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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. Also: we just updated our big roundup for the best women's suits of 2024!
I'll admit, I was a bit alarmed to see the print-on-print styling on the MM.LaFleur homepage… but I think once you click through to see it paired with more sedate options, I like it a lot more.
(Although, I will say: if the print-on-print works for you, I think it's the similar shades… it is a fun way to mix prints!)
What are your thoughts, readers? Too busy as a suit? Only with very basic items like a white opaque tee or a black blouse? There are not one, but TWO matching dresses should you want to go all in…
The blazer is $425 and available in sizes 00-20, the trousers are $295, and the dresses are $345-$395.
Hunting for a suit in a print or pattern? As of 2024, for more traditional prints, M.M.LaFleur has a lovely houndstooth option, a plaid, and a black-and-white check; J.Crew also has a number of striped suits and a great charcoal herringbone, and Brooks Brothers has a navy pinstripe and a surprisingly nice paisley corduroy suit.
Sales of note for 10.10.24
- Nordstrom – Extra 25% off clearance (through 10/14); there's a lot from reader favorites like Boss, FARM Rio, Marc Fisher LTD, AGL, and more. Plus: free 2-day shipping, and cardmembers earn 6x points per dollar (3X the points on beauty).
- Ann Taylor – Extra 50% off sale (ends 10/12)
- Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything plus extra 25% off your $125+ purchase
- Boden – 10% off new styles with code; free shipping over $75
- Eloquii – Extra 50% off a lot of sale items, with code
- J.Crew – 40% off sitewide
- J.Crew Factory – 50% off entire site, plus extra 25% off orders $150+
- Lo & Sons – Fall Sale, up to 35% off
- M.M.LaFleur – Save 25% sitewide
- Neiman Marcus – Sale on sale, up to 85% off
- Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
- Talbots – 50% off 2+ markdowns
- Target – Circle week, deals on 1000s of items
- White House Black Market – Buy one, get one – 50% off full price styles
Anon
Taking a quick break from the routine the first week of April and found a cheap flight to Austin, Tx. Staying at the Carpenter. Traveling alone. Must-dos while in town? I’m hoping for some rest, nature…sunshine. Tacos! And maybe a spa visit, if there is time.
Anonymous
Ladybird Johnson wildflower center!
Anon
Zilker Botanical Garden is another good one!
Moose
I drive around the Hill Country is really nice that time of year. Maybe go look for bluebonnets :)
Moose
Hike Mount Bonnell
Moose
Also, Krause Springs
H13
Also, Krause Springs
Kat
I live in Austin. I suggest going to Hamilton Pool in Dripping Springs. The drive will be full of bluebonnets and wildflowers – its about 30 minutes south of austin and very worth the trip. You walk/hike in and it is gorgeous. You need to make a reservation in advance though. https://parks.traviscountytx.gov/parks/hamilton-pool-preserve
I second the Lady Bird Johnson recommendation. On tuesday nights, they have live music and food trucks and it is usually a lovely evening but visiting during the day is nice as well. https://www.wildflower.org/events/category/tuesday-twilights/list
Milk and Honey is a very nice spa.
One of my favorite things to do is get a drink and food at the Driskill Hotel – eat in the bar it has great atmosphere and lots of history.
The tour of the capital is surprisingly interesting.
If you hike Mt. Bonnell, please do not leave anything in your car.
anon
I’d add to this, if you aren’t already renting a car, I’d consider one if you want to venture more than a few miles from your hotel – for example, you can get an uber to Dripping Springs easy enough (although pricey), but getting one back can be a bit of a wait. Depending on how long you are in town, there are plenty of wine tours that pick up from Austin and take you to Fredericksburg for the day for wine tasting. The wine is much better than it was, but quality wise, tops out at about what you’d expect from a $40 California red bottle. In April, you will see tons of wildflowers along the way. One other item I’d add, if you plan to walk places, check with the hotel (if they say to Uber, trust them). Austin is generally safe, but there are some areas that you may feel less secure walking by yourself.
Sparkles
Eldorado Cafe! So good!!
Digby
Are you going to be there for the solar eclipse? I think Austin (or nearby) is on the path of totality.
Also, if you go by the Stevie Ray Vaughan statue, tell him his music still makes me so happy.
Anon
California people — how was it to live through the jungle primary? I am a bit surprised that it didn’t result in D vs D for the main election (and will instead be D vs R and Rs don’t win statewide in California).
Anon
I’m a Californian. Quite surprised by Katie Porter’s loss but glad to maintain her seat in the House, which is something I was worried about.
Most of the noise around me was local races so I don’t know that it felt like a jungle.
LA Law
The jungle primary system was not new this cycle and it is not something we need to “live through”. Porter and Lee split the non-Schiff Democratic vote which is why we do not have D vs. D this time around. The good news for Democrats is that I cannot imagine the Democrats who thought Schiff was too conservative or disagreed with him on Israel are going to vote for someone who is (much) more conservative and just as pro-Israel.
Anon
I think it’s odd that a system that should give you your #1 and #2 picks resulted in a runoff with a candidate that would never be electible. Can’t believe that he is most people’s next’best choice.
LA Law
That is what happens with three people who are quite similar in their positions run against one guy on the other side. Schiff, Lee, and Porter split the Democratic vote. If any of them had not run, it would probably be an election between the other two.
But also a lot of people in the Democratic establishment actually prefer Schiff vs. Garvey because (unless something dramatic happens) Schiff will win in a runaway. It cuts down on infighting and allows donors to focus on beating Republican house candidates.
Anon
This! It’s better for Democratic House candidates in close races if the Senate race is D vs R
Anon
California is not a monolith. We are consistently blue but there are a vast inland areas, home of Kevin McCarthy to name one, as well as more urban areas like OC that definitely lean red, if not trumpy
Anonymous
Agreed, and Porter and Lee combined had fewer votes than Garvey.
Anon
We’ve had jungle primaries for a few years, it’s not super new. It has resulted in D vs D elections in the past, but in this case there were 3 Ds and 1 R with significant support so the R was able to get into second place with only slightly more than a quarter of the vote. Schiff will win in a landslide in the general election.
Anon
OC Jewish D voter here. Most people I know decided not to vote for Lee, even though prior to October 7th she was a viable candidate for us and aligned (we thought) with our values, once we saw how she turned on Jews and Israel. That left Schiff and Porter, who are similar in policy positions (slight preference for Porter because she’s younger and would spend more years as a senior member of committees and because she knows OC).
I personally preferred Weiss to Min, but you get what you get.
Anon
Lee was the sole dissenter when the Congress authorized invasion of Afghanistan after 9/11, so at least she’s consistent. A lot of the criticism of Israel feels hypocritical and anti-semitic, but some people just don’t see any justification for war ever, and while I don’t agree, at least that viewpoint is one I can respect.
Anon
Barbara Lee speaks for me. I’m a happy constituent and have been for decades.
Anon
I voted for Schiff because of his support for Israel paired with his support for Palestinians. Barbara Lee has a long and proud history, but I won’t vote for anyone over 75 in a primary.
I’m pleased with how the local measures turned out in San Francisco, including the algebra measure.
Anon
Algebra?!
Anon
San Francisco has (for some years) banned teaching algebra in eighth grade for “equity reasons” – because students of color are less likely to be at grade level in math in California. Despite the blatant offensiveness of the soft bigotry of low expectations and the fact that the policy has been shown in evaluation studies to actually WORSEN the achievement gap, it persisted for a long time and even expanded to other districts in the U.S. It was just overturned with over 82%+ support.
Seventh Sister
I’m so glad. The push to get to the absolute minimum level of instruction is so bad for all of the students. It also pushes middle and upper-middle class families out of public schools because it’s not a college-prep curriculum.
Anonymous
How about fixing elementary school math instruction instead of dumbing down the high school curriculum?
Anon
I give Trump at least 50/50 odds of winning in November. Any chance we can get a justice to retire and get replaced now?
Anonymous
I hope not only does he retire but also that they take this opportunity to add a mandatory retirement age for scotus going forward (and pres!).
LA Law
The two oldest justices are Thomas and Alito so I doubt they are going to retire to let a Democrat appoint their successor. And Sotomayor is only 68.
And a mandatory retirement age is not going to happen. It would require a Constitutional amendment and good luck with that, particularly since older voters are the ones who show up to vote.
Anon
LOL Thomas is 100% planning to die at work
Anon
Other than Barrett, no justice is particularly young. Couldn’t any of them retire from any other sort of job?
Anon
Sure but you do understand that SCOTUS justice is different from, like, director of HR or something, right? Both in power, implication, and choosing a successor.
Anon
Yes — this was the RBG situation that we all agreed to not want to repeat. Hanging on until the bitter end wasn’t good for any of us.
Anonymous
Four are under 60.
LA Law
RBG was 86 and a cancer survivor. The oldest of the liberals is Sotomayor and she is 68. The circumstances are hardly equivalent.
Anon
She’s 69, turning 70 in a couple months, but I agree with you. That’s a very different situation than mid-80s.
Anonymous
Why would anyone ever retire from a job that allowed them to exercise control over hundreds of millions of people? It’s just too much of a power trip.
Anonymous
d’oh I forgot Breyer retired
Anon
Which one? Ketanji Brown Jackson is 53 and was just appointed. Sotomayor is 69. Kagan is 63. RBG was over 80 when Obama was in the White House and the Dems had the Senate.
IMHO, the Democrats would be best off stacking the lower courts – get all aging federal judges to retire, ram through their replacements. Lower courts matter, too (so little goes to SCOTUS), and lower courts are the pipeline for future Supreme Court nominees. But I’m a Republican so if y’all want to pressure Sotomayor to retire, I’m okay with that. :)
anonshmanon
wouldn’t that just be a repeat of when Gorsuch was nominated?
pink nails
Not exactly, since the Dems control the Senate now and presumably would confirm Biden’s pick.
With Gorsuch, the Republicans controlled the Senate since it was a Democrat President appointing Gorsuch.
Anonymous
Huh? Trump appointed Gorsuch.
Anon
Garland? No it would be different since Dems control the Senate, at least until January 2025.
Anon
Oh, please. The Rs would not let a Justice get seated. They will do whatever it takes to keep that seat.
pink nails
well if a Justice stepped down right now (or, more likely, died) it would be up to Pres. Biden to nominate and the Democratic controlled Senate (counting the three independents who caucus with the Desm) to confirm. You only need a simple majority to confirm. So at face value the Republicans wouldn’t have power to stop it.
Now if Justice Thomas dies tomorrow, will the Republican’s do all they early can to stop that nomination? Absolutely. However they shouldn’t have the power to stop it.
Anonymous
What are your favorite ways to celebrate 30th birthdays? My best friend is the first of our friend group to turn 30
Moose
I would have loved to have gone on a trip with a friends or my (now) husband, but I turned 30 in…2020, ha! So, just made the best of it, had a distanced get-together at a family lake house. We were also kinda broke.
Vicky Austin
My two BFFs and I are going to Mardi Gras 2025 in New Orleans. (Side note, should we be looking to book things, like, now?)
Anonymous
Happy birthday to your friend!
My 30th was a long time ago and was a wonderfully simple dinner out with husband and preschooler, along with a couple of gifts.
Your friend’s birthday should be about what your friend would like best…not other people’s favorite ways to celebrate.
Anon
I put more thought and planning into my 30th than I did my wedding!
I hired a gazebo and tennis courts in a garden in my city, organised catering and had a beautiful garden party. People were playing tennis, cricket, lazing around on picnic rugs and chairs for the oldies.
It’s a very picturesque spot so lots of wedding photos taking place in the garden too, so we watched them too.
I had the best time, I only wish I took more photos!
Sasha
Three of my close friends turned 30 this past September and they organized a week at an all-inclusive in Cabo. They went with their SOs the whole time and then various friends popped in and out over the course of the week. It was super fun!
Anon
My spouse and I have been going through a rough patch. I am stressed but thought I was doing a good job of putting it aside at work. However, my office BFF (a guy, with whom I do not generally discuss my relationship woes) can read me all too well.
He pressed earlier this week for details on what has been bothering me; I broke down sobbing and told him I nearly left my spouse last month. BFF said not everything should be kept out of the office and encouraged me to talk about it. I collected myself and apologized. He was not in any way inappropriate, and indeed I am grateful that he cares, although now I am mortified that I overshared and spilled my personal drama all over him and have been avoiding him ever since. Please tell me this awkward embarrassment will fade and I can go back to complaining about the cafeteria food with my friend soon.
Anon
This is how office romances start. Keep it professional.
Cat
what? work BFF to me means someone that you talk about your personal life too, not just someone you can trust to eyeroll at the same office BS. I don’t think this is something to die of embarrassment over – just don’t bring it up again if you want to stay more surface level.
Anonymous
I don’t think it’s appropriate to complain about your spouse to an opposite sex friend if you’re both straight. That’s how lines get blurred.
Anon
+1 i know you said nothing inappropriate happened, and that’s good… but confiding in a male friend about relationship problems is often the first step down a dangerous path.
Fwiw, my husband has tons of straight female friends and I have some straight male friends. I’m not someone who has a problem with married people having close friendships with the opposite sex. But I do feel strongly that it gets dicey when you are using that person as a sounding board for relationship issues. I don’t vent a lot about my relationship in general, but I particularly avoid doing it to opposite sex friends and my husband feels the same way.
Anon
Can I push back a little here? Anon at 3:27, you assume OP is straight. OP may be bi or pan sexual (in which case, under your rules, they can never confide in anyone else?). Or the male BFF may be gay. Or OP and male BFF may have ZERO attraction for each other. It just seems old fashioned to assume that any male you are close will end up as a workplace romance.
Anon
I didn’t say “any male you are close will end up as a workplace romance.” in fact I basically said the opposite — my husbands closest female friends are colleagues and I think friendships between opposite sex people are normal and should be normal. But I also think it’s smart not to open up to someone you could potentially be attracted to about problems with your spouse. That is a common way for people to try to start affairs, and even if you don’t go into it with that mindset, if you’re attracted to men and you find yourself turning to a man whose not your husband to discuss how unhappy your husband makes you, you can end up in emotional affair territory quickly. And when you are in the workplace bringing up your marital drama is even more fraught, and you need to be careful you’re not getting into sexual harassment (to be clear, I’m *not* implying OP has done anything improper – but it is a more fraught situation than it would be if the guy were not a coworker).
I didn’t assume OP is straight and I know that there could be nuances here depending on sexuality, but since she took care to mention “nothing inappropriate happened” I think it’s safe to assume she is attracted to men, and this man is attracted to women.
RiskedCredit
I don’t think you are getting the point. The current orientation of the OP doesn’t matter. This is how affairs start regardless of orientation.
Take it from someone with experience. I’ve had plenty of women calling me to tell me my ex husband was sleeping with them. Could have been men, no difference to me. It was always the girl having relationship issues, he made himself available, took them for a drink and she opened up. Next thing it was an affair. Completely text book. This happens with same sex couples too.
What this poster needs to do is unpack their relationship issues in a safe place. The safest place is with a qualified therapist who is experienced in this area. After this close family, very close family friend or religious leader (like a priest) is a good place to go.
anon
+2
Anon
The awkward embarrassment will fade, I promise. (From a frequent oversharer.)
anonshmanon
at least, the flashbacks of when I put my foot in my mouth are coming less frequently as time passes…
anon
You had a vulnerable moment. It’s OK, as long as it doesn’t become a frequent thing.
Anon
+1. You’re human. Keep it breezy going forward.
2bu
Break the ice by complaining about the cafeteria food now. Lots of guys would do that to signal their desire to move on from the personal exchange. He should be able to pick up on the message and move forward. If he pushes you on anything, you can say something like “thanks, but talking about it isn’t fun and I don’t want to ruminate on it. It’ll be fine.” then switch the subject. If you cry again, excuse yourself and go to the bathroom so you can recover without him pressing.
I wouldn’t say definitively this is the start of an attempted office romance on his part, but it is an environment where strong bonds are formed that can turn physical, and when defenses are down it is easy to do or say something that can’t be taken back.
Anon
You are a human being. I don’t generally share all of my business at work but it would be awful if there was no one at work with whom I could confide. You are just fine.
Anonymous
Would never personally wear this suit either styling but would give a stylish person mad props for wearing or trying it. I’m also braced to see a version of this look on our summer clerks. about halfway through the summer a clerk wore a midriff-baring crop top with a muted plaid suit / mini skirt and was a dead ringer for Clueless movie characters. (And to the dress for your office question, I’m at a regional midsize, pretty formal, everyone in office full time with casual Fridays but otherwise most men are still wearing ties daily and women are in slacks or dresses). So this year I’m better prepared for wild prints / you name it.
Anon
I witnessed silk tap shorts on one of our interns last summer. Super cute, but definitely not our office norm.
Anon
I’d like to see any office where that would fit in. Some sort of bridal party themed nail and blowout salon?
Anonymous
Someone finally talked to our miniskirt wearing summer and now she wears reasonable clothes. Hopefully she didn’t notice me do a double take today at her knee length pencil skirt.
Anonymous
Love this suit. Sadly I could not carry it off personally.
Anonymous
I actually think the a-line dress that they offer is a great example of trendy but still formal. I’d wear that in a heartbeat if I was in the market for more suiting dresses.
Anon
Chapter 13 here. I start my new government job on Monday. You may recall from my last post that I’ve been anxious about my public trust clearance going through because of my financial situation. I was just contacted about an interview by my investigator, which will take place on Friday afternoon. I’m very nervous. She asked me to bring my Chapter 13 paperwork with a list of the creditors. For those who have gone through this process, what kind of questions do you think they will ask, about the finances and otherwise?
Anon
I don’t specific advice for you, but I am rooting for you, and I am so proud of you. You are being truthful and transparent about everything, and that bodes well. Even if you’re nervous, that won’t work against you. Your job is simply to continue to share the information they need. We are pulling for you! Keep us posted!
Anon
I was just thinking about you yesterday. Good luck in the new role!
No specific advice re: the investigation (when I got a security clearance, I was barely old enough to drink and the entirety of my negative financial background was a late movie at Blockbuster), but with these things, being honest and thorough is the best policy. I will let someone with more experience tell me I’m wrong, but my general sense of that if you could have avoided this, saying something like “in hindsight, I would have handled the situation differently” is usually good.
Anon
Fingers crossed and good vibes for you!!
Anon
Thank you! I am actually shaking. I really wish they did this process before hiring.
Anonymous
The investigator is looking to see if your debt makes you a liability. They will be looking for signs of poor judgement and things which could be used to blackmail you. Unfortunate circumstances beyond your control are not held against you (sorry I don’t remember the circumstances of your debt but for example debt from a divorce or DV situation would be NBD).
Anon
No advice, just well wishes!
Anon
I see a lot of vendors wanting me to pay by authorizing a debit from my bank account. What stops someone from using a check from any third party (payroll, rent checks, etc.) from copying the routing and account numbers from a check (which will say the owner’s name on it) from just doing that? Especially if the names are similar (I could take a check from my parents, same last name, and use it to authorize debits from their account; I’d never do that, but we have a relative with a drug problem who will the minute he thinks of this)? With false credit card claims, you have a remedy. Here, I’m not sure that you do. The addict relative has no funds to go after and from the vendor’s perspective, the last names wouldn’t look fraud-ish.
Anonymous
Don’t you have to authorize the debit on your end? Like how I automatically pay my house insurance each month. I authorize them (through my online banking) to debit a certain amount.
pink nails
It’s bank fraud and if the account owner sees the activity and notifies the bank within a certain amount of time, the bank will conduct an investigation and make the account owner whole. I believe that is true based on the following…
A friend’s toxic girlfriend venmoed herself unauthorized money from his bank account – like $12k worth. He realized it when he went to pay his mortgage and there was no money (obviously wtf that he didn’t notice until then). The bank had a whole procedure in place right away that was intiaited when he told them they were unauthorized transactions. TBD on what’s happening to the girlfriend; we had hopes that she would go to jail for it.
Another friend was scammed on a phone call and the scammers transferred $9k out of her account. She immediately notified the bank and they did the whole thing, and she said she got back her money.
Now I’m not a banker at all and it’s never happened to me, so the above stories are pure heresy stories. And fwiw they are both silly gen z people; I think they’re retelling of the story is reliable according to how they understand the process, but I will believe it if someone tells me that isn’t how it works.
Cat
if you’re paying by bank account, don’t most places do a verification process where they debit a small amount, like 95 cents, and then have you verify the amount? so the bad actor would need both your account information and access to the actual account to accomplish this.
Anon
This is no different than if an addict relative used a bank debit card fraudulently, is it? The process might not be exactly the same as a filing a false credit card charge, but you can still work with your bank to stop and claw back false charges made on your account.
Anon
If this is a concern, you transfer any money more than what you need for the week into a savings account that your checking account does not overdraft to. Plus, you shouldn’t be keeping that much in checking anyways.
Anon
You can do the bank drafts from a savings account also. It’s just harder to get the account info than when someone has a checkbook somewhere in a drawer and donesnt look at it often anymore.
Betsy
Honestly I think checks are the craziest relic that we should have eliminated by now. Anyone you write a check to just casually has your bank account number! You would still go through the bank fraud process if this happened, it just would take a little longer to get your money back. And, of course, if it was a known person committing the fraud you would have to agree to move forward with charges, which family members are often not willing to do with addict relatives and therefore end up having to eat the fraudulent charges themselves.
Anon
I do not authorize debits from my checking account for vendors. There is way too much risk. We also don’t write checks.
Anonymous Canadian
Co-sign. You can do an electronic funds transfer to THEIR account with the information they give you. At least in Canada and Europe that’s true.
Anonymous
We noticed a monthly charge coming out of our checking account for a business we did not recognize. It took multiple rounds between calling the bank and the business to figure out that someone had opened an account with the business and entered our checking account number (maybe by accident) to pay every month. Once we figured out what had happened, we went to the bank and were able to stop the recurring payment and get up to like 6 months of the payments back.
Anon
I am in this field at work.
In the US, “direct debits” via ACH are not blocked by default. They are allowed by default, but have legal protection after the fact where they can be recovered in full if unauthorized. The onus is on the debitor to prove that their debit is valid. The payer has the ability to dispute a debit for 90 days or even longer. This means if Local Gas & Electric debits your account at Bank of America, you can challenge this within 90 (or longer, depending if you are an individual or business) days and your bank, Bank of America, is obliged to fully reimburse you and then try and recover it from Local Gas & Electric.
If challenged, the Gas company has to be able to show proof that you authorized this payment, which could be a signed form or a mouse click or similar. If they can’t show it, they need to refund it.
In other countries e.g. much of Europe, there needs to be a prior authorization form that is signed by you and submitted to your bank to agree that Gas Company can debit you. By default, all debits are blocked unless the account owner submits this pre-authorization, also called a mandate.