Suit of the Week: Maje

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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. This plaid blazer and pant set from Maje has a really chic look (although I wish they hadn't styled it with a turtleneck — and a graphic one at that). I think it's a fun and fashiony take on a suit, and you could wear it in the fall, as shown here, or very easily in spring when paired with a cute white top. The jacket (checked woven blazer) is $490, and the pants (checked twill tapered pants) are $265. If you're looking for something similar that's more affordable, this plaid blazer from Halogen at Nordstrom is a good bet. This post contains affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. For more details see here. Thank you so much for your support!

Sales of note for 1/31/25:

  • Ann Taylor – Suiting Event – 30% off suiting + 30% off tops
  • Nordstrom – Cashmere on sale; AllSaints, Free People, Nike, Tory Burch, and Vince up to 60%; beauty deals up to 25% off
  • Banana Republic Factory – 50% off everything + extra 20 off your $100+ purchase
  • Boden – 15% off new season styles
  • Eloquii – 60% off 100s of styles
  • J.Crew – Up to 40% off winter layers
  • J.Crew Factory – 50% off sweaters and pants
  • Rothy's – Final Few: Up to 40% off last-chance styles
  • Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
  • Talbots – End of season clearance, extra 70% off markdown tops + extra 60% off all other markdowns

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

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146 Comments

  1. I don’t enjoy taking pictures often and don’t feel that I’m I’m particularly photogenic. That being said, I’ve realized that I have essentially none of myself. I want to have a few good ones to use for professional profiles or even dating profiles. And I just want to have a few nice pictures to document the present.

    I’ve been thinking about getting professional photos taken. Do photographers do this for one person? Would it be weird? What would it be called?

    1. Yes, they totally do it. I would call it a headshot or just a portrait. I have several friends who work for smaller companies who have gone out and gotten their own professional headshots from professional photographers.

    2. For professional photos, yes, you can get portraits done. I probably wouldn’t use those for your dating profile though. I’ve seen people use work pics on their dating profiles and it comes off a little stiff – you have to consider that people will be coming across this pics in a sea of bathroom selfies. Do you have other friends that might be interested in having some casual professional pics taken? Maybe you can throw a party/have a picnic/go to a wine tasting and hire a photographer to come in for like an hour to take flattering candids?

      1. Yeah whenever I see guys with their professional headshots as their profile pic it comes off as very strange, like they don’t have any friends to take their picture.

      2. When I read this, all I can think of is about Taylor Swift’s photographer.

    3. I did this for my law firm website. I just went to a place that does headshots that I found on Yelp. It was about $60, and they did very nice retouching and let me guide the retouching.

      1. That is crazy cheap.

        Family member just spent a few hundred in the suburbs of Chicago.

    4. I also feel like I’m not the most photogenic person, but recently I went to a photographer to get some professional portraits done. Prior to this, my only interaction with professional photographers was to get pictures for ID, 90ies style, at a mall-photographer, where they took zero time for you and after 10mins, you paid a lot for 4 copies of a dreadful looking picture.
      This time round, I went with a photographer that several friends had recommended, and that had a website portfolio that looked attractive to me. I got at least an hour-long session, in 4 outfits and a couple different poses, and the guy took like 200 photos and gave very helpful directions about pose, smile, one shirt that I brought would look odd on camera etc. He sent me all photos in digital format and I selected a handful that he retouched a bit. My lesson learned was that if you take 200 pictures, a couple of them will look really nice!
      In my LCOL city, this was around 100$, I”m guessing that is unusually low.

    5. I am a photographer & have a side business doing exactly this. It’s a lot more than the $60 referenced below, but I do a “social suite” for people – dating, LinkedIn, and professional photos for bio purposes. Typically people bring different things to change into. I charge $500, which is market in major cities. If you want to post where you are/a burner email, I’d be happy to reach out.

  2. I love the styling of this suit except for the purse. The model just looks so cool.

    1. The loafers with no socks reads to me . . . a bit louche (if worn by a man). This is sort of a female version of how I see Ryan Phillipe’s character in Cruel Intentions.

      I’d swap in slingback Vara pumps.

      1. Interesting. I was going to generally ask what people think of the shoes. I like the look of loafers instead of flats sometimes. But I think these are way too big and clunky. I think a sleeker, more feminine loafer would look nice.

      2. I really like these particular loafers. I have the Everlane black oxfords and frequently wear them with cropped pants and no socks. I think it looks cool but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

  3. In the past few months, I’ve experienced a sudden change in taste. Like I have these specific snacks that I’ve eaten for years but now they taste bad to me. I actually thought they were rotten at first until having my husband try them to confirm they’re normal and trying several packages and having the same experience – so it’s gotta be me. This doesn’t affect all food but has cropped up with random specific dishes that suddenly taste gross to me. It’s been a couple months. Has anyone had a similar experience?

      1. Same. This was one of the first ways I could tell I was pregnant. That and my b**bs were painfully sore.

    1. I had a similar experience when I started a new medication which made things taste strange. It stopped after I stopped the medication.

      However, I’ve heard that your tastebuds change every seven years – not sure how true that is, but maybe it’s just that?

    2. Thanks, ladies. I’m def not pregnant but in the process of weaning, so maybe it’s still hormonal…

      1. Also have you started a new nasal spray, or have any symptoms of a cold/stuffy nose or a sinus infection? A lot of our sense of taste actually comes from smell, so when that is thrown off (commonly with a virus) then taste can be off.

    3. This happens to me every few months – salmon and sugar are the two that most affect me the most. I still can hardly tolerate salmon after I was turned off it several years ago. Sugar (baked goods) go through phases of several weeks here & there when I can’t stand the idea. Never pregnant, no medication changes, and no bad experiences with either. Now I don’t eat salmon and figure my occasional sugar aversion is probably good for my health.

      1. This just happened to me with salmon. I also cycle on sugar/baked goods/sweets. I’ve begun to cycle on chocolate, which used to be my one true love. Taste is weird.

  4. Piggybacking on the instagram discussion this morning, how do you all use instagram? I’ve always treated it as an opportunity for me to look at pretty pictures and cute animals and generally things that make me happy. I don’t follow any friends on insta because I already follow them on facebook and some of them on snapchat. My accounts aren’t linked.

    Some friends seem to think I’m weird for this. They say they post different things on insta and fb so I’m missing stuff. I… don’t care? If I’m in the mood to watch people perform for social media then there are two other ways I can do that. Sometimes I just want to look at kittens. Am I weird for approaching social media this way? I’m mid-30s fwiw.

    1. No one I care about uses facebook anymore, everyone uses insta (except my mom). I think it’s definitely true that people use different platforms to share different things. In my experience insta and snapchat are more personal. Facebook has devolved into sharing news articles and memes. But if you don’t care then don’t bother.

    2. I don’t instagram. You kids get off my lawn, but I don’t have time for this kind of consumerism.

    3. Tbh your post and the first reply are very humble brag-y. Nobody cares and there’s no right way to use social media. You do you!

      1. Wait is it cool to NOT use social media now? I’m so behind the times I’m cool again? (But really I’m like your dad wearing socks with sandals non-ironically so I’m still just as uncool as always.)

        1. I dunno… I tell my friends I don’t use instagram and they react as if I said I hate puppies and rose.
          I hear “well, anon would have seen it if she used instagram…” Or they ask me to make an account before I go on trips, or say they’ll make one for me… It’s playful, if not sometimes pointed. I don’t think anyone *really* cares, but it is noticed and remarked on. Also not that this matters to anyone but me, but the abbrev. “Insta” makes my skin crawl. Get off my lawn.

    4. (Assuming the question is in good faith) I use instagram to look at
      (1) my beautiful friends and the things they see and do*
      (1)(a) my friends’ hobbies/interests
      (1)(b) my friends’ babies/pets
      (2) artists doing interesting stuff
      (3) tattoo artists doing interesting stuff
      (4) breweries I like to see what they’re up to
      (5) some memes/comics re: political/social causes I care about

      I love it.

      *once a dude looked at my IG and he was like “uh is your instagram just all hot girls?” and I was like “well, it’s all my friends posting selfies, so… yes?”

      1. Because you can’t “unfollow” on IG while still staying connected, I have curated the accounts I follow carefully, and I’m now down to:
        1. friends I really enjoy, who post interesting sh*t (very small subset of my FB friends)
        2. puppies, dogs, senior pups, all of them
        3. bikes (I love bikes!)
        4. ice climbing
        5. horses

        I use IG as escapism and only want to see photos that I enjoy.
        Went anon as this list would totally out me to anyone who knows me. :)

        1. Instagram is escapism for me, too. I follow close friends, several activists, a lot of dogs, a lot of printmakers, and whole lot of tattoo artists.

    5. I don’t use FB anymore. I have two IG accounts – a private one for me and a public one for my dog.

      I follow my friends, local shops/events/breweries, and some accounts related to my hobbies on my private account. I follow all the animal accounts and associated rescue groups on the dog account.

    6. I’m 32 and I only have FB, not Insta, Twitter or Snapchat. Insta is fairly popular with my generation but none of my close friends use it and most of my more distant friends seem to cross-post everything to FB. Twitter seems like no one uses it except for work purposes and Snapchat seems to skew much younger (my 24 SIL is always on her phone “snapping”).

      I personally barely post on FB anymore. I don’t share memes or random articles and am not interested in sharing mundane life details, especially now that I have a child and want to protect her privacy. I used to post vacation photos but I felt like it was braggy to post those and literally nothing else, so I stopped. I would deactivate but there are probably 5 or 10 people that I don’t really interact with much off of social media but I enjoy hearing about their lives and seeing photos of their kids. I couldn’t care less about my other 500 or so “friends” though.

    7. My insta tends to be a lot of selfies, food, cocktails, beautiful scenery, animals, and random stuff I see sometimes. Only the really good stuff gets posted to Facebook. My friends and family are still on Facebook, I use that for events, status updates, and sharing funny pictures.

    8. I have a personal Instagram and another one specifically for my cats. I spend more time on my cat IG than the personal one. For my personal IG, I will occasionally share pictures – usually of when I’m traveling. I’ll share them to FB too.

      I don’t have Twitter or Snapchat. I rarely post directly on FB, but I scroll through it to see what my friends are up to.

      I’m 40.

    9. This is really interesting to me because I am sort of kind of considering creating a FB account. I haven’t been a user in 10 years or so, but I feel like I’m missing out of FB mom groups, for example, or photo sharing at my kids’ daycare. Do any of you who “don’t use FB” use it for this purpose?

      1. I keep Facebook for purposes of checking two groups: (1) My dog’s particular breed group and (2) dog’s day care pictures.

        Live on Instagram though.

    10. I use insta mainly for my hobby. I post pictures of me doing said hobby and follow accounts related to the hobby for inspiration. I’ve really enjoyed connecting with people and brands all over the world through insta. I don’t follow any friends and don’t really even mention it to friends that I have an insta. Using insta I have been able to land several brand ambassador/sponsorships which enables me to get free/discounted products!

    11. 30 year old here. If people want to know what’s going on in my life (trips, new couch or haircut, restaurant I’m excited about, pictures of my dog, random weekend activities) through social media, they need to follow me on Instagram. I post about once a day in Instagram Stories (their snapchat-like thing) and maybe once a week in the normal feed. More than half the people I follow on Instagram are my real friends or their pets. The rest are an assortment of local restaurants (so I can keep on top of their weekly specials), local realtors (I’m such a sucker for real estate “porn”), and tattoo artists. I probably follow about 200 people total?

      In contrast, I check Facebook every day, but I only post on Facebook if I 1) want to link to an article that really impacted me (probably only three or four times a year) or 2) have a huge life announcement (moving to another city, for instance). I also cross post maybe one or two Instagram photos a year onto Facebook just for my elderly grandparents’ benefit. Otherwise I use Facebook to keep tabs on my friends who don’t have Instagram, generously dole out hearts and thumbs up to let people know I care about them, and to share funny memes through messenger (never in my feed). If someone cross posts a photo on both Facebook and Instagram, I see it on Instagram first and usually just “like” it there. I have about 400 friends and 90% of them really are friends in the sense that I would love to get coffee with them to catch up, but my close friends are either also on Instagram or don’t social media much at all. There are some friends I’m closer to than I otherwise would be thanks to social media conversations, likes, private messages, etc., mostly through Instagram.

      Even though I use social media way differently than you do and if we were friends I might be a tiny bit sad you don’t see my stuff on IG because it’s the only place I really share (which would be 100% about my use of social media, not yours), I also totally get where you’re coming from. IG, at least as I’ve cultivated it, is definitely a happier, more positive, more beautiful social media outlet, which is why I think I gravitate there so much. I don’t follow anyone I’m going to disagree with regularly on IG – I save that for Facebook, where I’m better mentally prepared for that kind of thing – and I have friends that I keep exclusively in my Facebook feed because I really don’t need to see duplicate copies of the 20 blurry photos of their toddlers they post every day.

      1. Yes! Instagram is for happy things and no one’s deep opinions. For dogs and food and travel pics! And tagging friends in relevant memes.

        I rarely share on FB now, but regularly update my Instagram!

      2. Exactly this for me too, with the variation that I have a bunch of instagram accounts, some public & some private that correlate to different things I have going on. I’m a heavy user of instagram & I mostly just use FB for keeping on the news & for being a few groups of interest (for example, the Forever35 group is way better than anywhere else for makeup recommendations). If you want to know what’s going on with me, instagram is where you can find out.

    12. 30 year old IG and FB user here. I primarily post photos of weekend adventures (art galleries, landscapes, scenery, interesting public art) to my IG, but almost never of any people’s faces including mine. I purposely do this because my IG is public and I don’t want random strangers seeing my face. I also know that several of my younger coworkers follow me on IG so I try to keep it reallllly tame… the most exciting thing I’ve posted is a half-glass full of craft cider at a local cidery.

      The accounts I follow are in this order: 1) people I know in real life, 2) Nat Geo and several aquarium accounts, and 3) accounts of plant shops.

      I use FB because my family and best friends are scattered around the world, and it’s just more convenient for all of us to stay connected/up to date on a single platform. I mostly post trip photos or interesting work photos (I’m a field engineer) to my FB account, and comment on other people’s photos and statuses and stuff. My best friend posts a lot of social issues articles, so sometimes I find some interesting viewpoints about issues I wasn’t aware of.

      For the most part, my IG acct is full of photos I’ve taken with my phone, and my high quality DSLR photos are only posted to FB.

      I *do* have a snapchat account, but that’s only because my much younger sister and cousin made me get one. I don’t really use Snapchat unless other people send me silly photos, but I occasionally browse the stories section when I’m bored.

    13. 38-year-old with 2 Instagram accounts: One for me, to which I post the occasional picture of my garden, holiday decorations, or similar. I use this account to look at landscape, architecture, and decor photos and fitness videos. I also follow a few friends and family members. One for my pet, to which I post at least daily. I use this to follow other animals. I also have a FB account, used for following family and friends. I post here occasionally. I don’t have SnapChat.

  5. Does anyone have an online weight-loss focused nutritionist or program that they can recommend? Preferably one who understands that I work in biglaw and the chance that I am going to have a Sunday out of the office to meal plan is close to zero. I need help navigating Seamless, etc. Thank you!

    1. Not a program, but in the interim, checking out “Eat This Not That” tends to focus on the least bad for you options at restaurants and fast food places. They stick to chain restaurants mostly, but you can at least use their advice as a guidepost for, say, the best bet at a sushi joint. I think they also have a book of grocery store staples (so if you want to pick up a bunch of frozen food or something).

    2. The app “eat this much” has been very helpful for me in terms of basic easy to follow nutrition. I have found it particularly helpful because you can plan out leftover meal (i.e. dinner on X day is leftover for lunch and dinner for Y day). It provides grocery store lists and sticks to simple or “put together” type meals. You can regenerate individual meals that you don’t like with something of similar calorie and macros.

      You can select the type of diet you would like to follow (anything, paleo, vegetarian, vegan, keto, or Mediterranean). You can get really specific in the plan as well:
      – select out certain types of food or categories of food that you don’t want to appear,
      – prioritize food selection based on provision of leftovers, price, hitting calories, or hitting macros
      – set a daily price limit on groceries (based on average weekly grocery spend)
      – set how many meals and snacks you want to plan out
      – set calorie and macro goals

    3. I recommend a book called the Wall Street Diet which came out a few years ago. It was really helpful for me in the exact scenario you mention, was written by a nutritionist and provided guidance I truly had not seen elsewhere, because this lady really does work with very busy Wall Street execs and traders who can’t leave for lunch, don’t have much free time for eating, and often eat take-out, which is super-applicable to biglaw. I periodically refer back to it to reframe my habits. It’s not an app, but it is a quick read with quick recs.

    4. In Toronto, there are a bunch of companies that deliver fresh meals/snacks a couple times a week that just need to be microwaved. They’re usually pretty healthy/balanced.

      I would expect this is also a service you can find in your city? I know In the Zone delivers in NYC and LA but I’m sure there are a ton others in big cities.

      I find it a bit expensive for what you get but I have a few hours on Sundays to grocery shop and meal plan/prep. If I was going into a really busy period, I would do that instead of relying on takeout.

      1. What about this triggered moderation? I have no clue how to escape moderation.

    5. Not really what you’re asking for, but I’ve ordered from Splendid Spoon and Sakara, which I think is available in most cities. It shows up and it’s healthy and tastes nice. If you live somewhere like NYC you’ll have a ton of options for similar delivery programs.

    6. You might want to try the Rise app. They connect you with a personal coach (a nutritionist), then you take pictures of what you eat with a brief description and they give you tips and feedback.

  6. Does anyone own a linen duvet from Parachute? Thoughts and reviews would be much appreciated.

    1. Yes. I have a Parachute linen duvet and a couple sets of sheets (percale cotton, linen). I love all of them. My husband is a big fan of the linen ones because he finds them to be so much cooler and more comfortable (he runs hot). I love the texture and quality. Highly recommend.

  7. Hi, looking for recommendations in and around Healdsburg, CA. Spending a weekend there soon with family (no kids). I am local to the Bay Area and used to spend more time in Healdsburg, but it’s been a few years. What are your absolute favorite Dry Creek Road (and W Dry Creek) wineries? I remember liking Bella, Preston (for outdoor picnics) and a few more, but I’m sure I’m missing out on/forgetting some. And what about in Healdsburg? Restaurants? I’ve been to Willie’s (it was a crowdpleaser) and often get sandwiches from Oakville Grocery, but that’s about it. Any favorite short hikes in the area? Thank you!

        1. If you’re heading in that direction anyway, Russian River Vineyards has a new tasting room & food, Horse & Plow and Red Car are a few minutes away closer to Sebastapol on 116 & are two of my favorites. Of the two, Horse & Plow is my most favorite – they have cider and wine, food, and backyard chickens (they also sell eggs). If you want to cheese taste, Bohemian Creamery is right there too & they do goats milk cheeses, have on-site goats & also soft serve.

          You’ll also be close to Guerneville, which is a fun little town (we have a weekend place there) – Seaside Metal on their main street is great if you like crudo/seafood, and the Guerneville Bank Club is a nicely curated space with a cute boutique for gifty stuff, a great tasting room, local ice cream & pies. You can also hike in Armstrong Woods (a fantastic redwood forest without the crowds).

          Closer to the coast, the town of Occidental has great little shops, a wonderful restaurant called Hazel. You’ll pass through Freestone on the way in or out & don’t miss Freestone cheese or Wildflower bread – both are amazing (the cheese place gets all local cheeses & will do tastings/samples, the bread place is cash only but has an honor system if you forget to bring money & bakes all their loaves onsite). From there, you might want to check out Bodega Bay where The Birds was filmed.

          In Healdsburg proper, I like to eat at Barndiva (make a reservation though) & if you can’t get in, they have a more casual space now next to their main dining room.

          Have fun!

    1. In that general vicinity I like Jordan, Ramey, Copain, and Rochioli, but I choose wineries based on whether I like the wine more so than scenic qualities.

    2. Viszlay. In addition to their excellent wine, they had the most amazing olive oil. Also, you’ll be close to Sebastapol, which is a lovely town.

  8. I’m looking for a superzoom point-and-shoot camera for an upcoming trip. I think I’ve narrowed it down to the Nikon Coolpix B700 and the Panasonic Lumix FZ80, but I annoyingly can’t find them in an actual store to play with and see if I like menu layout, etc. Does anyone have either of these and have any opinions? Or if you own another superzoom you love, I’ll take recommendations for something I may have overlooked.

  9. Hi, my husband and I are shopping for our first house, and we are trying to figure out not how much house we can afford but rather how much house we can afford while still saving at a reasonable rate. We both make a lot of money, but we live in a high cost of living area, and we want a nice house, so the increase from our current rent to the mortgage will be, gulp, 8k more/month (taxes are high here too, which contributes to the high mortgage). Right now, we are saving about 15k/month after maxing out 401(k)s but before putting money in the kids’ college funds, so that leaves 7K/month of savings, but I imagine we will have higher energy costs and childcare costs in the area we are moving to, and I will need to get a car, so I think our net savings in the new house will go down to like 4-5k/month of savings. Is that too low? Or does it just seem low because we were previously banking so much? I recognize we are fortunate to be in a position to ask these questions.

    1. It seems low because you were banking so much before. 4 to 5 k per month (AFTER MAXING OUT 401KS!) is an exceedingly impressive save rate.

      However, do what feels comfortable for you. If you spend conservatively and prefer large savings buffers (or buffers for future childcare etc. spending) then buy less house. It helped us to get mortgage quotes at different rates and for different mortgage amounts from our broker prior to deciding on a house.

    2. …..Wow. I thought I made good money, and here I’m only netting $4k per month after 401k contributions, insurance, etc. And then I have to pay my bills and daycare with that (plus my husband’s income, of course). Honestly, if I could sock that all away into savings while still maxing out my 401k, I would be overjoyed. Assuming you will still have an emergency fund for a worst case scenario, I would count your blessings and relax.

    3. You seriously are banking $15K a month right now? This is so beyond extraordinary. I am dying to know what your total expenses look like. What on earth is your monthly take home???

    4. I think you would be fine, but worry that you might be one of the few people who are better off renting than buying. Your area might be in a huge bubble (your mortgage would be six figures a year), and it’s not a given that you could ever sell your house for what you would put into it.

      1. +1

        I don’t question that you can afford this (saving $4-5k/month is a pretty good savings rate, especially as it’s after 401k), but am more confused by the huge jump in cost from renting to owning. In Houston, the costs are much, much more similar. Will you be making a significant upgrade in the amount of space you have as well? I’m not getting how your costs would be going up that much if there’s not something seriously wrong with the real estate market where you are.

        1. I should have mentioned we are renting a tiny below market apartment and are considering buying a large house with some land, hence the big difference.

          1. Can you afford it if one of you gets laid off? For how long?

            Personally, my SO and I can afford our house on one of our incomes, though it we would not be able to save much in that case. That’s the amount of house I feel comfortable affording. People get laid off for tons of reason they can’t foresee or control, and it could happen to us.

      2. If she’s in NYC/DC/SF, the market will never really crash there. I’d be worried about Seattle/Chicago/Boston. Buying a 3MM house in one of those might not be the best decision now but sounds like they have enough cushion to hang on to it for a while if they try to sell and it’s not moving fast.

    5. Wow, I know this is not the point of your post and it is truly not a personal criticism, but it just makes me want to cry that people out there are making enough money to be SAVING $15k A MONTH and I am staring down just a pile of debt that never seems to go away (hello, two major car repairs in one month). Ugh. I mean, your savings is three times the median income in the U.S.

    6. At your level of income, there is no reason you shouldn’t hire a financial planner who can answer these questions for you. I know everyone is amazed by your savings rate, but only you know what your forecasted expenses might be, and honestly, you may need to save more than 5K/month if you look at your future. These are all things that a planner can help model out for you.

    7. I live in a HCOL area too, and am similarly conservative in my spending. Honestly, do you need to budget that much for a mortgage in your area for a “nice” house? Unless I am misunderstanding, and unless you are perhaps thinking about a 15-year mortgage that triggers that higher payment relative to a 30-year, I would adjust my budget downward.

      And if you are in San Francisco, I would particularly consider hard whether I want to make that level of financial investment in that area for the long term.

      Signed,
      A real estate professional

      1. the short answer is no we don’t. We could do half that and have a perfectly acceptable house but we are also thinking of staying there longterm and want that perfect family home with a bit of land. It is a want and not a need, so my question is it seems like we can afford this want, so why not go for it? Or are we stretching ourselves too thin.

        1. I expect to be in a similar situation in a year- renting below market, could afford a lot more, huge savings rate, but generally money conservative. My view is if you are going to buy, buy something you love (obviously within your means). I would regret buying a house I sort of like but not really- even if it’s below your means it will be more than your rent and i would begrudge it. Maybe reduce the budget a tad (so it is still very well within means so as not to stress you out by reduction in monthly savings). Also map out your incomes realistically for the next 5 years- is there any realistic chance your income could go down (for reasons within or not within your control)? That’s what we’ve been thinking about.

        2. I’d ask how much you really want this big house versus really wanting to have savings.

          We went through a very similar calculus when we purchased our home, and think we are at about the same income level. We could easily have gotten approved for a mortgage on a $3M home, and made the payments. And sure, with four kids, we wanted a big house. But what we wanted more was financial security and freedom. So we went with a $850k 3 BR condo – it’s fixtures are just as “nice” as the giant houses we were looking at, just smaller. I cannot tell you how happy we are with this decision. Not including retirement, we save $10k a month and even put extra towards the mortgage. Having all that cash money/equivalent and financial security is absolutely priceless. It also means we don’t have to keep up these incomes for the indefinite future if we don’t want to (i.e., I can leave biglaw if I want).

          1. +1. This isn’t a question of what you can afford, it’s a question of your goals. For us — very similar savings rate, renting a small cheap place — it just isn’t worth it right now, even for a house half the price of something you’re talking about. I’d much rather be banking those five figures each month, at least for the next few years. But things change, and you may be in a different place re flexibility, desire to have the financial and practical freedom to leave the area, quit your high-paying job, etc. etc. All those things may still be within reach while saving “only” $4k each month, but obviously it takes a lot longer to achieve financial independence at that rate (and the addition of the house debt as a whole will make it take even longer). Does that matter to you? Only you can answer that.

        3. I think that only you and your husband can answer if you feel comfortable with your saving rate / whether you’re stretching yourselves too thin. What were to happen if you or he wanted to change jobs? Are you going to feel like you need to keep up with the Joneses in your new neighborhood and go on an international vacation plus a ski trip plus spring break every year (or, are you going to feel like you need or want to provide your kids with those things)? Would you feel comfortable with your savings rate?

        4. Actual dollar amounts aside, we were in a similar place- could afford house Y and still socked away enough money to hit our goals, ended up buying house Z which was a lot less and keep saving at a very high rate. We did the latter, with the reasoning that we were a young and still-growing family. We wanted flexibility down the road, and as it turns out, 4 years in, one of us became a admin SAHP (well, one parent works but with $0 income…). We could afford the mortgage and hitting all our savings goals on one income and have room for vacations, etc. if we’d bought the $$ house, we’d have both needed to stay working.

        5. You were me a year ago. This isn’t a question anyone else can answer for you (and most advisers you ask will say you can afford the big house, so won’t be terribly helpful). It’s a question of what you are comfortable with and what you prioritize. Fwiw, DH and I bought a home we love in the location we wanted. We could have “afforded” a bigger house and we could have been fine in a smaller house. But we’ve both worked hard for the past 15 years and lived frugally that whole time so we have saved a lot. We lived frugally in a tiny apartment so that we would be able to live somewhere better someday. I spent a ton of time crunching numbers to make sure we would be comfortable with our decision and we still bought a house that we could afford on one income (though with little to no saving if that happens). Last, once we started actively looking at homes, since we are in such a HCOL area (not SF though), the less expensive homes we looked at were still so expensive that it seemed crazy to spend that much on something we thought was just ok. Could we have been happy in a less expensive house? I’m sure we could, but I don’t regret our decision. Just make sure that, whatever you choose, you are 100% comfortable with it.

    8. I’m also in the Bay Area. I would look for something cheaper / smaller because you don’t have kids yet, you don’t know what is important to you in a house. Plus, school districts can change, home prices can go down, etc. I would buy a cheaper house that meets your needs for the next 8 years, and plan to sock away the savings for the next house.

      I’m living with my DH and two very small kids in a $1.5 million 1950s dump in Palo Alto right now. There are some downsides (no built in dishwasher), but it is so nice to not have to worry about keeping the place “nice” because we know that if we stay, we are going to do a massive remodel. The kids don’t need a huge amount of outdoor space at this age, and it’s awesome to be all on one floor. If we can still afford it, we’ll be looking to remodel or trade up in about 3 years. The investment that was worth it for us, though? Really short commute!

  10. Trip planning

    Anyone been to a really nice all inclusive, somewhere within a 5 hour (or so) direct flight of DC? I mean, great food. Price is less important – I’ll pay more for niceness. Only requirements – No children, beach, great great food. We can go any time of year.

    1. Live Aqua Cancun. You’re never going to have “great great food” (ie Michelin star quality food) at an AI but the food there is very good. Adults only.

      1. Not OP, but someone who was procrastinating doing research for a trip I need to book. Thanks for saving me so much time!!

    2. Grand Residences, south of Cancun doesn’t meet your no children requirement, but it’s relatively high end, and there is an adult only pool with a swim up bar. Food is very good.

      Otherwise, I’d recommend something in Turks & Caicos. Lots of resorts, some are adult only. Beach is AMAZING, and it’s very safe.

    3. Unfortunately there’s no direct flight to Saint Lucia but we stayed at Ti Kaye resort there. No kids, beach, and you can purchase an AI plan for food which was very good. It’s a small resort so the quality is much better, I would think, then a typical AI.

  11. Following up on the recs for audiobooks, I left off one of my recent favorites, “Behind Her Eyes.” It’s a psychological thriller with, eventually, some paranormal overtones, with a twist ending that left me gobsmacked. And, unlike some of my other recs, the popularity on this one seems to have peaked, so it’s available without a wait at least at my library, if you were planning to use Overdrive and not something like Audible.

  12. I’m in a pants crisis and need help from the hive. I wear dresses and skirts all the time because I can’t find any pants that flatter me. I am down to one pair of work pants, and they are out of fashion and season (wide leg and flannel wool). I have tried on what feels like hundreds of pants, and they all look weird. Please help!

    I’m 5’8 and 130lb, shaped like a ruler. My tummy is relatively flat, but my back upper hips (for lack of a better term–the 5 inches or so under my waistband) are wide. Flat bum. No amount of working out seems to change this shape, though I’m grateful for any suggestions, of course.

    Does anyone else have this shape and can share pants suggestions?

    Is this the kind of thing a Nordstrom stylist could help with, or is it too specific?

    I love all the cute pixie pants, ankle pants, and 7/8 pants out now, and really want something that fits and looks good.

    1. I used to really like Mango pants, but I haven’t worn them in a few years. Now I really like BR sloan pants or Betabrand straight leg (less formal).

    2. I’ve had good luck with the Marissa fit at Ann Taylor loft. I’m very straight waisted but have a large rear. The Julie fit actually curves in quite a bit at the waist, which does not work for me, but the Marissa fit works. They have them in a skinny ankle pant. I have several pairs.

    3. I also have wide upper hips and also have trouble finding pants that accommodate that weird area. Don’t kill me for this suggestion but I love the Old Navy and Gap low panel maternity pants (not pregnant). The wide stretch goes over whatever that area is called without creating a balloon over the butt. Overall, wide waistbands work best for me. I like some of the Loft iterations and the low rise/wide waist Editor pants from Express.

    4. Maybe getting pants tailored is the answer? In what way do the pants you try on not fit?

      1. This is so helpful, Clementine. Thank you.

        For the anon, the pants that fit my high hip area are baggy and strange looking in top thigh and seat. Im not a traditional apple shape, because I’m not necessarily round (my tummy doesn’t stick out)– it’s more like I’m wide and flat in the lower back, I guess. it makes me look super out of proportion in pants, because my legs and arms are slim but my lower back looks wide.

    5. I would try three different cuts of dress pants and see how they look:

      1) Pants with a wide waist band
      2) Pants worn with a belt and with back pockets
      3) Pants with angled back pockets

      What you’re talking about is regarding proportion – you are looking for something that visually pulls in the high hip area but sort of ‘enhances’ the back. I personally would just order like 10 pair of pants that have these features (I’d actually suggest White House Black Market) and try them all on with a good friend and a bottle of wine.

    6. A few to try if you haven’t already: Banana Republic Sloan fit, Ann Taylor Devin fit (I think they may have just changed the name though?), and J Crew Martie and Easy fit pants.

    7. Of course look at other suggestions, but I am 5’11” 135 and string-bean shaped, and have given up on pants entirely. I have to have them made because they are always too voluminous in the belly/bum, and I don’t like pants anyways and live in a hot climate.

      1. Another tall string bean here. I have some Theory ankle pants that work well enough. They are a bit looser on me than most people, but with an un-tucked silk blouse (or something similar) I can pull them off on the rare occasion I would like to wear pants.

        I usually wear dresses though. So much easier.

    8. I went to a Nordstrom stylist solely to buy black work pants because I was overwhelmed by the options and wanted something more updated than a traditional black trouser. The appointment was AWESOME for this purpose and I highly recommend!

    9. Hi, you sound like a slightly smaller version of me! I’m 5’9″/135lb, and I have exactly the fit problems you describe. (I’m not alone! *a single tear*)

      What I have found that I like is NY&Company’s 7th Avenue pant in tall sizes, especially the “modern” fit (it’s cut tighter than the “signature fit,” which helps prevent bagginess in the seat and thighs). I’ve only worn the bootcut and straight, so I don’t know if there are specific issues with the ankle pants, but since it’s mostly an above-the-knees issue (and that’s been the same between bootcut and straight ime) I bet you’ll like them.

    10. I have a similar build and really like Banana Republic “Ryan” pants. They come to my ankles while regular pants are a couple of inches longer. Most of the options are lined but I do wish they would use slightly higher quality fabrics.

      1. I have a coworker who fits OP’s description. I don’t know what fit she has, but I recognize a lot of her pants as BR and she has mentioned shopping there before. I’d go in to one sometime when they aren’t busy and ask a salesperson for help. They can tell you what will fit you best and also help with what can and can’t be fixed with tailoring.

      2. I’m 5’7″ and 118 lbs and haven’t been able to find pants that fit in a really long time. I have a little bit of a tummy, especially after I eat, but am quite slender overall and don’t have much for hips or butt. Calvin Klein pants sometimes fit, or Paige jeans, or sometimes Ann Taylor. Mostly I’ve given up on pants.

    11. What about a softer, less structured pant that you can wear with a belt? There’s a partner at my firm with your body type and we both look great in the MMLF Nakamura pant (I noticed she was wearing those pants because I have them too– they look great on our very different body types).

  13. Talk some sense into me. I shouldn’t buy a house right? I have under $50k of student loans left (hooray!). I own my very modest townhouse and have a mortgage at a pretty low rate, paid down enough that I have quite a bit of equity in the house. I bought even though I still have debt because my mortgage/taxes/insurance is significantly lower than a comparable rental.

    My problem is that my neighbors are driving me nuts. Or more accurately, continuing to share a wall is driving me nuts. It’s nothing I can ask them to stop doing, this is part of sharing walls, but I am just so over being woken up at 5 am every day by their stomping and slamming (ok, closing) cabinets. I have enough equity + savings to make up the dp on a SFH that just went on the market near me and I’m sorely tempted. That would be a terrible plan though right? I should wait until the student loans are gone? This is just the sleep deprivation talking?

    1. Are you not “supposed” to buy a house if you still have student loans? Because I definitely did that. I didn’t want to live in an apartment until my 40s.

      Honestly, sharing walls is what finally drove me to buy a house, so I think your reason is legit. I truly don’t understand why you think this is a “terrible plan” . . .

    2. If you can afford it and still make your student loan payment, then I don’t see the problem at all!

      If you could find keep and rent out the townhouse – adding some (relatively) passive income is always nice. That assumes you’re up for being a landlord or can get a property management company, though.

      But all in all, nothing wrong with upgrading to a single family home if you can afford to do so!

      1. +1. If you can afford the down payment for the new house without selling the townhouse, then buy the new house, sell the townhouse and throw the equity at the student loan.

    3. I was you.

      I had neighbors who either had . . . loud angry gardening or huge giant fights (perhaps both? the yelling was in a language I don’t speak) multiple weeknights a week. B/w 1 and 3 am. I worked in BigLaw at the time.

      I moved into the smallest free-standing house I could find ASAP, loans notwithstanding.

    4. I could have written your post. Just sold my TH for the exact same reasons and will close on SFH soon. Have same amount of student loans at 2.x% and am not in a hurry to pay them off. The bank doesn’t seem to care about my student loans and it works for me financially, so I say do it while mortgage rates are still decent.

  14. When is too late to comfortably take a babymoon? I’m nearly 24 weeks pregnant and we haven’t nailed down any plans yet. We would need to fly due to living basically in the middle of nowhere.

    1. It is only too late when your doctor says so. I flew from Chicago to France and drove around Normandy when I was 32 weeks. It was a last minute decision, but my doc gave the okay. Go for it!

    2. I flew (5 hours each way) at around 33 weeks with my first and was fine. I mean, a little uncomfortable, but fine. (I wasn’t super comfortable anywhere at that point though…)

    3. Honestly, for it to be comfortable, I think you need to go within the next six or eight weeks. I traveled for work through 35 weeks with my first, but it was not a babymoon. I think if you want to feel comfortable eating / laying at the pool / doing anything fairly active, 30-32 weeks would be my cutoff.

    4. While the typical pregnancy permits flying until 34 weeks (although you may want a letter from your doctor attesting to your health and due date at that point), some more high risk pregnancies ground you earlier. With my second, I was not allowed to fly after 28 wks after being diagnosed with IUGR (baby is a healthy toddler today!).

      In other words, discuss with your OB, be prepared to cancel at the last minute, expect to be WAY uncomfortable and good luck!

    5. I wasn’t comfortable flying after the point of viability (about 23-24 weeks) except to a place where I had family so I would have local support if baby was born very early and needed to be in NICU for months. Insurance will not cover the costs of you and your spouse living here, so particularly if you vacation somewhere expensive like Hawaii, you need to make sure you can afford to live there for months. This may sound crazy paranoid but I know someone who gave birth in Hawaii on a babymoon at 26 weeks and ended up living there for 5 months until baby could fly home (baby was discharged from the NICU by her due date but the docs didn’t want her flying until she was 2 months adjusted age, ie 5 months actual age). It cost the mom her job because her employer wouldn’t let her work remotely and FMLA only protects you for 12 weeks.
      I was active and physically comfortable until about 39 weeks though.

    6. I was planning to travel through 32 weeks but then had some minor scares that landed me in the hospital. So despite having a super easy first pregnancy, this one has been harder and resulted in an earlier cut off. I’m also less physically comfortable at 32 weeks than I was at, say 28 weeks. So I would try to plan something asap for physical comfort and to lower the risks of having to cancel. Personally, I wouldn’t want to travel anywhere that didn’t have ready access to a world class NICU past 24 weeks in case something were to go wrong.

    7. I’m 33 weeks now. It’s my 3rd and I flew for work during my first 2 pregnancies for work until the 34ish week mark, but definately dialed it back.

      I’d suggest if you go, (a) go before 32 weeks or so- I’m pretty waddle-y and prone to swelling these days but otherwise fine (b) schedule it around your dr visits- they become more frequent after 28 weeks (c) keep the flight short. I just got back from a 4.5 hour flight and the swelling took 3 days to dissipate. I bought myself more space and would absolutely not recommend any flight where you are in a “normal”’coach seat for more than 2 hours at this point. Now is the time to pay or use points to upgrade, even if it’s just to “premium economy.”

  15. Frivolous question, but do any of you ladies have a favorite marble and/or quartz cleaner(s)? We have carrera marble as well as quartz(ite?) surfaces in our home and I’m looking for a cleaner (or two) for them. For the marble, mostly looking to get water marks out as they are around the bathroom sinks. There is one cup ring water mark from the previous owner that I might have to accept is there forever, but am curious if I could get it out. For the quartz(ite?) it is water marks but almost like a streaking and I’m thinking the previous owners used the wrong product to clean it? It is really only visible when you look at the reflection of light on it and I’m just a clean freak, so I’m asking. Any ideas? May ask tomorrow for more hits!

    1. Nutella, I use Method Granite Cleaner and love it. They have a marble cleaner too. From what I know, you could also use the Marble cleaner on the quartz.

  16. Seeking your wise and worldly shopping eyes! At a professional event this week, I saw a beautiful women’s suit that I now covet: black, zipper front peplum jacket + skirt, in a very nice knit fabric. Woman wearing it said it was an Australian designer [blank] & [blank] – I can’t remember the designer’s name. Any ideas?

  17. It must be me, yet I am seeing so many unflattering stylings lately. My rule of thumb is – if it doesn’t look good on the model, there is no way it will ever look good on me but I am seeing so many I’m starting to think my expectations of proportion are off? Talbots, I am looking at you:

    Clearly this print is too big for this model (she is gorgeous despite) and the sleeves are too puffy and weird length:
    https://www.talbots.com/online/sale/colorblock-poplin-top-prdi44683/N-10598?selectedConcept=&akamai-feo=off

    Similarly, the dress hits this model too low on the torso, and she is probably at least 5’10”. I want to put the petite version on her, she would probably look amazing. (Again, woman is gorgeous despite styling.)
    https://www.talbots.com/online/sale/upf-50-pique-polo-dress-prdi44709/N-10598?selectedConcept=&akamai-feo=off

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