Tuesday’s TPS Report: Donna Ricco Belted Silk Dress
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Our daily TPS reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices.
We're normally against cowlnecks for work, if only because the neckline makes it difficult to add a cardigan or jacket on top of it. But this dress is too lovely not to include. We love the gentle pattern, the nearly elbow-length sleeves, and the slight pleats in the skirt. Ladylike and serious, without being severe. Lovely. It's available at Nordstrom's for $158. Donna Ricco Belted Silk Dress
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.
Sales of note for 5/19/25:
- Nordstrom Rack – Looking for a deal on a Dyson hairdryer? The Rack has several refurbished ones for $199-$240 (instead of $400+) — but they're final sale only.
- M.M.LaFleur – Daily flash sales, and lots of twill suiting on sale! Try code CORPORETTE15 for 15% off. 5/19's flash sale: Jardigans down to $175-$209, dresses down to $150, blazers down to $250
- Nordstrom – Lots of markdowns on AGL (50%!), Weitzman, Tumi, Frank & Eileen, Zella, Natori, Cole Haan, Boss, Theory, Reiss (coats), Vince, Eileen Fisher, Spanx, and Frame (denim and silk blouses)
- Ann Taylor – 50% off summer-ready styles
- Banana Republic Factory – 50% off everything + extra 20% off
- Boden – 10% off new women's styles with code + sale up to 50% off
- Eloquii – 50-60% off select styles
- J.Crew – 60% off sale, and 40% off packing picks (prices as marked)
- J.Crew Factory – New arrivals, plus up to 60% off everything plus extra 50% off clearance
- Rothy's – Up to 50% off last-chance styles
- Spanx – Free shipping on everything
- Talbots – 30% off dresses, skirts, shoes, and accessories
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Ach – again with the silk! I would think that white silk would be too lustrous for work.
“Again with the silk”? HUH? Since when are natural fibers non-work appropriate?
I ordered both this dress and the Donna Ricco one from last week. This one looked gorgeous in the photo, but not on. The shoulders are too ’80’s adn the black and white looked gray. I ended up returning both. Keep searching for dresses — I love a great dress.
I would like to see more silk. Silk is a wonderful fabric that looks good, and stays cool in summer and warm in winter. I would like to see more silk tops featured. My mother, who is now a very senior attorney, wore silk tops all of the time, and whenever I wear silk, I know why.
I think the shiny surface is what Lawyer was objecting to. Me, too. Also, thin silk dress would collapse after a few hours of wearing, look like you slept in it. White dress = dirt magnet, and difficult to launder. I love natural fibres, but only if I can wash (jackets excepted, of course.) them at home, and not have to spend an hour ironing them.
I love cowl necks! I don’t think that they are challenging to add a sweater or a jacket to! I’m always cold, so I wear a cardigan or jacket daily.
Depending on the cut, you do need to be mindful about bending over all the way (for example, to pick something up off the floor). That’s a good time to have the cardigan/jacket, and button it up! Or you can wear a cami underneath. It looks like the cut of this particular dress wouldn’t be problematic, though.
This dress is gorgeous. I love silk dresses in the summer, although I have previously expressed my concern with the wrinkle issue.
Love this dress. And I wear a lot of silk to work – but silk is harder to pull off in dress form, the bottom half would be pretty wrinkled by the end of the day probably. As an aside, I ordered the Donna Ricco dress from a couple of weeks ago and it’s great – very flattering. Keeping it.
I agree with J that cowl necks can be very work appropriate. I’m actually wearing one today under my suit jacket, and also frequently wear them with cardigans. The key is to get fluid fabrics (silk or quality synthetic blends) where the cowl isn’t too large or bulky. I have several cowl neck blouses that I bought from Banana last year and wear all the time.
PP – it’s the wrinkling and shininess of silk that does it in for me. This is a gorgeous print and cut but I think a white wrinkly backside doesn’t do anyone any favors. I do have some silk dresses that I wear to work, but they’re brown and navy and I bought them in person so I could see how thick (i.e., not as wrinkle-prone) they were.
I love the neckline and the print, though I do agree that silk can be a bit wrinkly depending on the weight of the fabric. I hate those creases that appear across the hip area when you’ve been sitting.
I’d probably switch out the black belt for a colorful print scarf.
Does anyone else have a problem with the way silk smells? When it get’s a little damp, I think it can often develop a specific, unpleasant odor, which is why I’ve shied away from it. I have a job where I’m relatively active even when I’m dressed professionally, so I don’t like the alchemy of my sweat and a silk top. Is it that I just bought cheap silk? I don’t know. . .
Are you kidding me???? To what (!!) professional job could you expect to wear this monstosity of silky gram-maw ickiness? I don’t care who makes that da*n thing, it is (i) ugly; and (ii) more importantly, utterly inappropriate for any office that is other than business casual. If this attrocity showed up on a Friday, we would all talk for weeks. If it showed up during the week, for months.
Note to selves ladies, know your office.
Ick ick ick. Do not want. That said, assuming that i didn’t hate the dress, I still can’t imagine this dress for work. Question to all — I am at a large law firm that only permits business casual on Fridays. If somebody came in during the week wearing this thing, they’d get looked at as if they had three heads. Is my firm just ultra-conservative? Are there law firms at which this would be considered “business” attire? I could see one of our recruiting coordinators or other professional staff getting away with this, but not a lawyer. Could you wear this into court? What the heck would you put over it?
I am just lusting over this dress. GORGEOUS!
@anonymous (both of you)… 1. Most offices are business casual, and not all attorneys go to court, not that any of them would try to wear this instead of a suit if they did, 2. while I don’t like to wear silk to the office (it feels dressy in the wrong way to me, and is hard to keep neat and crisp looking), I can certainly see others wearing it, especially because the graphic pattern of the flowers makes it less fussy looking, and 3. as Corporette has mentioned before, not all featured items will be everyone’s style- but perhaps monstrosity, atrocity, and “three heads” are a little much?
I love the way the dress looks – and I love silk. Still, I agree with the last few commenters – I just can *not* see this at work (and I’m in government, so not as formal).
It’s not the cowl that’s a problem – it’s the puffed sleeves combined with the very feminine – almost girlish – pleated skirt. It looks very ingenue.
If the sleeves were tailored (or removed) and if the skirt were straighter, it could be worn with a long black or navy silk cardigan, which lies on either side of the cowl nicely, and would look lovely.
Cat,
I am anonymous #2. I agree that not all Corporette looks are appropriate for all, etc. Often times I love a C’ettte look but realize that it is not going to work for me, or not going to work at my office. That said, I still find this dress to be, in a word (or two actually), “genuinely fugly.”
Also, I was truly interested to know if anyone thought that this item was “business” atttire (regardless of dress code). Try as I might, I can’t think of a business function to which I would wear this dress (regardless of whether “business casual” was considered okay). In fact, even keeping in mind that I hate the dress but others might think it’s great, I can’t think of any non-business event at which I might bump into clients to which I would wear it. Maybe Michelle Obama could pull this dress off for a no-functions day at the office, but at my firm “three heads” would be the least of the comments.
Ick. Do not want any more silk, poofy-sleeve, lookin’ like Molly Ringwald in 16-Candles, allegedly “professional” dresses.