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Updated: Oct 31, 2018 85 Comments · by

Suit of the Week: Reiss

Suit of the Week

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Reiss Chatelaine Women's SuitFor 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: love this dark blue and black woven suit from Reiss, which juuuust went on sale, I believe. Love the slightly tapered waist and slim lapels on the blazer, and the ankle pants look like they'd be great worn with the blazer or by themselves. The jacket (Chatelaine Blazer) is now $292 (was $425), and the pants (Chatelaine Trousers) are now $140 (were $190). Reiss Chatelaine Women's Suit (L-5)  

Sales of note for 9.16.24

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Comments

  1. Father's Day

    This is a repeat post, because the first version was hidden on the second page of the weekend comments post, where only the ever-helpful wildkitten saw it.

    I’m looking for a “fancy” filebox, with lid, for my dad for Father’s Day. Can you suggest a good one?

    • Ellen

      Yay! I love Reiss, and comend Wild Kitten for making note of the dupliceation. But even tho I love Reiss, I am NOT a fan of any pant’s suit. That is for young girls with bone thin leg’s or 60+ year old ladie’s who should NOT be wearing them. Peeople in the middel like me should ONLY wear dresses, and when thin, Pencil Skirt’s that do NOT make our tuchuses to obvious.

      I got a call from the Judge’s chambers today, inviteing me and his grand neice to an education session on WC sponsored by the WC Board to be held at the end of July. I can’t wait to go b/c I love the WC Board, and think that mabye I can parlay my experience into a job at the Board if not the BENCH after a few more years. Once I get a job as a JUDGE, I can work mabye 3 days’ a week, and set my OWN hour’s. If I am MARRIED, I will have my HUSBAND take care of the kid’s on the day’s I go into court. Otherwise, I will have my LAW CLERKE do the work for me while I relax in my backyard, which should have a built-in POOL to swim in. YAY!!!!

      Myrna knows that is what I want, and Rosa is keeping on the lookeout for homes in Chapaqua that I can buy to live in when I find a guy with enough Money to pay for the morgage. Dad say’s he does NOT want me moving up there until AFTER I am married, b/c men up there are already married and would NOT marry me. FOOEY! The guy’s in NYC will not marry me either b/c they do NOT want to settel down, and the men up there will not marry me b/c they are already MARRIED. This is a true Hopkin’s Choice — I loose either way. FOOEY! Why couldnt I have found Jared Kushner 10 year’s ago when I was in law school. I could be retired to a life of LEESURE by now with a coupel of kids. Instead, I met Sheketovits, and all I have to show for it is some stained carpet and sheet’s that I threw out! TRIPEL FOOEY!!!!!

      • Father's Day

        Dude! ELLEN, I thought you were referring me to a file box. I searched and searched til I went back to your post and then noticed that you were talking about the suit. :(

      • Wildkitten

        NOT NOT ONLY NOT WC WC WC BENCH JUDGE OWN MARRIED HUSBAND LAW CLERKE POOL YAY!!!! NOT AFTER NOT FOOEY NYC NOT MARRIED FOOEY LEESURE TRIPEL FOOEY!!!

        Nope. No secret message.

      • So Anon for This

        The one time Jared Kushner’s mother called to ask me to babysit, I couldn’t because I had another job. I think I babysat for his cousins, though.

  2. Anon

    How do you ladies deal with job postings that don’t have salary ranges? I have been interviewing a lot lately only to waste my time showing up and them offering half market rate.

    • New Tampanian

      I know you aren’t technically supposed to bring this up early on but if you are finding it to be a problem, I would ask as you are discussing with the person setting up the interview what the salary range is. Maybe pose it as, I don’t want to waste either of our time, so just to make sure we’re on the same page … that type of thing?

      • Anonymous

        I’m on the hiring side and I fully recommend someone showing their hand early on (either on the employer or the employee side). I don’t want to waste anyone’s time.

        • Latte Tuesday

          When I was job searching I knew that I was paid already being paid at the upper end of my field, and I knew that I wouldn’t work for less than I was currently making. I said that up front when I was offered an interview (this is what I currently make, and I would not consider be willing to work for less than this, is this within the range you would offer). A couple of places were offering a good 50K below my expectation and I avoided wasting my time. I ended up only interviewing at places that were on the same page as me (although some said meeting my threshold was a stretch, but they could do it for the right person) and I ultimately ended up taking a position with a nice raise.

    • Coach Laura

      Interesting…I’ve seen the reverse lately where salary range has been stated in a phone interview prior to in-person. I think the only way around that would be to have insider knowledge of the position or the company, unless you want to ask it as a screening tool when the interview is arranged. That might backfire though, so that’s the risk you would be taking.

    • TBK

      If many employers are offering half market rate, that suggests what they’re offering IS the market. At least, for those employers. What is the basis for your number? Are you looking at comparably sized employers? In comparable geographic areas? Is the position comparable in terms of seniority? Are the employers in comparable fields? One employer can be way off but if it’s happening over and over again, chances are there’s a mismatch between your information and the positions you’re looking at.

      • Anon

        Given my degree, experience etc. I’m applying to jobs in larger companies one level above my current job. These companies are trying to offer start up salaries even though they are established and cannot offer that sort of autonomy

  3. jeg

    I work in a mid-size law firm in a mid-size city and completely ignorant in the rules of fashion. Are pants of this length generally acceptable in such environments? I simply just don’t notice what other people wear and am curious.

    • Anonymous

      I think this is a know your office type of item where you just have to look around and see if other women are wearing them. I’ve worked at places that expressly said no to cropped pants (men can’t detect nuances in women’s fashio and lumped them in the same category as casual capris). I’ve also worked in offices where it would’ve been totally fine from a formality standpoint, but a tall and thin coworker routinely got “is a flood coming? seriously can’t she buy pants that fit?” snark from the less vertically gifted felines in the office–I’d still wear them if I were her, but just saying that goes on.

    • Sydney Bristow

      This is probably a know your office situation. For what its worth, I’m currently working in a biglaw office in NYC and have seen many women wearing pants of this length.

      • Wildkitten

        I wear pants of this length but on a separates day, not a full-suit day.

    • Father's Day

      I don’t know what the fashion police would say, but for me, they are a big “no!”, particularly because I’m just tall enough that they usually land halfway up my calf. But even this length makes me feel like I’m back in grade school about to get teased for wearing “floodwater” pants because of a growth spurt. Kat has said that she is short; she probably doesn’t recognize how very uncomfortable wearing such short pants can make some people feel.

      • Maddie Ross

        I’m tall, but I love pants this length. I think they are very flattering and show off your shoes. That said, you have to have the right fit and cut. Too wide and they look like bad capris. Not enough taper at the ankle and they do fall into the high-water category.

        • lsw

          Tall here too – I don’t understand how a store this expensive can get away without listing inseams on their pants, unless I’m too dumb to see it somewhere.

    • SA-litagor

      I work in Texas, and have seen almost no women attorneys wearing pants of this length, and none in court. I think these are a little too fashion forward to be part of an outfit when you need to actually wear a suit, but might be ok for a more business casual day.

    • Anonymous

      Nope. I’m in BigLaw in Silicon Valley. I’m not sure it’s because pants like these are too casual (people wear jeans pretty regularly even on non-Fridays and these are definitely more formal than jeans), but they’re just not “in” around here. Maybe it’s because it’s a very “fashion-y” look and this part of the country is not known for being fashion-forward.

      • padi

        I am midlaw in Silicon Valley and I wear cropped pants three or more times per week including for client visits. I think they are acceptable when people are wearing jeans or khakis.

        The only place I wouldn’t wear them is to court or if visiting the East Coast.

        But, of course, know your office.

    • Lorelai Gilmore

      I saw women wearing suits with cropped pants like these when I was in a trial in Manhattan in federal district court in 2013.

    • anon-oh-no

      I’m BigLaw in Chicago and wear ankle pants almost every day, including as suits to court. I love this length because I can wear flats or any heel height and don’t have to worry about them dragging with low heels or being too short higher heels, I think the tapered look is fashion forward in a good way, and I love the way they make my legs look.

      Lots of people wear them here, but with everything, styling is more important than hard and fast rules.

      • Father's Day

        How tall are you? I think they look fine on short women, but women who are tall look like Sprout and get the kind of comments mentioned upthread.

    • Anonymous

      I do criminal law (courthouse every day) in the PacNW, and I would absolutely wear this.

    • Houda

      I wear such pants to very formal meetings because I am petite and anything else just makes me look like I am playing dress up. I have resorted to shrunken blazers and ankle pants as a winning combo and I feel more polished and put together than if I were to wear full length pants

    • Sydney Bristow

      I hear you. I think our post office doesn’t actually even bring the packages with them but just automatically leave a pink slip so we have to go to the post office ourselves every weekend.

    • MJ

      I started adding “LEAVE AT DOOR NOT AT MAILBOX” to the second address line of everything I ordered. Worked like a charm. Mailman got it.

      • Anonymous

        I do this (but say “NOT AT OFFICE”) and our mailman still takes them to the office, which is only open 10-6 and 9-12 on 2 Saturdays a month. Sometimes it will be 4 weeks before I can pick up an Amazon “Prime” package because I don’t get home before 6 and usually have Saturday morning meetings that go past noon.

        My favorite though is when a package is supposed to be delivered on a Saturday when the office isn’t open, and instead of walking 20 feet to my door, the mailman enters “business closed” on the tracking and redelivers to the office on Monday. It’s a residential address, “business closed” should not even be an option in the drop-down.

        • Senior Attorney

          OMG if I were in that situation I would either have things delivered to work, or rent a box at The UPS Store or similar!

          • Anonymous

            Yes, I’ve started shipping everything to my office now, but it’s just a little embarrassing in my extremely small office to be getting such frequent deliveries! I’ve also had to carry 30 pound boxes out of the office, down two different elevators, and through the parking garage to my car, and then from complex parking lot to front door, and part of the reason I order that stuff online is to minimize the hauling. I have much better luck with UPS (even before I set up delivery preferences in My Choice) and Fed Ex is better now that they finally let me register my address for Delivery Manager (it took 6 months of living at my address for me to be allowed to validate it–UPS let me do it immediately by having a postcard mailed to me with a code). So I’m going to try Anon’s tip below to have Amazon note my preferences because my Prime subscription is up for renewal next month–great tip!

        • Sydney Bristow

          I really wish there were a way to direct Amazon Prime packages to use the carrier of your choice. We normally get FedEx, now have ok luck with UPS, and basically never get USPS deliveries.

          • Anonymous

            This may be too late for anyone to see, but you can call Amazon and have them note it in your profile. Of course, I may have threatened to cancel my membership a time or two because of this exact problem. What’s the point in paying for Prime when you can’t get your stuff? They were fairly responsive.

        • LilyS

          Are there no Amazon lockers where you are? In my British city, we have a bank of them on campus (accessible 24/7 as far as I know) and there’s also a location in my local grocery store.

          • Anonymous

            I order things online because I don’t have time to go to the store. Having to drive out of my way to an Amazon locker completely defeats that purpose.

  5. delicate bracelets for small wrists

    Can anyone recommend either a brand, store, or Etsy store that carries delicate, inexpensive gold bracelets for small wrists?

      • anon-oh-no

        I didn’t see the earlier post, but my new(ish) LV Neverfull has a detachable wristlet and I seriously love it. Best bag purchase I’ve made in a long time.

  7. Anon Boston

    I am moving into my new place next week and I am considering hiring a cleaning person/crew to come in and do a thorough cleaning before we move our stuff in. Has anyone in the Boston area done this and if so, do you have recommendations for a company? Also, what is a reasonable price for this? Our house is under 2000 square feet, three bedrooms, 2 bathrooms. TIA!

    • Bostonchic

      Highly recommend Flying Prince (they are on yelp). Came on time, stayed for 4 hours in our ~1000 sq ft 2 bed/1.5 bath apartment, we paid $250 but it was a deep cleaning (vs a normal one).

  8. homebody

    My SO and I are moderately high earners and relatively big spenders. We both have great credit and a couple of credit cards that we very rarely use – just about everything comes is paid by our joint or individual checking accounts. We love to travel and want to do more of it. Would it make sense to get a joint credit card with airline/hotel rewards, put all purchases on that, and pay off monthly? My general idea on this is the rewards are minimal and filled with black-outs, but more and more people I know seem to be going on “free” trips using mileage. Thoughts?

    • Anonymous

      I try and put everything I can on my credit card for the rewards. I then pay the full balance on auto pay every month. I find the rewards are sometimes annoying to use, but at least I’m getting some value unlike with my debit cards.

      • Anonymous

        Agreed… I feel like I’m wasting money when I use debit/cash/checking.
        If you’re worried about blackouts and difficulty cashing in, try getting a cash-back card and saving all the cash rewards and bookmarking for fun travel. I got the Citi 2% cashback card earlier this year and already have gotten several hundred dollars back.

        • Anonymous

          You should also consider that credit cards offer much better consumer protection than debit cards. Just another reason to use CC over debit.

      • Anon

        I do the same thing. I get cash back on one of my cards, and gift cards on the other (we usually go with restaurants, as they are the best deal, but can get Home Depot/Lowes/BBB at slightly less value too).

    • KaLuLo

      That’s what we do – literally everything goes on the card. We pay it of every month. We use the Chase Sapphire rewards card and I have never had any issues booking the flights I want on the days I want. And you get double points for eating out/travel. We’ve loved it. It’s also a great card for traveling because it is a chipped card, so you can use it easily all over the world (vs. magnet strip cards which I always always have trouble with internationally).

      • Sydney Bristow

        I do this too. We have a number of rewards cards and split our spend accordingly. In addition to the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, its worth trying for the Chase Freedom card, which doesn’t have an annual fee. That one has rotating bonus categories where you get 5 points per dollar. Right now it is restaurants, BB&B, H&M, and Overstock. You can only get cash back if that is the only card you have, but if you also have the Chase Sapphire Preferred then you can transfer the points to that account and then transfer to their airline/hotel transfer partners.

        Make sure to check out the transfer partners before getting a card like this though. We fly United often, which is one of the partners, so it makes sense for us.

        We have a few different cards and put the spend on whichever card gets the best rewards. So right now, restaurants go on the Freedom card, metrocard on the Sapphire Preferred, and everything else on my Starwood Amex. When flying United, we put the charges on the United card to get double points, free bags, and a better boarding group. Regular spending doesn’t accumulate miles as quickly on the United card because you only get 1 mile per $ except on United purchases. This is the same with many of the other cards for individual airlines.

        We’ve had pretty good luck booking United awards, ok luck with Delta awards, awesome luck with Amtrak awards, and pretty good luck with Starwood awards.

        If you go to the “creditcardtuneup” page you can input your typical spending pattern and it will recommend the best cards for your situation.

      • Bonnie

        I use my Chase Sapphire card for everything and have flown 5 times using points. Their travel center is amazing as well and they got me home from around the world when there was a family emergency. It was so much better than dealing with individual airlines and they saved me money doing it.

        Is comment subscription gone now?

    • Nancy P

      DH and I put everything we can on our Delta Amex cards. We don’t often use miles to pay for entire trips for ourselves, but we have often used them to fly my parents out to visit, especially if they’re babysitting for us. We’ve also used miles to upgrade our seats to business class (which DH handles because he knows the airline ins and outs), and I think that’s totally worth it. If you love to travel, then definitely do it.

      • Nancy P

        I will also add — the only other card I use is my Amazon Visa, which is useful for non-Amex situations and on Amazon. You get $ on Amazon for spending (3x value if the spending is on Amazon), which basically means that every month I have $25-40 worth of credit on Amazon. If you spend a few hundred dollars a month on Amazon I think it’s worth it.

      • Anon

        +1 to Delta Amex. We live in Atlanta and it is a very popular card here since we’re in the hub, so ticket options for miles abound.

        • Anon

          Along those same lines, we have a Delta AmEx but are phasing it out because our current airport does not have great Delta flights. We just got the Southwest card with Chase because there are better flight options here for that airline. I think you go airline specific, you have to pick for the airline, not the card provider.

    • Anonymous

      I’ve never had an airline CC, but I’ve heard that if you fly one airline regularly, have elite status, etc. an airline credit card is worth it. My mom’s a super elite on Delta, flies only Delta 50K+ miles a year, and loooves her Delta AmEx. If you buy flights based on what is cheap, and spread it around to a few different airlines, this doesn’t work though. We’re based out of Chicago, and both United and American have huge hubs and tons of flight options from there, and so we fly both regularly and getting an airline credit card doesn’t make sense for us.
      I have a Venture CapitalOne card. I’m happy with it and it has no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees so I use it abroad but I’m not sure I get better travel rewards than I do on with my regular Chase Amazon VISA (1% back on everything, 2% on dining and gas, 3% on Amazon). I also spend a ton of money on flights and hotels and need to look into a card that gives me better than 1% back on travel-related purchases.

      • Wildkitten

        I have the Chase Sapphire Preferred and can transfer my points to a number of loyalty programs. I do Southwest but you can also do Amazon, etc. It’s handy.

    • Anonymous

      I’ve had an AA card for three years. Live in an AA hub but don’t travel at all for work, take short trips (<750miles one way) 2-3 times per year, and one international trip per year. Spend about $20,000 total on the card per year. Thanks to various promos, I've flown one international flight in business class, one in economy, and have enough banked now for one international in economy + one domestic, or doing one of the international legs in business, all on miles. I've not had an issue using my miles but we plan in advance and do things like international trips over American holidays when most people want to stay stateside. So, IME, the reward cards are worth it and your spending could get you a lot more benefit than I've gotten out of it. I highly recommend the forums at flyertalk and the creditcardtuneup webs!te that someone else mentioned for brushing up on how to get the most out of the various reward cards and your miles/points come redemption-time.

  9. WestCoast Lawyer

    I was looking at the jewelry on Anthropologie’s web site and shocked to see that much of it is in the $150-$700 range! I admittedly don’t shop for jewelry very often, but can anyone speak to whether it really of a much higher quality than BR, Stella and Dot, etc? They had some cute pieces, but most of it still falls under what I would consider costume.

    • Houda

      The last time I bought a statement necklace from them, it was deeply discounted to 25 USD. I wore it a lot, it’ holding up pretty well, the crystals didn’t fall off but I think I paid fair price. I’d never exceed 40 or 50 USD for such item.

  10. TBK

    Does anyone have a garment steamer they like? My husband and I wear suits almost every day and they often could really use refreshing between cleanings. I looked on Amazon and the highest rated one was travel sized. Do these work well enough? Or should we get the kind with the tank that sits on the floor and the hand-held nozzle (like they have in clothing stores)?

    • Ginjury

      I’ve only tried a friend’s travel steamer once and I wasn’t a fan. I have a stand up one by Conair that I really love; I’ll post a link below. I’ve had it for a year and a half now (it’s my second garment steamer), I don’t treat it very well, and it still works like new. I would just go for the standing one because having the hanger and clips available make it so much easier.

    • Anonymous

      I have a travel Rowenta steamer I use several times a week and really like it. If you are just freshening up a suit between wearings it is great. If you want to do hardcore pressing — no.

      My BF has a pants press and that thing is nice!

    • Anonymous

      I’ve had a Rowenta steamer (full size) for about 2 years. Love it. I use it almost every day.

    • Anonymous

      I have a Jiffy steamer recommended by a friend and really like it so far (it’s a new replacement to a generic BB&B brand that died after several years, likely due to sediment buildup).

      Before getting the Jiffy, I tried the My Little Steamer (I think that’s the name, something close anyway) that looks like a little teapot, and it was pretty bad. It’s really only meant for one quick item and then it runs out of water, and you’re supposed to let it cool completely before refilling. I was trying to steam 3 weeks worth of clothes and ignored that instruction, and it stopped working completely after 3 refills (I tried letting it sit for several days, but I’d killed it good). It really didn’t achieve anything more than the steam from a hot shower could’ve.

      • Emily

        I love my Jiffy and notice that most clothing stores also have the Jiffy.

        My bf had the rowenta that worked well for 3 yrs before it died.

    • Houda

      I have a full size steamer that most stores in my country (Morocco) have. The brand is Rowenta, it comes with different head attachments and a hanger. I am overall very happy with it.

  11. Anonymous

    What brands and/or stores do people shop at now that might have the quality of clothes from Ann Taylor, Talbots, J Crew, etc. from 5-10 years ago?

    I just donated pants from Ann Taylor that I wore for probably 6 years on a 2x weekly rotation (lined; machine washed). Meanwhile, the hem has just fallen out of my pants from Talbots not 3 months after I bought them. Looking for similar styles of clothes.

    • tesyaa

      A hem falling out is annoying, but the garment may otherwise be very good quality. Heels get caught on hems, and it only takes one broken stitch for a machine hem to come loose. I wouldn’t give up on those pants unless they’re otherwise unsatisfactory. I have virtually no free time in my life, yet even I would take 15 minutes to fix a hem. (If you don’t know how, pay a tailor – it’s a cheap fix because it is indeed quick and easy).

    • Anonymous

      I don’t know about AT/J. Crew quality from 10 years ago, but I’ve found The Limited to have comparable quality to current AT and Banana at least (don’t buy much J. Crew) at a much lower price point.

    • Girl Friday

      Thanks, Anonymous at 4:23 – I have been wondering this for some time and am excited to try these brands!

      OP: Since you’re on this site, you may not have time for this, but I’ve had good luck shopping thrift and consignment stores for older JC, AT, BR clothing. You can usually tell what’s older (and well cared for or never worn) over the new, lower quality stuff.

      LOVE today’s suit, btw! Know your office, obviously, but mine is way casual and this is the first suiting set I’ve seen on here that I instantly thought “OMG yes, I love this! Must buy!”

  12. Lunchbag

    Thread jack….
    I am looking for a lunch bag that is black sleek and does not have any patterns and goes with my office tote. Any ideas?

    • Sydney Bristow

      You might not see this, but I love my Built NY lunch bag. Its a neoprene-type material so it stretches to fit whatever I put in it. They come in plain black.

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