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Updated: Nov 1, 2018 194 Comments · by

Suit of the Week: Max Mara

Suit of the Week

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Suit of the Week: Max Mara | CorporetteFor 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. Y'know, I was just telling myself that I needed to stop posting blue dresses — other colors in the rainbow, Kat! I actually do love this deep, bright red, though — whether it's a lipstick color, a nail polish, or, hey, an entire suit this particular red seems a little daring, a little dark, a little knowing. It's a bold color for a bold woman, whether as a lipstick, a nail polish, a dress, or, hey, a whole suit. I like it as styled here (with a lovely red blouse beneath), but I also love the way this color looks with light blue (ahem). The jacket (Max Mara Blazer – Basco) is $950, and the pants (Max Mara Pants – Hardy) are $475, both at Bloomingdale's.
Max Mara Blazer - Basco Max Mara Pants - Hardy
(L-5)

Sales of note for 9.16.24

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Comments

  2. Susie

    This is a definite no for me (price notwithstanding). I might consider as separates, though there is something about the fit/style of the jacket I don’t like- the button placement strikes me as a little awkward and I have a feeling the model’s midsection is smaller than it looks in this.

    • Away Game

      I think the jacket is fine, but the pants are short. (Maybe I’m just too out of touch, despite my attention to this blog.)

      • Sara

        I agree that the pants are hemmed too short. Shouldn’t the hem break over the arch of the foot or top of the toe box of the shoes?

  3. Was it Scarlet

    I love red. I have a red skirt suit (that I haven’t worn in about 5 years and should have donated already). I felt a bit Nancy Pelosi in it — good for the camera and maybe for taking names and kicking b*tt, but that is not my life.

    I think that absent dim lighting / late winter light / very vivid or dark surroundings, this would just be hard to wear. It would seem an odd thing to put on to wear in an office, sitting at a desk. But for some sort of Alias-like chase scene in a deserted dim urban environment, I think I could rock it.

    • In the PInk

      I wear red all the time. It might be skin coloring or having one’s own “shop” so that you can wear what you find flattering.

      Totally agree with the tone/intensity of red varying with the season.

      Tomato, fire colors in spring/summer, even those with a touch of orange, rather than blue, in them.

      Burgundy, maroon, oxblood, deep scarlet, blood red for fall/winter. All those with blues in them.

  4. Chini

    I admire the ladies who can keep their weight consistent enough to splurge on any particular item of clothing. I’ll have to buy the Kasper version of this suit.

    DC folks — does anyone know of a restaurant anywhere in the DC/VA/MD area that serves wine European-style? By which I mean, house wine for just a couple of dollars a glass or a half-liter carafe for $5-$10. I really do miss living in a place where wine is cheaper than (bottled) water.

      • January

        I’m kind of wondering if this suit was the inspiration for the BR version. :)

    • Anonymous

      I live in DC too and I would love this. I haven’t thought about it in years, but it is something I miss about france. And drinking all.the.wines with dinner.

    • Bonnie

      The only place I can think of is Pasta Mia in Adams Morgan where they sell house wine by the carafe or half carafe.

    • DC restaurants

      This is not a particularly nice restaurant (it’s really just a counter where you order and bring your food to the table), but Zorbas in Dupont has carafes and half carafes of their house wine, which is from Greece. I haven’t been there in years, but I used to go a lot and remember thinking it was a good deal.

      • Chini

        Cool, I’ll check out Zorba. The price of Pasta Mia’s carafes seem really steep (might as well buy a full bottle), but I’ll pop in next time in that neighborhood.

        • Chini

          Actually, found another online menu that listed Pasta Mia’s half-liter carafe for $9, which is much more reasonable than the one I saw for twice that. The other one must have mislabeled the 1-liter carafe.

    • Niktaw

      Half-liter is the perfect amount of wine for 2 people. And no, I don’t know of a restaurant with good and cheap house wine

  5. Adele

    What do you ladies think about this? I was just in Macy’s picking up a gift for my aunt during lunch and saw this dress/sweater jacket which was soooooooooooooooo gorgeous in person I immediately wanted to tell the world about it. I don’t normally shop for clothes at Macy’s but the picture really doesn’t do this item justice – it looks so lux in person and just ever so slightly retro. I didn’t have time to try it on but it looked like it would be very cozy on a crisp Fall/Winter day. Is it too costumy or just right?

    http://www1.macys.com/shop/product/lauren-ralph-lauren-long-sleeve-houndstooth-shawl-collar-sweater-sleeveless-leather-trim-wool-blend-dress?ID=1057044&CategoryID=3485&LinkType=#fn=COLOR%3DBrown%26sp%3D1%26spc%3D34

  6. Mountain Girl

    I haven’t worn red since Saturday football games in college. But, last week was looking for a dress for a wedding and ended up with one from Liz Claiborne at JCP. I actually really like the dress and plan to wear it this fall to work with a cardigan. Overall, not a bad $20 purchase to see if I am comfortable wearing red.

    http://tinyurl.com/pqwzekh

    • Lyra Silvertongue

      Love that dress, though I may be biased bc red is my favorite color…

  7. Equity's Darling

    What’s a reasonable price to have a pair of boots re-soled and made ready for winter? I dropped mine off a couple weeks ago to get them ready, and while it’s one of the best places in the city, I also think that $80 seems like a lot? I mean…I love my boots, and good boots are hard to find, but they cost $200. What’s done is done, and I haven’t picked them up yet to see if they look amazing, but I’m just curious.

    • Mplsatty

      I re-soled a heavily salt-damaged pair of leather boots last winter and for the same cost ($80) got new heels, rubber treads and a beautiful reconditioning and polishing of the boots. It was worth it for comfortable, broken-in boots and, yes, they should look amazing.

      • Equity's Darling

        Okay, good, that makes me feel better- I’m looking forward to the new treads, the end of last winter was a little…precarious.

        • Philosophia

          New poster here, with a recommendation—pardon me if you were not soliciting one—for a shoe repairman in Minneapolis: Fast Eddie’s in Dinkytown. Jim’s goal is to make everything brought to him look as it did when it was new.

  8. Anon

    I’m not a fan of this red suit. It looks dated to me, but I don’t know why.

    • MD

      It looks like something a much older woman would wear. By ‘much older,’ I mean, I’m 42 and it looks way too old even for me.

  9. KC

    Work has been busy lately, but I managed to get 7.5 hours of sleep last night and was feeling pretty well rested. Ironically, today multiple colleagues have told me I look tired. I’m secretly hoping that’s not code for something else :)

    • Ellen

      Me too. I have been working my tuchus off (figureatively) so I have not had alot of time to post. I wish I could work off a few pound’s from my tuchus, but that does not work that way. Sam texted me today even tho I said I would have to tell him first whether he should text me. He knows I was talkeing to Willem at the party and he said that Willem’s bank is strictely second rate. I say FOOEY as long as he is makeing money and can support me, that is all that matters.

      Today I took the Subway to work b/c it was so hot out and some guy kept rubing up against me in the train. I did NOT get a seat b/c I get on at 86th in the morning and it is express where peeople all push to get on. If I was to go 77th, I could probabely get a seat, but that is slow. Anyway, this guy kept rubing my tuchus with his leg and I told him to stop b/c he did NOT have to be that close. I had to get off at 59th b/c he kept rubing my tuchus, and I waited for the next train. When I got to work, I told the manageing partner, and he said I should have talked to the MTA police and taken his picture with my Iphone. But where were they when this guy was rubing my tuchus? I did not get this guy’s name, but next time I will remember to take his picture with my Iphone. FOOEY!

  10. Thoughts?

    TJ — Husband and I own a very small townhouse just outside of a major metropolitan city (Alexandria, VA – outside DC, if it matters). The value of the home has skyrocketed over the last year, such that we could probably sell quickly in the next few months, and gain a total profit of about $100K, after all fees/costs (based on recent comparable sales on our street). The townhouse suits our current needs, but just barely. We are looking to reduce our overall expenses over the next few years b/c our joint income recently changed pretty drastically, so would like to buy a cheaper house, which means moving much further out. However, we don’t want to make the move until next fall, at the earliest, when our 2 kids will be enrolled in school and ready to leave our nanny of 3 years.

    We could rent in a nearby neighborhood – thus not upsetting our childcare – for about the same monthly price as our mortgage, possibly a little lower (it would be about even after factoring in tax consequences). However, really, I’m interested in taking advantage of the current market for our home’s sale (as recently as a year ago, our profit on the house would have been closer to $20K or less), and investing the profit and continuing to save for our next down payment, but taking our time to pick the next house and location. Am I overlooking any factors that I should consider? It feels very strange to go back to renting in our area, when we currently own a home. However, the last few years make me nervous that we’ll miss the right time to sell.

    • Blonde Lawyer

      Do it. I still own a home that I missed the opportunity to sell because it wasn’t quite time to move and now I can’t get rid of it. Sell while the selling is good!

    • Anon8

      It’s definitely the right time to sell. We are in the midwest/suburbs and the market was very active early in year. It’s settled down a bit now that there is more inventory, but our realtor was saying that markets in bigger cities are good for selling. We just recently took advantage of the market and sold our first home.

      The real estate market changes quickly, so I would reccomend taking advantage of it – especially if you can get a good profit. If you’re lucky, you might end up in a bidding war.

    • Susie

      The housing market in my area has really heated up and though I could probably sell my place pretty quick for a nice profit I am not even considering it because it would be hard to find a replacement in this seller’s market and I don’t want to deal with the hassle of a temporary living situation necessitating my moving at least twice.

      • preg anon

        Yeah, that’s why we decided to stay put. All of the areas where we want to move are hot too, so we’d just be paying back what we are making on our house. But, the OP is looking to rent, so I say definitely sell.

    • Was it Scarlet

      IMO, DC area commutes are beyond horrid, especially once you start talking moving further out, especially if the small children will be on a different side of the beltway from you. Do you like the Alex schools? Will that be a factor (there v. further out suburbs)? Also, in Alex, is there a possiblity that you can have car-independent children at some point in your current ‘hood?

      FWIW, it seems that after-the-Superbowl is a good time to list a house. The DC suburbs also seem to have a lot of rentals (people keep their houses when they get stationed somewhere else and the rent is less than what you’d pay on a new condo of similar size, plus you get a yard).

      It if were me, I’d put off the move until you have to, money-wise. Your time is invaluable in the meantime. Plus, DC is traditionally healthy and was so inside the Beltway, even during the meltdown (assuming you didn’t buy at top of market), so I wouldn’t be in a huge rush to sell (esp. before the spring).

      • Thoughts?

        Thanks for the thoughts. Alexandria schools are good, but unfortunately, the townhouse definitely will not work long-term. We will need to be able to accommodate one of our little ones, and she cannot be on the second floor of the house when she’s older (the only place for her to be at this time).

        I agree with everyone that inventory is down at this time, which helps us as sellers. I could foresee renting for a year or two, but I’m just having a hard time wrapping my head around that idea. Also, fearful that the market will keep going up, and we’ll regret not waiting until we are ready to move to the next house.

        • Was it Scarlet

          Good luck! It seems that Arlington (and probably everywhere else closer to you) has lots of red brick ramblers with 3 BR on one floor, so maybe you can find something to rent.

          Also, maybe the thing to do is to pre-shop now (stuff that has been sitting a while) knowing that you can list your house and probably sell it quickly. It may help focus your mind when you compare the rentals to what you could buy. I wouldn’t worry about timing the selling market — I agree that it’s where you go next that will be tougher.

          If mobility / accessability is a factor, I have been very impressed with DC over all compared to other cities, and Arlington in particular (have non-driving metro-dependent family member).

          Signed,
          Fixer in Arlington

        • Ella

          Yes, I don’t see the Arlington market going down anytime soon. I think by selling earlier and then renting you may be missing out on appreciatetion.

    • TBK

      Do it, but be prepared to rent for awhile if necessary. Friends who are househunting in NoVA have been complaining about the lack of inventory. That might be changing as people catch on to the improving market, but just realize it might take longer than you’d like to find the next house.

      • Anonymous

        +1 on lack of inventory. Your house will probably sell like lightening, but house hunts are longer because you need to get in the day the house is listed (or even if the night before!) to get in an offer in the NoVa area. The good news is that you are most likely going to move to Fairfax County which has good schools.

      • L

        Plus really look at the cost of rent. I’ve seen dramatic price creeps month to month because landlords know that inventory is low. I hate our housing market.

    • Duchess

      I bought in Alexandria about a year ago, and honestly, I’d say hold on to it until you’re ready to move. I think it’ll continue to appreciate in value. I keep seeing other units in my condo complex on the market and each one seems to sell for $10k more than the last… Maybe just keep your eye on the market and if it starts dipping back down, then list it, but I think if I were you, I’d be disappointed to sell mine now and then see similar stuff selling even higher in six months to a year.

      • a.k.

        +1 – Also in Alexandria. The demand for close-in homes is strong and there’s nothing pointing to it decreasing starkly, at least not in the next 12-18 months. Wait until you find a house you want to move into, so you aren’t limited by terms of your lease.

        Also I don’t know exactly where you are, but near me (walkable to Metro) there is a severe shortage of family-size rentals in good condition, and anything that pops up is usually rented very quickly.

    • PolyD

      Aren’t there tax implications for selling a house but not buying another one right away? Some friends sold a house in DC, then rented for a year in NYC, and I seem to remember them saying something about taking a bigger tax hit by doing that than if they had bought a place right away. Not sure how big the penalty was or what the exact time frame is.

      • B

        Yes! We sold our house and moved into a rental while building our new house. We sold the old house in 2011 and bought the new house in 2012 and took a hefty and unexpected tax hit because of that. Be sure you calculate that plus the costs of a double move into your potential additional profits for selling now instead of later. On the flip side, if you will be renting, it will make it easier to buy because your offer won’t be contingent, but the timing of buying right when your lease is up can be tricky.

        • Back Home

          Does it make a difference whether you made money or lost money overall on the home? We just sold our house in August and have no plans to buy another house in the next year or two. We got $13K at closing because the offer was $13K over what we owed on the mortgage, but we sold the house for $40K less than what we paid for it 5 years earlier, so technically we lost money.

      • Anon

        CPA here, if anyone cares following is a brief run down of the rules for exclusion of capital gain on a primary residence. You can exclude up to $500k (if filing married filing jointly) gain from your income if you meet the below requirements. Also note that there is not requirement to roll the equity into a new home. You can pocket the cash and downgrade if you’d like.

        To claim the exclusion, you must meet the ownership and use tests. This means that during the 5-year period ending on the date of the sale, you must have:
        Owned the home for at least 2 years (the ownership test) and lived in the home as your main home for at least 2 years (the use test).

        The required 2 years of ownership and use during the 5-year period ending on the date of the sale do not have to be continuous nor do they both have to occur at the same time.

        You meet the tests if you can show that you owned and lived in the property as your main home for either 24 full months or 730 days (365 × 2) during the 5-year period ending on the date of sale.

        • Susedna

          Thank you, this is so helpful – I have suggested to my parents that they talk to a good accountant about this. I am hoping they’ll sell their too-big-for-them-now house and downsize but my Mom is super-resistant and keeps talking about possible “tax penalties.”

          • Anon

            Glad I could help. Exclusion of capital gain on personal residence is one of the very few good deals left when it comes to tax law.

    • Thoughts?

      Thanks for the great thoughts, all. Lots to consider. Renting seems so easy in theory, but I suppose this plan is made more complicated because we don’t have a clear next step for purchasing mapped out.

      At the end of the day, I know our house won’t work in the long-term and I’m itching to not miss the right time to sell (especially b/c we’ve come close to selling when we really would not have made a profit), but the reality is that we could hang on for another year and save moving costs/headaches with a rental. Wish I had a magic 8- ball to predict the future!

      • S

        We recently sold our house in Alexandria and moved to Mclean. One thing to keep in mind about the buying/selling process in a competitive real estate area is that if you can avoid having a home-sale contingency on your offer when you eventually buy, you’ll have a huge leg up! We “lost” 3 houses because we couldn’t get the timing right with selling ours. We couldn’t financially stretch enough to own both homes at once and were really envious of people moving from rentals. Ultimately, I think we paid a premium on our new house because we couldn’t be as flexible on the financing and the timing.

    • Pest

      I would sell and buy your new place now. Over the next year prices are going to continue to go up, inventory will continue to go down and interest rates will keep climbing too. I would sell your place and buy a new one now. Skip the plan to rent for a year. If your current nanny can’t work in your new town you’ll find a new one. It is not worth spending a year on rent and paying extra for your new home just to keep a nanny.

    • Anon

      How long have you owned the house? If at least 2 years then there are no tax implications (assuming you’ve never rented it out). See my post below re: capital gain rules.

      • Former Real Estate Broker

        Ok, prices are not just going to continue to go up at the rate they are right now. This will either stabilize (or possibly decline again if things get too crazy). From someone who was working in the market, these are EXACTLY the types of things people were saying to try to ‘scare’ people into the market, which results in keeping the market artificially inflated.

        If the house is not tenable for the next 5-7 year term, sell it now, and rent. Things can’t continue apace. That’s what happened last time, everyone assumed because it’s good RIGHT NOW it will just keep going up and up and up. It won’t. Will prices be a little higher in a year or two? Maybe. Are you going to see the same sharp increase you saw THIS year? Doubtful. Will builders come back in the market because of that sharp increase, thereby increasing inventory, which will put downward price pressure on the market? Almost certainly.

        Sell. Rent. Look for a home you’d be happy in for the next 10 years. Buy it.

  11. stay or go

    I’d love your input on whether I should leave my current firm. I’m an attorney.

    Assume current job has a good work environment: 8:30-5:30 schedule, I get a long with everyone great, the firm is very family friendly, I’m good at the work, pay is decent (low six figures), I’ll make partner if I decide to stay, I have as much job security as anyone can have. But the work is mind-numbingly boring, repetitious, and everyday when I sit down I go through the if-i-have-to-look-at-another-one-of -these-claims-i’m-going-to-stab-my-eyes-out routine…and I’m only 5 years in.

    Assume the job I’d leave for is in-house, very cool company, would be different subject matters every day, but I have no idea how the work environment would be and could be more demanding on my time than my current job is. The pay would be better, but I’d likely have less job security.

    I’m leaning toward leaving, but part of me feels foolish for giving up a perfectly good work situation just because I’m not passionate about the subject matter. The other part of me feels like I could try and find actual work I enjoy doing and risk the un-perfect work environment for it. Mind you, the in-house job seems like is could have a great work environment too, but there’s always the risk.

    So…would you stay or go?

    • Susie

      It would only be foolish to leave if you didn’t have a job offer in hand. Based on the information you presented I think I would take the in-house job; more money and less boring sounds like a win-win. However other options would be to ask to take on different types of matters at your current firm (either working with people in these areas or, as a 5th year at a small firm, bringing in your own business in something related to but not the same as what you’ve been doing) or wait it out at your current firm and while keeping an eye out for other openings.

    • Anonymous

      The way you framed it, I don’t even know how its a question. I would go in a heartbeat.

      Is there less job security just because its unknown, or is the company likely to fold or the position eliminated? If its #1, I would go, go, go.

      • Hel-lo

        +1. Another voice here for taking the risk.

        (Or at least applying. This is all theoretical until you get offered the new job.)

    • tesyaa

      To me, family friendly and flexible is everything, but I also like my day-to-day job. I think you have to be happy with what you’re doing every day. Even if it’s more demanding, it may not add to your stress if it’s really more enjoyable. If it were me, I’d probably take the risk.

    • Killer Kitten Heels

      Depends on the rest of your life circumstances – if you’ve recently had (or are planning very shortly to have) kids, you might want to keep the more secure/more family friendly job in spite of the “OMG THIS IS SO BORING” blues, because the guaranteed schedule/family time/income is potentially more important/useful than your personal satisfaction at that particular life stage.

      If you don’t have a particularly compelling reason to need the family friendliness/job security, take the leap.

    • Calibrachoa

      I just finished the Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson, so if you like doorstoppers I heartily recommend it.
      Once I finish re-reading Cryptonomicon by the same author, I am about to pick up the Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch. (former Dr. Who writer!) I hear good things about it so…

    • Veronique

      Zeitoun by Dave Eggers. Really engaging description of one man’s experience during and after Hurrican Katrina.

    • Merabella

      The Disappearing Spoon. About the history of the periodic table.

      And totally different – Sex with Kings – about all the mistresses of European superpowers.

    • C, Esq.

      I just finished Into Thin Air, by Jon Krakauer, which is the story of the 1996 Mount Everest disaster. I don’t usually read nonfiction, but this book was so incredibly captivating. I couldn’t put it down.

    • bridget

      It’s long, but I LOVED Steven Pinker’s The Better Angels of Our Nature. Fascinating and meticulously researched.

    • SpaceMountain

      The Brother Gardeners, by Andrea Wulf. History, plants, botany. Great book.

    • Annie

      I just finished The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee. Very well written book on the history of cancer treatment. It wasn’t jargon-y or too in depth, and really made me appreciate the leaps forward that modern medicine has made in cancer treatment.

    • abogada

      Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
      Guns, Germs & Steel by Jared Diamond
      Collapse by Jared Diamond

      I don’t read a lot of non-fiction, but these are some favorites that I’ve read in the last few years, although the first 2 are from the ’90s.

    • CBM

      Far From the Tree by Andrew Solomon. He conducted thousands of interviews of families with children who are very different from their parents. The book discusses how different families respond to their children and how those responses shapes the lives of all involved.

      Also second The Emperor of All Maladies.

    • Famouscait

      ***Hope you see this – I’m posting next-day.***

      Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick.

      It’s very, very good.

  13. Anonymous

    I’m loving Salt, Sugar, Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us by Michael Moss.

    • Senior Attorney

      And in that same vein, “The End of Overeating” by David Kessler.

  14. Samantha

    After some recent comments extolling Asos dresses, I’m considering buying one of these:
    http://us.asos.com/pgeproduct.aspx?iid=2985424
    or
    http://us.asos.com/pgeproduct.aspx?iid=3308001

    Not for work, but for weekend/party/dream lifestyle wear.
    I’m leaning towards the first one, since I love dresses with sleeves, but worried if its too frumpy with the print? Bonus is that with a blazer covering the back, I could probably wear it to work too, but that’s the reason I don’t have any party wear (end up buying work wear that I think will do double duty.)
    The second dress seems like it would accentuate any figure flaws or belly pooches, but halter-type necks are a style I’ve been wanting to try as I think they’ll flatter my upper half. What if I buy it a size larger, will it skim instead of clinging?
    Your style advice please?

    • preg 3L

      Well I love ASOS but half of the stuff I buy from them is total cheap sh!t (like, worse than H&M) and some of it is lovely, work-appropriate, maternity wear that I’m thrilled to have. They have free shipping both ways if you buy over $140 (and free return shipping always) so I would buy $140 of dresses and see what ends up working out. FWIW, I just ordered 5 maternity dresses hoping that 3 or more would work, and I’m sending 4 back (due to awkward fit issues, cheap fabric, and uncomfortable elastic in all the wrong places).

  15. Calibrachoa

    TJ – I bet this is disvcussed somewhere in the archives but I couldn’t find anythimg

    What would you say is the business casual formality equivalent of guys in slacks and button-ups with no tie or jacket for women?

      • Calibrachoa

        Feel free to elaborate if you want to :P

        Reason I’m asking is because when I look around here the guys from slightly-above-monkey to most managers are in the slacks and shirts camp but the women are kind of all over the place so I’m curious if there is an internet consensus on this or not

    • TBK

      Heavily depends on the quality of the slacks and button up. There’s a big difference between Dockers and a short sleeve plaid shirt, and gray suit pants with a starched light blue dress shirt. If it’s the former, I’d say a cotton skirt in either pencil or A-line silhouette with a nice t-shirt and cardigan. The latter, I’d say a high quality wool pencil skirt or dress pants with a blouse or other dressy top (silk, fine wool, or cashmere).

      • Calibrachoa

        Thanks! :) that is a really great answer.

        I had to Google Dockers and now I think I may have to pay a bit more attention to the lads – thus far I’v only distinguished between the slacks-and-shirts brigade and the jeans-and-plaid-or-godawful-sweaters-or-worse crowd without paying much attention to the specifics of the trousers and shirts beyond noticing a trend towards khaki trousers with thinly striped white shirts (and that my manager likes blue and grey)

        … Why do I suddenly have an urge to approach this like bird-watching? With a notebook and everything?

      • Calibrachoa

        Yup, am just curious what people consider the direct equivalent of that outfit to be

  16. preg anon

    Okay, strange question. Do you think it would be weird to have dark chocolate walls (Martha Stewart Bay Colt, if you’re wondering) in a bathroom that has white and black tile on the floor? I think this is basically the tile: http://www.efloors.com/daltile-octagon-dot-matte-white-with-black-gloss-dot-12-x-12-ceramic-tile-65012oct21ms1p2/tile/daltile/ceramic/catalog_71783.htm. The shower is white subway tile. The cabinetry is white, and there is white wainscoating that will separate the chocolate from the tile. Honestly, I’m hoping for a yes answer, but if you don’t think it will look good, please tell me!

    • Was it Scarlet

      Doesn’t the SoHo Grand have bathrooms like this, only with dark gray instead of chocolate?

    • NOLA

      Only if you can lick the chocolate from the walls…

      Okay, but seriously. I have all chocolate brown and white accessories in my bathroom, which has a white with some black tile floor. Brown towels, brown trim on the shower curtain, dark bronze toilet paper holder, etc. I think it looks good! My bathroom is so small that dark brown walls would probably close it in, but I could see doing a half wall.

      • preg anon

        Wonderful. I can see the concern about closing it in. While it isn’t a large bathroom, I wouldn’t call it small either. It has a separate small room for the tub and toilet. So hopefully that’ll be okay. I’m glad to hear that nobody is concerned about the brown and black issue. Thanks!

        • NOLA

          I should have also mentioned that I have a couple of decorative touches in my bathroom that sort of meld the brown and black and make it more feminine. When I first did the brown, a male friend of mine (not my SO) said that it was masculine looking. I added fleur de lis bronze shower curtain hooks, a little box that holds extra toilet paper that has French fashion designs, and this print in a bronze decorative frame: http://www.onlineposter.us/p-Poussoir+Noir-977030.html

  17. TBK

    One thing that didn’t occur to me about twins — I’m only 10 weeks and already showing! I definitely don’t want to “out” myself at work for another two weeks, but really, for various reasons, would like to wait another four or more to share, but, jeez, my clothes just do not fit. I have a bunch of maternity clothes waiting for me in my closet, and I’ve started wearing them on the weekends, but they make me look…pregnant. (Honestly, if you know I’m pregnant, you can tell even in my normal clothes. And I’m sure some of the older ladies at work are already whispering to each other, but I think most people just think I’ve gotten fatter.) I’m wearing what used to be a loose dress today, and it’s seriously digging into me. This heat wave isn’t helping, either. I have slightly more concealing clothes but none of them are appropriate for this 95 degree weather!

    • L

      Start talking about your ‘ankle injury’ and how you can’t work out. Limp. Wear flats. I stop working out and all the sudden people are giving me their seats on metro. (And no I’m not pregnant.)

    • Anonymous

      I’m in the same boat. I’m 17 weeks, but I’m newer at this job (will be just less than a year at the due date) and wanted to wait it out a bit more.

      I definitely look like I’ve put on weight (I have) and I’m simply counting on people not noticing or commenting. I wear looser tops and obviously no shift dresses, etc. I’m probably only going to be able to keep up this charade for another 2 weeks or so.

      • Anonymous

        It doesn’t help that I’m short and had a big chest to begin with that has gotten really big. I definitely look pregnant — weight gain is all concentrated in chest and round belly, but whatever. People will all know eventually . . .

      • posey

        making it to 17 weeks is an accomplishment. I don’t think I can keep this up for another two weeks, let alone another 4. Are you in maternity clothes yet?

    • posey

      I’m 15 weeks and I’ve taken to pretending to fumble with my bag when I walk in/out (so I can hold it in front of my belly) and sucking in when walking in the halls during the day. It’s not a great system. It’s hard to suck in an entire other human. I’m short-waisted so the baby has nowhere to go but out, and out it’s going. It’s not a weight thing – it recently it dawned on me that my stomach isn’t getting bigger because of extra weight, it’s getting bigger because something inside is physically pushing it out.

      No solutions, just commiseration.

      • Anonymous

        Yes exactly. My stomach has that decidedly distended look to it. There’s definitely something growing in there. Its so noticeable in workout clothes.

        I have one pair of maternity pants that I’ve been wearing because they are more comfortable, but I can still get into regular pants. Honestly, for me the pants are not an issue as most button below the bump. Tops are the hard thing for me. With the increased chest size, everything pulls across the back, front and shoulders. I can only wear tops that were bigger on me pre-pregnancy.

        Does anyone else find that you grow throughout the day? What fits in the morning does not fit by 5:30. For example, my blouse buttons were fine this morning and are now strained and ready to pop! Lovely image. I can luckily hide in my office for most of the day.

        • posey

          yep. I think it’s bloat. My stomach at night is twice the size as my stomach in the morning.

        • Nonny

          Nope, as someone who is a bit further along (23 weeks), it ain’t just bloat. I swear, some days I grow while sitting at my desk. A couple of weekends ago, I grew noticeably over the course of the weekend. This whole pregnancy business is weird, man.

          • posey

            In my case, the reason I think it’s bloat is because my stomach shrinks back every morning. My husband has noticed this too. Unless the baby just shifts down while I’m sleeping and then moves back up throughout the day.

        • Bizzyb

          Definitely, and still bloat for me too. I’m at 18 weeks, and it as particularly bad at 14-16. In the evening I’d look 6 mths pregnant, then back to normal the next morning.

    • Frustrated Academic

      I am at 15 weeks and just wearing a lot of cardys over untucked shirts and long skirts. It helps that it has been in the high 90s here all week and people are wearing maxi-dresses and the like. I do hold my book or sweater over my stomach when entering and leaving the bulding, but other than that just act normally. I have a few maternity items, but have not worn them to work yet. People might be wondering, but no one has ben foolhardy enough to say anything to my face. I am probably going to wait until the first week of October (after a few more tests and hearing the heartbeat again) to out myself.

      I go find that the belly is bigger in the afternoon or after certain veggies at lunch. The afternoon bloat got so bad for one of my co-clerks that her shirt, which fit in the morning, split at the seems one afternoon!

    • DC restaurants

      I have been thinking about this charade for a while. I’m 16 weeks. I am trying to wait as long as possible to tell my firm because I still need to be really busy for the remainder of this year in order to make my hours. I think people are beginning to notice that I am quite a bit rounder, and most of my clothes are not fitting at all or are somewhat ill fitting.

      But I’ve decided, who cares? People can suspect whatever they want. What’s important to me is that I’m continuing to get a lot of work. If the worst that happens is, when I finally announce, people say, “oh we thought/wondered/suspected,” then c’est la vie. In the meantime, I’m going to pretend I look normal and continue to carry around my legal pad in front of my stomach when I walk the hallways. And hopefully make my hours before they decide it would be more efficient to on-board other associates to our projects sooner rather than later given my impending leave.

      So, that’s all to say, TBK – I thnik you should feel free to wait until you feel comfortable announcing, even if you think it’s getting more and more obvious by the day (or hour)!

      • TBK

        It’s less about being obvious and more about having nothing to wear! If I put on a maternity top or dress, it will be so obvious as to be weird if I don’t say anything. But I’m running out of non-maternity stuff that still fits. I might transition to maternity pants + regular top and see how that goes. But I’m at home in yoga pants and a running top right now, and the running top — which used to be really baggy — is already tight around the baby area.

        • preg 3L

          I’ve found (at 18 weeks) that some regular non-maternity blouses (usually in a size up) work really well, as long as they have a finished bottom that is meant to be worn un-tucked. Definitely try maternity pants & regular tops — that sounds like a great compromise! I know you’d like to wait as long as you can, but isn’t 10 wks + heartbeats the benchmark? Good luck & congratulations again on your kiddos :)

        • MU JD

          When I was pregnant with my boys, I couldn’t wear any regular clothes by 12 weeks. I bought a few pairs of maternity pants and sized up some regular shirts to get to 15 weeks, but then all bets were off and it was 100% maternity wear after that. Good luck!

  18. Anon

    I was just asking the other day what I should wear with my red suit. Samples are hard to find online. I found a lot of red pants, but not a lot of suits. Everyone made the same suggestion as Kat: a light blue shirt.

    I also find a great navy pinstripe shirt and a navy polka dot one that I’ll try with my red suit as well. What color shoes should I wear though?

    • Avodah

      Cream colored blouse? Purple? Light blue? Light gray? If your office is conservative I’d go w/ cream, gray or light blue. If you want to give it shot-don’t shy away from purple.
      Stick w/ nude, brown or black shoes though (IMHO)

    • In the PInk

      I love the combination of purple and red – in the same color intensity.

      Grey of course or even a matte silver.

      Have seen lots of red/purple blouses in the fashion mags for fall.

  19. SC

    In court this morning, I saw a woman, probably in her late twenties, nicely and professionally dressed, sit at counsel’s table with one leg tucked under her on the chair. I’ll admit that I occasionally do this in my office late at night or on weekends while I’m drafting a pleading or something, but seriously, if you’re in court, you should not be sitting on one leg.

      • SC

        It was under a table, but since the judge is elevated in that courtroom, it’s possible he could see it. The clerk may also have been able to see it. Also, it was a 5-minute discovery hearing, not a full day in court.

    • Avodah

      I”m super short and often times sitting in regular chairs is *extremely* painful on my back. My feet don’t touch the ground, or I can’t reach the desk or table. Sitting on a leg or sitting “Indian-style” is much more comfortable. I *only* do this under a desk or table where people can’t see. Anyone else have this issue?

      • Susie

        I’m 5’2″ and I sit in all sorts of weird manners. I used to have a foot rest under my desk but haven’t since we moved offices. But there is a shelf that is slightly lower than my chair’s height build in under my desk (George Costanza anyone?) – right now I have my shoes off, my legs straight in front of me ankles crossed with my feet on the shelf.

      • Blue

        I’m 5’2″ and I do this. It never occurred to me that it’s because I’m short, but I guess that makes sense.

  20. Puppy Dogs

    Has anyone dealt with dog/house breaking regression? We have two small dogs who have suddenly started pottying in the house again (or at least one of them is). This is after a move, but it started several months after the move, not immediately.
    This happening when we are home, not when we are away.
    Do we just start training again from scratch? Any advice would be phenomenal!

      • R

        Yes, get a full check up at the vet to rule out any sickness or infections.

        Otherwise check your routines. Do they not get as much attention? Not as much exercise? Do they have less room to play? More room to play? Is their daily walk path dominated by larger/more alpha dogs? Are you commuting longer or feeding later or now leaving water out or any other change to their day?

        If none of that, then one last note – dogs will not go in their “home” but you need to define where that is. If you never go in the basement, or the formal living room, or the spare bedroom, it’s really no different than the backyard to a dog. Take some time each day to play with them in your foyer or kitchen or whatever room they’re going in, to establish that it is part of “home”, and you should see fewer accidents there.

    • Anonymous

      Yup I would check for a UTI, it’s the first thing that comes to mind when a dog/cat suddenly starts peeing in the house. Please think of how painful a UTI is for you and take them to the vet right away (i.e. don’t delay until the weekend). Pets are resilient but they still feel pain. One of my friends delayed getting her cat checked for a UTI for a month until his annual check up, so that cat was living with the horrible pain of a UTI for a month!

    • mascot

      1) Vet check
      2) Barring a physicial reason, re-visit house training. Dogs don’t generalize well that you can’t potty in all houses, not just in this one house. Try to identify where the accidents are happening (an unused room- block access), if you are missing the dog standing by the door (consider teaching them to bark or ring a bell) or otherwise missing the signals. You probably don’t have to do the whole take them out every 20 minutes thing like you do with a tiny-bladdered puppy. But, I would take it out after meals, upon waking, etc. Consider using an enzyme cleaner to clean up accidents. It could be from a previous pet in the house that they are smelling a certain spot so that may need heavy spot cleaning. Also, if you are letting them into a yard, go supervise to make sure they are actually doing something other than playing and make sure the yard is clean. Some dogs really don’t like dirty yards whether it be poop, sticks, the neighbors cat, etc.

  21. zora

    well, I’m finally headed back to CA, but just wanted to shout out to all the DC r e t t e s, I have been coveting all the beautiful dresses you’ve all been rocking this week!! I am totes jealous, and want to copy you, but I have to keep reminding myself that I am always too cold in SF to wear dresses. :-/ but I’ve enjoyed all your outfits and all the bright colors and all the cute shoes. you’re all gorgeous!

    • zora

      well I was stuck in cheap Halogen and Target suiting all week and I even wore some short sleeved suit jackets! so I just hope I wasn’t THE most boring looking person in DC this week ;-)

  22. anon

    As a DC attny, THANK YOU! It’s not often that we DC ‘rettes get any compliments on our style. I, for one, have been rocking dresses all week, so I’ll assume you saw me ;-).

  23. basil

    Attention FSA users:
    do you know if I will have a problem submitting a claim for talk therapy done over the phone (eg, with a therapist in a different country)?

    • Senior Attorney

      Is there any reason the invoice will need to make that arrangement obvious? Can’t you get something that just says “talk therapy, one hour?”

  24. Need to Improve

    I have a really long federal jury trial coming up (it will last months), and I need to buy a couple more suits so I am not wearing the same one every fourth day. I have a bunch of “cheap” suits from my early daysof practice but I don’t want to wear them anymore. Is this way too risky? I don’t think I would wear it on a day when I have a standing role, but for the days that I am just sitting at counsel table, I could wear a red suit, right?

    • Avodah

      Personally, I *love* red suits. I love, love any suits that aren’t neutral. Maybe stick w/ very, very basic and conservative colors the first week or two and then get a gauge for the “tone” of the court room. Can you get a shift dress that you can pair w/ the suit jackets? That would give you,like, 3 new outfits, right?

      • Need to Improve

        That’s a great idea to put jackets over dresses and in fact I have a few dresses I can use for this purpose. I just think if I was a juror, I would be checking out everyone’s clothes and would start to notice the rotation. What else are you going to focus on during the long stretches of boring testimony?

        I checked out the red BR suit but it’s cheap material. This one is very expensive, but it’s so beautiful. I am in love. I think I could only wear it a few times during the trial becase it’s so noticeable, so maybe it’s not the wisest choice.

        • Avodah

          Clearly, I know *nothing* about juries or jury trials. But, maybe the slightly less fancy suit (Banana Republic) would tone down your look a little and make you look more approachable or relatable? (Again, I know nothing here…!) Good luck! Keep us posted!

        • Gus

          Yes to jackets over dresses, and also I think you can wear a non-matching blazer with a pencil skirt (but not with pants), especially if the blazer is interesting looking (but not weird). I do think jurors see lawyers who aren’t wearing a black skirt suit every day as being more approachable and real. Also, bear in mind that on this issue, you only need to think how women jurors will react — most men wouldn’t notice if you wore the exact same suit and blouse every single day for 6 months. My experience in long trials has been that women jurors actually give you credit for mixing up your outfits and wearing different blouses/jewelry/scarves with the same suit they’ve seen before. On two different trials, I’ve had women jurors comment to me afterwards that they liked how I made my suits look different by wearing them with scarves, etc. I felt like kissing them both for noticing!

          • Need to Improve

            Wow. That is fascinating about the jurors appreciating you making the most of your suits.

          • Juror #10

            I was a juror on a mercifully short criminal trial last year and I definitely did notice the prosecuting attorney’s lovely suits, shoes, and accessories. It didn’t impact how I ruled on the case, but it did make me want to go shopping with her.

    • Bonnie

      Definitely. I wear all of my suits during trial, not just the conservative ones. I even wore cobalt and red shoes in my last trial. The most important thing is that you feel comfortable and confident in what you are wearing. With a red suit, I’d probably tone down the accessories and wear it with a simple white or cream shell and plain black heels.

      • Avodah

        Love all the color! I agree. You need to feel comfortable. If you feel uncomfortable-you will *look* uncomfortable.

    • SpaceMountain

      Once I was on trial in fed ct on Valentine’s Day. The judge’s docket clerk wore an entirely all-red leisure suit, straight out of the 70s. It was kind of shocking. In the courts where I practice, attorneys tend to stick to navy & grey; the 7th Circuit practice rules outright say that conservative neutrals are the dress code.

    • anon-oh-no

      I actually do the opposite. It was suggested to me early on not to wear different, and expensive, suits every day because it may rub many jurors the wrong way — and perpetuate stereotypes that attorneys are in it for the money etc. For a recent two-week trial, i brought 2 suits that each had a skirt and slacks, and one additional suit, which covers 1 full week. and then i mixed up the order and obviously the tops and accessories the second week. This also makes it easier if you are traveling.

      In fairness, this trial was not in a major city. I might get a little more creative if it was.

      • Killer Kitten Heels

        I agree with this – know your jury, and your client. If you’re representing the elderly widow who got hoodwinked by some Madoff wannabe,, I think you’re probably fine to wear whatever quality/color/etc. suit you want, for the most part, since your client is going to carry the day on the sympathy front, regardless of what you wear. On the flip side, if your client is less sympathetic and/or a person/corporation likely to already be viewed as elitist or “1%”ish, I think you’ll want to think more about looking approachable and “normal”, and a red, $1500 suit isn’t going to accomplish that goal.

  25. Jessica Glitter

    Any experience with Madewell shoes? I am loving the French Knot Pointy Skimmers…

    • anon

      I have a pear of the suede mini-wedges with removable ankle strap (don’t see them online now) that I bought the beginning of the summer (same shape as the skimmers) – and they are surprisingly not comfortable, especially considering they are essentially flats. Basically the toe box is too tight for me and hasn’t stretched out (even with sock-wearing at home), so that causes a lot of rubbing on the tops of my toes. I can wear them at work only without creating blisters (not commuting), but not two days in a row. But this is a problem I’ve had with other shoes as well, and maybe if your feet are narrower you will have more success. Mine are average tending toward wide. But I would not count on them getting more comfortable/breaking in over time. Hope that helps!

    • DC Wonkette

      Really comfortable but I wore them hard for 7 mos (bumming around Italy for a week and to/from work) and they have holes in the heels and are dead. But they worked great while they survived. Alternately, the Cole Haan MS flats live for longer but are also made of sturdier stuff and slightly less cute.

      • Rural Juror

        Wearing a pair right now! Mine have held up to 6 months of semi-regular office wear without showing any signs of aging. Took a little while to break in, though.

  26. Olivia Pope

    Quick poll: My firm bio picture is tomorrow. I’m wearing a black suit and pearls. Burgundy shell, white shell, black shell, or gray shell?

    For reference, my skin color is basically the same as Olivia Pope/Kerry Washington.

    • Equity's Darling

      I’m a bit lighter than you, I also vote burgundy. If the white is an ivory/champagney colour, than I would rank that a close second, but burgundy is nice and I think red is a power colour, so…yes, burgundy.

      I wore a slate blue for mine, and it makes me look a little more gray than I’d like, it’s too cool a colour to photograph well, so definitely not gray, and black woud just be indistinguishable from your black suit in the photograph, I think.

    • Veronique

      Yet another burgundy vote. I think everyone looks better with a little color and burgundy looks great on brown skin.

  27. anon

    Quick question (I might have to pose it again tomorrow). What do I do if I absolutely DREAD doing work for a particular client (and NO ONE at the firm wants to do work for them)? It’s kind of the hazing client–the baby that keeps being passed down to lowest man on the totem pole. Hence the reason I’m doing this God-awful work.

    I mean I get that I have to pay my dues, but SHEESH. Hell to me is working on this client 24/7. Or at all.

    • Susie

      If you are the low man, sounds like there’s nothing you can do about it. Do the work to the best of your ability and try to keep your interaction with the client as brief as possible.

    • Granola

      Oh, I have this client too. It’s become a long-running joke between me and my bosses – as soon as we hire someone new I try to punt this godawful client to them, but I always get it back. I think I’m stuck with them for life.

  28. Nonny

    As an aside to TBK’s pregnancy comments above:

    Scr3w this “I’m going to be careful with how much I spend on maternity wear” jazz. I need more clothes, and I deserve to feel awesome. Credit card, here I come.

  29. NewMama

    Venting frustration – I got contacted for a screening interview for a job that I really really want right before labor day. But after I provided my availability, I haven’t heard back. I called once 11 days after the initial contact, so I know I can’t call again. Makes me even more frustrated with my current job.

  30. Samantha

    I’ve heard good things about ASOS, am contemplating buying this dress for evening/weekend/party wear, and was looking for advice:
    http://us.asos.com/Club-L-Printed-Smock-Dress/110zzp/?iid=2985413&mporgp=L0NsdWItTC9DbHViLUwtUHJpbnRlZC1TbW9jay1EcmVzcy9Qcm9kLw..&WT.ac=rec_viewed
    Does the large print make it look too frumpy? And am I right in thinking that the back makes a bra impossible? Would you just wear a stickie or are there other solutions?
    Feel free to talk me out of it, or enable me.

  31. DC/Baltimore travel question?

    I just wanted to thank everyone for the input this morning on my travel question. At the risk of sounding ungrateful, I think I’m still going to risk the drive (from IAD to B-more) v. taking a connecting flight (I have had too many experiences getting majorly delayed on the way home in connecting cities & I need to get back & have found direct flights are the better way I can ensure this happening). Can I ask for one more bit of input – if my flight out of IAD is at 3 in the afternoon on a Friday, is this normally a time with a ton of traffic b/n B-more & DC? Thanks so much in advance.

        • DC/Baltimore travel question?

          Just to make sure – the flight out is at 3, so I would be on the road there 11/12ish – is that still a parking lot?

          • Bonnie

            Not as bad as the afternoon but very unpredictable on a Friday; at least an hour and a half, maybe 2.

          • Silvercurls

            Radio stationWTOP (103.5 FM) has traffic reports “on the eights” (at :08, :18, :28, etc.) and WNEW (99.1 FM) has them on “the ones” (:01, :11 , etc. past the hour). It will help in deciphering the reports if you know something about the regional roads.
            There may well be apps or web sites but I’m old school :-).
            Allow a lot of extra time in case there’s some traffic-constipating disaster (jacknifed tractor trailer, hazmat spill).
            Final thought: You might be able to get from DC to Baltimore via public transit (MARC or Amtrak) but ymmv (sorry for the pun). It might be more hassle than it’s worth to get yourself to and from the DC & Balto train stations. Also, today the trains between DC & Philadelphia stopped running due to downed power lines. It’s always something!

      • eek

        if you have a smartphone, download the Waze app, if you don’t already have it. It’s crowdsourced traffic and navigation – real time and more reliable than news reports.

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