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Updated: Dec 18, 2019 77 Comments · by

Suit of the Week

Suit of the Week

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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. Winter white suiting: yea or nay? I always feel like it is aspirational rather than practical, but perhaps there are ladies out there who are able to magically keep wine, slush and dirt stains off winter white pants. The dress that goes with this pantsuit is what originally caught my eye — it has a wide, pretty squareneck and cap sleeves, comes in winter white and cherry, and is on sale from $340 down to $208. In fact, the whole set is on sale — the sleek, collarless blazer and double-weave pants are both available in sizes 0-16; they were priced $298-$448 but are now marked to 178-$268. (There are a few other interesting pieces to check out at Brooks Brothers while you're there — I'm a fan of these very very subtle Black Watch velvet pants, although the entire suit is a bit too much of a look for me… and this stretch-cotton jacquard suiting looks like a great deal for warmer temperatures (now marked $88-$178.). Pictured. This post contains affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. For more details see here. Thank you so much for your support!

Sales of note for 9.30.24

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Comments

  1. AT and Talbots suiting

    I wish BB suiting fit me, but I could never make it work and just gave up.

    If you get suits at BR and also AT or Talbots, can you describe how they fit you relative to BR? I can get suits from BR, but only petite jackets and only Logan-cut non-petite pants (after many hours in dressing rooms and mail-ordering). I failed at my last AT and Talbots outings, more so with Talbots because I had to order everything vs trying on in the store.

    • Anon

      BR: Petite jacket, regular size bottoms. I am pear shaped and wear a 4P on top, 6 in skirts (then get waist taken in), 6 in pants normally.
      AT: Petite jacket, regular bottoms, petite dress. 4P/6P top, 4 Curvy or 6 with tailoring on bottom.
      Talbots: I’m convinced their suiting is meant to be extensively tailored. I got a suit on sale from them– jacket fit, pants and skirt did not. Pants and skirt were tailored so extensively it was like a bespoke suit. No one believes me when I tell them it was from Talbots.

      • Anonymous

        OK — that makes sense with Talbots — I love their quality and can get things taken in. I think I am basically you, shape-wise, but somehow failed at my attempt at AT suiting recently (and had given up on Talbots, but will retry).

        I cannot figure out why BB won’t fit — maybe my waist is so high that that + no curvy cuts is just fatal?

        Also decided that I was too short-waisted for Boss, which is so unfortunate as I’d love some of their pieces (actually: most of their pieces).

        • Anon

          I’m the poster above and also had no luck with BB. I’m too high-waisted, and they don’t routinely offer petite sizes. I also found the pieces to be too expensive for it to make sense cost-wise to do a bunch of tailoring etc. I’m not totally sure who their cut is for– it just wasn’t flattering on me.

          You should be able to find things at AT that work for you, but you will have to try on a bunch of stuff. Most of their suiting has multiple cuts/types of pants, etc. So, once you know what cut works for you, you’re good.

          • Ellen

            I can get suits at Brook’s Brothers, but DO need them to tailor them to fit me properly. I do not mind b/c once they are tailored, I can usually wear them for at least 2 seasons b/f I have to reconsider getting them let out in the seat again. I do this b/c I prefer to look as svelte as possible, and this is done by keeping things on the snug side, knowing also that it will be costly if I fill it out to quickly. Dad has told me to do things this way b/c he does NOT want me to take the easy route by purchasing something that I can wear for a while b/f it gets to tight. I also like Anne Taylor but perfer Brooks Brothers b/c there are sometimes some cute investement bankers there and you never know who or where you are going to find the right one! YAY!!!!

  2. Dog Mom

    Doggy daycare holiday present/tip question. My dog goes to a small facility run by the owner and her son. They are the only two employees. Last year I got them each Dunkin Donuts gift cards. This year, I want to give them each $20 cash because that’s just a quick stop at the ATM. Is that weird where the owner runs it? That’s basically the cost per dog for a day. I have two dogs that go.

    I want to give them the gift when I pickup today. Thanks!

    • anonymous

      I think that would be fine. Include a nice note that you appreciate their work.

    • The Original ...

      Put it in a card for each with a note of thanks… and maybe a photo of the dog, if they have a board of photos or a space in their office. Try to say something specific about each’s work or why you appreciate them. The cash will be used fast but the note will likely stay on a wall or in a desk drawer for a long time! :)

    • Anon

      I think it’s a really light khaki, which reads very summery, not wintery, to me.

    • lawlibrarian

      I think it’s a lovely suit, and to me it looks off white or what I’ve heard called winter white. But I’d ruin the jacket so quickly because I leave my blue pens open on my desk.

    • Anon

      I do think it’s within the Venn diagram of white – but it’s definitely a no-no in terms of suiting. I can’t remember who said it, but this kind of (amazingly unpractical) whit suiting is for Diane Keaton, and the very, very rich.

  4. Distracted!

    As a 40 something longtime single person, why do I struggle so much with not getting wrapped up in a guy who is fun to play with (either in person or via phone)? Why am I a well-educated woman with a full life, yet someone fun has me ready to do open a private web browser page to g00gle search for more info about him? I don’t know if this is hormonal or brain chemistry from the um release or if this is just how my inner 16 year old manifests, but sheesh is it disruptive to my focus at work the day after fun has happened!

    Am I the only one who does this?!

    • Anon

      You think you’re weird because you are excited about a guy you’re dating? That is perfectly normal and I feel sad that you think it isn’t. Now it really shouldn’t be distracting your ability to focus at work, that’s a little much.

      And we all google search our dates, don’t worry.

      • Anonymous

        Eh, I think it’s totally normal to be a bit distracted at work in this kind of scenario. Everyone is a bit different in that regard. Also normal to google search, although I’d do it from my phone, not my work computer.

    • Anonymous

      Why shouldn’t you? It doesn’t seem at all strange to me that the excited first flush of discovering someone new would be fun and distracting. Because life rarely has moments that are that fun and distracting.

      Being well-educated has nothing to do with it (as if only poorly educated people enjoy the first flush of romance?), nor does having a full life (as if only pathetic people with no life like the thrill of a fun connection and happy possibilities?)

    • Anon

      Seems totally normal to be infatuated with someone. We all *love* having new toys to play with, it’s human nature to be distracted by the shiny new thing. Denying it, or trying to repress the curiosity and excitement will just make them worse because then it’s not just a new shiny toy but a new shiny toy that *you can’t have* which makes it all the more tempting. Just schedule your google stalking for a time when you’re not at work and get it out of your system.

  5. Anonymous

    Weird question: what is the point of placemats? I missed that day in Life 101. It feels like they look pretty but are just another thing to clean?

    • Anon

      Prevention of destruction of the table underneath. Having to constantly wipe down with cleaner can over time dull a table’s varnish, not to mention the astonishingly easy way to put dents in a soft wood table with just one plate set down too strongly or a kid banging it with a spoon (ask me how I know).

    • Anonymous

      If you have a nice wood table top, you could scratch it up with stonewear, silverwear, etc. And maybe you don’t want a lot of stuff to scrub off it it? or be sticky?

      And if your table top is not nice, a placemat will cover it up. And it limits yardage and sprawl — it has helped my kids understand how to set a place setting where the placemat is the landing zone for all of the stuff — plate in the middle, which utensils go on either side, etc.

    • simiyalala

      Placemats protect your table from being scratched by utensils ,plates and glassware. I always use them.

      • anne-on

        +1. I don’t use them much for day to day, but our ‘big’ dining room table (for 10-12) is too large for most tablecloths, so we use place mats to protect the wood from scratches/stains…and to look nice :)

    • Cat

      if you don’t use a tablecloth, placemats protect the wood from getting banged up.

    • Winter

      Generally, they protect your table from scratches, spills, and condensation (particularly if you don’t use a table cloth). That’s probably most applicable if you have a wood table.

    • Anon

      If your plates are slightly warm, for whatever reason, that can be tough on some wood table finishes (mine) so a thicker placemat can help.

    • Ribena

      My placemats wipe clean and my tablecloth doesn’t! (My table itself is showing its age and needs to go to a restorer but I have no idea how to find one)

  6. govt atty, hopefully

    I have an interview for a federal attorney position – does it matter if black pantsuit or gray pantsuit? Coming from many years in private practice, so I don’t want to look like a new grad, but it might be slushy, so black seems safer/more wintry/more formal?

    (I know it probably doesn’t really matter, but I am very excited, so overthinking everything, for fun.)

  7. ValkyrieLawyer

    I’m posting here because I have no one to tell and I feel pretty happy about this: I PAID OFF MY STUDENT LOANS TODAY. It took 16 years but they’re finally gone forever! To quote Ellen: YAY!

    • Stars

      Woohoo! Congratulations! Can’t wait until I pay mine off (hopefully in 2020)

    • Ellen

      DOUBEL YAY to YOU! Congratulations on a great accomplishment! It reflects your hard work, dedication and FOCUS, Dad says, and he is very proud of the accomplisments of the women here in the HIVE! We are all stronger b/c of each other and we must stick together as life plays itself out. CONGRATULATIONS from the ENTIRE HIVE! TRIPEL YAY!!!!!!

    • Ses

      Congrats & high-five! (& an EllenYAY!) Maybe use the monthly payment amount to get yourself something nice next month to commemorate? A couple years ago I paid off mine and I *still* think about how glad I am it’s done.

        • ValkyrieLawyer

          I’m not–no kids, just love Norse mythology–but knowing that valkyries are a mascot somewhere makes me inordinately gleeful. Happy holidays!

    • Anon

      Oh one of my friends wore these to dinner with our friend group the other night. Now I know where she got them!

      She is petite and preppy and she looked adorable.

  9. Anonymous

    Q I’m pondering today as an unhappy apple shape: what would you wear if you had no body issues (either in the DGAF sense or the I’ve-worked-hard-for-this-6-pack sense)? Leather bustiers? Sheer blouses with just a bra? Super minimalist dresses à la Cos? (I do NOT think I would wear Lizzo’s thong dress at any size, but that’s me…)

    • Anon

      I probably have way fewer body issues than the average American woman and I wear a lot of tshirts and jeans. The jeans are skinny jeans though? I still wear mini skirts and fairly short shorts although I’m in my late 30s, which I guess is pretty out there by some standards.

      I think that dressing overtly sexy or attention getting is more about personality/other types of confidence than body confidence per se.

      • Anon

        I could have written this word for word! I am not American and don’t have the eating issues and body disorders that most American women seem to have. I wear the usual stuff we talk about here, just on the inexpensive end! Cotton tees, blazers, Boden dresses, Uniqlo jeans, pants for my pear-tending figure and sometimes skirts. Being comfortable with your body is maybe a necessary but not sufficient condition to dressing se#y!

    • Anonymous

      A perfect-for-me pair of jeans in a medium wash. I had those jeans in 1994 and it is insane that I ever thought to part with them.

  10. annienomous

    I’m trying to fill out my assistant’s annual review evaluation form and BOY is that tough when you’re assistants been working in the field longer than you’ve been alive. Not sure how to critique someone who has been a major blessing to me/my career. “Five stars, lovely assistant! Here’s a bottle of tequila.” probably not going to cut it with the managing partner…. (she is getting the tequila, though!)

    • Anon

      I take the view that if someone is truly stellar, there’s no point essentially making up things to be critical about. If she is overall stellar but there are things that could improve, then include them in constructive terms.

      I also assume that the more senior lawyers my assistant works for will likely naturally have more to say than me so it balances out.

      • annienomous

        Super-small law so I am the only attorney she “works” for. She does some high level, office wide support work, and so I know my boss KNOWS she’s a gem at least. The recently retired partner I inherited her from never bothered to do an annual review, so SHE is weirdly nervous just because this is her review in many years.

        • MagicUnicorn

          Find specific details to praise her for and explain why they are so helpful to you. If the form wants criticism or ways to improve and there truly isn’t anything, say that.

    • CHL

      I like Upraises list of performance review phrases – sometimes can jumpstart ideas on different ways to describe awesome!

    • Angela

      Oh yeah, just give all highest marks if you have no complaints, honestly. All you’ll do by saying anything negative is piss people off.

  11. Anonymous

    Looking for advice on difficulties bonding with my newborn. She’s about a month old and I just don’t feel that overwhelming sense of love I thought I would. I want to take good care of her (and I do) but I just feel so irritated with her most of the time. She seems so much fussier and harder to deal with than my friend’s babies, mostly I just try and get through the day with her. I feel guilty that I don’t want to spend extra time holding her, reading to her or staring at her adoringly like all my relatives want to do. It just seems like there’s something missing in my relationship with the baby and I don’t know what to do.

    • Anonymous

      You’ll probably get more responses if you post tomorrow morning on the moms site, but some quick support from me:

      1. You’re not alone. I also felt like my baby was fussier and more challenging than other people’s babies were, and I found being home with him to be a huge challenge. This was especially true when I was alone with him, i.e. after my husband had gone back to work (sound like you’re on your own throughout the day?). This part got better as he got older and seemed to find the world a less challenging place to be (and especially after we sleep-trained. Sleeping well again made a huge difference for me), and I got through it with a variety of tools: baby swing; bouncing on the yoga ball (sometimes wearing him in a carrier), usually while watching TV; going for walks; going to a moms’ group a couple of times a week; singing songs to him.

      3. Consider a PPD screening. I say this not because you have to love being home with your baby, but because your comment about feeling like something is missing suggests to me that maybe there’s something more going on.

    • Anonymous

      I don’t know the first thing about babies, but I think you should talk to your doctor about this.

    • SMC - San Diego

      Call you doctor first thing tomorrow morning (or today if you are on the West Coast). You might have postpartum depression which is terrifyingly common and can result in this exact feeling.

      Also, ALL OF THE HUGS. You have this; you are a good and wonderful person and mother; your baby will be fine. Little infants can be really, really hard. You give so much and get so little back (and your hormones are absolutely out of control). Also, don’t let yourself get sucked into the Hallmark picture of mothering. It is OK that you are tired and grumpy and sore and just want 5 fricking minutes to yourself. It is OK that 24-hour a day parenting does not look like visiting a friend’s baby. It is OK to think that your baby is more difficult than other babies (and who reads to a one-month old?).

      Best of luck!

      • Anon

        +1 agree with all of this

        Also, the newborn stage is HARD. Sometimes it takes getting them to the age where they smile at you and interact with you to fully bond. I wish more people talked about this.

    • blueberries

      Being with a newborn all day is tough. I think some people really like the newborn stage (or don’t remember much due to sleep deprivation and look back fondly) and they get a lot of the social narrative. It doesn’t sound like you’re missing anything or doing anything wrong.

      A friend’s newborn is way different from one’s own—you get to dote, remember only the good parts of this stage, and then hand the baby back.

      Some people who love the newborn stage will just be trying to get through the day later on.

    • Anon

      First off, hugs. I know this is hard. I think we see so much in the media and elsewhere that leads us to believe that having a baby is this magical moment and you’re supposed to be walking on air. When in reality, taking care of a newborn is hard.work. And if you have been a grown, functional adult for a long time with your own needs, priorities, schedule, time, etc. – adapting to giving up all of what makes you you, and makes your life exciting and engaging to take care of this totally dependent little human is not easy. A lot of newborn care is just about getting through the day. It’s okay if the days aren’t magical. Especially if she is fussy.

      If she’s crying more than 4 hours a day more than 4 days a week, she has colic and there may be some advice or help your doctor can offer. Otherwise, figure out what you like to do that makes her not be fussy. Long walks? Long car rides? Going to the laundromat? (Weirdly, this calms some babies down.) Going to the park? Going to baby and mom yoga? Try a few different things and see what works. As for the irritability – you probably aren’t sleeping much and this is a huge, major life change for you. Be gentle with yourself. This is not an easy transition for most people. Make sure you talk to your OB/GYN if you think you might have postpartum depression.

      My son was colicky and had tremendous trouble breastfeeding and I honestly did not feel very bonded to him until the colic was over because I was just so exhausted and beyond caring, most of the time. Around 12 weeks, the colic got better and he started smiling more and it was great. I really fell in love with him. But even if that doesn’t happen for you on that timeline, it’s okay! You are doing a great job just making sure your daughter has food and warmth and clothing and is being held and having her needs responded to. Honestly, at this stage that is all they need. If you are providing those things, go you! Great job, mom! Give yourself credit for doing an amazing job at keeping the miniature human alive. Congratulations on the new baby and hang in there.

    • Aunt Jamesina

      Oh Anon, I’m so sorry you’re feeling this way. Please know that what you are going through is so very very common, but not always talked about. Newborns are hard. You will bond with your baby, and it’s normal for it to take a bit of time. I know from talking to a very candid friend and reading online about similar experiences that it can definitely take a few months of getting through the recovery period and sleepless fog to get there. As it is with romantic relationships, so it is with babies: sometimes it’s love at first sight, other times it slowly builds. Know that you are the best mother for your baby. Please reach out to your doctor if you feel even the slightest hint that this might be PPD. Best wishes to you.

    • LaurenB

      This is all totally normal. I despise the mommieeeeeeeees online who make it seem as though there’s something wrong with you if you don’t just adore every single moment of cuddling by the fire with your newborn. Guess what? They’re boring, they don’t interact, and you can feel your brain drip drip dripping away until they are older and more rewarding. Make sure you are doing things to care for yourself, hire a babysitter if needed even if it’s just to go out and have a cup of coffee and read a magazine. No guilt whatsoever. Oh, and if you’re breastfeeding? Only do it if it works for you and you enjoy it – if it doesn’t, then drop it like a hot potato — many women I know were even more depressed because they felt like they couldn’t ever escape the house.

      • Anon

        I second this.
        Both my kids were super hard as infants. Colicky, bottle refusers, didn’t sleep well, wanted interaction and holding all.of.the.time. I am a person who needs my sleep and I had a hard time of it. I remember crying while walking around with my second in an Ergo in my backyard because she looked so -odd- and was so troublesome, and I thought what if she grew up and still looked like this and she will miss all of the opportunities because of not being cute. I thought I should try to love her despite her non-cuteness and maybe would not succeed. Clearly I was not being rational – also, all babies do not look like the ones in the ads, and infants just look weird and wrinkly.
        As they grew up, I would sometimes compare with my friend’s baby who played alone for long stretches at two and a half and my kids wouldn’t even last until I went to the bathroom for a few minutes. There would be a complete meltdown outside the bathroom door. They needed so much of me and I had so little to myself.
        Fast forward a few years later they are both now in school and are lovely, confident, verbal kids that are super-attached to me. That time they spent being needy and in my company seemed to help them build confidence in themselves so that now they are independent and mature for their ages. My daughter has been praised as being very empathetic since her preschool days, when she would help littler classmates. All this to say, I used to tell myself that it all evens out through the years. So if my kids were more high-maintenance as babies compared to my friends’, they would probably give me less trouble as kids or teenagers. This helped me justify it in the moment and also maybe is partly true.
        Hang in there. It gets better. And there will be a time when your friends wish their kids were more like yours, too.

    • Anonymous

      This was me with my first. I remember crying because there was no one in the world who loved him when he was about 2 months old (spoiler alert: plenty of people loved him and we were doing a great job taking care of him). I also remember crying when HR called and told me that they’d messed up and I had 20 weeks of paid time off, not 12. I gradually fell in love with him when he was six or seven months old – after I’d gone back to work at 20 weeks. It was much easier to deal with all of the changes in my life when I was able to get back to my old life for part of every day. My second? I fell in love with him the minute he was born. Ironically, at 6 and 9 years, I’m probably a bit closer to my older one – the one I had trouble bonding with!

      Also, talk about it with people! You will find lots of people who didn’t fall in love right away. One of my closest friends is a former co-worker who had a baby a year after I did – and because I’d been honest and outspoken with my troubles bonding, she and I became very close when she had similar issues with her daughter.

    • Anonymous

      {Please print this out and take it to your doctor. This is a classic PPD response and you should get it checked out. So much love to you.

  12. Anon

    Xmas gift help, please! My neighbor and I are very helpful with each other’s plants and mail, when those things need to be handled for each other. She said yesterday that she has “something for Christmas” for me. Yikes! I was just going to give her a card and maybe some baked sweets for her husband. She’s really into handmade greeting cards; she’s a strict, religious-based vegetarian; she is a stay-at-home wife who can’t move around well, though only late 20s. She loves kitsch and the Grinch. Try not to worry and just continue to be a good neighbor?

      • OP

        Ha, she babysits my own orchid when I go out of town. She has a rambunctious dog and not many indoor plants (if any). I have time. She’s not going anywhere. Thank you.

    • Anon

      Hmm do you have a local boutique you could find a cute home decor piece? You seem to know her style pretty well!

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