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Updated: Oct 31, 2018 82 Comments · by

Suit of the Week: Escada

Suit of the Week |

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Escada tweed suit 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. I'm not usually an Escada girl, but Saks has a number of amazing Escada suits that I'm totally drooling over. This tuxedo suit! This peplum suit! This bright red peplum suit! But for work, I think one of the more versatile, while still fun suits, is this gray tweed suit, with stark contrast piping details. The back of the suit, particularly, may seem like a lot of look, but I really like it — different but still professional. The jacket (Escada Piped Tweed Jacket) is $1675, and the skirt (Escada Tweed Pencil Skirt) is $675. (L-all)

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Comments

  1. AIMS

    This looks lovely but I think I’d prefer it without the black stripe down the back and elbows. I do love a good tweed suit though.

      • Ellen

        I agree! Tho I generaly LOVE ESCADA, the pipeing here makes us look like Matre-dee’s at Hardee’s! All we need is a logoe’d hat saying Hardee’s! FOOEY! My Ann Klien suit got all soiled today b/c Frank came in with ice tea that he spilled on my desk. It dribbeled all over my file and onto my skirt, then Frank wanted to wipe it all off. I said NO–get away, but now I think the beige will be ruined. DOUBEL FOOEY on Frank!

    • BB

      Sigh. Really want to put this on my “stalk for sale” list! But do I need another gray suit? I have a light gray one and a dark gray (almost black) tweed already…hmm…tempted though!

  2. Ginjury

    Ugh, I had a consult with a personal trainer at my gym today and signed up for an 8-session package because I kind of felt pressured to and didn’t have the guts to say I wasn’t so sure about the fit. Now I’m regretting that I did and am concerned about how this will work out. I wanted a personal trainer to get into lifting without hurting myself, but this guy seems more into circuit training/low weights/high reps, weight loss which is kind of the opposite of what I want. It almost felt like he’s just using the typical program for overweight women (which I am, slightly). I recently read NROLFW, which is why I wanted to get a trainer in the first place, and that just doesn’t seem like a good plan to me. Obviously I’m annoyed with myself for not speaking up about my concerns and just going along with him and buying the sessions, but now I’m trying to figure out how to turn this around so I don’t feel like it’s a total waste of time/money. Any suggestions? I know I need to be more clear about what I want, but it’s hard when I don’t have any definitive goals.

    • MJ

      call the gym and ask him to call you to discuss your goals again. Or ask to be switched to a different trainer, possibly a woman. You don’t want the gym to be stressful, so do what you need to do to fix it! You got this!

      • lsw

        Right – I bet they would totally let you transfer your sessions to another trainer, if you think that is best. Otherwise, you could consider coming in with a very definitive idea of your workout and be firm – I want to learn to squat and benchpress/I want to get the strongest I can/I want to lift the heaviest weights. I know it’s hard to do that sometimes, though, so if he is high pressure transferring to another trainer might be a better fit.

    • Anonymous

      Why did you think NROLFW wasn’t a good plan for you? It’s a really solid beginner plan.

      Regardless, I think you should tell your trainer you want to get stronger, and provide specific goals. Like – be able to do 10 full pushups, be able to run a mile in less than 10 min, be able to squat my bodyweight, be able to deadlift my bodyweight, etc.

      • TBK

        She means the trainer’s plan doesn’t sound good because it sounds unlike NROLFW.

        Is there any reason you can’t just call the gym and say you changed your mind and don’t want the package anymore?

        • Anonymous

          Ah, that makes more sense, I was skimming.

          I agree with the other posters about switching trainers- even if the gym won’t refund you, they’ll usually switch you.

    • Anonymous

      Maybe you could speak to the trainer about NROLFW and see if they can help you with that/a similar plan? If they don’t, you can probably switch at the gym to someone else.

  3. Susie

    This morning’s discussion re: Ann Taylor / declining quality got me thinking. I don’t think I can tell when my clothes no longer look good, not until they are way beyond bad anyways. (Case in point – today I grabbed a blazer and got to work only to realize the color on the shoulders had totally faded) Aside from the obvious (holes, stains, stretched out) when is it time to toss or demote clothing from work to weekend only?

    • HSAL

      I’m interested in this too, because I know I hang on to certain items too long. I think I’m especially guilty with work cardigans – I definitely wear them after they’re a little pilled, usually when I can’t find an exact color match. Knits are a problem – I finally got rid of a shirt that I loved because the pattern/colors made it apparent that there was a white fuzzy look over the whole thing.

    • hoola hoopa

      Periodically (once or twice a year?), I PUT ON everything I own, look at it in a full length mirror like a dressing room, and pretend that I’m assessing whether I should buy it.

      If I wouldn’t buy it, it goes! (or gets demoted to the ugly but comfy weekend drawer).

    • Anonymous

      This is me too! I usually ask my mom (she is sure to tell me an item is a ‘shmata’) and helps me decide when an item is worn, but I ask her only after I notice the wear…which is when it is truly pilled/stained;)

      I think I tend to”ignore” wear and tear because it is frustrating replacing pieces that match and complete outfits– case in point my pale grey pink long cardi is worn. Sure I can find another colour, but now I have to re- think all the outfits it matches…and this is only the tip of my replacement iceberg– I have about eight pieces awaiting replacement. I have been actively looking for new items, but my current search both online and in person is a shopping nightmare.

  4. lsw

    I LOVE this suit. And Escada. If I could afford it, I’d be all Alicia Florrick all the time.

  5. Dallas help

    Is anyone from Dallas? My family wants to have a reunion there because it’s easy for many of them to fly there. It would be in late March or early April. Where can we go that is not far from the airport (less than one hour drive) where we can rent a reasonably priced house with a pool?

    Money will be an issue for most people but I am willing to subsidize for something nicer.

    I would like to be somewhere where I can do stuff a short drive away–go to yoga, get a latte, etc. Some of the attendees would love to be near a lake, river, other nature.

    help!

    • HM

      That’s sort of a tall order for 1 hour from Dallas – near nature, but short drive to conveniences. Dallas is trhe prettiest, ugly town you’ve ever seen.

      The website vbro has a few options that might work – Lake Ray Hubbard, one near White Rock lake, a few up near Lake Lewisville. However, with the exception of White Rock, those aren’t going to be near a lot of conveniences. Here in Texas, we take advantage of our wide open spaces.

      There are some very nice resorts around Grapevine, and Fort Worth that might fit the bill if you’re ok with not having a house.

      • Dallas-ite

        +1 to everything here, including it will still be too cold for a pool (although the weather should be absolutely lovely that time of year). Perhaps because all of our lakes are man-made, we have cities and, separately, lakes with lake houses but not city amenities. If you want to be near a lake and in Dallas, go with White Rock Lake, but understand it’s a very small lake (only 9 miles to circle the whole thing). You will be close to coffee shops, farmers market, cute neighborhoods, and very good shopping. Do not consider Bachman Lake; it’s not in a good area of town.

        • Anonymous

          Just FYI to OP, you can’t swim in White Rock (nor would you want to). It’s beautiful for scenery and you can sail and kayak or standup paddle on it, but it’s not what some people think of as “lakes” with swimming and motor boats to tow waterskis/boards.

    • Dallas help

      Thanks to both of you. If it will be too cold for a pool, will it also be too cold for swimming in a lake?

      • Anonymous

        Personally, late March and early April is perfect pool weather for me. Summer is way too hot and the pool feels like bathwater. I also burn easily and can’t spend more than 10 minutes outside in the summer, but in the spring and late fall, I can actually sit outside and enjoy my book without being absolutely drenched in sweat, mosquito bites, and peeling for days. But I also enjoy post-run ice baths, sooo…

        Agree that it will be too cold for lakes.

        There are so many houses with pools here that it seems like you should be able to find plenty of options to rent a house with a pool, it just may not be that near “nature.” There will be Starbucks and yoga even in the suburbs, which are basically just giant globs of strip centers with chains and nail and yoga places.

    • Honeycrisp

      What about Possum Kingdom Lake? It is 1. about 1.5 to 2 hours from DFW airport; and 2. in a more rural area, but there are small towns nearby with amenities (Graham and Palo Pinto). The scenery is beautiful, and most of the houses there are second homes, so you could probably find something to suit everyone’s tastes (possibly with a pool too) on VRBO. There’s also The Cliffs Resort at Pssum Kingdom Lake, which has a golf course, nice restaurant, and a spa.

      I know it is a little outside of what you had requested, but I agree with HM and Dallasite: Dallas is the prettiest ugly town you’ve ever seen (or, as I have said before, Dallas is a lot like LA without the scenery).

  6. Jules, paging Espresso Bean

    Wanted to thank for your one of your recent Chicago recs. DS and his girlfriend, vegan and vegetarian respectively, went there — to look at law schools! — the same weekend that a bunch of recs were posted for someone here. I passed on your rec for Handlebar and they absolutely loved it, maybe more than our old favorite the Chicago Diner (where they did go twice — including during a Pride parade, so that was a blast — because vegan milkshakes FTW).

    Thanks so much. And to follow up on this morning’s thread, if I listed and thanked you all for every idea and recommendation from this s*te that has helped me or improved my life in some way large or small (from vegan recipes to travel tips like putting face lotion in contacts cases to, yes, FLEECE TIGHTS), it would run to many pages. Thanks to the whole group!

    • SuziStockbroker

      Oooh, thank you, I (think I) am the OP from that thread I think and I am also vegetarian (close to vegan). Will definitely highlight Handlebar on my list.

      • Jules

        Oh, great! And BTW, I think Espresso Bean described it as vegan/biker but DS said its more punk – so not a fancy place (you have a girlfriends weekend, right?) – but with really amazing vegan food.

    • espresso bean

      So happy to hear that! I love sharing Chicago recs.

      Now I’m craving Handlebar’s nachos… :)

  7. TBK

    Also coming off of this morning’s thread re AT, what brands do you think are still good quality? Is there anyone out there anymore? Or has the whole world gone fast fashion?

    • hoola hoopa

      LL Bean, Pendleton, Lands End. Although I detect some increasing issues here and there.

      It’s been a little while since I bought Halogen, but they’ve been mostly reliable.

      • Sydney Bristow

        I’ve bought a few Halogen items over the last year or two and have been satisfied with the quality.

      • Cdn Sydney

        +1 on LL Bean — almost all my outdoor walking gear comes from them — the stuff wears like iron. Also their polo shirts and non-iron casual shirts — look great for years.

        I’ve also had good luck with BR lined lightweight wool pants, although I wear the curvy fit and I understand that’s going to be phased out, so I’m going to be out of luck there.

    • Susie

      As noted above I’m not a great judge of quality, but I’ve been getting a lot of Classique Entier. Pricier than AT but can find lots of pieces on sale.

    • KittyKat

      Talbot’s. Lots of stuff still in natural fabrics, but you definitely need to try on everything because the cuts at dowdy.

    • Anon

      For me, it’s item by item. J.Crew has taken a lot of heat lately, but I still find their work clothes to be good quality when on sale. Likewise, my t-shirts are from Old Navy because they hold up, but I’d never buy a knit sweater there.

      Also, Antonio Melani at Dillard’s. God bless their sales, particularly their shoe sales. Their work heels are all leather – soles, insoles, uppers – and they go on final clearance for $30. My closet’s full of them!

      • Anonymous

        Brooks brothers is good and you’re right, expensive. But if you have a Brooks card you earn points and exclusive sales. Plus I have stalked jackets on sale, and have gotten pieces for about 25-30 percent of original retail. Talbots is my go to for pants, nice fit, long lengths for us tall people and decent quality.

    • Anonymous

      Boden seems to be decent quality, though I haven’t tried much from there. I also have an Emerson Fry coat I am very impressed with, but it was originally pretty expensive.

      • Anon

        Boden is fantastic quality – I had several suiting dresses from Boden that lasted 4+ years of weekly wear.

        Fantastic customer service, too. I received a dress from Boden yesterday and the package had clearly been opened and taped back together – it was sticky outside and in, smelled like bad perfume/cleaning fluid, and both the dress and the receipt had weird orange spotches. Back it went, and I sent a quick email to Boden just to let them know about the state of it (so that they’d know it happened in transit to me, expecting NOTHING because things happen). They replied, apologized, and gave me a $20 credit for my troubles. Nice!

      • Anonymous

        Classiques Entier, the various levels of Tahari and Lafayette 148 hold up really well. Expensive, but worth it when the pieces last and I don’t have to spend time looking for replacements.

  8. On the Hill

    Anyone work on Capitol Hill?

    I have a law degree and 1 year’s policy experience and 6 years’ work experience pre-law school. I can’t decide if I should be applying for LC jobs or not. Am I overqualified? What’s the typical background of an LC? I want to be on the Hill – not to proud at ALL to start at the bottom…I’m just not sure what the appropriate bottom is.

      • On the Hill

        Legislative Correspondent. Answers the mail, meets with constituents.

    • TBK

      Where are you? If you’re in DC, do you know anyone on the Hill? This is a great question to ask someone directly and you really will need to network heavily if you want a job there. They almost never fill positions through postings.

    • Gail the Goldfish

      I worked as an LC briefly right after law school (my boss lost a few months after I started). I was probably more qualified than most of the other LCs (who were usually not that far out of undergrad), but it was the job that was open and you typically work your way up anyway. So no, I think you could reasonably start there and then move up to an LA position relatively quickly. The staff assistant and scheduler in our office also had law degrees… basically a law degree does not overqualify you for any position on the Hill. I didn’t stay in DC after my boss lost, but the staff assistant did and quickly jumped up to LC and then LA. The pay is terrible, though (but I recall someone saying there is a loan repayment program specifically for Hill staffers? I wasn’t there long enough for it to matter).

      • Gail the Goldfish

        I should add that both the SA and I had interned in that office before, so I don’t know if we would have been looked at differently if we were an outsider applying for those jobs (I didn’t actually apply. Chief of Staff randomly emailed me one day and basically said “hey, you’re graduating, need a job?” Which was awesome, because I did). But I felt like everyone on the Hill had a law degree, so I wouldn’t worry about being overqualified. TBK’s right, though–network like crazy.

      • On the Hill

        Thanks for your reply. I interned for a committee during law school, but the chair changed and all the staffers I knew moved on to agency work. I’ve talked with them, but you know how it goes. I hardly had any contact with the member’s personal office, so I really don’t know much about their qualifications, hence my question here. Thanks again.

    • Wildkitten

      Is your pre-law experience applicable? What do you need to be paid?

      Apply. Decide later to take it or not.

    • WJM-TV

      You might want to look at LA jobs — LCs as far as I experienced had more to do with writing and dealing with constituents.

  10. Home Polish

    Has anyone used Home Polish in DC? Or another city too — any reviews?

  11. Mid-Atlantic/Philly weddings

    I loved reading this morning’s wedding thread! I’m just starting to plan my wedding and it’s super helpful to read posts like this (even though I’m feeling a little queasy with the sticker shock). I noticed there were a lot of brides in the Mid-Atlantic and Philly areas – would you mind sharing your venues? I’ll probably end up hosting my ceremony and reception somewhere around there and it’d be great to have some good places to start. TIA!

    • Another bride to be

      To piggyback on this as well, if Atlanta area brides (or guests at Atlanta area weddings) want to share venue ideas, I’d be very appreciative!

      • LawyrChk

        I’ve been to weddings at the Fox Theater, Atlanta History Museum, Woldencotte, Four Seasons, and Park Tavern. The Swan House at Atlanta History Museum was my favorite. It’s the house they used in Hunger Games and is just gorgeous.

        • LawyrChk

          Also, the Botanical Gardens. Haven’t been to a wedding there but it would be a perfect venue.

          • Jules

            I went to a wedding there and it was beautiful. It was also an evening wedding in October and it was so cold after the sun went down, all the guests were miserable.

      • cbackson

        What’s your budget? Park Tavern is hugely popular for weddings (to the extent that you might not want to be yet another person who got married at Park Tavern). I think it’s significantly more affordable than many of the others mentioned above. Other ideas/options: the Fernbank Museum, the Solarium at Old Scottish Rite, Callanwolde (which I think is what LawyrChk is actually referencing above), the Biltmore, the Atlanta Women’s Club, Rhodes Hall, the Chastain Horse Park, Magnolia Hall or Graystone (both at Piedmont Park), and a whole, whole bunch of places at Stone Mountain.

          • Another bride to be

            OOOOOOHHHH pretty.

            (I’ve only been to two Atlanta-area weddings – and both were significantly OUTSIDE of the city which is not what I want personally – so I know very little about the options here).

        • MJ

          My brother got married at the Biltmore and it was so beautiful. It was in early November, so it was chilly but the leaves were magnificent. Highly recommend. They did a small wedding in the wine cellars there…about 50 people I think?

          • Anon

            I’m guessing cbackson was talking about the Biltmore hotel in Atlanta, but the Biltmore in NC is lovely too!

    • Anonymous

      I haven’t done this, but I heard that you can have weddings and receptions at the Mutter museum in Philly. That sounds like such a fun venue.

    • New Anon

      I attended a wedding at the Morris Arboretum (owned by Penn) last September that was really nice.

      • New Anon

        Oh! Missing the edit button but also wanted to say that, while I got married in Central Pennsylvania, we hired photographers from Philadelphia and a DJ from DC (all of whom were reasonably priced and none of whom, I think, charged for travel). So, if you’re looking for other vendor recommendations, I’m happy to offer suggestions.

          • New Anon

            The photographers were Black, White & Raw (I’ll post a link in a reply, since they can be a little tough to Google). They were fabulous to work with and delivered outstanding photos–better quality for less money than even the Central PA folks we considered.

            The DJ was DJ Trevor Martin, who’s more of a club DJ than a wedding DJ (we heard him for the first time at a bar in DC and thought of him for the wedding because we knew nothing about wedding DJs), which worked out perfectly for what we wanted. He kept things moving–no between-song lulls–and happily/smoothly incorporated our few (but unusual) requests, specifically for some Latin American artists. People of all ages were enthusiastically on the dance floor all night. One caution: he wasn’t super-responsive to email, so if you reach out, expect that it may take some time for him to get back to you. As I said, he was great the day of and did everything we wanted; just more relaxed about communication than I am.

          • OP

            Wow that photographer is SUPER reasonably priced, and their photos are amazing! I’m totally going to waste some time today on their website. Thanks!

    • Philly burbs

      If you’re still checking – we had our ceremony & reception at Greystone Hall (it’s an old mansion off 202 about 20 minutes south of King of Prussia) – we got beautiful pictures and loved being able to use indoor & outdoor space.

  12. Due in December

    If you’re still checking – we had our ceremony & reception at Greystone Hall (it’s an old mansion off 202 about 20 minutes south of King of Prussia) – we got beautiful pictures and loved being able to use indoor & outdoor space.

    • Seattle Freeze

      Why the nerves/guilt? I think Prozac can be very helpful for dogs with problem behaviors that are really difficult to extinguish, particularly when the dog’s own anxiety is getting in the way of training.

      I haven’t used it myself, but know other dog owners who’ve had good results. One friend rescued a dog who was afraid of EVERYTHING – the first time I met him, he circled us at the end of his leash, barking, for 10-15 minutes before coming close enough to be touched. Now, after Prozac and considerable additional work on my friend’s part, he leans against me when we chat. The Prozac calmed him down enough that his true disposition comes through, and he was much more receptive to training.

      Worth a shot, if your vet’s on board.

      • Due in December

        Thanks for this. I think the guilt is because I think of my dog’s anxiety as not that bad, and something we should be able to handle with training alone…but it did get markedly worse recently when we moved, and we are going to have a lot more changes coming up, including introducing a baby…

        • CountC

          No reason to feel guilty for treating your dog for an illness. If Prozac will help your dog feel better and possibly nip upcoming anxiety in the bud, why wouldn’t you do it?

    • Jules

      Prozac did wonders for a cat who was kind of aggressive with the other felines and peeing on everything. The vet ruled out other causes (UTI infections, etc.) and said he just had a Prozac deficiency, lol. It has helped a lot and doesn’t seem to make him loopy or to sleep too much (no more than all the other pampered cats in this household). A prior cat was on it or maybe valium for a while but kind of grew out of her problems. We have another one who needs it, I’m sure — very sweet but super skittish and pees out of anxiety — but he’s impossible to pill, sadly.

      I don’t see much downside.

  13. Anonymous Associate

    I wear a lot of Escada, has to be one of my favorite work brands. I love this suit, although I do tend to get most of my pieces on sale!

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