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Updated: Mar 25, 2021 106 Comments · by

Suit of the Week: Pallas Paris

Suit of the Week

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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.

I think it'll be really interesting to see where workwear goes in the next year or two — including for suits. Right now we're still seeing a lot of the slim pants/voluminous jacket combos, like the one above, but I wonder if we'll start to see more voluminous pants/fitted jackets combos. (How much will the conservative workwear wardrobe change entirely?! Are sheath dresses and heels a thing of the past? We shall see…)

For the moment, at least, I like this suit — it's got a nice tailored vibe but also somehow still looks comfortable and cool. I've seen the brand around before but didn't know much, so I clicked through to read the little bio, which is cool:

Pallas Paris was founded in 1991 . . . specialising in ‘petite couture’, a tailoring technique where a suit is created by one person from start to finish. It’s now under the creative direction of Claire Thompson-Jonville, [. . . who] references her extensive knowledge of tailoring to create blazers, trousers and jumpsuits inspired by looks from 1990s icons, such as Kate Moss and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy.

Very cool. The blazer is $1,489, and the pants are $888, both at MatchesFashion.com.

Psst: I like the look of this plus-size suit, although I have a lot of mixed feelings about denim suits. I will say that if you're transitioning to a more casual office, this kind of denim jacket can be a great one to “demote” plain work pants or sheath dresses in a way that's polished but friendly.

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Comments

  1. Senior Attorney

    I feel like the model looks kind of badass without her head for some reason.

    • Anokha

      I love everything about this suit, and it would look terrible on me. Also, I haven’t worn a suit in eight years.

    • anon

      I thought this was a man’s suit, and thought it was a really fashion forward look for a man to have a purse like that – it works in this picture (imo)! But it isn’t a man’s suit, so shows you what I know.

    • pugsnbourbon

      This is a badass suit, period. It feels very Parisian tough-girl to me.

      • Anon

        What is Parisian tough girl? When I think Parisian, a lot of delicate things come to mind.

        • Anon

          Yeah this does not look Parisian to me. The styling with the black turtleneck maybe. But the pants look downright frumpy.

          • Anon

            They’re not frumpy. They’re for somebody with the self-confidence to know they look good.

        • Anon

          Not OP, but that phrase makes me think of a French main character in a Mission Impossible-type movie. She lives in lithe gray and black with a flawless red lip, does backbends in museums after hours, and is almost certainly a double agent.

        • pugsnbourbon

          Like she can drink wine and talk about Sartre and also rides a motorcycle (not a Vespa). Her shoes are always stylish and heeled but she could run two miles in them. She once slapped a catcaller and stole his cigarettes. She takes lovers. Etc.

          • Anonymous

            I bow to the master. I need you to write copy for a whole catalog like this now! (I seriously want to suggest to some of my geeky writer friends that we caption the next Nordstrom flyer this way or something. I think a year of quarantine has seriously messed with my idea of “fun.” LOL)

          • MagicUnicorn

            My office once to turns captioning a Saks catalogue like this and it was the absolute best waste of time and post it notes.

    • Anon

      I legitimately thought this was menswear tbh. It’s an amazing look but I feel only fit for a very specific body type (slim all around with broad shoulders) and personality (bad*ss touch cookie but chic)

  3. Anon

    I live in a semi-rural area with no close tailors, cobblers, etc. Has anyone tried the mail-in shoe and purse repair services? Good or bad experiences with any in particular?

    • shananana

      I used my shoe hospital to fix a torn purse lining and peeling edges on handles of a leather purse and liked what they did. They were good about staying in communication. Looking at seeing if they can deal with some leather shoes with messed up toes.

    • Anon

      What do you mean by “not close”? I let that stuff pile up and take it all in at once, then forget they’re there, and go pick them up two months later. If “not close” means an hour away, I’d just take the clothes to the tailor/cobbler and go pick them up for your once every now and then trip to the city.

    • BB

      Not exactly what you’re looking for, but I would say if the place as stellar reviews, especially in a big city, it’s probably worth sending it in. I used Denim Doctor in NYC via mail a few years ago and it was great.

  4. Anonymous

    As a straight lady who just watched all of season one of The L Word in a week this is the power lesbian suit of my dreams #justiceforTina #hopeJennydiesinSeason2

    • bellatrix

      oh, girl, you are in for a fun ride. I didn’t start really hating Jenny until S4ish. (and I am such a cliche – a straight girl who wants to hang out with Shane. Not sleep with her, just be near her.)

  5. JTM

    Random question for fellow Nordstrom shoppers – if I use Nordstrom Notes to buy something in full (no money exchanged) but then I need to return the item due to fit issues, do I get the Nordstrom Notes back or do I just lose out?

    I have like $200 in Nordstrom Notes I need to use but I don’t want to waste them on something that may not fit, I’d rather just buy a bag or something with them.

  6. Cancer Qs

    Two cancer questions, as I look beyond surgery and initial diagnoses. Hopefully I’m on the other side of the really bad/stressful stuff here.
    1) radiation (breast cancer) – any experience? I’m planning to work, expecting 7 weeks of radiation, wondering experience of working during this time.
    2) tamoxifen – experience? I’ll be on it 5 years, there are lots of potential side effects listed. Hoping people say all those potential side effects are not likely.

    Dealing with this during COVID has been nice, because working from home was already well established. I took time off for surgery, but everyone assumed it was a staycation. While radiation logistics of going there daily will be time consuming, wondering how the treatments themselves will go. I haven’t told many people I work with at this point.

    • Cat

      Hugs.

      From family members’ experience – radiation was nowhere near as draining as chemo, and no or minimal side effects from tamoxifen.

    • Anonymous

      Glad that you are feeling better and more in control.
      It is an older book, but i recommend “The Intelligent Patient’s Guide”. I know one of the authors personally. It is older and based on the Canadian healthcare system, but i have gifted it as recently as last year and people have raved about it. (which makes me happy because, as mentioned, i have known one of the authors since childhood.)

    • anon

      Mom had stage 1 breast cancer. Surgery, followed by 6 weeks of radiation and tamoxifen.

      1) Mom was tired from radiation, but not take-time-off-work tired. Maybe “do 85% of the work load today” tired (which maybe based on what you do means time off, but for her it didn’t). She also skipped a bunch of her otherwise 3-5 mile daily runs during the regimen, but was back to her old self quickly.
      2) No side effects from her tamoxifen. She gets extra scans and checkups to this day as a result of potential side effects, but almost 7 years in and she’s experienced none. If anything we all think she’s better for it since she’s so closely monitored (she feels this way, too).

      Best of luck to you.

      • Anon

        My MIL had radiation for breast cancer and had a very similar experience. She’s an academic so she worked less than usual and gave herself permission to lounge around in pajamas and watch TV, which she doesn’t do normally, but it wasn’t anything that made her severely ill.

    • anon

      My dad was able to drive himself to the big academic medical center an hour away for daily radiation for another cancer no problem. He still worked, but less since driving took a ton of time and he needed extra naps (but he also was older and always appreciated a nap).

    • Nesprin

      I’m really sorry! I’d highly suggest looking for a patient advocate/mentor type program- I’m a researcher and am always impressed by the level of mentorship and support between former patients in the institutions I work with.

    • Anonymous

      A good friend of mine went through this. She was able to work at her intense job while doing radiation treatments. I recall her saying that she had radiation burns on her skin toward the end. Not to scare you, but something to be psychologically ready for and talk to your doctor about if that happens. And she was told that depression could be a side effect of tamoxifen and was given an antidepressant prescription.

    • Anonymous

      If you’re still reading, post a burner email and I’ll reach out. I finished radiation in March of last year for stage one breast cancer. I concur with what the others said about radiation. I worked through it all (including depositions and mediations, at least up until Covid closures) without a problem. I felt drained but not bed-ridden. Kind of like I was always either coming down with something or getting over something. I worked out through it all too (I made a deal with myself I would work out three days a week throughout and held myself to it). Tamoxifen is… not fun, but well worth it. My worst symptom is hot flashes, which sound so benign but are so gnarly and weird. I ended up going on Effexor, which really helped. Definitely ask your oncologist about that or other drugs which can help with the side effects. I haven’t had sleep issues (except from the hot flashes), weight gain, or body aches. I credit working out with helping me with all of that.

      Good luck! Radiation goes more quickly than you think. Just one foot in front of the other.

    • EM84

      Sending hugs! Friend went through this, same experience as others. Was able to work, but eased a bit. Ask the radiologist for reco for a good protective/repairing cream.

    • Cancer Anon

      I’ve undergone radiation following surgery and chemo for breast cancer.

      The radiation was easy, especially compared to the chemo. It took longer to get lined up in the machine than the treatment itself which took minutes, but was every weekday for weeks. The area being treated was like I had a bad sunburn by the end. Ask the nurse or someone at the facility for a recommendation on what to use on the area being treated. My treatments were in the afternoon, so every evening and morning I slathered moisturizing cream on the site.

      Bras were not an option after about the first week. I found some decently thick tank tops from LL Bean to wear under loose-ish fitting blouses that looked okay layered, and that I didn’t mind if I got covered in lotion. I worked in an office where business casual was ok, so I didn’t have to worry about trying to dress up in a suit. By the end of treatment, things were getting pretty uncomfortable.

      By the end of the treatment period, I was tired and had to just let some things go during the last couple of weeks. But in general, I didn’t have any issues working through radiation treatment. I also was working at the time in a very understanding place, and had no challenges when it came to leaving early every day for treatment.

      I don’t have any experience with tamoxifen, so can’t help there. Best of luck to you.

  7. shananana

    I know we’ve talked on here about misophonia, and I clearly have it (currently my dog panting has my teeth on edge) and outside of living life with headphones in most of the time, has anyone actually tried to treat this? Or do you just accept that other people (or pets) making noise will always irrationally drive you crazy and cope with white noise/music/earplug options?

    • Minnie Beebe

      No suggestions, but following because I just CANNOT ANYMORE with DH’s chewing. Any other suggestions besides “eat in another room”? :)

      • Z

        Background noise. We watch dinner with a youtube video/tv/music. Helps a lot if chewing isn’t the only noise happening.

        • Curious

          Yep. Classical music. And on bad days I walk away. It’s worse when his nose is stuffy and/or I’m already stressed. For what it’s worth, the best therapist I ever had had no idea what to do for this.

      • Anon

        Is it the chewing or that he has started to chew not with his mouth agape, but with his lips not together so there is no more sound muffling going on and it’s more of a wet chewing (than a dry-cereal chewing).

        I need to go back to my office where I didn’t have this 24/7 in the background — I wonder if this is where open concept living spaces will go to die. Rooms with doors!

      • very anon

        SAME, girl. My husband’s chewing has become so much louder over the last few years. It never used to bother me. He’s also taken up snoring, so maybe they’re related? I sit on the far side of the table when we eat dinner as a family. When he’s eating breakfast by himself, I leave the room. (His chewing sounds for toast and bagels are the absolute worst.) Crunching doesn’t bother me, more the “wet” sounds. He usually keeps his mouth closed.

  8. Anonymous

    I missed the morning post about the difficult puppy. Confession time: I kind of hated my cat for the first 6 months of his life. I thought about rehoming him. I wished I’d never gotten him, thought I made a huge mistake. It got progressively better after 6 months, much better after a year or two. He’s now 17 and he’s been my sweet little guy for my entire adult life; DH “jokes” that we even have the same mannerisms. I can’t imagine life without him. He’s currently purring in my lap and petting my face. Baby animals are hard! It gets better!

  9. Anon

    I’m trying to learn Spanish for my 2020 trip to Spain (now my 2022 trip). I can read it OK, but listening is hard. I have started watching Spanish language TV shows (like dramas, not Sabado Gigante or sports) on Netflix with English subtitles built-in. But I don’t know what the good ones are. I have Netflix and YouTubeTV and Amazon Prime. If there are any to recommend, please post the name and a little blurb about what it is.

    Also, my old TV did subtitles / close captioning in English when I put on a Spanish-language network, but my new smart TV with all this stuff on the web vs cable has me at a loss and since it’s a lockdown TV, I’ve been too busy to really learn what it can do to see if it can replicate what my old TV easily did for me.

    • Anon

      Not TV, but I like News in Slow Spanish. They have both Spain and Latin American versions.

      • Anon

        Consider podcasts, to discover Spanish podcasts change the country to Spain on an app like Castbox. You can look for News or other topical shows in Spanish. Music is also good because you can listen as you do other things.

    • Anon

      Cable Girls, Money Heist, and my favorite, the Time in Between, all on Netflix. All Spanish, so the accents should be more helpful for your trip than Telemundo. You can have them speak spanish and have english subtitles in your netflix settings.

    • Senior Attorney

      Las Chicas del Cable (Cable Girls) on Netflix is fun and also the theme song is sung by the daughter of one of my Rotary buddies! Netflix has its own CC function so it should be pretty easy.

    • AFT

      Narcos? ~7 year old netflix original. Based on true events regarding the DEA working in Columbia to get Pablo Escobar. Probably 70%+ in spanish with subtitles?
      The presence of Pedro Pascal is not a negative.

    • AFT

      Oh, Los Espookys on HBO is a weird little half hour comedy that is probably 80-90% in spanish (remainder is Fred Armisen, the main character’s uncle in California). It’s weird and supernatural and funny. Most of the characters have strong Mexico City accents, my spanish-speaking DH told me, but one has more of a Spain accent.

    • Anon

      It is so much easier to learn Spanish with active listening and by immersion. I think your best bet is to meet with a Spanish tutor once or twice a week via a site like italki. You can get an hour lesson by a real teacher for $8 (prices are set by the teachers so don’t feel like you’re taking advantage of them). Or do a language exchange with other users for free (usually an hour where it’s half English and half Spanish with a friendly person whose profile you can find on the site).

    • Anon

      I was trained in Spain-Spanish and find Central and South American Spanish a lot easier to understand. Dialects and accents are real! Consider watching or listening to something native to Spain and better yet the region of Spain you’ll be visiting (Valencia/Catalan influence vs Madrid, for example).

    • Anonymous

      Don’t forget about movies! Almodovar!

      One thing to try apart from dramas, are gameshows, breakfast shows and similar – something with banal chitchat and a known and very repetitive format.

    • Anonymous

      I think someone here recommended it — I am currently watching Mar de Plastico on Netflix with Spanish subtitles. It is a police procedural about a murdered girl in southern Spain, so fairly dark and with a good amount of slang, but I am finding it really helpful. Next up on my list are Elite and Valeria, both also on Netflix. As someone above said, I find Spanish Spanish harder than most Central/South American Spanish (though I find Caribbean Spanish the most difficult). It may make sense to toy around with a couple of different shows at a time.

    • Madrilian

      Ok, I will post some of the Spanish (from Spain and in Castilian) series of this and last years. If you told me what you usually like I could recomend you something similar.
      -Hierro:( the most voted in my office), thriller-drama, Candela is a judge who has just been assigned to El Hierro, the most remote island of the Canary archipelago (If you like this you would like El embarcadero)
      -Veneno: drama. is a series that narrates the true story of this trans woman, history of the LGTBI reality in Spain from the 60s to the present.
      -Patria: drama, how terrorism destroys the friendship between two Basque families. If you are looking for main characters of a middle-aged woman, you will love it.
      -Antidisturbios: action/police. Six riot police carry out a problematic eviction in the center of Madrid, but the eviction is complicated and a tragedy occurs.
      -Money heist, crime drama television. Two long-prepared heists led by the Professor, one on the Royal Mint of Spain, and one on the Bank of Spain.
      -Vis a vis, a Spanish kind of Orange is the new black.
      -Paquita Salas, comedy. Paquita Salas was the best actor representative of the 90s. Now everything has changed … but she hasn’t.
      -Mira lo que has hecho, comedy. How Berto Romero’s life (Spanish comedian) changes when he receives the news that he is going to be a father.
      -El ministerio del tiempo, fantasy. (Good to learn about Spanish history) The Ministry of Time is a secret government institution that depends directly on the Presidency of the Spanish Government. Only monarchs, presidents, and a unique number of people know about him. The passage to other times is made through gates guarded by the ministry’s patrols. (if you like this one you have other historical ones as Isabel)
      -Fariña, drama/police. The plot focuses on telling all the points of view of Galician drug trafficking over several decades.
      -El día de mañana, drama/historical. Justo Gil, a restless young man full of ambitions, arrives as one more immigrant to the prosperous and promising Barcelona of the 60s, with nothing in his pockets and ready to become a successful man.
      -Arde Madrid, Series about the life of the American actress Ava Gardner in Madrid, seen from the perspective of the people who were at the service of the star.
      -Vida perfecta: drama, Perfect Life tells the story of María, Cristina and Esther who, for different reasons, are in the middle of a life crisis. The three women will discover that their lives do not have to be as they had planned.
      I have not seen Pequeñas coincidencias but the critics are good.
      Le me know if you need a list of movies or books.

  10. Anonymous

    Tell me how badly I messed up. DH is the cook in our family. He was brining a brisket to make corned beef tonight. He forgot to start cooking it this morning so he emailed me the recipe and asked me to handle. The recipe says to “cover with one inch of water” which I thought meant put 1 inch of water in the pot. I was refilling it periodically to make sure the pot didn’t burn. After about 1.5 hours of this, it occurred to me that maybe cover to one inch means cover the meat entirely with water so there’s at least an inch of water over the meat. I googled it and apparently this is what it means. Whoops. I’ve now covered it with water but I’m not sure if I completely ruined it? Help!

  11. Sloan Sabbith

    New book recommendation for people who really, really, really love their dog: The Particulars of Peter: Dance lessons, DNA tests, and other excuses to hang out with my perfect dog. I have laughed out loud probably 10 times reading it.

  12. anon

    I love this suit; alas, I really don’t think I could pull this off.

    I am REALLY curious if workwear is going to change post-pandemic. I feel like my particular office is set in its ways and it won’t change, but maybe I’ll be surprised. Even my mom (who has never held an office job) is all, “Gosh, honey, I really hope they don’t make you dress up so much!”

    • anonymous

      I’m curious too. I feel like conservative industries will go back to normal. I’ll be watching all this from the sidelines as I’m now a permanent WFH employee. I packed away all my business casual clothes but maybe some day I will wear them for business travel.

      • Anon

        Same. I’m in higher ed, and we were casual to begin with so I can see it getting more casual. I can’t imagine industries like law and finance ditching suits though.

        • Cat

          if you don’t have to go to court, you’d be astonished at just how little many lawyers have to wear suits. A blazer over a sheath dress is my normal go-to for Important Meetings (maybe once a month). I wear a suit maybe once a year.

          • No Face

            Before the pandemic, only one firm in my (smaller Midwestern) city was still business formal. Business casual except in court or meeting with certain clients.

        • anon

          I’m in a weird corner of higher ed that is not casual. If I could match what other departments do, I’d be a happy woman.

          • Anonymous

            Agreed. I’m in high ed upper administration and while I wasn’t on the most formal end of business formal, I wore jackets and dresses most days. I’m hoping we relax a bit when we are back in person full time.

    • anon

      I’m in law. We’ve been back in person, but our office seems to have moved from business to business casual without any official memo. I also think many of the women have adopted more natural looks–flats or lower heels, less makeup, more natural hair colors (including gray) and hair textures, etc.

    • Ribena

      This last year is the first time I’ve ever had both the money and permission to dress how I really want to. I don’t want to go back to being fully corporate and am going to continue to dress as myself as much as I can get away with when we return to ‘real life’ – it’s flippy dresses with jackets and boots all year around for me now please.

  13. Anon

    This pandemic has turned me into someone who invites her mother in law on her birthday vacation. If you would have told me that a year ago, I NEVER would have believed you – we are not close, and I’m a bit of a control freak about vacation planning so I don’t really enjoy traveling with people who aren’t my super laidback husband – but apparently I’m now so starved for connection with adults who aren’t my husband that this is where we’re at. (Obligatory disclaimer that the adults are all vaccinated, driving to the destination and not doing anything our cautious selves wouldn’t do at home.)

    • Anonymous

      So funny! We just agreed to a trip to a country we swore never to visit again, just to have something on calendar that doesn’t involve just the two of us.

  14. Hildy J.

    This is obviously anec-data from an internet stranger but I thought I’d mention it, since my awareness of it came from this board. A few months ago there was a discussion about the surveys our employers were doing to see how we are all doing, ask what we need in pandemic times, etc. There was a lot of skepticism here that these surveys are actually anonymous, which I took to heart. Guess what… a colleague got really fed up and unloaded on the last one we had. She’s exhausted by having to care for a three-year-old and feeling like our company has let us down in several ways so I can only imagine what she said. Literally the next day she got an email from the global head of HR. I know I’m being naive but I find it so icky that “we promise you’re anonymous” is just a flat-out lie.

    • Anon

      Yikes, I always assumed they weren’t fully anonymous but getting a direct response from HR would be terrifying. What did HR say to her!? Thanks for posting this PSA.

      • Hildy J.

        “We’re concerned about you, we want to make sure you have everything you need,” etc. Innocuous enough, except in the context of the broken promise.

        • Anon

          I guess that’s better than getting angry at her, but ooof that is not a good look for the company.

        • anon

          Those sound like empty words to make HR feel better about reaching out. I’m sure that employee is not feeling great, nor supported.

    • CB

      Gross. My employer did a survey which identified staff as net promoters and net detractors. As if we were consumers buying a product. Of course we aren’t satisfied, people are being laid off while the head got a relocation package for his dog.

      • bellatrix

        YES, we got one of those too. And I rated the company an 8/10 (because it’s good but not perfect and I never give perfect scores for anything) and then got an email asking what I would suggest they improve about the company. AYFKM. I think that whole metric casts anyone who rates you an 8 or below as a detractor, which is ridiculous.

    • anon

      When I worked for a Really Big Bank, we had surveys and feedback for our direct manager and management. I was one of a four person team, one of whom was a gay male. He didn’t want to potentially be identified so all four of us listed our orientation as transgender. (This was a 15 years ago and it didn’t ask for gender.) I’m not sure if we were identified but with that small of a department, it was totally possible that we all could have been, based on time with company etc. I guess we really screwed up the gender/orientation numbers though!

    • Ribena

      My company announced that no one except the top 600 colleagues (circa 1%) is getting a bonus this year and then opened a survey two weeks later. Can’t wait for the results of that to come out.

    • EM84

      Might have been an automatic email triggered if certain replies score very poor (eg if an employee assesses their energy very low, their motivation very low, their workload sustainability very low etc) an automatic email may be sent to prevent burn-out/mental health/suicide. Still leaves stink on the expectations of anonymity. When I was a board member and had to lead two task groups had to improve 2 out of 6 critical areas from employee engagement survey, I sweared I will never ever respond truthfully. Because even if I told the truth (together wih 400 others), he company would set up a task force/committee instead of trully addressing the issue. So in the end, I just end up giving more work to someone else. Fast forward to 2020, ended up with terrible boss, poor too management, people drowning from workload and leaving. So yes, I answered truthfully. FWIW, my company is not sharing any detailed individual results (even if GM demanded) and does not give details for teams smaller than 5 members (eg if you lead a team of 4, you won’t see your team’s details, only total company).

  16. Anon

    Definitely going to repost this tomorrow, but does anybody have recommendations for document scanning services? I’m in charge of a digitization project and we’re looking at hundreds of thousands of pieces of carbon paper to be scanned.

    • MagicUnicorn

      We used a shredding company local to us for this several years ago. The scanning part was fine, the prep work was intense and tedious. The company’s main focus was bulk shredding but they did document scanning and records management on the side.

      The company looks like they were a COVID casualty, but you could search your local area for similar services.

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