Splurge Monday’s TPS Report: Stretch-Wool Sheath Dress

119 Comments

1. That dress is more than my rent! It’s beautiful, but yikes!

   1. Heh, it’s more than my rent and my mortgage combined! (I’m trying to sell and have already moved) It is pretty, though.

   2. Chiming in to third that this dress surpasses my mortgage payment. Luckily the sheath style does me no favors, so it’s easy to overlook it.

      1. Ha ha, me too – by a lot! :)

   3. Absolutely beautiful- however, like you said, this is more than my mortgage payment. I would love to see what others think is a more affordable “splurge” option. Perhaps in the $200 range?

      1. One girl’s humble opinion: I like splurge mondays as they are – gorgeous, extremely high-priced pieces that offer a fun, somewhat fantastical peek into another level. I can’t afford this stuff but I enjoy looking at it once a week.

         $200 to me is not a “splurge”, and there are already many, many other items featured on this site that are in that price point or far below.

         1. I agree that it’s fun and aspirational, but I think this is the highest priced item I’ve seen on this site so far!

            1. I remember a sailboat-motif dress that I think was between $2 and $4k. Someone commented that she’d rather book a trip to the scenic harbor depicted on the dress for that price! Fair enough.

            2. Monday — I remember that dress and still think of it fondly from time to time. Wish I could have all these fabulous clothes.

         2. +1. I think the items featured every day except Monday are under $200.

            And I think this dress is so.beautiful.

         3. This is also why I read fashion magazines. I would never drop the necessary $ on most of the items featured, but they’re beautiful and fun to translate, conceptually, into things I actually could buy and wear. I have no issue with Splurge posts. If anything, it’s relaxing not to feel any temptation because an item’s price places it firmly out of the question.

            1. Agreed! It’s the one day of the week I don’t have to control the urge to click over and order away!!

         4. Right– Splurge Mondays are like pages in Vogue (price available upon request!), most days are like InStyle or Peple Stylewatch or somesuch. Adore the latter ideas, but where would we be without Vogue? It’s not supposed to be attainable or real– it’s better than real.

      2. I don’t mind the super high splurges since they prevent me from actually buying anything. But if SkirtEnvy is just curious what a splurge option would be for others on this site, I’d say for me personally a “splurge” would be anything $200+

      3. Kat sets price ranges for each day and I think “splurge” is over $500 or so. $200 isn’t much of a splurge for most professional women working in a corporate setting, which is the target audience of the blog. I can’t afford a $2000 dress (or a $500 one), but I like the eye candy.

      4. Beautiful dress but, thankfully, anything with that high a neck would look terrible on me, even if I were willing to spend my mortgage payment on a dress.

         A splurge to me is in the $500 – $1000 range. I have a hard time spending more than that on a personal item in the best of times and these are not the best of times for me.

   4. I wish that dress were the price of my rent. Stupid nyc rental prices. #therentistoodamnhigh

      1. Right? I live in the San Francisco area and I WISH my monthly payment were less than $2000!

         I love Splurge Mondays too. They’re double fantasies for me, becacuse I would never be able to pay that much OR to fit into most high-end duds (as they do not do vanity sizing), but a girl can dream.

         1. I thought the same thing. Coastal CA here.

      2. Same here. My rent in NYC was more than that 10 years ago. $1990 sounds like a bargain.

         1. That makes me feel silly for complaining about my rent increase up to $895, and I love my apartment. It’s amazing how drastically cost of living varies around the country.

2. love.

3. Beautiful. One of these days I will be able to splurge.

4. I love this – the color, the style, everything – but I am having a hard time pinning down what’s wrong with the model. I think her head was shrunken and they had to photoshop in her b**bs?

   1. I agree – the model’s head looks shrunken down. There’s just something off about her proportions.

5. I’m going to dissent and say I really don’t like this dress, primarily because I don’t find the neckline or the sleeves to be particularly flattering.

   1. Ditto, there’s such something off with armpits. It’s like the seamstress went, “Eh,” and just decided skip out on cutting the fabric. It’s just asking for wrinkles and creases.

      I like the color though. It’d be great with a range of pinks.

   2. The shoulder/sleeve lines are a bit avant garde. I like, but agree that that’s the soft directional statement update here in an otherwise timeless dress. Very sculptural.

   3. I don’t like this one either. The neckline and sleeves aren’t even flattering on the model. It’s like she put on a dress that was way too big and they just cinched it in the back.

   4. I agree, but high necklines are awful on me, so I usually pass them by anyway.

6. Absolutely fantastic.

7. I like the concept, but zooming in on the neckline, while it’s interesting, I suspect I would feel strangled in it. I also think that for career women (as opposed to socialites) by the time you likely can afford this dress you probably wouldn’t have arms that would look the best in cap sleeves.

   1. I do think in most cases the arms being a plus or minus are something we notice and critique most only in ourselves. No one else would ding us for it. They’d think, great dress, cool woman.

      1. agreed. if the dress fit you right otherwise i think it would overall be a fantastic look, however you feel about your arms.

   2. True! Thank goodness Michelle O always covers up her arms.

      1. Not disagreeing with the rest of the sentiment, although I think someone much younger could afford this splurge if that was how they structured their shopping — but isn’t Michelle O actually known for sometimes wearing sleeveless dresses and her toned arms? If this was sarcastic, my apologies.

         1. It was saracastic, women of any age don’t have to hide their arms

            1. Speak for yourself. You’re probably flashing all kinds of ankle on a daily basis. Hussy!

               :P

            2. LOL @CFM and @ Kanye East! I feel like a lady of the night with all the ankle and arm that I’m sporting today!

         2. I don’t think you owe apologies for reading a rude comment in the most charitable, hopeful humanist way. The writer of rude comment doesn’t ow apologies either, but the rest of us can ignore it.

            1. I beg to differ. .. I ALWAYS have to cover up my arms, if I don’t want to see them waving back at me when I say hello or goodbye to someone ! :)

            2. @Sweetknee – Mine wave at me too! Friendly arms, they are.

            3. Really? My comment was rude? I was simply making the funny observation that women of any age can have toned arms. Or women of any age can be happy with whatever arms they have and not need to hide them away

8. I love this dress – the sleeves, the neckline, the color, the length, everything. Except for the price – yikes!! But it is called Splurge Monday for a reason …

   1. And I just realized it has pockets, too! *sigh* Now I’m even more in love …

9. I’m 30. I look younger than 30, and am occasionally still carded. I’ve never dyed my hair; it’s just a nice regular shade of brown. I blow dry it a few times a month, if that. But this morning I noticed that smack dab in the middle of my head, right at the top, I have an increasing number of wiry, white hairs, a totally different texture than my usual fine, flat, straight hair, not to mention being white – not gray. WHITE. WTF?! I’m so confused and am trying to think if maybe I hit my head somehow right in that spot and that caused it. Has this happened to anyone else?? And what does one do about this??

   1. I have a large grey streak where I hit my head once. Hair stylist says it could be dyed to match, but my part tends to cover it.

   2. I’m in my 30s and have had a white-grey streak since cracking my head open on the playground in elementary school. Hair grew back with no pigment.

      As far as what to do about it, I rock mine a la Rogue from X-men. Wish it were bigger, actually. :)

      1. I think a single white streak is really cool. If you can work it and rock it, it could be awesome.

   3. Single process dye them (and only them) or cut them very close to the root. Never pluck.

      1. noooo! Having much experience with wiry gray hairs, I will tell you – don’t pluck or cut them, because they grow back in standing straight up.

         I have luck with using high and low lights to help the gray blend in. I don’t want to have “roots” so I keep the colors very close to my natural dark brown, but a little variation of color helps the few gray strands seem more part of the overall scheme, if that makes sense.

   4. My “grays” are white, too, with a different texture than the rest of my hair.

      I actually love them.

   5. Are they all clumped together? Maybe you did hit your head. I wish my greys all lived together in a funky streak. Instead, they decided to emerge randomly all over my head several months ago (I am 31). I dyed them while I’m trying to decide how I feel about them.

   6. Welcome to the club!

      You’re going gray. Either decide to embrace it, or embrace hair dye.

   7. You sound like me. I have similar colouring to you, and started to go ‘grey’ at about 30 (maybe a little younger, actually). My ‘grey’ hairs are actually white as well. I’m 36 & have been colouring my hair for about 3 years now. I have a fairly young face – most people are amazed when I tell them my age. I haven’t decided when I’ll stop colouring my hair yet.

      The age you go ‘grey’ is genetic – my mom was also young when she started.

10. I have a question for the hive: how do you know when you’re done with therapy? I’ve been going for over two years now and it’s been pretty great for my life. The problem is that I’ve switched jobs and can’t really afford it anymore. I want to prioritize my health but I can’t help but wonder if this has become more of a luxury than a necessity for me.

    Follow up: when enough is enough, how much of a wind down period do people usually take? A few months?

    1. Sometimes therapists see their patients as cash cows and will not end the therapy even if they know it is not working or is no longer needed. I suggest that you let your therapist know that you think you might no longer need the therapy (without mentioning the financial resons for quitting). Let your therapist let you know the reasons he or she does not agree with you and then have a tapering off period (go once every two weeks if you had been going weekly, once every month if you had gone bi-weekly).

    2. Talk to your therp about it. How she see and shapes your process and development. And if you’re readier to cut out than she thinks you are, talk about practical CBT strategies (hardcore, real-life, how to apply your lessons homework!) to get you street-ready on a compromise timetable.

    3. My problem has been that I’ve broached the subject of quitting a few times, but he always reels me back in. I just don’t know how to tell if enough is enough.

    4. I would say it’s when you feel like you’re not talking about anything “new” in your sessions. When you feel like you are repeating yourself, know what the therapist will ask next, and have long periods of silence where you search for something to say to fill the void.

       I think it’s kind of like any big decision (changing jobs, breaking up with a SO, etc) where if you are wondering about ending it, it’s probably time to start letting go.

       1. And one more thing, remember, you can always go back to your therapist! If it helps, you can think of it as a trial separation.

          I went to a therapist for a few months, felt better. Six months later, my life had turned upside-down (in a good way) but I was having trouble dealing with it. I went back to my therapist for a few months. It really wasn’t as awkward as I thought it would be.

    5. I would suggest that you start by reducing the frequency of your visits – once a week to twice a month for two months, then once a month for two or three months, then once every two months for four months, then none. If you feel like you need more therapy, then ramp it up again. But if you feel like you’re going two months just fine without therapy, then it’s probably time to end it.

11. Reporting back on my tights shopping mission: AIMS et al. were right that DKNY, with a lower spandex content, is free of shine! Hooray! Also, if anyone else is looking for comfy and warm sweater tights, I recommend Hue. These are great! One tip: do not try to fudge your size in these things. I almost sized up, but now that I have them on, have realized that this would not at all work (as it does with many normal tights). They have a well-defined seat and also stitching at the heel, like socks. You have to get the exact size for your height/weight–don’t be afraid that they will be too small.

12. Every season there is one Carolina Herrera sheath dress that I drool over. I can still picture the teal blue and grey number from one or two years ago, that was pretty much the dress of my dreams. As soon as I pay off my student loans, I am going to buy one for myself. That day is still a couple years away, but I am so looking forward to it. In the meantime, that extra $2K will be going toward the loans and I’ll stick to drooling.

13. Cle de Peau Concealer update:

    Someone was asking about this about a month ago. I went to my local Nordstrom yesterday and tried it on. It feels velvetty, doesn’t sink into fine lines, and covers up the circles under my very tired eyes. I also had a blemish and just a little covered it up very well. It lasted all day yesterday and stayed in place. I’m wearing it again today and my Monday face really needed it. Pricey, but it’s the best concealer I’ve owned and it should last a while. Also, I am fairly fair skinned and got Ivory.

    1. That’s so cheering to read. I always wonder about the heavily promoted, adored-by-editors must-haves (Shu U. lash curler!). They always say the Cle is best, but it’s so pricey. That’s awesome it really is the best. Thanks for the report.

    2. That was me =) I’m so happy to hear that it’s as amazing as everything I’ve read. Thanks for reporting back!!! I’ll probably buy it the next time I see it in the store.

14. Love. Love love love love love. Now, when I find my new job and get a nice bonus…..

15. This dress is gorgeous! Taste is a funny thing — I thought I would click through and find a sea of satisfied comments. Turns out, that was not the case.

    Furthermore, with New York rents, this is *less* than my rent!

16. That neckline…blech. Ruins an otherwise fantastic dress (which I can in no way afford: that’s more than a mortgage payment here too)!

17. That neckline would be unflattering on all but the most swanlike of woman, IMO.

    1. *women

18. That dress is absolutely terrible. It would make anyone incredibly top-heavy and look like a linebacker. I would pass if it was $19.90 at Target, let alone $1990.

19. Love this dress. Unfortunately it is not anywhere near our jumbo mortgage payment!

20. I’m wearing my first wool sweater of the season–it’s scoop-necked and a bit itchy. Any suggestions for thin, long sleeved scoop neck tees to wear under them?

    1. Gap body has tissue tees that I like a lot for that. And a sale today, 48hours for an extra 30% off.

    2. My go to for under sweaters is silk underwear. Lots of different necklines and sleeve lengths to be found. And you’re not adding bulk.

       1. That’s great, thanks. Bulk is my main concern–do you have any brands you like?

          1. wintersilks dot com. But honestly, I think anything will do.

    3. Old Navy.

    4. Lands End cotton/modal.

21. At a conference last week I watched a new female associate at our firm invite the lawyer of one of our biggest clients back to her room after a night of drinking. He went, and I stood there (with my mouth open) thinking of how unprofessional that was and all the ways it could go wrong.

    I’m struggling with the best way to address this, both for her and other young, female associates, since I’d like to give her the benefit of the doubt and just assume that she didn’t understand why this was bad and unprofessional. Any advice on how to deal with this awkward situation? Do we just host a “Women’s Lunch” at the firm and discuss issues like these that affect women more than men?

    1. No suggestions, but yikes! Good luck!

    2. Are you concerned because it was unprofessional or for possible ethics issues? If you are concerned solely because it made her look bad, I wouldn’t say anything.

       Basically, don’t assume that she did not make a calculated decision. She’s an adult.

       I would be irritated if I had to attend a women’s lunch that addressed this if I wasn’t the woman in question.

       1. I guess that, as a lawyer, I’m trained to think of worst case scenarios, and I can think of so many ways this could go wrong and could put the firm in the situation of having to choose between an associate and a client, should any allegations of misconduct arise. And my concern isn’t to reprimand this associate, but just to make sure that we don’t ever get into a worst-case-scenario as a result of this type of behavior.

          Anne-on, I really like your idea about creating an ethics program, so maybe we’ll work on that. Thanks for everyone’s input!

    3. I’m torn on this. It’s unprofessional sure, but is it really something you can address? She can decided to issue invites to whoever she wants. Is there a rule against at the firm? you could address it that way if there is. Otherwise, I actually don’t think you can address it

    4. How dies this affect women more than men? It’s not like this is a situation where a male client is hitting on a female associate and she needs to figure out how to get out of the situation gracefully without ruining the relationship with the client. In this case, she was coming onto the client and invited him up to her room.

       I think you need to address this associate individually in private and explain to her that her behavior is inappropriate and unacceptable. If you try to address it in any sort of group situation, half of the people there are probably going to be wondering why they have to sit through this sort of nonsense. The other will be wondering who the guilty associate is. You don’t need to make any gossip worse than it already is.

       1. Client’s lawyer. I think that’s where the ethics come in.

    5. Aren’t situations like this covered under your firms code of ethics training? Maybe I’m being naive but at my firm it would be a big problem for a man or a woman to be romantically involved with the lawyer of a client. My firm has a fairly good ethics program we all take every year which addresses situations like social drinking/religious issues/discrimination/sexism/etc. which are hard for lots of people (esp. new associates) to navigate.
       If not, then I’d make the lunch more inclusive – chances are some men will also be wondering about how to deal with these sticky situations. But, sadly, yes – women may need some additional informal coaching here too. When I had some mandatory managerial training every single woman present had at least one story about being hit on/asked out/followed back to a hotel room while ‘on the job’ either at a conference, firm-sponsored event, or on a client site.

    6. If she doesn’t report to you, leave it alone. Forget it happened. She knew what she was doing and didn’t care. Don’t get in the middle of it. It happens all the time, and to acknowledge it makes you look like a gossip or a mother hen.

       And I wouldn’t pull other people into some kind of meeting where you discuss such “issues.” If I were another young associate in your firm (with better judgment), I would be completely offended to be a part of such a meeting or lunch.

       I would just be careful in dealing with her professionally because you have clear reason to question her judgment and morals. I wouldn’t try to “fix” her.

    7. Was that wrong? Should I not have done that? I tell you, I gotta plead ignorence on this thing, because if anyone had said anything to me at all when I first started here that that sort of thing is frowned upon… you know, cause I’ve worked in a lot of offices, and I tell you, people do that all the time.

       (That Seinfeld episode where George does it with the cleaning lady on his desk at his new job)

       Sorry, it just reminded me of that. I’m not sure, but my thinking is that if you are in any sort of position of authority (even if it’s just that this is “your” case/client), or if there are any ethical/firm goodwill implications that could come back to bite you, personally, you should simply pull her aside, possibly with the support of someone more senior (if you are not), and say that that was inappropriate and that she cannot do it again. But if you’re not, I would say that you should just leave it be.

    8. I am a terrible person because my first reaction was “good on her for getting some.” Some people are able to have NSA relationships without it messing things up professionally. Though I can see it being terrifying when it’s a major client.

       I think a women’s lunch is a terrible idea for all the gossipy reasons. Was she aware that you (and others?) saw it happen? If your firm has any sort of firm-wide sexual harassment training (CA mandates it every 2 years for example) I would work this into the the sample scenarios.

       1. No, I thought it sounded kind if hot too.

    9. Unless it’s a violation of a stated rule to address it is just to sl*t shame. Keep her decision-making in the back of your mind when working together on projects, but otherwise, unless it’s explicitly against your stated business rules, it’s none of your business.

    10. First of all, I agree that what she did was un-professional. But why are you placing all of the judgement on her and none on the man who accepted the invitation. Why are you suggesting that there be a women’s only lunch to “address” this issue instead of addressing this w/ both genders?

        I’d just stay out of this one.

    11. Was he the client’s in-house attorney? If so, this was a huge breach of ethics, not just in the abstract sense but perhaps in accordance with the rules of professional conduct. This is not just about being a grown-up but really puts the firm in a bad position. I would talk to the associate. I can’t believe so many people are advocating looking the other way.

    12. Interested in your position. Are you a partner or her supervisor? How safe is your position in the firm? Is she a 1st year associate? You said “new” but that is ambiguous.

        Sorry to be blunt but if you are above a junior attorney at your firm, then I think your entire post shows a pretty poor sense of priorities. If you are this woman’s superior, and there is a policy against this, and it is a breach of ethics, then stop treating her like a child and DO YOUR JOB. Report her, chastise her, give the partners or whomever a heads up. If it’s a grey area, then MYOB. Treating her like she is stupid (you assume she tripped and fell on his… ?) is actually an insult to both of you.

        I actually find it bizarre that some women’s instincts are to infantilize and disrespect other women through, honestly, the bigotry of low expectations. If it were a male associate, the OP would be posting about how men still use sex and power in the workplace and everyone would be posting agreement. A man (or someone with confidence in themselves as a lawyer) would be thinking hard about the current senior management and work culture at the firm, and thinking about if Ms Legs Akimbo plans the same illustrious parade through their ranks. Instead the first instinct seems to be to protect her – why? This is not some Gen Y thing!

        This woman is not worth your time. There. Sexual equality doesn’t mean the ability for both sexes to disregard ethical rules and behave like tramps. Honestly, the next time your creepy boss hits on you, remember that women like this keep his batting average up.

        I’m astonished that senior female management clearly think this within the realm of acceptable behavior and, I guess, will probably be mentoring this tart in the future (while she gets lots of favors from the male associates I’m sure). I guess the rest of us junior associates should show more cleavage and get ourselves a promotion the old fashioned way!

        1. I am baffled by your entire response.

           1. Her response is pretty dead-on (with the possible exception of the last paragraph or two). Attorneys are in the position of power according to the ethical rules. Gender doesn’t play a role. She is exploiting her position of power and control over her client.

              Yes, those rules are written with a vulnerable individual in mind, not a corporation, but that’s what they are. If she doctored a document, what would you do? (Assuming her that she did breach an ethical rule).

              If she didn’t breach an ethical rule, then she can do whatever she wants.

        2. Actually, I get it, at least up until the last paragraph. The hand-wringing and infantilization was really offensive, particularly by bringing other “young” women into it.

        3. anon here again. sorry I got really really annoyed and went a bit over the top.

           What my last two paragraphs meant to say was this:

           As a young female lawyer I’m offended by responses which frame this as some kind of feminist move. If it were a man, the inappropriateness would be clear and frankly, this woman’s conduct is unprofessional and enables sexual harassment in the workplace.

           As a woman who is not willing to sleep around for my career I feel disheartened by the support this woman is getting on this thread. It’s honestly a terrible advert for women.

           1. Ugh, some people on this site need to relax. Why are you assuming she took him back to her room to get ahead in her career? And why is the only alternative to that treating this as a “feminist move”? Why is it not possible that they simply clicked as, you know, normal human beings living in the real world, and decided they were interested in each other? You are not even allowing for the possibility that this is just a situation where two people act on their attraction to another, with no evil motives or corporate ladder climbing in mind. Sheesh

              1. That was sort of what I thought, too. I’m not convinced that assuming corporate ladder climbing via sex as a motive is any better than all of the “hand-wringing” above. I prefer to give her the benefit of the doubt and assume that she really liked this guy, and kind of forgot herself. If that’s the case, frankly I feel really bad for her.

                 Also, the ethical rules in each state can be quite different. I know of at least one state where there is no ethical violation under the circumstances described above even if the guy was the “client”. That’s probably the minority view — but the OP should certainly check before taking action.

    13. In some states, that’s an ethical breach under the applicable ARDC rules. Illinois for one. I think you need to address it just as you would if she committed any other ethical breach. If its not an ethical breach in your state, that may be a different conversation.

    14. Lawyer-client hookups are OK in my state. I had no idea this was a state ethics rule elsewhere. Just googled it and it looks like it’s OK in many states. (and shoot, my husband is probably now going to wonder why I’m googling lawyer-client sex). Anyway, I agree with the others who said MYOB unless it’s both unethical and specifically part of your job to report her or remedy it somehow.

22. The dress looks like something that the red-haired secretary on “Mad Men” would wear.

    1. Joan Harris, nee Holloway, would have you know she is actually the Office Manager. ;) At the new firm she may even have a higher title than that–I forget.

       1. Director of Agency Operations – but no raise.

23. Help! (AFT = anon for this)

    I’ve been at my smallish/mid-sized firm for just under a year, so the annual review is looming. Having come from biglaw, the one thing I was sure wouldn’t happen was a lack of work, which I had experienced in the work-hoarding biglaw environment of late (I’m the only associate in the department working for 2 partners). Boy was I wrong. Even though the partners complain about being overworked, I’ve been given very little work, and even less of it is substantive. I’ve been proactive about asking for work and have noted many times that my plate is (much) less than full. But at some point, I just got sick of sounding like a broken record. One of the partners is a serious micro-manager, and my guess is that for him, my work is not good enough for him to feel comfortable delegating more to me. This is understandable, but I’m certainly getting no better at my job without work. The other partner seems to be dealing with personal issues and I rarely see him.

    My question – what do I do about the annual review? What do I say? I am seriously under my minimum billing requirement, but feel like there was very little I could have done over the past year to increase my billables. The departments in this firm are pretty separate (separate hiring, etc, etc…) so I couldn’t ask for work from another group. Pro bono doesn’t count toward billable hours.

    1. Hon, I am in precisely your situation and feel for you. It is a real PITA. I don’t know what it is like where you are, but in my firm this is happening not because the partner doesn’t feel he can give me work – he is very complimentary of my work – but he is so used to being a sole practitioner/not being able to delegate to someone competent in the past that it is a really difficult habit for him to break. I fill a lot of my time with precedent-building, developing client seminars, etc., but that is not what I really want to do.

       I would just be really up front about it in your review. It obviously isn’t your fault. If they really don’t want to lose you, they will try to find you more work. It may just be that they don’t realize what a serious issue this is for you. If they can’t find you more work – well, things are very different in Small Law than BigLaw, and it may never improve. Ultimately I’ve decided to return to BigLaw, in part because of precisely this issue.

       Good luck.

    2. A very similar thing happened to me. I am way under-hours and I have an inkling that one of the partners doesn’t like giving me work.

       My low hours were discussed at the annual review and another partner told me that when my hours came up, he was surprised. He told me that he spoke up for me and said that I was always there and always helpful, and that I was always asking for work. He told me that I was “doing the right thing.” Moral of the story is that people notice if you’re there at the appropriate times and they notice if you ask for work, and that helps. It sounds like you’re doing that already, so that should be come as some relief.

       Ask yourself whether you are taking enough time on your assignments. Be very thorough. Go crazy! Research all issues. If a partner thinks you took too much time on an assignment, he can always write your hours down. But if he thinks you didn’t take enough time, he can’t bump your hours up. A friend told me that and it’s made a huge difference in how I work.

       See if you can talk to one of the other partners about the micro-managing partner. Try to do it non-defensively. If this guy is really a micro-manager, you aren’t the only person who’s noticed. The other partners might be able to talk to him and get him to loosen up.

       Finally, even if pro bono/articles don’t count, it’s better than doing nothing. Try to fill up your time with things that you can at least claim are useful, if not billable.

       1. Wish I could do this but when given an assignment, I’m usually told that the clients are cost sensitive, and that I have to be careful with how much time I spend on the assignments.

24. Great dress, very chic.

    But if I were spending this kind of money on a simple dress, pants or skirt I’d find a good tailor and have them custom-made.

    1. I was wondering what custom work might cost. Also wondering why I quit sewing, not that I could make THAT dress. Taking a good look at the seaming in back, and the way those cap sleeves are done….truly beautiful workmanship.

25. OK, silly question. Does “business professional” = suit? If so, is medium gray with a soft rose shell acceptable?

    1. I think “business formal” means a suit or something akin to a suit. I’m not sure what “business professional” is but I’d guess it’s the same. Your outfit sounds fine.

26. You can reply to this as an “anon” but has anyone ever spent this much money on a dress like this (excluding wedding gown, of course)? Just wondering. I have never and probably won’t ever. Its too $$$.

    1. My wedding dress (in 1990) was either $1400 or $1700 (can’t recall now). I bought a Searle full length shearling coat at Saks in 2001 that was about $1200, I think. Other than those items, no.

    2. I haven’t but if (when!) I could afford it, I would.

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