women's fall office clothes - gimme some ideas

trousers cropped @ ankle length, or baggy menswear style..

the j crew has a lot of stuff in this weird orangey canteloupe color, i really like it all of a sudden. they have other strange pastels that i guess were inspired by all the marc jacobs stuff which i thought i hated, but i kind of dig the colors now.

http://images.jcrew.com/erez4/cache/images_eiec_86_86227_86227_YL5424_tif_65740b0bd890182c.jpg

want

http://images.jcrew.com/erez4/cache/images%5Feiec%5F86%5F86227%5F86227%5FYL5424%5Ftif%5F65740b0bd890182c.jpg

<img src="http://images.jcrew.com/erez4/cache/images%5Feiec%5F86%5F86227%5F86227%5FYL5424%5Ftif%5F65740b0bd890182c.jpg";>

I think I just bought a j crew v neck in that color. I thought it looked like the american apparel saffron/gold, which looked kind of like one of my high school colors.

yeah so i am gonna need some nicer stuff than whawt i wear to work now which is just jeans and crap bc my job is a joke. but for newjob (whatever it may be), i need to impress. how to do this on little $? cheap stuff just looks cheap :(

i really want something in saffron, super bright saffron. tricky though because the wrong shade is going to look awful on me

how little is little? i am such a big fan of the club monaco.. i guess trousers there will cost about $100 though, but in the back the sale stuff goes on really big sale. they always have a nice range of v-neck cotton and/or merino wool sweaters.

one of my colleagues at my old job would get items like simple black cotton shirt dresses at forever 21 and they actually looked quite nice. depends on how tall you are though, on me they're way short so no getting away with that. there is also laredoute.com, sometimes they have nice things - i got a great sheer patterned blouse there for about $20

that whole post is otm

to be frank.

Ooh I forgot about laredoute.com somewhere along the line.

I don't want fall, I have no idea what's "new" and I prefer summer dresses to pretty much everything ever.

fall clothes are my favorite! fuck summer clothes forever, i hate showing skin.

^^^ yes

Yes, well, my summer dresses do run a little old-fashioned, the only skin in evidence is probably my arms and legs. I still would rather pull on one patterned dress and some sandals than:

* 1 pr thick tights
* 1 skirt, fully lined
* 1 top, assorted styles; must fit underneath...
* 1 suit jacket or cardigan, invariably dry-clean only
* 1 pr tall boots
* all accessories

Etc. I am truly sad about this, but maybe this thread will push me along in the right direction.

I predict buying about 12 pairs of tights from sock-dreams.com in bright colors, though. And 3-5 black dresses.

I want to buy tights now!

I love fall clothes. Bring it on.

fall clothes are my favorite! fuck summer clothes forever, i hate showing skin.

-- bell_labs, Tuesday, August 5, 2008 9:33 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Link

i'm wearing this t shirt 2day and uh i don't think i should be. and i forget we had a meeting this morning. bad.

laurel, sock dreams is fantastic! i could spend multiple Cs in the over the knee section alone.

i can't wait to start wearing tights again! no more daily shaving yusss

I think this will be the fall I just bite it and buy a pair of ridic Frye dress boots and call it good.

not office clothes at all, but i love these 2 dresses:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3175/2735123665_470d4858d2_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3184/2735123659_a08175979c_o.jpg

styling on the 2nd one reminds me too much of halloween, though.

I am looking forward to leaving summer dresses behind and returning to pantsuits. I wear them with semi-fitted silkscreened t-shirts (invariably American Apparel brand) that I get on etsy or whatever. When it's colder, a thin, fitted sweater under the jacket No ironing! No buttondowns! No tucking in!

Suit can then do double duty: the pants I can wear with heavier sweaters (sans jacket) and the jacket I can wear with cords or jeans for casual Friday, weekends, etc. A basic navy suit works well for this.

I vow not to buy any more gray suits this fall.

quincie i may have asked you this before, but what brand of suits do you buy?

I don't work in a officey office, and I don't wear pants, so my fall clothes will be skirts that go with jackets and cardigans on top. Every year I swear to sew more skirts so that they fit right, and then I don't. So underwhelmed.

I have a couple of Anne Kleins, a couple of Isabel and Ninas, a Tahari, a Calvin Klein, and one J. Crew. I had a Brooks Brothers I loved but it was when I was a size 4.

Department store discount racks have always worked best for suit shopping for me--I will try on seriously 30 suits from the clearance rack at my local L&T and maybe two or three of those will look good enough to consider purchasing.

Once in a while I find something promising at Filene's, but that is usually much more hit-or-miss.

There are some Isabel and Nina suits on Overstock.com that I really want for super cheap but I know I'll need like 3 sizes larger in the skirt than the jacket. Shit.

i should really give my two j.crew size 2 suits away to a skinny young go-getter. sigh. any takers?

ugh i need a summery suit i think. also just some updated suits/office attire in general. mine are like ages old and whatever pants i bought with them (and inevitably wore much more frequently than the jackets) have been lost by now... why are suit pants always so dumpy? i have the hardest time finding a good pair of black trousers!

i LOVE tights though! tights and boots and cute dresses are so much fun.

My current want for fall is a pair of knee high flat (or flat-ish) brown leather boots. I saw a pair that was super awesome at some chi-chi boutique in Bethesda, but they were mad $$$. I can't justify $575 shoes, even if they are like 50% off!

I'm drooling over Frye's boots now but my size is sold out from all the sales. Life.

Oh I hear ya. Totally love these: http://www.piperlime.com/browse/product.do?cid=19797&pid=540445&scid=540445002

i spent all of last fall/winter looking for great flat boots and was so sad about the selection.

i need some flat-ish boots, too. i have a pair of black suede flat ones, but i'd like a dressier pair. i guess i'll spend some time on endless.com tomorrow...

I'm still considering going with these guys; most of the products aren't amazingly styled, but they're good ENOUGH and the sizing could save my ass cos I can't find anything else.

Laurel I have these Duo boots:

http://www.duoboots.com/images/2007/boots/2_casual_bologna_1.jpg

I seriously wore them almost every day this past winter--they're really comfortable and sturdy. And, yeah, they fit my calves, which is nice.

woah those look cool!

i wore a pair of black sued shorter boots last winter but they were destroyed by weather and city streets.

Aw Lub, those are one of the pairs I really like! I'm glad they're so awesome for you.

i love tall boots but can't really find a good way to wear them.. never been keen on the jeans-tucked-into-boots thing (not that it doesn't look good, just not my style).. and I feel like tall boots with a skirt usually looks strange on me. been wearing this same pair of black boots with a sort of rounded heel (brand is mosquitos, can't seem to find them in the states) for 8 years though, i would like new ones..

http://i8.ebayimg.com/04/i/000/c1/a4/825b_1_sbl.JPG
huh, found a pair of this brand on ebay but not sure if these are my cup of tea

attn tall people: h&m currently has some cute, missoni-ish knit maxi-skirts.

one piece i really need: a really basic nice kind of jumper-y dress that can be either layered underneath, worn solo or worn with a sweater/jacket over, depending on how dressy it needs to look.

That would be the ultimate dress, wouldn't it. You didn't say anything about the cut or color or style that you want, though.

attn tall people: h&m currently has some cute, missoni-ish knit maxi-skirts.

as a tall person, this is good news.

color = probably black/neutral. if i found a really great one i would buy it in a couple of colors.

i don't really know dress cut names? i guess a slender cut. and a square neckline with thick straps if that makes sense. like a fitted jumper.

a tunic?

not really a tunic...something that goes to just above my knees, with a fitted waist. haha sorry i suck at describing this

I think I know exactly what you mean. Jumper is what I would call it too.

attn tall people: h&m currently has some cute, missoni-ish knit maxi-skirts.

Oooh. I am into this idea I think esp for fall but I haven't worn a long skirt in ages. What kind of shoes go best w/ long skirt in cooler weather?

Boots.

with that particular skirt, i think boots would be best. it really depends on the style, though.

yeah i am always having issues with the shoes/long skirt combo. i think good boots would help, yes.

I didn't even go look at the skirt, I just thought...other things could def go with a long skirt but not *as a rule*, it would have to be case-by-case and depend on what you felt good wearing. Only boots are failsafe! :)

I don't know how you feel about the brand, but...these kind of fit the bill.

Or Talbots, even more so.

haha i hate ann taylor. those look ok tho. i dunno, nothing ever looks good to me in their stores.

i was so angry at my old job when i got a $200 gift certificate there for my birthday (we were forced to donate $20 for everyone's birthday, ugh).

there is some nice stuff in ann taylor sometimes, but if it's not on sale it's kind of silly because it's not necessarily any better than more affordable stuff.

the black tropical wool sheath looks sort of like what you're after...?

Why doesn't ILX like my Talbots img...?

Well anyway, this dress might work too.

almost...i want a lower neckline, though.

Here's a sheath-dress in the same vein, but patterned.

but if it's not on sale it's kind of silly because it's not necessarily any better than more affordable stuff.

The thing is...what's more affordable unless it's also on sale? I think of AT in the same category as Jones New York and Eileen Fisher and Ellen Tracey/Linda Allard, and all those other "tailored office-wear" companies, and ALL of them sell things that start at like $150 and go up.

that one's pretty close too but i want a lower/boxier neckline...something that will look neat with a collared shirt underneath it

hmm... it's going to be difficult to find something that will look neat and not weird with a collared shirt underneath yet can also be worn solo.

i guess it's ok if it can't be worn solo...

like, all of my jumper-y stuff would be incredibly, inappropriately revealing if worn without a shirt.

Here's a fall sheath dress with a lower scoop neckline from DKNY but it's like $250.

You know what you want, I think you should just start going to H&M and Filene's and etc until you find it.

ooh i like that dkny dress.

either that or hire someone to make you 5 of them and pay her what you would pay ann taylor. i've been thinking about doing that because i hate shopping just that much.

THAT sounds like a great idea, where can i get someone to do that though?

go find an out of work fashion student?

haha i wouldnt trust a fashion student to sew buttons on my shirt

i was thinking of asking this nice bulgarian lady who was a student of mine, but i would guess that any place that does tailoring (you could maybe find a nice old lady through a dry cleaner?) would be able to help you. you could choose the cut, the fabric and have her make as many as you could pay for to your exact measurements. dreamy!

i would love to have custom-made stuff, but gosh - $$$$$$$$$$.

like more than $150? because that's a lot for a little sheath dress. i dunno. maybe it's too expensive and that's why no one does it.

to hem and taper a pair of pants , the amazing little old russian man i used to go to (before he retired, sigh) charged $30. and alterations to a friend's formal dress recently set her back $120 from some specialist tailor. so to actually fit and sew a dress... i dunno, either, but i'm assuming it's a bit pricey. would be worth looking into, though.

i knew a guy in college who had tailor made dress shirts. i was always so jealous, but he was from long island and had rich parents and was a douche.

bonus of buying pants at banana republic: free tailoring.

Ok just for the record I would like to make it clear that you all should please kill me if I ever start wearing Eileen Fisher and/or Chicos.

My favorite quote re: Eileen Fisher is "clothing for women who have just given up."

omg my mom <3 chicos so much and tried to take me shopping there once and i was like 'NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooo'

One of my former co-workers only wore Chicos clothing. It was awful.

I would never recommend that anyone shop at, say, Chico's (although I've never been there, just seen their commercials) indiscriminately, but I'm sure there's like a black A-line skirt or a shirt-dress or other basic things that would be fine from there if nec (or if on sale).

I don't think Eileen Fisher is even REMOTELY in the same camp, it's tunic-y and art teacher-y but awfully short on the polyester animal prints.

Shoot, I'm looking at EF at saks.com and I rly like some cropped jackets and some cardigans/wraps you could belt. If they weren't $288.

I don't think Eileen Fisher is even REMOTELY in the same camp, it's tunic-y and art teacher-y but awfully short on the polyester animal prints.

-- Laurel

otm.

Although I also love animal prints and will fight for leopard-print twin-sets at the drop of a heavily trimmed hat.

Guys when did girlshop.com become a place to buy Chloe dresses for $6000? That's really sad and retarded -- because there was a shortage of places to get couture before?

Here, bell, this is what you want...and it's only $2000!

ooh that look intersting

that is hot!

i never fit into expensive clothes anyways cos my ass is too big. hah. it is probably better that way

your ass is not big.

seriously. perhaps it's bigger than it once was, but on the spectrum of asses, it's pretty petite.

maybe so, but i DID get called "applebottom" on the street the other day

that was an appraisal, not an insult

Clearly I'll have to get a much better look at your ass next time we cross paths.

i actually dreamed about shopping for fall clothes last night...wendy williams was helping me, for some reason.

i went to banana republic and i decided i want this dress:
http://www.bananarepublic.com/Asset_Archive/BRWeb/Assets/Outfit/124/OUT12465/outfit/br-otf-out12465odv01.jpg
but i hate spending the $$ there when the stuff is just going to go on sale in a month.

the only other thing i kind of liked was this sweater, but it's also kind of fugly:
http://www.bananarepublic.com/Asset_Archive/BRWeb/Assets/Product/588/588121/main/br588121-02p01v01.jpg

there are much nicer versions of both of these things at searle but i cant afford to spend $400 on a stupid sweater

http://www.neimanmarcus.com/products/mn/NMT1JTK_mn.jpg
oh man i want this one instead but it is $300

i am still having no luck finding jumper-style stuff

That's because jumpers are for schoolgirls, basically. I know there are grown-up versions, but I think generally they all play on the girlish idea.

have you tried uniqlo? sometimes they have jumpery stuff.

but i KNOW i have seen grownups wearing jumpers that look good. like, black with a white shirt underneath...

Oh, I'm sure!! I mean I can imagine such a thing myself and I think ti would be a nice look for you with your height. But I think there's still a bit of either revamped schoolmarm or German mistress about it, which could certainly be hawt! But jumpers are much less common for adults than for children.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1142/911658525_4b643fd781.jpg

i think this is close...but it's on totokaelo blog from last year. their membership signup is intimidating
Totokaelo is not elitist. We are about creating an original online shopping experience through hand-picking members that have something in common. That being said, WHAT ARE YOU INTO NOW? **

oh pleaaaaaaaaaase.

ok bell i KNOW i have seen stuff like that at uniqlo.

uniqlo's website makes my head spin

i got a jumper at the gap last year, and have a few from thrift stores.

h&m, despite the terrible quality, has a few at the moment at the one on 5th & 18th.

eh don't worry about totokaelo, i think that is so they have a list of customer profiles on the site that say stuff.. but i don't think they are all that particular, as long as you are not way into those ugly t-shirts on that other thread..

http://thmb.inkfrog.com/thumbn/styleshack/anndblazer2.JPG

i hope this thing fits - anne demeulemeester dark grey jacket from ebay (only $50)!

still want that cashmere in saffron.. however if past is any indication no one will buy odd shades of yellow or gold and it will end up on major sale

http://www.lagarconne.com/data/item/2300/zoom/default.jpg

ligne 6 martin margiela

want!!!

cannot spare the $$

I went to Joe (joefresh.ca) again yesterday and picked up my first light fall sweater. SIGH. they have lots of fall stuff there now.

daria, what is that? a bag? an apron?

it's a bag. i love the colors..

bump.

the director of my school on friday said "no work today, lindsay?" i didn't know what the hell he was talking about, but then he was like "oh you must have casual fridays?"

we DON'T have casual fridays and i wasn't even wearing anything denim. i am taking this as a sign that i need new clothes NOW.

so anyone have any suggestions on how to look more polished?

aww :(

i have to go find stuff.. today. important meeting tomorrow. eek!

where are you looking? let me know if they have good stuff!

dresses/tunics are a life-saver. i have a lot now, and all i have to do in the morning is pull something from the closet and then grab a pair of tights or leggings. a pair of nice shoes and maybe one piece of "interesting" jewelry, et voila.

i love dresses! i have a great one with drop waist from uniqlo last year, but i worry it might be too short. i figure i may stop by there today. not sure where else yet. recommendations?

hey bell! looking at uniqlo's site they appear to have a cashmere jumper like that dress you were searching for. their site is all flash so no way to repost it, though :(

ok, uniqlo and banana definitely have dresses that you would like, bell! once i have more moneys, i think i may buy one as well. they are perfect fall things.

i really liked this shirt
http://www.bananarepublic.com/Asset_Archive/BRWeb/Assets/Product/583/583066/main/br583066-02p01v01.jpg
but my boobs were a bit too big for it (otherwise i was kind of impressed by the fit of it - not too baggy!)

ended up getting this:
http://www.bananarepublic.com/Asset_Archive/BRWeb/Assets/Product/583/583872/main/br583872-02p01v01.jpg
but a bit looser and def not tucking that shit in. i am pissed it is $3 cheaper online. anyway, i was happier w/ the stuff in banana today than i have been in a really long time.

also got some black straight leg pants at gap. not 100% perfect, but better than anything i've been able to find for about two years, so i'm considering getting another pair. also lol @ gap vanity sizing.

yeah, their sizes seem off this season. i got two sweaters last week in smaller sizes than usual, and the dress i tried on (medium) was too big.

everything i tried on at banana seemed really, really weirdly sized. i got frustrated after 2 things and gave up.

i'm going to try loehmann's this weekend i think - i've never been there.

also all of their basic shirts have stupid details like poofy sleeves

at banana? i found some plainish ones if you're talking about like, standard button downs. my complaint about their shirts is that the buttons are spaced so that there is one above and one below my boobs, inevitably leading to gaping, no matter what the size.

i forgot to ask when i was there but all the gap manikins had some nice looking flats on. i wonder where to buy them.

i feel like i just got the summer office clothes thing sorted out!
aw man

haha, that's exactly how i feel, like "aww, i cut up all these old pants into shorts and now i have to put them away? oh man. alright."

(my office is pretty casual)

i think i am going to buy this bc i am a total sucker for a cowl neck + this shade of wine.

http://www.bananarepublic.com/Asset_Archive/BRWeb/Assets/Product/588/588277/main/br588277-04p01v01.jpg

ooooh, that's beautiful: BR?

yep! i am going to ignore the fact that i have a very similar shirt from there about 2 years ago. it was silk mesh, though! obv. this is completely different!

I've never actually bought anything at Banana Republic.. any idea if they bother with people size 14-16? I find it doubtful but it's worth a shot! Wikipedia says there are 26 stores in Canada and I bet that at least 5 of them are within Toronto's transit system. I see they have a tall section! I like tall.

BR is really only worth buying on sale. the quality is not so great anymore. they do cycle through stuff really quickly though so you are pretty much guaranteed that most of the stuff will go 30-50% after a month.

they do 14-16 - that is what i am! i think their pants generally run long, too, because they offer alteration services, so you may be in luck.

i was just thinking yesterday that the quality is a lot better right now than i've seen there in about 2 years. you can get some really awesome sale deals. but that shirt i posted upthread is only $39 full price, too.

you can also get a banana republic cc with an absurd interest rate if you are buying a bunch of stuff to get like, 30% off, then pay it off that month and cancel it.

I don't mind hunting down sales.. I'll have to figure out where in Toronto this place is and visit a few times 'til I find something cute and cheap! Thanks!

i do not understand their new "monogram" line. it is like, twice the price of their normal stuff and although it looks really pretty does not necessarily seem to be of better quality.

gap -> the sizes are so weird.. i saw some cute plaid stuff & tried on a dress & sadly it was both gigantic, and cut with a drop waist that hit right at the wide part of the hips? fail. also they had some simple silk tops but they're all gigantic.. really unflattering

i got a really neat top in a weird shade between dark mauve and lavender, and a very lightweight dress in slate grey at zara, they have an isabel marant rip-off section.. also bought actual isabel marant (etoile) top off ebay for like $40. hope it fits.

that was the dress i tried on! i thought it looked quite cute on the rack, but it was SO enormous. also, yes - drop waist managed to be weirdly unflattering, which i would not have thought.

this store anik by my work has all this summer cashmere & cotton sweaters on sale for $30-$40 (the brand is malika which is kind of shitty quality as far as i can tell but i am ok with that for $30) so i just bought a couple of cardigans and little shirts and one cashmere dress with a little faux-white collar and sleeves. the dress is way too clingy to the wrong areas but i think it will look ok with tights underneath.

I have no idea what I'm wearing this fall and I can't afford to go shopping! Hurrah! Plus all the "conservative" women's work-wear companies are downsizing because no one dresses up or wears skirts to work anymore so I'm extra screwed!

Fuck.

I'll probably hit Hootie Couture again soon and see if they have any old Pendleton for sale for like $30.

xpost to finefinemusic (ok i shld know yr real name by now but i am forgetful :( ) - there's a banana republic on bloor, i'm pretty sure, around UofT. there's a club monaco in the same area, pretty big, hard to miss, on bloor at the cross street where the museum is. haha ok i am not v good at toronto geography. and i might be wrong abt the BR - i'm sure you'd find one in the mall too, somewhere.

things i still need for fall:
black or navy suit
lots of tights in every color
some white collared shirts
dressier boots

oh I missed this! rrobyn, I'm Lex, but not the Lex :(

joe fresh wants:

http://joefresh.ca/images/en/fall_08/womens_pic4_expanded.jpg
http://joefresh.ca/images/en/fall_08/womens_pic5_expanded.jpg
http://joefresh.ca/images/en/fall_08/womens_pic11_expanded.jpg

I was in their store the other day and saw none of these :(

oh also I know the area you're talking about rrobyn - west Yorkvilleish sounds like - I pass Yorkdale, the big $$$ mall everyday on the way home from work and I suspect there may be one there too.

these finally came in the mail:
http://www.bananarepublic.com/Asset_Archive/BRWeb/Assets/Product/587/587640/main/br587640-00p01v01.jpg

they make my butt look good and look nice enough for office but with the comfort of jeans :D (they look more like a twill than denim irl)

Psst denim is a twill. ;)

The only thing I wear these days are tight fitting sweaters and T-shirts. Jeans also. Should buy a bunch more but I think I'll opt for some sensible shoes and a jacket. I'm in love with this clothing line (cause these days I'm all about cheap and washable clothes: I throw things in the washer after one or two days cause Elisabeth likes to soil my clothes.)

http://www.wefashion.com/

well yes but they look more like another cotton blend/iteration/whatever than a denim if you know what i mean.
xpost

Yeah, sorry, I know! Denim is dyed blue fibers in one direction and bleached white fibers in the other -- if they look more like twill, they're probably all blue in both ways?

http://photos-a.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v191/43/28/1111525007/n1111525007_30020952_562.jpg

laurel shasta :)

I am trying to restrain myself to just buying trousers from the gap, banana rep., ann taylor and all the other places that people normally go to for office wear. I have had way too many experiences recently of going to work in the morning and running into girls wearing the exact same top as myself.

i need to restrain myself from buying banana republic tops as well, mostly because i keep having 2nd button down issues with them (i.e. the 2nd button likes to pop open every time i move my arms. i don't even have anything close to large breasts so i can imagine this problem is pretty widespread.)

dudes, i have this feeling i am never going to have another 'office' job again

but i have to still be kind of fashion-y because i just can't be the kind of journalist who schleps around in jeans and sneakers all the time b/c really that's not me either. i think, the thing is, that i need to lose like 15 lbs and start profiling fashion designers more and then they will give me pieces of awesome clothing. lol i will never be a sample size.

ok here is an i love style challenge
can anyone help me identify this sweater or at least identify what site it looks like it comes from?
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2020/2402802892_d81e109a43.jpg

i wld like that in heather blue
i need to up my winter style game

today i am wearing, in the office, a white, fitted, strapless dress that comes to just below my knees and has a guazy underlayer and clear beads on it, BUT i am wearing a small grey t-shirt over it. and my brown, battered-looking cowboy boots. and a small light-green necklace. i am into outfits like this right nowz.

fall fashion out today in full force! seems like people have been eagerly anticipating a drop in temperature. my favorite so far is the greyish-brown tweed coatdress i saw on a woman waiting for the train this morning.

I fudged an outfit for one interview, but if I get called back I'm going to need something suit-ier. Perhaps a closer look at those bags of dry-cleaning is in order....

argh at new jobi am always feeling dorky bc my clothes are too 'professional' in a stiff sort of way. these people always look amazing wearing things that if i put on, would look dumpy or underdressed. key is maybe to lose 50 lbs and become fabulous and rich?

that purple banana dress i want is down to $89. but i do not have funds for it til next week. i hope it does not disappear in that time!

ok i had a total crisis this afternoon when i discovered that absolutely none of my business attire fits me anymore (at least it's too big and not too small) which would have been a pleasant surprise if i hadn't had an interview to go to in 2 hours and NOTHING to put on.

how do i buy new clothing if i don't know what kind of office environment i'll end up in and also if i am super poor?

Can you get a few basics from Nordstrom's Rack for interviews?

perhaps yes. do they have suits? i hate suits! they're so terrible-looking and i hate the idea of dropping even discount suit dollars on something i will feel stupid in. i should just get one interview outfit or something. has anyone found affordable, non-terrible suits? i can check h&m but w/ them i fear coming off too cheap-looking.

Maybe a dress with a jacket instead of a suit? idk, my work environments have always been so casual out here I've never considered a suit, even for interviews!

seattle is so weird w/ the attire (i can't say i wasn't warned about that, though). the woman who interviewed me was just wearing cords and a sweater, but i still feel like you have to dress at a certain level for interviews, even if you are dressier than the person you're talking to.

T, I like the brand Relativity for business separates...they're a department store brand and have fully lined skirts and jackets and things, not too stuffy. Some of it is not quite stylie enough but pick and choose...and they do a good petite line if you ever have problems with things being too long in the waist (I do).

The brand might go by another name in other markets, but in any case I recommend visiting a boring mom-like department store and raiding their clearance racks. Dress with jacket is an excellent idea, imo.

Also a nicer-than-usual long V-neck cardigan with good tailoring and pockets etc, belted, is probably a good jacket substitute in a more casual world (like Seattle).

hah nothing will ever be too long in the waist for me, but i will keep my eyes peeled for that brand! thanks, l.

ah i remember last time i went to an interview, it was panic because i realized that morning, i have SO many clothes but nothing appropriate for that! sometimes i'll go in a work wear type of store like banana/ann taylor and i just.. it's like i hate these colors, i don't want a suit, and i never ever ever can stand wearing my shirts tucked in. i do have office appropriate clothes but for an interview i feel like they are supposed to be fairly boring..

ok today i looked at macy's where everything was like, middle-aged looking (no offense to middle agers but i would feel like a tool wearing one of those suits). banana was like $200 for just a jacket that wasn't even that nice and i am kind of on a banana boycott these days anyway because the last few items i've gotten from there have been total crap and they changed their return policy to prevent you from doing anything about it. maybe i will look at ann taylor because at least that stuff is usually nice and a little more up to date than department stores. still need to hit nordstrom's rack but i feel like that will be similar to the macy's issue.

Filene's, Lohmans, and sale racks at midling department stores (Lord and Taylor, Macys, etc) are my go-tos for suits, which I wear pretty much all the time in cool weather. If you do just a basic black or gray suit, you can un-frumpify it with a cool print blouse or patterned tights and/or awesome shoes. Or for an interview you could just put on a boring shirt and do the boring look, then use the suit in non-boring ways.

I know there are a lot of suit haters here, but I love 'em--much easier for me to deal with than pulling together separates.

so i think i can not buy an off the rack suit because i realized today that my jacket size and pants size are drastically different. i was almost in luck at ann taylor but for some reason their jackets were all either size 8 or 18 (did not even know they had 18!). also even more $$ than banana :( but maybe worth it in the long run bc it was a nice cut and not frumpy. i am going to investigate some more.

Ditto, T! I like the idea of suits but it's too hard to fit the pieces from the same line/same fabric to my differently sized bottom and top parts. I do black skirt + some colored/pinstriped/printed jacket.

Maybe if I had a lot more done at the tailor, but it's not worth totally recutting a jacket because the shoulders are too wide, for instance.

Relativity appears to only be carried at Younkers and Bon-Ton, whatever that is, so you probably won't find it in stores on the WC -- but it might go under a different name with slightly different fabrics, for instance, in another chain.

Haha I have this jacket and I wore it on Wednesday.

Do you feel like there are no good clothes in the stores, or that you look at things and you can't tell whether they'll be "good" or "bad" on you?

i was at a bar with a girl last night who was wearing a 90s-styled black powersuit. i was like damn girl, what kind of executive ass did you kick today

The giant yellow buttons are falling off my yellow jacket. ;_; Have to buy some yellow coat thread and re-sew. Sigh. The quality is actually perfectly decent for the price-point, but no buttons come from the factory properly secured.

Just for reference, T, I know my style is pretty conservative but the brands I bought at Christmas were Relativity, Evan Picone, Laura Ashley (seriously a hilarious cardigan), Jones New York... stuff like that.

None of them are especially creative with their seasonal output but they're all good basics for layering with some hysterical accent pieces cropping up here and there, especially if you're not really going to wear them in the style the manufacturer intended.

Oh and I kind of hate broadcloth (like Oxford) dress shirts because they NEVER FIT but my mom bought me one from Lands' End for Christmas and I swear it's a pleasure to wear. Also it's some new "No Iron" treatment and always looks really good. Want more.

Do you feel like there are no good clothes in the stores, or that you look at things and you can't tell whether they'll be "good" or "bad" on you?

i feel like every single store is filled with things i hate. nothing looks nice anymore. it all looks like trendy stuff that will go out of fashion in 2 weeks and then you're stuck with a closet of 'lol remember when that was in? what were we thinking!?' (although these days i don't even get that far bc most of the trendy stuff i don't like). or the quality is not nice - i find if you look at grey suits or pinstripes and it's not a super nice fabric, it starts to look cheap really quickly, even at a mid-range price point. i feel like banana/ann taylor used to be good for finding nice looking, well-cut basics but i couldn't even find any tops i thought were versatile or not too trendy. all i want at this point is a black suit with pants that are not dumpy and a jacket that is long enough but cut to have some nice shape and is not boxy (all these suit jackets are short-waisted or cropped, and that is a big no for my frame. i am also seeing lots of jackets with cropped sleeves. ew.) and an assortment of shirts (some colors, some neutrals) that i can wear with it. why is that so hard???

If you're getting annoyed by tops, may I gently suggest some solid-color sweaters? A turtleneck/rollneck collar will fill in the top of a suit, or a round jewel-neck will give you room for a necklace or scarf. Lambswool, cashmere if you find good stuff on sale, whatever yarn you're comfortable wearing next to your skin (probably not cotton b/c cotton sweaters look a little casual for a suit & they don't wash well).

It's stretchy, it doesn't have to be as fitted as a woven top, and it leaves room for chunky jewelry or a brooch or something as an accent.

I really like short-sleeved turtleneck sweaters, btw. Not as hot under a suit jacket in the office.

I am wearing one today in fact. Under a grey pin-striped Alfred Dunner suit jacket. Unfortunately I had to pair it with jeans b/c I was too lazy to go to Macy's on the weekend and buy any more tights.

Have you considered Talbot's at all? They can be really lol conservative East Coast Old Guard but that also means that you can count on their basics to age well. I don't have time to look through their whole website right now but it seems like a go-to store for classic dressing.

Quick glance suggests they have the cropped-sleeve disease, but I am totally susceptible to that condition and in fact love it, so...ymm obviously v.

Quincie, who makes your suits/what brand(s) do you like? T is broad-shouldered and relatively slim in the hip and leg, maybe a menswear style would suit her more?! I have no idea who makes affordable men's-style suits for women because I couldn't wear one in a million years.

I have broad shoulders, too, but do have hips. Anne Klein (not to be confused with Anne Taylor) has been good for me for suits, though I always have to have the pants tailored. J. Crew has also been useful because then I can get a size 6 long jacket and size 8 tall pants (which still have to be tailored, grr). I like that J. Crew suits are made from decent wool and are fully lined. Isabel and Nina is a younger-looking line that I have had luck with. I've had Calvin Kleins that had good menswear styling. I dunno basically I just end up with armloads of suits from sales racks (or Filene's or Lohmans) and try them all on and *maybe* end up with one or two that work. I aim for a jacket with a good fit and pants that can be tailored into submission--it is amazing what a good seamstress can do to take in dumpy pants and make them look nice.

Oooh, I have really liked Isabel and Nina suits that I've seen. Never owned one, but I'd like to.

They have a decidedly "younger" look--sometimes I think they border on the trendy, but they have some more classic styles without the boxy fit I expect from a lot of lines.

i hate cropped sleeves!!! l, i love sweaters, i just haven't seen any i really liked. although i guess the larger issue is not seeing any suits i like and walking into stores to be bombarded with crazy weird print yellow and black dresses screaming at you when you just want something plain. i went to talbots but it kind of sent me running! even white house black market seemed like party clothes and not something i'd want to wear in a professional situation i don't know, it's strange. maybe an odd time of year? i feel like all the spring looks that are in stores now are super casual and would just look sloppy on me. i miss filene's basement! damn you, casual city!

so does j crew only sell suits online? because i went in the store and they had no suits at all :(

Maybe just online or at larger stores? I always have to do online because that is the only place to get extended (i.e., tall) sizing.

If I had mad cash I would do Hugo Boss suits all the way.

Maybe Seattle is weird? ;_;

it is v weird ;_;

i mean no one ever claimed it to be a fashion capital or anything but wow.

http://images.bloomingdales.com/is/image/BLM/products/4/optimized/1030914_fpx.tif?

Basic black Boss suit.

oh that is nice.

Yeah Boss manages to be not boxy, good fabric. $$$, though.

Oh man there was an AKRIS suit at Filene's that I died for, but not in my size :(

http://www.neimanmarcus.com/products/mg/NMT2FRP_mg.jpg

oops, too small. But <3

Re the black Hugo Boss, I think, "That woman looks awesome in that suit" but then she would anyway, because she's thin and leggy.

this is sooo annoying!

Yeah see there is no way I would wear that to work.

but that is on the "women's suiting" page of j crew! this is the type of thing that is making me so aggro when i go shopping!

Oh god really? That is horrible.

Today I am wearing a Tahari suit; not a brand I recommend as they tend to be v. boxy. However the boxyness of this particular jacket appealed to me somehow.

Good lord that's horrible. The J Crew, I mean.

omg I totally horrified that J Crew is only showing the suits all broken up! You need to see the jacket WITH the pants/skirt wtf???

What's scary is that J Crew has more suiting choices than Brooks Brothers :(

Not actively trying to be boring here, but would you consider

http://s7.landsend.com/is-viewers/dhtml/images/spacer.gif

?

It's from Lands' End. Here.

GRR well follow the link anyway. And it's on sale!

yeah! it's ridiculous!! if you click on the jacket there's usually an option to see the whole thing but they're styled horrbily.
xpost

Or there's a 3-button gabardine jacket in black, navy, or khaki. You'd have to buy the pants separately but they offer them to match. Some sizes sold out in some colors -- this is the sad part of "on sale".

could work with some tailoring. at least the jacket is not cropped!
those pants look dumpy on the model, though :( will look around at that site!

so here is a fun thing: i went to jc penney lol. anyway i got this jacket and some black pants for a total of like $55 and that will have to tide me over til i have the time and $ to invest in something else better. i wish i could figure out how to remove the shoulder pads bc i def don't need them but they are sewn in between the lining and the outer and i am afraid if i open the lining stitches i will do something weird when restitiching and it won't lay properly.

wait scratch all that. i am taking it back. yesterday i got the pants for this look and the jacket is on order (out of my size in store). 25% off and infinitely nicer than the worthington look. i hope the jacket works out, but if not i will probably keep the pants anyway because they are pretty decent and ended up being like $55. i think it looks nicer irl than in those pics on the site (another case of v bad styling/posing).

huh that didn't work
http://bananarepublic.gap.com/browse/outfit.do?cid=40130&oid=OUT17278

http://bananarepublic.gap.com/Asset_Archive/BRWeb/Assets/Product/702/702700/big/br702700-00vliv01.jpg

Good work! I've never had a jacket tailored, but I have had pants and dresses made infinitely better with some nipping and tucking.

Today's work outfit will be the PJs I slept in: snow day in DC = work from home pour moi.

GAH I have so much laundry to do.

i wore the pants today with a too-big jacket i already had... they definitely have some stretch in em. i may have to have them tailored a bit. also i had a total emergency situation where my foundation dripped when i was putting it on and got on the leg of my brand new black pants !@#)(IOFJKv

i learned from googling that you can use rubbing alcohol to get it out, which mostly worked! i was amazed. i wish i had known this ages ago because i have this pair of grey slacks that has a foundation stain that WILL NOT COME OUT and i think washing them just set it in more.

Today's work outfit will be the PJs I slept in: snow day in DC = work from home pour moi.

welcome to most of my december lol.

holy shit i sold my soul (read: checking acct) to the ann taylor factory store.

I think this is the right thread for this.

Flu shot season is starting, and I'll be doing intake paperwork for flu clinics (at grocery stores, nursing homes, etc.). We're required to wear clothes that are dressy casual/business casual or better. (I'm the only clerk that actually follows this dress code, but this is the only chance I get to dress up for work, and I'm taking it.) I've got two questions.

1: The black pants that I've been wearing for the last three years are badly faded. I'd like to get a new pair or two. What style would you recommend for a 180 pound 5'5" woman with a long waist, short legs (I wear petite pants and skirts because of this), and a slight belly?

2: What kind of shoes should I wear with a just-below-the-knee (there's a formal name for this length, but I forgot it) denim ballerina skirt?

i needed a new suit and bought the first one i tried on yesterday because it was passable and i was not interested in trying on suits all afternoon. am i going to regret this?