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Victoria’s Secret

Our daily TPS reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices.
Reader M writes in to suggest this lovely blouse, which has great pleating at the neckline, tiers on the sleeves, and, yes, comes with a cami.  We like that it’s a a little frothy without being girly; we also like that it’s a blouse without the fuss of gaping buttons.  We’d wear it with a high-waisted skirt; we might also try it with a black turtleneck beneath it for blustery winter days.  It’s on clearance at Victoria’s Secret for $29.99 (was $48), available in green, pink and black in sizes XS-L.   Silk georgette tiered-cuff blouse

If you’ve recently seen a great work piece you’d like to recommend to the readers, please e-mail editor@corporette.com with “TPS” in the subject line. Unless you ask otherwise, we’ll refer to you by your first initial.
(L-0)

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Suit of the Week

by C on 10/07/2009 · 32 comments

in Fashion, Suits

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, which should be as classic and basic as you get — instead, this feature is about the slightly different suit that is fashionable, yet professional.

Maybe it’s us, but we’re liking this version of the boyfriend jacket paired with the pencil skirt.  Both pieces seem like they would work well on their own as separates, but together this seems like a very professional take of a very trendy style (hello, ’80s!).  We’re curious about the fabric, which supposedly “resists wrinkles and stays in shape”– readers, please comment if you have experience! The jacket (Long and lean jacket in seasonless stretch) is $89, and the skirt (Front pleated miniskirt in seasonless stretch) is $39.50, both available at Victoria’s Secret in sizes 0 -14.

(We just called Victoria Secret’s to see if anything else matches the jacket, other than the miniskirt, and the answer is why yes, lots of things — choose the color you like (e.g., 163, charcoal heather) and mix and match to your heart’s content.  Such as:  the Christie fit flare pants, or the Christie fit pant.)

(Also, in the runner-up department: we wish this weren’t red.)

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We’ve had several requests from readers on where to get great suits if you’re a petite woman. We addressed this a bit last summer, when we advised a reader how to shop for suits if you’re not in the “normal” sizes of 4-12. But we thought we’d recap, as it’s an important topic and we have more readers now, who will hopefully weigh in with more advice.

From the very petite friends we’ve polled:

  • Theory is reportedly amazing (which makes sense to this author, as my normal size of 4 or 6 becomes a <cough> 10 in Theory — in other words, size 0 will be legitimately teeny, and size 00 practically minuscule.). The Max C pant is a “cult” item.
  • We’ve also heard great things about Victoria’s Secret — the pants have a lower rise and come in different inseam lengths.
  • If you’re short enough, you can resort to children’s wear. For example, CW Designs is apparently made with upscale pre-teens and tweens in mind (see some of their collections here); other upscale designers labels can work well also.
  • (Updated):  Banana Republic, J.Crew, and Ann Taylor all have petite lines as well, but we’ve heard mixed reviews from our friends who are very small in stature — from the pants coming too high for their likings to the suits being way too big.

One of our friends notes that she often has to resort to wearing separates that fit really well. For example, jackets from Nanette Lepore and Rebecca Taylor fit, but the pants and skirts can be too big. Similarly, stretchy skirts from American Apparel can be a good basic. Readers, what advice do you have for the petite professional woman?

We also got a request from one reader with a unique problem (living in the Netherlands):

Here’s the problem I have: I’m short. Actually I’m not that short – I’m 5 feet 6, which is just a little shorter than most women in the Netherlands, but I do have short legs and arms. Because of that, *every* suit I try on is too long in the arms – and though I can sew a little bit, the problem isn’t just that it is too long at the wrists – it’s also that the elbows end up in the wrong place and such! To make matters worse, I’m also always cold – limiting my choices to suits with pants so I can wear woollen pantyhoses and boots underneath them and stay warm. It would be nice to have a suit that doesn’t make me look like a dwarf!

This is a really tough question. It sounds like what you may need is a brand where you can buy a petite-sized jacket but regular-length pants — you may want to check Ann Taylor or Banana Republic for those options. Otherwise, well, there’s always the bespoke route — just buy some fabric you like and schedule a vacation to India. (That’s totally doable, right?) Readers, do you have any better advice for our short-armed friend?

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Petite Non-Iron Fitted Double Stripe Dress Shirt with DOW XLA™
Someone was telling us recently that they didn’t wear button-down shirts, didn’t even know how to wear ‘em. So, here ya go…

1. If you’re going for the crisp cotton look, go for non-iron. Brooks Brothers makes a great fitted non-iron shirt. Thomas Pink (very high end, typically thought of as a man’s store) makes amazing button-down shirts for women, also, with interesting prints and a lovely fit.

2. Collars should stay on the inside of the jacket, not splayed open on the outside.

3. If you have a white shirt, try not to put it in the dryer in order to avoid yellowing. Actually, in our experience the iron-free shirts look best when hung dry. (Just pull them taut, a bit, when they’re wet and you’re hanging on the hanger — it always seems to help the fabric figure out where to go.)

4. If you’ve got a French cuff shirt, do not bother with those tiny knots you can buy at places for $10 — you’re wasting your money and time, because they take forever to put in. Instead, make an investment in a good pair of cufflinks — Thomas Pink has great ones; Vivre also has some beautiful ones right now

5. Tucking: If you’re wearing a fitted, button-down shirt (such as the ones from Pink) you can experiment with how it looks untucked. The key is that it can’t be too long — it should hit mid-hip, and no matter what should not be longer than your suit jacket. Silky shirts should always be tucked.

6. If you want a very clean look, there are some stores that make leotard-like button-down shirts. See, for example, Victoria’s Secret.

7. Non-traditional style idea: Wear a short-sleeved button-down shirt beneath a vest or even a t-shirt. (We’ve given up trying to wear anything but silky button-downs beneath full-sleeve sweaters — the static cling gets us every time.)

8. Non-traditional style idea, Part 2: Wear a camisole/tank top underneath the button-down shirt, tuck in the shirt, and only button it up halfway, so people can see the camisole beneath. See Allison Janey in West Wing.

9. Gaping: If your shirt is gaping, this could mean a few things. A) You need a larger size, and should take it to a tailor to get it to fit you the way you want it to. B) You need to wear a camisole beneath it, so when you turn to the side people don’t get a view of your bra. C) You can experiment with Hollywood Tape and so forth to keep it from gaping — we’ve found the camisole is just easier.

10. Beneath the white shirt: Wear a bra that matches your skin tone, and a white camisole, no matter how convinced you are that no one can see through it. We’ve tried the nude camisole, and trust is: white just looks better.

Save 25% at the Brooks Brothers Friends and Family Sale – Promo Code friend56

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