360 Review

360 Review: Dr. Megan Hunt of Body of Proof

by GuestPoster on 12/15/2011 · 131 comments

Today, a rare treat: a 360 review! In the 360 Review, Corporette examines a “professional woman”s” attire and critiques it from all perspectives: underling, boss, friend. Today’s guest post is from Ashley Faus, who blogs at Consciously Corporate — she’s reviewing Dr. Megan Hunt of the new ABC show Body of Proof.

Meet Dr. Megan Hunt, the intelligent, articulate, and often sarcastic Medical Exminer for the city of Philadelphia on ABC’s “Body of Proof”. Megan was a brilliant (and rich) neurosurgeon, until a car accident ended her career in the OR. Her impeccable (and expensive) taste in clothes and accessories carried her from surgeon to sleuth, and she looks professional and chic while she seeks the truth in the bodies that land on her table. Dr. Megan Hunt does an excellent job crossing the lines between business casual and conservative professional, with pops of color and accessories. She manages to look flawless while performing field work as well, with classic outerwear and practical shoes. In her personal life, Megan Hunt is coping with her ex-huband’s new girlfriend, her 12 year old daughter’s new interest in a relationship with her, potential new boyfriend material, and her mother’s re-election campaign as a judge in the city. If that isn’t enough stress, Dr. Hunt must deal with a flirty partner, two hard-nosed cops, a curious lab tech, and a sarcastic by-the-book supervisor. Megan is anything but “by the book”, leading her to clash with her supervisor, and often, her boss. Dr. Megan Hunt is played by actress Dana Delany, and she’s definitely not a Housewife anymore! (You remember her from Desparate Housewives?)

The Good: Megan wears well-tailored, ageless clothing, paired with professional accessories. Her clothing honors both form and function, as she looks put together in the office or out in the field. She generally stays office-appropriate, with knee-length hemlines, reasonable necklines that don’t draw attention to her bust, and fitted-but-not-tight outfits. She also knows which colors are flattering, and pairs her outfits well with her red hair.

The Bad: Sometimes Megan’s shoes are a little over the top, and her shoes seem to be a consistent source of attention, with high heels, strappy styles, and embellishments. And, per TV, her necklines plunge a little low in certain outfits.

The Impression: As a hiring manager, I would find Megan to be confident, polished, and all-business, if she wore one of her tailored neutral dresses to the interview. As her supervisor, I’d find that her clothes say power, and a hint of rebellion with the loud shoes. And, as a subordinate, I’d say that she’s a professional I’d like to emulate. However, I would probably need to wait until I had a few more years of experience under my belt before attempting to wear some of her more adventurous choices. In general, I think Megan projects authority and drive to all leveals of the organization, but shows a hint of personality with her shoes and accessories. Megan definitely likes to make a statement, and her clothes enhance her presence whenever she enters the room.

Perfect pairing of a classic sheath and cardigan, with a little edge from the print and the texture.

Nice knee-length skirt, well-fitting jacket, and a plunging neckline? Pair this with a button-down or silk shell for a more office-appropriate look.

Flat riding boots and a trench are perfect for a day in the field. The black is a little intimidating, maybe a jewel-toned scarf could lighten the look?

Or, pairing this gorgeous green wool coat with the above look.

With a neckline cut just a little too low, and strappy, silver heels, this outfit would be better suited for an out-of-office event. The conservative shape of the dress, bright color, and cardigan could work for the office with a higher neckline and closed-toe pumps.

Well-tailored neutrals with an extra hint of personality from the leopard-print shoes and detailing on the jacket.

While perfectly office-appropriate, this outfit is a little boring. I would pair it with a colorful bracelet, or a turquise skinny belt. Or, stay with plain jewelry, and add a pop of color with aubergine heels?

Megan adds visual interest with several different textures and colors.

Dr. Megan Hunt is a complex character with a fabulous wardrobe! She flawlessly pairs function and form, and takes her outfits from field work to office to home life in a seamless transition.

Interested in writing something similar for Corporette? Check out our guest posting guidelines here!

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Better Off Ted: Interview with Veronica’s Stylist

by C on 03/08/2010 · 60 comments

in 360 Review, Fashion, Suits, Wear to Work

Fashion Choices of Veronia Palmer on Better Off Ted After last week’s 360 Review of Linda Zwordling on Better Off Ted, we got a ton of comments about how beautifully dressed Portia de Rossi’s character, Veronica Palmer, is — and how much folks would love to chat with her stylist. We did some poking around and, lo and behold, found our way to Brandy Lusvardi, the costume designer for Better Off Ted. We just got off the phone with her, and thought we’d share our conversation…

(She is the NICEST person on the planet!!)

How would you describe Veronica’s style at the office?

She’s in a powerful position at work, so her style was sophisticated, no nonsense. We always saw her in skirt suits — no pants. Her suit is her armor. Her character is kind of cold and quirky, and we tried to play with that as well. It made shopping somewhat easier, in that we were always looking for skirt suits.

However, it’s very hard to find skirt suits! They aren’t out there all the time. Sometimes the look is shorts and a blazer, which isn’t that practical for corporate America.

Part of the reason she looked so good is that we had an amazing tailor — he can make anything look good.

We’ve noticed that a lot of designers have been showing miniskirts with skirt suits. Did you ever try to work with those?

We had to eliminate miniskirts because Portia’s so tall and there’s only so much fabric in the hem of the skirt.

What did you look for in a suit for Veronica?

It is not easy to find a smart sophisticated skirt suit that doesn’t look frumpy that also has a nice pattern or color that you like! It was like a full time thing for us. A lot of her suits were designers — Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Theory, Tahari.

You mentioned the importance of tailoring — what would you advise women to think about while shopping for a suit?

The trick is to fit the widest part of your body — which will often be your shoulders and bust. Then you can get a tailor to take the waist in, or add darts in the back. It’s so worth it — just a little nip gives you a shape that looks powerful and sophisticated. In terms of finding a good jacket, you may need to figure out what the best stance for buttons is — what looks right with your proportions.

It’s the same thing with the skirt — figuring out what kind of skirt you can wear. Can you wear a pencil skirt, or is straight or A-line a better look? It’s a pretty simple alteration to take it in at the waist.

If it’s going to be a too major of an alteration with the tailor, you might want to look somewhere else — some things might not translate to what you’re trying to do.

How did you choose Veronica’s base layer?

We wanted something interesting to show her personality. The ruffly blouses can look intimidating, but feminine — makes it pop without being “look at me.” Nothing’s wrong with a shell, but it was part of the character’s personality that she is into fashion and wanted to show some of her personality in her clothes. You can find blouses at all price points — $30 through $2,000. And if you don’t like the sleeves, you can always have them removed — that’s a really simple alteration at the tailor. Just find which colors and which palettes work with your wardrobe and your coloring.

What were some of your favorite suits of Veronica’s?

I thought the white/cream/pale gray ones looked really beautiful on her, and complimented her skin and hair and makeup. I also thought that they made her pop — there’s a lot of black and navy out there, so it was good to be a little different.

What’s your top advice to women to avoid looking frumpy in a skirt suit?

I really can’t emphasize the tailoring enough — it is the most important element. Almost everything you see a character wear on television has been tailored to fit right — t-shirts, jeans, everything. And it’s tailored to fit all shapes and sizes, and for all characters, from the principal actor to the guy playing the janitor.

Another tip is to take photos of everything — sometimes you think things look great and you look at the picture and realize it really does not look good. Or, sometimes you think something doesn’t look that great, but the color on you is amazing. We take photos at every fitting.

Also, the other important element is shoes. Comfort is really important — and it takes a long time but you can find shoes that look good and feel good if you’re really persistent. A good pair of shoes changes your posture, your mannerisms, your mood — and there are great shoes at all price points.

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360 Review: Linda Zwordling of Better Off Ted

by C on 03/01/2010 · 43 comments

in 360 Review, Fashion, Wear to Work

In the 360 Fashion Review, Corporette examines a fictional “professional woman’s” attire and critiques it from all perspectives: underling, boss, friend.
All right – we are resurrecting one of the features that we get a lot of requests for: the 360 Review. We’ve done one for Dr. Lisa Cuddy of House, Ellen Parsons of Damages, Rachel Menken of Mad Men — and then we kind of got tired of looking for screen caps that were of good quality. Also, we kind of stopped watching a lot of television in which people dress professionally. (Kell on Earth? Nope. The Tudors? Ermm. Syndicated repeats of Star Trek: The Next Generation, our husband’s favorite? Well, they dress professionally, and there is much to be said about the fashion – ye gods, the fashion — but perhaps this is not the forum for that.)

However, Better Off Ted is one of our shows that is a) airing new episodes, b) really good, and c) involves fictional characters who dress somewhat professionally. It is a brilliant, brilliant comedy, with lots to say about office culture in a big corporation — and accordingly, we hear it is almost canceled. So we thought we’d get our 360 review in now, and hopefully inspire some of you to check it out.

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Reader Mailbag: Can a basic black suit be found for under $200?

by C on 01/26/2009 · 20 comments

in 360 Review, Fashion, Suits

We love reader mail!

Hi folks – love your blog! I’m in a bind, hoping you might have some advice. I’m currently an at-home mom but I’m also an adjunct instructor at the university, and I do some occasional consulting. I got rid of most of my suits when I left corporate 6 years ago.

I have a funeral to attend in two weeks, and don’t have much in the form of a black or navy skirt suit. I’d like to find something reasonable, conservative but hip and somewhat fitted that I can wear for future client meetings or teaching. I’d need to go to a store to try things on. I live near several malls – any suggestions on where to go? We have a Macy’s, Nordstroms, Banana Republic, etc. but looking on their websites, I haven’t seen much in my price range (about $200). Thanks so much!!

First: we’re so sorry for your loss! Second, though, congrats on your position — so many people would dream of that trio of things: the flexibility to be with your child(ren), the status and intellectual challenge of a teaching position, and the option for income with consulting. Well done!

Now, on to your question. A hip black or navy skirt suit for $200 is actually fairly doable. If what you want is one-stop brick and mortar shopping, our suggestion would be Macy’s, given your budget. In the suit section (which for some reason is not completely online), Macy’s has very basic skirt suits by Tahari that tend to fit great, and retail for full price (last we checked) around $140. Look for the most basic skirt suit they have — no ruffles or pleating on the skirt, which will hopefully be straight or a narrow A-line. For the jacket, try to avoid memorable things — toggles instead of buttons, poufy shoulders, a built-in belt — you want this suit to be the one you wear when you want the focus on you, NOT your clothing.

If your mall happens to have both a Banana Republic AND a Macy’s, you might want to check out the 30% off sale that Banana Republic is having through Wednesday, January 28. By our calculation, you can get three pieces of the “sleek black” suiting for $201 — jacket, A-line skirt, and pants. (If you can’t get to the mall before Wednesday, you might want to think about purchasing online and returning if it doesn’t fit perfectly — we’ve never had a problem with BR’s return process. Check their shipping times against your event, though, to make sure it will come in time.

Women: Sleek flap-pocket blazer – Black, was $150, now $104

Women: 718 Martin sleek straight pant – Black, was $79, now $55

Women: Sleek A-line skirt – Black, was $59, now $41

Another option in your budget — but more time intensive — would be to head to your local Filene’s, Loehman’s, TJ Maxx, or Nordstrom Rack to see if they have any selections. If possible, head to the the store in the “best” area of town in your city — we’ve found that the pickings tend to be the best at these stores. Another option is always to find a Chelsea Premium Outlets mall — the chain of outlet malls that includes the Woodbury Common Premium Outlets near New York City and Leesburg Corner Premium Outlets near DC — and hit the stores. We’d suggest trying Off Saks and other true outlet stores, avoiding stores with “factory” in the name (the difference being that “factory” stores sell clothes that were never in the regular stores — in our experience they have a lower quality than the regular stuff but cost almost as much as the stuff in the stores).

Finally, a few words on mixing and matching: please don’t. Blacks (and navies) (navys?) are incredibly hard to match if you didn’t buy them together. You’ll think your outfit looks fine and then stumble into some bad lighting and suddenly, you look like you’re wearing red and green together. If you’re going to try to mix, get as far away from any perceived hope of matching as possible. For the funeral: try wearing a charcoal sheath dress with a lighter gray cardigan (the “monotone but not” look). Or, try wearing a black sheath dress with a charcoal suit jacket, perhaps accented by a black scarf.

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360 Review: Rachel Menken of Mad Men

by C on 07/28/2008 · 6 comments

in 360 Review, Fashion, Nostalgia

In the 360 Review, Corporette examines a “professional woman”s” attire and critiques it from all perspectives: underling, boss, friend.

This week’s 360 review is in honor of the women of Mad Men, which just began it’s second season last night. (AMC is showing repeats all week if you missed it!) In addition to showing us exactly what sort of daily glamour was par for the course back in 1960, the show also manages to show us the rampant sexism and horrible working conditions for women. It’s a great show; we highly recommend it. One of our favorite characters last season was Rachel Menken, the wealthy daughter of a department store scion (played by Maggie Siff). She’s a modern woman, of sorts — she runs the store, she hires the advertising company, she’s waiting to marry someone she loves. She also has some crazy suits. Let’s take a look…

When we first meet Rachel, she’s wearing a purple (Chanel?) suit, black leather gloves, white pearls, and a matching purple hat. Minus the gloves and the hat, this look would still work today, although it might be odd to see such a young woman wearing such a buttoned-up skirt suit.

Oh, that hat! We love it. Ok, not really. But we do love the attention to detail — the shoes that match the gloves that match the bag; the necklace that lays perfectly over her suit.

ep103_10_madmen103c_2831-medium-web-view

What a great ’60s suit. We’re guessing this is another Chanel suit, and we love the leopard-print blouse beneath it. The necklace matches the bracelets, and we’re sorry but are those gold shoes? Loving it all. Great way to do a buttoned-up leopard print.

Great red suit; love the way the necklace matches the bracelets. (This is something we ordinarily hate doing — being too matchy matchy with jewelry — but we think the size of these pieces has something to do with what we love so much about them and the fact that they match.) She, of course, has a cigarette holder. (Not that smoking is cool, kids!)

Our take: If we were her underling, we would worship the ground she walked on — she’s so smart! she’s so well dressed! It’s like the department store is her closet. (Of course, if we were her underling we might think she was a little old to still be unmarried and why is she running her own store, but then we’d have a bunch of cigarettes and alcohol and forget all about it.) If we were her equal we might think some of her choices were a bit outlandish, but that she was beautifully dressed and, hey, she has to promote new trends, it is her JOB. If we were her superior… well, that’s the point, she has no superiors because she’s the boss. She does answer to her father, of course, who was apparently just wondering why he had to have a daughter and not a son. Ah, the ’60s!

Did you like last night’s episode? Discuss in the comments section, below…

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360 Review: Project Runway

by C on 07/14/2008 · 5 comments

in 360 Review, Fashion

In the 360 Review, Corporette examines a “professional woman”s” attire and critiques it from all perspectives: underling, boss, friend.

One of our favorite shows, Project Runway, is starting again on July 16. It is the show’s last season on Bravo before it moves to another network, and we suspect this explains the nonexistant PR that we’ve seen for the show. In fact, if we hadn’t seen an article on reality blurred about the dearth of PR on PR, we wouldn’t even have known that Project Runway was starting soon.

(If you aren’t watching the show, you must! Project Runway is one of the few reality shows that still manages to attract intelligent, artistic, creative people for a show that has interesting challenges and natural drama. We think the caliber of contestants is everything — unlike some reality shows, these designers are selected based on their design chops, not how pretty they’ll look on camera. Designers from the show have also effectively boosted their careers by appearing on the show (unlike appearances on other reality shows, where it seems like the only thing awaiting them is a possible speaking career), so they tend to be more intelligent and introspective than your average reality show contestant.)

To celebrate the start of Season 5, we’re going to review some of the creations by one of our favorite contestants, Jillian Lewis. Prior to the show, she had designed for Searle and Ralph Lauren; according to her official website, she’s going to have a personal line out by the end of August, which we’ll eagerly look for. Despite her propensity for miniskirts, we thought that many of the outfits she created for the show would lend themselves to a corporate environment; everything looked wearable and beautiful. Even where she was a bit outlandish for dramatic effect on the runway, it was easy to see how the clothes would be adapted for off-the-rack shoppers like, well, us. You can view her entire final collection here (on YouTube).

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