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Updated: Nov 1, 2018 83 Comments · by

Suit of the Week: BOSS Black

Suit of the Week

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BOSS Black 'Jolia' JacketFor 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. The colorblocking trend continues to go strong — like Monday's Splurge dress, this suit uses colorblocking for a waist-whittling effect. I like the mix of light and dark grays, and the two button jacket with narrow lapels also has a very of-the-moment look to it. The matching dress is gorgeous all by itself, too. The jacket  (BOSS Black ‘Jolia' Jacket) is $595, the skirt (BOSS Black ‘Venina' Skirt) is $295, and the matching dress (BOSS Black ‘Dalana' Dress) is $595. Psst: As readers have noted in the comments, the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale is now open for cardholders — lots of great Fall 2013 pieces marked down before they even go on sale. I'll be doing my sale picks in a few days when the sale opens up for us regular folk (i.e., those of us too lazy to get Nordstrom cards), but I thought I'd mention it now.
BOSS Black 'Jolia' Jacket BOSS Black 'Venina' Skirt Boss Black 'Dalana' Dress
(L-5)

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

    • Anonymous

      It seems like the material might be a little shiny for a suit, though that might be my computer screen

    • k-padi

      Agreed, beautiful. I love this color-blocking trend.

      Did anyone else grow up watching Batman: the Animated Series? This trend so reminds me of how the women (and men to a certain extent) were drawn–geometric, “pointy”, with super tiny waists. I tried to do an image search but can’t find anything that fits my memories.

      • Susedna

        Yup. Watched that series and many other cartoon series, too. I know what you mean, but so many of the sites that would have the images are blocked from here. Grrrr.

        The thing is, I don’t like it when colorblocking is obviously used to “whittle down the [insert body part.” It’s like when I was getting my wedding makeup done– one of the women in the team of makeup/hair people I hired wanted to paint brownish sections on my face to add additional contours. She told me that my face would look weird to people who saw me in person, but would look so much better in the photos. I said NFW.

        I’d feel like I was telling the world I hated the size of my waist if I wore this. And while I don’t really have a waist, so it’s not my fave part of the body, I can’t help but feel that this type of obvious “contouring” runs counter to body-acceptance.

        • k-padi

          I see your point about contouring running counter to body-acceptance. I guess this just doesn’t bother me as much as other obstacles to body-acceptance. It’s using colors to create an optical illusion–and it’s pretty blatant at that. It’s not requiring/pressuring the wearer to go on a weight-loss diet or exercise to fit into model-sizes. It’s not “sneaky” (as the men say) like spanx or push-up bras. It doesn’t bare a ton of skin or emphasize wiggly-bits.

          Besides, it would be fun/empowering to have a dress that made me feel as bad@ss as Selina Kyle aka Catwoman.

        • ss

          Well, I think the flip-side is true in that an outfit which isn’t conventionally pretty or flattering requires greater confidence, sharper grooming, a more fashion-appropriate figure (or perhaps all of the above). I sometimes wear ‘interesting volume’ on this basis and I know I’ve departed from ‘conventionally pretty’ because my husband generally hates these outfits.

          But I have to say it would be really counter-productive for most ladies to avoid a flattering outfit on the basis that it reveals lack of body-acceptance. Taken to the logical conclusion, why bother with grooming at all, if an ungroomed body is a body fully accepted in its natural state ?

          • Susedna

            Grooming & hygiene standards are related but not the same as the “ideal body standard” of tall, leggy, and skinny-hourglass that is imposed only on women.

            I would frown upon a man who left food stuck in his beard. I would frown upon a woman who reeks after exercising but never opts to shower after her lunchtime gym session. I would heartily approve of a woman who has what society would call “fat arms” wearing a short sleeve shirt rather than hiding her arms. See the difference?

            Also, offices have requirements for hygiene and grooming as well as proper attire.

            Most offices do not have requirements for hourglass figures although there will likely be social disapproval telegraphed to, say, a woman with a paunch who doesn’t hide the paunch. I think that if her clothes fit her and are appropriate for her company’s dress code, why should she pretend to be less paunchy?

          • P

            It’s not letting me reply directly to Susedna, but for my 2 cents: I think the emphasis here is choice. Like ss said, it would be silly to avoid all outfits that try to hide body parts we’re told we need to improve just on the basis that they do that. For me, it’s like making my very flat, straight hair Victoria’s Secret wavy – I’m in no way insecure about my hair, but sometimes it’s fun to try out something different that just happens to be more conventionally attractive.

  3. Ellen

    This is a VERY pretty suit, which ROSA could look great in, if she NEEDED to work for a job. But b/c Ed work’s, she is abel to be a STAY at home MOM, where she is free to do what she want’s all day with the kid’s, and then just make’s sure she is home when ED come’s home so that she can feed and care for him. That is what I want to do when I have a child. Be a SAHM!!! YAY!!!!

    But first I need a man to marry me. Myrna is goeing to line up a few guys from her place that are lookeing to have a family soon who have enough money to support the family w/o me haveing to work at all. I think that is what I want, at least until our first CHILD is about 6, then I will consider workeing PART time, mabye from home, or else doeing something in the JUDICEIAL system.

    Margie’s ex’s sister is a judge in New JERSEY, and mabye she can help me. By then I think sureley can WAVE IN to that bar. I do NOT want to take another BAR exam. FOOEY! If I can be a judge there, we can move to NEW JERSEY and I can rule on case’s there. YAY!!!

    • Pat

      I’m constantly impressed with “Ellen” and her ability to post comments so quickly. Where do you find the time and effort to sit down and make up these ridiculous comments and INTENSHIONALLY misspelled words!?!?! FOOEY!!!

      • yazz

        …plus the fact that she does not know that you cannot waive in to the NJ bar. Come on, troll, try harder!

  4. Black tie wedding

    A separate question about black tie optional wedding. For a summer (August) event, would bright colors be a no-no? I’m looking at renting the “Crave You” Maxi by Halston Heritage, which is an orangey coral maxi. Some of the reviewers said they wore it to a black tie, but something seems a little too bright or otherwise for me at a BTO event. Thoughts?
    Link: http://wanelo.com/p/6221785/halston-heritage-crave-you-maxi

  6. KLG

    So here’s a threadjack that’s somewhat related to one of the discussions from this morning. Got an out of office reply from opposing counsel that was the standard language that he’s out this week with limited access to email. However, in parentheses next to the dates he’d be out, he included that he would be doing something with his kid. Think “July 10-15 (camping with my son).”

    I obviously don’t care that he’s out (hello, it’s summer, everyone is gone for a week) or what he wants to do on his vacation time, but it occurred to me that I would NEVER include that I was doing something with my kid in any out of office message and I was wondering, is that because I am female or because I think it is generally unprofessional? I’d be interested in thoughts from the hive.

    • mascot

      Eh, not really unprofessional. People aren’t machines and its okay that they admit to having lives outside of work. Also, maybe it’s another method of setting a boundary or legitimating his lack of response. Not only are you messing up his vacation by emailing him, but also his child’s.

    • Pest

      It’s not just you or that you are a woman. I would never do this and I have never seen any of my opposing counsel do this. It’s just TMI.

    • AIMS

      I think it’s because you’re a female. I think that though it’s completely unfair when a man says/does something like this, most people just go “aww!” and when a woman does it, it often reads more as “she cares more about being a mom than a great worker!” I think part of it is just that traditionally women take on more of the parenting duties and so it’s already assumed that mothering takes up a large chunk of our time and part of it is that because more women do leave/cut back on work to be mothers, it necessarily means that the rest of us have to work extra hard at not appearing to be on the way to checking out too, which unfortunately means not mentioning kids a whole lot. It’s sort of like when guys I know go to change their kids’ diaper — all the women always go, “aw, he’s so sweet!” No one ever says that when my female friends go to do the same.

      • preg anon

        I would have a serious retort if someone said it was sweet when my husband changes our kiddo’s diaper. That is not cool at all. My husband told me he had been “a good sport” about helping me with baby errands the other day, and I almost lost it on him. You are not doing me a favor or helping me out. We are a team. AND I am nine-months pregnant and still working full time, so if one of us is being a good sport about running errands together, it’s ME.

        • L

          Almost?! No kiddos here, but in general that comment is rude and at 9 months he should be lucky he was unharmed. That makes me ragey.

          • preg anon

            Yeah, it was pretty irritating, but he has generally been really good and he realized the error of what he had said almost immediately. It was just a tense moment, not reflective of our relationship generally, so all was forgiven. :)

        • RR

          My husband would be hurt if I ran baby errands without him (“I wanted to help pick out the baby bathtub!”) I’m very lucky in that my husband has always been 50% + of the childcare at our house (I was literally never up with a baby in the first year of our twins’ lives when he wasn’t up too; the same cannot be said in reverse as he allowed me to sleep through a couple feedings in those early “recovering from c-section” days).

          Unfortunately, that doesn’t translate to the general populace. I get asked all the time if my husband had someone helping him while I was in trial/out of town/etc. (No, the children are better off and having more fun with just him than they ever would with just me.) And you do get the “your husband is so sweet that he changed the baby/fed the baby/”babysat” the baby/etc. I think my husband hates the stereotypes more than I do. I’m fully willing to admit that he’s a better, more natural parent than I ever was (not that I’m bad–just that he’s awesome).

          • Nonny

            “I’m fully willing to admit that he’s a better, more natural parent than I ever was.”

            This is how I suspect my fiance is going to be. I can already see it.

        • tesyaa

          Money quote: “It goes without saying that when Jen was with the kids for her six months, no one ever stopped her in the grocery store to tell her she was a hero.”

          • Sydney Bristow

            Seriously! I actually think that the author and other men in that situation should respond in the moment and point out that they are stay at home dads. I’m sure people will still think of them as heroes, but I think part of the issue is how uncommon being a SAHD appears to be. The more its pointed out as something that exists, the more normal it may be viewed. By not saying anything, it seems like the guy is confirming what the random onlooker thinks (i.e. that he took an afternoon off to help out).

        • SoCalAtty

          Great article. Even though we don’t have kids yet, my husband has a really hard time with me having to work. Not with working itself, but with needing the income. Intellectually he acknowledges that the idea is crazy, but it still bothers him we have to use part of my income for actual bills, rather than just “extra” like retirement and savings, etc. It is a hard thing to beat your upbringing.

    • Young Consultant

      Almost all of my coworkers send out appointments for PTO to everyone else on the team, including what they are doing and where they are doing it (think “Skiing in the Rockies with my Mom!” “Fishing off the Coast of Florida!” “Halloween with the kids!”). This is not in their auto reply, but everyone on the team has it on the calendar. I kind of hate it because I do not always want people knowing what I am doing with my PTO and feel weird being one of the only people not to include details in the PTO appointments. I also have no idea why people started doing this in the first place.

      Also.. then I see everyday on my calendar that so and so is in Hawaii and feel resentful (kidding). I never really thought of it as unprofessional, however I do find that people I look at and think come off as particularly professional are those who do not share very many details about their personal life generally, whether a man or a woman. But that just may be a me thing.

      • KLG

        Well I think within your own office/among coworkers is a completely different story. At my last firm, I always told my bosses where I was going because it was expected there. In my current job, you just say you need to be out on such and such week.

        But this wasn’t an email to his coworkers requesting PTO. This was on his out of office reply to anyone who sent him an email: coworkers, clients, lawyers at other firms, etc. I think that’s overshare.

      • Em

        I don’t think it’s unprofessional to tell your co-workers where you’re going on vacation.

        • Young Consultant

          Just to clarify, I don’t think its unprofessional at all. I just don’t want to put mine up.

      • k-padi

        Sharing vacation plans is a know-your-office thing. It sounds like your office has a culture of sharing some vacation plans (e.g., what you are doing, who you are doing it with, and where you will be). It’s fine to not share your plans (if it’s not explicitly required of you) but I’d caution that you are breaking with your office culture by not sharing. That could affect your relationships with your support staff, colleagues, and supervisors.

        If you are looking to stay at your job long-term, I’d counsel you to share your vacation plans if only to fit in. Feel free to leave out details as you see fit (these are “worst case” and not what I think you actually do on vacation): “bachelorette party in Vegas” becomes “family reunion out west”; “solo trip to Africa to hunt endangered species” becomes “service trip to impoverished area”; “free diving with guy you met 3 weeks ago” becomes “Caribbean vacation for some much needed R&R”; “sitting at home reading magazines and getting nails done” becomes “going out of town to visit family”.

        • Em

          Ugh, reposting; forgot about the moderation rules.

          I think this is sensible advice. Honestly, if someone refused to share sketchy vacation plans with me, I’d wonder what they had to hide. Fair or not, but if you can’t say “family reunion out west” or (honestly) “Bachelore**e party in Vegas,” most of the time, I feel like you’re probably either (a) secretly in the CIA or (b) involved in weird “YOU DON’T OWN ME” power games with your co-workers that are going to negatively affect the office environment sooner or later.

        • Anonymous

          Ha! Ha! Ha! That’s awesome! I will totally use that in the (hopefully near) future when I go on vacation. Yeah, I’ll be “hiking through the National Parks out west”.

      • j

        I would be so tempted to concoct all sorts of crazy PTO explanations if I were you. “Becoming a certified Pet Masseuse!” “Going to the Moon with Lambchop!” “Weekend getaway with Putin!” I don’t like the whole world knowing what I do with my PTO, either.

    • Gail the Goldfish

      I wouldn’t do that because it falls on my TMI scale, but I see it as a subtle way of trying to prevent people from trying to get in touch with him when he’s vacation. Because let’s face it, the “on vacation and not checking emails” isn’t always respected, especially if you’re a lawyer. I think it’s trying to guilt people into seriously not bothering him by reminding them they’ll be interrupting bonding time with child as opposed to, say, a staycation (Not that I think you should bother someone on a staycation–I think all vacation should be sacred and uninterrupted. The partners, however, usually feel differently).

    • Jessica Glitter

      Way too personal. I also think things like that invite mean opposing counsel to cover you up with motions and discovery and other c-r-a-p.

      • SoCalAtty

        I had opposing counsel try that once. I showed up on an ex parte when I got back with a print out of my out of office reply, and a copy of the standard email I always send out before I go on vacation asking that any motions be served upon “X” alternate associate or sent to their attention.

        The Judge was not pleased with opposing counsel, and not only did I get the hearing dates kicked, I got them kicked waaaaay out beyond when they even would have been useful. It left a bad taste in the Judge’s mouth for that attorney, and for the rest of the case the Judge would say “and don’t wait until you know SoCal is out of the office to file it!”

    • Gus

      I think it’s appropriate to say in an out of office email if you’re going to be somewhere with no email/cell reception. People always say they won’t be checking email often or there may be a delay in getting back to you, but it you’re truly going to be incommunicado, I would say so in a way that makes people believe it (ie., I will be camping in the moutains and will not have email or cell phone access; I will be climbing Mount Kilimanjaro; I will be in Antarctica, etc). But I’d certainly never say “with my son”, as that’s not pertinent.

    • Chicago Anon

      One other thought with total gender stuff aside–is that possibly his way of letting people know it’s a legit vacation and that he isn’t in arm’s length of his computer. I read “camping” as, “I’m remote and not likely to be tied to my email like normal” (although granted, harder and harder to find areas where you don’t have access via phone anymore).

      I’m not law but work in a field with insane deadlines. I almost never give info on what I’m doing when out of office unless I am out of the country on vacation so it curbs folks from asking me to read this for just a sec for them or quickly approve that for them. Such messaging also explains that they shouldn’t expect me to get back to them in any prompt way since I’m likely in a completely different time zone, in flight, etc. Granted, maybe it’s just sick spillover from doing so many “working vacations” –but I think there can be benefit to more info than less sometimes.

      (That said, yes, a woman would never get to reference the child without getting an eye roll. The same way men can attend meetings with “World’s Best Dad” mugs, load up their offices with as much artwork and photos, etc. and folks see that as well rounded, not less committed in any way–which granted, I think is a good thing. I just want to see the same for women.)

      • Miss K

        That was my first thought too. Camping = phone access sometimes, no real computer/electricity.

        The son part may be that he usually doesn’t get to do those things and the vast majority of folks who email him would be happy to hear that he is making time to do that.

        As to whether I’d get judged for doing the same, idk, but I’d like to think not.

    • MH

      I think this is one of those things that a highly respected, well-known lawyer can easily get away with. A young, unproven lawyer? No way.

      I also agree with you that women probably can’t ever get away with it without someone giving an eye roll. And that sucks.

    • KLG

      okay, camping was a bad example. I was trying not to out him, but his response indicated that he would be in a major US city with his son. I was more interested that he noted he would be doing with his son.

      • Anonymous

        I consider his away message to be similar to having a picture on his desk of himself and his son from the trip.

        But mind you, I live in the middle of nowhere, and many things that are considered a huge “no-no” by this site’s gentle readers would never raise an eybrow in my community.

    • SoCalAtty

      I’ve done this, but more non-specific. I don’t have kids, but I’ve said “camping, where there really is no cell service!” So they don’t think it’s an “out of office” but I’m really checking my email. I also include an end date and another contact in the office they can reach out to if they need a response before my end date.

      I’d like to think if I referenced a kid I wouldn’t get an eye roll, but I think it may be a question of how established you are. At this point, I’m established enough to not care about the eye roll, certainly not from opposing counsel.

  7. Carrie Preston

    I agree with this, but perhaps we’re (as in women) contributing to the issue by calling this “unprofessional”. I’d like to see established women start doing this and make it more normal/okay.

    • Gus

      But it is unprofessional, for both men and women. In an automated out of office email, there is simply no reason to provide any personal information at all. The recipient of your out of office just needs to know if you are reachable, if you’re returning emails, and what to do it they need to contact someone. They don’t need to know you’re out of the office because you’ve gone to visit Great Aunt Jane, because you’re taking your kid to look at colleges, because you’ve gone to a bachelor party in Vegas, whatever. My only exception, as I said above, is if where you are going (Antarctica, climbing a mountain) will help convey that you really mean it when you say that you will be unreachable, because I think otherwise even when you say you’re not available, people still think that at some point you’ll look at your emails.

      • Anon

        Or, you can just get in the habit of not looking at your emails when you say you are unreachable (even if you are actually reachable), and then people know that they’ll need to find answers elsewhere that day/week. And you actually get to enjoy your vacation.

          • Anon

            Not anymore :) and life is so much better this way. I actually have work/life balance instead of “work/life balance”.

      • Carrie Preston

        I actually disagree that it’s unprofessional. More information than some would share, yes, but unprofessional, no. I think there’s room for your own style and this person may choose to share as part of their style. I wish women would all be as comfortable in choosing their own approach.

  9. Rachel

    It’s suits like this that make me so excited to go back to work. It also tells me I’m going to have a very long wish list and a continual “saving up for clothes” part of my bank account.

  10. Paper Free Filing

    Has anyone gone paperfree (or close to it) in their home? I was on the hunt for good storage/file boxes for things I don’t need in my access every day filing cabinet (such as old tax returns)…and I was thinking – maybe I could solve all of this by scanning and shredding. The thought is both very nerve wracking, and liberating.

    • SoCalAtty

      Working on it. I’ve changed everything over to paperless billing, and I save things both on my computer hard drive and “in the cloud.” I have a subscription to Carbonite, but any auto-backup service would work.

      DH spilled water on my laptop once, and when we got the new one we recovered through Carbonite and everything was there! The only thing it won’t auto-backup is video, but you can set that manually.

    • Sydney Bristow

      I am close. I did it all when I moved across the country with as little stuff as possible. I scanned everything I had and only kept hard copies of really important things like tax returns. I think I had a list of the documents that you need to hold on to and for how long that I used as a guide. I did scan stuff that was outside of the time period you are supposed to keep but it takes very little virtual space so I have those even though I don’t need them. I’m down to about half a short filing cabinet drawer.

      If you get a scanner with a document feeder, it will be worth every penny. Even better if it can scan both sides. Once you get everything scanned, shredded, and organized, the key is to stay on top of it. I have a small stack neatly filed away right now that I need to scan.

      Oh also, for organization purposes make sure you pick a file naming convention and stick to it. For example, my student loan bill for this month would be Lender Name_2013.07_Statement and my payment confirmation will be Lender Name_2013.07_Payment. That way it’s super easy to organize by company and date if you ever need to find anything.

      • Blonde Lawyer

        You save that stuff? I just pay my bills online and if I ever need a statement I download it and if I need an older one, I request it from the company. I keep very little personal records. I keep a confirmation until the money clears and shows on the account and then I delete the email. If I don’t get an email, I usually don’t keep the confirmation. I guess I’m a bad lawyer in my personal life. :)

        • Wildkitten

          Maybe your student loan balance isn’t so heinous that one missing document could ruin your life. I save all my student loan documents, but not my other web-availabe docs.

        • Sydney Bristow

          I was very bad with my money for a long time and I’ve found that the best way for me to deal with it is to be a little neurotic about tracking everything and keeping records. Also, I figure if there is going to be an issue, it is likely going to be with the company itself so I’d rather not rely on them for the records.

    • Susie

      After years of saving every little statement and piece of paper, I eventually decided ~ 3 years ago that almost everything is electronic now anyways and if I ever to need something it will be a hassle to track down from the bank/vendor/whomever but not impossible. (As of yet I’ve never had to and there isn’t anything yet I regret not keeping on hand.) So, there isn’t much I save anymore either in hard or soft copy, with the exception of papers I will need for next years tax return. I have a small filebox that has my past few tax returns & supporting documentation, titles/pink slips, warranties, and a few other things that might be important, but that’s about it.

    • Cb

      I want too so badly. I’m a pretty paperless PhD student (beyond a notepad and post-its for brainstorms) and wish I had less paperwork in general.

  11. Wildkitten

    Does anyone have good advice on books to read/websites on how to be a good manager/boss? I have a permanent underling for the first time (as opposed to just interns) and want to be a better manager.

  12. Mid-Level Consultant

    I just moved to New York, and am thinking about joining 85 Broads. Has anyone here joined at the Investor or Power Circle levels? Are the networking opportunities as productive as an alumni group would be, for instance? I plan on doing both, but the type of consulting I do would benefit from exposure to finance-types.

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