How To Buy Quality Pieces Without Looking Old

94 Comments

1. Sorry for the threadjack!

   I am currently a 3L looking for some advice (I know some of you do hiring at your firms!). I worked over the summer, and have continued to work part-time during the school year, at a small-to-mid sized firm. They’re very well known in the area of law they practice in, and hire mostly people from a better schools than mine who have come from a federal clerkship. In other words, I think I’m a little below their hiring standards. Still, I’ve done a lot of work there and the feedback I’ve gotten has been good. And apparently I was qualified enough to join some other excellent students there for the summer, so I can’t be all that bad. I would love to turn this part-time position into a full-time job after graduation.

   I plan to talk to the appropriate person soon, though I haven’t started working for the semester yet. My thought was to email and set up a meeting with that person to discuss this and my schedule for the semester. Would it be weird to go in for a special appointment for this? Any tips for how that meeting should go? Should I tell him what I want to talk about when I’m trying to schedule? I’m really nervous about this and want it to go well – what can I do to make a good impression, without being too pushy, and increasing my chances for actually landing a full-time position after graduation? If you were the hiring person, how would you want this meeting to go?

   1. Depends on who you think “the appropriate person” is. I think your best strategy would to talk to the partner or partners with whom you’ve worked most closely or whoever is enthusiastic about your work. Having an ally suggest your hire is the best way to get it done. Other than that, I think discussing your schedule and asking for specific work, showing you’re interested and invested in it is your best option.

   2. I think they’re probably expecting this conversation and I think that it makes sense that it would happen now (though they may not have an answer for you right away). I would go ahead and ask to schedule the meeting. I would tell them you’ve enjoyed your time at the firm, love the work/collegiality of the staff, etc, and would love the opportunity to work there upon your graduation. If you ask in advance, they may have more concrete information for you when you go in there (i.e. whether they can hire you, whether they want to, etc). Good luck!

   3. First, they wouldn’t keep having you back if you weren’t doing good work and weren’t on track to become full-time (unless your job is geared only to clerks).

      Second, if you don’t have a full time offer, the firm probably hasn’t decided yet. It’s most likely because they don’t have a long enough horizon to make hiring decisions 6-15 months out. This is not uncommon outside of BigLaw.

      I would set up your schedule for the semester over email or the phone but not push them on the full time position. They know you are a 3L and that you’ll be looking for a FT position in August. I would mention being excited to be working with them again this semester and ask about whether a full time position is an option going forward. But don’t push them on it.

      In the meantime, keep doing excellent work and keep up the job search. If they offer you a full-time job, great! If not, they may refer you to other firms and will act as your main reference.

   4. Anooooon — You sound a lot like me when I was in law school.

      First (and most importantly) — Don’t sell yourself short about your qualifications.

      Second — I would not set up a meeting just to discuss schedule. This might be a know-your-firm thing, but that’s not something that people would usually do at my firm. You might want to just talk to the partner on the first day that you’re back. You could also bring up how much you love it during that meeting.

      Email me if you want! Like I said, you remind me a lot of myself, and your experience sounds similar to mine. I’m happy to help more specifically. Email me if you want (I finally got around to setting up an anonymous email account) anoninfinitycorpor e t t e at gmail.

   5. Just a word of advice– a c0-clerk of mine at a law firm working part time our 3L year had this very conversation with the partner that managed the clerks. She said that they didn’t have plans to hire a new associate, but that could change, etc. He literally quit on the spot and never came back, saying that working part time for the year wasn’t worth his time if it wouldn’t turn into a job. Now, I get that could be a valid point, but the way he handled it really turned a lot of the attorneys off in a small-ish legal market, and seemed like a really dumb move. I worked for the rest of the semester, lucked out with a great job at a different firm, and still hear from those attorneys regularly. I guess what I’m trying to say is, think about what your reaction will be if the conversation does not go how you’d like it to, and consider a tactful way out that won’t alienate your future colleagues. I’m sure you already know that (but I thought he would have also!), but just wanted to share.

      1. Haha, thanks! I certainly wouldn’t burn any bridges. I really like my part-time position regardless of whether it becomes permenant and hope to stay there as long as I can. My experience has been really hands-on and I’ve gotten to do excellent substantive work. Oddly though, my career services department recommended a (somewhat more tactful) version of what you described when I asked them for help with this problem. As if I needed another reason to lose faith in them… I’m glad to hear you had a good experience even though your part-time position didn’t work out! If I might ask, when (during the year/summer) did you end up securing your after-graduation position?

2. Not sure if there’ll be a coffee break post later or if this is sort of it but I wonder if there is a specific color that makes you happy… a color you always end up buying your clothing or accessories in or home accents or whatever.

   Me? I adore peac*ck blue or a deep turquoisy/cerulean color… there’s just something about it that makes me always gravitate toward it, I have since I was a kidlet. Anyway, what color(s) make YOU happy?

   1. I adore a really bright green and magenta. I love wearing these colors and they make me happy.

   2. My love for chartreuse/acid green has already been well documented here. I feel happy whenever I wear that colour.

   3. Teal. Always and forever. I just realized last year how happy it makes me, and now I’m a teal-acquiring monster.

   4. I love cobalt blue, even though I know some folks here feel strongly in the opposite direction. :-)

   5. Purple!! I gravitate towards it in. everything. Even my toiletries often end up being purple.

      1. purple for me too. someone said to me last week: “you are someone who legit has a favorite color” (pointing at my purple wallet being put into my purple purse)

   6. One day a couple years ago, after organizing my clothes by color (it was a brief organizational fad), I realized “my” color is coral… I had multiple coral versions of every clothing item – pants, t-shirt, blouse, shoes, scarf, etc. Didn’t realize it before I had a giant chunk of coral in my closet staring me in the face.

   7. Bright red, fuchsia, and to a lesser extent purple. :)

   8. Red, always red.

   9. There’s a color between blue and purple–indigo or blueberry–that I absolutely love as a car color, on trim in my home, on me in a dress or sweater. I painted an entire room (including ceiling) a light shade of it once and loved it!

   10. It is a massive cliche, considering my username, but fuschia always makes me happy. Also, more recently, that sort of pepperminty turquoisey green which blatantlyhas a name, but such name escapes me.

   11. I love purple everything.

   12. I love the colors between blue and green, especially teal and turquoise. They remind me of swimming.

   13. Loooove a deep burgundy for clothes. Feels luxurious. Though I’m also very guilty of tangerine orange in my wardrobe.

       At home, I like adding light, pure-feeling tones of blue to decor.

   14. Orange, which works better in t-shirts than suits (or sometimes its neighbors, coral or orangey-red). I think it’s all about our coloring.

   15. It changes with the days, seasons and hair colors. I go through phases but generally love deep jewel tones, bright reds, all neutrals. I used to love black, but the more I explore fashion, the more I feel “over” it, but I am sure it’ll come back eventually.

   16. Russet. I look best in earth tones and russet just makes me happy. Turquoise comes next.

   17. I love purple, magenta and many blues – cobalt, cornflower, dusty, aqua/teal but purple is by far my fav – ameythist is my birthstone and purple was my alma mater’s color too. I have lots of things in purple.

   18. I always gravitate towards yellow or Kelly green.

   19. On my clothes – either teal (a specific sweater I’ve had for years is my go-to piece, and still gets me compliments), purple (my favorite shell to wear on a suit day, and my favorite light work shirt are both a deep purple) or burgundy (another sweater, a more recent find that’s become a good-luck-charm at work, and my favorite dress ever). Purple and blue in my jewelry (amethyst birthstone, and a pair of blue, green and teal stone earrings that I love to death), and silver settings instead of gold. Shoes and bags – teal, red and any notice-me metallic.

       (as far as coloring – blonde/grey, very fair skin, more pink than gold in my skintone. colorings has so much to do with what colors we look good in – my black hair/brown eyed sister in law can ROCK in the bright orange or green that make me look blah.)

   20. Pink. In all its shades from baby pink to coral to fuchsia. Teal/blue-green. And to a lesser extent purple.

       Hard for me to use in decorating since they are much to “girly” for Mr. gov anon.

   21. I love bright green like nobody’s business. Lime, kelley, apple, grass. I look terrible in greens though, so sadly my clothing options are limited. But for accessories, household items, what have you, I always gravitate to the green. Most of my wardrobe ends up being grey, black and burgundy/wine reds and purples.

   22. I tend to buy a lot of mustard and yellow tops and accents, I do feel like yellow is a “happy” color, but the mustard I think I just know it suits my complexion and coloring really well. Also, it’s not color, but I have an addiction to stripes – that’s my real weakness as opposed to one color! If it has stripes, I must own it! haha ;)

3. I am going to Tucson in the middle of february for a long date weekend. What items of clothing should I bring?

   1. Don’t make the mistake of thinking it’ll be hot! It does get cold at night in the desert, so check the weather before you go and pack layers. (Granted, there won’t be snow or anything, but…I always freeze my butt off in Tucson at Christmas, coming from LA.)

      I don’t really know what there is to do in Tucson (we never do much) but my old standby is the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, which is like a zoo for desert animals, west of town in a more natural park area. It’s pretty cool, and well put-together. :D They have birds of prey flight demonstrations, and lots of stuff. There’s also hiking in the Catalinas, the mountains are pretty. Kartchner Caverns is about an hour away (south east on the 10, then a short hop off the highway), if you like caves. In Tucson, La Encantada has probably the fanciest shops that I know of, but we don’t get out much…so I’m only mentally thinking of the northern side of town.

      1. I’m not sure where you’re coming from, but Tucson is a pretty casual city. You can dress up some if you want, but I have yet to be in a restaurant here where I would be out of place in “nice” jeans. It could be our versiion of cold at night (this Friday night is supposed to be 27*), but in February it could also be near 80 during the day time.

      2. Love Tucson. Sonora Desert Museum is great and February would be a good time to go. Colossal Cave. The Titan Missile Museum. The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures is fabulous.

   2. I always love to see fellow Arizonan’s here! Tucson is very casual– I grew up there, and rarely wore anything but jeans and sweatshirts until I started working in a professional office. It probably won’t be super cold, though nights can get close to freezing for the lows (if you’re out at 2-4 am). One medium weight coat should be plenty. Definitely plan on it being warm-ish during the day. My family came from the midwest one year and had to buy shorts and t-shirts because it was in the 70’s and they had packed all winter clothes because we said it was “cold.” 70 is definitely sweatshirt weather for me, it depends what you’re used to. Layers will be your friend!

4. I’m due in 3 weeks, and have zero nursing clothing (bras, tops, etc.). Any recommendations on good nursing wear? Ideally tops with sleeves would be great. I have some store credit with Isabella Oliver but I hesitate to spend so much money on nursing tops, which I’ve heard are sometimes not the best quality. Also, how many nursing tops do I really need?

   1. Nursing tops did not work for me at all. I think they only work for smaller chested women who’s n!ps are in just the right place. I preferred to wear a nursing bra with a camisole and shirt on top. Pull shirt up, pull cami down, unhook bra, and pull out the b00b. I also used a nursing cover on top because my baby was not a sweet little nursling… he was all over the place, unlatching and generally making a scene every time.

      1. YMMV. I am large of chest and love the crossover nursing tops – just pull down/over to expose b**b. My favorite ones are gap. I have a lot – probably 6 long sleeve, 10 short sleeve. (I also nurse often and extended – so I am still nursing when baby is >1, and need the tops for longer.)

         In the beginning you will probably be sitting at home with baby most of the time, so no worry about covering up.

         Also, you can buy a bra or 2 now, but wait until your milk comes in and your b**bs may grow when that happens. I am normally a D/DD and postpartum about an H. Agree with T McGill that Anita are great. I like the bravado crossover ones for sleeping in.

         1. Ehh, I’d skip even a bra now and just buy a nursing cami at Target ($20 ish). Then after baby is born, go shopping with baby.

   2. I am a fan of the Anita brand of nursing bras. I always need a supportive bra, and while nursing, I especially needed one, and found Anita bras that were great. They are not pretty, but if you want support, they have some great ones. At night I slept in a non-underwire sports bra and just pushed it up to give feeding access. I didn’t buy any nursing tops, just wore regular tops and pushed them up for access as well.

      1. Definitely Anita for bras!

         Bravado tanks are great if you are large of chest. I like them better than Glamourmom even if you aren’t.

         I did the sports bra at night with my first but bought Bravado nursing bras with my second and did like them better.

         I like cami-under-top, suplice neclines, deep shawl collar, (real not faux) wrap tops, and button/zip ups. Since you nurse so. much. at the beginning, I feel like nursing-friendly tops (although not necessarily “nursing tops”) are very worth the money. Most of my favoriates, aside from nursing tanks, are not “nursing tops”.

         FYI, there was a fairly recent post on pumping attire that would be helpful.

   3. A couple of pieces from a maternity store/Target will get you through the first few weeks. Then you can assess your needs, feeding style, and chest size. I liked tanks under whatever else I was wearing so I didn’t feel as exposed. As you may have heard, babies go through some laundry so you can probably get away with maybe 3 tanks and a couple of bras in the beginning and just wash them. A nursing cover is a good thing to have too so you don’t have to worry about exposing as much skin.

   4. Congratulations on being so close to the pregnancy finish line!! Although I bought a few nursing tops before my son was born, I really didn’t use them that much. Instead, I found that a few good nursing bras, t-shirts/turtlenecks/camisole&cardigan combinations worked better. Much of the nursing clothing isn’t that great.

      That being said, the glamourmom camisoles are worth the price. You can actually wear them as a camisole without a nursing bra underneath. If you are concerned about flashing skin in public while nursing, the glamourmom camisoles are great to wear under whatever regular clothing you are wearing. As for nursing bras, bravado was the best that I found — comfy and you can wear them under most clothing.

      My general recommendation for post-partum wear is to find some clothes that you can sleep in and answer the door in as well. I found that it can be challenging to get out of PJs those first few weeks, so might as well find PJs that you can wear to the grocery store (I’m thinking yoga pants and a top). Good luck!!

   5. I bought one or two nursing tops, found them absolutely unnecessary. Fiddling with whatever kind of boob slot they had was much more awkward for me than just lifting up a loose-fitting top and letting it fold gently on my son’s face. My babe had a good latch and generally stayed on til he was finished, then turned his head & sighed. You won’t know what to get until you see who you get.

   6. My first baby was a winter baby, and I lived in nursing tanks with cardigans. I did not find any of the tops that were supposed to be for nursing to be helpful – you still have to have a nursing bra or tank on underneath, and they just added more fabric that had to get moved out of the way to get my boob out. Plus, your size will be changing a ton over the first few months as you lose the weight and as you first engorge, then settle into your nursing size boobs. So I really liked the flexibility of the tank. Target tanks are very reasonably priced. I loved my Bravado nursing tanks because they came in bra sizes, so they fit much better than the target tanks, but they are also more expensive.

5. Going anon due to the nature of the post…

   What do you do to relieve gas/bloating? For the last week or so I’ve felt on and off very bloated and slightly gassy. This is really not something that happens to me…ever. I’m just so uncomfortable and want it to go away. Is there something I can eat that will make me feel better? What about anti-gas medicines (never taken one before)? Do they actually make you feel less bloated? Does anyone know of any food culprits that aren’t so obvious? Beans are an obvious one, but I’ve only eaten beans once this week and that was after the bloating had already started.

   1. It could be dairy or certain veggies (peppers, cucumbers?). Try over-the-counter gas meds, but they’ve never helped with bloating for me.

      1. Bad foods for me: dairy: legumes including beans and peanut butter; cruciferous vegetables like bell peppers, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower; aliums like garlic, onions, shallots; spices like chiles, chili pepper, red pepper flakes, chipotle, jalepenos, cumin, ginger; red meat. Eggs and many dried fruits also have sulphur. Basically, if it tastes really good, I probably shouldn’t eat it. I ate delicious broccolini last night with 8 beano tablets. DH and I deeply regretted eating my eating the veggie later.

   2. Dairy/lactose, gluten, and fructose intolerance could all be to blame. Take a careful, honest look at what you’re eating, and keep a journal (including your symptoms).

      FWIW, I’ve had beaucoup d’ digestive issues for many years now, and changing my diet was the only thing that improved my life. Gastroenterologists whose first course of action is to diagnose and/or treat you with pills are (or have been, in my experience) worthless.

      1. I’m going to be really bummed if my breakfast of Greek yogurt turns out to be the culprit. But you’re right that I should keep a food and symptom journal. I will start one tomorrow!

         1. Check the number of bacterial cultures in your Greek yogurt. As someone who is extremely lactose intollerant, I find that I need at least four different bacterial strains in order to be comfortable. My go-to is Stoneyfield (sp?) Farm French Vanilla. Not Greek, but still delicious.

         2. Traditionally made yogurt isn’t usually as bad for lactose intolerance because the bacterial cultures produce lactase, the enzyme that digests lactose. However, a lot of supermarket yogurts aren’t actually cultured -they’re just milk with thickeners and flavors added.

            I believe yogurt containers have to be labeled as such if they contain live cultures.

   3. This happens to me very occasionally and apparently randomly (can’t trace it to any specific food). Chewable gas-x or store brand (simethicone) works pretty well. Hope it helps you.

      1. Yes, the work VERY well. Take 2 if necessary… I carry them in my purse always.

   4. As someone who has dealt with IBS my whole life, I know how you feel right now. Dairy, for me, is a big culprit. So is caffeine — which always makes me feel really bloated, even if my abdomen doesn’t look like it’s protruding! I don’t have a gluten sensitivity, so I know for me, it’s not that.

      I think Gas-X does help. It breaks down the gas bubbles so they’re easier to pass (either up or down). So you won’t have a huge hurting gas bubble in your intestines.

      Also, drink lots and lots of water. It really does help.

      And not to worry you, but my boyfriend felt bloated for a very very long time (like about a month of feeling bloated). It turns out that it wasn’t bloating but that he has a hiatal hernia. So if your gas doesn’t get relieved, definitely try to see a doctor.

   5. I eat yogurt.

   6. For me I get this when I eat foods with like spinach, broccoli, etc.It is mostly uncomfortable but can be painful. Sad because those foods are good for me but I can’t really tolerate much of them raw. Gas X does work but you will be burping a lot and um doing other things. I am scared of overdoing medicine so I only ever take one. Pepto can also help.

      1. Good point. Cruciferous vegetables are really rough on some people’s systems!

         1. “Cruciferous!” said Neville Longbottom.

            “URGGGHH!!!!!” screamed Voldemort, clutching his lower abdomen, and writhing to avoid embarrassing fits of flatulence.

            “Neville! You used one of those Unforgiveable Curses!” – [concerned Hogwarts student]

            Neville: “No, it’s actually acceptable. Just something I learned from Advanced Herbology!”

            1. HIVE FIVE

            2. I don’t even know what you’re talking about right now.

            3. +1,000,000

            4. ALL the wins!

            5. You win everything there is to win.

      2. as a fellow sufferer, yeah, these raw vegetables really have a nasty effect on me.

         1. Glad to hear I’m not alone. I get weird looks from people when I ask, is there spinach in this??? about random mixed greens.

            1. Indeed. I saw a WSJ piece about how people are getting more aware about IBS and similar issues, and I’m glad.

               I’ve had bad attacks that left me in a terrible cold sweat (and worse). (And yes, that’s when I began to imagine– if you could cause someone to suffer in the same way, would it be an Unforgiveable Curse in the Harry Potter universe? And would one use such a thing on Voldemort?) ;-) Yes. I’m crazy.

   7. Also are you drinking enough water? Try drinking a ton and see what happens.

   8. DH has this problem, and it’s been new in the past 3 years or so. We’ve been trying to pin it to a food, and the closest we’ve come is “usually when eating a very pecan and/or almond heavy meal on an empty stomach.” Though he still consumes pecan pie with ease, and is not bothered by almond milk or anything of that nature.

      BUT I got DH some tums that come in a tic-tac type container. They are mint flavored. He loves them. He’s a consultant and always on the road, so he doesn’t feel weird pulling out a little container after a meal (often just as preventative). He also has used some of the OTC meds (GasX, Pepto, whatever comes in that blue bottle…) and that does work well for him–it just requires lugging around a telling bottle of stomach meds.

   9. This happens to me regularly (so can’t comment on how it just started for you). For me it’s a wide range of foods – including onions, garlic, cruciferous veggies, fibrous foods (apples are bad), soy products and, of course, beans. These items are all listed on the bottles of beano. The worst was when I had a dinner of (delicious) garlic soup. I’m certain that dairy does not affect me and I’m pretty sure it’s not gluten, either.

      I love all of these foods and so far I’ve chosen to continue to eat them instead of accommodating my digestive system. I find that drinking a lot of water helps me, and that drinking caffeine and alcohol makes it worse (maybe because I drink less water when I’m drinking other liquids).

   10. Just a thought: have you moved recently and thusly changed your water? We went from city life to well water and the first few weeks (until we changed the whole-house water filter) were gassy hell for me.

6. Threadjack – sorry. Would have posted on this morning’s board, but it was naturally very full. I do want to say I loved the conversation and how well thought out a lot of the points were.

   I’m heading into my third year of BigLaw/fourth year of lawyering. I got an interesting call from a recruiter for a job in the industry I want to go in with compensation higher than I would have imagined. However, I actually have a really sweet deal with my firm. I’m in a smaller group even though I’m at the main office of a huge firm. The people I work with are generally very nice and understanding, and my hours really aren’t that bad compared to other BigLaw attorneys both here and elsewhere. There are certainly busy times but it’s really not that bad. Regardless, I don’t think I’m on a partner track – it may be a good place to be an associate, but I don’t want the type of responsibility partners have or the lifestyle of always being on call for clients, family vacations and school plays be darned. I just don’t know if it’s time for me to leave? I wouldn’t have thought so because I do have a good gig going at the moment, and a lot of loans to pay off, but the possible job sounds GOOD. Any thoughts on how to make such a decision? Any advice for how to decide if it is time to leave a biglaw gig for in-house? Any regrets in the hive?

   1. Think really carefully about this. I was a BigLaw attorney at a very sane firm — which, as so many do, eventually broke apart. The pressure on lawfirms to hold down costs and drive out lawyers who aren’t rainmakers wil increase over time. If you don’t particularly want to be a partner, you can’t be sure how long you’ll be asked to stay in your firm. Economics change. That’s just the nature of the law for the foreseeable future.

      Working for a company is very different. You’re senior enough to have interesting work, but have all the time in the world to grow into the business and develop your network within the company. It will be very satisfying to develop a reputation for excellence within the company. In-house lawyers work hard but reasonable and controllable hours. And they hire outside counsel to do the boring work. I left BigLaw 25 years ago and have never regretted it.

      The truth is, there aren’t that many opportunities to go in-house in the industry you like in a place where you want to live. This might not seem like the right time, but it’s entirely likely this chance won’t come around again. These are highly sought-after jobs.

   2. It doesn’t hurt to interview! Maybe you’ll find out that the new opportunity would be a great fit, or maybe you’ll realize that the company culture is not worth the change.

      1. I agree with this, and I would love to hear back as to how your job search goes, if you take that route. I am in a similar situation — my hours are great, and I am way too well compensated considering how low my billables are. I have no interest in making partner, and I’m sure I wouldn’t even be considered. (I don’t have the right temperament.) I’m a midlevel associate in biglaw, and I don’t know when to start looking to lateral (although unlike you, I don’t know what industry I’d like to go into and haven’t heard about a great opening from a recruit0r).

7. I love this jacket! I don’t think it’ll make you look too old but you might not want to wear all black, as Kat mentioned.

8. I say this as someone who purchased Eileen Fisher pieces before age 30, so that may be your cue to stop reading.

   But regarding the OP’s question, I don’t have a solution because I guess I don’t have this problem. I’ve never found that “designer” or “expensive” also meant “old.”

   1. UGH, I can’t wait til I’m “old” so I can wear Eileen Fisher unapologetically. Also, so that I can afford Eileen Fisher. :) It just looks so comfortable!

   2. I’m with you on this. I also don’t love that looking “old” is something one has to avoid.

      When that book called “How Not To Look Old,” I cringed. When did “old” become a stand-in for “frumpy”?

      1. I think if you are young, you look young. I mean, no one is going to look at a 30-year-old and think she’s 60… and vice versa (sadly!). So in this case…I do think the question really is, how not to look frumpy. :-((

   3. THIS- if I had the money, I’d totally wear St. John’s, and I haven’t reached 30 yet. Some of the “older” brands have a refined, classy look you just don’t see in the “younger” brands.

      I’m really frustrated with what stores think women my age are supposed to wear (and fault them with sending coordinators to my office in bare legs and turquoise heels for interviews in December).

      The jacket is great- like Kat said, I might pair it with something that has a more modern cut, or with a slick hairdo (no pouffy southern ‘dos for that jacket, else one might look like a pirate).

9. I agree with the suggestion for cigarette pants. That will definitely help. Also, in general, try some statement jewelry. I think it can make an outfit look a lot younger.

10. The high neckline of this jacket could look dowdy when worn with black bottoms. I’d suggest a bright skirt or a pattern. A black and white houndstooth would look nice. I’d also avoid black bottoms because you’d likely see the different shades of black.

11. I think with pieces like this, it’s all about styling. Makeup, hair, and shoes would make all the difference. I think it would look fine paired with black.

12. Just finished my first workout of the year (unless you count a bike ride with my kiddo this weekend) and am waiting for endorphins to kick in. It’s actually been much longer than that. Neighbor called partway through for a jump, so it was a really short workout, but I think it’ll help. I feel my shoulders calling me to do some more, which I take as a very good sign. Got to get little one’s yoga duds packed for him and the article I’m supposed to be reading/writing on, then will take a few more minutes before I get him from school, if I have time.

    1. I’m imagining a bouncy, energetic 10yr old in yoga duds– too cute! :-)

       1. :)

       2. :)

13. A few weeks back there was a great thread about what questions to ask when interviewing potential daycares. I’ve tried a couple of searches and haven’t found the old thread. Can someone help me find this? I have my first daycare interview tomorrow and need help coming up with good questions. Thanks!

    1. Congrats, Mom2Be! I believe the thread on evaluating daycares was on the Dec 17 2012 posts.

       (I’m not a parent, but I’m trying to be a good auntie–I’ve forwarded them to a number of friends and relatives who are expecting. ) :-)

14. Argh, I’ve been coveting this exact jacket for months! So envious!

15. For me, the answer to this one is white or cream trousers and brown shoes, which is how I wear most of my black jackets. The combo looks luxurious (and actually is, since white trousers can be a pain to keep pristine). In warmer weather, the combo with wide-cut silk trousers is great for travel days, comfy for flights, polished enough for going straight from airport to work.

16. I have a charcoal grey wool jacket that I loved when I bought at a trunk show, but got home and realized that, although it’s designer and made well, it is quite boxy when buttoned and is shapeless and frumpy when unbuttoned. Solution #1: I wear it as a top, never unbuttoning it. Solution #2: I always wear it with a fitted pencil skirt (or shift dress) or cigarette pants in a print or contrasting color. It looks awesome with grey wool slim ankle pants and a sky-high black patent pump.

    Also, turquoise for clothes and hot pink for accessories are definitely, definitely my signature colors. They make me happy just thinking about them!

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