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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. Happy Wednesday! I'm loving the sale on this “indigo crosshatch” suiting set from Halogen. I think light blue suits always end up being surprisingly wearable in the summer, and I like that this one has a very on-trend look (for a very affordable price) of a midi skirt. I'm no fan of cuffed pants, but for a casual day at the office I could see the ankle pants being cute. There are plenty of sizes left, and the whole set is 40% off. The jacket (Halogen® ‘Indigo Crosshatch' Single-Button Suit Jacket) was $128, but is now marked to $76.80; the skirt (Halogen® Crosshatch Weave Midi Pencil Skirt) was $68, now marked to $39.90, and the pants (Halogen® ‘Quinn – Indigo Crosshatch' Skinny Ankle Pants) were $88, but are now marked to $52.80.Sales of note for 11.5.24
- Nordstrom – Fall sale, up to 50% off!
- Ann Taylor – Extra 40% off sale
- Banana Republic Factory – 50% off everything + extra 25% off with your GAP Inc. credit card
- Bloomingdales is offering gift cards ($20-$1200) when you spend between $100-$4000+. The promotion ends 11/10, and the gift cards expire 12/24.
- Boden – 10% off new styles with code; free shipping over $75
- Eloquii – Fall clearance event, up to 85% off
- J.Crew – 40% off fall favorites; prices as marked
- J.Crew Factory – Up to 60% off everything + 60% off clearance
- Lo & Sons – Fall Sale, up to 35% off
- M.M.LaFleur – Save 25% sitewide
- Neiman Marcus – New sale, up to 50% off
- Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
- Talbots – Buy one, get one – 50% off everything!
- White House Black Market – Holiday style event, take 25% off your entire purchase
And some of our latest threadjacks here at Corporette (reader questions and commentary) — see more here!
Some of our latest threadjacks include:
- What to say to friends and family who threaten to not vote?
- What boots do you expect to wear this fall and winter?
- What beauty treatments do you do on a regular basis to look polished?
- Can I skip the annual family event my workplace holds, even if I'm a manager?
- What small steps can I take today to get myself a little more “together” and not feel so frazzled all of the time?
- The oldest daughter is America's social safety net — change my mind…
- What have you lost your taste for as you've aged?
- Tell me about your favorite adventure travels…
Anon
I like the skirt length, but it would look frumptacular with that blazer. Needs a shorter-length jacket for balance.
January
Agreed — I feel like there is a reason Nordstrom doesn’t picture the blazer with the other pieces.
emeralds
Agreed. Or hem the skirt shorter. I really like both of them as separates, though, and could see myself wearing the blazer to my casual office, which is rare.
anon-oh-no
i just ordered it with the ankle pants. we shall see
AEK
Article from today about responding to criticism at work:
http://online.wsj.com/articles/how-to-take-criticism-well-1403046866
Very good
Thanks for posting this.
emeralds
I just started a new position so those were some great reminders to keep in mind, as I inevitably screw things up and receive criticism…
MNF
I like the look of this, but I’m concerned it might look like denim in person. Has anyone seen it IRL? How does Halogen fit? Can anybody comment on how it relates to sizing at J Crew, BR or Ann Taylor?
tesyaa
I recently (this past winter) bought a Halogen pencil skirt which I love. I found the size 6 ran a little big and the 6P fit well. If you don’t want the petite length, you might want to size down in the regular.
tesyaa
And yes, I’d also be concerned that the navy pattern would look like denim, especially from a distance.
Bobcat
Halogen fits similarly to AT, imo (too curvy for me). I’m an 0P in BR, AT, & Halogen, but AT & Halogen stuff usually fits at the waist with several inches to spare around my hips/bum. I’m an 0P in JC blazers and 00P in JC bottoms.
cbackson
I would wear the heck out of this entire outfit. It is appealing to my eccentric old lady in training aesthetic.
Calibrachoa
Looks interesting, but I’m joining the chorus of “looks like denim” here…
I need to vent a little: My supervisor went on a two-week+ holiday, leaving today, without notifying any of us in the team. We found out when we got Out of Office messages when e-mailing him! There’s absolutely no information about who should handle his duties while he is gone, beyond his message stating to contact the manager (who should not be handling supervisor tasks because he’s got his own job to do). This has left an absolutely atrocious mess behind at the worst possible moment, so I am just about ready to scream. How on earth can people be so obliviously inconsiderate and unprofessional?!
tesyaa
Is it possible something like a family emergency is taking him out of town for a couple of weeks – i.e. that this trip was unplanned? Or have you already confirmed that he’s traveling for pleasure?
Calibrachoa
Not likely… we had a meeting with our HR manager, who is also his HR manager, and when we brought this up she was like “Hey he’s entitled to vacation… wait, what *spends next 20 minutes with us hashing out how to deal with this*”
emeralds
Can we make this the vent about work thread? As I mentioned above, I just started a new job, filling the position of my former boss from my graduate assistantship. I respect her a lot and she was great to work with and I wish her all the best. BUT. She always talked about how awesome her writing skills are, AND HER WRITING SKILLS ARE NOT AWESOME. I’m going through and editing manuals and communications, and it’s just becoming more apparent by the paragraph that she has no idea how to use a comma and thinks more syllables are automatically better.
The crowning glory has been two consecutive paragraphs of official, externally-bound communication where EVERY SINGLE SENTENCE IS IN THE PASSIVE VOICE. I knew all of this before but I want to bang my head on my keyboard and run around the office screaming “NOOOOOOO.”
(Please note that I write much more formally in professional settings than I do here, before anyone says YOU USED ALL CAPS ERGO YOU ARE WRONG. Bad grammar just makes me rage.)
January
I know this is the venting thread, and I certainly don’t want to stop you, but is it at all possible that that official, externally-bound communication requires the use of the passive voice for some “official” reason?
But don’t worry, bad grammar makes me ragey, too.
Mpls
Hmm- yes. Passive voice doesn’t automatically make it unsuitable. If it affecting the clarify of the message, that’s one thing. But passive voice exists for a reason, right?
af
Bad grammar doesn’t make me ragey, but bragging about your own good grammar (like her boss) does, especially when you’re not actually good at it.
Anonymous
Passive voice is not a grammatical error. Neither is all-caps.
Parfait
Too bad you have to just fix it all and can’t send it back with your edits. I enjoy adding “by zombies” to the end of all sentences in the passive voice.
Orangerie
Someone I work with consistently mixes up effect vs. affect and insure vs. ensure vs. assure. Drives me batty.
tesyaa
I have someone working for me who mixes up affect and effect, and it drives me crazy. And yes, English is his native language. His writing is a mess in general, but writing is not a major part of his job and I haven’t made a big deal about it. I am planning to send him to a business writing course. The worst part is, he uses big dictionary words and he thinks his writing is terrific – kind of like the OP’s boss, come to think of it.
Sydney Bristow
I think I mix us effect and affect. The explanations of the difference never seem to stick in my head. Is there an easy way you know of to remember it?
AIMS
Affect is a verb and effect is a noun, but the way I really remember is to just remember that “cause and effect” has effect with an E. Once you know that you can reason your way to right ‘ffect for your sentence.
Parfait
Affect can also (rarely) be a noun, though, as in “he has a flat affect.” And effect is also (rarely) a verb, as in “We hope to effect change in our community.”
Not that this is helpful. This link might be:
http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/affect-versus-effect
Sydney Bristow
Thank you both! I think the “cause and effect” thing will help.
Lily student
One of my housemates has started using ‘however’ when she means ‘but’ and it drives me up the wall. Also saying ‘obviously’ when something isn’t obvious.
Neither is necessarily a problem, just my own niggle and as such it would be incredibly rude to ask her not to, since I know I’m the unreasonable one,
Anonymous
However is just a fancy way of saying but.
Ann Klein shoes
How about non-possessive use of apostrophes – as in, “The team’s were both there.” Eee — the screech of a thousand fingernails on a blackboard!
nonA
If any of my direct reports left for two+ weeks without telling the team (and getting everything prepared to go smoothly while they were gone) they would get a permanent vacation when they returned. Sheesh. I feel for you.
Calibrachoa
Thanks… I’ve spent most of today doing his job and fixing his mistakes on top of my own stuff… I have a feeling I am gonna go up to the manager come Monday and demand a raise.
af
This is a weirdo question, but food for thought. I have a much busier schedule than my hubs so I was thinking how unfair it is that I also have to carry our baby, meaning go to all of the appointments, be sick and tired, etc. So then I started thinking: If I had the option, would I let him carry it? My practical part says yes, absolutely, it makes more sense, I do not like being pregnant, etc. But I don’t think that part would actually win out. I don’t think I’d want to give it up. Would y’all?
Orangerie
I’m not even close to a point in my life where I’d consider having children, but yes absolutely I would give up pregnancy in a heartbeat. The whole experience sounds miserable.
posey
It was miserable, but I do miss eating whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted it.
Anon
You can do that w/o being pregnant.
tesyaa
But never in a way that is so socially acceptable.
Anon
Dude then you need new friends. Sometimes I want a salad, and sometimes I want a burger and fries and a milkshake and, on second though, also a side of fried pickles, and I would not enjoy the company of people who decided they needed to police my choices.
tesyaa
I’m kind of joking. Most pregnant women rationalize that they’re either going to gain a lot of weight or a really, really lot of weight, and they might as well have one consolation while going through 9 months of, uh, discomfort.
posey
Way to make me feel bad about my daily food choices.
Aerith
I definitely eat whatever I want whenever I want and I feel like it’ socially acceptable.
af
But you can’t really eat what you want while pregnant. Sushi is my favorite food on earth.
af
And wine is my second favorite food.
posey
I ate sushi throughout pregnancy. I think the whole no-sushi-while-pregnant thing was total BS. Same thing with soft cheese.
JJ
Yeah, it’s a weigh-the-risks thing. I ate a lot of uncooked cookie dough while pregnant. I decided I wouldn’t worry about potential salmonella problems and would worry about listeria (which can cross the placenta). I also drank a small amount of wine with each pregnancy.
Lily student
I’ve heard you can’t eat blue cheese. That scares me. Not sure I could go that long without blue cheese.
Maddie Ross
I wouldn’t have. While it was miserable, I liked feeling more connected to my baby (and more in control). I also loved that she went everywhere with me. I often miss that part of being pregnant (the not drinking or sleeping well not as a much).
greenie
After carrying two I’d say yes in a heartbeat… but I’d take it even further and want him to breastfeed and pump at work. Unfortunately I’d probably micromanage everything he’s doing with the baby.
af
I’d give up pumping in one second and thought I would bfing too but I kinda miss that, oddly. I found it really hard to give up even after I looked forward to giving it up for so long.
Anon
I would give up pregnancy and child birth and maternity leave if my husband could do that. I would have not made this statement 3 years back, but the way the entire career and child birth planning is stressing me out. All my male colleagues (who are roughly the same age as I am and younger than me wives) will be having babies in coming months with minimal impact on their career. I cannot imagine gone for 4 – 5 months of maternity leave and competing with them for a promotion which I badly want.
ravsky
In a second. havent been pregnant.
Anon
Never been pregnant, but I don’t think I would because I am a control freak. Part of me would also want to have the experience, but mostly it would be because I am a control freak. Also, I am safer and healthier than he is. I eat much healthier, exercise regularly, remember to take vitamins and go to regular doctor appointments, would actually pay attention to most of the do’s and don’ts (like not eating deli meat), plus he is exposed to questionable chemicals at his job.
tesyaa
There is something special and/or miraculous about the process of pregnancy and childbirth; OTOH if children came into the world in a pain-free, nausea-free way, we’d never know what we were missing. So sure, it makes sense to give it up. As for the fact that women have no choice but to do the carrying, that is one of the few inherent unfairnesses of biology that can’t be changed or mitigated. If we have to go through pregnancy and childbirth anyway, we might as well enjoy the novelty of it, if possible. (And I do wonder how much of the emotional high I felt when my kids were born was also due to the relief of no longer being pregnant).
tesyaa
I wish I could edit this comment. There are many unfairnesses of biology that can’t be mitigated such as genetic mutations, etc. And I’m trying to say that while pregnancy and birth are definitely unique experiences, if we didn’t have them, we wouldn’t miss them.
Clementine
Yes. Although many of my reasons are shallow, I also think it must be such a unique experience that having both gone through it would bond you and your partner on another level as well.
Dear Science- Seahorses can do it, why not us?
Science
Seahorses aren’t mammals. Egg-laying might be an option, though (see platypus).
LH
I would let my husband carry our (hypothetical) baby in a heartbeat. Not sure about someone who isn’t my husband even if it was free/easy, because I’d be worried they wouldn’t be eating right, exercising, etc, but I trust him. And I have the lowest pain tolerance of anyone I’ve ever met and I have no idea how I’m going to handle childbirth.
Also, I’m not sure that pregnancy is a free pass to eat whatever you want – even aside from things like sushi and alcohol, my mom told me that she watched what she ate more when she was pregnant than any other time in her life because she wanted to eat lots of healthy food and minimal junk. I suspect I will do the same. We’re not a family of dieters though, and both she and I pretty much eat whatever we want whenever we want (in moderation) when not pregnant.
Samantha
Yes, certainly pregnancy is not “a free pass to eat whatever you want”. I’ve heard this sentiment before and it bewildered me. When you’re pregnant, you need** to eat nutritious food to the extent you can – every week, there are parts of your baby forming (neurons, kidneys, liver, eyes) that depend on it!
I think the media coverage of pregnancy as “all weird cravings and indulgences, all the time” is what creates this misconception.
** Of course, you may not be able to keep anything down, or you may digestion issues or any number of things that prevent you from eating healthy which are all totally valid. And it’s also totally reasonable to indulge yourself sometimes, being happy and satisfied is important too.
Nonster
I eat a healthy and nutritious, well-balanced diet. And since hitting my 10th week, I’ve been supplementing it with a near-daily Three Musketeers. Not apologizing.
unhappy preggo
I was an unhappy pregnant lady for both of my pregnancies. I was sick as a dog for 4 months, then ok, then had nearly debilitating back & pubic joint pain for 3 months. However, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I loved the experience, despite being pretty miserable. I had an unplanned, non-emergent c-section with my first, and an unmedicated vbac with my second. I had an easy c-section recovery, and a hard v@ginal recovery (3rd degree tear, then granulated tissue…) so I didn’t really get an “easy” delivery in either case. My labor with #2 was totally manageable. It was hard, and required concentration, but it wasn’t unbearable.
I would miss it if I didn’t have the option again, if you KWIM. But, as previous poster said, we wouldn’t know what we were missing, if we never experienced it.
Flying Squirrel
Heck yeah I’d give up 17 weeks of puking, unable to hold down even water some days. Though I’m not sure if DH could handle it physically. Seriously, though, once the sickness subsided I didn’t hate being pregnant, nor did I love it. I don’t feel that it brought me closer to my child…and attempting to breastfeed for 2 months did nothing more than hamper our relationship.
Samantha
I’ve thought about it before and I would totally share it if I could. “Can you grow this one – I have a busy travel schedule at work for the next few months. I’ll trade you taking out the garbage and waking up at night for the first few months.”
Clementine
…this literally made me LOL at work…
“Honey- Rock, Paper, Scissors. Best out of 3!”
JJ
I really, really did not enjoy being pregnant with both of my kids. I loved the bonding and knowing that my body was capable of building another human…but I really could do without the crippling pain, 9 months of nausea, etc. But if we have a third, I still wouldn’t let my husband carry it. He’s a tough guy, but the biggest baby in the world when he’s sick. I also know that I was pretty miserable to be around when I was pregnant (and in constant pain) and the really selfish part of me wouldn’t want to deal with a husband like that…
posey
I agree with the last sentence. On some level I’d rather be the miserable irrational person than be dealing with the miserable irrational person.
Anon
+1 to what JJ said. It’d be like the Man Cold except 10000000x worse….
LH
Good point about your last sentence – I might rather be miserable than deal with a miserable husband.
Rachelellen
Never been pregnant and don’t want to be but I wouldn’t change the possibility of it. Just like I have made my peace with the natural coloring I wound up with, or the fact that I’m curvy and can’t wear certain brands or styles, or whatever. I know it’s a much more profound question, but for me it’s all about just accepting what is. Women get the pain and discomfort but also the beautiful intimate experience of carrying life. Men get neither the risk mor the reward.
Ellen
You are alot like me, and even have a name somewhat SIMILEAR to me. I also have NOT had a baby YET, but look forward to it AFTER I have secured a boyfreind that will MARRY me. I figure that if I spend 9 month’s carrying our child, then I should be abel to give the baby to my husband and tell him what to do from that POINT forward. that is what MARRAGE is all about. Shareing. I also want HIM to clean the baby at night if I am sleepeing b/c I think I will still be workeing for the manageing partner for a while. I also do NOT want my husband trying to make me have sex with him if I am tired, which I will be after the baby is born, especialy if I am still workeing. I remember Alan comeing in while I was just about sleepeing and all of a sudden I would feel his thing pokeing at me. That is NOT aceptable if I have t work the next day. Men should know that. Mabye they should read Corporette and they would learn. YAY!!!!
CapHillAnon
Would not give it up, of course not. It’s professionally inconvenient, physically uncomfortable, etc., but I think it’s also pretty much the coolest thing we can do biologically. I’m with Maddie Ross–it was wonderful to have them with you for months and months before meeting them.
Annon2
Absolutely, if men could get pregnant life would be fantastic. I have absolutely zero interest in ever being pregnant, the pain of labor, physical discomfort, career impact. Hate this part of being a woman, feel like we are cursed with it. Men go on to have children (who carry their name in a patriarchal society), no labor/pregnancy/bf-ing and minimal impact on their careers – they have every single advantage.
Anonymous
If men could get pregnant, the US would finally have to make parental leave, full health care coverage, and child care available to everyone.
I’m all for it.
NYNY
+1,000,000!!!
Angela
Exactly
tk1
I’d love to give my husband period, 25 years is enough for me.
interview
Bill interviews for a position at Company. He sends thank you notes (email) to each of his interviewers the next day around noon. By 6pm, he has not heard back from any of them. Bad sign or not worth reading into?
don't panic..
I suspect your interviewers are just busy, or have received multiple emails from each prospective candidate and won’t reply to any before the decision is made (provided there are multiple candidates). Some firms/companies I know have a policy whereby they don’t give candidate feedback, so that may be it, too. Double check you got the email addresses right, then put it out of your head and wait patiently. Good luck!
MJ
I generally do not reply to thank you’s unless they are email…a thank you to a thank you just gets weird. If I am really busy, I don’t always reply to email thank you’s either–“It was nice to meet you. Thanks again for coming in” is about all anyone would get, whether I liked them or not….
lhh
Not worth reading into. I never respond to thank you notes.
AEK
No response required. Bill can assume the emails were received, and Bill SHOULD NOT follow up to be sure.
interview
Oh, Bill would never. He’s just a tad anxiety-prone. :) Thanks, all!
Coach Laura
Bill: Dear Susie, thank you for the interview…
Susie: Dear Bill, thank you for the email thanking me for the interview…
Bill: Dear Susie, thank you for your email thanking me for my email thanking you for the interview….
No, I don’t send another email in response to a thank-you unless I have something important to report. Don’t stress, Bill.
SadatWork
Strongly disagree. I think Bill is overthinking the lack of response and should not read anything into the silence. I also think it is horribly impolite of the recipient not to send a brief message acknowledging/thanking bill for his interest.
Cream Tea
Ladies, wondering if on a Big Day you would consider separates appropriate? I only have so many suits so I’m wondering how to stretch my current wardrobe.
On a related note, what do we think about, for example, black trousers and a fine black and white houndstooth jacket? (Each derived from its own suit.)
Wildkitten
I would wear black pants with a houndstooth jacket, but it is definitely less formal than a full suit. How many of these Big Days do you have? So many that you’re fine wearing separates, or so many that you should invest in more suits?
anon in tejas
this would not be an issue for me if big day involved meeting judges in family state court.