Our daily TPS reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices. We begin the week in splurge mode, with our most expensive suggestions, and wind our way to Friday, where a less expensive item of clothing might be just what you need to make it to the weekend.
We like this colorful top from Nordstrom’s Halogen line. The vertical stripes are flattering, and the purple is subdued but youthful. We’d wear it with gray slacks and a black cardigan or cropped jacket. It’s $48 at Nordstrom.com. Halogen Print Surplice Tee
Our daily TPS reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices. We begin the week in splurge mode, with our most expensive suggestions, and wind our way to Friday, where a less expensive item of clothing might be just what you need to make it to the weekend.
This top has a lot of elements we normally would not like for the office — chiffon (in the delicate twisted colored bits at the top), a pre-bloused shape, and a tie at the bottom that dangles out. But the multicolored chiffon at the top is just so, so pretty and unusual we had to find a way to make this work for the office. So here’s how we’d wear it: light gray trousers (with the tie either tucked in, or tied in a way that it doesn’t dangle), this top (possibly with a navy camisole beneath it), and a fitted white blazer. Thoughts? It’s available at Nordstrom for $69. Lucky Brand Chiffon Yoke Top
Our daily TPS reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices. We begin the week in splurge mode, with our most expensive suggestions, and wind our way to Friday, where a less expensive item of clothing might be just what you need to make it to the weekend.
We’ve liked this lovely cowl-necked, scoop-necked top since we saw it — it’s a fun, happy, pretty thing that would look great with gray trousers and a white cardi, or beneath a black suit (maybe accented with sapphire jewelry). It’s machine-washable, it’s opaque, and it’s on part of Banana Republic’s latest markdowns (yet the green is still available in lots of sizes). It’s now $29.99 (was $39). Women: Leaf-print top – Spearmint
Last week, we were surprised to see comments saying that a t-shirt is not appropriate to be worn beneath a suit, and we thought, a) perhaps we’re talking about different things, or b) perhaps we’re terribly wrong. So we thought we’d explore.
For our $.02: Agreed, agreed, you can’t wear a Yeah Yeah Yeahs concert shirt beneath a suit, nor can you wear the kind of v-neck from the Gap that you would paint a garage in. And of course, a silk or cashmere sweater or button-down shirt is preferable. But, we would say that a “dressy” cotton t-shirt like the ones we linked to that day, or very classic tees in a thick cotton or machine-washable fabric (e.g., a crewneck without a ribbed neckline), are totally acceptable to wear beneath a suit, particularly in a solid color like white. Our reasoning here is that we’ve just never studied another woman’s clothing that closely beneath her suit. Is it too tight? Too sheer? Too old-school rayon shell-like? If it isn’t any of those things and the suit looks good, the top generally fades into the background. It’s there to provide the woman with an option to take off her jacket if she needs to, but — as we’ve said before — we generally think you should keep the jacket on if you’re roaming the halls or going to meetings. In addition to being acceptable, there’s a benefit — if it’s machine-washable, it makes a working woman’s life that much easier.
But enough of our two cents — what do you guys think?
Our daily TPS reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices. We begin the week in splurge mode, with our most expensive suggestions, and wind our way to Friday, where a less expensive item of clothing might be just what you need to make it to the weekend.
Sometimes, a splash of color is just what a working wardrobe needs. We like this empire tunic with puffed sleeves from Anthropologie — worn with conservative gray or black trousers, it would be a great addition to a summer wardrobe, especially when paired with an opaque white cardigan. Available at Anthropologie; was $78, now $39. Big Island Top
