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Suit of the Week: Burberry

Black woman wears beige blazer with off-center single button (so not quite double-breasted, but similar) with darting down the side of the blazer; the pants are wide-legged and far too long for her heels

For busy working women, the suit is often the easiest outfit to throw on in the morning. In general, this feature is not about interview suits for women, which should be as classic and basic as you get — instead, this feature is about the slightly different suit that is fashionable, yet professional.

Oooh: I love this beige suit from Burberry. It's funny, personally I'm not a fan of the double-breasted look, although it is wildly popular right now, but I love this off-center single-button look. I suspect it plays into my love of all things asymmetrical.

The blazer is $2350 and down to lucky sizes at NET-A-PORTER and Saks. I can also find the blazer in black, on sale, a bunch of places as well (Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman. In terms of other colors with both suiting pieces available: Saks has it in “muted navy,” while Bergdorf's has a brownish plaid version of it available for pre-order.)

Psst: If you're on the hunt for a fancy sneaker, I actually really like the Burberry options — but inventory moves quickly from what I've seen!

Sales of note for 12.3.24 (lots of Cyber Monday deals extended, usually until 12/3 at midnight)

207 Comments

  1. If you live in NYC, how bad of an idea would it be to bike outdoors with this air quality?

    4. For me, it would depend on how far of a bike ride. If you are just planning a short citibike jaunt, I would probably go for it. If you are planning an exercise type longer ride, I would skip it. Though I will say, the view from my office has cleared up quite a bit vs. an hour ago. The air is not nearly as orange (ominous) as it was.

    5. No. Smoke inhalation when the conditions are as bad as this is no joke at all. It’s not the time for optional outdoor activities, as unfortunate as that is. The AQI in NYC is at incredibly hazardous levels, not just “slightly elevated.” This is the time to stay inside and seal all the doors.

    6. Even if it doesn’t have an impact on your lungs (which it does), the smell is just so unpleasant.

    8. I wouldn’t do a hard ride, like for exercise. But if it is your only mode of affordable transportation, then I would wear an N95 mask.

    9. It’d be like smoking 1,000 cigarettes in an hour depending on the AQI. Not worth it, at all. Horrible for your health.

  2. I need help for my sister, who will be shortly divorced with a settlement of nearly 500k. She is an hourly employee who doesn’t have a background in investment or finance and who generally has less than $1k to her name. Most of her settlement will be in the form of stocks. She has no idea what to do, and frankly, neither do I! I invest very lightly (like, Vanguard S&P 500 followers with no plans to actively remove money from the market). I know she should seek out a financial planner with fiduciary responsibilities, but I don’t know where to point her. She is concerned about tax implications and how to get money from stocks. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

    1. Whatever else she does, I’d consider:
      1. Housing situation — is hers stable long-term? Is there a mortgage she could pay off or recast to lower fixed payments, pay down any high-cost mortgage, or stabilize her life without making her too cash poor?
      2. Laddering CDs for a portion of savings. You can get a 5-ish year CD from Ally paying > 4%. You may only want to lock up funds for 18 months, but interest rates are robust and will mean she can keep stocks in stocks and not constantly need to sell.
      3. Is there a 401K that she hasn’t funded for 2023 but now could is she uses work $ for that and some of her settlement to live off of?
      4. If she doesn’t have health insurance, can she get it now?

      1. these are all good questions to start with. a few others:
        – 529s – does she have kids? is the money for them as well or just her? (thinking about a 529 plan contribution but i know that’s included separately in a lot of divorce settlements)
        – taxes – she should ask what tax implications will be on the settlement and if there’s a way to reduce that such as putting some into retirement, HSAs, etc
        – (HSA a good idea anyway if she has the option to move some into there)

        I’d think something core she should discuss with her adviser is when she will want the $ — $10k every year for a vacation? all of it next year for a new house? not sure and she has 25+ years to retirement? I’d avoid CDs for anything except emergency fund, and a 5-year CD really isn’t a great idea. (i just finished a 5-year cd that had decent % for when I went in – i made like $1500 on $10K investment. Meanwhile even my lousy stocks are doing at least 15%.)

    2. I’d tell her to just take them to vanguard personal advisor. They are a fiduciary and have a very low fee of 0.3% of assets under management (industry standard is 1%).

      It’s not possible to give good advice from this little information. They will talk her about her goals for this money and look at what the status is of these investments (for example what her her cost basis?) and devise a plan.

      Good luck! I wish her all the best.

      2. I refuse to pay a percentage of assets under management and after a lot of searching was able to find an independent CFP who worked on a true flat fee basis.

        1. Totally agree.

          Do NOT do the Vanguard route. Most of their advisors are not even Vanguard employees, but hired out consultants.

          If she is not financial savvy, I recommend using Fidelity rather than Vanguard. Better customer service. Also has some free advising. Just keep it simple. Total stock market index funds, Money Market funds, and don’t do anything major fast.

          Agree with the first poster of securing stable (affordable) housing (sell the big house….), health insurance, and maximizing yearly retirement benefits to start – these are the most critical things.

          Agree with a fee for service financial advisor only.

          1. I second Fidelity. I have had great experiences with them. At that asset level she’ll qualify for a managed account and a fiduciary advisor who will help her look at her whole financial picture. Yes, it costs a bit, but I have loved the set-it-and-forget-it+advice aspect of it.

          2. I think Fidelity has higher fees than competitors, but otherwise I’ve been really happy with them. They’re my employer’s 401k administrator.

      3. The cost basis question is an important point. I run a wealth management firm and understanding what she now owns and how the investment accounts are structured is the first step, as that will impact the decision on how to potentially reposition the investments. If she owns $500K in low cost stocks in taxable accounts, meaning that they have significant gains, she’ll owe capital gains taxes if she sells them. If they are in retirement accounts which have been divided, this is not an issue.
        Then, the next step would be basic financial planning: analyzing income, expenses, other assets and liabilities, and considering education and retirement planning. One can hire a flat-fee financial planner (check out XYPN’s network of CFPs or the industry association of financial planners called NAPFA) or someone who does financial planning and investment management. If the latter, make sure they are flat-fee on the assets they manage and that they are a fiduciary. Here, look for a CFP, CFA, etc, preferably not connected with a large brokerage like an Edward Jones or Wells Fargo, etc. For her situation you’d want one that is good at explaining financial topics, markets and investments in English, so that she understands what is going on and she’s positioned for long-term success, and stays on top of her situation and accounts.

    3. If you post a location, someone may be able to recommend a financial planner.

      How old is she? How is she at handling money in general? There are people who need to be saved from themselves because they will spend every cent they have, and there are people who are good with money.

      1. She’s 40, getting out of an abusve relationship (including financial) so she’s never had a lot of money to play around with – that said, she’s not in debt and has lived alone and within her means in the past 3 years making $40k in a MCOL area, so she has been fairly good with money.

        1. Does your sister have a good lawyer representing her? Are these public stocks or private company? I worry that she might be getting screwed in the settlement if she’s not already getting good advice re the tax implications. There was a recent (within the last 2 months) HerMoney podcast that interviewed a financial advisor who works on divorces- I recommend a listen. It’s important to know what her basis will be in the stocks she receives (e.g., is her ex giving her all stocks with a really low basis and keeping stocks of the same value that have a higher basis? That’s an immediate hit to the value of her settlement). If your sister has a good lawyer, that lawyer might have some recommendations for a good financial advisor. If not, the HerMoney website has links to reputable for fee advisors.

    4. Does she have any retirement savings? In her shoes I would try to sock away a significant portion for retirement. Most (all?) retirement accounts have a maximum contribution/ year, but she could max it out for the next few years from this money. Not sure if a Roth or an IRA is more suitable for her. Congratulations to her on getting out!

  3. A confession: I don’t like anything in or touching my ears. I’ve never used earbuds or the like. TBH, for safety (muggers, turning cars that aren’t the silent electric ones), I like hearing the world when I’m out on a run or walk.

    1. I feel the same way but am interested in the “bone vibration” headsets that don’t go anywhere near the ear.

    2. I actually really like having ear plugs or headphones in (I’m quite sensitive to sound) but I never exercise with headphones. I want to be able to hear, plus I actually like the quiet time. I don’t need to be constantly entertained.

      1. I don’t need to be constantly entertained, unless I’m working out in which case I need all of the distractions!

    3. I have no sensory issues with my ears but I have seen people do extraordinarily dumb stuff and almost get themselves killed due to buds/headphones. I use Aftershokz while running because I need some music but need to stay aware of my surroundings.

  4. Are you wearing socks with sneakers and dresses this summer (not no-show socks)? I saw a Reel where someone was talking about how she thinks the trick this summer is with the little-girl-anklet look.

    1. As an older millennial, I have a very strong aversion to wearing visible socks. I know it’s the trend right now but I just can’t do it.

      3. As an older Gen X’er I am too old for the little girl anklet sock look but I am finding it nice to be able to wear visible hosiery again. I dislike the feeling of bare feet in shoes and hated giving up socks and hose when those became “frumpy”.

        1. Funny, I’m an Older Gen Xer who has never regularly worn socks. But I’m a Californian so it has rarely been necessary. I use foot powder in my shoes and just slip them on.

    3. no to little girl anklets (with the ruffle?!?!) Yes to the short socks where the upper edge (of the white sock) is just visible, and equally visible, around the opening of the (white) shoe.

    4. Yes, easier than worrying about no show socks and sneakers are designed to be worn with socks. Takes a bit of eye adjustment but I quite like the look now.

  5. Sort of a different question, SIL is getting married in NYC (outside) this weekend. We’re bringing my kids because they’re in the wedding and it’s their first trip to NYC. Planning to explore Friday and Saturday mostly outdoors. Are we doomed? I hate the idea of flying them up their for the first time but only doing indoor activities! (Kids are 8, 6, 4, and 1) I was going to pack face masks at a minimum.

    1. Californian with lots of outdoor smoke exposure experience weighing in – you may already know this, but if you mask for smoke you need to use N95 or better. Fabric masks don’t filter out smoke particulates and can actually make you breathe in more deeply so are not advised. Good luck, I hope things clear up a bit for your trip!

    2. Indoor activities are really the highlight of NYC anyway though – what were you planning? I do think the air quality is supposed to improve by Saturday. Friday is probably iffy. I would still probably be comfortable walking from museum to subway in a good mask though. The subway cars theoretically have good ventilation, and most major museums upgraded ventilation during the pandemic and are probably already filtering their air. I know the Natural History Museum, for example, put some money into researching this.

      1. Thursday evening we’re eating near Washington square park so was going to take the kids to run around there before dinner.

        Friday morning we were going to go up the Empire State Building (weird view with the smoke? but minimal time outside?) and do highline/hudson park playground/mini golf in the afternoon with a friend who lives there. We both lived in new york so really love just wandering the city. And we love hitting playrounds around other cities. Sounds like I may need to come up with some alternate plans for Friday at the very least!

        We were planning to do Central Park playgrounds and walk down to Rockefeller Center on Saturday so hopefully that still works!

        I think AMNH is probably a clear winner here – hopefully not everyone else in the city has the same thought.

        1. If you go to end up at AMNH, I highly recommend scheduling a time for the “Invisible Worlds” immersive exhibit / 3D video at the new Gilder Center. The kids and adults in my family all agree that it is really, really cool.

          1. Agree on this. OP, your itinerary does sound nice, I’m sorry it is getting foiled. I am a broken record but I get a lot of ideas from Mommy Poppins’ NYC coverage.

    3. YMMV, but with young kids I am pretty cautious about air quality because the impacts on developing lungs can be a lot more profound than for adults. I would probably stick to indoor activities unless things improve considerably in the next few days. I think there’s a ton of amazing stuff to do inside in NYC though, so to me it doesn’t seem like a huge loss.

    1. This is just your internalized misogyny rearing it’s ugly head. The problem is not with the wearer being clueless about office norms but with the viewer. If this is distracting to you, turn away. It is 2023 and just because women did not wear crop tops to work in 1993 doesn’t mean they are not perfectly appropriate in a law office today. The only issue is whether her bare belly makes her work less efficient or competent. If not, anything goes. Stop policing women’s bodies!!

      4. Get a grip. Crop tops are not appropriate. Women get the worst career advice and suffer for it.

      5. Nope nope nope. It’s not misogyny, in the same vein I’m not interested in seeing the stomach of a male summer

      6. Maybe, maybe not. It could be inappropriate to wear a crop top in certain work situations and areas. This could mean an overly air conditioned office when you know you run cold to a factory floor visit. I would pause and think before wearing a crop top when meeting with a customer. My industry ranges from business casual to dress pants, tie and button down though and works with many military customers. Fashion forward isn’t really a part of the general work culture.
        Obviously ymmv based on where you work but I don’t know if wearing a crop top at work falls completely under the ‘I’m doing me and if you don’t like it you’re the problem” category.

      7. Someone got a little emotionally triggered by this morning’s conversation, I see.

          1. Saying you don’t get triggered is basically admitting that you’re triggered about something. Just FYI.

      8. Disagree that they are perfectly appropriate however, I’m 40 and I’m just exhausted with the policing of professional dress code norms that were already outdated when I entered the workforce. Observing these norms was important to me as a young attorney but I have zero interest in joining the young women’s outfit appropriateness police squad. I’m sure there are still older folks who care but I firmly do not car what young folks wear to work. Op, I’m sure mentally wagging your young finger at your future colleagues’ outfits is a bad use of your energy. Use this time to make connections, grow and contribute and figure out what you want your career to look like.

      9. Excellent satire, and yet accurately encapsulates what the anti-1993 poster was saying: “olds, shut up”.

      10. Oh honey no one wants to see your belly at work. I don’t want to see my male counterparts’ bellies either.

    2. I’m mid-30s so I’m old, but this just surprises me. Honestly I just think GenZ surprises me. One of my younger cousins who is about 24 (so summer associate age) wore a longer crop top and midi skirt to a church service our family all went to around memorial day

        1. What I learned from this morning’s thread is the Gen Z wishes older women would go away. I had a 90 year old professor of architecture in college who had been a young woman in France during the 1920s. I wanted to be around her and I looked up to the women who were older than me. But apparently, the women who could not get a credit card in their name and those of us who were raised on them have no relevance. This isn’t about the olds complaing about today’s kids. The kids now are mad that we are on this site.

          1. I think you’re reading way more into that comment than was actually said, which was that hearing about “well when I was a summer associate/new mom/new lawyer blah blah blah” isn’t all that helpful, if your experience was 30 years ago. I did not see anyone saying “lol Boomers go home, Gen Z 4ever!!!” as you are claiming.

      2. I am gen Z ish depending on who you ask and I am shocked! I feel kind of frumpy in my knee length sheath and blazer

      3. I feel like the COVID stuff happened at a pivotal age for social development for many GenZers and now they act feral in public. I won’t go to concerts anymore unless there’s a VIP section or its 21+. Or maybe I’m just old IDK.

        3. I’m mid 50s. Just before the pandemic a friend had an extra ticket to a concert and asked me to come along. I’m always up for any genre of music so of course I went. She had floor tickets. She’s my age. I had the vapours!

          1. haha i’m mid 30s and still go to concerts/warehouse parties weekly, i just notice the crowd is a lot less pushy if it’s 21+ so I generally stick to those venues or pay for VIP which is generally older people. but yea I’m also self aware that i’m falling into the age-old pattern of getting older and thinking the new young generation is soo much worse than we were.

      1. I actually bet they would be really supportive if that’s what you wanted to wear.

    4. I remember finally winning the tights battle with my mom and wearing dresses to church without hosiery. One of my earliest memories is actually some older women at church loudly commenting about women not wearing nylons anymore (I wasn’t old enough to feel slut shamed by these comments). But my generation just really never wore them as we grew into adults and I still think it’s an incredibly dorky/old fashioned look (where I live no one is wearing them for warmth).

      I wonder if we’re the old ladies now and in 20 years no one will care about midriff? But i’m right there with you and find it appalling to wear crop tops to an office job lol.

      1. It’s not like bare midriffs are new, we were getting in trouble for them in the late 90s/early 00s.

        1. I had boxy midriff-baring tops in college. I graduated in 1982.

          But I never even considered wearing them to work.

      2. I am SO glad people don’t enforce hosiery anymore, by and large. I kind of like wearing them myself (my legs get banged up and my office is icy), but it was so irritating as a young person because they would snap and snag and get runs and you were out $10 in the blink of an eye.

    5. I’m not sure I understand the difference between a crop top with high rise pants vs a longer top with low rise pants. As long as their stomach isn’t showing, what’s the big deal? Like, if I wear high rise pants and don’t want ten yards of fabric to tuck in, why not wear a shorter top?

        1. Op here: when I say crop top I mean exposed belly button. Totally agree on the high waisted pants thing

        2. Crop tops with no belly showing (i.e., with high pants) are not the same as belly showing. I do not need to see your belly button. I know you have it. Please keep it covered in the workplace. Men and women both.

      2. I think a crop top is only a Crop Top TM when there is midriff/belly showing, otherwise it’s just short top.

      3. I was trying to clarify it wasn’t a bikini top or a sports bra but there was a couple inches showing of stomach and that is what I am assuming OP is seeing in office

      4. I *especially* don’t want to see your belly in low rise pants, because that also means I’m going to have to see your buttcrack when we sit down!

        1. Why are toes okay but bellies are bad? I love to show if my belly button piercing for my clients.

    6. Its always something. It used to be miniskirts in the 90s…every generation has a trend that a few follow and get labeled unprofessional. I haven’t seen any summer associated in crop tops FWIW.

      1. Oh yeah, I wore my work skirts waaaay too short in the late 90s. The photos embarrass me now. But that’s also what was available in stores.

  7. Wording help, please?

    A three-year-old, local, volunteer-run organization with a cause very near to my heart has a social media presence that is a hot mess. Their FB page, which is their primary means of communication with volunteers and people in need of their services, feels like the casual, personal page it probably evolved out of. It could benefit from a more mature presence (clearer calls to action, planned posts with graphics, etc) to reflect the org’s maturing presence in the community. I’d like to offer my help to make it better without insulting any of the current volunteers who are doing the work. I have professional experience with social media and personal experience with the cause (I’ve been “DIYing” my volunteer work in the space because I didn’t know this group existed).

    2. You could offer your “professional services” (for free) to the org, under the guise of helping the growing org with overall strategy – developing guidelines they could use for anyone who might develop content for their social media. I’d offer, and if they rejected your help, I’d leave it be. No need to approach with criticism up front.

    3. maybe just something like this to the group founder: Hi! My name is X and I just found out this group existed; I’m so excited. I’ll be volunteering through regular channels but just wanted to introduce myself; I have a lot of experience with social media and messaging for nonprofit orgs and others. Please keep me in mind if you need any volunteers in that area!

    5. They may be receptive, and they may not be receptive. Going in and not being diplomatic (“hey, your social media presence is terrible”) may cause them to decline your assistance, even if it is damaging to the organization and their mission. The other thing to think about is how the presence can be updated, going forward. It’s one thing to come in and do a redesign, but if other people are going to have to update the info in the mid- to long-term, it ought to be something that a “non-tech” person can do without much fuss.

  8. A secrets thread, but for petty/low-stakes secrets only.

    Here’s mine: my husband thinks our kids love Lucky Charms because we go through so many boxes in a month. The truth is that they could care less but I eat Lucky Charms for lunch at least three times a week.

    3. My husband agreed to a dog as long as we don’t let the dog on furniture. Every night after he goes to bed, the dog snuggles with me on the couch.

          1. That’s why I hate these threads. I once shared a secret that wasn’t hurting anyone else and got jumped all over and told I was toxic.

        1. A bunch of “Happy 4th Birthday” decorations were on super-sale, so you buy them…. Hell, my mom would have bought markdown 4th of July decorations and lopped off the “July” part if the price was right.

          1. Thanks for explaining; I also didn’t get it and was thinking she was just a real go-getter who had birthday parties planned out years in advance!

          2. Wow. I didn’t mean I was confused in a bad way. People jump on others for literally anything.

    7. I eat my kids’ candy that they get from daycare parties and other special occasions. I offer them some but they never ask for it. After a few days it seems irresponsible to keep reminding them to eat candy.

    9. DH & I have a candy drawer in our room so the kids can’t take our treats. Super mature of us!

    10. The cat and I have a mutual admiration society going on. DH and toddler are not really included in this.

    11. I work for my father and manage his email sometime, and I’ll unsubscribe him from nutty right-wing spam.

    12. In middle and high school, I was all about alt rock and ‘not into’ Britney Spears or Boy Bands. Truth? I loved them and as an adult one of my true moments of bliss is rocking out to their music at full blast while doing mundane household tasks.

      Oh and one of my favorite snacks is saltine crackers with butter.

    13. I think it is ridiculous to call one’s pet “princess.” Guess what I call my dog when no one, not even my family, is around.

          1. Every song we sing is altered to be about bulldogs. Guess who adopted a rescue bulldog in 2021?

    14. There are many “work” days where I do little to no actual work. And I love WFH because it allows me to put the time to good use instead of puttering away on the internet and playing solitaire on my work computer.

    15. My boyfriend is moving to a new town this week. Like his current home, it is about an hour away from the big city where I live, so we spend a lot of our time apart. I am aware of a bar/club in his new town that we would love to go to together, but I have not mentioned it because I am afraid he will go without me and meet someone new, younger, and local to him.

    18. The correct expression is “they couldn’t care less”….not they could care less.

    19. I hide cookies inside the rarely-used casserole dish in the back of the cabinet so I don’t have to share with my husband.

  9. In 10 years, what do you think you’ll be wearing on a regular basis? Do you think you’ll be in an office setting, mostly at home, dealing with different/extreme weather than now, etc?

    I think I’ll be a lot more casual every day. I think I’ll still work at this same firm, but we’ll probably have to merge to survive and that will force a more remote-friendly culture and more casual shift in what my colleagues and I wear. I also think I’ll wear better shoes, no more target pairs as I invest more in sustainable stuff.

    1. With any luck I will be retired. I anticipate I will still wear basically what I wear now as I’ve been fully time WFH since starting my own company in 2020. Wearing now: linen cardigan, woven linen tank, chinos, slip-on keds, pearl bracelet and earrings.

  10. What are some of the latest scientific advancements that have blown your mind? I was too late to respond to this morning’s weird sandals-and-schizophrenia thread but did you see the article in the WP about how a schizophrenic/catatonic woman awakened after 20 years when they started treating her lupus, and now the thought is that a subset of psych patients may have an autoimmune disease that attacks the brain?
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2023/06/01/schizophrenia-autoimmune-lupus-psychiatry/

      1. It is something I learned from experiences that aren’t really my stories to tell, but I have not encountered a mental health professional who was unaware of the association between some (not all) cases of schizophrenia and specifically sexual distraction / obsession / whatever they call it when someone has enough disinhibition to be distracted but not to actually say anything. It is a real thing.

        I have seen some outfits that look more like TV’s idea of professional clothing than actual professional clothing (body conscious, revealing, strappy high heels). I can see how that could be the wrong fit for some patients.

          1. I think that the writer is a man with a sandal fetish, not the sister of said man.

          4. Um. Why are people rehashing? Ya’ll are hysterical. If we like JK, we are trolls because we can’t be progressives. And if you don’t like a comment, it’s a man?

          5. I think OP is actually the male psychiatrist who wears Birkenstocks to conferences and gets foot compliments.

      2. The most mindblowing thread was where someone wants to call the SPLC on Corporrette over JK type comments.

          1. Just the other day when someone asked about help with her mom who had brain damage and who was not accepting of her gay son.

        4. Um, did you not read the OP’s original question? Why are you trying to derail this conversation with that comment? Go start another thread and work out your anxieties in a more appropriate place

          2. No, OP wanted to talk about mind-blowing scientific developments.

            “What are some of the latest scientific advancements that have blown your mind?”

          3. SCIENTIFIC ADVANCES, not threads. Clearly a case of you reading what you want to see.

    2. Oh sure, we’ve known about unusual stuff like this for a long time. And we are learning more every day. It is particularly bad when you discover these long neglected patients, who may have not had the appropriate assessment early on.

      In fact, I think in the future we will have a panel of more extensive blood tests that will be done for every new person diagnosed with schizophrenia/psychosis (hallucinations, delusions etc..) and perhaps also for other mental health disorders. We already often do more extensive work-up like this for people who present late in life (ex. 50’s+) with sudden new psychosis, as several of those folks turn out to have a brain infection, brain inflammation, a hidden cancer causing an autoimmune disease that attacks the brain or even a brain tumor etc… In fact, there is a not uncommon disorder where young girls/women have sudden new psychiatric symptoms that progress into a severe/life threatening disease, and it turns out they have a benign tumor on their ovary causing everything. Once the tumor is removed, and they are treated, they improve…

      Another sad example was a patient treated for years in a VA nursing home with catatonia, which everyone assumed was due to his military experiences. He was a young man. It turns out he had slow growing, benign brain tumor.

      You need to live closer to better academic hospitals to catch a lot of these things.

    3. I’m increasingly interested in how viruses that we may never realize we have contracted can affect our chronic health 20 to 30 years later. It’s fascinating.

      1. That’s fascinating to me too. What if it turns out that getting the flu causes some people to have Parkinson’s? Will that mean we’ll try to take a much more aggressive approach towards managing the flu?

        1. I think so. There are some alarming studies showing that dementia may be post-viral (delayed by decades). Having a way to prevent what could be a common cause of dementia would be a really, really big deal.

          1. But preventing people from catching common viruses is not going to be easy. Covid is still killing 250k+ people per year in the US alone, and no one really seems to care. There would be much more resistance to trying to eliminate less deadly viruses like flu.

            I also think it’s complex and it’s not as simple as “no virus, no dementia.” It seems like many viruses are risk factors that raises your odds of dementia, but so are tons of other things, including (as discussed the other day) going through menopause early or getting your period late. Plus more common stuff that people have more control over, like eating well and exercise.

          2. It’s not going to be as simple as “if virus -> dementia.” But I think it’s totally possible it could be a sine qua non for a certain pathology of dementia, like they’re saying may be true for EBV and MS, even if it’s also true that lifestyle can lower risk (like how vitamin D deficiency is also associated with MS).

            We haven’t really tried an evidence based approach to dealing with COVID yet. My guess is that it’s just going to take a long time to improve indoor air quality and get everyone up to speed on how airborne transmission works, but I still expect we’ll see dramatically lower transmission rates of airborne diseases in my lifetime. We know it can be done, we just need to do it sustainably. (It’s also just in time as a bunch of people refuse to get vaccinated for measles and tuberculosis becomes meds resistant!)

        2. There literally was an increase in Parkinson’s cases after the Spanish flu. So I think we know that this is likely to happen. And people are now tying MS to Epstein-Barr virus. Long Covid is going to have a new name at some point and it’ll be one of our newest auto immune diseases.

      2. Yup, I think Covid was illuminating on this point. There is “long [virus]” for a lot of non-Covid viruses, we just didn’t really have a name for it until now.

      3. This is not new, but in the same vein, viruses as a cause of cancer (primarily HPV, and it doesn’t just cause cervical cancer–also certain types of head and neck, and potentially other types).

        1. They’ve recently determined that HPV may also contribute to some bre*st cancer, which is crazy biz.

    4. It makes sense in that there is a correlation between low levels of Vitamin D and both 1) some forms of mental illness, and 2) autoimmune diseases.

    5. How much the gut biome seems to be responsible for or associated with – including autoimmune diseases and mental health issues.

    6. Scientist here- the wildest thing to me is the JWST- a folding tent of a microscope farther from earth than any human has gone, that has let us figure out if a planet zillions of miles away has water.

    8. I remember a NYT story on schizophrenia reversing after a bone marrow transplant. It makes all kind of sense to me that a subset may be autoimmune.

      My grandpa’s family has a history of all kinds of autoimmune diseases (Celiac, pernicious anemia, arthritic psoriasis, I forget what else), and one of his brothers also had catatonic schizophrenia. I really wonder now if he might have been treated with immune therapies today.

    10. It appears that they have isolated the cause of SIDS, which means that it’s possible that they could develop a test for it. I remember in baby case class (years and years ago), that there was a hypothesis that SIDS had a biological basis, but no one had been able to isolate that basis. The safe-sleeping guidelines are so onerous and nerve-wracking, it would be great if there was some way to help parents.

      https://www.newscientist.com/article/2375424-sudden-infant-death-syndrome-may-have-a-biological-cause/

  11. Best comment: “Something I learned from experiences that aren’t really my stories to tell, but I have not encountered a mental health professional who was unaware of the association between some (not all) cases of schizophrenia and specifically sexual distraction / obsession / whatever they call it when someone has enough disinhibition to be distracted but not to actually say anything. It is a real thing.
    Sometimes talk therapy is a kind of rich wife profession, and I have seen some outfits that look more like TV’s idea of professional clothing than actual professional clothing (body conscious, revealing, strappy high heels). I can see how that could be the wrong fit for some patients.”

    2. I’m going to tell my friend with a doctorate in psychology that she has a rich wife TV job.

      1. lol! I think she said “sometimes.” But that really wasn’t the point, was it?

    3. I think most therapists are doing telehealth now; at least that’s what l saw in my area when I recently searched Psychology Today. You can’t really tell what they’re wearing, sandals or otherwise.

    4. Question: what are you trying to accomplish by re-posting this comment over and over and over? What do you think will happen in people’s minds when they read it for the 4th or 5th time?

      1. We’ll be afraid of those sexy, sexy psychologists who are dead-set on harming our brothers.

        1. I heard the sexy therapists are all moonlighting as shoe f3tish models online. Yet they’re also Rich Wives? I’m so confused.

      2. Oh, well, I meant to post it under the rehasher but accidentally posted on its own. Complain to Kat if you want a delete button. In any event, people reacted. You could scroll by….

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