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Suit of the Week: Classiques Entier

classiques-entier-suitFor 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. Hmmn: Nordstrom may have started quietly marking down stuff already (is the Nordstrom fall clearance sale almost here?!) — so do take a look if you've got some time today. I'm not seeing any amazing deals in suits (unless you like this ivory tweed dress-blazer combo), but I do love this dark navy “nep stripe” pantsuit from Classiques Entier. The jacket (Pinstripe Suit Jacket) is $329, and the pants (Midnight Nep Suit Pant) are $199, all in regular and petite sizes 2-16; there's also a matching sheath dress and skirt. Psst: Ann Taylor is having their big sale on suits right now — use code SUITUP to get 40% off suits in regular and petite sizes. Looking for a similar option in plus sizes? Here's a midnight pantsuit. (L-all)

Sales of note for 12.5

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

Some of our latest threadjacks include:

137 Comments

  1. What are your strategies to keep up your energy levels throughout the work day? Especially in the afternoon post lunch slump…

    1. I try to plan my day to work with my natural energy levels — mornings are better for drafting/important meetings; afternoons for low-key meetings that I don’t have to lead and responding to non-urgent emails.

      1. I have a bag of almonds that I eat when I need a boost. I have to watch the calories though. FOOEY! I need to watch my figure, because I want to find a man to marry me.

    2. A cup of green tea around 2:30 and a snack around 3:30 usually carry me through. Sometimes a quick walk up and down the stairs or around the building.

        1. I ate a salad for lunch today (an hour and a half ago) and I’m now just starving. :(

      3. Yes – a high protein lunch with some fat (salad dressing, nuts, etc) – does wonders for my energy level. If I don’t have the fat I get hungry around 3-4 PM.

  2. Anyone with small hands experience wrist pain when using an ergonomic keyboard?

    I’ve been using an ergonomic keyboard and I’m developing wrist pain, especially on my right wrist which has to reach over more I think. I’m trying to figure out if switching to a regular keyboard or another type of ergo keyboard would eliminate this pain. I have rather small hands and I suspect that the ergo keyboard is not designed for me, but I’d love to hear other small hand experiences.

    2. Are you sure its the keyboard and not your mouse? I have small hands and am fine with an ergo keyboard, but the mouse was killing me. Switching to a trackball resolved my issues.

  3. So Prince Harry is apparently dating Meghan Markle? The country’s falling apart enough already without another American divorcee in the mix! (tongue very much in cheek)

    1. I just love that the Daily Mail has had, like, 25 articles about this in the last two days. You Brits take your Royals seriously.

      1. Oh, it’s pretty clear to me that it’s true. She’s hinted at it at a lot on Instagram and reportedly they had sources who confirmed the Prince Harry cancelled a trip to Toronto right after the news broke. I think in general most (not all, but most) tabloid news has a grain of truth to it and this seems more substantiated than the average tabloid story.

        1. Apparently the ‘cancelled trip’ on Sunday was a red herring to distract the press and he actually flew in on Friday.

      2. I think it’s true. It’s too random and specific to be false. Plus decent Canadian gossip sources are also reporting about them meeting up in Toronto. Their common interest in humanitarian work in Africa could be the basis for a strong bond because she may be willing to put up with the press if it means drawing attention to the charitable causes she/they support.

        He’s fifth in line to the throne now so he probably gets to date/marry who he wants. Would be great to see a WOC in the Royal Family.

        1. But then the Royal Family wouldn’t be lily white Anglican! Whatever would they do?? *Clutches pearls*

          2. True story: I did the 23&me testing and expected it to show that my family was passing. I was so sure of it. We lived overseas and no one there thought one parent of mine was white and ever since then, I saw her as more Haitian / Creole than French. Turns out, we’re no just white, but really white (like Scandinavia). So now Alicia Vikander is my woman!

        2. Daily Mail is my guilty pleasure (it’s like the NY Post, but more so).

          I saw this and had no idea who MM is (much less that she is a WOC — I was surprised that he wasn’t with a blonde (again) and am glad that he’s switching to brunettes). Why do I think that if she were a Canadian divorcee that no one would care? But AMERICAN divorcees: bad, bad, bad.

          1. The American divorcee thing is just about Wallis Simpson, who nearly brought down the monarchy.

          2. American divorcees = the worst! See, e.g., Wallis Simpson.

            (I’m kidding, I’m kidding!)

          3. (Edward VIII was also a Nazi sympathiser so the 20th century would have gone very differently had Wallis not shown up, incidentally)

    3. So, I love Suits as a total nonsensical guilty pleasure, but her blog is seriously vapid and awful. I like her character a heck of a lot more than I like the public persona she puts forth. That said, good on Harry!

      1. I take it back. It looks much better than when I last saw it. Almost interesting.

        It’s called “The Tig” if you want to look it up.

    4. I went to high school with her, and everyone’s flipping out that now our yearbook photos are in the tabloids. Sad though that the daily mail is now digging through stuff like her parents’ finances, which is really no ones business. She was always pretty together, fairly smart, and very hard working, lead in every play and musical, very charming, although never really a friend of mine.

  4. Any suggestions for where to get good ideas for furniture layout? I feel like Pinterest, Houzz and other design websites are great for getting an idea of style inspiration and what colors go together but they usually just show a small sliver of the room and they don’t help me figure out how much furniture should go in a room or where it should be placed.

    1. Some apartment therapy house tours use actual floorplans. I most frequently use Roomstyler to get an actual idea of room layout. Just make sure to check the dimensions of the sample furniture they provide – much of it is non-standard sizes (like 120″ couches – lol).

    2. When I was decorating my house I used a book called “The Perfectly Imperfect Home” that I found really helpful for these kinds of questions.

  5. Hi ladies. Do any of you have mid-cycle spotting or bleeding? I managed to be so lucky as to receive a whole extra week of spotting/light bleeding during ovulation. Any tips/tricks/ideas to combat this? I had one gynecologist give up on me and am in the process of looking for a new one.

    1. Following this for suggestions too. I’m also switching gyns. I’ve had the joy of having 1 week with no issue then 2 weeks of spotting to light bleeding most days then my actual period. It’s driving me completely insane.

      Years ago at PP I was told that ibuprofen could help if the spotting was really light. That seems to work sometimes but I don’t want to take it all the time.

      1. I’ve read the Woman Code, followed it, didn’t help. I also met the author and she told me to try two supplements: DIM, and mega doses of Vitamin B6. The DIM did nothing. The B6 helped me with super heavy periods and reducing very large clots to teensy baby clots. Something about too much estrogen and not enough progesterone. And I’ve had 1-2 months with no spotting but it came back after I had more dairy than I typically do, so I’m waiting to see what happens. I’ve had to leave/stay home from work due to my periods in the past year and now this. Bah humbug.

          1. I haven’t been diagnosed with PCOS. My sonograms are mostly normal. It’s possible that I have endometriosis but it hasn’t been verified.

          2. Have you seen an endocrinologist? That will probably be the most helpful thing. If you just want to play around with things on your own, maybe try a low carb diet if you haven’t already – it would need to be for at least several months to possibly forever. That is something that is often recommended for PCOS or endometriosis symptoms. Carbs affect hormone balance. I think the target is something like less than 100g a day, but you can find lots of information online.

        2. Hmmm I’ve had hardly any dairy for the past few months. Luckily my normal periods are really light, or at least for the past year-ish they have been. I’ll look into DIM and B-6 though.

          The gynecologist I’m switching from had me try a different pill because my body may have become too used to the first one, but that just made it worse. She said that’s all I could do and suggested I get an IUD. The 2 pills I’ve tried have the same hormone levels throughout and she thought a pill with varying levels would make it worse.

          1. My medical history precludes me from pills but my doc cleared IUDs. I almost had an IUD inserted due to the severe pain during my period. But I want the root cause fixed! Or diagnosed.

    2. I used to when I was a serious athlete. I used hormonal birth control pills to stop it and then later I was less active/had normal body fat and was back to normal.

      1. I bleed during ovulation when I am not over weight. When I am 10 pounds over weight, I don’t bleed during mid cycle. When I am 25 pounds over weight, my periods become farther apart. When I 30 or more pounds over weight, my PCOS symptoms go out of control. So, for me, it is an indication that my body is functioning properly. It is annoying, but at the same time it is reassuring that things are going well in my body..!

        1. That’s very interesting. Something about the fat content and estrogen ratio, maybe? I kind of want to take a class in female endocrinology, if such thing exists.

          My weight has remained stable for the past ten years and I’m firmly in the overweight BMI category.

    3. I had really irregular periods growing up that were ‘corrected’ (ie: masked) by the pill for the better part of a decade. At 17 years old no one was concerned about the irregularity’s root cause. Once I started TTC I had to deal with the irregularity again and the root cause. Come to find out I had a septate uterus and PCOS that went undiagnosed. I think there is a tendency to use the pill as an easy fix to some of this stuff, but man if I had actually pushed my doctor to get to the root of the problem, it could have saved me a lot of pain (mental and physical) and a whole lot of time.

      I don’t know the answer, but I do encourage you to keep pushing for an answer. An ultrasound should show signs PCOS if a blood test doesn’t, and the septate uterus showed up on the u/s also. Where are you located? I have an amazing great obgyn in Boston.

        1. Hi- I’m late, but I really love Dr Antoinette Whitehead and all the docs at Downtown Women.

      2. Glad you were able to finally get some answers! I am in NYC. Kind of wondering if I should go straight to a reproductive endocrinologist at this point.

    4. Yep. It’s unusual but when I was desperate to stop irregular bleeding once I found that pineapple juice did the trick and fast.

      1. Wait, like just drinking pineapple juice daily? I actually love pineapple juice so this would be like a miracle cure for me.

        1. Yes. Just drinking pineapple juice did it. It wasn’t like turning a valve where I drank a glass and I was done, but I would say within a day or two of maybe drinking a glass in the a.m. and one in the p.m. I saw diminished flow. By the third day it was pretty much at a full stop. Would love to hear if you try it and whether it worked for you.

          1. Also, to be clear, I only drank it while I was experiencing the irregular flow, and I stopped drinking it when the bleeding stopped.

    5. This is the thread where I found out about it. Apparently, you mix lemon juice in it. Can’t remember if I did but I assume so.

      myhomeremedies.com/remedy.cgi?remedyid=21369&page=7

  6. i already max out my 401k and have a good savings cushion (60K). What should I do with the rest of my savings? Invest more? I’m unsure how much cash I should have saved up before I stop saving cash altogether.

    2. Open a Roth IRA every year.

      Open your Roth at Vanguard.

      Then open a brokerage account at Vanguard and put you extra cash there. Buy Index funds. Talk with a Vanguard advisor to get basic advice.

      Save about 6 months of cash as an emergency fund. Some people go as high as a year.

    3. Related basic finance question –

      what do you take into account when determining a month’s worth of expenses (for emergency fund calculations)? There are the obvious things like mortgage/rent, utilities, insurance, food, car-related costs, etc., but I feel like I’m missing things?

      1. Make sure insurance is calculated as COBRA – if you were to lose a job, you wouldn’t just pay the share of insurance you pay now but you’d pay your share + whatever your employer pays for you – so that can be a significant cost.

        Other that than I think you’ve covered it all. Maybe some job search/moving expenses bc in case of job loss, you may have to interview in other cities (depending on what you do; where you live).

      2. I use my Mint average spend for the last few months, backing out major one-time expense or “splurges” – on the assumption I won’t go on a big vacation while unemployed. I know a lot of people go by months of salary, but my expenses are way less than my salary due to being obsessively frugal.

        FWIW, I aim for 3 months or so of expenses in my savings. The rest is invested in index funds. Perhaps I’m risk tolerant, but I also figure I’ve got credit cards I could use to float cash until I liquidate investments if needed.

  7. Chandelier location question–

    We just moved into a new apartment with a great recessed living room that, alas, has no built-in lighting. I would like to hang a plug-in chandelier. There is no existing chandelier hook-up in plae, so I can put it wherever I want. This recessed room will accommodate both our sitting/TV area, and our dining area. Due to the recessed nature of the space, the chandelier will be at about eye-level when entering the apartment on the main level. I need to decide between these two set-ups:

    1) Center the chandelier relative to the whole room, which will place it somewhere in between the sitting area and the living area

    2) Center it over the dining table (centering over the sitting area is not an option)

    I am slightly leaning toward option 2, since I know it doesn’t need to be centered in the room (right?!), and I think it will have a really nice/dramatic effect over our dining table. But please give me your input– I want to make sure I’m not making some huge design mistake and won’t be sure of what it looks like until it’s actually installed.

    Also, if I did go with option 1, would I hang it slightly higher than in option 2 (since it would be “covering” a larger area?)

    2. I’d go with option 2 as well. I think it will help indicate that there are 2 separate areas to the room.

    3. I have your exact setup and hung it over my dining table. I love it. You’re right that it will be nice and dramatic(ish) over your table, and it’s definitely not a huge design mistake. You will like it!

    4. Option 2. If it is eye level, it should be over a table or something that no one would bump into. That would draw attention to the dining table and make it a nice focal point as well. I would stick with floor or table lamps near the sitting area thus dividing up the space.

  8. Ladies, I’m looking for recs for black booties (or shoeties?) that I can wear with tights and skirts/dresses in the office. Office dress code is business not-formal (jackets often, but not suits), and job involves running around a decent bit, so I’m hoping to prioritize comfort while still looking sleek, perhaps something with a 1.5-2″ heel. Any recs?

    1. I think, with a dress or skirt, you might be looking for something with a less chunky heel? Look at Sam Edelman Lucy. The brand is generally very comfortable and these have a low but more feminine heel. Donald Pliner Edin is a chunky heel and I think could still work with a skirt. A little pricier is Cole Haan Sylvan.

    2. Just perusing Nordstrom, I think any of the following would work:

      -Sam Edelman Petty or Lucy
      -BP Trolley
      -Blondo Valli
      -Cole Haan Hayes
      -Vince Camuto Vecka (I have an older version of these, the heel looks high but, in the version I have at least, they’re very comfortable)
      -ECCO Alicante
      -Coach Montana
      -Aquatalia Dina
      -Vince Hallie
      -Munro Taylor

      There’s more, but those are the ones I liked the best so far. (Also, I now really want but do not even remotely need the Sorel Major Moto boots that I just noticed while browsing for you!)

      1. I know! I was swooning over some Jeffrey Campbell’s but they were only in a size 5. Sad face.

    3. I have these Aerosoles shooties (in the link to follow) and regularly wear them across 3 commuting miles (so, fast and unforgivingly) with no issues. The Bella Vita Dylan that Kat has included in her past few booties posts might also interest you. I covet them pretty hard.

  9. I have a $200 budget for dinner on Saturday for me and my husband in DC. Where would you go?

    2. Sushi Taro. If you go big on sake, it might push you over the $200, but if you’re not big drinkers, it’s around $200. Very traditional, very authentic Japanese food and sushi. Just fantastic. (And just awarded a Michelin star.)

    4. Estadio or Rasika or Tail Up Goat or Marcels (can get pricey)

      I really enjoy the bar menu at Corduroy if you don’t need fast service and want something more relaxed.

      Have heard good things about Bad Saint and Masseria but haven’t been personally.

      Lots of good cheap eats too…

  10. Looking for suggestions on kitchen design blogs. Totally overwhelmed by Pinterest/blogs. Something with a modern/minimalist but family friendly/functional vibe. TIA!

    1. Not a blog, but have you been on Houzz? Lets you sort photos by room, budget, style, size, metro area, etc.

      1. I’ve looked at Houzz, but like with Pinterest I’m totally overwhelmed.

      1. They do hardly any blogging anymore, though :( But they did just re-do their kitchen so there are a few recent posts up.

    3. I really like the aesthetic on Fixer Upper (tv show on HGTV with Chip and Joanna Gaines) – I believe Joanna blogs at magnoliamarket[dot]com. I don’t follow her blog, but if it’s in line with her designs on the show, I would bet it would be a good reference for you.

      1. Thanks. I don’t love everything she does (why does every room have a giant clock?) but the general aesthetic (minus the copious use of ship lap) is great.

  11. Yes/no to fake plants? I’ve always been team No Fakes but after killing a succulent, I’m wondering if I should just accept that I have a black thumb and get some artificial succulents for my windowsill (in cute pots of course).

    1. Another suggestion is to find a houseplant that likes moist soil and whatever light conditions you have, and get a self-watering planter. I like Lechuza. Almost foolproof! (And I have a pretty green thumb and still kill succulents…they aren’t as easy as people make them seem!)

      1. This is something I love doing. I don’t get them every week, but it probably averages out to every 2 or 3 weeks and makes me so happy. Packing my lunch for work one day a week more than covers the cost for that week’s flowers.

        1. I used to work in the financial district in San Francisco and would stop at the florist kiosk on Friday afternoon for discounted flowers. They were often a dollar a stem and it brightened up my day.

        2. Check around at local florists! Mine does a “happy hour” where everything in the cooler is 1/2 price. You can pick out your own or tell them your budget and they’ll make you something lovely. It makes such a difference for me, especially during the blah winter months.

    3. I am team No Fake Plants. BUT aside from the fresh flowers suggestion (ask the florist how to best care for your plants! They’ll show you how to cut them and keep them fresh.), if you are going to go fake, succulents do look the best/most real.

    4. I was going to say Team No Fakes, but I just realized we have a really great arrangement of fake succulents that a houseguest gave us once, and it looks great (real!) and we love it. So I am Team No Fakes Unless They Are Fake Succulents.

    5. I’m team no fake plants… or at least I was until I had a room in my house without enough light to keep plants alive. I bought some fake succulents from target and I’m fairly OK with them.

      I travel all week for work so actual plants that needed regular attention just weren’t an option. My real succulents entry outside and they are as happy as can be. Actual flowers would be nice but I’d only be home for 3 days to enjoy them.

    6. Got to dissent. I have no natural light so have dried flowers and artificial. You can get some gorgeous fake flowers for not that much money. I also buy a bouquet every monday…a bit flowered obsessed I guess.

  12. How do you go about vetting interior decorators (all of whom convey a “I work with people with unlimited budgets and have Money” vibe) for cost / do you trust their judgment in general?

    I think I just need targeted advice (is table too big for room, what sort of rug (and dimensions) works in this room, which specific seating items work with this room / giant TV config), not 10-50K in fees/ stuff.

    I cannot even correctly outsource this stuff. My friends who use people are either rich or have had bad luck or both.

    2. Do you have a local furniture boutique that has pieces in your price range that you like? If so, look into their design consulting services. They are usually free or very low cost if you buy the furniture through them.

    3. I used a decorator who charged an hourly rate, and I told her how many hours I wanted. You can tell the decorator you have specific questions about sizes and arrangement and that you want to redistribute your current furniture, not buy new things. The decorator I hired redid my living room and tv/playroom, but I didn’t buy anything– she just moved my own things around. And they look like brand new spaces. Maybe give a few of them a call and ask if they do that.

      The woman I hired is regionally well-known, and I thought she only did high-dollar magazine spread homes, but she stayed under my budget and didn’t sell me anything. I didn’t worry so much about her judgment since it was all my stuff already– I could just move it back if I didn’t like what she did. So you might be surprised by calling a couple that seem fancy and just asking if they do this sort of thing.

  13. I’m a new masters grad with limited work experience – got a engineering offer (not software) in the Silicon Valley. initial verbal offer is $90k, then when I got the offer letter it’s 95k. I want 100k (market seems to be anywhere from 90k-$120k). Is it reasonable to ask for 100k? I really want to just ask for 100k and get 100k, vs asking for 105k or whatnot. I really like team and I don’t want to negotiate but I think 95 is still a tiny bit on the low side…

    1. There doesn’t seem to be a downside to asking here: “Is this offer negotiable?” “I was hoping for something in the 100K range.” Worst they can say is “No.”

      1. I would not ask if it’s negotiable, because why wouldn’t they say no? I made that mistake as a new associate. +1 to asking for more than you want. Be prepared to explain why you add value and are worth more than the average bear.

      1. Yes, if you want $100k, ask for $110k. What you want is less than 10% of an increase, so ask for a MINIMUM 15% increase ($110k) and they’ll likely either give you that (hey, every raise you get will be based on that first number!) or negotiate to $100k, which is just under 10% higher. Particularly since the field goes from $90-$120! You’re amazing, right? Don’t you deserve to be at the top of the range? ALWAYS NEGOTIATE.

    3. Always negotiate…but don’t be foolish. I let a candidate walk because we offered her 95 for a job that is 80-100 and she was on the lower and of the experience ladder. She was bright and I liked her and thought she was trainable, but she didn’t have the 2-4 years some of the people on the team that were making near the top of the range. Our recruiter told her the job was in the 85-95 range when she did the initial screen, and she was fine with it.

      She came bask asking for $110 and I asked her to help justify it– she couldn’t. Her best rationale was “I want a raise from what I’m currently making”. Frankly, for a top candidate with tons of experience, I could have slapped a “senior” on the role and moved budget money…but not for this person. She ended up walking and burned the bridge- she wasted my time AND money (we flew her out for 2 days) and made herself look bad during negotiations. This was years ago and I’m still annoyed!

  14. Does anyone get paid 100% commission? How do you manage your cash flow?

    I will have a modest draw to start (first 1-2 years?), but outside of that I’m looking for some best practices!

    1. I don’t personally work on commission, but I used to know with a couple who did, and their strategy was to set up their lifestyle on the assumption that every month would be as bad as their worst month, and to treat everything above that amount as extra. They also seemed to make a point of making larger purchases (cars, for example) 100% in cash, to keep their monthly overhead low.

    2. I’m more than 50% commission. Yes, do everything you can to lower monthly payments. I bought my car with >70% down, my house with ~95% of its value already in savings. I keep an emergency cushion of at least 1 year’s expenses (probably too conservative but that’s what I need to sleep at night).

      The first year you are on commission, there will likely be some delay between doing the work, billing the client, being paid by the client, and your paycheck. I’d plan on having at least 6 months of little-to-no money coming in.

      Use the first two years to decide whether you want to be on commission at this company. It isn’t ideal for many people and it’s why my employer loses many very talented employees. If, in talking to people already on commission or to employees who leave because of the pay structure, you decide that you don’t want to take on the risk, start looking for a new gig before they kick you off salary.

      If you are planning to have kids, see how the company handles maternity leave for salaried moms vs commission-based moms. The difference can be huge! In my company, salaried moms get 3 months at 100%. Commission-based moms get nada.

      1. And disability! We had a sales person who was 50% commission go out on short term disability and they paid 50% of his salary, not total comp. it was awful- guy got cancer and screwed by disability.

        Some colleagues did some fundraising and our company matched it. I (I was a director/vp level at the time, so senior but not c suite) raised hell with HR over how this looked. He wasn’t in my reporting not chain but had he been, I’d have gone to bat.

  15. Hi everyone – Frequent commenter here, anon for this since if you know me, this will out me. I really need some advice. My grandfather passed away approx. 2 years ago and divided his will to give a higher share to my mother and me than my uncle (her brother) and my cousins. He did this because my mother and I took care of him and my grandmother (who pre-deceased him) for years and were extremely close to him, while uncle/cousins really couldn’t be bothered with him. There are specific and horrendous examples of their treatment of my grandparents, so please just take my word for that. My grandfather was fully within his mental faculties when he passed away. My cousins/uncle are suing my mother regarding the will/inheritances. This has been going on for over 18 months now and it is terrible. Emotionally so draining and so hard on my mom. We’ve racked up legal fees close to 75k by now. Their attorney has been unwilling to discuss a settlement – which, even though we know we’re on the right side here, we would pay out some of the money of the inheritance just to make this all STOP. How awful would it be if I tried to speak directly to my cousin? I’m a lawyer but transactional and too close to this to see clearly. I just want this all to end. Any advice?

    1. NO NO NO NO NO. Under NO CIRCUMSTANCES should you talk to your cousin/uncles.

      Ask your lawyer to set up a mediation and have your attorney suggest tough, fair, well respected by the bar, experienced in this practice area former judges, judges who have seen many cases like this and have the credibility to tell BOTH sides “I know how this turns out because I’ve seen it.”

      Their attorney is legally obligated to communicate that mediation proposal to your uncle and cousins.

      The ONLY caveat to my NO NO NO is that you might, after consulting with your lawyer and getting the ok, email your uncle and cousins, cc’ing their lawyer, to say something like: “my attorney is proposing mediation with former judge doe, former judge smith, or former judge jones. please consider it.”

    2. Don’t contact them. AT ALL.

      Talk to your mom about how this is just a continuation of the awful behavior prior to his death. They were horrible then and they are horrible now. There is nothing you can do to change that.

  16. Is a plum longchamp tote appropriate to carry to a client meeting? This is the only bag I have large enough to lug all my essentials. Is this something that no one else would really care about and I’m just overthinking it?

    1. totally, totally fine, especially if its in good shape. if it’s ratty and old (holes at the corners) consider a new one.

    3. Depends on your industry and client culture. I work for a major consulting firm it would read too casual for most of my clients.

    4. I’m using you mean the nylon Le Pliage. Longchamp makes lots of different bags and the leather ones are of course fine. I think the Le Pliage skews a little juvenile for client meetings. It’s not necessarily that it’s too casual per se (I think Tumi and some other brands have nylon totes that would be ok) but that Longchamp bag has been a staple of college girls for the better part of two decades and just come across as kind of twee to me (in the same way Coach bags that are covered in “C”s do).

      1. Ah that’s exactly what I’m worried about. It’s a day trip that involves flying and I don’t really have any other bags that’s large enough to hold docs and laptop since I don’t carry those on a daily basis. My only alternative is either a cuyana bright red leather tote or a Marc jacobs tote with the letters stitched on. I’m in my mid twenties and will be the youngest one traveling with two VPs. Is this where I suck it up and buy a more professional bag?

  17. I’m an engineer at a medical device company, and I’ll be attending/watching a surgery tomorrow for the first time. Doctors, what do you wear to an OR? What do you see sales reps or engineers wear when they’re at a case? Do I wear a blazer? Sales rep said “comfy shoes” but I’m not sure if that means sneakers or just nice shoes that I can stand in for a couple hours.

    1. Hey! Surgeon here. You will be asked to change into scrubs (OR greens) before you enter the OR. Most people wear running shoes or clogs with their scrubs. They will have a change room for your to leave your clothes in- in a case like this I would wear my normal work outfit (for me that would be slacks and a skirt and a mismatched blazer with flats) and I would stash a pair of running shoes or closed-toe clogs in my bag. When I change into scrubs I would change my shoes. If you want to be sure your shoes don’t get dirty (the ORs are messy places!) you can put shoe covers over your shoes. You will also need to put on a scrub cap/hair cover so if you have long hair bring a hair tie to help stuff it under the cap. You’ll put on a mask right before you enter the room.

      Enjoy!

      3. Thoughtful answer. I would add to choose slacks rather than a skirt unless you know you will be given scrubs – some places instead have reps wear disposable coverup “bunny suits” for the OR that go on over your clothing and would be awkward in a skirt.

  18. Will I look out of place if I don’t wear hose? I practice in federal court in California and always go to court with bare legs, but we tend to be more casual out here.

  19. I’m looking for a place to travel for Thanksgiving. Last minute and about a full week. Any ideas?

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