Suit of the Week: Ann Taylor

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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. Oooh: Ann Taylor has a few cute suits right now, including this sleek pin-dot suit (pictured here with a matching peplum shell, which I'm not totally sure I'm into, FWIW). I think the suit is on trend in a lot of different regards — the bracelet-length sleeves, the ankle-length pants, the total lack of frills — and even polka dots are supposed to be in for 2018, so the teeny tiny pin dots here are kind of on trend as well (versus just being a dependable classic). There's some weirdness afoot online, with capri pants being pictured in one of the instances even though both matching pants are ankle length; I also expect the stock is highly changeable as well, so call your local store or start a chat if your size appears to be out. The jacket (Pindot Suit Jacket) is $179, and the pants (Ankle Pant in Pindot – Devin Fit) are $109; they both come in regular, petite, and tall sizes. There's also a matching Kate fit pant (almost entirely sold out in regular sizes, but still available in petite/tall sizes). This suit is more affordable, and Talbots has a mini-dot suit in plus sizes, plus size petite, petites, and regular sizes 2-18. This post contains affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. For more details see here. Thank you so much for your support!

Sales of note for 2/7/25:

  • Nordstrom – Winter Sale, up to 60% off! 7850 new markdowns for women
  • Ann Taylor – Extra 25% off your $175+ purchase — and $30 of full-price pants and denim
  • Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything + extra 15% off
  • Boden – 15% off new season styles
  • Eloquii – 60% off 100s of styles
  • J.Crew – Extra 50% off all sale styles
  • J.Crew Factory – 40% off everything including new arrivals + extra 20% off $125+
  • Rothy's – Final Few: Up to 40% off last-chance styles
  • Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
  • Talbots – 40% off one item + free shipping on $150+

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

Some of our latest threadjacks include:

174 Comments

  1. Wondering if you can help suggest a gift for an older relative.

    I was looking for a book recommendation and perhaps some sort of “starter” kit for something artistic.

    She was a world traveler, daily Wall Street Journal reader until a fall a few months ago with a head injury and some complications. Now she is stuck mostly at home and is going a little stir crazy, but doesn’t have the physical and cognitive endurance she once had. Years ago she used to paint in the ancient Japanese style, and at one time had a small business designing jewelry (inspired by her collections of antique Asian stones).

    I wondered if a little starter kit for knitting might be nice, then wasn’t sure if that might not be right….

    1. Are you in her city? Why not offer to take her to an art supply store so she can pick up some paint and other supplies if she’d like? If she’s stuck at home she might enjoy the outing.

    2. Adult coloring books were a thing for a few years – I think the trend continues though dying down. And they’re pretty intricate so it’s not like she’s coloring what a 4 yr old would.

      1. I agree that the trend seems to be dying down, but it also seems to be evolving. I like some of the newer coloring books I’ve seen.

    3. I’d give her nice watercolor pencils and a sketchbook with watercolor paper.

    4. Try the book “642 Things to Draw” with some nice colored pencils or ink pens. It’s not a coloring book– its blank pages with interesting little artistic prompts.

    5. Are you meaning she can’t read the WSJ? Maybe set her up with podcasts so she can still listen to the content?

      1. Good idea. I have sent an email to her husband to ask what her reading ability is like, but I suspect she may not be reading the paper any more.

    6. Knitting is a classic for older people for a reason! Simple, once you get the hang of it and soothing. I would suggest an intro to knitting class if possible, since its easiest if someone shows you stitches in person. One caveat- does she have full use of her hands? Arthritis will make knitting no fun.

      1. Thanks for this. I don’t think a class is possible, as she is more house-bound these days. I think her hands are ok, with more leg/balance difficulties.

      2. Someone who works at a knotting store may be willing to do home visits for some intro classes

  2. Building on the NOLA discussion from this am, y’all have any recos on cafes to work from? My DH is going to be there for a conference and I need to get a lot of work done. If there are decent cafes with good seating, plugs, coffee, wifi and snacks I might be able to tag along. Also would love recos on nice but affordable dinner places I can meet him in after work. TIA!

    1. There was a discussion on the subject of working from cafes a week or so ago and most agreed hotel lobbies are the best. The issue is that they won’t give you the Wi-Fi code unless you’re a guest. But you are, so whee!

      1. (Different Anon) Yes, In general I think you’ll have more space and it will be quieter in a hotel lobby and so many hotels have little nooks and crannies.

    2. NOLA is filled with great coffee shops to work in. Check out Rue De La Course (known locally as The Rue) – that was my favorite spot when I lived there. CC’s coffee houses are also great – they’re all over the city.

    3. I love visiting public libraries in new cities. I’m a geek. This includes University libraries that are open to the public and state law libraries. I bet you could find a pretty awesome library somewhere in NOLA.

      1. Following up on this point, the US Fifth Circuit is located downtown and I love going to the library there because the building is really pretty. I know they let attorneys work in there to do research, so maybe? There’s also a nice library on St. Charles Ave. right on the streetcar line that you could check out, called The Latter Branch Library.

    4. I imagine you’ll want a place that is close to where you’re staying. Most conferences are downtown, so if that’s where you are you might try Stumptown or Drip. Rue de la Course is Uptown and would be pretty far from the downtown area, so might not be convenient, but it is a popular location with students and they have decent size tables.

      There’s a Starbucks on Canal St. but don’t count on that one it is always jammed with people, and I can’t imagine getting anything done there. Same for the PJ’s on St. Charles downtown.

      1. Also, there’s a place called Monkey Monkey in Mid-City, one-block off of the Canal St. streetcar line that seems quiet enough and has large tables.

  3. These broader questions do better in the morning posts but in case there after afternoon/evening readers in the mood to chat — did your professional life turn out how you thought/hoped/expected/dreamt it would when you were first starting out (whether in college, first year on the job, wherever)? If not, how has it exceeded or fallen short?

    1. Ohhhh, deep! Fallen way short. I think because of my terrible personality and inability to self-promote.

    2. No, not at all!

      I thought my path would be university – grad school – career – marriage – kids. I never knew what exactly I wanted to do for a living, I just figured that things would naturally fall into place.

      I didn’t know I would struggle with severe mental illness throughout my 20s that changed the course of my life. I hated university. Never went to grad school. Worked lots of random jobs for a long time before landing a “real” career. I love where I am now, but it took a long time to figure out what I wanted to do when I grew up. I’m behind my peers in terms of salary, savings, achievements, etc. But that’s okay. I’m here.

    3. Nope! Nothing like what I’d thought.

      I don’t have a good answer to this question yet, though. I’m about 7 years into my career.

      1. I am a little like January, though I now have 10 year’s of expereince as an attorney and counselor at law. I was originally thinking I would work in DC for the Federal Trade Commission or the EPA or the Justice Department, b/c their offices were near where I lived. But my summer internships were disasterus and I learned that I was to much of a go getter to just sit around gossiping with the attorneys. Besides, they were onley interested in dating me and having me fetch stuff for them b/c they were to lazy to do it themself. FOOEY on them.

        So I decided to go into the private sector, but b/c the men at those places I worked did not get anywhere with me s-xueally, they did NOT give me any recomendations, so I was onley able to get a job serving supeenies on a per supeenie basis. What a let down for a girl like me who was a member of the bar! But then by dumb luck, I met the manageing partner, and he saw something in me that others didnt, and he nurtured me into what I am today. A partner in a boutique NYC firm, doeing exactly what he wants me to do. So I went from rags to riches all within 10 years, and he has told me the sky is the limit if I can grow the busness by getting more corporeate cleint’s to sign on. I am already doeing so, and my compensation has gone up alot. The onley downside is that I do NOT have time to find a man to marry me, b/c the ones I meet are either schlubs that just want me to work while they sleep, or, if they are sucessful, do NOT want me as their wife, preferring for me just to sleep with them, and if not that, just take off my clothe’s and let them grope me. FOOEY on that! #metoo!

        So all in all, I have positive things to say, but onley wish that more men would respect me for my mind and legal accumen, and not just think of me as a young and pretty attorney that they can sleep with. Once I am able to get there, I will be very happy. YAY!!!!!

    4. Exceeded. I’m really pleased with where I am now, and didn’t expect it, mainly because I was from a poor family and had no idea of what mainstream success looked like, and because I was insecure about my ability to achieve.

    5. Strangely, my career has turned exactly like I imagined it would be when I was a young girl and Dreaming Big Dreams. I was practically despondent throughout my 20s when a series of decisions took me, I thought, so far off course that I could never get back. (Think: lifetime love for Topic A starting in kindergarten and then meet a college guy in high school and go chase Topic B because he thought it was cool. SMH.) I shook off Topic B in my late 20s/early 30s and went back to school to get back to Topic A. I look at my career now and can’t believe some of the experiences I’ve had. Very cool stuff.

      As a lonely only child growing up, I used to play pretend a lot by myself in my room. I’m now doing the exact things I used to play pretend at. It’s so interesting to see now that I really did have the right ideas as a kid :)

    6. I would say it has been… different. I started in journalism as a stringer and then as a reporter for a small weekly. Three years/insufficient upward potential/one bad relationship and breakup later, I moved and used my editorial skills to land a job in publishing. Worked there for seven years and would have stayed indefinitely but took a position at a tech company for a fairly substantial bump in pay. I’ve always been a people person who has gotten good performance reviews so I had kind of imagined being in a management position of some kind by now, but I am happy with where I am. I’ve never had a job I really hated and being in particular position or line of work has never been as important to me as salary/supporting my lifestyle, so I’m content to drift a little.

    7. Exceeded. I thought I’d work for a few years and be a stay at home mom for a long time, with no real desire to work after that. After many years as a SAHM I went back to my original field and am now in a pretty decent place. I’ve been super lucky and I don’t recommend this path as a general rule.

    8. Definitely way short. When I was in high school and college, I assumed I would have a really important, prestigious job. Not necessarily that it would be super financially lucrative – my parents are academics at top research institutions, which is difficult and prestigious but doesn’t pay that well so I never equated ‘high-earning’ with ‘high-achieving’ the way many people here seem to. But I was an excellent student in K-12 and went to HYP for undergrad, and I definitely thought my career would be something that required my ‘brilliant mind,’ and I would excel at it (I’m aware this is super arrogant, but this was how I thought from the ages of about 12-25). Now I’m in my mid-30s and I have what I admit is a totally routine career that doesn’t require any unique amount of intelligence or dedication, or any education beyond college. I could have this exact same career if I’d been a B student in high school who went to a state school and was only an average student there. I have an advanced degree but it’s unnecessary for my career. BUT… I’m really happy with how things have ended up – my job is interesting and I work with nice people, and it’s 40 hours per week with generous paid time off, so I spend a lot of time with my family, travel and really enjoy my life outside of work. I think I realized that I’m one of those people who was very good at school but never really found their one true career passion and so going ‘all in’ on my career doesn’t make sense for me. (The catch to my unicorn job is that it pays pretty terribly, but I have a spouse who earns more than I do and we live in a very cheap part of the country – I definitely wouldn’t be happy with this salary as a single person in NYC).

    9. This is an interesting thing to think about. I’ve achieved pretty decent objective success (I’m a midlevel in biglaw). The younger version of me was living in a working-class town town 2-3 hours from the nearest city, going to a giant public high school, and dreaming of getting out of that town by whatever means it took. My family didn’t really know any lawyers and I definitely had no idea what biglaw was. So, given that: my career probably exceeds my earlier expectations (Definitely in terms of salary. I had no idea people actually made this much money.)

      However, that being said: I really dislike being a law, working at a big firm and representing the “bad guy,” and I’m overall pretty unhappy in my career. I obviously understood at the outset of my career that “work is called work because it’s work.” But, I think my expectations for my career involved more personal satisfaction and happiness. So, if that’s the scale, my career has fallen way short so far.

    10. Better but harder.

      I love the area of law that I practice and completely ended up here by accident. But my job is much busier than I like and I find it really challenging to balance with 3 young kids, even though DH is very supportive and involved. I don’t have an option to step back slightly, it would be a huge change and I love lots of aspects of my job, I just wish I only had to do it 3 days a week.

    11. I am doing something that I didn’t even know was an option when I graduated either time (ugrad/law school) and it’s perfect for me (at this point in my life anyway). So, I’ll say exceeded. I took a round about path to get here, but that non-linear path also prepared me for the stuff I currently do.

    12. Different but better. I never thought I would last this long in the arena I am in, nor did I think I would reach the point where people would care what I thought (hence my handle).

      I’m very industry focused right now in energy. I’ve worked across the whole spectrum from solar through infrastructure through oil and gas (sometimes at the same place) and have really developed my own views and understanding. I’m also passionate about it and the logistics / engineering student in me loves that it is such an engineering driven field. I also love the fact that engineers think sneakers are business casual. Fits with my desire to not dress up / lack of label consciousness.

    13. It’s different than I thought. By society standards it probably fell short, but by my own standards it is an unbelievable improvement. I envisioned myself being in a huge law firm and working my way up to partner. I actually got the job in the huge law firm and realized it was the worst. I now work in house, have an amazing husband and kid (and plenty of time to spend with them), and I am super involved in a volunteer/hobby that I find incredibly rewarding.

    14. Great question and answers. Not my question but if people don’t mind, let’s ask this again tomorrow – so few people reading here now as compared to say 10 am est.

    15. Two years ago I would have said “total disappointment, I’m not at all where I want to be.” I had just been passed over for promotion.

      A year ago I took a leap into a job I wasn’t really sure about. I would have said, “eh, not looking so great, but we’ll see.”

      Three weeks ago I started my dream job and it is already better than I thought it would be. I feel like I am exactly where I want to be, doing exactly what I want to be doing. So today I say, “far exceeds, I’m thrilled with how things worked out!”

      But tomorrow or the next day – who knows???

      The moral of this story is, if you’re in a place you didn’t intend to get to, and you don’t like it – things absolutely can change.

      1. Thank you for this.
        Late 20s and my life was pretty “on-track” till 6 months ago (a lovely job that paid well and had amazing perks, adorable toddler, living in a gorgeous city..paying too much rent, but eh) when I decided to follow my husband halfway across the world for a “dream job”.The move has been hard, being a SAHM is hard, not speaking the local language is hard and not getting much sunshine makes everything else 100% worse.
        So today- My life is nowhere close to where I wanted it to be and I am truly unhappy

    16. Way better than I ever thought. I assumed I would be a nerdy academic making peanuts and studying things that nobody really cared out, or that I’d be toiling on political campaigns (and again, making peanuts). I went corporate after grad school in an entirely different field and found out that what I really love is helping people, and making money! It won’t last forever but I’m enjoying it while it does. I’m really proud of how far I’ve come, and how valued I am at my company.

    17. I’m almost two years in. I really, truly thought I would be a lifer in the work I do. My experiences in law school made me think I would love it. I used to love it. I had a life plan spreadsheet, ending with executive director of a legal aid organization.

      I hate it. I’ve struggled with anxiety for a long time, but nothing like what I’ve dealt with since starting this job. I dread it. I feel trapped. I’m trying to escape and find something else but I’ve never not known what’s coming next and I’m flailing. I’m inspired by the stories above, but I can confidently say that my early plans are not going to pan out. And that’s really hard.

    18. Different, but in hindsight very similar. I thought I was going to med school. I did all the work and then took a year to think it over /work in a lab because I was waffling between a PA and going the MD route. I ended up doing neither, getting a free masters at the university I was working at, and then after being paid a pittance for lab work sort of randomly got my first job in an entry level corporate role with a company that vaguely did things with the kind of stuff I was researching (it was not like doing drug research —> pharma company. More like the models we were doing were used inside a technology this company used to sell before it went Big League). Then I had a couple of quick promotions, moved around the industry a bit, and ended up a very young VP at a very big company, traveling every other week and working 60-80 hours weeks with a baby at home. I got laid off when pregnant with my second, started a consulting gig where I worked 10-25 hours a week while being primarily a SAHM (with some childcare, of course!). I had a THIRD kid (never thought I’d be a mom of 3…) because our setup was so good that it was possible and was effectively consulting/SAH-ish for 6 years- never would have thought I’d do that. DH got laid off from his cushy exec job and we both started job hunting- I found a great role that paid a ton, took it, and he has been freelancing/SAH dad-ing (a little- more like carpool/activities chauffeur/ homework helper these days) and I’m on the road again- a LOT.

      DH and I are so, so thankful we bought our forever house at a price that we could afford on one of our salaries. It was hard to see all our friends/peers in $1M+ homes, but we are belt—and-suspender kind of people. At 38 we are in a great financial place, have the luxury of being able to take jobs that work for our lifestyle- we are both too senior in our industry to both take Big Roles and still be home for the kids in a meaningful way. We’d have to hire a live-in nanny and we just don’t want that- anymore. When we were 25-30? I was all about the idea of two execs and a live in nanny. But ourloans are paid off and I care about Big Important Work Things less than I used to. Work is just work.

    19. I’ve fallen short in some ways but my life is still pretty good. I’m in the career I envisioned at 20, albeit at a much less prestigious job than I might have hoped for. But I’m happy, am getting some interesting opportunities, have great kids and a great partner.

    20. Fell short. I imagined by now I would have the corner office, be making lots of money, and be a brilliant policy wonk. I am getting there, but it is taking longer than I had expected.

      1. Fallen Short. But I am doing more to remedy that. I am back in school part time to add more letters to my name which in turn will open more opportunities for me. I am really enjoying the training/teaching aspect of my position and would like to pursue that full time (hence the back to school to get certified).

        I had every intention of making partner and being a hotshot, however, with 2 kids, my priorites changed. I am happy being a senior associate (not really happy but I have more flex than if I were partner). and, like I said, going to the teaching aspect (i help train articling clerks and prep them for the bar exam), i am more and more content

  4. I realize that I spend hours each day squinting at my laptop screen because of glare from over my shoulder.

    What am I looking for to stop the squinting (besides sunglasses) – a glare protector? Do they work?

    1. In my cube farm we never turn on the overhead lights, specifically because of glare.

    2. In my office some people wear yellow-tinted glasses to reduce glare and eye strain (search Amazon for “yellow glasses”) such as those made for gamers. When I went as Walter from the Big Lebowski for Halloween this year I discovered how much even a cheap pair can help!

    3. Can’t send a link, but if you search for “Business Insider blue light glasses,” you’ll get some good leads.

    4. Could regular sunglasses work then? If glasses are the best approach, I’d rather wear them than color-corrective glasses. I’m being vain and more worried about wrinkles – I don’t squint with sunglasses on.

      1. Are your sunglasses polarized? I have trouble seeing the screen of electronics with my polarized sunglasses on and it may be the same with a computer screen.

  5. Ugh, it’s early afternoon here on the west coast and I don’t like my outfit. I did the color challenge today (red accents with blue outfit) and the colors aren’t bugging me but the proportions of my outfit are. I’ve never worn this jacket with pants and now I know why, it just makes my butt/thighs look enormous.

    How do you get through the rest of the day when you know you’re not looking good?

    1. Sympathy, this sometimes happens to me when I realize the skirt I’m wearing is the wrong length to be flattering with my footwear. Just realize no one else sees what you see and you look perfectly fine to your coworkers.

      1. I agree with Tesyaa! But I always agree with Tesyaa! If onley I knew what Tesyaa means! Yay Tesyaa!

    2. I just remind myself that it’s just one day of the year, and in fact, it’s just a few hours. And I run home as soon as possible after work and immediately change into my favorite cute lounge clothes (as opposed to the schlumpy ones).

    3. This happened to me today too, unrelated to the outfit challenge. I realized this afternoon why I don’t often reach for this cardigan … because after several hours of wear the elbows get all stretched out. I’m trying to immerse myself in a project and just distract myself from it. And later tonight I’m going to have a hard conversation with myself about whether it’s time to get rid of this cardigan. (Seriously – it was a gift and I have some emotional ties to it, but it may be stretched out beyond repair.)

    4. I do a mental tally of how many co-workers’ outfits from the prior day I can remember. Usually, the answer is that I cannot recall what a single person was wearing. Occasionally, I remember noticing someone for a positive reason, but mostly I realize that I really don’t pay that much attention. And I remind myself that no one is paying that much attention to me.

    5. Thank you all! You are making me feel much better but i still can’t wait to get home and put on anything else!!

  6. I think I read this on here some time ago…is it true there’s an option to have Premium LinkedIn without it showing that little icon on your profile (which basically screams “I’m looking for a job!” to everyone in my company)?

    1. I don’t think people care enough to notice that you have Premium, or think that you’re using it for job searching. If I saw my coworker with that icon I probably wouldn’t give it a second thought.

    2. Side question – what does one get with the Premium, as far as job searching? Like, different/better listings?

      1. The main benefit is that you can view unlimited profiles and employee lists if you’re just generally browsing for people who work at a particular firm/company or people with a certain title. If you don’t have Premium, LinkedIn starts blurring out the search results at a pretty low number of searches–for instance, I’m not even doing a broad-based search and just interviewed at one place, but I was restricted from viewing their <100 employees because apparently I'd already looked too much that month.

        LinkedIn will try to tell you that they can help you identify jobs where you'd be a good fit, tell you where you rank skills-wise amongst applicants, and how many people have applied so far, but IME those "benefits" are useless. Unless the application is directly through Linkedin, the "how many people have applied" number is just how many people have clicked through to the employer's application landing page. It's inflated by people who clicked out of curiousity, and it's missing all the people who found the job directly on the employer site or another job board. The skills ranking is just comparing you to other applicants, who may or may not be a good pool of what the posting seems to be asking for. It told me I was missing key skills for a corporate transactional in-house position because I did not have specific litigation skills that other carpet-bombing applicants had listed. And as far as recommending jobs that fit your skills and interests–well, I'm an attorney and it often recommends secretary and executive assistants jobs. Searching "attorney" and "city metro area" has gotten me far better results and it's free.

        Source: I just did the one month premium free trial. I would not pay for it again. You can get around the ability to view profiles by just searching directly the names of people you're interviewing with.

      2. I’m mainly getting it to see who viewed my profile (without having to go off private setting myself). I agree that I think the postings are pretty useless.

  7. Has anyone used one of the online interior design services? I have one room that we are under-using and I want to make it more functional but am worried it is going to look random so I want some professional help. Please give me any tips / site suggestions / opinions. The reason I don’t want to do it myself from Houzz and Pinterest inspiration is that the furniture placement will be really atypical and there are not a lot of examples of combo rooms like this out there (office and dining room).

    1. YES — I used Kimberlie Wade. The WSJ had an article on her (and other online interior design services) and I googled her and reached out (she’s in my city, which was a plus, but does most of her work remotely and relies on pictures, measurements, and discussions). She was fantastic.

    2. A friend of mine used Decorist for her living room and really liked it. (No other feedback other than that.)

  8. I posted this yesterday but it disappeared or at least I can’t find it.

    I am wondering if there are retailers for duvet covers that I might not be aware of. And, I want a “dressier” style, maybe with some sheen, but I think polyester is a bad idea for many reasons. So a source for silk maybe that’s not super expensive, or some shinier cotton? I have the Macy’s down comforter 108 x 96.

    1. Garnet Hill. Look for percale if you want crispy or sateen if you want actual sheen. They have some silk comforters and duvets as well. I had a gorgeous Japanese floral duvet cover from them that lasted more than ten years!

    2. My husband got me one of those silk comforter throws made by Eileen Fisher for my birthday and it is so, so beautiful. I thought it was too indulgent and was going to return it but now I’m like MY THROW. DO NOT TOUCH.

      1. Oh my god, I’m sad you mentioned this because I just googled it and it’s gorgeous but so out of my price range. I’m going to lust after it forever though.

        1. Yeah he only splashed out for the throw size but if he had gone for the whole comforter I’d still be in bed right now.

    3. I got a sateen cotton set at Bed, Bath, and Beyond a while ago. Plain – came in a few colors.

    4. I’ve got a couple of Pottery Barn duvet covers that I like. Not sure what their current options are on sheen. Also, Ballard Designs might have something or Bed Bath and Beyond. If you still can’t find one you like, it might be worth pricing out having one custom made with fabric you select. It may be an additioanly cost upfront, but for something you use every day for several years, the cost per use is low.

    5. This may sound odd, but try Pottery barn kids or RH Baby and Child. RH especially has some gorgeous pieces and they are a lot cheaper than the ‘main’ brands.

    6. Depending on your budget, but I LOVE Yves Delorme sateen. Their sales prices are decent for high end sheets, and they are seriously luxurious feeling. Better than any hotel I have stayed at or any other high end brands I have tried.

    7. Zara Home has some very nice options. Anthropologie also has them, if that’s more your style.

    8. Very happy with Crane and Company… many have a zipper at the bottom instead of buttons. All have interior ties. Got one and use it atop sheets for summer…got two twins so that we have better individualized coverage with non-down duvet inserts (Crate and Barrell) … for winter. We fell in love with the two smaller ones for winter when staying at the Borg Hotel in Reykjavik. Genius. Then again, we don’t live in a wintry area of US so we may be late to the game. Anyway, Crane and Company has delicious colors, patterns, and fabrics. The summer one is Nova and the winter ones are white with grey stripes like a menswear shirt.

  9. Can anyone recommend an LA spot for Saturday brunch or lunch that is either worth the wait or under-the-radar enough that it won’t have a huge wait? On my list currently:

    Sqirl
    Republique
    Gjusta

    Which is best, or can anyone recommend something else better along those lines? TIA!

      1. Hahaha.

        I went to a PechaKucha event a couple of weeks ago where one of the presenters was a young woman who moved back home from LA to take over her family business in the Midwest. Her slides of LA life included “going to brunch and figuring out how to pronounce the names of brunch places.”

    1. If you’re near Pasadena, the Little Flower Cafe and its newer, bigger sister Lincoln are great.

    2. I like brunch at the Hart and the Hunter, and also Eveleigh. My go-to used to be Terrine until it closed! (weep, weep)

      On the “worth the wait” question, I would choose Sqirl over Republique. No doubt that Republique is really good but the wait is just so long! I think Sqirl is great – love the sorrel rice bowl – and typically not as crazy long of a line.

  10. Do any other litigators out there find their opposing counsel overwhelmingly be these older white men (age 60+) who are completely incompetent? IDK if I have just been unlucky for the past year, but I’ve dealt with about 10 attorneys that fit this description and I’m always shocked that they haven’t had disciplinary issues for how they handle their cases……..

    1. I’ve had quite a few of those. Not all, by any stretch, but quite a few. Really reminds you the bar is a minimum competency exam.

      1. I find these cases particularly difficult to litigate because I can never predict what OC will do next…

      2. #Me too! Most of the plaintiff’s counsel are older, greazey haired men (of multiple races, colors and creeds), who have the common trait of trying to scam my cleint’s out of money for fake injuries that they want to collect WC for. We have been abel to catch over 70% of those cliamants doeing things that are wholly inconsistent with being disabled! We get film, testimonials from neighbors and videos showing them to be alot more abel bodied then they claim when they file for benefit’s with their employer, the insurance carrier (our cleint) or the state, in the case they are eligible onley for statutory benefits. FOOEY on BOTH the lawyer’s and their cleint’s. I do not mind paying legitimate claims, but most of mine are fake, and it is MY job to fight them, either in arbritration or in court.

      1. Examples: “orientals like you” TO HIS CLIENT

        Long, drawn out, extremely biased details of his case against us to other attorneys on other cases waiting for the judge, to the bailiff, to plaintiffs and witnesses on other cases, right in front of us

        Trying to fist-bump me every time he sees me (just no)

        Talking to the judge about his three vacation homes

        I could go on and on

        And he wins 50% of the time

    2. When my son was little, he said to me “Mommy, every time you have a trial the other lawyer is a big jerk!” Which, upon reflection, was true. Because if the other lawyer isn’t a big jerk, most of the time you can settle and you don’t have to go to trial.

      I feel your pain.

    3. At least half of my life is dealing with over-60 male blowhards, a large percentage of whom are also incompetent. I did depositions this week with one who said I couldn’t object to any questions because the deponent, who will be one of my witnesses, is not my client. When I took a deposition the next day of one of his witnesses, he tried to “insist” that I break up multiple-page documents into separate exhibits because he didn’t like how I had put them together them. Nope, sorry.

    4. Not over 60, but very much a white man who, by virtue of litigating in a ridiculously tiny county that I don’t usually practice in, was buddy-buddy with the judge (who was an over-60 white male). After my first hearing (which I’d just won, TYVM) he and the judge stood there and made fun of me. To my face. About how I was obviously a newbie and terrible at litigating and looked like I was about to cry (which I was and had for the entire time, I am not a natural litigator) and how I’d forgotten my own name (which is also true, but I really didn’t need that pointed out, I was pretty aware of it after fumbling for 15 seconds and having to read my name off of my notes) and how I’d tripped on my way to the podium (true, but not completely my fault, there was a service dog that stuck out its leg at an inopportune moment into the aisle). I didn’t feel like I was really in a position to escape (and orders hadn’t been signed) so I had to stand there as they ridiculed me in front of the court for four minutes. It was one of the least professional and most awful things I’ve ever, ever experienced. I went home and cried for hours even though I’d just won.

      1. Oh honey, YOU WON. That sounds like a terrible experience, no doubt. But YOU WON. I think you should reframe your story like this: At my very first hearing, I was brand new, tripped on my way to the podium, forgot my own name while I was getting started, and then once I started talking my argument was so AMAZING that despite all of those rookie mistakes, I WON. And OC was so demoralized at the end that all he could do was talk about how I was brand new, which was clearly because he was bitter that I, A NEWBIE, DESTROYED HIM.

        You are obviously awesome and those guys were jerks, but keep the important thing in mind: VICTORY.

        Sorry for the caps lock – I just get fired up about this stuff!

  11. I ordered the pants last month and returned them. The double knit fabric looked cheap to me, in a 1970’s grandma sort of way. I am not short waisted, but the cr0tch of the pants hung low, even with the pants sitting all the way up at my natural waist. I submitted an honest but negative review that never showed up and as a result would take AT reviews with a giant grain of salt.

    1. You just saved me from shipping the lot… I haven’t tried their new pant cuts, but I’m going to make my way to a store to try them on. (Or this Tall lady may just bite the bullet and order one of everything to try on at home.)

    2. I had the opposite experience. I received these pants in my “Infinite Style” subscription box and really liked them. I really liked the fabric. They didn’t hang noticeably lower in the cr0tch on me than any others (though that is a common problem for me so I may have ignored it with these).

    3. So many sites don’t post reviews. I’ve never had a Nordstrom review shop up. It seems like only Zappos and Amazon actually post 100% of the time, though of course Amazon is also full of fake reviews.

  12. Any recommendations of doc review companies in Chicago? I hope to not need to go there but I’d love to have some queued up in case it happens! Thanks!

  13. I just signed up for the outfit challenge. Mostly because I spent all morning shopping online and am still filled with ennui. I am bored with my closet but hate all the trends. Hope the outfit challenges help!

  14. Does anyone wear Car Coats? I have my eye on a few as blazer substitutes, including this cute leopard print one from BR. They’re supposed to be worn indoors, while sitting at your desk, right? Link below:

    1. The link says sold out, so I can’t see it, but “car coat” is an outdoor coat…who knows how BR is using the term, though.

    2. This is meant to be an outdoor coat. Likely a spring-weight coat, so you might be able to get away with it as a blazer substitute, but I believe this is listed in the Outerwear section, not the jackets/blazer section.

      1. Car coat is kind of an old school term but for whatever reason it has always referred to coats shorter than knee length, typically mid-thigh. Shorter than mid thigh length coats are usually called jackets.

        1. They were called car coats because it was hard to sit in a car in a full length coat

  15. Just out of curiosity, what do people usually spend a year on vacations, either as a percentage of income or just amount? And do you still have student loans? I love travel but budget has been somewhat low since law school because loans are expensive, at least compared to what I perceive my friends are spending (but maybe they just find better deals than me!). We spend probably 1 to 3% of take home pay on vacation, depending on where we go that year. I’m just pondering what my budget looks like once I finally pay off my student loans in a couple of years.

    1. We do a big annual international vacation and usually spend $5-10k on that. Anything more than $10k would be considered a huge splurge, anything less than $5k would be unusual. Assuming the big vacation was well under $10k, we also usually do 2-3 weekend trips that are $500-$1000 each and we probably spend another $1-2k on plane tickets to visit family, so I would say total annual ‘travel’ spending is usually in the neighborhood of $10k, but never more than $15k. Take home pay (household) is ~$90k, but that’s after $36k of 401k funding is taken out so we’ve already done a lot of saving by the time we get our paychecks. We have no non-mortgage debt. We plan to have kids in the next 2-3 years and expect to significantly cut back on travel when they are young, but of course we’ll have daycare and other big expenses then.

    2. Maybe a grand. We like simple and outdoorsy things, so there’s not a lot of cost built in. For example, last summer’s vacation was a (truly wonderful) 10 day road trip through New England – hiking, kayaking, roadside seafood, etc.

      1. Where did you stay? Were you camping or staying in cabins in parks? Trying to figure out how you kept the budget so low (and good for you!).

    3. We like to travel a fair bit for fun, and live far from “home” and budget for that separately, but we do our best to get the nicest stuff for the cheapest price. We’re in savings mode right now, and I’m making less than I really should be, but we’ll spend about 3% of our gross hhi this year on pleasure travel (as opposed to obligation travel). We book far in advance if that means getting a sale, or do our best to tack pleasure travel onto work/obligation travel.

      Some years, it’s been 5% if the trip(s) were further flung or longer, but we haven’t done that in a few years.

    4. We spend a lot, I’m not gonna lie. Last year it was about 7% of gross household income.

    5. It’s difficult because my SO pays for trips as birthday gifts at least once a year… but we spend about $3-5k a trip 2x a year and less for smaller trips as they come up. I’m guessing approx $10k a year which comes out to about 3-5% take home pay.

      1. Oh and I paid off my student loans last year and SO paid them off a while back. I’m also of that age where we don’t have children yet, but should do so soon (hello bio clock) so time is the restricting factor, not money.

    6. I have a travel account where I automatically transfer $200/mo and then will throw in an additional amount up to $1,000 when I get my tax return or bonus. This works out to be about 2-3% of gross income. Setting up the travel account was such a game changer for me. Now when I find a great deal, I already have the money set aside to book. No more looking at my accounts and wondering what I’m going to have to cut out for the next few months to be able to pay for the trip. I have found this budget to be sufficient for at least one good international trip and a few smaller trips.

      1. We have a travel account, too, and it’s great. (I have accounts for pretty much everything…)

    7. I don’t really track it but we take a week in the spring and a week in the summer and each of those are at least $3k, more if we’re flying somewhere, plus assorted long weekends whenever we can fit them in.

      No student loans.

      My husband says the only thing getting him through most work days is the thought of the next vacation so we are probably focused on it more than average.

    8. I spend about $6k a year. I save $500/month specifically for vacation/travel. My spouse spends about the same amount. We travel internationally probably twice a year and do probably 2 longer domestic trips with probably one weekend trip a month. We typically stay with friends or in an inexpensive Airbnb, and we don’t tend to travel expensively. We also use credit card rewards for a lot of flights.

    9. Currently, DH and I spend about $1500 a year. We pay for 1-2 trips a year, usually for weddings, and we use points for flights and sometimes hotels. We also spend $2000 a year on season tickets for our NFL team, which I’d rather spend on travel…although I enjoy the games.

      A big caveat–we get a lot of travel for free. My parents pay for us to go to Disney with them for a week every year. About once a year we drive 10 hours to visit a relative in Nashville–we stay at her house for free, but the purpose of the trip really is to visit her and her family, not be tourists in Nashville. And once a year, we drive with my MIL to the beach and stay at her sister’s condo. None of these are exciting world-travel adventures, admittedly, but we enjoy spending time with family, and I don’t really want to travel to Europe etc. with my toddler (no judgment on people who make it work, and it may just be the combination of my and my kid’s personalities, but I don’t even really enjoy taking him to a restaurant).

      We don’t have student loans, but we have daycare expenses, which are more than my student loans were.

      In the window between paying off student loans and kids, we spent about $10-15K on travel… also for other people’s weddings, wedding showers, and bachelor/*tte parties. All our friends got married at the same time. I literally went to 3 weddings held in barns across the country in 6 weeks several years ago.

    10. Oh man for a second I read it as “where would you spend a year on vacation” and I was about to be the world’s most helpful person on the internet. I was ready to create ten itineraries.

  16. What are your favorite sources for cute, comfy clothes to wear around the house in the evenings? I’m getting really sick of rocking my ratty C9 yoga pants and fleece jacket. Keep in mind that I still have a preschooler get snot alllll over me, so nothing too precious. ;)

    1. My favourite lounge clothes are from the Gap Body line made of modal. Super soft and comfy.

    2. I discovered old navy luxe tees last month and looooove them. They’re super soft, surprisingly flattering, and for $12 it’s fine for them to get covered in all the snot in the world.

    3. Target has some nice options or did last time I checked. I like their cotton knit pajama bottoms/lounge pants.

      1. I like Target’s PJ section so much, but all those lovely Gilligan O’Malley pants are too short for me!

    4. I bought some Old Navy joggers to putter around the house in because it’s been so d@mn cold lately. I adore them!

    5. LLB sweat pants with open (non-elastic bottoms) and their Polartec fleece with 3/4 zip fronts … usually a thin or medium weight Snow Angel long sleeve tee underneath. Swear by the Snow Angel items… saw me easily through Antarctica (layering several over an LLBean skiing thermal top.

  17. I recently discovered Queenie Ke on Amazon – great Lululemon dupes that I like for lounging/weekends

  18. Our admin holds the entire office hostage. I asked how to get a non-essential but helpful piece of equipment, and was told (by our division director!) to tentatively knock, ask if she had a minute, and if she said no or looked like she was in a bad mood, to come back the next day, or even wait a full two days, and when I was allowed to approach, “beg on bended knee” if she could possibly see about putting in a requisition form.

    I’m not in a position to make waves in this area, and it’s not worth the effort to escalate, but sheesh.

      1. Um, no, you don’t have to wonder that.

        Please, let’s not assume that even a difficult women achieved some form of power, petty though it may be, by sleeping her way to it.

        1. yeah – she may just know all the passwords and how to get that lunch the partners like. And nobody wants to train in someone know because they don’t even know everything she does.

          Inertia is an amazing force.

      2. Um, no, I was thinking more along the lines of she gets away with it because she’s a formidable, intimidating person, she knows the requisition process better than anyone else, has been doing her job for 20 years and not letting anyone else into her “territory,” and our division director doesn’t really have a spine.

  19. I am the contact point for a college account for a minor child (not my child but family). Twice a year, my nephew and his wife send a sum of money ($250) to be contributed to the college account. I was cleaning out some files today and discovered a check that they sent for the college account in 2014 which I forgot to deposit. I can’t deposit it now because it’s expired. Is it ok for me to reach out to them and ask them to write a new check? After all it’s the child that will suffer if I do not.

    1. “Hey, I found a check you wrote me ages ago and for some reason it didn’t make it to the bank. How do you want to handle it?” And then follow their lead, which is either let it go or accept THEIR offer for a new check. It doesn’t feel like you can ask them to re-write. My guess is they haven’t been holding it as an outstanding check (otherwise would have asked why it wasn’t deposited in 4 years), so they would have already spent those funds. But asking them to re-write an old check because of your mistake feels off.

      1. +1. I think you can tell them you found an old, expired check and ask them how they want to handle it, but if they say “Oh, just tear it up” then you have to let it go. And I’d probably deposit my own money in that situation.

    2. You do you, but if it were me, I’d deposit $250 of my own money. Maybe even a little more to account for interest.

      1. I think it’d be really nice to cover the interest, but not necessary to cover the $250. 4 years at $250 won’t be much, and would make the kid whole. OTOH if $250 is nothing to you, sure, throw it in.

        1. How would paying the small amount of accrued interest make the kid whole? The kid is still out the original $250 and all future interest on it. I’m not saying she should put in her own money to cover it, and certainly she shouldn’t if she can’t afford it, but I just don’t understand why it would make sense to pay retroactive lost interest but not principal or future interest.

    3. Are you sure you didn’t deposit it via your phone? I have definitely made that mistake before.

      1. After I deposit checks on my phone, I fold the bottom right hand corner up so if I come across the check later I’ll know if it’s been deposited or not by the presence or absence of the fold/crease. It’s been a game-changer.

        1. I do something similar – write a note on it with the day I deposited it via the app

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