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Updated: Oct 31, 2018 108 Comments · by

Suit of the Week: Nine West

Suit of the Week

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womens suitFor busy working women, the suit is often the easiest outfit to throw on in the morning. In general, this feature is not about interview suits for women, which should be as classic and basic as you get — instead, this feature is about the slightly different suit that is fashionable, yet professional. Happy Wednesday! I'm loving this Nine West suit, even though I think that most of the bang for your buck will be coming out of wearing the dress and blazer as separates. I love that inverted notch neckline, the single button, and the single slit in the back. The dress looks flattering and chic, although I'd swap out the belt for one of my own, and the pants look nice as well. (I'm all for wearing flats with pants, but I feel like these are hemmed too short — I wish they were just a smidge longer.) Anyhoo: the suit is available in sizes 2-16; the dress comes in three colors, and the pants come in two colors. The jacket (Nine West Women's One Button Inverted Notch Collar Jacket) is $99, the dress (Nine West Women's Bi Stretch Pleat Neck Self Belt Dress) is $44.50-$89 at Amazon, and the pants (Nine West Women's Stretch Modern Suit Pant) is $69. Here's a plus-size option (also in petites and regular sizes). Nine West purple suit (L-all)

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Comments

  1. PSA

    Does this suit remind anyone else of the YA novel The Cat Ate My Gymsuit? I loooved that book when I was a preteen. The purple color is great, but it might a little much all together.

    • tesyaa

      I used to have an Albert Nipon skirt suit in this exact same color. I loved the color and fabric but honestly, it was really hard to figure out which shoes and tops to wear with it.

    • Lyssa

      I loved that book so much.

      I love purple, but I do think that a full suit in that shade (as opposed to a more eggplant that edges closer to a neutral) would be a bit overwhelming. I would love the blazer and dress as separates, though. Charcoal would pair nicely, or one of those sort of brown, sort of gray colors. I’m less comfortable with the idea of purple pants, though.

    • Parfait

      I’d forgotten all about that book! I loved it as a kid.

      I like the purple color of this, but I don’t really like any of the individual pieces. The pants look like the ones my mom wears and the dress is kind of shapeless. Although it might look better if it actually fit her. Meh.

    • Bonnie

      I think it would look nice as dress and jacket but the jacket and pants really remind me of Barney.

  2. cc

    Question about phone interviews: if you have one but don’t have your interviewers email addresses, do you skip the thank you or do you call the administrative assistant and try to get them.

    • NYNY

      Question about phone interviews: if you have one but don’t have your interviewers email addresses, do you skip the thank you or do you call the administrative assistant and try to get them.

    • Anonymous

      I had a videoconference interview recently where the sound was in and out at the beginning and I had a difficult time getting peoples’ names. I tried to search the website, but finally just sent a thank you to the chair of the committee, who had been communicating with me, and asked her to forward my thanks to the others. This is one of the reasons I send that information to candidates in advance when I’m doing phone interviews.

    • AIMS

      For a while now. Quality is not great, imo (think worse than the shoes). I have a hard time imagining this looking good together but I can see the blazer being okay on its own if it was marked down substantially (the dress looks like a poorly fitted sack on the model and the pants just look dated and frumpy and no, somehow)

      • TO Lawyer

        +1 I think the blazer and dress look like they don’t fit the model well which makes me think they wouldn’t drape particularly well, but I think the blazer could probably be salvageable if you wore it open.

      • SmartCasual

        Nine West shoes are poor quality and I expect clothing would be the same or worse.

        • tesyaa

          Both the shoes and the clothes are entry level, or Bucket 1 or whatever. I like Bucket 1 for some seasonal tops (and for shoes that I wear on rare occasions), but I think a Bucket 1 suit is not a good choice.

          • la vie en bleu

            yeah, I bought Nine West shoes and a bag for my first office job in college, they were cheap and worked fine. I haven’t bought work items from them since but I did get some casual black boots that have held up okay for how cheap they were at DSW.

          • Anonymous

            I’ve gotten frustrated with Nine West being all over the place size-wise I used to wear a lot of Nine West, now almost not at all. That said, DSW carries Nine West in wide width and my favorite staple pointy toe medium heel pumps are Nine West from DSW.

  4. Anonattorney

    I just feel like it all looks very cheap and poorly made. I know it is cheap, so maybe that’s just par for the course, but when clothes look poorly made and ill-fitting on the model, I worry they will look horrendous on me.

    • Anon

      Reading all these comments makes me terrified at how I look on a daily basis! Are there others who can’t manage the “perfect fit” for every item of clothing every time?

      I guess I’m surprised at how universally disliked Nine West seems to be. I wore it for a long while!

      • Susie

        I love the shoes! They are generally the most comfortable on my wide in front, narrow in back, med-high arched feet. Maybe I’m delusional but I don’t think they look cheap. Haven’t tried the clothes, though I’ve happened across a few NW dresses at Macys that looked nice at quick glance.

  5. Brant

    We are now first time home-sellers. For those of you that have done this before, how many times did you have to show your house before it sold? I know this is hugely market dependent, but I’m wondering how long the average misery lasts.

    We are in the boston ‘burbs if anyone has any market specific anecdata (or wants to buy a nice starter house!)

    • Anon2

      I would love a nice starter house in Boston burbs! Everything we look at is under contract by Tuesday morning after the first showing, unless there is something seriously funky about the house or it’s outrageously priced (only one instance of price being way off base, from what we can tell, since we started looking casually in May). For first time buyers, it’s quite intimidating.

        • Brant

          South shore. We were talking with a realtor friend in Arlington who told us it is pretty much expected that houses will sell for ~$30k + over list, immediately. I can’t even.

          • Miss Behaved

            God, I can’t even imagine how annoying it would be to have to tidy up and put things away, on top of all the weather-related issues we’ve been having.

            And you probably have major parking issues during the open houses as well.

          • Anon2

            Bummer. Love (and am from) the south shore, but jobs are forcing us to buy on the north shore. We have tracked a number of homes that we first saw in April (some on the South Shore) and then compared asking price when we toured to final sale price and the average we’ve seen is 110% of initial asking price. Just anecdata here, but definitely 5-10% over asking via bidding war is what our realtor is telling us is the norm, and is what we’ve observed via our tracking. Again, super intimidating for the first time buyer.

            Good luck!!

      • Anonypotamus

        Yes, just bought in Boston burbs. Everything in my community is going within 2-3 days, always 10%+ above asking (and asking is already pretty damn high). Being a long-time NYer, I’m still flummoxed why Boston commands these prices. Ack!

    • sweetknee

      We had to sell our first home about 8 years ago in the middle of winter. . . We were building a new house that was going to be ready in February, and put our house on the market in early November. New buyers made offer in mid November and wanted us out by December 1. It was a crazy couple of weeks.

      I think our home showed about 6 or 8 times before we got an offer, but 3 of those were the ultimate buyer who kept coming back to make sure it was what she wanted.

      We had updated/fresh paint, freshly cleaned carpets, etc. which I think really made a difference. Our house really was “move in ready”.

    • Ellen

      Yay! I love Suit of the Week, but I agree that the dress is best worn independentely of the blazer. I would LOVE to have this color from Ann Taylor, Kat. Has any one in the HIVE seen Ann Taylor in this color?

      As for the OP, I wonder if you are leaveing Boston b/c of the Bad weather? I would stick it out b/c now prices are down and you will NOT recoup your investement, Dad says. He know’s a guy who wants out in Boston, and is willing to take a loss, but you should NOT b/c of the weather, alone. It will get warmer, I hope, at least Al Roker says it should, and it is NOT even Groundhog’s day! YAY!

      I met a guy at lunch today on the pasta line @ Macy’s. I love that place, and recomend it to the HIVE b/c they give you alot of pasta if you look hungry and tell them you will EAT all of it. So I got the garlic linguine and after I told this muscle guy there that I was a lawyer, this guy says he eat’s alot of garlic b/c it makes him VERY viral, but that his girlfreind gets exhausted from a nite with him after he has eaten alot of garlic. I told him how my Alan was like the Energizer Bunny, but that he was realy not that good, and that if I was still with him, I would ASK him to eat more garlic b/c I could use a guy that was decent and made me feel like a woman. He said he was availeable for consultations, but I said NO b/c he had a girlfreind and I was NOT interested in him or in haveing sex with him. I told him I am NOT that kind of girl. So he said I must be smart b/c I am a lawyer, but I also had a nice body which he would like to see more of. Again, I said FOOEY, go back to your girlfreind. What is it with guy’s? Do they think that we should just roll over once they tell us they want to have sex with us? I do NOT think so. We have mind’s that they need to remember we have and respect us for our mind’s. I am sure that if I went to this guy’s apartement, he would have sex, but would NOT even want to deal with me the next day. FOOEY on that! I am to old to have 1 nite stand’s with guy’s. Beside’s, I do NOT want to see a guy’s winkie on the first date, let alone have him use it. DOUBEL FOOEY! Where are the nice guys that will buy me dinner and NOT expect sex? TRIPEL FOOEY!

    • Lyssa

      We showed ours a bunch (no idea how many) and it was pretty miserable, particularly to hear things that I liked about the house get knocked on. Ultimately, we took the realtor advice and repainted (changing a sage bedroom and blue bathroom that I had really loved to more earthy tones) and replaced the carpet (from berber, which was really popular when we moved in, but apparently out by the time we were selling), and it sold within a few weeks of that. So, I would advise listening to your realtor. Good luck!

      • Anon

        +1. My MIL is a realtor, but not a very good one. Her own home sat on the market for years because she went against all conventional wisdom (rooms were bright, contrasting colors; lots of clutter and family mementos; outdated fixtures; no curb appeal; etc). It made me sad to see them struggling, and it was frustrating because there was nothing I could say (as it would be a personal AND professional insult since selling homes is supposedly her job…).

      • Brant

        We just started and had asked the realtor if we should do anything…other than declutter, which we did, she didn’t tell us to do anything.

        I’m mostly just grumpy because I don’t really want to move, but my husband got a job across the state and the commute has become unbearable (which we all knew, but hoped somehow it magically would work out differently). And I work from home, and I have a dog and a toddler (who is not at home during the day) so all these people in and out are An Ordeal.

    • N.C. anon

      Not exactly related but a word of caution: when a friend of mine was selling his condo, one agent showed the place to several people. At some point, one person distracted the agent while another went through and stole jewelry and wedding gift cards they had hidden away.

      Probably not the kind of anecdote you’re looking for, but a reminder to keep valuables locked up while showing your house.

      • Brant

        My husband already had that paranoid thought. Valuables are hidden/in storage/on my person when I leave. Open houses are the worst.

    • EB0220

      I think we had 15-20 showings when we sold our house last year (spring-early summer) in a relatively slow market. The showings will usually be pretty intense the first few weeks and then slow down after that (if it isn’t already under contract)!

    • 2 Cents

      We sold our home on Long Island last summer — listed it right after July 4th weekend, had it in contract by the end of August (the actual closing was in October). I think we showed it 4-5 times, one of those times a realtor open house. I know your pain! We rented a storage unit first thing to really get a ton of stuff out of the house, which made tidying that much easier (though it was still a hassle!).

    • marketingchic

      I sold my first house in 2008 right after the real estate bubble burst – and I had already bought my next house. I was scared to death, but it sold after 5 days on the market at the first agent open house. Besides pricing it realistically I think what really helped was having the new house to off-load stuff. This made the old house look clean and spacious, so a storage space could serve the same purpose. And I was crazy meticulous about how I cleaned and staged the house for showing – fresh flowers, ironed the sheets, you name it.

    • Sparrow

      We’re in the Midwest. We put our house on the market on May 2013 and it sold by the end of August. We did have to lower the price. It was tough at times, because you get your hopes up when you have a showing, but then no offer. Good luck!

  6. anon

    State supreme court clerk right now. Starting at biglaw firm next fall. I’m interested in applying for fed clerkships for the following year, but unsure how to handle it with my firm. Thoughts?

    • Anon

      I didn’t go from one clerkship to another, but I am leaving BigLaw for a fed clerkship less than a year in and my firm has been extremely accommodating. I’m not 100% sure how they would react if I had already done a clerkship, but I have a few thoughts on how to start approaching things. As a first step, see if any associates have done something similar. Secondly, if the firm has a clerkship “committee” (mine did) they may be good people to talk to about interest before you get HR and your practice group involved.

      Practical things to consider: whether you can enter as a JS (or whatever the judicial GS is called) 11, 12, or 13 (It may be worth waiting 2 years for a clerkship if you will have the experience to qualify for level 13), whether you can be reimbursed for bar study/bar expenses, how leaving for a year or two will effect your promotion and comp (i.e., will you re-enter with your class, a year behind, how will competencies be evaluated on re-entry, etc)

    • B

      I think it also depends on what section you will be in. If you’re going to be doing something like appellate work where this type of clerkship is highly valued, I would imagine they would be much more supportive.

  7. tesyaa

    Slightly related to the real estate question, but hypothetical since I’m not thinking of selling. In an area that is gentrifying and/or otherwise a very desirable location, how much effort is it worth to refresh paint, carpet, windows and/or appliances? Obviously a house needs to show nicely, but in my neighborhood, I have seen nice houses in very good condition literally torn to the ground for new construction. It seems like a shame to spend even $50,000 on updates when there’s a very good chance buyers will want to gut or tear down.

    • Killer Kitten Heels

      I’d look into how much the upgrades affect sales price. Are the better-looking houses selling for more even when they’re being bought as tear-downs? Or is the tearing down so prevalent that renovated and un-renovated properties are selling for similar prices (meaning you wouldn’t get your $50K “back” if you were to sell)?

      Also, how long are you planning to live in the house? Will you personally enjoy the house more if its spruced up? If you’re planning to stay for awhile, and the outdated carpet/paint-job/whatever bothers you, and you can afford to spruce it up, it’s probably worth it just from a personal comfort/satisfaction standpoint.

    • Hildegarde

      I have no experience with which to answer your question, but did you mean to type “even $5,000 on updates?” Because I have a hard time believing you could make $50,000 worth of updates and get that much back in an increased purchase price. I would definitely not make $50,000 worth of updates unless you are very worried about being able to sell the house, and really need to sell it now, and neither of those sound like the case here.

      • tesyaa

        I guess I rounded up to get $50,000, but I’m thinking that new windows for my house would be really expensive, and they’d be needed down the road when I’d be interested in selling. That is, they’d be needed IF the prospective owners weren’t planning to tear down or otherwise completely gut the house, in which case they’d probably want to choose their own upgrades.

        Who knows, maybe my neighborhood won’t be so desirable 5-10-20 years from now and I won’t have this problem…

        • Anonymous

          I can’t speak to how buyers would look at new windows, but I will say they were the best investment we ever made. I live in the NY suburbs with oil heat, and our consumption has halved. Its been an extremely cold Feb, but we last filled up in December and still have over 1/4 tank!

          • tesyaa

            I know, I know, I know… sigh, thank you college tuitions. How much were your new windows (ballpark)?

          • Blonde Lawyer

            Could you get any tax incentive for upgrading? I haven’t looked into it recently but I remember hearing of deductions/credits for energy saving initiatives.

          • Anonymous

            I think they were between $300 and $400 per window. We only have 8 windows, so it only took a few winters of $4/gal oil to recoup the cost. And I think we did get a tax rebate as well, maybe a few hundred bucks.

    • Brant

      My inlaws spent 10 years remodeling their home. They sold it for $1.3 million and it was torn down for massive new construction.

      Since they paid something like ~$450k and literally had someone knock on the door check in hand (ie didn’t have to list it), they didn’t feel too bad about things but did feel it was somewhat wasteful. Also, they negotiated being able to “strip” the house and took the solid hardwood doors, faucets, appliances etc with them when they left, which they donated, gave to friends, or kept for the kids.

    • Alana

      Zillow just published a book that addresses these concerns. It might be worth a look.

    • Maddie Ross

      I kind of went through this when we sold our house last year – it was in a desirable neighborhood, but had not been hugely remodeled and there were a number of tear-downs around us. We kind of split the difference – we touched up paint and did repairs that were needed, but we otherwise only did “upgrades” that were removable – new stainless appliances in the kitchen primarily. We did not replace windows or do serious kitchen upgrades for fear of it being torn down. As it stands, not a single person who toured it (for the person above, we had 10 showings and an open house, but those were all within the first 72 hours – we got an offer the 3rd day on the market) wanted to tear it down. Everyone intended to live in it. A few wanted to do major remodeling work. The guy who bought it did not oddly enough. You just never know.

    • MJ

      I would consult a realtor who understands how upgrades affect your exact neighborhood. You are looking for a market analysis. Most realtors will do this when they are looking to get your business, and it can be requested well before you are ready to list/sell. Alternate way to back-door this would be to corner a realtor at an open house and ask. However, many really good realtors have lower-level agents staff the open houses, so those at open houses may (or may not) be less experienced. Hope this helps.

      • Sparrow

        Definitely ask your realtor. In our market, the realtor told us remodeling would not add much value. We did end up painting some areas that had water damage near the windows. The issue causing the water damage was fixed, but it made buyers nervous, so painting helped and wasn’t too expensive.

    • Senior Attorney

      As a recent buyer, I will say that I much preferred the houses that had been left pretty much untouched so I could update it as I pleased rather than having to pay for and re-do somebody else’s changes. The house I ended up buying did have all new windows, which was a nice bonus, but I would have bought it anyway.

      I think it’s generally best to stick to fresh paint and a good cleaning/decluttering and let the buyers fix it up the way they please.

      • Blonde Lawyer

        With one exception. When we sold a house, it got a lot more interest when we ripped out the old pink stained carpet and put in a plain beige one. Even if the buyers ripped it out for hardwood when they moved in, the house looked in such better condition with that small change.

        • Senior Attorney

          Yes, I think it’s a good idea to remediate truly heinous items like old pink stained carpet if it can be done relatively inexpensively.

      • Anonymous

        On the flip side, I’m looking to buy right now – and I have ZERO desire to do any remodeling so I am looking to buy a house that is ready for us to move in right now, even if it costs significantly more. So I am looking for a house that has all the upgrades I want, like granite countertops, new carpeting, nice hardwood floors in certain areas, etc.

  8. anonymous

    I’m starting a new job in a month. My new supervisor offered to have me visit the office for a meet and greet beforehand so I can get to know people. Is this like an obligatory thing where technically he’s making an offer, but I actually have no choice but to accept it if I don’t want to make people upset? I’m planning to accept it anyway for other reasons, but I’m just wondering if there’s a convention regarding this.

    • Jules

      I don’t know if there is some kind of convention about this, but it seems like a good idea — it will make the first day a bit more comfortable — and to decline might seem churlish.

      When I accepted an offer for an SA job before my third year of law school — so it would have been in the late fall or early winter, I guess, 6 months or so before I would start work — the hiring partner invited me to that week’s Ice Cream Happy Hour. They ordered in ice cream every week! I knew I had found the right fit . . .

    • sweetknee

      I can see no reason NOT to do this. If I were your new boss and you turned this down, absent some reason like your prior job had you far away/ out of town until the day before you start, you would already start with a strike against you.

      Besides, this can only help you get a feel for firm culture, without those first day jitters.

    • BB

      This seems moot since you’re taking the offer anyway, which means that yes, you should definitely go and meet your future co-workers. In my experience, it’s pretty standard to bring in “offer-ees” who haven’t accepted yet to meet our team. It is supposed to help them decide, and we don’t hold it against them if they don’t accept.

    • rosie

      I don’t know why you wouldn’t. If you are invited to a specific event, it’s fine if you decline w/regrets because you cannot make that event. But if it’s an open-ended “let’s schedule a time for you to meet the team,” do it.

      Edited to say, I think that is the convention. Sounds like he is trying to be warm and welcoming.

  9. NYNY

    I’ve been seeing this kind of notched jacket collar a lot lately, but have found it looks terrible on me. I need a good lapel on my jacket to take up some of the real estate on my broad-shouldered torso, or else I look like a cereal box. What shapes look good in this style? (I”m sure there are some, I just don’t know what they are.)

    • Clementine

      I’ve got a similar notched lapel jacket that looks good and I’m a tall, long torsoed hourglass with a big bust and a small ribcage. It sort of distracts from the ‘girls’ and the sleeker look across the chest is more flattering.

      • NYNY

        Makes sense – you’re basically my opposite! I’m a short-waisted, broad-shouldered pear with a small bust and big ribcage (wide, not deep).

  10. emeralds

    Anyone want to do some vicarious shopping? I’m looking for what seems to be a magical unicorn bag. I need: black; leather; zip top; medium size (around 13″ wide); and a quality that will stand up to being beat to hell on a daily basis for several years. I’d prefer something classic with clean lines and not a ton of hardware. The sticking point seems to be that I want both straps that will fit over my shoulder and a cross-body option. Price point is $200-$400, but I could go up to $500 for something really perfect. Thanks in advance for anything you can come up with!

  11. Anon

    Longtime lurker, but infrequent poster here. Posting here rather than the mom site in hopes of a broader audience. I’m currently on maternity leave, but have the opportunity to interview for a great new job (no issue with not returning to the old job — my boss recommended I apply). The problem — what to do for child care?? I have a phone interview scheduled this week and my husband was able to arrange to be home with the baby then. However, if I’m lucky enough to do well in the first interview, I’m not sure how to handle a potential in person interview. I know the company wants to move fast to make a decision on hiring but my H is traveling for work next week. We don’t have any regular sitters yet and our spot in day care doesn’t open up until the middle of next month. We don’t have any local family. What would you do? Try to push off the interview for a few days until H gets home? Frantically interview people from care dot com and hope someone can be available? Try to leave the baby with a SAHM friend? I’m concerned I may have to make a decision on very short notice due to how quickly they scheduled the initial phone interview. Thanks!

    • tesyaa

      Ask your SAHM friends if they have any babysitter recommendations? SAHMs sometimes have appointments and don’t want to take the kids along. If you interview a babysitter candidate, YMMV, but I would not feel the need to vet a one-time babysitter quite as thoroughly as a permanent employee. Checking a reference or two should suffice.

      • Diana Barry

        +1, I would ask your friends for their sitters first, then ask day care, then go to care.com or similar.

        • Anon - OP

          Thank you! Somehow I never thought of asking SAHMs for daytime sitter recommendations. I’ll send some emails now!

    • so anon

      Can you ask your day care if the teachers also sit on the side? Almost all of our teachers do and its considered a nice bonus for them to be able to make some extra cash from the parents on nights/weekends.

      • Anon - OP

        This probably won’t work for an interview during the work day, but I’m storing this idea away for when we need date night sitters in the future!

    • Anon

      A few child care centers in our area offer drop-in care. It is expensive, but if you only need it for a day while interviewing then it wouldn’t be so bad. I would also ask a SAHM friend to help out. I would imagine they wouldn’t mind for a one-time thing like this. Although, if you don’t feel comfortable with any of these things, then I would just push the interview back a couple days. I doubt that small time difference will make or break it for you. I know I would not interview well if I did not feel comfortable with my child care.

      • Anon - OP

        Also good ideas. Thanks! I hadn’t thought of it initially, but I think I’ve heard one SAHM friend mention using a drop in care center, so I’m going to check in on that now. And ideally I would just push the (hypothetical) interview back a few days, but I’m concerned whether it might make me look bad, since they really do seem to be on a fast track for hiring. They wanted to do a phone interview less than 24 hours after I sent in the application, and I know they’ve already been interviewing other candidates for a week. Any feedback on that from those who have been on the hiring side? Would you knock a candidate if they were not able to interview until a few days or a week after you preferred?

        • tesyaa

          No, I would not hold a few days’ delay against a candidate. Candidates travel themselves (for work or other reasons), candidates have appointments, etc.

          • Senior Attorney

            I wouldn’t hold it against you, either. The biggest danger, I think, is that they find and fall in love with somebody else in the meantime.

    • NYC tech

      If you’re in NYC or Chicago, I recommend Sitter’s Studio. Everyone they’ve sent has been great, and they do last-minute bookings. Expensive, but worth it not to worry. I’m sure other cities must have similar options. Also, drop-in daycare works too.

      • Anon - OP

        I wish! I’m in DC if anyone has recommendations for similar services they’ve used and trust.

        • anon

          I’ve heard others recommend White House Nanny’s for emergency or backup care. I don’t know what the fees or rates are for their services. Probably expensive, but the nannies are already vetted and experienced.

        • Anonypotamus

          You can look up sitters in a pinch (?) I think they’ve been taken over by Care dot com, but I’ve used them and they are reliable.

          • Anonymous

            I think you are thinking of Parents in a Pinch. That is the agency for my firm’s backup care. I am not in DC, but in my city they don’t have enough sitters and tend to tell me at the last minute that they couldn’t find anyone. I would steer clear for an interview. I generally do like their sitters, though.

    • Blonde Lawyer

      Look at this as an opportunity too. Everyone needs someone they can call in an emergency. What if while your husband was traveling you had appendicitis? He would likely come home but you would have to go to the hospital in the meantime. It sounds crazy but when my husband was a cop he always was dealing with injured (or god forbid, arrested) people that didn’t know what to do with their dog or their kid during an emergency. (He worked in a town with a lot of temp military people that weren’t putting down roots.) It is good to have someone set up that you can call in a pinch.

      He ended up working out a system with the local shelter (for the dogs, not the kids) where he had a key to put them in the kennel if the shelter was closed. Otherwise my house was going to end up Delinquent’s Dog Den because neither of us would leave a dog in a house knowing the owner wasn’t going to get home to care for it. Unfortunately, with kids, if there was no one else he would have to call social services for temp care.

      • Senior Attorney

        +1

        I always think whether you work outside the home or not, you’re only as good as your backup child care.

        • Anon - OP

          Thanks! Good thoughts all around. I’m only a few months into this parenting thing, so I’m still learning my way around.

          • Tired and Pregnant

            If you’re in a market where they have it, UrbanSitter has been really good.

    • B

      My neighborhood has a facebook group that is great for things like this. There are lots of SAHMs or grandmother aged folks looking for occasional sitting jobs.

      • tesyaa

        College students are a possibility too, especially since some of them might be on spring break.

  12. marketingchic

    I have used a nanny agency for babysitters on a few occasions – there is a fee to sign up and they charge another fee per job, but they have already vetted and screened their employees.

    • anonymom

      We use a nanny agency for babysitters (on-call nannies) on a regular basis. We have generally been satisfied, and I trust their background check/reference verification process. Our agency charges a one-time sign-up fee and there is a 4-hour minimum per job. If you have never left the baby with a sitter before, you might want to hire the sitter for a test run a couple of days before the interview. That way you can get all your worries out and not be distracted during the interview itself.

      We did drop-in day care a lot when my daughter was a toddler, and I was not a big fan. Somehow she always seemed to pick up a new cold that she hadn’t already caught at her regular day care center.

      If you have friends who are SAHMs and are willing to help out, that might be a good solution, especially if their kids are in school and the interview is during the school day.

  13. Watermelon

    Some nanny agencies have on-call nanny services. One in my area has references going back decades on the on-call nannies it’s trying to place for permanent work.

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