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Suit of the Week: Reiss

Suit of the Week

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 like the slim cut of this Reiss suit, as well as the classic suiting wool, and in general it just looks like a great way to bring the red trend into your workwear. If you’re curious about what to wear with burgundy besides neutrals like white, black, and navy, I always like light blue with it — like a light blue button-front or a light blue lightweight sweater. Even a cobalt would look nice with this — you’d be surprised at how versatile it is. The jacket (Atlee Jacket) is $445, and the pants (Atlee trousers) are $245. Not pictured: a matching skirt and dress. Here’s an affordable option at NY&Co and a plus-size option. 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!

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!

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Workwear sales of note for 3.24.23:

  • Ann Taylor – 40% off everything
  • Athleta – 20% off shorts, swim, linen & more
  • Banana Republic Factory – 40% off everything; extra 15% off purchase
  • Boden – Up to 50% off
  • Brooks Brothers – Clearance styles to 70% off. Some pretty serious markdowns!
  • Express – 40% off dresses & tops
  • J.Crew – 25% off your purchase; up to 50% off special-occasion styles
  • J.Crew Factory – Up to 50% off everything; extra 15% off 3 styles; extra 20% off 4 styles; extra 50% off clearance
  • Sephora – Up to 50% off select beauty
  • Talbots – 25% off select styles; 25% off markdowns

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

About Kat

Kat Griffin is the founder, publisher, and editor-in-chief of Corporette. You can read more about her here.

Comments

  1. Anonymous

    Why oh why are plus sizes typically polyester?! Can I get wool or natural fiber please?

    • Ellen

      I do not know if the HIVE would agree, but Dad says it is b/c polyester stretches, and if you have a tuchus and it gets bigger, you do NOT want for the pant’s to rip. Personaly, I do NOT like polyester b/c it makes me sweat and then it smells. FOOEY! I prefer NATURAL fibres like cotton, but NOT rayon. DOUBEL FOOEY!

  2. Marshmallow

    I am resisting attending a meeting where the provided snack is “cookie dough confections.” Someone please give me a gold star. And a snack.

      • NYNY

        ^ THIS!

        Also, in which industry are there designated provided snacks at meetings? I may need a career change…

  3. Anon

    Hi All, searched the archives and couldn’t come up with anything specific. Who do you use for engagement ring insurance? Our renters only covers jewelry up to 1k, so looking into the best way to cover it.

    • Anonymous

      I just got an add-on for my renter’s insurance. Usually you can get additional jewelry coverage and the insurance company will have various tiers of coverage you can choose. Mine is an extra $3/month or something.

    • ANP

      We’ve always had Jewelers Mutual — it came recommended by the store where we purchased our rings.

    • Cookie

      Same on Jewelers’ Mutual. And we had to use them to file a claim. They were amazing.

    • Anonymous

      Schedule it on your insurance, it’ll cost an extra like $100-200/year. Most insurance companies will require an appraisal, which your jeweler should be able to give you for no extra cost when you buy the ring; your insurance company might also accept a receipt if it’s submitted within X days of purchase.

      • Anon

        Yup, have the appraisal! It seems adding it to our existing plan is just as easy as an additional plan like Jeweler’s Mutual

        • Anonymous

          Yeah just be sure to compare coverage. A Practical Wedding had an article about insurance a while ago; it might be helpful to check that out.

          The one good thing about getting a separate policy is if you have to make a “mysterious disappearance” claim because you lost it in the ocean or something, you don’t get dinged on your renter’s/homeowners insurance for it. Maybe not as big a deal if you’re a renter; I’ve had to use my homeowner’s several times for storm damage so I’d be a teensy bit hesitant to add another potential claim onto the same policy in case it affects my rates.

  4. ANP

    Hive: I will have time to kill in Tampa this weekend (9AM – 5PM on Sunday) prior to a conference. What should I do/where should I go? Staying at the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay; no car, but can obviously Uber/Lyft wherever I need to go. As a frazzled, overworked mom I am overwhelmed by the possibilities! Thanks.

    • Anonymous

      Outlets! Generally great shopping in that part of Florida-and a great way to have some you time.

    • Anonymous

      International Plaza for shopping! Hyde Park is also fun for shopping and restaurants. Recently took the day off and booked a massage at the Evangeline Spa (inside Epicurean hotel). Worth it.

  5. Resume rolling to page 2...

    Yay or nay?

    Other factors:
    – It’s actually more like 1.25 pages
    – 11 years of professional work in four jobs and two very different industries (3 years in one, 8 in the other/current)
    – Undergrad degree is not in current field – a field that definitely has a tailored and common degree for it. I’m an outlier among my peers not having said degree, so narrative under most recent roles is fairly specific and detailed to demonstrate that while I didn’t study X 10 years ago, I’m for sure qualified/a market expert today
    – Three roles at one company, which takes up more lines that I’d like, but I think is important to show the increased responsibility/promotions in a relatively short amount of time, especially (again) not having studied X topic in school
    – Given industry change, 1/2 of the second page text is listing relevant coursework that I’ve completed on my own to make up for the fact I didn’t get a degree in current field

    Tell me this is ok?

    • Anonymous

      2 page resumes are completely acceptable these days. Your cover letter should still be 1. Refer to Ask a Manager for more advice.

        • OP

          Actually, I’m reading it now. AAM does say that they’re way more common/acceptable, exception being if you’re roughly less than 5 years out of school.

          I never go to AAM, so I probably should have started there. Thanks for the thoughts so far.

    • Anonymous

      This is a little bit dependent on industry, but the general rule is no, a two page resume is not ok, especially for someone only a decade out of school. Keep the relevant coursework that is separate from your degree, but trim your job descriptions, especially the three roles at one company. You can list all three roles, but you don’t need to go into a ton of detail about anything except the current role, which should demonstrate how much responsibility you have. Depending on industry, you might also be able to omit the experience in a different industry, or put it on one line with just your title, company and the years worked there, without going into any detail about what you did.

    • Scarlett

      If you’re only a quarter of a page over, you can condense it to one. I’d do that. Play with margins & fonts if you have to.

    • Mpls

      It’s fine for your master copy of the resume, but if you were to apply, I would edit to try to get it down to one page. Probably condensing some of the older job stuff, as the more recent stuff is more applicable.

      If you’ve already made the industry change (and have the work experience) is the coursework information still necessary? I’d keep whatever certifications seems appropriate, but coursework seems like it could be condensed/deleted if you’ve already made the switch and have demonstrated work experience. Might be something to talk about in your cover letter (about how/why you made the industry switch).

    • Anon

      Know your culture, however. Canada does 2 page resumes, even for people just out of school (at least in law).

  6. Anonymous

    Ladies, if a corporate holiday event listed dress code as “smart and festive”, how would you interpret this? Friday night, unlikely to have many people go straight from the office, moderately fancy venue.

  7. Anonymous

    Please either give me motivation to do stuff or permission to nap? I’ve been billing close to 300 hours a month for the past 3 months. I just resolved 2 big matters yesterday and I managed to leave the office before 7 p.m. yesterday for the first time in recent memory. I have a networking event tonight that I wasn’t planning to go to because work, but now I theoretically could attend. Or I could go home early and take a bath and enjoy one of my new sheet masks. I should go to the networking event right? I’ll feel guilty if I don’t?

  8. Anon

    I mentioned this briefly while venting in the morning thread, but was wondering if I could get specific advice about one problem.
    Recently, I rear-ended someone. Police came to the scene and took stock of everything, then both I and the other driver got in our own cars and drove away. Obviously there was damage to both, so I immediately called my insurance company to start the claims process. I also gave the insurance information to the police and the other driver.
    Somehow, the other driver got my cell phone number and has been calling me to complain about the wreck. First she said she was calling to confirm my insurance info, which I very politely gave her again. But then, she keeps asking if I’m hurt, implying that I should be, and complaining about how badly I messed up her car. The last time she called I didn’t answer and she left a voicemail saying how it must be nice to be able to hit someone else and suffer no consequences.
    I understand she’s mad and obviously I feel horrible about what happened, but am I correct in assuming this should go through the police and the insurance, not harassing phone calls? There is a court date scheduled. Am I obligated to keep being subjected to this until then?

    • Anonymous

      I would ask your insurance agent how to proceed. It’s not a stupid question and it’s the kind of thing they want to answer/advise you on. My guess is they’ll tell you to stop taking her calls and they may even want you to file something with the police so her harassment of you is documented. But I think asking them what to do should be the first step.

      • S

        This. I had something similar happen and my agent told me in no uncertain terms not to take the call and if I should pick up accidentally to simply state that my insurer should be contacted and hang up. I believe my agent must have said something pretty strong to her or her agent because I magically stopped getting nasty voice mails after that. The woman was bat s crazy –going on and on in numerous messages about “me and my dad better save up because the repairs were going to be expensive.” Ffor the record, I was mid 20s and with my boyfriend also mid 20s when the accident happened and the damage was a quarter size scratch made when I backed up and she went around a parked car while I was backing up. I wasn’t even sure if I was totally at fault. And her car was 12 years old and had dents all over it, so the level of anger was truly odd. I’m now early 40s and see just how much the whole thing was just really weird. Feel bad for whoever the insurance rep was that had to deal with her.

    • lsw

      Yikes – I would check with your insurance and see if there is any issue with blocking her number. (I don’t see how there would be, but I would double check.)

    • Anonymous BigLaw Associate

      What is the court date about? Is she suing you? For what?

    • anon

      youve asked us about this before. will reiterate one lat time for you. change your number and dont answer her calls. she should not be harassing you and should direct any queries to the insurance company.

      • Anon

        Maybe someone else has and I missed it in the archives? But the only time I’ve mentioned this before was in this morning’s post.

      • Linda from HR

        No, I know someone posted about a similar problem before but this is a little different. Last person didn’t get the police involved, this woman did, and now she’s just harassing OP about the wreck rather than letting the insurance companies handle it. OP should let her insurance company know, possibly the police as well.

    • In-House in Houston

      Yes, block her. There is absolutely no reason for the two of you to be communicating. The insurance will handle her repairs and any injury she may have. BLOCK HER NOW!

    • Calico

      I have been rear ended several times and I have NEVER called the driver who hit me. The insurance companies alone should be handling this, including you speaking to the insurance company of the other driver. Stop answering the calls.

  9. Baconpancakes

    Blerg, my student loans are in repaymemt in a month and I’m struggling with figuring out my strategy. Refinance to a lower rate and pay them off as quickly as possible? File separately to keep my income/payments low as possible and plan to take advantage of public service loan forgiveness (I work for local gov, and am unlikely to go to the private sector)?

    I feel like the answer is probably to just run every possible scenario and pick the best one, but there are so many variables, and my SO’s income can vary by $50k from year to year. Is there a tool we can use to figure this out, or is there anything I’m not thinking about?

    • Anon

      If by SO you mean spouse, run their numbers too if you’re determining whether to file joint or separate. My husband (200K loan balance) and me (just paid mine off) decided to file joint because while separate would lower his payments through IBR, married-filing-separate would have increased by tax bill by approximately $18K per year. It made more sense to file joint and throw that money at the loans instead of at the IRS.

      • Anon

        Sorry, should have added that I make significantly more than he does, hence why my taxes would increase substantially for m-f-s.

    • Anonymous

      Do you want to keep working for the government? My concern with public service loan forgiveness is that you’re really making no progress on paying off the loans. If you wind up not sticking around through your choice or other circumstances you’ve dug yourself a major hole.

    • Chris

      Just to keep in the back of your mind, the new proposed tax reform eliminates the deduction for student loans, in case that was part of your analysis.

      • Anonymous

        The benefit is currently less than $400 for people who are eligible to claim it, so this is probably not a huge scale-tipper if it goes away.

  10. AMB

    I had a meeting about a potentially great new job in late August, which was followed up with an informal offer which I had to decline because of uncertainty in the team I managed – I wouldn’t have felt right contributing to the upheaval my reports were experiencing. I was told my having to decline for those reasons spoke well of me though, and was encouraged to stay in touch.

    The team I managed has now been formally ended and I have been making sure my reports all found places to land. I sent an e-mail a month ago to those who had offered me the job and never heard anything. Should I follow up again or not?

    • In-House in Houston

      When you say they gave you an “informal offer,” what do you mean? If you turned them down, I think contacting them 2 months later that now you’re interested isn’t the best move.

      • AMB

        They told me I was their first choice to fill an immediate opening but they wanted to know if I would take it. They have a lot of turnover though (high visibility but fairly stressful role – most people last 1-2 years) and told me they would keep me on their list for the future.

      • AMB

        Yeah it probably was. My loyalty to my team won over putting myself first. It was a good lesson.

        • Anonymous

          This is so frustrating to hear. Why are women like this. No man would (rightly) ever do this.

          • Anonymous

            I don’t know if that’s true in all cases. My male SO is totally the work martyr who puts himself last to take care of his team. A friend’s husband is the same way. They’re both also the personality type outside of work who will do anything that a relative or buddy asks even if it’s totally taking advantage. If anything, I think men can be just as guilty of this because they feed off the male provider pride–“I take such good care of my team! Me good boss man!”

  11. anon

    also shes messing with you ahead of your court date- dont supply her with information. youre building her case for free

  12. Lisa

    Re: Burgundy and light blue, also one of my fave color combinations, but only good on people with cool coloring. If you’ve got warm coloring, or red hair, better to wear burgundy with pink.

    • Mpls

      Or orange/pumpkin – YouLookFab had some interesting color combos with burgundy/wine and orange colors.

  13. Deep breath

    I’m about to go to my boss’office to give my resignation. Even though it’s been a long time coming and I’ve been interviewing for a while I’m still sad. I love the team I manage but I know very well that the major things bothering me in my organization won’t change. I think I’ll love my new job and I did great in negotiating my salary but I can’t seem to be happy about it just yet. Transitions are though…

    • Job Searching

      Sending you my thoughts. I’m going to be having that equally difficult conversation in a few weeks and….it’s going to be tough.

  14. Job Searching

    What do you put when a job application asks for “reason for leaving,” and you’re leaving because of mental health effects of your job?

    • Job Searching

      Also, is it an issue to say “No” when applications ask whether they can contact your recent employer? They don’t know I’m job searching.

      • Anonymous

        It’s better to say something like, “after an offer/after I clear conflicts, yes” so the new company can verify your employment.

        • Job Searching

          Unfortunately it’s a straight yes/no question with no area for a comment.

          • Mpls

            Say no. If it’s your current employer, a reasonable company will understand and think that’s normal.

    • Anon

      You definitely don’t put that. Not that it’s not a valid reason, but prospective employers aren’t going to like it. “Looking for new challenges” or some other kind of bs like that.

    • Anonymous

      “For new opportunities” or “for a new set of challenges”.

      No, not at all.

    • Mpls

      Do you have to fill it in? I’d skip it if it’s not a required field (electronically). I usually skip on paper too (to the extent anyone has paper anymore?)

        • Mpls

          Sometimes those fields are reinforced and require an answer, so you never know.

          Don’t put anything. I’ve used it to note the end of a contract job, or some special circumstances about why I left someplace after a seemingly short time, but wouldn’t in your case.

    • Anonymous

      Usually this applies to jobs that you’ve already left — not your current job.

    • NYNY

      Don’t say mental health. Frame it as looking for a growth opportunity.

      As a hiring manager, I never question someone saying I can’t contact their current employer. It’s completely understood that people job search without informing their boss.

      Good luck with the search!

  15. EM84

    I have an urgent question – especially to those of you responsible for internal recruitment. My mentor / big boss (not my direct manager, but +1 level above my boss) just offered my a position which would be an excellent opportunity – internal promotion within the company involving moving to a bigger market (I work in marketing, so this matters), with better visibility and higher grade. But. It would also mean leaving my current team (which I personnaly hand-picked just 6 months ago) and my boss (who I value very much and we have a mutual respect and great rapport with). Also, there is no ready-now successor for my role and my current team might suffer because of this. The new position would be a challenge for me – complex market, which is not in a good shape and needs a lot of changes. And I am not sure whether I am: a) ready to leave my current role (which I only took up 6 months ago), b) leave my team, c) ready for a challenge that seems to be too much for me.
    Question 1: Has anyone gone through similar situation and what were your thoughts?
    Question 2: I have an informal interview with the “new” GM tomorrow morning over breakfast. Any tips on asking the right questions? I want to understand what are his broader plans with the organizations for the upcoming two years, what does not work currently and what he wants to change and how, what type of person is he looking for and what are his expectations. Anything else I am missing?
    Thank you!

    • Anonymous

      Omg take the job! If the money is right and the location works for you take it and run. Your team is not your problem.

  16. Paging RVA healthcare atty

    I responded later in the work day, but I posted an anon e mail. Thanks!

  17. Ex at CLE

    If a judge you’re clerking for is doing the introduction at a CLE, do you go?

    I’m presenting at said-CLE and I’m a lot worried that my abusive ex (the clerk here) is going to be there. Which will be a very. big. challenge. I was already worried because it’s a bar association event and my name went out to the entire bar association on an email about it. It would be just like him to sign up even though he has no interest in the topic/actively hates the area I practice in just to be able to upset me.

    If he’s there, I know for certain he will do his best to throw me completely if he can because he’s horrible like that. Whether it’s beforehand by just trying to talk with me (which I do not handle well, I have ptsd because of him and panic like crazy), or during the presentation, he’s cruel and he hates me. He once told me I should be ashamed I accepted my JD because it was clear I would be a sh*t*y lawyer.

    He also once came to a presentation I was giving during law school at lunch post-breakup, sat in the front row, and rolled his eyes/sighed every time I said anything and then at the end asked deliberately obtuse questions so I looked stupid and sounded freaked out (which I was because he was using the voice he knew and I knew was the precursor to screaming at me- not that different than his normal voice, so others didn’t notice, but it affected me).

    Please send your thoughts and prayers that he doesn’t show. Because I cannot deal. My safety plan for him does not include having to be a professional presenter in front of him. It actually involves leaving and going the opposite way from my home so he doesn’t know where I live. He’s a scary mother-f.

    • Anna

      Do you have an ally you can have help you get through the event? Is there a friend who can be there to support you if he shows up and just be a reassuring presence? This sounds really tough and I’m sorry you’re facing it.

      • Ex at CLE

        I may drag my (trial prepping) boss or my intern (who is, after a loooooot of together time this summer, a friend now, too) along for support. My boss doesn’t know about him. My intern does. I usually wouldn’t tell my intern something so personal but there was a weird situation where I told her because she asked for advice about how to help a friend in an abusive situation and I told her both the DV legal aspect and what I would have found helpful when it was happening to me.

    • AnonLA

      Is there a reason you do not have a restraining order against this man? Has it been too much time? If you have to have a safety plan and fear for your safety, and if it’s at all possible to have a restraining order for the future (obviously too late for that here), can you do that to give yourself an added layer of safety in case this ever comes up again?

      For now, can you make sure that you ask your boss and your intern to ask questions at the event in order to make it less likely your ex can ask any if he attends? And can you make sure that one of them at least walks you to your car or the metro or whatever (and maybe even drives you there and back to the office so you’re not alone leaving the venue)?

    • Anonymous

      Not sure if you’re seeing this. Definitely ask again on the new thread for today for new ideas.

      Reach out for support ask both your boss and intern to come. Brainstorm anyone else who could help. If a colleague asked that I not leave them alone with a particular person, I would respect that without asking why – you probably have someone else in your circle like that. Just say “because of our history, I do not feel comfortable being alone with ex at conference, would you be able stick with me at the conference?” In the era of #metoo, you may find more sympathy and assistance than you expect.

      Plan your entry and exit routes/methods so that you are not concerned about him following you home.

    • Senior Attorney

      I would speak to security at the event and ask them to exclude him from your presentation. And after that I would get a restraining order — ESPECIALLY if he has the nerve to show up and cause trouble.

      • Senior Attorney

        More specifically, in advance of my presentation I would tell security “there may be somebody here who has a history of causing me harm. If I see him I will notify you and ask that he be escorted out.” And get them to agree. That should ease your mind quite a bit.

  18. Katie C.

    Burgundy also looks beautiful paired with camel! Either a camel turtleneck under or a camel coat over this suit would look lovely. If the burgundy has more purple undertones (rather than brown) it also looks GORGEOUS paired with emerald green, and it’s a nice departure from the more neutral combinations.

    http://www.thepolishedblog.com

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