$. i also hate rain showerheads — there’s got to be something better!

    1. Smaller shower, lots of shower heads that are individually controllable (including a rain showerhead for me!), huuuuge bathtub, heated floors, natural light with big windows but no neighbors in that direction, toilet in a separate room/closet.

    2. I’d want a large soaking tub that somehow manages to use and purify gray water so I don’t have to feel guilty about taking baths in a drought. I’d also like for all the tiny features to be thoughtfully designed – things like a place to set your foot while shaving, a towel hook in the proper place and at the right height, convenient drying racks for hand-wash items, etc.

    3. One of those heated wall panel things would negate the cold issues associated with a giant shower.

      Agree that rain showerheads are underwhelming. I prefer a showerhead with high-pressure from a few different nozzles. Like a carwash. LOL

      1. I have a shower with very low water pressure, but read an article in WaPo about how you can engineer the nozzles to feel like higher pressure. I was very skeptical but ordered a Hopopro high pressure head, and it totally makes a difference!

    5. – Fixed wall showerhead and one on a hose. I don’t like having water from all directions so complicated designs are lost on me (and I also hate rain showers – you can’t be in the water without it being in your face)
      – Sturdy ledge for propping leg to shave
      – Built in shelves in the shower that are not visible to the rest of the bathroom (I do not like the usual centered niche as then you are always staring at random bottles)
      – Smart storage – heck with pedestal sinks
      – Wall mounted shaving mirror (ideally lighted)
      – Great ventilation – strong fan, windows
      – Outlets placed in locations where appliance cords don’t try to sweep everything off the counter if you go to use them

      1. +1 to all of this. I’d also include:
        Outlets inside the sink vanity – I can charge my toothbrush or clean my retainer in the cabinets and not on the vanity counter.
        Heated floors
        Bidet seat
        Zero entry sloped access to the shower and access points that are wide enough for wheelchair users. I’m only in my 40s but both my husband and I had surgeries that made lifting/stepping into showers harder and the zero entry shower was so helpful.

      2. One tweak: the shower head should be on an adjustable mount. You can change the height and angle that way. I never understood the appeal of a fixed shower head and separate hose.

        The door should swing both directions so you don’t get the door wet when entering, but afterward you can leave the door hanging open inside the shower while it dries.

      3. Agree with all of this.

        Also, I have a Toto bidet toilet and love it. Also a Robern high-tech medicine cabinet with lighted/no-fog mirror with electrical outlets and USB outlets and built in nightlight. LOVE IT. I love lots of natural light so I have two solar tube skylights and it works great.

        And we have kitties so we built in unobtrusive space for the litter box.

        One thing I wish I’d thought of was built in pullout trash.

        1. +1 to solar tubes. I have one in my en suite and it is fabulous — guests sometimes try to turn the light off, not realizing no light is on, it’s all the brilliant natural light from the solar tube.

    6. A fireplace! This has always been the ne plus ultra of luxury to me–also a velvet covered chair just because.

      1. +1 but ideally a slipper tub. I love having the higher side to allow for upper back support while I recline.

    8. heated floors

      “wet room” is the new popular thing but i don’t think i like that either, seems like a lot of cleaning

      1. Heated floors plus heated towel bars would be my first upgrade. Then a giant claw foot soaking tub with separate shower.

      1. This. Love the idea of showering with my SO, but too many showers aren’t well equipped for it.

    10. Steam shower with a big bench and heated floors. I just want to be able to take a nice long hot shower.

    11. A shower that opens into the bathroom on one side, and outside to a private outdoor shower on the other. And the kind of weather that would let me use it year round.

    12. A big soaking tub with a TV. I once spent each night of a conference soaking and watching and it was delightful.

    13. We redid our master bath, yet I go into the basement to shower. The reason is the dumb dumb rain showerhead we put in. I feel like my hair never gets rinsed.

      1. I have never owned one, but I have hated them in the hotels I’ve stayed in that have them. I also don’t / can’t wash my hair every day and I find it so hard to keep my hair out of the water in a rain shower setup.

        1. Agreed. My fantasy bathroom would have excellent water pressure. On vacation it takes me longer to shower because the water pressure is usually so low that I have to WORK to rinse my hair. And I don’t have particularly thick hair.

    14. Can’t believe nobody has said marble! Love it in a bathroom. Double sinks. Tubs are overrated, make sure you’ll actually use it (rather than being massive and uncomfortably exposed to air draughts).

    15. Heated floors, mosaic tile details along the walls, multiple shower heads, soaking tub with tiny jets and a water heater function (so the water doesn’t get cold if you stay too long), remote controlled blinds for a large window with a view, and lots of lighting.

    16. A shower with a single, generous showerhead in the standard place (not overhead, no rain shower), not a huge shower stall (too cold) but enough space for a bench and niches for products.

      Warmed towels and warmed floors. Excellent ventilation.

      A toilet closet/cubby that is separate from the sink and shower.

      Double sinks and a seated vanity area with great lighting. Ideally plugs hidden in the drawers for things like toothbrush chargers, hair dryers, etc.

      Storage for towels, medicines, grooming products, and cosmetics.

      Plenty of hooks for robes (not shared hooks as in my current setup).

      Wired in some way with bluetooth speakers I don’t have to mess with.

      A changing area off to the side.

      I did not mention a bathtub! There can be a tub in the kids’ bathroom.

    17. Agreed, no rain showerhead — a hand-held showerhead with adjustable bracket is preferable. Plus a DEEP tub, like a Japanese ofuro with chin-deep hot water capacity, and a wet room tile floor with a drain in the center that allows a scrubdown with soap outside the Japanese bath before rinsing off and stepping in for a nice, hot soak. And a sauna. And heated floors (not sure how that would work with a wet room/draining tile floor, but this is fantasy talk). And heated towel bars. And plenty of hooks for robes and towels and such. And a minimally-fogging mirror over the sink. Plus a vanity. Lots of drawers and a linen closet for storage. And a laundry chute to the laundry room. Adult-height toilet in a separate water closet.

  4. Little goals you’ve crushed lately thread! What little “hey, I’m great!” thing have you done lately that you’re proud of? I don’t care if it’s a big win at work or just actually remembering to squeegee down your shower walls after showering — whatever you want to celebrate yourself for doing works!

    1. Running. Not much. Not fast. But a victory over losing my goals to memes and reels.

    2. Surviving summer with a school age kid. It was my first real working mom summer and it was much harder than I thought it would be, but my kid has a lot of happy memories and told me it was the best summer of her life (6 year olds are easy to please 🥹)

      School starts tomorrow and I’m SO HAPPY. Give me all the aftercare and consistent routines. And I’m also so excited for fall weather.

      1. Excuse me, school starts on July 31?! I know southerners are tired of hearing these questions from us New Englanders every year, but July is REALLY early!

        1. Oops, baby brain mistake, I guess tomorrow is August already! My point stands but Aug 1 is a tad better

        2. Yes August 1. I’m in Indiana. We’re early even by Midwest/south standards. I think a lot of schools in the Midwest go back next week or the week after though.

      2. Congratulations! My kids are teens and while I like warm weather, summer seems to list between really really fun and a really really big PITA for me as a working mom.

    3. I fixed my lawn mower and my washing machine with Youtube videos and the attitude that I can’t make them any worse. I am a lawyer, and these accomplishments feel way more important than my day-to-day.

    4. Returned to therapy even though I really don’t feel like doing so. At all. I know my life in a year will be better than today once I successfully address a specific issue that I’m struggling with.

    5. I play in adult league field hockey and I made two great plays in my last game. This 30 year old has still got it!

    6. I’ve been a good friend/family member to others during a year when I’ve needed people to be a good friend/family member to me.

    7. i finally opened the email that’s been sitting in my “high priority important” pile in my inbox for 3+ weeks and got my response out too!

      1. I think you’re a hero, haha, and I’m only barely joking. The long-lingering email is my worst enemy!

      2. My win is sending the email too! To be fair it sat in my inbox for so long partly because I was ooo last week and yesterday. Only took 5 minutes to compile the information needed and 5 to write the dang thing this morning.

        Now I can go back to procrastinating on washing a couch cover and scheduling a donation pick up of said couch.

    8. (1) I activated my new debit card. (The new one arrived shortly before a 2 week work trip including a week out of the country. In the midst of making sure all my travel stuff was in order I forgot about this little task until the old one was declined yesterday.)
      (2) I made a tomato mushroom galette using tomatoes and herbs from spouse’s garden. I hadn’t made a savory galette ever…it turned out to be a delicious summer treat!

      1. Big win: famous people in my field including Nobel laureates praised my research.

    9. I worked out every day for over a week straight! Ran every other day (very slowly, very), or did a small 5 lb dumbell workout. I feel great!

    10. So silly, but I stopped by a distillery 2 hours from my house that has my fave boozy lemonade while I was on a road trip and they were closed! They had multiple “open” signs, google and facebook said they were open, but a locked door and no one picked up the phone. After moping around the town for an hour, I drove home and checked their website…and ordered myself a case of the boozy lemonade!

    11. I’m one full month in to my goal of lifting heavy for a year! “Heavy” is relative, I’m nearly starting from scratch, but I feel much stronger and excited about progressing. Making the most of my perimenopausal power window!

    13. I’m head of the program committee for my Rotary Club and I spent the morning yesterday getting a lot of great programs lined up for the next few months.

    14. I am in yoga teacher training, and I led my classmates through a half-hour sequence!

    16. I canceled a completely optional work trip I really didn’t want to go on, but sort of *should* go on. And now I’m not. Screw “should”!

    17. I recaulked my own bathtub over the weekend, the first time I have done that task myself instead of hiring a handyperson. It took me about ten times longer than it would have taken a pro, but it looks great and I am absurdly proud of myself.

  5. Calling yesterday’s poster with the twins, one wanted to go to college and the other wanted to pursue the military or a trade. I didn’t get a chance to respond but really wanted to.

    I was an Army officer for 6 years, and my husband is about to retire after 25 years in the Air Force. Your comment about wanting your child to do a career that has an outside equivalent is such a good point! I do know infantrymen or tankers who struggled to find a job on the outside. Good ideas: vehicle maintenance, aircraft maintenance, air traffic control, medical/dental assistant, paralegal, public affairs, engineer (civil, combat), communications tech (like the cable guy who comes to your house…except your house is a tent in the middle of nowhere), firefighter, police (including working dog handler), military intelligence (the world is your oyster if you keep a high security clearance when you get out), cybersecurity. Those are just off the top of my head!

    I will grudingly admit that the enlisted airmen I’ve met under my husband’s command in the Air Force are a higher caliber than the soldiers I worked with in the Army. The Air Force junior airmen are so articulate, even if they’re brand new to the service and only arrived to this base 2 months ago. But for many people, the Air Force isn’t the “real” military, so the Army would be my next choice if he feels that way. The Marines and the Navy have their own culture that I’m not really qualified to comment on (except the stereotypes ;) ).

    The Army has (had?) a program called High School to Flight School if your child has any interest in flying helicopters. Traditionally, aviators have needed a college degree, but the Army created this program years ago to deal with recruiting shortfalls. But of course there are limited opportunities for a helicopter pilot on the outside, but they still exist.

    Don’t forget the GI Bill. That’s how I paid for law school. The GI Bill provides a monthly stipend in addition to tuition, so I got something like $600/month that I put toward rent.

    As far as the trades, especially in New England, there is just a dire need for well-qualified tradesmen. They’ve all retired and moved to Florida, ha. There can be such good career paths there. Our plumber is actually 24 years old, married to his high school sweetheart, with a 1 year old, own their own home – he’s a unionized plumber for the local university and moonlights as an independent plumber. The demand for him is so high that he routinely has to turn work down. So he has a union protected job with benefits and he’s able to sock away his moonlighting money for a rainy day.

    Here’s a great article about the building trades: https://www.thisoldhouse.com/this-old-house/21015593/building-skills-with-generation-next

    Anyways, clearly this is a topic I’m passionate about! I’m happy to chat more if needed!

    1. Omg +million to qualified tradespeople. Our plumber is literally moving to FL next month and thankfully has handed over his practice to a ‘young’ guy (in his 40s) so we know we’ll have someone to call on for another few decades.
      It was impossible to get tradespeople after the pandemic. My contractors told me they were only taking work from people they knew, who paid on time, and who weren’t hard to work with. Thankfully we fit the bill and booked them for some upgrades!

    2. As a parent (not the OOP parent) who has myself always served in Corporate America, I get that everyone is expendable, but “expendable” in the military is much more high-stakes, and has been what has kept me from encouraging any of my kids or niblings to look into a military career. This is despite the fact that their grandfather, my father, was career Air Force, as was my husband’s father.

  6. I’m new to yoga and have done some very basic classes in my community’s park district program that have been discontinued. There are several Yoga or Yoga/Pilates places that have popped up in my area, and there are some independent places too. Wondering which is for me, as several of these places are really pricier then I expected.

    I like the type of Yoga that has lots of stretching/balance/gentle strengthening but not hot/fast/loud/power whatever. I do like some flow though… if I understand that correctly… moving from one gesture to another? What are the “types” of Yoga that I should be looking for at my local Yoga studios? I think I’ll try out a few, one by one, for a month, but want to make sure they offer the classes that are good for me.

    My goals are continue to tone/gentle strengthening/low impact. The balance stuff has been really great for body.

    1. I’d look for something labelled gentle, slow flow, or nurturing. I prefer vinyasa because of the focus on breath and routine, so once I’ve got the flow down, I can just follow my breath and zone out. But I love, love, love hot yoga because I find it helps with my lupus. I would start with the cheapest, and experiment. I use ClassPass which lets me use a bunch of different studios, and go to yoga when I’m travelling.

      1. Thanks for this! Please explain how hot yoga helps your lupus? I have rheum/autoimmune disease too and heat can make things worse and I have a lot of inflammatory arthritis. So I am dying for a cool place for all exercise.

        Never heard of ClassPass. I’ll look it up. Thanks.

    2. Try online yoga programs to get a feel for different styles and to get the basics. Peloton (app), Yoga with Adrienne, and The Underbelly are all good sources of inexpensive or free content.

      1. Thanks. I’ve done some Yoga w/Adrienne, but she is a bit to talk-y for me at times. I’ll check the others too.

    3. You may want to see if there are yin yoga classes around that is a style that’s more focused on stretching and slow movements and meditation

    4. +1 to looking into classes labeled slow flow, beginner or 101, gentle, restorative, hatha, vinyasa 1 (though this might be a tossup depending on different studios) to start with. If you can, give the studios a call and they might be able to help figure out which type of class would be a good fit for you before attending.

      I’ve been practicing yoga in inperson classes for over a decade and I still take slow flow and 101 classes to work on form.

    5. I do restorative and yin for the mental health/stretching benefits. My Y has yoga so that might be an option. But I found in my city, that my neighborhood black woman-owned yoga studio was more welcoming of different body types and was cheaper than the upper middle class white woman owned studios in other parts of the city. The energy is just also different. I think finding the right space is as important as the style.

    6. Studios sometimes use different terms, but here’s a breakdown (generally):

      Vinyasa: this moves from one pose to another, “flowing” without stopping much.

      Ashtanga: A vinyasa class (so a flowing class) which uses a set series of poses, held for several moments, using lots of props. Some people love it, some not so much.

      Gentle: This is often vinyasa but more slow-moving, and with more emphasis on strength than stretch. This sounds like what you’re looking for.

      Restorative: this is meant for rest. You move very little, focusing on breathing and calming the mind

      Yin: These are stretches, held for a long time. You’ll spend most of the time on the floor. This is great for increasing flexibility. It’s very easy on joints but not “easy” per se.

      Classes labeled “power” or “core” or things like that usually emphasize strength and feel like a workout class. “Mixed-levels” often means “anyone except true beginners,” whereas some studios will have beginners classes.

      If you want to get some online yoga going, “Yoga by Adriene” is a great start, and free!

      Good luck!

    7. You have received some great advice. I will add that I would stay away from the big chains. In my experience, they are often more about fitness than about yoga. Check out the independent places for a more holistic experience.

  7. Any of the hive in healthcare tech specifically training/education/onboarding/customer success that can share a path, general skill set or any tips on making a switch from learning design to healthcare tech education?

    I’m currently in healthcare-adjacent (support, basically) field in L&D in a mid-level IC role but the only real path “upwards” is management and that’s not a great match for me. I saw someone mention they work in healthcare tech and it’s something I’ve looked at a couple times but ultimately didn’t have any healthcare experience. Now with about 18 months under my belt, I’m thinking I might have a better shot.

    I’m assuming the skills are around facilitation–delivering classes and educational materials, maybe the operations side (scheduling, logistics, reporting) and perhaps some overall strategy (finding training needs/performance gaps and tailoring programs or modules accordingly), LMS stuff (creating courses, creating offerings, admin stuff) and of course needing to know the tools/software/tech well enough to present! Anything else I might be overlooking?

  8. Is anyone thinking more about early retirement as you get older? 47 now and very comfortable, and wondering if I should plan for early retirement in case i get laid off or something. any good podcasts or books I should check out? Is this traditional FIRE or something else?

    1. I’m only 30, but I’m eligible for my “full” pension (and the ability to keep my healthcare) at 59. However, I can add 1% a year each year if I wait til 65… but I don’t intend to do that.

      My plan is to do “barista fire” and live off my part time job+ pension from 59 until I fully retire (probably late 60s) and then I’d also draw from my retirement accounts and social.

      1. I’m 59 and always thought I’d do what you’re calling “barista fire” but actually being a barista or a shop clerk or a substitute teacher pays so little that I instead just work a few hours a week as a consultant in my professional field, which ends up paying the same in total as if I worked much longer hours at an unskilled labor type job.

    2. Nope. 50 and I am just hoping to find a new job that pays enough for me to save some while I work until 70, and stay healthy to do that, and then will decide if I can retire then, survive on a part time job plus SS, or will need to “make other arrangements.” If you can set yourself up to have the option to bow out early if necessary, from where I am sitting now, I would certainly recommend it.

    3. I’m only 40 now but am hoping/planning to retire when my only child is through college. I’ll be 55 then. In the interests of full disclosure though, I don’t think this would be financially wise if my husband wasn’t going to continue working. We will have decent assets ($3-4M) by then, but I don’t think I’d be comfortable starting to drain them at such a young age. But as long as my husband is working we won’t touch our retirement accounts, even if we no longer save as much.

    4. Are you trying to figure out if “very comfortable” means you’re already effectively retired? Or are you trying to figure out what ancillary things (life insurance, any mortgage refinancing, etc.) you might want to get lined up now? Or something else?

  9. Wow. That was the single best day of swimming probably ever. I’m so glad I didn’t have any meetings today so I could watch it all live.

Comments are closed.