Thursday’s TPS Report: Drape Detail Sheath Dress

106 Comments

1. For the person asking about trouser hemming issues yesterday, iron-on hemming tape is your friend if you are challenged in the sewing department.

2. FYI – this dress is available only in sizes Regular 0, 10, 14 and Petite 0, 10

   1. Just a note, I’ve found The Limited dresses tend to run a little small.

   2. Yay! This would be a great buy, but Anon Worker Bee (the OP) point’s out that it is not availabel in Size 2 — FOOEY!!

      Mason is remoreseful for what he did with Lynn in MY office. I told him it is luckey that the manageing partner did not FIRE him for doeing that. Plus, I had to have my office steam cleaned and they made a mess on my desktop. I cannot beleive that 2 people who sleep together have to come into work and take up where they left off, ON MY DESK? DOUBEL FOOEY!

      Now the manageing partner’s brother is pestering me to let him take measurement’s in MY apartement. He say’s it’s because it is ABUTTING on his apartement (which he has NOT even gotten yet). Suposedly he want’s to make sure NOT to do renovation’s in the wrong place. FOOEY b/c that will mean there will be alot of construction noise in the apartement that I will have to live with. I should tell the Board that I want peace and quiet, not this noise, but Myrna say’s that anyone comeing in will probabley do some renovation, even tho the place is onley about 5 year’s old. Peeople with the money to buy into my coop will make change’s even if they don’t need to b/c they have the money she say’s. The lifeguard texeted me to ask if my sunburn is gone. Of course it is. I have been inside for a while now, and fluresent lighting is NOT goieng to make it worse I told him. He want’s for me to meet him at Pratt so he can introduce me to his freinds. Why would I go there to have some kid’s stare at me? I said I do NOT like to go to Brooklyn.

      Anyway, I hope the others in the HIVE can buy this sheathe dress. I realy do like it, but not enough to gain weight to buy it. YAY!!!!!!

   3. not to be all negative nancy, but what’s the point of featuring a dress that is only available in such limited sizes?

      1. There may have been more sizes available when the post was prepared.

      2. Well, it is from The Limited.

         1. ha ha!

      3. They do have more sizes in stock in the store…. I tried this on a few days ago and *almost* pulled the trigger, but I have too many similar dresses.

3. I like the color too. It’s very memorable though. I used to have a wool crepe Nipon suit in this exact color…

   1. It might be memorable but it’s also so easy to style this in different ways: white blazer & gray pumps, navy blazer and navy shoes, long bf cardigan, pointy loafers & long necklace, black tights and booties for fall….. I don’t really get why people are sometimes so anti-memorable here. Unless you dress in all boring neutrals all the time people will remember that you own certain things. I think it’s only a potential problem if it becomes “Oh, it must be Friday because Trish is wearing her flower skirt & black sweater combo again.”

      1. I agree that a dress has a lot more styling possibilities than a full purple suit. I’m not against memorable at all. I’m wearing a fuchsia dress today.

      2. Pointy loafers sound fabulous! Do you have a particular pair that you recommend AIMS (or others)?

         1. Seconded.

            1. I have something similar to this from BB: http://tinyurl.com/m3o58hr

               Talbots also has some cute loafer flats (Graci, esp. lovely in the pale pink suede).

               I also think these NW are really cute & great price at $29 (though size 6 only): http://tinyurl.com/o5l8aqc

               Available in more colors, for more on 6 pm: http://www.6pm.com/nine-west-hollis-black-black-fabric

      3. I never understand why everyone here is so anti-memorable clothing. I work in a small office, and we all know each other’s standard outfits, even the not particularly memorable ones. Everyone notices if someone comes in wearing something new, even if it’s just a new grey sheath dress. Given that, why not wear fun colors and patterns?

      4. I agree AIMS. I don’t get why that’s a common complaint, especially with items that can be styled in multiple ways. A purple suit is limiting, though can still be worn as separates, but a dress like this can be worn many different ways. Unless you’re going to wear only black and white, unembellished, solid items, you have to have memorable clothing.

      5. Agreed, I don’t get that either. As a memorable person, I choose memorable clothing. I like patterns and color. So sue me. I do try to mix it up so people aren’t all “Oh Parfait is wearing her Thursday dress on Monday this week, she must not have gotten to the laundry over the weekend.”

4. NAS question – do things come back in stock after the NAS has run out? I ordered a burgundy blazer (Halogen) that was cancelled, and seems to be out of stock. I might buy it at full price, considering the low price to begin with, or should I start looking elsewhere?

   1. Sometimes, yes, but you can also check back for returns online. Or, you can call stores and see if they have on hand – apparently the online indicator is not completely accurate.

   2. Yes. If the item does come back into stock online, you can probably convince an associate via chat to give you the NAS price since you did order it.

5. I am considering this cardigan in Ivory combo and wonder if it’ll work on me:
   http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/free-people-circle-back-stripe-cardigan/3757834?origin=category-personalizedsort&contextualcategoryid=0&fashionColor=Black+Combo&resultback=1254&cm_sp=personalizedsort-_-browseresults-_-1_4_A

6. Why do you live where you live? Do you like it? What’s good/mediocre/horrible about it?

   I’ll start. I live in Chicago.

   The good:
   Dynamic cultural scene
   Amazing dining on all ends of the price spectrum
   Relatively affordable for a large city
   A wide range of interesting neighborhoods to explore
   Many great walkable areas
   Excellent shopping
   Accessible and fun lakefront

   The mediocre:
   Public transit is okay, but it mainly connects the ‘hoods to downtown, not to each other.
   The city tries to be global, but at times it can feel provincial
   While the city is diverse, many neighborhoods are extremely homogenous

   The horrible:
   The winters. They’re the only thing I truly hate about living here, but they are truly horrible. Every year I reconsider why I live here.
   The crime, although I have to admit I don’t see too much of it where I live.

   1. I live in: small town in Southeastern CT
      The good:
      Low crime
      Affordable, especially for a student budget
      Can walk to the beach, nice parks
      Summer and Fall is nice
      Some good restaurants around but wish there were more
      Good neighbours
      Clean–not much pollution to speak of
      Access to cities/interesting areas around e.g NYC, Boston, Providence, Newport

      The mediocre:
      Minimal public transportation to get around the town. One thing I don’t like is this. The only saving grace is there is still access to Amtrak and Buses for more long distance travel
      Not much stuff to do in the town especially in colder months one has to look further afield
      Not really diverse culturally

      The horrible:
      Winters. Obviously they are nothing like Chicago and being on the coast means the snow melts quickly once it falls. But for someone who spent most of their life in a warm climate, it’s still hard

      1. I’m in a small town in Indiana, so many of mine look like yours =)

         The good:
         Low violent crime
         Very affordable (low taxes, low COL)
         We have many natural lakes, so all sorts of water-based activities and beaches
         We have a regionally recognized summer stock theatre
         We have an internationally recognized, but small, classical arts festival (music, drama, opera and dance)
         Great access to CSAs and locally sourced meat, eggs, produce, dairy, etc…
         We have a small college with great community learning opportunities
         A FABULOUS small town library – I’ve been in much larger towns with much poorer libraries
         Highly philanthropic community

         The mediocre:
         Aside from one or two stand-outs, there isn’t much in the way of interesting restaurant fair (we pretty much get the standard chains)
         Very little is in walking distance, although we’re slowly working on biking trails
         We have below average cultural diversity – our Latino (particularly Mexican) population is quite high, so we have some fun ways to celebrate and include that culture, but the rest of our population is very, very WASPy

         The horrible:
         Although our crime rate is low, we’re in meth-central, so almost all of our crime is meth based
         Public transportation – it’s over an hour to the closest airport, no train station, very limited taxi/bus system, and none leave city limits.
         Shopping – aside from a small TJMaxx, we’re limited to a Carson’s, Kohl’s and JCPenny’s (which is closing) – it’s about an hour drive to anything else
         CAFOs – which cause most of our pollution issues

   2. Portland, Oregon

      Good:
      Weather – summers are perfect, 75-90 degrees, no humidity, no bugs; rest of the year is mild, you can be outside all the time and it rarely gets below freezing
      Lifestyle – unpretentious (if you are a professional, if you get into the whole Portlandia thing it has its own level of pretension), good hours, lower cost of living, very little keeping up with the Joneses, can live in an amazing house a 10-minute drive/30-minute bus ride/45-minute walk to work and walk everywhere I need to go in an urban residential neighborhood for under $400k for the mortgage
      Food – delicious
      Location – the Northwest is the most beautiful part of the country (IMO), and I can do every outdoor activity imaginable
      People in my profession (lawyers)- smart, progressive, good place for women, very professional and collegial Bar

      The mediocre:
      Some people can be irritating – plenty of anti-vaxxers, anti-fluoride, trust-fund hippies (hipsters?), etc.
      The city is pretty small. It can feel a little constricting at times.
      Not a great art/theater scene
      Pay is low compared to bigger markets (so no easy way to quickly pay off student loans)
      Lack of diversity

      Horrible:
      Cost of travel is really really expensive – flights are never cheap, especially overseas

   3. I live: Orange County, CA

      The good:
      Good art and music scene in LA
      Fantastic food, if you know where to look
      Near the ocean
      A few lovely weeks in the winter
      Dogs everywhere

      The mediocre
      Bland, plastic people
      No public trans
      sprawl

      The horrible
      Weather (I HATE being hot. I HATE sun. I’m an outlier)
      Traffic
      Cost of EVERYTHING, but especially housing

      1. Hello fellow OC-dweller!

         The good:
         Fabulous weather (it’s rare that we go over 85 even in summer, not much humidity, and winters are lovely). I’m spoiled and can’t even tolerate Northern California winters anymore.
         Amazing schools.
         Good food and entertainment options, although even taking nearby LA into account, we’re not even close to SF/NYC.
         Laguna Beach/Crystal Cove/San Clemente.
         Sidecar doughnuts. :)
         Low crime.

         The mediocre:
         Culture/museum options aren’t great.
         I hate driving to LA, so I don’t get much of the available LA options.
         The bad rap that OC gets for being bland.

         The horrible:
         Housing costs.
         Fake plastic people. (OC Housewives wanna-bes.)
         No public transportation to speak of.
         Taxes (although that’s just a California thing and I’ve been here my whole life).

         1. Agree with all of this. Except I’ve been avoiding Sidecar. Because if I try it once I know it will kill me. Other thoughts:

            Good:
            Can live in the “suburbs” without a long commute to work.
            Proximity to weekend travel destinations – Central Coast/skiing/San Diego/Palm Springs, etc.
            Exercise studios of every conceivable iteration and schedule

            Horrible:
            Housing costs. So horrible they must be mentioned again.

   4. Great idea, Jade! I’m thinking about leaving NYC and trying to figure out where I want to move, so this is going to be really fun to read!! I’ll share mine as well, even though I’m sure there are plenty of other New Yorkers here.

      The good:
      Culture! Dance, live music, Broadway, art, etc.
      Amazing food, from cheap eats to some of the world’s best restaurants
      Great nightlife
      Diverse
      Very easy to get around – subway, walking, cabs – don’t need a car, and your friends are never more than a short(ish) cab ride away
      Lots of job opportunities in all kinds of industries
      So many interesting people to meet (whether for friendship or dating), and (contrary to popular belief) many people are friendly and open to making new friends, at least in my experience
      It’s New York.

      The mediocre:
      Walking everywhere isn’t so fun in the winter, and the summers can get humid & smelly
      If you’re looking for a serious relationship, good luck, lots of Peter Pan syndrome and/or people who are more focused on their careers than relationships, and the endless supply of other dating options doesn’t help
      The city never sleeps – so it’s often loud/stressful and it’s hard to find moments of calm
      Workaholic culture (although I may get the worst of this since I work in BigLaw)
      Concrete everywhere; no real nature aside from the parks, and it takes forever to get out of town to somewhere you can hike/camp/etc.

      The horrible:
      SO expensive. Yes, there are plenty of free things to do and cheap eats, but rent is off the charts. Good luck finding a non-soul-s*cking job that allows you to pay for it.

      1. I’m also in NYC and my take on it is similar though with some notable differences, mainly in the mediocre category.

         For the good:

         Agreed. NY is just so vital. Also, I love the fact that when something happens, it’s very often here. Cronut crazy? I can try it. Book of Mormon? I saw it when it was still in previews. Occupy Wall Street? I was able to go and see for myself. So on. There’s something really nice about being able to feel like so much of what gets reported and discussed in the national/international news is also just our local news story.

         The mediocre:

         Winters & summers can be tough, though I’d say (save for last winter) it’s rarely all bad all the time. Plus, Xmas in NY with all the beautiful store windows and decorations everywhere and summer with all the outdoor concerts and dining and rooftop parties have a lot of their own huge plusses. The seasons can be bad, but they’re also AMAZING.

         I also think whether it’s loud and concrete largely depends on where you live. I have a few friends who live in Hell’s Kitchen and the East Village and who complain about noise and a lack of greenery and I always feel like why do they live there then — There are lots of quieter and greener neighborhoods. Btw, not to say that’s what you’re doing, Tibby, at all, but I do think there are lots of options for these things.

         And as for dating, honestly I haven’t personally found it to be anymore difficult than dating period and most of my friends have not had problems with commitment (other problems, sure), but maybe I/they have been luckier than I realize. The converse of the problem, to the extent there is one, is my friends in smaller cities/town sometimes complain of the lack of diversity and options.

         The Horrible:
         The real estate. Oh my god, the real estate. I’m obviously very pro-NY (as you can probably tell from above) but it’s insane how impossible it’s become. I don’t even need a lot of space so if I could just have a 1000-1200 sq. ft. 2 bdrm I’d consider myself set for life, but when studios in run-down, walk-up buildings are going for $500K+ I think the whole thing just feels like it sort of jumped the shark. Not to mention that the lack of affordable housing is also making the City so much less interesting. The West Village has gone from being artsy and cool and bohemian to just a neighborhood of investment bankers and trust fund babies. Not that there’s anything wrong with either but it doesn’t make for a very dynamic, interesting neighborhood.

         As for the overall “why do you live here” – I really don’t know because the horrible is probably going to start to outweigh ALL the positives if it doesn’t get reigned in at some point. It’s almost like Stockholm syndrome though. I just cannot imagine living anywhere else. That and the whole bar exam thing. If California allowed me to waive in, I might reconsider everything I just said.

         1. Good points, AIMS. I moved here almost a decade ago (straight from college!) and for the first, oh, six years or so none of the items on my mediocre list were there at all. I fell in love with NYC SO HARD at 21 and thought I would live here forever, couldn’t imagine anything else. The mediocre list has started to add up over the years, though, and I think part of it is just that I’ve become desensitized to all of the amazing things about living here and the things that didn’t bother me before have become grating. I’m probably being a little unfair :) You’re totally right that I could move to a different neighborhood — I’m smack in the middle of Manhattan, near Union Square, and while I love my 15 minute commute to work (as in, if I walk out the door of my apartment, I can be sitting at my desk within 15 minutes, sometimes less), if I wanted to stay here longer term I would probably move to Brooklyn. Instead I’ve decided I’m ready for a bigger change.

   5. Ooh fun game!

      Why do you live where you live?

      I live in London. I went to University just outside and then law school in London and then qualified as a lawyer here. Seeing as I’m English qualified and it’s English speaking and wanted to work in Big Law, living here was logical at the time. I love big cities so I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else in the UK.

      Do you like it?

      I’m pretty over London and ready to move somewhere else now (New York is top of the list, but US immigration, oy vey…)

      The good:
      -Great restaurants
      -Transport network is generally good (but see horrible below).
      -Lots to do – museums, theatre, events etc.
      -All the old stuff, castles, old buildings etc. Lots of history.
      -The shopping
      -The diversity of people, restaurants, neighbourhoods

      The mediocre:
      -You can go from beautiful, picturesque areas to a skankdive by just turning a corner, and some areas are just dirty/unpleasant (not dangerous, just not pretty).
      -The underground doesn’t run all night – the last train is around midnight (but soon to change, thankfully) and cabs are expensive.
      – Dating is impossible – you would think so many people means more options, but it’s actually the opposite (too many options means the percentage of douchebaggery is off the chart). This is probably a generic big city thing though.

      The horrible:
      -House prices are ridiculous, so it’s impossible to buy (and rents aren’t much better)
      – It’s geographically spread out, so everything is miles away. Anywhere else in London takes minimum half an hour to get to and if, say, I go out in the West, it’s an hour on two buses (after the tube stops running) or a £40 cab ride.
      -I’ve been here a while and I’d like a change so everything seems boring.

   6. I live just outside of Philadelphia.

      The good:
      – great restaurants, especially affordable BYOBs
      – excellent arts scene
      – housing is very affordable
      – close driving distance for weekend trips to the shore or Pocono mountains
      – lots of good activities for people with children

      The mediocre:
      – public transit is o.k.
      – weather, can get very hot & humid in the summer and cold in the winter

      The bad:
      – the city schools
      – very parochial, if you aren’t from here you will never really feel like you belong
      – no one from Philadelphia ever really leaves
      – car insurance is hideously expensive
      – Pennsylvania liquor laws, you can only buy wine and spirits in state-owned stores with limited selection.

      1. Used to live in Philly. I will add:

         The good:

         – AMAZING restaurants, including fantastic vegetarian options. And very affordable, since so many places are BYO.
         – The people! I found everyone so friendly when I lived there. Sales clerks want to talk to you, strangers on the street, etc.
         – Uwishunu – it’s a website that tells you what is going on in Philly on a daily basis. Such a great resource for figuring out if there is a lecture, a free festival, film showing, etc. I’ve never seen a site this comprehensive in any other city that I have lived in. It was hugely helpful when making social plans.
         – You can walk along the entire stretch of Center City. I loved how everything was so close/easily accessible by foot.

   7. I live in LA (obviously!).

      The good:
      – The weather. Especially as someone who was not born/raised here, it is amazing to have sunshine and 70 degree temperatures nearly every day. It (almost) never gets hot, never cold, never rainy–it is amazing (on the last point, yes, I understand we are in a drought, but I love the dry weather).
      – The lifestyle. People here are really into being outdoors and active. They are really into being healthy. Some might classify this as the cliche LA-plastic-people thing, but to me it just feels healthy, happy, and sustainable. I am an attorney, and the lawyer lifestyle is completely different than what I experienced in other cities, too, so much more relaxed.
      – The food. Whatever your diet, you can find it here. Whether paleo or vegan or total foodie. Lots of new restaurants all the time. And mmm, the food trucks!
      – The fitness. Whatever the fitness trend, you can find it here, and probably 5 different versions of it. It’s fun to be on the front line of things and have so many options.
      – The ocean.
      – Very artsy city. Despite what you may imagine, LA is home to the entertainment industry, which means tons of artist-types. I never thought of this before moving here and have been pleasantly surprised by the culture.
      – Very diverse city. LA is home to so many different ethnic groups, and they all just blend together. You hear so many different languages spoken on a daily basis, you get really good ethnic food, and just in general you get the benefits that come with diversity.
      – Lots of transplants –> you never feel out of place or like you can’t break into the city’s culture.
      – Easy to convince out-of-towners to visit.

      The mediocre:
      – Cost of food/drinks is higher than some places, but not as crazy high as NYC.
      – There can be smog some days, depending on where you live, but it’s really not bad (and probably no worse than what you would experience living in, say, downtown New York).
      – Downtown LA pales in comparison to other cities’ downtowns, but again, they’re working on it.
      – There are a lot of homeless people, likely due to the weather being so hospitable. This doesn’t really affect most people’s lives, but seeing people camped out permanently in the downtown/at the beach/in doorways/at bus stops takes some getting used to.
      – Fashion tends to be less sophisticated and more trendy.

      The bad:
      – The real estate. Insane. Renting is actually affordable, but if you want to buy a 1,000-square-foot home in a good neighborhood you can expect to pay $1 million for a dilapidated shack. My husband and I are thinking we either need to budget $1.5 million for a “starter” home, or else move to the Valley. Which, given the traffic and lack of public transit, is not a great option.
      – Public transit. They are working on it…. but it’s going to be 20 years before there is anything resembling a viable way for a lot of people to ditch their cars.
      – The traffic. What you’ve heard is true–it is awful. No matter what time of day (except for maybe early morning, before 8am). It takes forever to get anywhere.
      – It takes a really long time to get to the other side of the country. I guess this is true for any west coast locale, but it’s a hard thing I didn’t expect.
      – The emphasis on money/material things.
      – You can feel a bit left out if you don’t work in the entertainment industry, since so many people (no matter what their actual job title) are affiliated with it.
      – I guess we are supposed to run out of water at some point?

      1. This, exactly. All of it – good, mediocre, and bad for the LA area. Add to the good terrific cultural and entertainment venues as well as great hole in the wall, fancy, and mobile dining choices. And the weather, the weather, the weather. Sunny most of the time, rarely too hot or too cold. Lots of dog parks; very dog friendly city if you have one or several.

   8. Boston, MA

      The good:
      – Beautiful city with so much greenery – Boston Common, Harbor Walk , Esplanade
      – Easily accessible – can walk to most neighborhoods or take a quick T ride to get where you need to go
      – Intellectual community (Harvard, MIT, tons of super bright doctors who are the best of the best)
      – Amazing healthcare
      – Lots for kids to do – Children’s Museum, so many city playgrounds, parks
      – City is extremely well run. When it snows, there are city workers taking care of it almost immediately (at least in my hood)
      – Gorgeous summers (not too humid)
      – Lots of activities to do, esp. in the summer (free concerts, Shakespeare in the Park, free fitness classes, etc.)

      The mediocre:
      – Restaurants are very blah. Not a whole lot of variety, and not vegetarian friendly. To get a great meal, you often have to pay a pretty penny. But, restaurant options get a whole lot better once you go to Cambridge, which is close by.
      – We never see our friends who live in the burbs, mostly because the housing market is so pricey that everyone lives so far from the city. That, combined with terrible traffic, make it hard to see friends who don’t live close by.
      – Not a great legal market.

      The horrible:
      – The rudest people I’ve encountered in any city that I lived in (cab drivers, random strangers on the street, drivers). This is the main reason why I know I can’t stay here long term. Smile, people!!
      – Insane rental and housing market (2 bedrooms in the city often run $4K plus)
      – The winters. Not as bad as Chicago but it’s bad (and looooooooooooooooooong)

      1. I try to bring my sunny personality to Boston streets…but if you smile at strangers too much they’re gonna think you’re cray-cray. :-) We’re smiling on the inside though.

   9. I am a Chicago native, have lived in NYC, LA, and now back in Chicago. I never understood why people say Chicago winters are worse than NYC. They are both bad, yes, but the same level of bad. Just have to put in my two cents on this because I think the rest of the country thinks Chicago has the worst winters when it’s not true!

      1. I’m considering moving to Chicago (from NYC) and the winters are my biggest fear, so that’s really great to hear!

      2. also having lived in both places (as well as California), I agree that the winters are not that bad in Chicago. But you know what is? Spring. (and this year, summer). There is no Spring. It is cold until June. Like, still in the 30s or 40s. And that sucks.

   10. Fun! I love reading these responses. I live in Atlanta.

       The good:
       -Low cost of living. Real estate prices are so low here compared to other places I’ve lived. I used to live in New York, and my best friend still does, and it’s insane to compare the cost of her 700 sq ft condo to my 1400 sq ft condo (mine was less than 50% the cost of hers). And that low real estate cost leads to lower costs on other stuff.
       -Diversity along all metrics is greater here than any place else I’ve lived, in large part because of the above. My last city (in a high COL area) was so pricey to buy/rent in that people with working class jobs just couldn’t live there. And racial/ethnic diversity was near-zero. I socialize with, work with, and enjoy public spaces with such a greater range of people now – it makes the city feel very vibrant.
       -Super green. No one realizes this, but in-city tree cover is greater in Atlanta than almost any other major city in the US.
       -High energy and sense of transition/change. There’s always something going on here – a festival, a parade, a public art show, a new brewery opening, an outdoor movie, etc. There is just far more stuff to *do* on a daily basis than in other places I’ve lived, and it’s all more affordable. Yes, NYC had no shortage of things to do, but a lot of them cost a ton more or were way more inconvenient. In addition, the low cost of living also means that the city seems to attract interesting people who want to do creative stuff and can’t afford to live elsewhere. Those people are typically attracted to urban (not suburban) living, and it feels like that’s changing the city.

       The mediocre:
       -Safety is not awesome and crime is higher than is comfortable, although not to a degree that the city feels dangerous in my area.
       -Atlanta is gay-friendly, but the minute you leave the perimeter, you find the rest of Georgia, which isn’t.
       -The symphony and ballet are both technically skilled, but perform and incredibly boring repertoire.
       -In the biglaw community, the prevailing model is workaholic partner with stay at home country-club wife, and when you don’t fit that mold, it can feel kind of lonely.

       The bad:
       -Execrable public transit. I live/work in one of the few walkable neighborhoods in the city, but otherwise you’re driving in bad traffic to get to work.
       -Civic engagement is low, likely due to a long history of machine politics.
       -Unless you live in a few very specific areas, public schools tend to be awful.
       -While crime/safety aren’t terrible where I live, there are parts of the city where they’re very bad and the fact that our politicians don’t care enough to do anything about it infuriates me. I could move away from those areas, but lots of people can’t.
       -The Braves moving to Cobb County. WTF?

       1. Thank you for this! I’ve been pondering moving to Atlanta sometime in the future, and this helps.

          1. I am hugely bullish on it. Best decision I ever made, honestly.

   11. I’ll play:-) I’m in Raleigh.

       The Good:
       The weather. Other than Raleigh, I’ve lived in Georgia, DC, and NYC. Winters are a vast improvement over NYC, and the summers aren’t as hot and muggy as Georgia or D.C. (Don’t get me wrong, they can get hot and muggy. Just not as bad as other places I’ve lived, and this year has been quite mild).
       Cost of living. It’s cheap.
       Culture. We’ve got three major universities in the triangle area and a high concentration of biotech/pharma/tech companies around. It’s a diverse, intelligent culture.
       The outdoors. We’ve got a greenway system of trails that’s awesome.
       Our airport. After years of the hell that is NYC airports, RDU is a delight. Sure, it may be a little more expensive to fly places, but it’s such a nice, clean airport that’s easy to get through and takes me 15-20 minutes to get to from downtown (I travel a lot for work, so this is a plus).
       People are nice and polite.

       The mediocre:
       The lack of public transit, which I miss only when I want to have a drink after work and not have to worry about how I’m getting home.
       Traffic can be bad, depending on time of day/which direction you’re going

       The bad:
       People are terrible drivers. Like, just awful. Everyone needs a remedial course on how to use turn signals. Other than that, I have no major complaints, but I’ve only been here 6 months and am still in “Oh, this is so much better than X in NYC!” mode. (If you would like the list of mediocre/bad for why I left NYC: weather, truly absurd cost of living, workaholic culture, and inconsiderate/clueless people (your bag doesn’t need it’s own seat on the subway. Stop standing in the doors when people are trying to get out, etc)).

       1. There is something about the south and turn signals, which I just did not realize when until I moved back after livign elsewhere.

          1. No one uses them in LA either. Particularly when merging on freeways. We’re expected to be psychic, and for our own survival eventually develop a sixth sense for people who are about to suddenly merge into your lane.

             1. I always say that the way your merge in LA is that you just start moving into the next lane even if there’s another car there, and whoever’s car would cost more to fix stops.

   12. Suburban Boston

       The good
       Our neighbors are awesome
       We are very close to a wooded park and pond
       We could afford a single family house and yard
       Public schools are above average
       Public transit still reaches here
       Downtown of the town has nice restaurants
       Close to grocery, pharmacy, et. al.
       15 minute drive into the city (w/o traffic)
       Close to the beginning of the HOV lane
       Alot of your friends will end up living in Boston at somepoine

       The bad
       Boston is really crowded/trafficy
       We can’t walk many places from our house
       The weather
       The roads
       Like Philadelphia – people live here FOREVER and it can be hard to break into social or professional networks

       1. Oh yeah – cab ride homes are expensive (I mean, of course – we live in the suburbs) but if I go out almost anywhere in the city I’m going to end up in one bc I hate waiting for the commuter rail and my husband hates coming to get me at the T … so cabbies get my cash.

   13. Houston (TX … not PA)

       The good:
       central air and gas heating
       diverse and established fine arts and museums
       shopping possibilities are a mix of chains, high end, and local boutiques/one of a kind
       diversity in ethic restaurants
       Tex-Mex food
       world-renown medical center
       plant growing options are wide (incl. veg and fruits)
       multiple living centers (lofts, hi rise, old frames, mid century modern, townhouses, courtyard homes, retirement communities, high tech new ranch homes)
       no winter driving hazards for the most part (ice sometimes in Jan/Feb)
       great religious options (I suppose, also including Joel Olsteen’s arena)
       diverse cultures and languages
       First Word Heard from The Moon
       History rich; including being our own Country in the past
       beautiful leather boots
       trees and green spaces
       constant change
       broad array of private schools
       growing school selection for children with learning differences/needs
       more than a single route on highways to go from X to Y
       wide, multi lane highways
       toll roads
       Rice University (as a non-Ivy “bargain,” it usually makes most lists)
       relatively low cost of living, esp. if coming here from the Coasts
       medical schools and libraries
       friendliness

       The mediocre:
       sports teams (although I don’t care)
       no true farmer’s market options
       no true food trucks in business areas
       few movie cinemas
       few public golf courses/tennis/tracks
       public school district

       The ugly:
       long, hot, humid summers (see ac ranking)
       occasional hurricanes/tropical storms which can leave one without power for days, weeks
       mosquitoes
       lawn mowing! But soft, lush, St. Augustine that stands up to just about anything
       long commutes if one wants a new, unused, McMansion

       1. From Houston, too. Add amazing microbrewing scene to the good stuff!

   14. Salt Lake City

       The good:
       Mountains (both because they’re gorgeous and also because it means great hiking and skiing is super close)
       Seasons (maybe I’m just an outlier but I couldn’t stand living where the weather’s always the same)
       Food (for its size SLC has a thriving restaurant scene, and eating local is easier when your city is surrounded by hundreds of miles of farmland)
       Family-friendly work culture
       Affordable
       Clean (at least for a city)
       Well-designed road system

       The bad:
       Lots of homogenous suburbs with next-to-no economic, racial, or religious diversity
       Not many middle-class working moms
       Public transportation is really hit-and-miss outside of downtown… people here love their cars
       Being so far from other cities makes travelling more expensive

       The horrible:
       Religion shapes people’s relationships with their neighbors and coworkers, dictates social interactions, and even impacts business networking
       The “Inversion” – sometimes when it’s really hot or really cold all the pollution (see comment above about people and their cars) gets trapped by the mountains and we end up breathing smog for a few days or weeks until the temperature changes.

       1. The surprisingly large homeless population was an issue when I lived in SLC in the 90’s. I think because the religious community (both LDS and Roman Catholic, who are also well represented) consider it important to care for them so they thrive there.

7. So, I cut off 10 inches of hair yesterday and now am rocking a chin-length bob. My hair is naturally wavy, so I thought I could wear it in a sort of tousled Karlie Kloss style on weekends, if I could find a product to encourage the wave/curl and discourage the fly-aways. Any recommendations for a curl cream or similar product?

   1. Congrats on the change!

      My hair is very straight, so this may not apply, but I love Living Proof Prime. On weekends, I can use this and let my angled bob air dry with no flyaways or frizz. I use it when I blow dry, as well, and it’s smoothing, non-sticky, and smells good.

      1. I was going to recommend the same – love Living Proof Prime for my lightly wavy hair, whether I’m letting it air dry for waves, or blow drying straight. Does a great job with frizz and isn’t heavy.

         1. I just looked up “Living Proof Prime” and it seems like there are several products. Are you talking about the Style Extender?

            1. Yes, I use the Style Extender cream. It can be used as a base for other products, but it’s the only product that I use.

            2. Thanks. Read the reviews and ordered it.

   2. LA Looks Gel.

      Yes, the neon colored goop you used in middle school.

      I swear. Put it in when your hair is wet, go to sleep (or commute or whatever), and then shake out the curls a bit. The most natural look I’ve found to keep my curls controlled.

   3. I use Moroccan Oil or similar on mine. I just scrunch up the curls, and they hold well without much frizz.

   4. Pretty much any mousse. I don’t have a specific brand recommendation, but put it in the length of your hair, scrunch, and let air-dry.

8. How soon into a new relationship do you mention that you’re seeing someone to your parents? How soon before you introduce them to your parents? E.g., if your parents happen to be in town and you’ve recently started seeing someone, would you introduce them? Mention that you are in a new relationship?

   Would be interested to hear how the Hive handles this.

   1. I’m really close with my parents so I told them pretty quickly (I think after our 3rd or 4th date). They live across the country so he met them and stayed at their house when he came to my hometown on vacation with me about 6 months into our relationship. I met his parents and stayed at their house right around the same time. They live a few hours from us.

      His sister lives in Europe but was in town on a business trip about a month after we started dating. It seemed really soon but I otherwise would not likely have met her for a significant period of time so we did meet then. It felt a little quick but we were already both feeling pretty sure that our relationship would last so that helped.

   2. After we decide to be exclusive. If my parents were in town, I wouldn’t want to introduce anyone I wasn’t comfortable calling my partner, but if we’ve reached that point and had that conversation, I’d want to see how they got along with each other. Unfortunately, my mother’s initial judgment and opinion has been right every time.

   3. If I feel like we’d go to each others’ houses for holidays or other gatherings, I’d introduce them.

      1. This is what I do too – I tell them when I have to, which is before events when they’d meet.

   4. For some reason I always kept my parents somewhat on the outside about my lovelife – so I think I waited 2 months before telling them? And they met him after six months because I was going up to visit law schools and he came (we lived far away from them.)

      On the other hand – his parents knew before the first date (he had to borrow a slow-cooker and his mother loves gossip) and I think I met them after two months. By which time they had already decided I was “imaginary” because I never came around…so some families mileage will vary.

   5. I wait until he introduces me to his parents. If he doesn’t after a year then it’s probably over unless they live far away.

9. I got an email to meet a very new lawyer for coffee to discuss my niche legal practice in BigLaw, and I agreed to meet her. I looked her up on LinkedIn, and I noticed that prior to going to a highly ranked law school she had aspirations of being an actress. She used her headshot, as a LinkedIn photograph. I thought to myself that it did not seem very professional, and it made it seem as though she really wanted to be an actress and not a lawyer. However, I thought I maybe was being picky.

   In connection with my upcoming meeting with her, I called a friend that I know is looking to hire someone junior in this niche specialty. I wanted to see if he would be interested in talking to her. However, he had previously been contacted by her through an alumni network and declined to speaking to her solely on the basis of her LinkedIn photograph.

   Question: Do I tell her that the LinkedIn photograph is not helping her find a job? Do I keep my mouth shut?

   (Note: I have done informational interviews before where I have told the candidate that his resume is unappealing and has typographical errors because I figured that I was doing a disservice to young lawyer not to point these issue out.)

   1. I vote for telling. Even if you don’t do anything else for her, it will be hugely helpful.
      I am wondering what can be so offputting about her headshot… bare shoulders? Crazy makeup and hair?

      1. Heavy eye make-up, wind-swept hair, etc.

   2. I think you should tell her. It’s not a personal value judgment, and it’s relevant to her job search.

   3. Yes, I would tell her. It’s hard enough as it is to get feedback, and you would be doing a disservice to her to not point it out. It’s not your responsibility or your obligation, though, so it really comes down to what you want to do. Given that you’ve done something like this in the past, it seems like it’s something you’d want to.

      I’d do it if I were you. What she does with the info is up to her.

   4. Absolutely tell. Holy cow — it’s not just your opinion/judgment on how the photo might affect her career, it’s actual information about how her photo did indeed affect her career. You would be doing her a HUGE favor by telling. Just relay the story as you’ve told it to us and let her do with it as she chooses.

   5. Of course, now I am dying to see the picture!

   6. Tell. One of the best pieces of advice that I ever got was from an informational interview where he was critical of the fact that when I answered a question, I didn’t look him in the eyes. I tended to roam around the room as if I was searching for the answer to the question. I always remember this advice. I wasn’t asking him about how I came across to him, but he told me anyway, and it was very helpful.

   7. She may not care. A friend asked me if this company had any work for someone’s freshly-graduated daughter.
      Her LinkedIn picture is literally of her drunk and leaning on a bar washroom, completely hammered. I suggested she change the photo she disagreed and left it as is.

      She’s still unemployed. Duh.

      1. wow, that’s insane.

10. The dress is $49 if you use the code BIG50

11. I think you should tell her as well. Perhaps do not say, “so and so declined to speak with you because of your LinkedIn photo” but maybe ask has she considered that the photo might give the impression that you had (about her wanting to be an actress more than an attorney). Then, perhaps explain how she might want to change it to a more conservative headshot.

    Although, I recently read an article about “quirky” headshots showing “personality” being the new thing…

    1. Ugh, I read that. I’m pretty sure anywhere outside of brand marketing and entertainment, you don’t want to be mistaken for a “California hippie waif” or whatever that woman described her LinkedIn photo as. I’d be very surprised if it wouldn’t even hurt her in her own field of tech.

       Get professionally shot quirky and s3xy photos taken for your Facebook page and personal use, by all means. But the words “goth princess” shouldn’t come anywhere near your professional pages unless you work at a goth club or sing in a metal band.

       1. I”m glad someone else had read that article. I couldn’t remember where I had read it, or whether it was linked from this s!te, lol.

          And, I agree wholeheartedly with professional photos for professional webpages.

          1. If it was the NY Times article, Kat included it in her Friday news round-up on 7/11 :)

    2. If the person seems to disagree with your point about the photo on LinkedIn, you could mention that she got denied an informational interview because of the photo.

       1. It would seem out of line to disagree with someone during an informational interview – those are for listening and learning, not debating.

12. I am getting the “Aw snap!” error on Chrome, Safari on my phone is crashing, and when I tried to open in IE (which I loathe) the wheel kept spinning. I finally hit the X to stop it from loading further and was then able to click on the links to open this post.

    1. Yes, the website keeps crashing on my Chrome browser. On IE, it tells me there’s some script that’s correupted and once I tell it not to run the script, I can get to the website.

    2. I had this problem, too. I finally accessed the site through my feedly link

    3. +1. Been happening all morning to me.

    4. My No Script extension stopped a script on the page to allow it to load. That may be the issue?

    5. Same – couldn’t get in through in Chrome, but could be linking through the twitter feed

    6. Yes, I’ve been getting hanging and crashing here for the past two days (using Safari on a Mac).

13. I had a telephone interview where it seems like there will be no further interview i.e. face to face going forward. The committee will just pick someone after talking to all the candidates. The job is a managerial/administrative role that would be new to me, but I would like to give it a shot. I got a good vibe talking to the people and would like to send a thank you note/follow up email. One, to ask a question that I forgot to ask during the conversation and also to express gratitude for their time etc. Alot of advice online is along the lines of “Say thank you but also reiterate your qualifications…” in other words use the thank you note as another sales pitch of yourself. I’m not really a hard sell kind of person and I feel like this may across as forced….So my questions are:
    For those that typically send these notes, what do you generally include?
    And for those that receive them: what kinds of things are a NO-NO in a thank you note?
    Finally, during the actual interview, the committee asked for ideas I had for the role, which I listed. I keep getting more, mention them or hold back (since I already gave some that they liked during the interview) and hope that if I get the job they can be some of the things I pull out of my hat as I navigate the work? I’m always wary of laying it all out, thinking they could still pick someone else and just tell them to implement what I told them…
    All responses appreciated. Thanks in advance!

    1. Hold back on adding additional ideas, it might seem pushy. I’m not sure asking another question is a good idea: it means someone will have to respond to it, and you can always ask it if and when you get the offer. As for the thank you note itself, since you definitely plan to send it: I’d thank them for their time and say that you’re very interested in the role and you think it would be a good fit.

       But I’m neutral about thank you notes; I don’t hold it against a candidate who doesn’t send one, and if someone said something weird in a thank you note I WOULD hold it against them. So be cautious.

    2. I would definitely stick to a thank you. I’ve written them for interviews, but as a fundraiser I write a lot of them. The general rule of thumb is to say thank you, and say why you’re thankful, and the say thank you again.

       So my recent interview thank yous were something along the lines of “thank you for allowing me the opportunity to interview for XYZ position. i particularly appreciated learning about your company and the opportunity to share the ways I might be able to benefit your team. thank you for your time.Sincerely Philanthropy Girl” If I remembered anything personal one of the interviewers shared with me, I’d include that to help build a personal connection.

       I’d definitely avoid asking additional questions or adding more thoughts. If you are made an offer, there will be time to ask additional questions then. If you’re hired, then you can have some brainstorming sessions to bring in other ideas.

14. Is anyone else having trouble loading the main r e t t e dot com page? I have tried in Firefox, IE, and my phone and the page won’t fully load unless I kill some kind of script.

    Edited: It sounds like I am having the same problem as Tech issues above.

    1. Same issues this morning using Firefox. When I stop the script the page loads.

       1. Same issues with IE. Guessing that’s why there are a sad number of posts today.

15. Can anyone comment on the sizing of Joie’s silk tops? I am flat-chested (34A) and I’m wondering if I should size down just to account for the billowy nature of these tops.

    1. Yes – they run large. Size down.

    2. They run huge. I’m a size 6 and wear an XS in their tops.

16. I know how much readers of this s I t e love Pendleton, and I just discovered a huge trove of their clothes on 6PM dot com.

17. What a information of un-ambiguity and preserveness of valuable experience on the topic of unpredicted feelings.

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