ByKat Hours Updated
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Suit of the Week: Albert Nipon Belted Cool Wool Skirtsuit

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Albert Nipon skirtsuitFor 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, 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 am normally not a fan of the short-sleeved suit, but every so often one comes along that really looks gorgeous. I love the nipped-in waist look to this one, as well as the wide, short short sleeves. The website doesn't explain “Cool Wool,” but I like the idea of it — short-sleeved suits in general are great for when it's blisteringly hot outside. Was $280, now $98, available at Neiman Marcus (limited sizes only). Belted Cool Wool Skirtsuit Albert Nipon skirtsuit 2 (L-3)

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

Some of our latest threadjacks include:

81 Comments

    1. Agreed! Think men look ridiculous and unprofessional in the office in short sleeved dress shirts, so I make sure not to take something that should be long sleeved and get the short sleeved version for myself. Suit jacket, Turtlenecks, other things that should just not be short sleeved.

      1. I love it and would order but I normally wear a 14 skirt and a 12 top. (See yesterday’s rant about suits that do not come as separates). Short sleeve suits are perfect for court in Florida on those days when I just have a status hearing in the morning and don’t want to be too dressed up all day.

  2. I don’t think I like this. The belt looks cheap, and the shoulders/sleeves look like they will make most people look bulky. Might be good for someone with larger hips/smaller shoulders to create proportion, but I think it would make me look a bit like a cartoon (my shoulders are fairly average). I want those shoes though!

    Oh, and a PSA — Gilt has BeautyBar.com certificates: $25 for $50 worth of stuff, shipping is free.

    1. I agree that it might look better on someone who fills it out a bit better than the model. But as pictured, it reminds me of our janitor uniforms. I usually love Kat’s suggestions, just not feeling this one.

  3. I really like this. It doesn’t look much like a suit to me, as much as it does a belted dress. But it’s a dress that can be taken apart, and the separates worn separately! The jacket would be cute with jeans for casual/non-work days. And the skirt appears to be a nice basic black skirt.
    Good pick!

  4. I like it – I think the waist is very slimming and like the collar. I think the other picture of it on the site does it more justice. I would definitely consider it if I needed another skirt suit.

  5. I think it’s beautiful. If it seems too informal for occasions where a suit would normally be called for, think of it as one step down in formality from a long-sleeved suit and wear accordingly. I’ll be checking to see if my size is still available. At that price, I’m doubting it.

  6. Great suit – I am also wary of the short sleeaved suit, but am taking a look at this one thanks to K.

    My question:
    I am packing up before my flight to the ABI in Denver, it is my first time attending. What is the dress code? I am a 2nd year bankruptcy law clerk and am going to meet and network practitioners to help my job search — seeing that my clerkship ends in 6 months. I am taking a pair of black pants, some dressy shirts, a cream cardigan that has a jacket collar. Is this acceptable or should I actually take a suit?

    1. Haven’t been to one of these conferences but yes, I would take a suit just in case.

    2. I attended that conference several years ago (while I was still clerking!) and if I’m remembering correctly I wore what I typically wore in chambers – not necessarily a full suit but definitely a jacket of some sort. I think Saturday was more casual since it was half day and only in the morning. There were others there in suits and some really dressed down so there was a pretty wide variety. I would say aim for the high end of business casual and you will be one of the better dressed.

      1. For context I will say that the Rocky Mountain West (the target market of the conference) is overall more casual than NY and other big cities which is why I don’t think a full suit is required (for whatever reason I remember one young female judge from Denver wore jeans and a sweater). Just look sharp and polished.

    3. I’ve been to several ABI conferences in NY. Suits are not mandatory; business casual has always been the rule for most participants.

  7. Wow—they have it in my size. Definitely worth considering as its beautiful and would look great with a jewel toned sheath. Might have to figure out how to afford this.

  8. I just won tickets to a black tie affair THIS FRIDAY. I have about $150 to spend on the dress, maybe a teensy bit more if it’s a classic piece. I have very little time to shop- so if you’ve seen something in a store, let me know!

    Help Corporettes! What should I wear?

    1. Check out Rent the Runway and see if they have anything you like. That’s my go-to option when I need a fancy dress at the last minute. They’ll deliver same day in NYC, too, if you happen to be there.

      1. I tried that. Unfortunately, none of the dresses I liked (3 or 4) were available for this weekend- I’m a common size I guess. Thanks for the suggestion though. They had some great stuff.

        1. You should search for ones that would be delivered for tomorrow, it will give you different results

    4. Do you want it long? Sometimes I’m not quite sure what black tie is, could it be a cocktail dress? This would be a good time to try renttherunway.com you order 2 sizes (you can also order a second dress in two sizes for 25 more, and use the code SNOWY20OFF for 20 dollars off. What size are you? I’ll post some options

      1. I’m typically an 8, can sometimes squeeze into a 6. Pear shaped (due to a smaller chest rather than larger hips). I loved some of the longer Nicole Miller gowns but none were available on RTR for this Friday. I’m about 2 hours away from NYC.

        I looked at pictures of the event- most women had long dresses. A few of the younger girls had cocktail dresses- I could possibly pull one off, but no super short ones please!

        1. hmm it said my comment went through it may be stuck in spam block i think, i found some good ones!

      2. Technically, cocktail dresses are considered “informal” and should be worn when men are wearing suits and black tie for women requires a longer gown.

    5. Lord and Taylor and Nordstrom have really good dresses, although Lord and Taylor will have more within your price range. Try Nordstrom Rack as well. Does the dress have to be long? I would check on that — if not, you obviously have a broader array of options.

    7. I recommend you try consignment–cocktail/black tie are some of the easiest things to find as lots of ladies who have a full schedules of events like yours won’t wear the same outfit to more than one because all the same people are usually there–I have great luck with two such stores near me, and love the prices too.

        1. I love max&cleo – affordable and comfortable. wore one a few months ago and never wanted to take it off!

    9. Check the discount stores like TJ Maxx and Marshall’s and Filene’s Basement. They usually have a handful of nice dresses, though limited sizes and sometimes you have to dig to find something. I once found the most gorgeous Calvin Klein long black gown at Marshall’s for like $60. I didn’t buy it because I had no where to wear it, but I really should have, just in case…

    11. Have fun at the event! Here are a few of my suggestions.

      http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/alex-evenings-crisscross-waist-mesh-gown/3124107?origin=category&resultback=1057

      http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/js-boutique-cutaway-shoulder-beaded-waist-gown/2969299?origin=category&resultback=3201

      This one is $50 over budget, but looks fairly classic and you could probably wear it again.
      http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/js-boutique-beaded-waist-jersey-gown/2998864?origin=category&resultback=691

      This is $50 more than your budget, but I think it is so pretty.
      http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/adrianna-papell-tiered-chiffon-gown/3106871?origin=category&resultback=155

    12. Nordstrom Rack is now online! They have a great variety of cocktail dresses and (I think) some formals at wonderful prices.

    13. All the suggestions are making me kind of jealous that I don’t have an event where I need one of these dresses. Please let us know what you wear so we can live vicariously through you!

  10. I have a short-sleeve suit with “wide, short sleeves,” and I have no idea what to wear under it (it’s more low-cut than this one, so I MUST wear something under it!). The sleeves are so wide that you can see my armpits if I’m wearing something sleeveless, but the sleeves are so short that most short-sleeve shirts peek out under them. Any styling suggestions? When I wear it (rarely), I wear a long-sleeve turtleneck, which kind of defeats the purpose of a short-sleeve suit.

      1. Obv. that doesn’t solve your “armpit” problem but at my office it is not considered a problem.

    2. cap sleeve tee, maybe from Ann Taylor, or I have found some nice, stretchy ones at White House/Black Market.

  11. Just bought it. Yay winter weight = lucky size! If I don’t like it, I’ll just return it.

    1. I love Petit Bateau. Some of their tees have lasted me since high school, and that was a long time ago!

  13. Threadjack – or possible topic for a future post?

    I’m a first year attorney wondering if any of you have any great organizational tips! Thanks to gmail I’m already well-versed in the use of email folders and labels so I usually don’t have a problem keeping my electronic inbox organized. My desk, however, is another story. Papers everywhere! As a first year, it’s particularly hard to keep track of research and memos when I work on a quick one-day project. I don’t feel like I need to make a file for every little project, but I also keep things around forever in case the attorney wants me to do follow-up work or wants to add me to the case for the long term.

    I’d also be interested in general organizational tips. I wish I had asked this question when I first started so that I could have begun developing good habits from the beginning, instead of letting things get a little out of control before trying to implement a system.

    1. You might have to go in on a weekend and just organize everything, and that stinks.

      I try really hard to clean my desk at the end of every day. The key to this is that I put everything from one file away (even if I just stick post-its on the pages to mark which piles I had them in on my desk) before I pull the stuff from another file out. I make a folder for the stuff I use often on each file and keep them in a huge cabinet behind my desk. I am new enough that it’s not full yet. I also use a lot of folders on the computer, so if I have a case printed out, I know it’s saved in a folder on my computer, so it won’t be the end of the world if I throw it away instead of keep it around. I also never keep hard copies of my memos because they’re saved on the computer.

      Before my current job, I’d be organized for myself, but my desk looked like a mess to everyone else. I have to make a conscious effort every single day to maintain order or else I will let the piles start forming. Once they start, they never go away for me because it gets too overwhelming to organize everything.

      A lot of people like the book “Getting Stuff Done,” but I have never read it because my system works for me (so far!).

    2. It depends on how files are kept at your firm. It may vary from department to department, even. At my first firm, there was only one official file. Everything (eg all of your research, notes, printed out cases, etc) needed to go in THAT FILE (eg the partner’s file). At my next firm, everyone could keep their own files, so you didn’t need to put your research in the partner’s file.

      If you have the first kind of firm/dept, put all your stuff in a subfolder and give to your assistant/the partner’s assistant. If the second, then ask your secretary to make you up files for all of the stuff you are working on. I find it much more useful to keep everything in files (small subfolders, if not big enough for redwelds), and not have papers flying about willy-nilly.

    3. I try to save as much as I can on the computer. Our copier has a email in PDF function. So in my documents folder in word I have each case organized by name & sometimes related entity, with a issue subject in parens, then when I have extra papers I scan them to PDF and email them to myself, which I then put into the doc folder. This way all random papers are kept but actual papers can be tossed. Obviously this only works for stuff you don’t need in original, but it cuts down on clutter. Anything I need originals of, I just put into the case folders.

    4. I’ve always kept a file for “random research projects” and just paper or binder clip each stack. If you have lots of these, you could organize it by year. If you get pulled into the case long term, you can create your own “working file.” I do think it’s a good idea to hold onto that stuff at least for awhile in case the attorney needs something.

      Also enlist the help of your assistant. She may have great ideas and be willing to help you stay organized.

      As far as getting things off my desk, I have a tall in/out box kind of thing (like a 3 shelf wire shelf unit–about a foot tall), and I put all my filing in there–organized by files that go in my office, files that go in the litigation filing room, and documents that I need my assistant to take some other action on first. She then comes in and deals with things as she has time.

  14. Hi gals! If anyone wants it, this is 40% off at Gap and it expires today. Wanted to use it myself, but it (charmingly) has loads of restrictions, including their premium pants, which is what I was going to buy. It’s one-use only, so if you use it, you should probably post a follow-up comment to let the others know!

    JNYJRX4YHZ72

  15. Threadjack….

    I am a state trial court law clerk, and I serve a one year term that begins and ends in August. So, I’m almost 6 months in/halfway through.

    Well, yesterday I was offered an amazing associateship at a firm I’ve had a relationship with since 2L year, and I want SO badly to take it. Problem, they want– no– need me to start by the middle of March. Which is great, except my current boss refuses outright to let me out of the job because I signed a one year deal. Which I, frankly, understand.

    However, I’m curious what my options are here. I really really want to leave my current job and take the associateship, for obvious reasons: 1) it’s a long term job rather than a one year job; 2) there is, as y’all know, NO great chance of being employed when my term is up in August. The firm will hire someone else if I do not accept, which I also get.

    There was, for a long time, a generally accepted “thing” in my state and the clerk pool to which I belong where they would let people out of their contract for a long term job. However, now I’m told that this is completely off limits because the former chief justice didn’t want that going on.

    My boss, who I respect very much, is very dramatic (generally speaking…no, really, trust me)— it’s widely known. So, my issue is this: she’s telling “me no way no how can’t do it!” but I suspect that this is partially her dramatic side speaking. I want to have a real conversation with her that involves understanding what the real actual practical ramifications are.

    I have a huge choice to make, but I don’t think I’m getting all the info to make the best choice. I want to get the information, but I’m afraid she will NOT give it to me “straight,” without all her dramatics. How do I structure the conversation with her, and if I don’t feel satisfied* with the information, do I go up the chain?

    *By satisfied, I mean informed. I don’t mean “when I get the answer I want.”
    I should note, my judge knows about this and would respect my choice to take the job (ie no blackball!), and my potential future employer is 100% behind me.

    Thank you!

    1. If it really means that much to you, you should take the job at the firm. Even if you committed to one year at your current job, your employment is likely at-will–frankly, the worst they could do is ask you to pay their damages for hiring someone else.
      Beware of burning bridges, but people leave jobs all the time. Congrats on the new position, and fingers crossed you don’t have to cross your current boss later in life.

      1. That’s part of the problem, I live in a smallllll market and will foreseeably be here a while.

      2. She says above she “signed a one year deal.” Did you really sign something committing to one year? I can’t remember if I did that in my clerkship, but I remember having to formally resign at the end of my term, so I can’t imagine I committed to only one year.

    2. What if you ask the judge if you can stay until June 1 and ask the firm if they will let you start May 1, and for the month of May juggle both jobs by signing up for an unusual hours arrangement (6 a.m. to 2 p.m., no lunch break, at one job and 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the other)? It’s not ideal, but it would show both sides how badly you want this.

      1. I thought about that, but there’s a major conflict of interest issue that would arise in my boss’s eyes.

        I think part of the reason this is eating me up is because I am SO unlikely to just get a straight answer from my boss about the actual ramifications, not the conflated horror story she’s telling me to dissuade me.

        1. I should also note that I have a boss separate from my judge– my actual superior is the chief career law clerk.

          1. In that case, if your judge is cool with everything, I think you should definitely take the firm job. I kind of thought you should anyway, but if it’s the law clerk rather than the judge that is going to be all twitterpated, then I’d be okay with that. I know that law clerks (esp career ones) do wield some power behind the scenes, but having her upset is not the same as having a judge who is mad at you, imho.

          2. Talk to your judge. You’d be surprised about how much sway he/she may have. Judges are generally concerned with having their former staff employed. What he/she says is important.
            Another consideration: can you talk your judge into letting you hire a replacement? If so, the supervisor would like have to accept the hire, and it would look like you really made an effort to mitigate damages.

          3. I think you should talk to the judge – it’s his/her opinion that will shape your reputation going forward, not the clerk’s. While chief career law clerks are certainly influential in their own right, if you have the judge’s blessing, I think that would override the clerk’s predicted horror stories. And the clerk’s tendency toward the dramatic probably means that any talking out of school he/she would do wouldn’t really be taken to heart by people who know him/her.

    3. I guess I’m going to disagree here a little bit with the others. If you committed to the clerkship for a year, I think you ought to live up to that commitment, especially since you’re in a small legal market and likely to run into all these folks again. Also, I can’t imagine that your law firm wouldn’t respect your decision and keep the offer open for you. Law firms understand that people commit to clerkships for some period of time and are generally happy to have someone who has benefited from the full clerkship experience. I would really try to work this out with the law firm, rather than with your current employer. If they won’t work with you on this, I’m not sure you’d want to work for them.

      1. I agree with this. I’m kind of surprised that the firm would push you to do this. If it’s a small legal market and they appear in state court, I can’t see how it would be good for their reputation to encourage term clerks to break contracts. Also, as MLB said, shouldn’t the firm want you to benefit from the full year experience?

        1. I try and view these decisions from the reverse. If your state slashes its budget, is that drama-queen clerk going to save your job? If the answer is no, quit. If you didn’t actually sign a contract, then you don’t owe them a loyalty they probably wouldn’t show you.

      2. This is actually a fairly common issue in my small southern city, particularly in the last couple of years. Most of the firms here are relatively small, and when they need to hire a new associate, they need that person RIGHT NOW. I don’t know of any firm in that situation that would hold a space for someone for 6 months. If the first person they offer the job to can’t take it, there are 10 more people behind them who would jump at the chance to take the job. Maybe there is more flexibility with a bigger firm in a bigger city, but that hasn’t been my experience in my city, where several of my graduated-in-May friends are still looking. The judges are usually pretty flexible about it as well, because there are plenty of well-qualified new attorneys still looking for work who would happily fill a vacated clerk position.

        I say take the permanent job. Obviously discuss it with your judge first, and maybe he/she can help smooth over the situation with the chief clerk and/or make sure it doesn’t come back to bite you where the other judges are concerned. In the current market I don’t think most people would blame you for taking a rare opportunity for long term employment even if it means burning a bridge or two.

        1. This is exactly it– the firm is VERY SMALL (sorry for the Elan!) and cannot cannot hold the offer open for me. They need someone yesterday, so to speak. They’ve straight up told me that they cannot wait.

          I think I’m going to talk to the career clerk boss, and try to get the exact possible ramifications out of her, ie: damages, etc., NOT “we will hate you.”

          I’ll think about it over the weekend, but I need to make a decision quickly because if I can’t take the firm job, they need to start looking now. Which I respect.

          1. Point out that starting at the new firm in March (or even late February) would give them plenty of time to hire a new clerk (whom you could train). Surely there are plenty of qualified candidates still looking for jobs in your area. Maybe if your boss knows there will be a trained replacement when you leave, it would soften the blow.

          2. Finding your own replacement clerk is a great idea.

            The firm know you’re in a clerkship, right? If they want you, and your boss or judge is wary to let you leave, then you should be honest with the firm about that. If they really want you, I’d suggest you ask the firm to talk to the judge/boss. “I really want to accept your position, but Hon. XYZ really needs me here. Maybe you could talk to him?”

            I’m also in a small market, and the heads of firms and agencies call up the judges to talk about employing clerks pretty regularly. (Or they “run into” each other at the golf course, hair salon, cocktail party, etc.) The firm should want a good relationship with the judge.

  17. I have this. It is my favorite suit. I wore it to my last interview and the partner interviewing me gave me a compliment on it. I feel fabulous in it and the quality is amazing.

    I wish Albert Nipon made more suits like this.

  18. um I posted earlier but my comment got trapped because of a URL I think. Then I got the you are commenting too fast… I guess wordpress hates me today
    So I just wanted to report back on yesterday’s cocktail.
    I was very lucky finding a very inexpensive clutch from Zara. It is Copper and Black.
    It looked perfect with my outfit and I felt like a million bucks. I received many comments and seriously appreciate your advice, I managed to relieve a lot of stress by just spending 8 $ on a purse :)
    Thanks so much ladies.

  20. I’ve looked everywhere for this suit!!! I am almost positive this is the same suit that Gwyneth Paltrow wore in Iron Man 2, but hers was a light gray color. If Neiman’s had it in my size and in gray, I would definitely buy it!

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