Bargain Friday’s TPS Report: “May” Knit Top
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Our daily TPS reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices.Sales of note for 1/31/25:
- Ann Taylor – Suiting Event – 30% off suiting + 30% off tops
- Nordstrom – Cashmere on sale; AllSaints, Free People, Nike, Tory Burch, and Vince up to 60%; beauty deals up to 25% off
- Banana Republic Factory – 50% off everything + extra 20 off your $100+ purchase
- Boden – 15% off new season styles
- Eloquii – 60% off 100s of styles
- J.Crew – Up to 40% off winter layers
- J.Crew Factory – 50% off sweaters and pants
- Rothy's – Final Few: Up to 40% off last-chance styles
- Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
- Talbots – End of season clearance, extra 70% off markdown tops + extra 60% off all other markdowns
And some of our latest threadjacks here at Corporette (reader questions and commentary) — see more here!
Some of our latest threadjacks include:
- My workload is vastly exceeding my capability — what should I do?
- Why is there generational resentment regarding housing? (See also)
- What colors should I wear with a deep green sweater dress?
- How do you celebrate milestone birthdays?
- How do you account for one-time expenses in your monthly budget?
- If I'm just starting to feel sick from the flu, do I want Tamilfu?
It may just be the angle of the photo, but the fact that the cowl-neck is so large means that it looks just like a basic t-shirt with a cloth necklace. Once the opening for the neck hits beneath the boob-area… it does not look super-professional to me. Even with a layer underneath.
Like the yellow with the grey for styling, though.
Agree — it looks like the “cowl” part actually IS a cloth necklace once it passes the scoop neckline — i.e., once you lean forward and the cowl hangs down, you could see through the middle of the cowl. A “regular” cowl of this length would look ok for work IMO, but just having that strip of fabric flapping around would bug me all day.
Nice color, though.
This is a beautiful shirt, and I love the color — especially with the gray and the styling. I can’t wear yellow (sadly), but I wish I could! This is a wonderful, interesting yellow that isn’t too “sunny” — and exactly what I would wear if I could.
I’m not a fan of this one. The cowl neck is too long, the shade of yellow is too muted for me, and as far as the styling goes, I don’t like the earrings.
I’m not a huge fan of cowl necks — they never seem to fall properly and I end up “rearranging” them a lot. This one looks like it might be a little more manageable, and it’s nice that the sleeves are a little longer.
Off topic — for those who were curious about the fit of the Banana Republic navy sheath dress featured here a week or two ago (link to dress: http://bananarepublic.gap.com/browse/product.do?searchCID=25789&vid=2&pid=770521), I tried it on last night and it was WAY too low-cut for me. I’m an A cup, and it absolutely would have required a cami underneath. The dress is also very structured and the fabric is a little stiff, so it tends to pucker out (if that makes sense) when you put your shoulders forward. They now show it styled online with a button-down underneath, and I think that’s the only way I’d wear it. The quality seemed good, but dresses that require camis tend to just sit in my closet.
Tried it on yesterday as well. The fabric is nicer than most of other suiting-appropriate options at BR, especially in the gray, but another flaw (I agree with the cami need) is the length: I’m 5’8″ and this hit me at about 2.5″ above the knee. There’s no tall option and the hem only has about an extra 3/4″ of fabric.
And is it just me, or has the fabric at BR taken a nosedive in the last two years? This dress was okay, but everything else is too stretchy (ends with saggy butt pants, which I despise) or too shiny and creased. Wool feels rough and I don’t see any silk-cashmere blends. I have some older stuff in nice light wool that was nice, but haven’t bought new pants there in a while. They have such great coupons that it’s disappointing.
I may have to start stalking department store sales for high-end pants/skirts on sale instead. Any brand suggestions?
Yes, try the Classiques Entier line at Nordstrom. It’s their in store brand and very high quality — lots of wool and some synthetics. I never buy anything full price. On sale, their skirts and pants are usually in the $100 – $120 range. It’s more pricey than BR, but the quality and fit are SO much better. You can also try to find the brand at Nordstrom rack, although that place has been very hit or miss for me.
I’m very disappointed with Banana. It used to be so much better but the quality is just the pits these days.
Hmm. There’s no Nordstrom’s in NYC, so I may go try on the CE at Rack for fit and then look online.
Thanks! I’ve seen it before in Rack but misidentified it as a fairly frumpy brand my friend’s mom favors. As long as the cut doesn’t age me 40 years, I’m happy.
It’s definitely not frumpy, IMHO. Check out some of the CE clothes online:
http://shop.nordstrom.com/C/6014868/0~2376780~6009391~6014865~6014868?mediumthumbnail=Y&Category=6014868&boutique=classiques_entier&viewAll=1
CE has some frumpy stuff, some plain-jane stuff, and some really awesome stuff. I have a rather funky CE suit from Nordstrom Rack, probably wouldn’t fly in NYC but it’s super-cute and work-appropriate for business casual offices. Best of all, it cost me $80 and free hemming.
My only beef with the classiques line is that the pants are unlined. Personally, I think lining makes them drape so much better and helps a lot with vpl. You can buy stuff at Ann Taylor for the same price as classiques and their pants are almost always lined… I was just at Nordstroms in SF the other day though and there are a LOT of nice colors and styles in Classiques if unlined pants are ok with you.
how is the sizing? does it run similar to banana?
Quality at BR does seem to be deteriorating… I liked the fabric on the blue dress, but just about nothing else in the store. I also loved this jacket (http://bananarepublic.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=45420&vid=1&pid=767581), which was made out of the same fabric as the dress, but I have no idea what was going on with the weird rumpled chiffon trim… it looked awful! And it was sewn into the lining in such a way that you couldn’t cut it off w/o hurting the jacket.
Just an FYI – they do sell that dress in tall on the website, just not in stores. I agree that the length is another strike against it, the regular version was very short on me (I’m also 5’8″).
Legally Brunette, thanks for the tip about Classiques. I’ll have to start keeping an eye out for sales on their stuff!
I had the same reaction to the jacket. The weird trim also made the button in the front poke out at an odd angle on me, and would not lay flat. I was really disappointed, I’ve been wanting a navy suit for a while, and was hoping to hit this week’s big sale.
Quality everywhere seems to be on the down swing. I would love to know why.
I recently dug out an old silk dress from Banana that I bought in 10th grade & it still looked & fit great. The fabric, the seams, everything was wonderful! Now I consider it a good buy if a Banana sweater does go to sh*t after 1 wash. Not sure where to turn to for non-disposable clothing; will give CE a try next time I am at rack. Would love other recs for well-made clothing brands!
CSF- I think this week’s Talbot catalogue of “new fall items” has alot of suiting pieces in navy. They are straight-forward, as you might expect. Don’t know if there’s any special pricing yet.
The new fall Talbots has the entire seasonless wool collection in navy – I think it includes jacket, two styles of pants, skirt, and I thought I saw a dress.
I thought the whole catalog looked great.
Agree, AIMS, I am so sick of paying for what should be quality work clothes and then watching them fall apart almost from the get-go! My gripe is buttons: it’s gotten to the point where I’ll pre-emptively reinforce them even on a brand new shirt or jacket because they are so prone to fall off.
FWIW I have still generally been happy with J. Crew’s work-appropriate clothes (not always their casual stuff though). My hunch is that they know they can get away with cutting corners on things like tees, but that when I plunk down for a wool pencil skirt or blazer I want my money’s worth. Likewise Ann Taylor. Sorry these suggestions are not more exciting…
Oh and for cashmere I’ve found the brand Central Park West holds up very well. (Sounded like you were having some serious sweater angst.)
I’m finding BR quality to be variable. I do buy a lot there as they have petites, which are difficult to locate locally now that my Saks no longer carries them. I wish they’d lower the hems on their skirts. Purchased a suit this summer that is pretty acceptable, except the skirt is shorter than I like. Purchased a terrific elbow-length shirt there -now on sale- that I loved until the first wash. I was ready to order 3 more until that wash. Not good.
Try Hugo Boss pants. They’re expensive but sometimes half-off at Nordstrom.com and well worth it. They fit and drape beautifully.
I also bought the Banana dress, and agree with M. I was able to get a pretty good deal on it with coupons, etc. but I still think I’ll end up returning it. It’s close – but the top is just weird and unflattering and definitely way too low. Not sure it would even look right with a cami.
Here’s a different cowl-ish shirt I recently got.
http://www.anntaylor.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=26009&Ntt=silk&N=0&Ntk=KeywordSearch&Nty=1&Ntx=mode%2bmatchallpartial&found=141&No=15&defaultSizeType=Regular
Love. It. So gorgeous. The fabric is mostly silk with some spandex to give it a little more stretch/shapeliness. Unfortunately it probably won’t work at the office. I tried a jacket on over it last night, and the shawl/cowl neckline didn’t sit quite right under the jacket. I might try it with some of my other jackets, but whatever. It’s still really pretty and would be great for a classy evening out. :)
That’s always my complaint about cowl necks…I can’t manage them underneath jackets. Any suggestions? Secondly, I feel they almost preclude jewelry excepting a brooch on a jacket…then with both in place, I feel that “matron” role emerging. Thoughts?
I like wearing a simple gold or silver chain with a small pendant for cowl necks. In fact that’s what I’m wearing now! I don’t usually wear them underneath jackets, but I have one in a silky fabric that I think looks great under a suit- the key is that the fabric cannot be too thick.
A string of pearls looks classy with cowl neck, IMO. Or any choker, really.
I wear cowl necks w/ jackets. I pull the cowl out so it hangs outside the jacket in the v-portion. I think it looks great!
I agree it’s pretty, but I don’t really think silk charmeuse is an office fabric. Formal, but not the right formal — either too “evening” formal or too “bedroom.”
That said, if it does work out under a suit jacket, it would be a good “I’m attending a charity dinner where the firm bought a table” look.
You should pull the cowl out so it hangs over the jacket. It’s not supposed to go under. Try it, it looks great.
Love that color; however, I cannot wear anything with that type of tie/scarf. I am such a clutz that I end up closing it in desk and file cabinet drawers, it gets in the way at the photocopier (I was clearing a jam one day and literally almost shut the tie/scarf in a compartment of the copier) or I get my lunch on it. I can rock high heels but a tie/scarf will stop me dead in my tracks!
Like this cowl neck a lot, but might have to really see it to know for sure.
She likes it! Hey Mikey! (sorry, couldn’t resist and all in good fun!) although I guess anyone under 25 might not know the reference…..
That is a pretty shirt. But, even if you found a jacket that worked with the cowl, is charmeuse ever office appropriate? I would say no. At least around here – midsize midwest law firm – it wouldn’t be.
(Sorry – this was meant as a reply to the Ann Taylor top, not the OP.)
I think this color is completely office appropriate. I know we had a discussion a few days ago on here about wearing a bright pop of color with a neutral suit; it seems to be a favorite look of many corporettes.
Re: the Ann Taylor top, I think the color (in a different fabric) is office-appropriate. I think the fabric is reminiscent of a negligee and is definitely not office appropriate.
Ah. I read too quickly and my brain say “chartreuse” instead of “charmeuse.” I typed my comment before Midwest’s second comment showed up, so I thought it was about the original top.
I think it’s fine with a jacket over it. It’s a classic fabric for a blouse. With only the top part of it showing under the jacket, you won’t look that shiny.
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Can anyone recommend some laundry detergent for delicates? Or at least gentle on clothing? (I use baby shampoo on my cashmere and woolens, and regular [brand name with bleach alternative] on towels and jeans, no problems. But I’d like to avoid the [brand name with bleach alternative] for my underwear and shirts. I’ve looked at the brand from Winter Silks and The Laundress, but…does anyone have any specific recommendations? Thanks.
Woolite has never, ever done me wrong.
I use Woolite for everything. It does a good job without damaging anything. There are some new formulations that are meant for darks and/or cold water but I havent noticed a difference in them vs the classic. I do wholeheartedly recommend the brand though.
I use Woolite and cold water for sweaters, dry flat (incl. cashmere). I use hot water and regular detergent (fragrance free) for everything else.
I use “Forever New” for sink/hand washing. Initially found it at a local speciality lingerie boutique. Have found it on amazon.com, including little travel packets of the powder. Great stuff!
I bought the Laundress delicate detergent based on a recommendation here and am a total convert. It smells AMAZING and is doing a great job on my delicates! Got it via drugstore.com.
Second the “Forever New” recommendation. I don’t do any actual handwashing, but it works very well with silk, wool and other delicates on the handwash section of my washing machine.
Way too pale a color for the already pale skinned (like me) – also the cowl is just too long… seems more like a cloth bib
Agree, that pale color would wash me out completely but I could see it looking really nice on others. I do love yellow, just not this hue.
Yes, the cowl is a bib! It just doesn’t lie right, and the color is a guaranteed ‘washout’ for all but the deepest skin tones. The color and cut don’t do much for the model – generally, if it doesn’t look good on the model (putting aside weird poses, which we don’t have here), it won’t look good on me (or most other regular women).
That’s my philosophy!!
$41.40 is hardly “bargain” for a knit T-shirt, IMO.
OT – Has anyone ever done Brazilian keratin hair straightening? I’ve done Japanese straightening a few times and would be fine with continuing, but I can’t find a salon in my new city than can do it for a reasonable cost. Granted, I was spoiled back home since I was getting it done for $180, at an Asian salon that my mom and sisters and I had been going to since high school, so trusted implicitly. While I didn’t think I could go THAT low, I did think I could find a hole-in-the-wall Korean place like my old one to do it for <$600 — not so much in Boston, apparently! I kept hearing you have to go to NYC if you'd like to do it cheaper.
So, I've been looking into keratin treatments, which are a little more cost-effective and would love if someone had experienced them and could tell me their opinion! A little about my hair – it's about shoulder length, it's very thick and strong, so I really didn't experience any significant damage from the Japanese straightening, except the last time, there's a small barely noticeable ring where while at a touch up appointment 6 months after straightening, they "went over" some of the previously straightened hair (and I'm probably going to get that cut now that that bit's grown past my shoulders). I don't experience a lot of breakage or split ends, and my hair is thick in the sense that individual hairs are extraordinarily fat, not that I have a mass amount of thin hair (I think my hair to scalp ratio is pretty normal but it's the thickness of the individual hairs that makes it appear quite voluminous.
Anyway, I digress. Advice?
Look at http://www.brazilianblowout.com — my salon is thinking about offering it, so I don’t have any experience with it personally. *Very* interested in others’ experiences too!
I really don’t mean to start an argument, but I’m genuinely curious why you want to straighten your hair?
It took me a long, long time to love my curls, but keeping my hair its natural texture (albeit occasionally gelled or serumed out of frizz) makes it healthier and much, much cheaper. I can think of a lot of ways I’d much rather spend $180!
Loving your curly/kinky/wavy/textured/non-straight hair definitely takes time and effort, but no more so than researching a salon for an expensive treatment. And it’s simply not true that curly hair is unprofessional — certainly not if you keep it short and/or layered.
I have nothing against occasionally straightening for a change in look/style, and I know that black women are working against a very harsh set of stereotypes (that I luckily do not face) when it comes to hair, but it seems odd to me not to embrace your natural beauty, you know?
I’d love to hear both from the OP and anyone else with thoughts on straightening.
I agree! The grass is always greener – I literally went from having stick straight, super fine (but in bountiful quantities) hair in high school/early college to having wild, kinky waves with some ringlets in my mid-20s. It gets curlier as I get older. I grew up idolizing my cousin’s perfectly curly hair, and now find myself wishing that i could just have straight hair without having to worry about frizz or moisture ruining it. I think the key is learning how to deal with your hair and style it to maximize its best qualities. The “curly girl” method has worked miracles on my mop.
Same here — stick straight hair until I hit 13, then very curly hair thereafter. Unfortunately for me, my hair has become more and more fine as the years have passed. I wish the “curly girl” method worked for me (I’m assuming you’re talking about the Devacurl no shampoo method) but that just made my hair look limp and really nasty. I could see it working very well for those with a lot more hair than me.
I thought I was the only one this ever happened to! My hair turned curly in college. No obvious reason for it. Still struggle with my curls.
Heart this post….
Diva – another curly girl….
But it is your hair, so if you want it straight…good luck!
myohmy,
I have frizzy (not curly. curly would be a blessing) hair, and I got keratin express. It cost $100 at a salon outside boston, took about an hour from walking into the salon to walking out, and I washed it out 24 hours later. My hair felt very flat at first, but after the first wash, it was awesome and smooth. I did it about two weeks ago and have been getting a constant stream of compliments from everyone I know.
The express treatment is like semi-permanent hair color in that it washes out after 6-8 weeks, at which point I’m talking to the my stylist about whether to keep getting express treatments or do a full keratin. Either way, consider me hooked…
Side note: you can’t get salt water in your hair if you do keratin, so this isn’t a good idea if swimming in the ocean is important for you. (Not a big deal for me, but a good friend of mine does ocean swims in SF, so I figured it’s worth pointing out).
Are you using products for your hair so that it isn’t frizzy? I ask only because my hair is like a sponge and will pull the slightest bit of moisture from the air and frizz immediately, but I had to learn what products were made for my curly hair and that would seal my hair to prevent the frizz…
I’m leaving for my appointment right now – and I’m in the Boston area. I LOVE the treatment. I have been doing it for about a year now and my hair is so much more manageable and I don’t have to be so afraid of humidity, mist, etc. It’s expensive, but now I don’t have to get blow-outs as I used to before important events. Are you interested in a specific hair salon recommendation?
AbbyA – how often do you get it done? When you do it, do they just touch up the roots (like when you get highlights touched up), or do they redo the whole head?
I get it done about every 3 months, because my hair grows very quickly and the roots come in curly. The process takes a long time and is expensive, but it doesn’t involve the chemicals that straightening does and you can do it on dyed and highlighted hair without hurting your hair. The promos and the stylists claim that the Keratin actually makes you hair healthier.
After the treatment, my hair is a bit flatter for about a week and then it is just wonderfully easy to manage. I can blow it dry without having to keep it tightly wound on a big round brush – and without having to flat iron it. I used to flat iron every day.
The savings in my time is worth every penny.
No personal advice, but a partner down the hall from me just did this to her past-shoulder-length, coarse-wavy hair and it looks FABULOUS. She took 10 years off her age in addition to the frizz reduction.
That’s interesting…I get the opposite, that my curly hair makes me look younger….
FYI, it’s my understanding that there are basically 2 types of keratin – Brazilian and regular (might be what is called “Brazilian blowout” but I am not sure). The Brazilian has formaldehyde, and the regular doesn’t.
I get the regular done, in NY but out on Long Island. The idea of formaldehyde on my head weirds me out, plus it must be more damaging. I love the straightening – the 3 days when you can’t wash your hair or put it up is annoying, but it’s worth it – my hair doesn’t air dry completely straight, but with a nice wave and isn’t frizzy! And when I do blow dry/straighten, it takes less then half the time that it did before.
And to those who asked why she wants to straighten it… because she does! It’s great that you guys have embraced your hair and have learned how to manage it, but not everyone can. I have long, thick (THICK) hair, the back part of which is much straighter than the front. Having it straightened with keratin is the only thing that has made it look more uniform, and it looks infinitely better. Some people just like how they look better with straight hair, and some people just want the convenience of having it pre-tamed for them.
@Legalchef: Your last paragraph about why someone would want to straighten her hair? Thank you. You said it a lot more nicely than I was going to.
As someone who is old enough to have had lots of perms in the 80s and who is now considering doing the keratin straightening, sometimes a hair treatment is just a hair treatment….not a political and/or body image statement. :)
Yes, precisely re: why to straighten… I can now wash my hair and go for the day if I’m running late – no weird wave patterns that look strange!
I apologize if I came off snotty, OP! I didn’t mean it…my hair has kind of been a blessing, I guess. I completely understand wanting to straighten it – because it’s the way to optimize what you have. I think if my hair was as erratic as it was several years ago, I’d be getting them too. I basically do what is the most convenient for my head, which is letting the curls do what they do.
I just had my hair straightened w/ the Phyto method – my hair stylist offered to do it for free if I was the “model” for the class teaching other stylists how to do it — it’s organic and doesn’t smell like -apparently – other straightening methods do — I’m loving it, but you can’t have it done if your hair is already colored (but you can color it afterwards).
I LOVE it. I used to have to get my hair blown-out professionally for it to look decent and I used a flat-iron nearly daily. Now I just do the keratin treatment once every three months and I can straighten my hair w/ a paddle brush and blow-dryer (no flat-iron damage daily – whoo hoo). I highly, highly recommend it. In Southern California it runs about 250$ – 500$ depending on where you get it done.
When I lived in Asia, I used to straighten my hair because it was affordable and because it cut daily maintenance down to zero time. If I slept on it wet, it looked fine in the morning. If I slept on it dry, it looked fine in the morning. If I washed my hair in the morning and didn’t blow dry, it looked fine an hour later. Now that I’ve repatriated, I’ve tried to embrace my naturally wavy hair, and while I like the change, it requires time in the morning and products I formerly never had to think about. Cutting wavy hair is also not every hair stylist’s forte — it takes time to find someone who is good, whereas almost anyone can do a quick trim straight across. So for me, it was about convenience.
Do these kind of treatments also work well on very curly, but very thin/fine hair? I look like I have gigantic big hair but can actually pull my hair into a ponytail the circumference of a dime. Thoughts?
And to second JuliaBee’s question, would it work on wavy, fine hair? My hair is wavy enough that it looks pretty messy unless I blow-dry it OR put work into styling it into curls, but it’s definitely not curly. I’ve always wanted to try something like this b/c my hair is a frizzy mess in summer humidity, but I’m worried it would just make my fine hair very flat. Any advice?
Mine is like yours – very fine, and wavy, and the Phyto treatment worked on it – have never tried any of the others though
Thanks, Shayna! Re: your previous post — does that mean you can never have colored your hair? Or just that you can’t have colored it within a certain time? I don’t think I’ve colored my hair in about a year, but the previously-colored portion of my hair hasn’t totally grown out. TIA for your input!
Yes, this! I have way, fine, thick (i.e., large quantity of) hair, that looks a hot mess if left to dry naturally. It is not nice, curly hair. It is wavy, messy, FRIZZY hair that ages me and makes me look fat(ter). How do I know this? Because, when I get my hair ironed at a salon (haven’t been able to commit to the whole permanent/semi-permanent hair chemical hair-straightening yet, though I want to), I am bombarded all day with comments about how I look younger, thinner, prettier, etc. Which makes me feel sort of bad about how I look 80% of the time, actually, but whatevs! So, that is one (or, I guess, two (ease of styling, and looking much, much better—on me, not everyone)) reason why a person would want to straighten her hair.
HAHA…. oh wow I shouldn’t laugh, but your “how do I know this?” comment cracked me up… people should just never comment on weight, it so often ends badly!
This would be unflattering on those of us who have larger bustlines.
But in general silk charmeuse appropriate for work? Totally, IMO.