I keep seeing references to the vanity sizing on websites that I frequent, but, like ellendi commented above, it hasn't proven true with my own shopping. My old size 6 suits and pants (some are 10 years old) fit me well, and some are even a bit loose. My new suits are all size 8s, and many 8s don't fit me. The cuts seem to have changed a few years ago in a way that doesn't suit me. Jackets and tops are cut narrower in the shoulder (I have broad shoulders), and pants are cut smaller in the seat and thighs. Clothing is closer to being straight up and down. If I had a different body type, perhaps a smaller size would work, but with my body type I seem to need larger sizes, which then need tailoring to truly fit well because they're too big in the torso and waist (my goal for this year is to work towards better fits and find a good tailor). I wear suits 4 days a week, and dressy business casual on Fridays, and I've been unimpressed with the fabric quality of most suits. So I usually try to buy my suits at places like nordstrom rack, because the lower cost matches what the suits seem 'worth' to me (I can't see paying $300 for a low quality fabric). Casual clothes are even more hit or miss for me. Macys is mostly junk. Ann taylor loft and their outlets were once reliable, but not any more (I bought a top from ann taylor outlet a few weeks ago and it literally fell apart when i ran it through the delicate cycle before wearing it; unfortunately I'd thrown out the price tag). Banana republic seems too expensive for the quality. I love boden but sadly nothing that I have ordered from them fits me; their fit model must have a very different body type. Sigh...

Seeking advice--remember that the wax had to be stripped from those floors too! What a miserable job! My mom obsessed about her kitchen and house--it was perfect. It always reminded me of the I Love Lucy episode where Lucy is trying to join a women's club and one of the admission requirements is a surprise inpsection of Lucy's home with the inspection team performing the "white glove" test. My mom's house was always ready for the white glove test! And my Mom had stainless steel appliances that were always spotless and shiny--I don't ever remember her having a finger print problem even with 3 kids, which is why I'm getting them now. But in retrospect they probably were a lot of work and she probably polished them every day. jfroelo--There are still a lot of people like your grandparents' generation out there, you just don't know them because in our society the classes tend to be divided by education as well as income. I'm from a rural area where these divisions do not exist as much and where small, unpretentious homes are still the norm and where the auto mechanic is as likely to live next to a doctor as he/she is to live next door to a sanitation worker. It's hard to tell who is rich and who is poor in my home town, although the bigger homes (not huge or KO like you read about on this forum) are starting to creep in. I'm a professional, but my first job when I was 10 or 11 was picking cucumbers for a farmer--no migrants or minorities in our rural area, just local kids and adults making extra money--also you don't get paid by the hour for doing that kind of work, you get paid by what you pick (i.e., per bushel, per pound, per pound for specific grades of a vegetable, etc.--so the harder you work, the more make). I also picked apples and strawberries for money as well as cleaned houses and did lots of other menial things which, in many rural areas, are done by whites at the same low rates that would be paid to illegal aliens and migrant workers in areas that have them. My brothers, who are both now professionals too, worked on farms from the time they were 12 and also did all sorts of menial jobs on the side like catching chickens that were ready to be processed, hoeing tobacco, etc. Personally I don't think it's the pay as much as I think there is a real snobbery on the part of people in some parts of the country today not wanting themselves or their kids to do jobs that migrants and illegal aliens will do. In my hometown, doing farm work, etc., and other physical labor jobs like the ones I listed were what motivated many kids to do well in school so that they could go to college, etc.,--they didn't want to work that hard for a living. And in my hometown, just about everyone has done that kind of work at some point in their lives so they don't look down on the people who are doing it now.

I bought cabinets from this same guy and you are not imagining it, these are poor quality. I had many of the same issues plus I had damage to the finish. I brought out a custom cabinet builder/refinisher to see if they were repairable and his professional opinion is that the cabinets have been exposed to too many variables in humidity that is why there is so much bowing, shrinking, warping,separating, etc. In my case the finish actually bled onto the styrofoam packaging material leaving marks all over the finish. The replacements they sent had the same problems so I asked for a refund and told them to come get their cabinets. Like you I had assembled the cabinets that weren't damaged on the promise that the damaged ones would be replaced. Mind you it took 2 months to get replacements and they were no better. I also want to note that my phone calls and emails were not returned during the 2 months we were waiting on replacement cabinets. Because I am out of state and these items were being shipped I initially ordered one cabinet which my husband now refers to as the "bait cabinet" it was very nice unlike the majority of the other cabinets I later received. I did file a chargeback with my credit card company and Ben fought me every step of the way, even blatantly lied. Fortunately, I smelled a rat early on and saved every email and kept note of every unreturned phone call. I too filed with the bbb, I am the "refusing to adjust" complaint. Ultimately, I won my dispute but not without harrassment. The cabinets sat in our garage for a year waiting to be picked up and I finally donated them to a womens shelter. You may want to run his name through California state contractor license board- search by personnel- you may be surprised by what you find. It may also help to know that KitchenPros is also Lido Kitchens or something like that and Westlake Construction, might want to look up those names too. Good luck, I feel for you. The lesson I learned " if it seems to good to be true, it is" I now have pinnacle RTA which I purchased through a local hardware store and I love them!!

Wow - I have to say that this conversation surprises me. I’ve been told I’m attractive, have certain assets I try and minimize, love clothing and dress well but never “sexy” - especially at, or around work. I also have been in business to business sales for almost 30 years, have dyslexia but graduated college with two majors in four years, have an IQ in the 130’s and call on top ten clients in my industries. I didn’t do any of this by “being pretty” or “using my assets”. Instead I worked my ass off. And throughout my hard work I’ve dealt with others (mostly men) trying to box my progression into their definition of what I should be. Getting unwanted massages at an internship my senior year in college Not married until my 40’s meant years of being asked if I was gay. A client meeting in my mid 30’s with two men and a woman when I asked if there was anything else they needed, getting the answer “ I guess sex is out of the question” heehee Being told not to be so aggressive by SALES managers Being told, and then fired by, a young male manager who said sales has changed and older people don’t understand how it works now And the women who keep talking about how we try to impress others and be sexy to get things and how we dress means we invite others to treat us certain ways ALL are part of the problem. People who want to dominate and push others down do so through two channels. The first channel is direct where their actions lead to their goal. The second channel is by manipulating society into also talking about things in way that supports their goal. This really struck a nerve for me. ETA - I’ve also had plastic surgery and procedures that make ME happy.