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For busy working women, the suit is often the easiest outfit to throw on in the morning. In general, this feature is not about interview suits for women, which should be as classic and basic as you get — instead, this feature is about the slightly different suit that is fashionable, yet professional.
I'm always a fan of Boss Hugo Boss suiting, and this “ginger fantasy” suiting looks like a lovely basic for the summer. The not-quite-brown, not-quite-beige color seems versatile (although I'm not quite sure I like it with the pictured lavender — a light blue, a black, or a white would be my first choices instead, or maybe even a dark red for late summer). I like that the belts are a cotton blend. I like the longer sleeves on the dress, as well as the waist details and split neck. Interestingly, care instructions on all three pieces note to “dry clean,” not “dry clean only,” which makes me think that after a year of wear I might give them a try in the washer. The jacket (BOSS HUGO BOSS ‘Jirella' Suiting Jacket) is $595, the pants (BOSS HUGO BOSS ‘Tulira' Straight Leg Trousers) are $275, and the dress (BOSS HUGO BOSS ‘Dulasa' Elbow Sleeve Sheath Dress) is $595 (and already sold out of some sizes).
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Sales of note for 9.19.24
- Nordstrom – Beauty deals through September, and cardmembers earn 3x the points (ends 9/22)
- Ann Taylor – Extra 30% off sale
- Banana Republic Factory – 50% off everything + extra 20% off
- Boden – 15% off new styles
- Eloquii – Extra 50% off sale
- J.Crew – 50% off select styles — and 9/19 only, 50% off the cashmere wrap
- J.Crew Factory – Up to 60% off everything + 50% off sale with code
- Lo & Sons – Warehouse sale, up to 70% off
- M.M.LaFleur – Save 25% sitewide
- Neiman Marcus – Friends & Family 25% off
- Rag & Bone – Friends & Family 25% off sitewide
- Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
- Talbots – Anniversary event, 25% off your entire purchase — Free shipping, no minimum, 9/19 only
- Target – Car-seat trade-in event through 9/28 — bring in an old car seat to get a 20% discount on other baby/toddler stuff.
- Tuckernuck – Friends & Family Sale – get 20%-30% off orders (ends 9/19).
- White House Black Market – 40% off select styles
And some of our latest threadjacks here at Corporette (reader questions and commentary) — see more here!
Some of our latest threadjacks include:
- What to say to friends and family who threaten to not vote?
- What boots do you expect to wear this fall and winter?
- What beauty treatments do you do on a regular basis to look polished?
- Can I skip the annual family event my workplace holds, even if I'm a manager?
- What small steps can I take today to get myself a little more “together” and not feel so frazzled all of the time?
- The oldest daughter is America's social safety net — change my mind…
- What have you lost your taste for as you've aged?
- Tell me about your favorite adventure travels…
I like the suit
the the dress is a bit prison matron, no?
FWIW, this suit is a cotton blend, which I’m usually not crazy about due to wrinkles. The Ela suit jacket and pencil skirt / pants from Halogen is a great lower-prices alternative (some sort of un-natural fabric, but it is pretty fresh looking after a day of sitting).
Bonnie
Cotton blends do wrinkle like crazy but tan suits are a great neutral for summer. I don’t think the neckline of the dress would look right with a jacket.
Mpls
Well the sleeves aren’t going to work well with a jacket either, so maybe it’s a sign.
Baconpancakes
I had a J.Crew cotton tan suit that I wore like crazy in DC summers, but unfortunately, it became, er… sweat-stained (so embarrassing) to the point where my dry cleaner couldn’t do a thing about it. The trousers and dress are almost perfect. If they ever make a similar jacket again, I’ll buy it and immediately invest in underarm guards.
anon-oh-no
no. the dress is so fabulous.
emeralds
Agreed. Love the dress. Can’t wear that color next to my face, but I’d be alllll over it in any other!
tesyaa
I’m wearing a light-colored linen-viscose skirt which I wore all last summer without a single mark. Today I have avoided stains, but I got some water on it and it has watermarked. It’s dry clean only, but will dry cleaning remove the watermark? I’m so bummed!
NbyNW
Yes, I think dry cleaning will remove the watermark – except on perhaps things like hand-dyed silk.
Mpls
Hmm – wikipedia (because I got curious) seems to think that the solvents don’t do well with water based stains. Which makes since, since the dry cleaner washes with non-water soluble solvents.
The viscose is what is making me hesitate to say just try hand washing in cold water. Some viscose is fine with gentle wet washing and some is not. The linen in the blend would make me want to chance washing it myself, but I’m crazy like that.
Otherwise, the internet seems to have some tricks regarding water spots that could be worth a try.
tesyaa
I’m also one to avoid unnecessary dry cleaner visits, so I gave the cold water wash a try. The skirt looks OK and I’m relieved that the acetate lining didn’t pucker up or shrink noticeably. It’s always a risk, but dry cleaning is so expensive and in this case (as you pointed out) might not even have helped.
Nina
This is a question for your dry cleaner, not Corpor*tte. You shouldn’t ask such expert-oriented questions here!
tesyaa
You are so right! I am so glad a skirt is more replaceable than, you know, a baby.
Mpls
Well – maybe there is a dry cleaner that reads the blog? It’s not like the garment care industry has the same ethical obligations that the medical one does regarding the advice it gives.
Scully
I laughed
Calibrachoa
got an informal warning at work for screwing up magnificently on a simple task *sigh* Everyone mishears names occasionally, right?
Not a big fan of the suit, too…. bland, even for a neutral
NOLA
Well, at least it was informal. Oops.
But yeah, the suit is pretty bland and blah.
HM
This just made my day — LeVar Burton just started a Kickstarter campaign to bring back Reading Rainbow. I loved that show as a kid, and am excited to see it potentially coming back for a new generation!!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/readingrainbow/bring-reading-rainbow-back-for-every-child-everywh
Penny Proud
I LOVE THIS. Reading Rainbow for free on the web and a classroom version? I’m all for it.
emeralds
I can’t even imagine my childhood without Reading Rainbow. How awesome!
B in Boston
Hi Fellow Corporettes!
I am in need of some career advice. After a devastating job loss last year, I started working in house for a large company on a contractor basis. I have been working there almost 6 months as an outside contractor, and they now want to hire me full time. I have been asked to have a teleconfrence call with my boss’s boss (who is the VP/Deputy general counsel of the organization) next week. Has anyone else gone from temp to perm in a corporate cousnel position? Given the fact that I am not some randon person that hr or a headhunter brought in, and that I have been on essentially on a 6 month tryout for this position with many people who are already singing my praises, what questions should I be prepared to answer? What will he be looking for? All suggestions and well wishes are greatly appreciated.
Wish me luck!!
Ellen
Yay! Good luck to you! I have NOT been in this position, but you should alway’s be freindly to the company council, as he will be your boss just like the manageing partner is MY boss (tho I am also a partner, I am NOT the manageing partner, yet). I think he will ask you whether you REALY want to work there, and of course say YES, and if he asks you WHY, just tell him you are interested in workeing full time to get the full employee benefit’s package, which should include medical, dental, vacation and sick day’s, which you may NOT get now.
Also tell him you are VERY healthy and do NOT get sick alot and you are capeable of workeing from home if you get sick or whatever their policy is. And be sure to tell them you are FLEXIBEL, meaning you can do whatever they need b/c you are young and willing to LEARN, unlike alot of dolt’s who are just watcheing the clock and playing Angry Bird’s on there Iphone’s, or stareing out the window rankeing women as they walk by, like they did when I worked for the goverment. I am sure in-house is not to different–the guy’s I work with inhouse are for the most part lazy, and they like to stare at me when I am lookeing over the cases they give me.
So you will do fine. Do NOT wear a low cut blouse. I cant stress this enough b/c you want to get the job based on your experience, NOT your boobie’s. Also, dress VERY conservative. No short dresse’s to the interview or on the job. If men want to see leg’s, they can find other’s to look at, NOT your’s. You are an attorney at law, and are hired for that purpose, NOT to tittelate looser’s who can spend the money to go to a Gentelman’s Club if they have to. FOOEY on men like that! FOOEY!
I am still waiting for BUTCH to call me. FOOEY!
Anon
Good luck!
I went contractor to perm in-house. There was no interview/teleconference – I was hired on a contract basis with the understanding that, if it worked out, I’d convert to perm. It worked out, and the rest is history. However, I’d think about typical interview type questions (where do you see yourself, how would you like to grow, etc etc).
Anon
Can I just vent for a second? Dating as a female lawyer is SO difficult. I’m in my late-20s, and of my female friends that are married, 90% of them are in easier professions and work pretty much 9-5. I feel like by choosing to become a lawyer, I inadvertently minimized my dating pool. I am so sick of the BS and guys who not have their lives together and don’t have to commit because there are so many women who will put up with it. I never thought this would be the hardest part of my life…
Wildkitten
But by being a lawyer, don’t you think you’ve weeded out the guys who wouldn’t be a good fit for you anyways? There’s a r3tt3 facebook dating group, you might want to join!
zora
to join the secret facebook group about dating, etc, send me an email: zoradances at the gmail.
I like the suit
I so hear you!
That said, maybe it weeds out guys who have a lot of issues? It is hard to be single, but it is just awful to be in a bad relationship.
FWIW, I married a guy who had a working mother and grandmother and he is nothing but positive about how hard-working they were. He was OK with me being a lawyer. And some of my guy lawyer friends say that they’d want to be with the right lawyer since you could both go part time and still have a good financial life eventually.
I got married very late but no so late that my best years aren’t still in front of me. Still, I would not recommend law school for my daughters as much as actually like being a lawyer.
Anonymous
Dating is difficult generally! Being a lawyer does not make it more difficult. Also, not all law jobs are sooooo demanding and a lot of other professions are as, or more, demanding. You did not inadvertently minimize your dating pool by coming a lawyer.
Anonymous
Why on earth would you want a commitment from a guy who does not have his sh!t. Together?
Anon
Yah, I don’t see your logic (I am a lawyer). If your friends have more time to put up with BS, why would anyone want to do that anyway? Maybe you mean they just have more time generally?
Anonymous
i think she means that they have more time to date which means finding out who is full of BS faster and moving on to the next opportunity faster.
workingmomz
I think that’s true for women in any demanding profession – law, investment banking, tenure track faculty, physicians etc. A lot of guys can’t handle it, so better to find out now.
Pink
Make sure you don’t read that article that discusses how men are scared by women in law. ^_~ See also Sex and the City, Episode involving Miranda pretending to be a flight attendant.
Calibrachoa
And getting a guy who pretended to be a doctor as a result. (played by Clark Gregg, mmm)
Manhattanite
Your concerns are completely valid. I’m a married lawyer with a child and it seems like all the other mommies have easier hours and see their children more. And it also seems like all the other lawyers are unmarried or men with wives who have easier hours (or no job outside the home). So, no, it does not get easier. It just gets different.
ac
Agree with this. And even many of my biglaw friends have dropped to flex/part-time (while I’m at 100%) so even those with demanding jobs still get to post fun pics from the playground on Facebook while I’m slaving away on a filing.
Annon2
I hear you, I am single and in similar high paying, high stress, long hours profession (but not a lawyer). I have already lost one long term relationship because I was not ready to relocate to my ex’s dream job location because there were no opportunities for me in that area. So I am now back in the dating game and besides lack of time, it is difficult to find men who are comfortable with women who make significantly more than them. I also come from an ethnic/cultural background that is quite patriarchal which makes it even more difficult if I am looking at men from same background. Just few weeks ago, went on a date with a dentist. He recently graduated from dental school and seemed unbelievably shocked when he heard I already own 2 bedroom condo in the city. I didn’t expect this from someone who is a dentist, he should be pretty secure after all it is such a steady paying profession. All the men in my group usually marry or date women in much more easier professions or already have stay at home wives. My boss’s wife is a lawyer who left her job and stays home now, he says you can’t do two careers with two small children at home which really sucks if this is how his female employees too (i.e me).
AIMS
Dating can be tricky period. I think to some degree there is something to be said for some men finding a woman in a more “professional” position intimidating – whether you’re a doctor, a lawyer, a professor, in finance, an astronaut, whatever …. But I don’t know that I’d want to date someone who was put off by what I do for a living anyway.
But as for guys who don’t have their sh*t together and BS and women who put up with it, etc., that doesn’t go away if you’re a school teacher. BS is BS for everyone.
January
I feel you… I wanted to say something encouraging, but I couldn’t really come up with anything (though you’ve gotten some good responses here). I think the long hours just make it hard(er) to find the time to meet more people (and it can be challenging to meet someone after work when after work for them is 5:30 and for you, it’s 7:30 or later).
I'm an associate
I am dealing with this… right now. Except mostly the being single but working 7a-8p and needing to somehow eat and possibly clean once in awhile, etc etc.
Also – people keep referring to this FB group. Do we have to provide an e-mail to get an invite?
zora
to join the secret facebook group about dating, etc, send me an email: zoradances at the gmail.
Pink
Thanks for the naturalizer heel recs–they are indeed super comfy and profession given the price ($24-$31!). Question–did anybody else have a problem with them slipping off on the back, and if so, were you able to fix it successfully with the foam heel liners?
If it’s not fixable, does anybody want either black 7.5 in regular leather or patent for $24 and $31 respectively? (in NYC)
Anonylicious
Heel liners didn’t help much, but putting a ball-of-the-foot gel insert did. In my case, at least, it was because I was sliding down too far, not because the heels were too big.
Susie
Ooh I never thought of it that way. I’ll have to try that, thanks!
Paging Senior Attorney and NOLA
I am worried my family needing situations like yours, and how we can all prepare. Wildkittenr3tt3 @gmail.com
Thanks,
WK!
NOLA
Hey, WK, what do you mean? and is the email address replacing 3 with e?
NOLA
Oh, and you can always email me at nolar e t t e@gmail.com
Paging Senior Attorney and NOLA
Emailed!
NOLA
Hey WK, that’s totally out of my realm of knowledge. Not my situation at all.
Wildkitten
Thanks anyway!
Senior Attorney
Emailed!
anon12
Question for the hive,
I am a first year attorney. I know that I get a lot more responsibilities than first years at other firms but sometimes I screw up on the smaller things. I feel like I mess up because I have trouble delivering exactly what the partners want. It is a weird thing because I get nervous before I even get feedback. Do other people feel like this? I get so nervous that I am going to mess up.
kag
I think that pretty much everybody feels like that at the beginning of their career path. It can be helpfull to put things in perspective (you say that mistakes are small and otherwise you’re doing great, since they gave you extra responsibilities). Plus, you cannot read peoples’ minds, so maybe you should ask more questions before you start working on the task (i.e. what exactly do they expect from you, down to the the details). You may also consider looking for a friendly mentor, it can be quite reassuring.