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Updated: Sep 27, 2021 104 Comments · by

Suit of the Week: Talbots

Business Travel Tips for Women· Suit of the Week | ·

This post may contain affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

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 don't think we've done a Suit of the Week post for Talbots' Easy Travel Suiting pieces, but they're great if you're looking for something that's lightweight, easy to pack, and just really easy-care (machine wash, tumble dry).

The size ranges, like most of Talbots' clothing, are misses, petite, plus, and plus petite. Note that some sizes are selling out in plus and plus petite — but check back, because this suiting line is something they've had for a long time.

Also be aware that the dress seems to be getting some negative reviews, so you may want to take a look at those.

The Easy Travel Suiting pieces range from $109–$239.

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!

Hunting for travel-friendly suits for women or lightweight suits? As of 2024, some of our favorites include these brands/lines: 1) M.M.LaFleur, 2) Ministry of Supply, 3) Paul Smith, and 4) Talbots. (Not pictured: Eddie Bauer and Suitably! Brooks Brothers also occasionally has suiting in their BrooksCool line, and Uniqlo occasionally has Airism suiting. ) You may also want to check out our roundup of washable suits for women!

collage of 4 women wearing travel-friendly suits
Our favorite travel-friendly suits of 2024: one / two / three / four

Sales of note for 9.30.24

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

Some of our latest threadjacks include:

About Kat

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

Comments

  1. anon

    Do Keratin treatments work for frizz? And is the normal one really that much better than the express? I could not believe it when my salon told me that the express was 1.5 hours, so I want to make sure it works before scheduling.
    Thanks!

    • Anonymous

      Yes, they work for frizz especially if you style with heat – – if not, then depending on your hair they may have less impact. I only do the Express and it’s just as effective – – it just doesn’t last as long supposedly but I can get 3 to 4 months out of the Express which is good enough for me. My stylist said she pretty much only does the Express now because with her super duper straightening tool (it gets really hot) the difference between the Express and the regular is minimal. I would do it more often if I weren’t scared of all the chemicals!

        • Anon

          I think one consideration is how frizzy your hair is. My hairstylist says he will only use the express for people with minor issues/slight frizz. He said for the amount of time and money saved (i.e., very little), the express is not worth it for most people. I get the regular treatment and have been happy with the results.

    • Triangle Pose

      Express is not worth it. I don’t even have that much frizz and I just do the regular keratin 2x a year, it’s better than doing express more often and having it not last as long. I’m a kertin for life person now, it cuts my drying time so much I can air dry and my texture is so much improved.

  2. Anon

    I really like this jacket, jackets with collars make me look and feel so broad!

  3. Anonymous

    How do you respond to recruiting emails and calls? Do you respond at all? I am a 5th year associate and lateraled last year, moving to my state’s capital. Recruiters email me at least once a week at my work email, and as of last week, I’ve started getting calls (voicemails on my work phone). So far, I have just ignored all of the correspondence. I’m not looking to move again, in fact, I hope to make partner and stay at my current firm. Should I call these recruiters and tell them that? Keep ignoring them?

    • FoolishFox

      Is it the same couple of recruiters/recruiting companies? If so, might be worth letting them know you’re not looking. If it keeps changing, I’m not sure that responding is going to make any difference.

    • Anon

      Definitely ignore them if you have no interest in making a move. Recruiters are essentially telemarketers and one of them once told me they basically get judged on how many live conversations they have with people, so if you give them any kind of contact whatsoever, even if it’s to tell them you’re not interested, they will put you on their “keep calling” list. The only way to get them off your back is to ignore.

    • Anon

      This is such a broad question. (And honestly reads like somebody who’s trying to make a listicle.) Could you narrow it down a little bit?

    • Anonymous

      Maybe not exactly what you mean but… my Kindle. Putting my phone away for the night and taking 30 minutes at the end of the day to read for fun brings me so much joy and helps me sleep better.

      • Anon

        I read lots of cheesy novels (Love Inspired, to be precise) and buy them by the lot on ebay where they’re a dollar or less per book. I stayed up til 12:30 last night reading a great book – it was so FUN to do that! I felt like a kid again :) My library’s hours and location aren’t convenient for me, so I buy these and never have to worry about a return date, and I donate them to a local charity or nursing home when I’m done. (I made friends with one nursing home resident last year and brought her a whole stack a couple months ago. When I checked in on her this past weekend, she said she had read them all and mailed them on to friends at other nursing homes <3)

    • Anon

      Epsom salt baths. I just buy the plain Epsom salt from the pharmacy area, not the fancy stuff in the bath aisle. Bad day? Vanished. Long commute? Vanished. Too many voicemails from my mother? Vanished.

      • nona

        I buy it in bulk from an online supplier :) I get a bigger bag than I’ve found in person.

          • nona

            I’ve been using Saltworks, usually a 25lb bag for about $30 and free shipping. Don’t know how that compares with Costco, but I like having the bigger bag (I’ll do 2-3 cups of salt in a bath) so I don’t runout as often.

        • Anon

          I’ve had the best luck at the Christmas Tree Shop (if you’re not familiar, it’s like Big Lots meets Home Goods). Six lb bags are $3.50. It’s a 40 minute drive for me, but I always come home with at least half a dozen bags of salt (and, oh yeah, whatever all else I wanted ;) ).

    • Pompom

      Water, comfortable weekend shoes and clothes, magic wand (for…gardening), and cheapie sheet masks from river site.

      • Anon

        I grew up in a super formal family (think Richard and Emily Gilmore) and the further I’ve gotten away from that, the less tolerance (read: none) I have for uncomfortable clothes. I get so fussy after a day of being dressed up at work vs a day where I get to hide in my office in bus. cas. I frequently dream of quitting my law job and becoming a park ranger – you get to see the sun AND wear pants you can bend in!

  5. public speaking

    I am becoming someone asked to speak on a topic I am an expert in. Sometimes I am offered a fee plus costs covered, sometimes a fee and I cover costs from that fee, but sometimes I get asked to speak and there is no fee or anything covered. I can’t really afford to go spend the money to travel and speak for free and I don’t want to give away something knowing it may mean others might not pay for it. However, I know that speaking can sometimes lead to connections that lead to income. I want to get the opportunities but I can’t afford to go broke or hurt my own work by giving everything for free!

    How do I ascertain whether something is a good investment or me giving up my services free or me spending money to give away my services?

    • anon

      I would not travel for free for an unpaid speaking engagement….they need to cover your travel expenses at minimum. That’s an easy way to approach this….you don’t increase your value by giving away the services and traveling for free.

      • Anonymous

        I’m not law but speak a bit in my field so take the following advice accordingly. But only exceptions I would make on this are if you are still building credibility (you’re right, the more you speak, the bigger and better the opportunities) and if it’s an organization that will make a significant impact on your resume or current position. I landed the white whale of gigs in my field (my company paid for my travel and board because of the prestige for our organization) and it has made a huge impact My job was redefined to include speaking and they put me on a 3-month speaking tour. I’m also the go-to now for slots with our own internal conferences. And it sort of became a bit of a key to getting in to a network with others in my field (folks reference it when they reach out on LlinkedIn etc.). I’d see if you can nose around a bit about management of fees when calls for proposals come in. In my experience organizations either do or don’t pay (or pay a certain percentage like board but not air) and what you are paid somewhere else has no bearing. For big name speakers that command decent fees, that’s usually done through a speaker’s bureau rather than proposal. (I’ve worked at organizations in the past that book them for our conferences.) You can look to see if there is one that might make sense to belong to if you think you’re known enough/have an in-demand enough area of expertise.

      • Ellen

        There is a solution that the manageing partner taught me. What we do at our firm is simple. Where a fee is offered, we take it and do the speech/CLE. When no fee is offered, we don’t do the speech/CLE unless we can find a way to bill our clients for at least 250% of the time it takes for us to write the speech/CLE. We will NEVER do a speech/CLE where they don’t cover our travel expenses and food, and we insist that we NOT be limited to a fixed PRE-DEEUM which we would always exceed. This way, we get the exposure we need for our firm, and at the same time, do not loose $ getting our face out there in front of the potential cleints. YAY!!!!

    • Anon

      “Thank you so much for considering me. Because I receive so many requests, I’m not able to attend out of town events without travel costs being covered. If this is something you’re able to underwrite, I’m more than willing to attend – XYZ is a great organization!”

    • Anon

      Are you self employed or employed? I can often expense my costs to my employer if they feel it will be good PR for them to have one of their senior employees speak on a topic important to our industry. I generally come from a place of yes on speaking.

    • Prolific Speaker

      First, congrats on gaining recognition as a speaker. That’s great!

      It depends on a lot of variables, including ones raised by other posters about what stage you’re in of building your professional profile. It also depends a lot on your field (or the adjacent fields you find yourself speaking to) – in some fields, it’s just not common for events to pay speakers. Even within fields that usually pay, there are some events that just won’t pay speakers (or will save all their budget for their keynote speakers). This is particularly likely to be the case if the event is organized by a government body or non-profit.

      Most speaking engagements involve a lot of behind the scenes negotiation. Is there something besides travel expenses/a speaker’s fee that would make the event worth doing for you? Could they give you a list of attendees (to your session, or the whole event) with contact information so you can follow-up after the event? Could they include your logo or website in the directory, on the website, or on signage at the event? Can they give you access to any premium parts of the conference, like an invite-only networking event, VIP session, or special seminar? Could they set you up with journalists covering the event for you to do media interviews? Can they cover small expenses (such as sending someone to pick you up at the airport or giving you a meal voucher), or give you a good discount code on the hotel?

      Beyond that, I’d think carefully about the value of a given event. Is it in your field, or is it field-adjacent? Will it be high-level attendees, or mostly mid-level? How much prep time will your presentation take? Can you repurpose the presentation later for something else?

  6. anon

    Anyone hear the news about Todd and Julie Chrisley of “Chrisley Knows Best” reality TV family fame? Indicted on fraud, tax evasion, wire fraud, etc. Why do people think they can get away with this sort of thing? Crazy fraud…Reality TV stars seem prone to this……

    • Anon

      I don’t get people who think they can get away with fraud. But then I don’t understand people who want to be on reality tv or who force their kids to grow up in front of the world on reality tv either.

    • Anonymous

      He bothers me so much. I cannot put my finger on it, but he just grates on me. In any event, I hope USA cancels his contract and we can go back to watching Modern Family re-runs like 5 nights a week.

      • anon

        Their show is completely corny but I will admit I have watched it when I wanted something mindless to watch….was wondering where the wealth came from as they don’t appear to have jobs outside the show…..probably will get cancelled.

  7. IF Question

    For those of you who do intermittent fasting, how do you handle days when you are very off your normal schedule? I am still an IF newbie, and do an 11am-8pm window. I am traveling at the end of this week for work and will be leaving the house at 4am. I don’t think I can make it 7-8 hours after being awake, just sitting in a car, without eating. How would you handle? Bump up the window (and by how much)? Just let it go for the day? Stick with it?

    • Anon

      I try to eat dinner a little earlier and then I eat my breakfast whenever I get really hungry. IF works best for me if I try to keep my timeframe in mind but am not super strict about it.

    • IF fan

      When I have been in your situation, I eat lunch earlier. My window is 1 – 8 pm and would eat around 11 am. I wouldn’t sweat it too much if you need to eat breakfast, it’s just one day.

    • Anon

      With the caveat that I’m only two weeks into it and haven’t lost weight yet that I can tell, I would try to eat dinner earlier the night before so then I could start my window earlier the next day – maybe try to stop eating by 6 pm, so you could eat the next day around 9 am? My understanding is it’s the length of the fast that matters more than the length of the eating window. But I also don’t think skipping one day is a big deal. I have friends that have gotten good results only doing it on weekdays and doing whatever they want on weekends.

    • Anonymous

      I have fallen into intermittent fasting, which means I do fast most days, but I haven’t set a particular window and I sometimes don’t fast. It is working. I am certainly no doctor, but I suspect the confusion to my metabolism is part of what is helping with weight loss. I’d eat when you are hungry that day.

  8. Marble?

    Does anyone who is non-gentle on things have marble in a kitchen or bath that has been there for several years? Thoughts?

    Bloggers make marble look so lovely in pictures. But our reno contractor insists that no one uses it now and that everyone uses quartz or granite. I have had granite and it is virtually indestructible. I don’t mind quartz solids, but I don’t like the ones that have a marble look.

    I know: get what you want. But what I want is something I won’t regret in 1-5-10 years. I’m not sure what that is.

    • Anonymous

      I have granite, in large part because everything I’ve heard about marble makes it sound like more than I can handle. My parents have quartz and love it though.

      • anon

        We just did kitchen remodel and put in granite….indestructible and beautiful and prices have come down

    • Anon

      Have you looked at quartzite? Super white, white fantasy, and Vermont white are all different names for the same type of natural stone that is more suitable than marble in the kitchen but still has that marble look.

      • Anon

        I’ve had this (the “super white” version) in a prior kitchen and loooooved it!!

    • Small Firm IP Litigator

      Interested in this too. I am moving into a place that was recently renovated that has enough marble I could start my own quarry – entry way floor/stairs, kitchen counters/island including the sides and backsplashes, bathroom floor and walls, bathroom counters, shower walls, all around the tub, etc.

      Also interested in tips for maintaining and cleaning it.

    • Anon

      I have Carrara marble floor tiles (maybe 6” size, can’t remember) because it was a period appropriate look for a bathroom I had to remodel due to water damage in my 1909 home. That was in 2004 and it still looks great.

    • Anonymous

      I have a (good) marble look alike in quartz – Viatera Minuet – and 4 years on, I freaking adore it. I don’t baby it, I don’t seal it or worry about it, we have a nanny who doesn’t baby it, and it looks perfect.

    • anon

      Marble is lovely but I think it would be hard to maintain in a kitchen. I’d be looking for a solid surface counter that’s roughly the color you prefer — both quartz and quartzite would be at the top of my list.

    • ATL rette

      My whole thought is this: if you love the look of marble, go for it. It’s classic, beautiful and if marble statues from Ancient Greece are still around, it will be just fine with daily wear and tear in your kitchen or bathroom or wherever.

      I’m a perfectionist and I like keeping everything I own pristine…but I also like living in my house and not feeling on edge about potential imperfections so I’ve come to grips with the fact that my floors might get scratched or my counters might get dirty…its called patina ;)

      • Anonymous

        I agree with this attitude, and I think it’s interesting that no one actually answered the OPs question. I did have polished marble counters in my primary bathroom in our last house, and we weren’t particularly gentle. The prior owners had installed it about 4 years before we moved in. I didn’t mind the water spots and didn’t find we had significant discoloration or etching, but I also think a bit of patina fit the feel of the house, which was built in the 1860s. I wouldn’t install marble in a large kitchen island counter in an open floor plan set up because I think the inevitable stains would be eye catching. Unless your aesthetic is super modern and clean lined, I wouldn’t hesitate to use it for perimeter counters or for a smaller island in a kitchen that was a bit more “working” and less open to the living areas.

  9. gmtb

    I’m about to accept my first full-time position after 13 *long* years of IT and banking contractor life! So excited. Already have a discounted spa appointment booked, but looking for other fun small ways to celebrate. I also have a Magnolia Bakery gift card I’ll be using. (Chicago, btw.)

    • Anonymous

      I like to walk in Lincoln Park (or other parks, but I like the Pond area) when the weather is nice and just listen to the birds and look for animals.

  10. Anon

    Ugh. Just need to vent. I’m on medical leave recovering from a surgery. My leave is a reasonable amount of time. One week totally off and then one week remote then one week of 7-8 hour days instead of my usual 10 hour days then back to normal.

    My work just won’t leave me alone. Everyday I’ve got an email or text about something “urgent” that other people should have been able to handle. I’ve responded with really basic info like “Joe can handle this and he should tell the client xyz”. I don’t want to be communicating directly with clients because I’m on pain meds. I’d rather f up an internal email.

    Today I get an email from my assistant CC’ing Joe that client is still waiting to hear from someone. Ugh. My boss says out of one side of his mouth to take the time I need then out of the other does nothing when things come up on my cases than to alert me.

    I’m only checking emails once a day to forward automated court notices to whoever is covering since the auto bot won’t know how to respond to my out of office.

    I was actually looking forward to surgery for a week totally off the grid to decompress and not think about work. Yet people can’t juts freaking figure shit out without bugging me.

    My asst even emailed me about scheduling something. She has my calendar. If the date doesn’t work we reschedule when I’m back. No big deal. Just make a decision and leave me alone! Ugh.

    • Anonymous

      Does your assistant check your email? If yes, stop responding. If no, forward to her/him once or twice a day, or forward without comment to another employee who can handle.

    • Anonymous

      That sounds so annoying. Do you have an auto reply set up? I don’t have any other helpful suggestions.

    • Anonymous

      Can you set an auto reply or redirect that you are out on leave without doing anything to answer the caller? Any attempt to reply with useful info will cause them to keep calling. You should have a plan in place, such as your work should send all inquiries to someone else in your company, and only that person is empowered to contact you (after properly assessing that it’s a true emergency). And also a plan on what to tell clients in the meantime. Why isn’t this happening? Let your assistant know he’s empowered to make his best choices & not contact you unless it’s an emergency.

    • Anonymous

      Problem number one, you keep checking your email.
      Problem number two, you keep responding.
      As long as you keep checking and responding, you’re teaching them how to treat you. I am out this week on medical leave and my rule is, if it is really an emergency they will actually call my personal phone. My work phone is turned off. The phone has only rung once. You’re not indispensable, and if you need time to recover, take the time! No one is going to do this for you, or apparently make it any easier for you to take care of yourself. Be your own best self-advocate and turn your work phone off.

    • Anon

      Thanks all. I just need to stop checking my emails. Nothing needs to be dealt with between now and Monday. I realize by responding I’ve set the tone that this is ok. They need to just follow the plan. At the same time, I do understand why my assistant is uncomfortable reminding a partner he has to handle something for me. If he isn’t, the answer isn’t to bug me though!

  11. Anonymous

    I went to court to assist a colleague and my thermos was stolen. Should I ask the person I did the favor for to replace my thermos? Normally he buys me a bottle of wine (I don’t know anything about wine and he usually gets me a decent bottle that my husband drinks). Is it rude to ask for the thermos to be replaced (a lesser cost) instead? We do favors back in forth but he assists me about 1/5 as many times as I help him.

    In my jurisdiction if I hadn’t done the agency he would have had to hire someone for $100-150 to go to court for him.

    • Anon

      You could ask him if as thanks he could get you a new thermos instead of wine. But you can’t outright ask him to replace your stolen water bottle, that’s just kind of weird.

      • Anonymous

        No. He’s not in obligated to give a gift, so it would be weird to request one (even if one is traditionally given).

        You can’t ask someone to give you a specific thank you gift, unless it’s negotiated up front — in which case it’s payment not a gift.

    • Senior Attorney

      If it’s something he can easily get online, send him a link and say “Hey, somebody swiped my thermos at your court appearance today! How about replacing it (link attached) in lieu of a usual bottle of wine this time?”

      If he’d have to actually schlepp somewhere to get it, I think I’d let it go.

    • Grace

      I don’t think you should ask him to replace the thermos. But if it got stolen from a courthouse in California, someone left their thermos in the 2nd floor women’s restroom yesterday and it’s been in there waiting to be claimed ever since. :)

    • Anon

      It sucks that your thermos was stolen, but it could have just as easily happened during one of your normal appearances and wasn’t your colleagues fault. Assuming you want to maintain the close relationship with the colleague, I wouldn’t mention it.

    • anon

      Ehhh no. It’s not his fault that the thermos was stolen. If you pick a friend up from the airport and get hit by a drunk driver, you don’t ask your friend to pay your medical bills and car repair. I sorta see your angle considering he’d give you wine anyways, but that’s awkward AF and potentially requires him to do more work than just picking up wine. The point of thank you gifts like this is the gesture, not the money. Reading between the lines: if you want to do fewer favors for him, do fewer favors for him.

    • Anonymous

      Absolutely not. If you feel taken advantage of start charging. Be more careful of your things.

    • Anonymous

      Absolutely not. One thing has nothing to do with the other. The only reason another person would ever “owe” you a thermos is if they broke it. And even then I’d probably refuse to not look petty. It’s just a thermos.

      (Did he force you to bring it? Was it under his care when it was lost? Not following how this is at all on his shoulders.)

      If you didn’t want to go, then you shouldn’t have. If you feel like the giving and taking in the relationship isn’t working for you, then don’t do it going forward. But don’t be a jerk to someone over something so minor because you’re angry you’re not speaking up at something else that’s bugging you.

      • Senior Attorney

        Yeah, all this now that I think about it. Sounds like maybe you should back off on the favor-doing for a while.

    • Anon

      Given that your colleague was not the proximate cause of your water bottle loss, why should he replace it?

    • Person with no thermos who should be more careful with her things

      lol this got so many comments.

      I’ll let it go. It’s not a big deal. It was a leakproof thermos I could have just thrown in my bag if I was being smarter. I’m sure whoever took it needs it more than I do.

      I’m a single mom and I greatly appreciate someone who will help me out in a pinch. I may help him more but my need is greater and usually far more last minute if that makes sense.

      • LaurenB

        Your single mom-itude has nothing to do with anything. If you went to court and you broke the heel on your shoe, or lost an earring in the courtroom, would you ask him to replace those things? Of course not.

      • laura

        You’re a single mom but have a husband who drinks the decent wine you receive as a thank you from colleagues? Ok

      • Cat

        you’re a single mom… but your husband normally drinks the standard bottle-of-wine gift?

  12. Anon

    Oohhh… J Crew has a maternity line. Like, the Resume dress in maternity wear.

    So excited.

      • nona

        They were too busy trying to sell things nobody would ever wear to work (paisley sequins pleated pants, or whatever).

  13. Worry about yourself

    I attended my company’s summer party, which was under a tent by the water in my city, but as I left I overheard a lady making a very angry phone call, ranting that the company I work for broke the law by setting up our tent where we did, because the piece of land we had our party on was intended to never be blocked. Granted, the woman in question was not blocked from passing, she just couldn’t walk by the water for maybe 200 feet or so. I guess my question is, if my company did break the law by having the party where we did, am I also a criminal for attending said party?

    • Anon

      I hope this is just a thought exercise you’re doing and that you’re not actually worried about this.

    • Anon

      Wait, what?

      If your company did something wrong, it would generally be a civil and not criminal violation, and it would be an even bigger stretch to imply that all the guests are somehow complacent in the wrongdoing. The tent itself would be the problem, not the people.

    • Triangle Pose

      Even if this is a though exercise, I just feel so sad about this question. More me than you it reminds me of 1L, the most useless hypos taught by dinos who never practiced law let alone transactional law. Name brand law school got me where I am and I’m grateful for my career but man was the “education” pointless. Le sigh.

  14. See ya later, Aliigator

    Do you give anything to your legal assistant or other support staff when leaving a firm? I’ve been at this job for one year and am leaving for a better offer. It’s a small firm (4 attorneys, two legal assistants) in smaller Midwest town. I share the assistant with another attorney. Should I give my legal assistant a gift thanking her for her support over the last year? Both assistants? If yes, flowers? A card?

    • Flats Only

      Small gifts are nice. Make it clear that you will be happy to serve as a reference in the future if she needs one. Having a former boss who has left your employer and can serve as a reference without tipping off your current job is golden.

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