ByKat Hours Updated
Comments 505 Comments

Weekend Open Thread

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.

Bottega Veneta Indigo SandalsSomething on your mind? Chat about it here. Zappos has a lot of sandals on clearance right now, and while at first it looked to be a pretty ho-hum sale, I discovered a ton of steep designer markdowns. I love these sexy Bottega Veneta sandals in a gorgeous indigo — great mix of leather, suede, and synthetics. Hello, date night! They were $680, but are now marked to $325 at Zappos. Bottega Veneta – 290310W832 4207 (Indigo/Indigo) – Footwear (L-4)

Sales of note for 3/21/25:

  • Nordstrom – Spring sale, up to 50% off: Free People, AllSaints, AG, and more
  • Ann Taylor – 25% off suiting + 25% off tops & sweaters + extra 50% off sale
  • Banana Republic Factory – 40% off everything + extra 20% off
  • Eloquii – $39+ dresses & jumpsuits + up to 50% off everything else
  • J.Crew – 25% off select linen & cashmere + up to 50% off select styles + extra 40% off sale
  • J.Crew Factory – Friends & Family Sale: Extra 15% off your purchase + extra 50% off clearance + 50-60% off spring faves
  • M.M.LaFleur – Flash Sale: Get the Ultimate Jardigan for $198 on sale; use code CORPORETTE15 for 15% off
  • Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
  • Talbots – Buy 1 get 1 50% off everything, includes markdowns

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

Some of our latest threadjacks include:

505 Comments

  1. Thoughts on committees for large industry organizations? Think the American Bar Association or DRI. Is it better to join the committee for women or the one for your current practice area or the one for your dream practice area? Or some combination?

    1. I attended the conference for female general counsel last Spring co-hosted by the SF Bar and the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession. They said quite clearly that if you are in a law firm, you should try to be on business-y committees (intake, P&L, finance) and not sofe committees (summer associate, recruiting, diversity). They did not address the same issue re trade/professional organizations other than your firm.

      FYI, the SF Bar Glass Ceiling (No Glass Ceiling?) Initiative has all kids of terrific best practices resources. You might see if they have anything available that addresses this.

    2. Having trouble posting, so I will try again:

      I attended the conference for female general counsel last Spring co-hosted by the SF Bar and the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession. They said quite clearly that if you are in a law firm, you should try to be on business-y committees (intake, P&L, finance) and not sofe committees (summer associate, recruiting, diversity). They did not address the same issue re trade/professional organizations other than your firm.

      FYI, the SF Bar Glass Ceiling (No Glass Ceiling?) Initiative has all kids of terrific best practices resources. You might see if they have anything available that addresses this.

  2. Went ahead and bought the Skirt in purple rosea (because I bought a sweater in blue ocean, and blue aster seemed too “blue” for me). Any fun color ideas other than basic black, white, etc. to pair it with? I doubt I wear the blue chambray shirt they style in the photos. In the store they had it paired with the sleeveless tie neck blouse in rainey geo purple combo and a dark red cardigan, but I’m not sure I can pull that off.

    1. I have it in purple magenta from last year, and I love it with yellow. It also looks great with navy, gray, and tan. (Basically any neutral.) Oh! And orange!

      1. Yes – I love purple with yellow. Especially nice orangey-yellows. Or yellow-greens. I also like purple with bright blues.

  3. Reporting back from my personal stylist appointment at the NAS:

    For those near Palo Alto, my stylist is Melyssa Minamoto. She’s great! I had nothing that was inappropriate or unwearable. She was very helpful and made some changes to what she had initially picked out after meeting me. Really, she’s great. I highly highly recommend her.

    I went outside of my comfort zone but I really like my new clothes!

    I got (and I know these aren’t specific–I don’t know how you figure out what y’all bought):

    Shoes: (1) grey/metallic ballet flats and (2) grey velvety loafer things that look like slippers but are for daytime.
    Bottoms: black pair of ankle length pants (super-stretchy but with pockets!), navy pair of ankle length pants, grey ponte pair of ankle length pants, 2 pairs of straight-leg jeans with a nice, high waist (yay! hide the pouch), 1 green knee-length skirt.
    Dress: One, in a pretty floral that I would have never picked out for myself but will be perfect for my fancy brunch next week.
    Blouses: a navy blouse, a teal blouse with cowlneck and the same in red (I can’t wear the red with the green skirt), a daring hot pink assymetrical cowl-like blouse (OMG! my favorite and I would have never picked it for myself), a black and grey striped boatneck long sleeve tee (I feel so French wearing it); a grey and gold sparkles sweater with short sleeves.
    Outerwear: a grey boiled wool “swacket”–perfect for my cold office and a–get this–black leather blazer (super splurge! but so buttery and soft).
    Jewelry: a pretty teardrop gold pendant and a pretty pair of drop earrings.
    Bras and panties–I didn’t know personal stylists did this but I’m glad she did–I was wearing the wrong size bra.

    I spent way more than my budget (carpe diem!) but I am really happy with what Melyssa picked out. She definitely got me away from my habitual boring uniform-like style and into some clothes that I wouldn’t have expected to like.

    I really needed all this. I went through my closet and threw out everything that was no longer wearable and had 12 pieces–6 winter sweaters, 3 spaghetti-strap shirts, two sundresses, and one casual blazer. No pants, no skirts, and no work-appropriate summer shirts. It was bad.

    Now I need to work to earn a bonus that will pay for today. C’est la vie!

    1. Thanks for following up! I’ve been thinking about doing that, and your post is definitely motivating me to actually call and set something up. AFTER I buckle down and clean out my closet (hopefully tomorrow!).

    3. Well done ! Sounds like you’ll be having a lot of fun getting dressed in the mornings with so many goodies on hand.

    4. karenpadi, I’m so glad you posted this, and I’m really glad the personal shopper idea worked out for you. I was enormously helpful for me 5 years ago.

      I feel like I just did some vicarious shopping through you!

      Please keep us updated about how these items work for you as you start to wear them for work.

      xoxo!

    5. Thanks for the feedback! And congratulations on the new wardrobe, it sounds like you did very well.
      Now if I may further suggest something, make sure you go back to her at least a couple times a year. You may only get a blouse, or replace a pair of worn pants, you don’t have to spend a lot. But a wardrobe needs maintenance, and a small expenditure more often will keep you in better shape (and happier) than a huge trip on a very occasional basis.

      1. I plan to! Sales are in November, May, and July so I have it penciled in in my mind. Plus, she’s promised to let me know if there’s anything she thinks I’ll like in the meantime.

        Sometime this week, I think I’m going to head to the Gap for some more t-shirt-like tops. 5 tops isn’t going to cut it until November and the clothing budget is depleted.

  4. Sorry for the Ellen-esque caps. Can you tell I really need to get motivated and clean out my closet?

  5. Hi ladies. I’m applying to clerk for a federal magistrate judge. I’d like to use a writing sample from two years ago (still a law student then); it’s of a civil nature, but probably my most detailed/impressive legal analysis. In my current position, which I started last year, I never write briefs. I only use templates for short motions. Appropriate, or should I draft something new?

    1. Totally appropriate — use your best piece of legal writing — I don’t even think it needs to be dated. If he/she asks about it you can explain that it was from law school — most first year associates / junior legal employees don’t do much writing in their jobs, so he/she will understand.

  6. You guys, I just had to tell you.

    My husband has continued to drink his nightly tea out of my JSFAMO mug. Seriously – every night. I used it for coffee this morning and he said, “Hey, no fair using my cup!”

    To this day, he has never asked what the saying means or where it came from or how this mug happened to appear in our home. He is 100% clueless.

    My husband is a stress monster (honestly, he can stress himself out for a week over what to bring to a work potluck) so I’m hoping JSFAMO is having some sort of subconscious calming effect on him. :)

      1. Lulu, I maybe should, but I don’t want to ruin the whole thing!

        It’s like when my kids were little. They thought Lake Temescal was “Lake Tennis Ball.” I wanted them to say that forever, so my husband and I started calling it Lake Tennis Ball. I was so mad when one of my daughter’s friends said, “It’s TEMESCAL, you dummy!” (though, I guess that is funny too.)

        Not to infantilize my husband….

        1. Yeah, I understand wanting to preserve this for as long as possible. :) It’s too funny not to.

    3. Being myself, of course, I’m brainstorming what other Ellen you might be abel to bring into his life. She is indeed salve for anxiety.

  7. Hey ladies, I know it’s late in the weekend, but I remember that several of you had asked about experiential gifts for guys. My SIL arranged for my nephew to have a flight lesson for his 16th birthday at a small airport in a Cessna. It got rained out when I was there last weekend but he went today and he pronounced it awesome. He said that he and the instructor simultaneously lifted up for take off then the instructor just handed it over to him by himself for awhile once they were in the air, then the instructor landed. They were in the air for about 30 minutes. So it sounds like it was a great gift! Of course, as soon as he stepped out, his younger brother yelled out “You’re still alive!” because we had been teasing him about dying in a fiery crash. Yeah, we’re a bit of a sick family.

  8. My best friend is moving to a distant city, and I’m worried that I no longer have local, smart, fun women friends. (The recent flurry of media coverage around how as one gets older, it’s more difficult to make friends hasn’t helped!)

    So, when is the next Boston meet-up for [this site]?

    1. They were happening on the third thursday of the month but have mostly been put on hold for the summer due to everyone’s schedule conflicts. You can email me at projectmundaneart@gmail.com and I’ll send your email address out to the group.

  9. I’m just going to nut up and ask this. Please be gentle. I noticed Chadwick f Boston has a killer price cut clearance sale right now. Specifically looking at the wool blend pant and jacket suiting separates. Would such purchases be as shameful as I believe?

  11. That is such a great story! Men can be so funny when they are clueless. It’s best to let this play out! Make sure to report back on developments with HIS FOOEY mug!

Comments are closed.