Bargain Wednesday’s TPS Report: Cap Sleeve Sheath

57 Comments

1. This is a great looking dress for a great price — it makes me think of my college and med school years when I had to put a professional wardrobe together on a very tight budget. This is a totally unoffensive piece you could wear weekly if needed, and just change accessories.

   1. I’m still in the student years and on a tight budget, so I hope you’re right! It does look great in the photo!

2. Update:

   A few months ago, I asked all of you for advice on whether I should take a job offer from a firm at which I clerked this summer. I told you that I did not like the practice areas, location, and attorneys, and that the managing partner was a jerk. Almost all of you advised me to turn the job down, and after a great deal of consideration, I did. I was so afraid that I would not be able to find something else before graduation, but I did! I received an offer this week at a well respected firm in a city I love, in a very interesting practice area, for more money, and with people who seem fantastic. Thank you everyone for all of your advice!

   1. Congratulations! That is excellent news! So happy it worked out for you.

   2. Congratulations!!!

      I’m so so glad it is working out!

   3. That’s fantastic. Illustrates the principle that where big things are concerned, you shouldn’t settle. Congratulations on your new job, and also your wisdom.

   4. Congratulations and good for you for taking a risk for your happiness!

   5. Congratulations!

3. Cute and practical–but my triceps are getting cold just looking at that dress –I’d have to put it away in the closet until late spring.

   1. I have a similar dress, and it looks great with a red cardigan and black tights.

   2. I have a few dresses in a similar style, I like wearing them with long-sleeved t-shirts or full-sleeved blouses with fitted sleeves.

4. Threadjack: how do you choose an age-appropriate perfume? I always thought Red Door was powerful for court or depos, but maybe it is old lady? If I wear JLo, is that the same as wearing socks with heels in an effort to seem younger? I am 42 years old.

   1. IMO, given the number of people who have sensitivities to fragrance, the appropriate thing to do is not to wear perfume in a professional environment. Especially if you are in court, do you really want to take the chance that you are g0ing to make someone uncomfortable with your perfume, whether it is your client, the judge, or a juror? I would say that wearing a *lightly* scented lotion is about all you should wear.

      1. I agree with this sentiment. I like to wear a little perfume (very much not noticeable unless you are literally nuzzling me, which no one at work is) if I am just spending the day in my office, writing, but I try to avoid all perfume in “public” settings like court, interviews, meetings, etc., because of how many people are averse to any scent at all.

         But to answer your original question, in terms of perfume to wear when you’re not at work, my own, entirely subjective & personal opinion is this: no one should wear JLo perfume; go with a nice classic perfume like something by Chanel. Use sparingly. It will make you smell age appropriate, powerful, and elegant.

         As for Red Door, I associate it entirely with a photography teacher I had in 8th grade. She appeared to bathe in it. And, she only wore the color red. Take from that what you will.

         1. AIMS, now that made me laugh. Oh no!

            1. @ Georgia — she was a great photography teacher!!!
               :)

      2. Agree with this 100%. Even as someone without any true sensitivities to fragrance, I do have a strong sense of smell and I just don’t see any positives from being able to take a couple sniffs and know that Georgia (for example) is coming my way, or walk into an elevator and think to myself, “hmm, Georgia was just here.” In these cases, it’s probably true the wearer is wearing too much perfume, but even with less, I think it still holds – I’d never want my coworkers to be able to identify me by scent, even if some think it’s a lovely scent.

      3. I concur. Perfume on other people renders one of my family members unable to speak, and sometimes gives me a headache. And I know we’re on the mild end of reactions. I’ve always just considered it appropriate to *not* wear a scent to work. Always a safe bet.

   2. I think perfume is really individual. Something that smells “cheap” on one person might smell really wonderful on another. I love perfume and have a lot of it — as much as I’d like to have a signature scent, I wear what I want based on my mood. I personally am not a fan of most Dept Store perfumes — I like Fresh perfumes and Jo Malone. I personally think both seem less overdone than what you find in the mass-produced perfumes. Even the heavier perfumes for each seem different enough not to remind someone of their grandma. I think that is what you most want to avoid if you don’t want to see “old lady” — wearing something that is so common that another person’s scent-memory makes them think of a relative who wore the perfume in the ’80s or ’90s (with some exceptions that are simply classics). Conversely, if you don’t want to seem like you are trying to hard to be young, don’t pick something that all the mid-20s were wearing in college. Staying away from the mainstream fragrances should keep you safe either way.

      1. Oh, I love Jo Malone. I still haven’t bitten the bullet for it, but I want it badly! I wear Michael Kors Michael when it’s a sort of formal event, but I, too, am looking for a light everyday scent.

         I’m fine wearing it to work because I spend most of my time in my office, alone, far away from other noses. I have to smell awful BO and cigarette smoke when I’m around people, they can put up with my eau de toilet for a little, I’m sure.

         1. This time of year, you can get the cologne collection, which is great — mini-sizes of some of the most popular fragrances. You can see what you like and have enough to enjoy it for awhile. You can also combine fragrances. For light everyday, I love Lime Basil & Mandarin. It smells slightly citrus-y and soapy and its very light.

            1. Acqua di Gio is good too.

         2. Re light everyday scent – try Ralph Lauren Romance.

            1. I prefer the slightly masculine ones…Acqua di Parma is a favourite for work.

   3. I think the problem is the fact that many people apply waaay too much fragrance. A cloud of perfume/cologne should not announce your arrival into a room, nor should the people around you be able to “taste” it either.

      I wear some sort of scent everyday, but I just do one spritz to the small of my back before getting dressed and I do not re-apply during the day. A member of my staff was fond of touching up her perfume after lunch and I had to ask her to save the re-application for when she left the office for the day.

      I’ve found a lot of the newer releases for women to be too va-va-voom floral or too sickly sweet and have had some luck venturing over to the men’s section and picked up some good ones there.

      1. “I think the problem is the fact that many people apply waaay too much fragrance.”
         This. I’m a reformed too-much-perfume-wearer. After reading about various corporettes aversion to perfume, and one morning having a lady pass me on the street (at at least an arm’s distance) compliment me on my fragrance, I realized I was overdoing. The truth is, I just never realized I was overdoing it (and no one told me I was!).
         Now, I do two strategically placed spritzes and I’m done. Maybe one more at the end of the day if I’m going out after work.
         A little goes a long way – if you NEED more than that, well… that’s a personal problem.

   4. Please do not ever wear perfume, or other scented products, in a professional setting. I guarantee you that some of your colleagues hate you for it. If you wore perfume to a deposition and I was in the room, once I was finished having an asthma attack, I’d hate you too.

      I can’t understand why some women think it’s ok to subject the rest of the world to perfume.

      1. I can’t understand why some women think it’s ok to subject the rest of the world to body odor, bad breath, cigarette smoke, pet hair… the list goes on. It’s a matter of personal hygiene. Personal being the key word. It’s an individual’s choice to wear or not wear it. However, I completely agree with the notion that most women and men don’t understand how much to put on, and that is the real problem. It stops being a personal choice when you bathe in it, or insist on spraying cheap (or any price point, really) anything in the office. I had a secretary who did that all the time and that was an issue– someone wearing a perfume or scent was not (and I have very sensitive allergies, so).

         I completely understand the angst toward over-sprayed colleagues, but the world is not a bubble, and sometimes things smell.

         1. I think some people just lose a sense of how much is too much over time. It’s like you become immune to a scent the more you are around it. I doubt most smokers I’m sharing an elevator with have any sense of how awful their coats smell (I didn’t when I smoked). I also don’t notice the smell of the soap I use each day unless I switch for awhile and come back.

            When it comes to perfume, I always try to keep in mind that less is probably way more than I’m realizing.

5. I would jump on this one for sure, but department-store clothes never seem to fit right on me. The cost of getting the seams taken in, the waist shortened, etc. would probably be more than the dress itself!

6. Like the dress, though cap sleeves are tricky for me.
   Is anyone else working today and traveling later? I’m already dreading navigating O’Hare tonight; between weather and the security line, it’s bound to be a hassle. It’s not making for a productive morning at work so far.

   1. Driving out late since hubby is working late tonight. Which is fine, because I had an event last night and still need to do laundry. But no flying, just a 2.5 hour drive that I hope doesn’t turn into a much longer drive. And no full-body scan or pat-downs, thankfully.

      Happy Thanksgiving to all Corporettes and their families! Raise a glass for those who can’t (like me)!

   2. Yep. We are hitting the road at noon for an 8+ hour drive with a 2 and 4 year-old. Anyone want to join? It promises to be a good time…

      1. Just picked up my 4-year-old from preschool and he launched into a huge meltdown…it might be a long four-day weekend. Thank God for Netflix On Demand. Good luck on your trip and safe travels :)

   3. Who is opting out and going for the public grope?

      1. me, and I’m wearing a skirt… not flying till the Christmas holiday though.

      2. Me. Too much uncertainty about safety for no benefit. Did you see Adam Savage (mythbusters) smuggled razor blades through the scanner? Some safety equipment. Also recently a TSA employee was found to be, erm, engaging in “self-pleasure?” while watching people go through the scanners. Ick.

         1. I saw the video and it cracked me up (I’m a huge Mythbusters fan). But according to the caption on the youtube video, it was actually shot back in May.
            Too bad, because that would have been really funny if he had been able to get two giant razor blades through the current TSA security screenings.

      3. The SO and I just flew out of MSY. He (and his brother who flew out of IAD this week) got both the scan and the public grope (he said they actually fondled his important places) and thankfully I didn’t get picked for either. It really makes me not want to fly. Radiation/cancer or sexual assault: pick your poison??

         1. If I thought either the scan or the pat-down were effective, I’d feel a lot better about them.

            As it is, I don’t think they’ll stop evil-doers.

            Not to mention that I’ve flown multiple times with (accidentally) a 3-4 inch folding knife in my purse/backpack, undetected by the carry-on-bag scans. It does not inspire confidence. They did, however, locate and confiscate my miniature staple remover (!)…

            1. Seriously – unless they’re adding a body cavity search (and I’m NOT saying they should), I’m not really seeing why this will prevent people from smuggling small amounts of explosives. It’s not as if everyone doesn’t know exactly what the scans and pat downs can pick up and what they can’t.

            2. Agree. And I flew about 4 times with pepper spray that I had forgotten about in my purse, and they never picked up on it.

         2. That sucks! If it’s any consolation I opted for the pat-down recently and it wasn’t too bad (no fondling). Maybe they’re a little less invasive with women?
            But I found the pre-announcements almost more embarrassing than the pat-downs themselves.
            In a loud voice: “I’m now going to use the back of my hands against your b***sts, okay?”
            Might as well use a loudspeaker to alert the three or four men hanging around waiting for their bags or walking past that the show’s begun.

7. Great dress! I have a similar one by Calvin Klein and it’s a year-round workhorse. It works with necklaces of varying lengths and styles, and it looks good belted. As others have mentioned, it looks great with tights, cardigans and fitted blazers in cooler weather.

8. Great pick. I love the detail at the necklines. I could see accessorizing this many different ways, including a purple or navy cashmere cardigan in fall, and a pink one in spring.

9. This is exactly the type of dress I DON’T need at this point. I have so many “basic” dresses in my closet that I told myself that I couldn’t buy any more work dresses unless a) a dress I own is on the brink of falling apart, or b) the dress I’m about to buy is truly special, fits great, is very unique, etc. It took a long time to get to this point, but now that I’m here I find that I am a lot more discerning about clothing.

10. Here as I look out of the window at snow everywhere that dress pick seems sadly out of season, but I do realize some live and work in Florida. I have basically the same dress which I bought from a catalog two years ago. I found I occasionally wore it to work in the summer, but something about that pleated neckline made it too casual for work even in this small city.

    1. I’m in Florida right now. It was 81 degrees today. As much as I like the warmth, I’m sad I can’t wear my heavier fall/winter clothing. When the days get shorter, I look forward to wools and tweeds.

11. I actually think the pleated neckline would be fine for me, and I’m in law (albeit a smaller city)…as for the weather (we have snow here too), I could see it with thick tights and a cardigan and I’d be fine.

12. dsw has a fabulous sale on gucci shoes – all marked down to $99. No basic colors, but great shoes if you’re looking for pops of color. The selection at the 14 st union square location is stellar but going fast (mostly variations and better colors of the wedges and pumps on the site: http://www.dsw.com/dsw_shoes/search/search.jsp?searchTerm=gucci&pageName=SEARCH%20RESULTS&category=SEARCH&_requestid=1611161
    I picked up the basic wedges in navy, cobalt, and mustard yellow

    1. Thanks for the great tip. They’re going fast but I got a pair of forest green wedges. I think they’ll be great for the weekend with a pair of jeans.

       1. love the forest green! too bad they didn’t have my size.

13. am i the only person who gets weirded out by cap sleeves? i don’t understand how having a sleeve, but still having your underarms exposed makes any sense. especially for the office!

    1. This will get pretty technical, but I can explain why I, at least, wear cap sleeves to work all summer!

       The commute is humid and gross. Exposed underarm = breathability in that area, instead of huge sweat stains upon arrival at the office. Yet I won’t go sleeveless at work (bare shoulders) because that feels like too much exposure. So for me, cap sleeves are the ideal compromise.

       I don’t really consider my armpits “exposed” in cap sleeves, because my arms are down by my sides pretty much at all times, at work.

14. I have a couple of dresses with cap sleeves-I feel a little more covered than a sheath but I have to admit I ususally wear a cardigan over them, as I share the same concern about my underarms.

15. Very pretty and ladylike. And FINALLY, Kat, something I can actually buy for under $100!

16. Is “sheath” the same thing as “sleeveles dress”? I don’t think so! A “sheath” is a style of dress that is fitted, fairly short, and usually princess seamed, which means there is no waistband and there are seams or darts that run from above the wasitline to below. Generally there is no collar. A sleeveless dress or blouse or sweater can be in any style – so long as it has no sleeves.

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