ByKat Hours Updated
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Suit of the Week: River Island

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model wears a puce green suit; the pants are pleated, cropped, and have pressed cuffs

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.

When we did our big update to our roundup for plus-size workwear shopping, I added River Island, a site that's somewhat new to me — and I'm surprised to see how much suiting they have. Some of it is on the… socialite party side of things, to be sure, but some of it is nice and interesting.

This suit, for example, seems like an unusual color — I haven't seen many cropped pants with pressed cuffs the way this one has, and I don't mind it. It looks like a lovely suit for a casual day.

The blazer is $93 and comes in sizes 2-14 (with sizes most available), and the pants are $65, available in 2-8 (sizes 10-14 are sold out, unfortunately).

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 3/15/25:

  • Nordstrom – Spring sale, up to 50% off
  • Ann Taylor – 40% off everything + free shipping
  • Banana Republic Factory – 40% off everything + extra 20% off
  • Eloquii – 50% off select styles + extra 50% off sale
  • J.Crew – Extra 30% off women's styles + spring break styles on sale
  • J.Crew Factory – 40% off everything + extra 20% off 3 styles + 50% off clearance
  • M.M.LaFleur – Friends and family sale, 20% off with code; use code CORPORETTE15 for 15% off
  • Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
  • Talbots – 40% off 1 item + 30% off everything else (includes markdowns, already 25% off)

172 Comments

  1. Is pest control for outdoors really necessary? I am talking about the companies that kill bugs outside the house. It seems pointless to me since they will come back and outside is the natural habitat for bugs.

    1. Nope. Unless the bugs are actively trying to destroy the house (termites), some bugs here and there won’t hurt anything.

    2. No, unless they are wood destroying or otherwise bothering your house itself (i.e. we got treatment for carpenter bees that were burrowing into our porch).

    3. I think it depends. For me it is worth it to have someone come out and address hornets and wasps, which are a constant issue for me from spring to early fall, and ants, which had taken over my front yard with massive tunnels.

      1. +1 – I will 100% have ground nesting wasps who try to make a home under my garden plants killed – getting 5 wasp stings when I was just trying to weed my hydrangeas was not fun. Ditto for the crazy cicada killers that create massive nests in our lawn and scare the kids. Anything else I just kind of live and let live. I don’t see the point in spraying for ticks when we have a dog and the deer wander through our yard to plunder our fruit trees anyway despite the spraying – we just make it a point to do tick checks.

    4. I have it for my house because my first day in my backyard I got 10 bug bites in 5 minutes and I’d like to enjoy my backyard without having to drown myself in bug spray

    5. Necessary? No – convenient if you want to spend time outside regularly and have lots of creepy crawlies on your patio? Yes.

      1. :::shudder::::
        A friend moved to Arizona and my favorite quote of his when asked about it was ‘everyone would move out here if it wasn’t for the scorpions and tarantulas!’

    8. I signed up for quarterly treatments after a particularly dry summer caused a ton of ants to invade my (finished, dry, half above ground) basement in search of water. They flocked to the toilet, which is the only water down there. There’s no food, no crumbs, nothing else to attract ants. It was so so gross, the entire floor of the bathroom and all along the wall leading to the window where they got in was black with ants. Spraying the inside of the house, all around the windows, all around the garage door, didn’t stop them. So yes now the outside of the house gets treated because I am never living in that ant encrusted hellscape ever again.

    9. We only do this if there is a particular issue, such as something going after wood. We’re hesitant to do regularly since we have pets and some of the chemicals have been linked with cancer. We keep our grass trimmed and don’t allow standing water and that seems to be enough. If it’s a high mosquito season, I’ll use some bug spray on myself, but I feel like that’s less of a health and environment risk than spraying everything around me and whatever will seep into ground and water.

    10. Agreed. It also makes it unsafe for kids, pets, sensitive neighbours, waterways and kills frogs and beneficial insects.

      There’s usually a way of deterring or catching insects.

      (Killing termites near houses uses baits instead of spray)

    11. I won’t use it because I’m concerned about it killing beneficial insects and don’t trust the companies that tell me what they use is “safe.” I use mosquito dunks in some drains that I know hold standing water and really need to buy a bat house. Fans on a deck will also help with mosquitos–they basically can’t fly if it’s a little windy–and make sure your gutters are clear and not holding standing water. Everything else I just don’t worry about, but diatomaceous earth sprinkled in areas roaches (and really any insect) might enter a house will also kill them.

    12. I mean, “they will come back” isn’t an argument for not doing it. Your lawn grows back, your laundry gets dirty again – it’s the nature of certain types of maintenance. But if bugs outside your home aren’t, well, bugging you, then don’t fix what ain’t broke.

    13. Only if you have a particular pest that’s causing problems. We were getting an insane number of spiders in house so we sprung for pest control for those.

    14. We started spraying outdoors because we had an infestation of twig ants. They’re an invasive species, they’re aggressive, and their bites are roughly equivalent to hornet stings. One of the stings made my arm go numb. We would have gone to the ER, except it was April 2020, so my husband called poison control while I took one of every antihistamine in the house. Until we had the area sprayed, we couldn’t sit outside, which was a priority in 2020 and 2021. We spray quarterly, and they start to come back if we don’t–I suspect they live in the canopy of a large tree that partially overhangs my yard.

    1. An egregious waste of money. The previous owners of our house who put them on might as well have set their money on fire. Just hire a company to come clean your gutters annually/biannually as needed.

      1. Tell us more? We spend $300 annually on cleaning gutters and thought it was a no brainer to get the covers when we get a new roof.

        1. These were a wire mesh designed to let the water through but keep the leaves out. In actuality, leaves and pine needles got caught in the mesh holes and wedged themselves in every manner of way between the guard, the gutter, and the roof, leading to complicated clogs at corners.

          I’m not sure if a gutter helmet style would work better?

      2. I just had a roofer out regarding a broken gutter repair and asked him about guards, and he said avoid them and just have the gutters cleaned once/twice a year. (This company and specific roofer have done previous work for me and I trust them.)

    2. They’re wonderful You never have to clean gutters again!

      (FYI- 3 story house, like miles of gutters and my gutters were clogging every rainstorm- installed the ones from costco).

    3. Counterpoint: Hugely worth it, depending on how often you need to clean your gutters. We have a couple of giant sycamores shading our house. Beautiful but incredibly messy trees. They drop leaves, seed pods, sticks, and bark seemingly year round, filling up the gutters often. Gutter guards/covers have been completely worth it.

    4. Worth it. We still have our gutters cleaned 2x a year, but now it’s an hour long, $75 task, previously it would take all day and cost a lot more. We don’t have one of the expensive name brand gutter set ups though, just one that was installed by the contractor when we had our gutters replaced. Our lot is tree filled.

    5. I’m so glad I asked, these are great answers and giving me a lot to think about! The trees around my house have needles, not leaves, so I’m leaning towards guards probably not being necessary for our house. Our house is on a pretty steep hill, so the gutters on the downhill side are up really high and make cleaning totally out of the realm of a DIY project.

      1. It’s not out of the realm to do it yourself if you are on a steep hill with multiple stories (my house is situated this way). There are attachments you can add to a garden hose or pressure washers, with pole extenders. You literally blast the gunk out of the gutters with water. Yes, you might still need a ladder, but it doesn’t have to reach multiple stories. FYI, this is how the company that used to clean my gutters did it (for $200 a pop, 4 times a year). My $.02 is to look into it before you make a final decision.

  3. Love seeing updates here, so here is mine:

    A short while ago, I asked for some advice on whether to negotiate a job offer. Background: during my initial chat with a recruiter, she said they were targeting a range of $X-$Y for the role. My offer came in at $Y. I was happy with that amount and questioned whether to seek more. Opinions were mixed – some here said yes, others said no.

    I decided to negotiate and expressed enthusiasm for the job, asking for a bit more based on some specific experience I have that I felt would help me succeed in the role. They came back with a 7% increase, and I accepted!

    Thanks to everyone for their thoughts, especially the encouragement to negotiate. My previous roles were all in a lockstep industry, so while I’m not new to the working world, I don’t have any real salary negotiation experience. Very happy with the result and looking forward to my new position!

    1. Yesss! Awesome! That was like $85K, right, which is where a lot of posters thought you could end up? So happy for you and glad you did it!!!

  4. Wise hive,
    Given that I’ve slept 14 of the past 16 hours, I should cancel the two hard-to-get meetings that I have set up for tomorrow, right? I was hoping by the time I finished the Paxlovid I would be able to sit up and hold a conversation for 30 minutes.
    F* COVID.
    :(

    4. I would keep the meetings and take some sudafed a bit before the first meeting. That is how I was able to get in a few hours’ work when I had the virus.

    5. Yes. I got ambitious yesterday to just do a quick call with a hard to reach client. It was only 30 minutes long and I had to mute myself to get a huge coughing fit under control. Just literally save your breath and tell them you need to reschedule.

      I do have some positivity to impart though: I am by no means 100% today, but I have definitely taken a turn for the better. Nothing is getting worse/no new symptoms and congestion and body aches almost fully clear, with more of an intermittent cough when talking for too long, going for a walk, or eating (as opposed to basically nonstop). Hang in there, and hopefully you will turn the corner soon too!

        1. And you were the comment that convinced me to cancel everything, so double thanks. It’s good to have the stress off.

          1. You are so welcome. Please take good care of yourself and your family. I see below you have a little one in daycare who may have been patient zero. My 1 year old also has it (though he was actually not the source, shockingly). His symptoms have been pretty manageable so far -nowhere near as bad as when he had RSV, which is the metric I use to measure all illnesses for him so far. I hope yours is handling it okay, as well. The very hardest part of being a parent for me so far is taking care of a sick baby while also sick myself. I find it is even harder/taking even longer for me to get over illnesses, probably due to the worry, lack of sleep, and energy expelled taking care of my little one. I have also never been more sick myself than I was this first year of daycare.

    6. Yes. I tried to soldier on with some Rotary stuff while I had COVID and ended up making a bit of a fool of myself in some emails.

      Also, I’m so sorry this happend! Hugs!!

      1. Thanks. I am not enjoying it and grateful we lasted this long without it. It took less than a week of daycare.

        1. Oh man, the same thing happened to my friend. Her 2 year old had three days in daycare and got Covid on the fourth day. It’s in my house now too and I’m shocked that honestly daycare wasn’t the source. I thought sure that would be what would get us (since we’re still really cautious and wearing masks everywhere).

  5. Any recs for books I could read aloud to my blind 99 year old grandmother? She isn’t interested in books on tape, just in me reading to her :) We’re nearing the end of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and she’s loved it. The only requirement really is that a story be “clean” – no bodice ripping, no swearing (though there’s a bit of that in this). She used to watch (listen) to a lot of Hallmark movies, but their formulaic nature started to bug her, so I don’t think she’d want a formulaic romance novel, even if clean. Thanks for your recs!

    1. Surprisingly, I think Rebecca would fit the bill (a few genteel swears, no sex). Does she mind darker themes and subject matter?

      Classics are probably generally safe – Jane Austen, Elizabeth Gaskell, George Eliot would be good.

      1. Thanks for the thoughts – I hadn’t even thought of classics! She doesn’t mind a bit of darker themes – the Guernsey book is set during WWII and there’s a few poignant passages about concentration camps and death – but I worry about it since her mental state can sometimes vary by the day, and I wouldn’t want to upset her or give her bad dreams.

        1. For sure! Rebecca you’d probably want to tread cautiously then. If a murder mystery that isn’t too visceral and gory is okay, Agatha Christie or Alexander McCall Smith. And personally I’ve been enjoying Her Royal Spyness lately – the first one is a murder mystery but has a delightfully nonchalant tone that keeps it from being remotely disturbing. Love that you’re doing this – my grandmas both encouraged my lifelong love of reading and there’s something very special about sharing that!

          1. Also – what about narrative non-fiction or travelogues? Bill Bryson pops to mind. I think there’s some mild swearing. I really liked A Walk in the Woods, In A Sunburned Country (about Australia; CW for violence against Aboriginal Australians), At Home, and One Summer.

      2. Elizabeth Gaskell is a good suggestion. Zola, maybe. Austen’s novels can be a bit difficult to parse aloud because of her complex sentence structure.

    3. This is really lovely of you! What about mysteries like Agatha Christie? I also second Jane Austen.

    4. I’d go for children’s/YA books to make sure there’s no swearing or bodice ripping. Ones I’ve loved:
      – Ella Enchanted
      – Westing Game
      – Harry Potter / Rick Riordan if she’d be open to that (or Hunger Games)

      Ones on my to-read list:
      – Mysterious Benedict Society
      – Mixed up Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankweiler (I wonder how that old commenter is doing!)
      – The Night Circus

    5. James Herriott’s books of animal stories (All Things Great and Small, etc) might be good. They’re all compilations of short stories, so easy to pick up and put down, and takes place around the same time period as Guernsey.

    6. Are there any particular genres she enjoys? The monk and robot series by Becky Chambers is wonderful – ‘fantasy’ as it’s set in another planet/future but is very gentle and almost religious? The Fredrik Backman books are also very gentle and life affirming (Anxious People was a favorite, a Man called Ove might be rough as there is death of the elderly character). 84 charing cross road? The James Herriot books?

      1. I too enjoy Backman but beware of Beartown; I would not call it gentle necessarily.

      1. Ooh, the complete novels of LM Montgomery is like 2.99 on Kindle and would be great even if AOGG feels like old hat – I never tire of Jane of Lantern Hill or the Blue Castle.

      1. +1. This post is so heartwarming and makes me miss my grandparents all over again.

    9. How about the Anne of Green Gables / Anne of Avonlea books?

      I think it’s lovely that you are reading to your grandmother.

    10. Annie Dillard’s Pilgrim at Tinker Creek if you’re interested in the subject matter: non-fiction, reflecting on nature, humanity, and spirituality. But you don’t have to be spiritual to enjoy it (I’m an atheist). Beautiful and vivid descriptions of everyday nature, thoughtful observations on life, straightforward prose but deep in its themes, and fantastic writing. Won a Pulitzer. Just a really special book!

    11. Old school rec but how about Secret Garden? Or, dig up some of the vintage Nancy Drew with the words from her childhood?

    12. Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression by Mildred Kalish is a really fun memoir and very descriptive, which she might enjoy.

    13. Agatha Christie is a pretty “clean” mystery author. And I like Madeline Brent for romantic suspense novels (think Victoria Holt-style). They also have international settings, which are fun. Connie Willis does really great screwball comedy/romance, although there’s usually also a sci-fi/fantasy bent to them. Jane Harper does good modern mysteries which are pretty clean – try “The Dry” first. Otherwise, I like “A Gentleman in Moscow” for fiction, and if she likes sardonic/dry humor, how about “My Prizes: An Accounting” for non-fiction.

    15. Anything by Victoria Holt, Mary Stewart, Dornford Yates, Dorothy Sayers, Sarah Caudwell, Daphne DuMaurier, Connie Willis, or Agatha Christie.
      Laurie King’s Mary Russell series.
      Donna Andrew’s Meg Lanslow series.
      Gail Carriger’s Custard Protocol series.

      1. Oh my gosh, I read ALL the Victoria Holt books when I was a young teen, haven’t heard that name since then. Thanks that little memory trip.

      2. Was just thinking of the Mary Russell series. It’s set in the 1910s- 20s with a young female protagonist but from a narrative frame of being the memoirs of an elderly woman and is really well written.

    16. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
      All the Light We Cannot See
      The Lilac Girls

      1. I don’t remember specfically, but I think Evelyn Hugo includes some, maybe a lot of, profanity. It also deals with same-sex relationships, if that’s an issue for your grandmother, and there is at least one same-sex encounter and multiple hetero encounters that are described with some detail – not super-graphic and not p*** like, but it’s there.

      2. A grandmother who doesn’t want smut is going to be veeeery uncomfortable the Evelyn Hugo as a character.

      1. Adding this author as she’s a strong woman from your grandmother’s generation. Dervla Murphy. All her books which I’ve read have been entertaining and exciting, and completely clean. The latter books become slightly political.

  6. I just started a job where I need to look more polished so I think, at 37 years old, it’s time to start “doing” my hair. Let me explain: I have extremely, extremely thick wavy/curly (2C) hair. When I wear it curly it’s pretty chaotic looking, not nice even curls. It’s only about shoulder length, but it’s so thick and dense and porous that it takes about an hour and a half to blow dry straight. I usually just can’t be bothered. My whole life I’ve let it air dry and usually pull it back in a bun because I’m lazy. But I need to step it up. I have the Revlon blow dryer brush but it’s not powerful enough to dry my hair on its own, so I have to use the regular dryer first and then the Revlon. I like the results but it’s still a lot of time and effort and it kills my arms. I was thinking of getting jumbo hot rollers to help fake the blowout look without the effort. Does anyone use this method or have suggestions?

    1. Request for info – have you tried something like the Curly Girl Method? It seems a bit complicated but my friends swear by it.

      Or what about going a lot shorter? Search images for “long pixie curly,” that’s what I’m thinking of.

      1. Oh yes I have paid my dues to the throne of CG. It’s a ton of work and not really any less effort. I had a pixie cut before and hated it, it did not work for me.

    2. so first of all I do think curly hair can look polished, but if you’ve decided you want it to look more straight you might consider keratin or something like that. one of my lowest maintenance friends did it (meaning she also didn’t care taht much about her hair at work, also needed to look more polished and realized blow drying was a huge time suck that she does not have as a full time working mom with 3 young kids) and she says it has been life changing.

    3. A fellow curly girl with hard to manage hair here and I went through a phase of thinking my hair made me look “less polished” and then I realized that is a load of (four letter word). Curls are not inherently less polished than straight hair.

    4. If you prefer to wear your hair straight, have you considered getting a Brazilian Blowout? I’ve been doing them for over a decade and it has drastically reduced the amount of time and effort it takes to get my curly hair straight (though I can still wear it wavy if I want to). They used to be pretty expensive, but now they’re about $150 in my area and I only have to do it 2x per year.

      1. You know, I did one as a teenager and it was so bad it broke some of my hair off, so I’ve been scared off since then. I should look into it again.

    5. Sedu Revolution blow dryer. Very thick hair and it has a shorter drying time than my Dyson. Also, if your hair dresser can get your hair dry quickly ask for advice. Nothing makes mine happier than when she gets to geek out teaching me.

    6. I would be air drying it with the right product so that it’s pretty polished curls. Have you tried consulting a stylist about a good air dry product? Or is that just not the outcome you want?

    7. I have your hair. It just looks messy if I do not spend a lot of time on it – which does not read as polished or professional to me. I found keratin life changing. I get one of the milder version so it is not stick straight after the first week but it makes it so much easier to style and it drys so much faster!

      And for those of you saying curly care can be polished, I do not doubt that some curly hair can indeed look that way. But for some of us it just looks like we rolled out of bed and/or requires an incredibly time consuming routine that eats up time I could better spend on other things.

      1. That’s it exactly. I can do the whole CG method in an attempt to have neat, even, uniform curls, but it rarely works out that way. My hair is just too hard to manage and the curl pattern is uneven so it just looks messy and not intentional. I will consider keratin treatments, thank you!!

    8. I think you should get really good at curly girl and diffuser – there are a zillion videos out there so watch ones of people with your hair type.

    9. I have similar hair. Have you thought about continuing to pull it back but not in the bun? Like a French braid or up in a twist with a tortoise shell clip? I think the key is to make it feel intentional and not like you’re just throwing it back. But also, I think if your hair is taking that long to blow dry, maybe you need a better blow dryer.

      1. Unfortunately my hair really just takes that long to dry! It takes my stylist the same amount of time with professional tools. It’s really just that thick. Thank you for your thoughts, those are good ideas.

        1. I feel this. I have to book extra time for my stylist for my thick hair.
          I’ve had luck with blowing it out then doing flat iron waves, which camoflauge some of the imperfection. I also have hit and miss luck with the Dyson Airwrap curling attachments–dry most of the way then finish with the curling attachments.

        2. I totally feel your pain. Curly girl used to work for me and it just doesn’t anymore. My curl pattern has changed with age and the curls aren’t nice right now. Plus my hair either takes like four hours to air dry or I have to wash and diffuse it in the morning. I can’t sleep on it or it just gets smushed. I’m leaning into it pulled back. For zoom calls, I find half back with a claw clip looks nice and doesn’t seem to really matter if I’ve properly blown it out or if the curls are looking good.

    10. Hi! Fellow thick 2C/3A girl here with constant hair compliments. Here’s exactly what I do and use:

      Pantene Repair and Protect shampoo and conditioner (in the regular line, the blue label) – my hair isn’t damaged, but this coats my hair and helps it stay frizz free.

      When I get out of the shower, I flip my hair upside down and scrunch/blot off just enough water to not drip – hair should still be noticeably wet.

      Then I mix the two of these in my palm, using more of the curl cream than the smoothing cream, and apply all over my hair, concentrating on the ends and mid-shaft, scrunching as I go: https://www.amazon.com/Garnier-Fructis-Intensely-Smooth-Conditioning/dp/B078PJCVSQ and https://www.amazon.com/Marc-Anthony-Strictly-Curls-Perfect/dp/B08HKB9J2R

      And then – I DON’T TOUCH IT. My curls will come apart into fuzz if I do. (This means I sadly can’t ever get a second day out of my curls.) My hair dries when it dries. (It seems to do well in the car with the heat on high.) If I use a hairdryer, it has to be with a diffuser on high heat, low speed. If my hair by chance dried too slowly and too cold, I might occasionally get a crispy, shiny, wet-look “shell” on my curls – I’ll squeeze each curl just once to “break” the shell so that my hair loses the wet look, which I intensely dislike as personal preference.

      Anyway, I hope this helps you. It took me til I was 35 to figure this out, some through the help of this board, so don’t feel bad!

    11. I wanted to add that as a person with fine oily hair that is more limp than straight (but not the gray hairs, that would be too convenient), I think that hair like yours is so, so pretty.

    12. Embrace the curls but you might need a specialist curly hairdresser and some products. Heaps of good info online, youtube and Instagram depending on your curl type.

      Experiment with a few up styles too: loose braid, loose pony and bobby pin sections around to make a bun, or pinning sections back from your face. Let those curls shine even if ‘up’.

      Much better investment of time than blow drying straight. Do you have a diffuser on your hair dryer?

      Curly hair is beautiful and professional, just takes a little know how to find the cut and products. I love Aveda Be Curly with my thick porous curly hair but there might be something better for you.

    13. So as a gal with 1A, I have to say I think curly hair naturally looks MORE polished than straight hair! If I just let my hair air dry, it just kind of sits limp and lank along my head, and if I pull it back in a low-po, I look like a Founding Father. Curly hair on the other hand when pulled back in a bun to me looks like you got a cute updo and has some interest and texture to it. So +1 to what Joan Wilder said.

      1. Lol, Founding Father. As a gal with 1b, I know what you mean. Any volume I get from the “b” part never sticks for long.

    15. I’ve got your hair. I would suggest finding an updo that is comfortable, easy, and polished. If you don’t want to do that, I would either

      a) lean into the curly thing to try to make them look OK – my favorite way right now is showering before bed, sleeping in a mesh cap, and then it’s like 90% dry in the morning.

      or

      b) do one of those sleep styler things, although you have to do those 80% dry or so. Lots of weird headband type things.

      Blowdrying my hair straight always always looks amateurish. If I really wanted to look polished I might become one of those women who gets the weekly blowout and tries to make it last as long as possible.

      1. Yes! I have curly hair, in the winter, I set it the night before using bathrobe curls method. It’s a much neater, tider curl than my own curl pattern, and it’s not too bad to sleep in. The morning is easy – just take it out and finger tousle

    16. I would say consider how to make your hair work for you as is. Clean, crisp makeup including a strong lip? Modern jewelry and clothes? Couple that with hair in a curly bun and you still look very professional.

    18. My hair has a lovely combination of 1C – 2C curls and cowlicks. If I’m not going to blow out, then pulling it into a bun or low ponytail with an interesting part is my my pulled together look.

  7. I just got a mouthguard for TMJ and actually slept with it in for the entire night last night. Are there any tips I should know about? My mouth was pretty dry all night, lots of slobber in the morning. I know not to leave it where a pet can get it.

    1. I brush mine with toothpaste every morning and clean it with denture cleaner tablets once a week.

      Make sure you bring it to dentist appointments because they’ll want to make sure it still fits properly.

    2. I just rinse mine well every morning and do denture cleaners once a week (I’ll brush it once in a while if it seems like it needs it, but it generally doesn’t). I also bring it to the dentist and they give it an extra cleaning that leaves it smoother where I’ve chomped it up, but they’ve never bothered checking the fit. I don’t have TMJ, but I do have a lot of jaw pain that’s much better when using the nightguard and I don’t chip my teeth anymore, so I’m a big fan.

    3. My medical insurance covers TMJ treatment, but there’s only one doctor in the county who does it (major city), 45 minute drive away. The dental insurance I used to have didn’t cover it at all. Sigh.

    4. My dental hygienist recommended to brush it with soap daily and do a white vinegar & water soak once a week.

      Mine originally bothered the inside of my top lip, rubbed it wrong. I brought it in and my dentist ground that part down and now it fits comfortably. So, if something is uncomfortable, they can probably make adjustments.

    5. + for denture cleaner – I use the generic tablets from Targ or the grocery store, every few days for my former night guard (and daily now for Invisalign). Yay good sleep!

  8. Any advice for how to feel better about a long string of mediocre to failed projects at work? I’ve been in consulting for 1.5 years now and I’ve really only been on one very successful project (on time, great outputs, happy client) during that time (which was back in January). I’m starting to get really discouraged about so many projects that haven’t gone well (for a whole variety of reasons). To be fair, many/most of my project issues are totally outside my control (as I’m a relatively junior team member) but it’s quite discouraging nevertheless when I’m putting so much effort and time into projects that go badly.

    Any advice?

    1. Look for the small wins within the larger projects. Maybe a project failed but you created a great deliverable for a portion of it? Or you worked out a faster/better/simpler way to do a standard project task? Or even that you have developed a better understanding of and rapport with your colleagues?

    2. I am in law (10 years now) but I remember feeling like you do when I started. I don’t know how helpful this is but…the more time goes on, the more successes you will have, as well as disappointments/dry spells. 1.5 years isn’t a very long time at all when you think about the total time in your career ( assuming since you said you are junior, you are just starting our). I know, I know this sounds like cheesy “you’ll understand when you’re older” bs, but it’s really true. Also, look for the small victories and celebrate them. Rather than a good outcome on a completed project, have you solved a small issue lately? Found the answer someone on your team needed and emailed it to them? Finished some tedious but necessary task? Take the wind where you can!

    3. Try to focus on, and keep a log of, your individual contributions and how you showed excellence, even if the project overall didn’t succeed. You made a great deliverable, you got something in earlier than the deadline, you covered for a colleague who was out of pocket, you came up with a creative new approach, that kind of thing. Those are the types of data points your current and future employer will be looking for to judge you as an employee – not, I was Cog #15 on a multibillion dollar deal.

    4. Look for where things went wrong and what you learned from that situation so you can avoid potential problems in future. That’s a strength.
      Working on a few disasters (especially when not your fault) can give you invaluable experience in learning how to mitigate and handle them.

    5. Sometimes the right outcome is nipping a mediocre project in the bud rather than letting it sail on its own momentum. An abandoned project doesn’t necessarily mean a bad result.

  9. Any guesses on when apple season begins? I know you can buy apples at the store now, but I’m curious when we’ll start getting the new varieties of apples monthly rather than just what’s coming from cold storage from last year’s harvest. I’m in the DC area if it matters.

    2. I saw some early harvest apples at my farmer’s market on Saturday, so I’d say it starts now, but doesn’t really get going strong until late September.

    3. I’m slightly north of you in Baltimore, but apple season usually starts about in a week or so with the summer apple varieties like summer rambo or yellow transparent! I usually hit up farmer stands or markets to find these, since they go mushy pretty fast.

    4. In DC the harvest calendar says apples in August, September, October and November.

  10. I have the revlon hair dryer / blow out device thing (“one step” brush). I’ve used it a ton for just over 2 years and it’s falling apart – bristles are matted and some are falling out. I’m going to chalk it up to being from heavy use (3-4x/week), though I did hope it would last longer than this. Before I replace, what’s an upgrade? Is there anything between this and the Dyson air wrap that is more durable? Dyson is not necessarily out of budget so I’ll get it if it’s the right answer. TIA!

    1. I’d suggest the Drybar Double Shot. It’s must easier on the hair than the Revlon Styler (it doesn’t get as steaming hot). I also have the Dyson air wrap styler and don’t love it. It seems to take forever to dry and I just don’t have time for that.

  11. I’m traveling soon and carting around a yoga mat is a hassle. Has anyone used a foldable yoga mat…yes or no? Recommendations please!

    2. I have a Gaiam 2mm foldable travel yoga mat. It’s thin, but it works as advertised.

      1. +1 on the Gaim. It’s fairly cheap and it’s compact. Fits in the front pocket of my carry-on. Have brought it on many trips and am always glad I did.

    3. I haven’t used one, instead I travel with a Turkish towel to practice yoga on if taking my mat is impractical. I do Hatha yoga and Yoga Nidra.
      Some hotels provide them.

    4. Yes, I have the Manduka travel mat and regularly travel with it. It’s great, so long as you’re on carpet. (Even tight corporate carpet is fine.)

    5. I usually put one of the hotel room towels on the hotel floor carpet and it gets the job done in a pinch.

  12. I often WFH from a Frankenhouse (1920s/plaster walls + 80s addition with drywall + 2020 fixes to all the above to remove knob-and-tube wiring and some other things HVAC related; all over a semi-basement crawl space). Area like Arlington VA where houses are detached. There are hawks in the area and small mice; not rats to my knowledge. The critter control people spent a day recently to deal with mice getting into the basement and something dying inside a wall.

    Today, something was in a wall over the crawl space, right above where I put baited mouse traps that have had 20+ kills in the past year. But this critter evaded them (WTF #1) and sounded like it was vigorously filing away at the walls to get in the living space (WTF #2 is that no critter has a hand to use a file with and this is space that is nowhere near any food). Pounding on my side of the wall did not seem to scare it off. It was LOUD. Dog that alerts to everything was not even remotely alarmed at this (ring the doorbell however . . .). Is it the death throes of something else dying in the walls? For all of the thrashing / scratching, is it a mouse again? Something else. IS THE HOUSE HAUNTED? It is time to burn some sage?

    I don’t know what this is to plot against it. I can get the critter guy back (who did a ton of work sealing up things, but maybe it just eliminated the easy options and now the crafty invaders are what is left), but it may take until after Labor Day (the critters around here never rest, it seems).

    1. Probably a squirrel. They are annoying af. If you trap it, I’d kill it unless you’re able to relocate it REALLY far away.

    2. Maybe a raccoon. We had one that nothing would scare away. I’d call a professional.

    3. Sounds like a squirrel to me. My BF had one in his “attic” and it did sound like some kind of demented goblin trying to get into the house.

      1. OP here — demented goblin is about right. Is that the sound of one just out and about, as it were? Death throes? Or am I under attack and they want IN? And how do I get it / them to leave???

  13. I made a Great Resignation pivot that isn’t working out. My first job in the new area was a terrible fit and I left after three months for a different job. My current job is objectively much better but the work just doesn’t excite me. I’m worried about having two short stays on my resume, but I’m also worried about being bored for two years just to prove I’m not a job hopper. It’s a choice between a rock and a hard place, I think. If you were in my shoes, which would you choose?

  14. I’m 2 weeks past a semi-major surgery. Two things:
    1) I am so sweaty and stink. My usual Secret isn’t cutting it. Any recs for something stronger?
    2) I don’t know when to return to work. I’m nowhere near ready to go back in person. But I think there’s an unspoken hope that I’ll begin working from home sooner. I’m resting but never really sleeping, yet it’s hard to imagine working even though I’m getting bored. I guess it’s mostly up to me to decide , and I really have no idea. The forced break has been nice.

    1. For #1, I’d suggest trying Lume – the one in a tube. You can put it all over (I do under bust, and well as below the waist on a sweaty day, my spouse uses it also). Really cuts stink!

      For #2, I tried going back quickly in a similar situation and when reviewing my own work a few weeks later, my work product looked like I was on drugs. And no, I wasn’t. So I don’t think there’s a way to give them a date at this point. I would wait for sure until you are sleeping decently, and managing home tasks well. So like if you are able to clean and organize your pantry without needed a 2 hour nap, maybe give working a shot.

      1. I’m sleeping okay but I am sleeping 10 hours every night. That’s probably a sign that I’m not ready.

        1. I completely agree – approximating your normal sleep schedule will be a good sign you’ll have enough physical and mental energy to work.

    2. Take as much time as you can. As someone who’s had major surgery, I will say that the best thing you can do is take every day your surgeon will write you off. It’s good to rest. Anesthesia is super hard, even if the surgery itself is starting to improve.

      And I had the same issue post-surgery with stink. I think it’s the anesthesia, I swear. It will fade.

    3. Another vote for Lume. I might get something scented, though, if you can find a fragrance that you think might appeal to you. I got the unscented, and it’s unscented in the tube for me, but I don’t love whatever weird body chemistry reaction happens on my skin when I first apply it. The smell dissipates in a minute or so and I’m completely odorless thereafter, but it just about makes me gag until it does. I’m sure I’m a weird one-off. I can heartily attest that it does work very well at its job of keeping stink away.

      1. Agree! I don’t generally like scented products, but wasn’t happy with the unscented. I even like the vanilla – its lovely for the 5 minutes the scent sticks around, and I typically hate those Bath & Bodyworks type scents.

    4. With chemo recovery, you all told me to take every possible day, and I’m so grateful I did. Even though then I was out two weeks later for COVID, because this year really likes me. So let me be a vote for every day your surgeon is willing to write for.

  15. Our small law firm is taking new headshots next week as we are updating our website. We will be taking some group shots, in addition to individual shots (first time I’m at a firm that’s small enough to take a group shop). The guys are wearing button-downs with jackets (coordinating, not actual suits), mostly in blue and gray tones, some beige (so, muted). I think if I wore a full suit, it would look too serious and formal. My co-worker is wearing a long-sleeved dress in navy, with a window-pane print. I don’t own any long-sleeved dresses.

    What would you wear:
    A. A light-gray sheath dress with a coordinating darker blue (but not quite navy) St. John’s knit jacket on top;
    B. A light-gray sheath dress with navy blue J. Crew Going Out Blazer on top;
    C. A light-gray sheath dress with a Boss purplish tweed, collarless jacket on top;
    D. A tweed light-gray/silver Boss sheath dress with elbow sleeves, slight v-neck; or
    E. A tweed darker gray tweed Boss sheath dress with 3/4 sleeves and a round neck;

    I normally gravitate to black everything, but because I have dark brown hair (East Asian descent), I think my hair will blend in too much with anything dark on top.

    1. Oooh, fun question! I’d wear the light gray sheath and bring all the jackets with me to the office and let the group and/or photographer vote.

    3. With your hair color, I’d go with one of the gray options so you have some contrast!

    5. Fun question! I would vote for B or C. Purple plays so well with blues and grays! Maybe bring both blazers so you can see how they look in person with the group?

      I would also take some mock shots at home of both options seated and standing. There’s one dress I have that I *love* for standing events but if I sit in it, the stomach pooches out bizarrely.

  16. anyone have a recommendation for a drug store price heat protectant spray that works well for fine, frizzy hair? Thanks!

    1. It’s a 10 miracle leave in product

      Has my hair looking good in the NE crazy humidity

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