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Updated: Oct 23, 2019 56 Comments · by

Suit of the Week: Sportmax

Suit of the Week

This post may contain affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

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. I always like Sportmax as a middle tier between Max Mara (their big sister label) and Hugo Boss, but they don't have a huge online presence. (Their stores are amazing though if you're nearby, and sales prices make things pretty reasonable.) This pretty purplish navy suit caught my eye in a recent email, and I like the asymmetrical pockets. Something about the proportions feels very “cool girl chic” but neutral and conservative at the same time. The jacket  is $595, and the pants are $335. Looking for something similar? This stretchy plus-size blazer has a similar vibe, as does this well-reviewed boyfriend blazer at Express available in petite and regular sizes XXS-XL. 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 10.10.24

  • Nordstrom – Extra 25% off clearance (through 10/14); there's a lot from reader favorites like Boss, FARM Rio, Marc Fisher LTD, AGL, and more. Plus: free 2-day shipping, and cardmembers earn 6x points per dollar (3X the points on beauty).
  • Ann Taylor – Extra 50% off sale (ends 10/12)
  • Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything plus extra 25% off your $125+ purchase
  • Boden – 10% off new styles with code; free shipping over $75
  • Eloquii – Extra 50% off a lot of sale items, with code
  • J.Crew – 40% off sitewide
  • J.Crew Factory – 50% off entire site, plus extra 25% off orders $150+
  • Lo & Sons – Fall Sale, up to 35% off
  • M.M.LaFleur – Save 25% sitewide
  • Neiman Marcus – Sale on sale, up to 85% off
  • Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
  • Talbots – 50% off 2+ markdowns
  • Target – Circle week, deals on 1000s of items
  • White House Black Market – Buy one, get one – 50% off full price styles

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

Some of our latest threadjacks include:

About Kat

Kat Griffin is the founder, publisher, and editor-in-chief of Corporette. You can read more about her here.

Comments

  1. All Saints Miki Bag

    I think I have found the bag for my zip-around wallet, giant iPhone, keys, and (now) glasses: the All Saints Miki. It’s less than the MZ Wallace cloth bag I was considering and the metal chain strap lets me hope it will work for evening events and daytime. Has anyone else gotten a bag from here? Thoughts re quality? And order directly from there or from Nordst_m? I like N’s easy returns, but otherwise am indifferent. Wish I could see in person, but nowhere in my city has it.

  2. Anon

    Words of advice or things to know for working with a headhunter/recruiter? I have been lucky to network into my last few positions and haven’t worked with one before. I was reached out to yesterday based on a lukewarm connection regarding a job that’s interesting and would be a good fit for me. I haven’t heard of this guy before, but I also haven’t been open to opportunities previously. He seems legit (small recruiting firm specific to our industry, good online presence, seems to have great industry connections). The company the position is at has a strong parent company that my mentor has consulted for, so I’m comfortable about that side of things.

    • Anonymous

      Do you need to be wary of the headhunter? I’d say go with your gut. I think his payment comes from the company that hired him; I didn’t think headhunters are involved with negotiating salary and stuff like that (and if so, more $ would be in your favor, right?)

      • Anon

        I’m not suspicious or wary per se, but it was a bit out of the blue and not something I have experience with, so I’m wondering if there are any questions I should be asking that I’m not.

        • Anon

          One thing I would always double check is to make sure you review the final version of any resume they send on your behalf. It’s common for them to put their watermark on it so they “own” your candidacy, but I’ve seen a few horror stories on Ask a Manager where the recruiter substantially changed the text of the resume before submitting it.

        • ceej

          He’s contacting you out of the blue because the company doesn’t have a contact they want to hire without a headhunter. That is, they aren’t getting the right resumes and their people can’t find the right person with normal efforts, so it is worth it to pay. That is one thing to be “wary” about. The degree of wariness depends on the field, position, company size, and general reputation. If the company is small with no HR department, then yeah, they might not have much time to look themselves. If it is large, this is a position that would fit for “promotion from within, and they should be getting good resumes from ads, maybe be concerned. But those are about the job, not him.

          I’d also be careful if your current position has contacts at the potential company to keep things confidential. But again, that isn’t about the recruiter specifically.

  3. anon

    That suit reads very Ellen DeGeneres to me. Which, she has an awesome sense of style, but it’s very specific to her. I don’t know many people who could pull it off.

    • Ellen

      It also looks to big on her. Is that is the best Ellen Degenerous can do? I would think with her bank book, she could find a better tailor. FOOEY!

    • Anon

      I… don’t think this would look good on about 99% of the population. The button-less front just contributes to the effect of swimming in a poorly-fitting blazer.

    • Anon

      Ellen has been my style icon since I was 8. It’s not conventional, but it looks so good

    • Anon

      A tall, thin tomboy type. I see someone with a model figure with an angular hair cut looking amazing in this.

  4. Anon

    Unimportant rant on the afternoon thread: getting so tired of my best friend being SO self-absorbed. When it’s time to talk about her diet, she wants to go on for hours, but when it’s time to discuss a news article about an issue we both care about (allegedly, anyway) or to discuss some great news I received today, I get a one-word text like “wow!” or “nice” and then “sorry, I’m busy.” Well, you weren’t busy when you were rambling on about body image for the previous 30 minutes…

    • Anonymous

      There’s a season for everything; it sounds like this isn’t the season to invest a lot of energy into this friendship. Maybe things will change over time. My personal approach with folks like this is to let them be happy hour (or yoga or whatever) buddies that I can see in small doses.

      • Anon

        Yeah, I think you’re right. It’s a little sad because we are best friends and have been for SO long, but I think it’s time to talk less/enjoy smaller doses.

        • Housecounsel

          I used to be that friend who talked about her diet for hours. I feel lucky that a friend called me out bluntly. I’ve never done it again.

          • I sometimes drone on

            I am immensely appreciative of being (kindly) called out or redirected on this kind of thing. I don’t talk much about diet, but sometimes I talk too much about a particular topic, particularly if it’s a complaint. Most of my family is this way and it’s how I learned to communicate.

            I’m trying very hard to unlearn this, but I’m not 100% there.

    • Ellen

      I know all about that. At least we have this website to discuss things with our fellow Corporette’s!!! You will always have a voice here, where we work together to solve mutual probelems. In the case of yourgirl friend, don’t worry, she is worried about her diet and body image b/c that is what is important to her and she thinks (correctly) that the guys she is trying to attract, like me. You must play the role of placating her; but the things she is most likely looking for you cannot, particularly if she is looking for a boyfriend like me who will marry her. Big issues of the day, like politics, are NOT going to get her a boyfriend. Trust me, I know. That is why she also seems uninterested in discussing them at length. On the other hand, if you can give advise on good new dieting techniques, or on $exy bikram yoga positions that will attract new men to her, then you can be sure she will be listening very carefully, just like I would.

  5. Anonymous

    I saw this floating around Twitter too late to partake — if you had to choose one candy to go, FOREVER, what would you choose? My answer:

    GONE FOREVER: M&Ms (plain)
    Kept:
    1. Milky Way
    2. Reeses
    3. Twix
    4. Snickers
    5. Kit Kat

      • Senior Attorney

        Yup. If it’s not gonna have any crunch, it at least needs some sticky.

        • Senior Attorney

          MORE sticky. Don’t talk to me about that pitiful little layer in the middle…

    • anon

      I’d get rid of Butterfinger. It adds nothing to my life.

      Keep, forever:
      1. Snickers
      2. KitKat
      3. Twix
      4. M&Ms
      5. Milky Way

      • Housecounsel

        Give me ALL the Butterfinger. Get rid of Milky Way. Yucky sticky caramel with no crunch.

    • Cat

      Are those the only choices? If not, Skittles would be my first to go. My mouth can’t handle that much straight sugar.

      Of that list, Milky Way is my pick as loser.

    • Anon

      Whoppers. That’s the one candy I have absolutely no trouble resisting. I’d keep everything else.

    • Vicky Austin

      Goodbye Reese’s, not sorry. (Not a chocolate/PB fan – and it’s not good PB in there, anyway.)

    • Anon

      I would like this better with three choices, like MFK for candy bars.

      So I’d marry Reese’s
      F Snickers
      kill Milky Way

    • Anon

      Out of those choices, I’m getting rid of kit kat. Out of the whole world of candy, it would be peeps.

      • Ellen

        I love Kit Kat’s! I’ll bet Kat does too. Also, I love York Peppermint Patties and Nestles Crunch, M&M Peanuts and Even Reeces Pieces! If I did not love these candies, I probably would not even have a tuchus at all, let alone the larger type of tuchus I inherited from Grandma Trudy and Mom. Mom says as long as I can remember to take the good with the bad, because I inherited my larger sized tuchus, I might as well enjoy all of the above-referenced chocolates! YAY!!! And eEven if I don’t find a man just b/c of my tuchus, at least I will always have something sweet to chew on! DOUBEL YAY!!!

    • S in Chicago

      If we’re going to open this to throwing out ANY candy, then let’s get down to the truly awful:

      Circus peanuts (barf)
      Candy corn
      Boston beans
      Anything orange flavor
      Jelly beans that aren’t Jelly Belly

      None of these should even claim to be candy. I shudder just thinking about them. (A lot of these seem really old–maybe folks didn’t know how to make good candy yet?) Anyway, now I’m off to go listen to Lewis Black’s rant on candy corn….

      • Vicky Austin

        Circus peanuts are abominable. I also nominate Mary Janes and Necco wafers. BLECH.

    • NOLA

      I eat M&Ms every day, so must keep. For me, on that list, Milky Way would go. In the greater candy world, peeps, candy corn, Skittles, and Butterfinger could go without a problem. Twix and KitKat and Reese’s are among my faves. I’m also a fan of mint and chocolate, so Junior Mints are up there. Or Dove dark chocolate and mint.

    • Coach Laura

      GONE FOREVER: Twix, Kit Kat (I’ve got celiac so these are definitely already out forever.) Hate Milky Way so that’s gone too.

      Kept:
      1. Snickers
      2. Reeses
      3. M&Ms (plain)
      If we’re adding things, I love Almond M&Ms or really any chocolate covered almond.

  6. Anon

    I bought a set of vintage books on ebay for $100. They were marked Very Good, but when I received them, they were clearly in only Acceptable condition. I messaged the seller with photos and asked for a return, and he granted it. Then he messaged me a couple hours later to say don’t worry about returning the books, sorry about the trouble, I’ve refunded your money. I messaged him back saying I wouldn’t feel right and he replied again, no really, no worries. Would you keep the books? It feels like stealing! And stealing $100! But he said not to worry about it. I already printed the prepaid label, so I can just drop them back in the mail to him.

    • CHL

      I say thank the karma gods and move on. I’ve definitely placed stuff to be sold where I just wanted it to not go in a landfill and I didn’t really care about the money.

    • Anon

      He probably doesn’t want to pay the return postage on top of having to refund you. I’d keep them or donate them.

      • Ellen

        Don’t sweat it. Yes,he thinks there’s no way he will ever find another schmoe to buy these ratty books, so why should he pay to get them back? I would just keep the books, or read them over the weekend and then donate them to NY Cares. If you don’t live in NYC, you can donate them to your public library and they will either include them in their collection, or sell them at a USED book sale to raise funds for the library to buy good books.

    • Anon

      He’s saying that because he probably can’t resell them. Just keep them, you might be adding a burden by resending them.

    • Senior Attorney

      He likely got them for nothing or nearly nothing and they’e not worth the return postage to him.

      • Anon

        Exactly – possibly cleaning out the house of an older relative or was handed them down and doesn’t want/value them. He might have given it a go at selling them, but maybe was going to donate if they didn’t sell. Not worth either of your hassle for the return.

      • Anon

        Seriously. Don’t presume to know better than the actual seller of the books. If he doesn’t want them back, you’re fine.

  7. Where’s the damn bourbon

    Has anyone realized they’re probably self-medicating with alcohol but not interested in doing CBT or SSRI?

      • Ribena

        +1 for exercise. I have a personal rule where I never drink if I’m not feeling good, only ever if I’m already in a good mood.

  8. Anon

    DBT and Xanax? More seriously, it may be worth investigating an underlying medical issue. Poor sleep, vitamin D, vitamin B12, thyroid and reproductive hormones can all be involved in anxiety symptoms, and psych meds and therapy can be a negative and frustrating experience when what you really need is sleep, hormones, or healthier nerves.

  9. Dating quandry

    So I’m using Bumble and dating multiple people after coming out of long-term marriage. It’s been fun meeting a variety of people even if many of them have not worked out. There is a guy in particular I like but I don’t want to be exclusive right away until I get to know him well. Do you tell people up front that you are seeing others? Wait until he brings it up? How have you handled this?

    • ceej

      I believe it is assumed (especially on Bumble, as compared to EHarmony, for example) that you are seeing multiple people and are not exclusive. I would not think tho consider exclusivity until I’d been on at least 6 dates with someone, and known them at least a month so I think you have at least that long. On the other hand, I’d think about a conversation if I’d been on more than 10 dates and known them more than 2 months and we weren’t there. But, that would be because I want to know if this is going somewhere, so I’d push it.

      You have your own standards about what you will and won’t do while not exclusive, and so that’s how it has come up for me. (He’s not meeting my family if we’re not exclusive, levels of gardening, meeting people I work with, planning a certain length of time in advance, financial stuff). Either, bring it up when you are ready to be exclusive, or wait for him to bring it up, or if there are certain actions you believe imply exclusivity and he’s asking for them, have a more complicated conversation.

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