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Splurge Monday’s TPS Report: Bevin Asymmetric Ruched Dress

Our daily TPS reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices. This week's TPS reports come to you from guest poster Staci Zaretsky, who blogs with our friends over at Above the Law. Welcome to Corporette, Staci! – Kat.

Diane von Furstenberg Bevin Asymmetric Ruched DressIf you’ve been looking for a summery, work-appropriate dress, then you can do no wrong with one of Diane von Furstenberg’s more conservative looks. I’m a big fan of cap sleeves, so for today’s TPS, I chose this heather gray pullover with ruching on the hips. When paired with a blazer, this sheath-style dress is elegant enough for the office. It costs $345, and comes in a range of sizes from 0 to 12. Diane von Furstenberg Bevin Asymmetric Ruched Dress

Seen a great piece you'd like to recommend? Please e-mail tps@corporette.com.
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114 Comments

  2. Welcome, Staci! I would guess the commenters here will be nicer than the ones at ATL. :)

    I tried on a DVF dress kind of like this. The sleeve/neckline was very odd on the one I tried on- there was a bunch of extra fabric at the armpit area and it would have needed to have been taken up at the shoulder. This one looks like it might have the same issue (plus a low-cut issue, maybe), but I like it!

  3. I am surprised anyone is a fan of cap sleeves, let along a big fan. I determined their only purpose was to make cardigans over the dress more annoying and linebacker looking, and to make your arms look fatter while the dresser unfortunately thinks ” a sort of sleeve is office appropriate and covers my fat arm”.

    So to the cap sleeve, I say die. To someone who is a big fan I say “bless her heart.”

    1. I think cap sleeves are good for people with narrow shoulders and for pears, to help balance out the lower half. Also, it depends on the sleeve wrt whether they make your arms look bigger or not. I like them, YMMV. :)

    2. I love cap sleeves. Especially if/where they pass for business formal without a jacket (because they’re not sleeveless).

      1. Exactly – just bought some dresses with sleeves with this in mind. It’s going to get very hot here in Texas and sleeves will eliminate the need for a jacket at networking events, etc. I would still wear a jacket in court, but other than that, dress with sleeves fits the bill.

        1. Another Texan who loves cap sleeves–I can get away with wearing them without a jacket/cardigan, but I don’t sweat through the underarms like I do on sleeved dresses or jackets.

          And they don’t make my arms look bigger at all, so there are shapes it works for. We are not all built the same, DU.

    3. We don’t all have fat arms? Some of us have tiny bony shoulders and slender arms and like bulking them up.

    4. I think they are lovely, but i finally realized last year that they simply do not work on me (anymore . . . in my old age . . . as my arms are no longer one of my better assets). So i have finally stopped buying them.

    5. I am built like a linebacker and love this type of sleeve because it makes me look more proportional! However, I don’t like the random semi-circle cap sleeves that appear as an afterthought, exposing your armpits.

    7. Love love love DVF. I don’t consider these to be cap sleeves though, just wide straps.

    8. Isn’t it funny… on my side of the aisle, the blame for the cap sleeve + cardigan conundrum falls upon the cardigan. Actually, this is one of the reasons I actively avoid cardigans, and rather prefer either tailored jackets or cape-like things (ruanas, wraps, pashminas). I find that cardigans rarely hang “correctly” on me… something’s always bunching, riding up, or catching, as you’ve mentioned. (They are particularly tricky for me over button-front shirts.)

    9. Another here with a body type who loves this dress — I’m a big, big fan of cap sleeves. I have thinner arms and a smaller neck/face, and a much wider lower half. Cap sleeves really help balance out my figure. This dress would be perfect for me; I love it – not in my current budget.

  6. Does anyone have recs for cracked iphone screen repair in DC? I was planning to wait to upgrade until the iphone 6 comes out, so trying to get it repaired quickly and cheaply. I’m outside the apple care plan window, so I think the geniuses would charge me an arm and a leg. I would really appreciate any recs!! TIA!

    1. I just went to CrackedMacScreen[dot][com] in DuPont Circle and could not have been happier with the service. I had an Ipad fixed, not a iphone, so I’m not sure of the price, but it is certainly cheaper than the geniuses. And the service was fast, friendly, and with good results (looks like a whole new device).

    2. No rec obviously, but you may want to look into buying a refurbished one from your carrier instead. A friend a t work waited forever for a fix with a loaner phone that could do little more than text, and the repair ended up being several hundred dollars–not that different than buying a refurbished outright ewhile avoiding the hassle.

    3. Seconding the recommendation for CrackedMacScreen. Fantastic service and prices. Plus, the two owners/techs are cute!

      1. Right? I’m an old married lady. But man, they were nice to look at/talk to for 10 minutes while dealing with an otherwise unpleasant chore.

    4. There’s a place right outside the Apple store in Pentagon city that will fix a screen for about $80 while Apple wanted to charge $150. I didn’t fix mine but wish that I had. Without a cracked screen, Verizon would have given me $150 to trade in my phone instead of $30.

    5. I went to a repair shop right next to the Lincoln Theatre by Ben’s chili bowl., on U Street. it was directly across the street form U and Pizza.
      the place did a solid repair, quickly and fairly cheaply.

    6. There is a store right at the top of the cleveland park metro, I think the name is Cracked Screen or something like that. I went on a Saturday afternoon and it only took $20 minutes. Everyone was nice, but it was pretty expensive (although my problem was different).

  7. Pretty dress but the neckline seems really low for the office, even on the small chested model.

    1. I have this dress and it is low-cut and tight. I even bought a size up! I save it for evenings out.

    2. That was my thought. I see a little cleavage or breastbone or something that doesn’t look office-appropriate to me.

    3. Agreed… and if I see that much cleavage on the model, I am pretty much going to look like Betty Boop in it.

    1. Welcome to Stacy, a new poster! And a lawyer also! DOUBLE YAY!!!! I agree with LTIT that the dress is cute, but definiteley to low cut for the office! Fooey on guy’s like Frank that stare at our boobie’s if we wear this dress, tho I totaly LOVE DVF clotheing!

      Myrna’s uncle took me to the BELMONT Stake’s and we saw the horse loose. FOOEY, b/c I wanted a tripel crown. Myrna was mad b/c we did NOT get out of there until very late. THE LIRR did NOT have enough train’s for us, and we did NOT take Myrna’s car–the road’s were a mess also. So we ate food at the track, which was OK, and Myrna’s uncle was OK. He said I looked like an ex-girlfreind of his from college who wanted to MARRY him, but he did NOT want to marry her b/c she had bad breathe. I said I did NOT have bad breathe b/c I see the dentist alot and use a SONICARE, and he said he did NOT think I had bad breathe, but the onley way to tell is to sleep with a person and kiss them in the morning to find out. I said that he would there fore NOT be abel to tell w/me b/c I was NOT about to let him try that. He also put his arm around me during the races, which was wierd especialy b/c it was hot out and I do NOT like a man to do that when it is sweatey out. DOUBEL FOOEY! He lives somewhere upstate so I would NOT think we could be a coupel. Meanwhile, I have a few other’s calling who I do NOT want to. The manageing partner’s brother want’s to go apartement hunting again with me. I say he should just get a place and furnish it HIMSELF, but he wants me there. Myrna says he is moveing in on ME already! FOOEY b/c I do NOT want to date the manageing partner’s brother! I am sure he want’s to have sex b/c his wife has told him sex is in the past, so he has alot of pent up energy for sex. FOOEY!

  9. I have a Saihana dress from DVF (3/4 sleeves, longer than knee-length). I think that these are beautiful dresses, but sometimes I feel very exposed in them. There is good from it (my posture improves markedly when I wear it) but I’m not used to feeling like the world will know if I ate a big lunch or not (I have other DVF dresses in a larger size, so maybe that’s the trick, although those are also ones in the floatier Reina shape). I’ve never figured out the right jacket for any dress I own that didn’t come with a jacket.

  10. TJ – Travel help!
    I am in DC, 7 months pregnant, and need to getaway! Any recommendations for a quick weekend away?
    I would ideally like to do something in nature – beach, hiking, or river during the day and grab a nice dinner at night. I have lived in DC for years, but have never really explored the getaways nearby. Ideas?

    1. Charlottesville would be a great option for the hiking and nice dinner scenario. Two hours away.

    3. Virginia Beach? Though I went there in first trimester so I can’t speak to nice dinner since I was barely holding down water at the time ;)

    4. The little towns on the eastern shore of Maryland would be great for this. I particularly like Easton for its cute shops and restaurants, but there are a bunch of little towns and B&Bs along the shore, lots of boating, and a couple of nature preserves for hiking.

    5. Wintergren Resort? Up in the mountains, good hiking and a nice spa (great facials). There’s a nice-ish restaurant at the top of the mountain (Devil’s Knob) and some decent restaurants in the valley below.

      1. Have you ever been to Gray Towers? I am becoming aware that there is a Poconos experience that does not include couples resorts with heart-shaped tubs. Any place/stuff to do recs for a 2-day summer weekend? This would be for near the Delaware Water Gap (not sure how far the Poconos goes). Thanks!

    7. I am afraid this is not the best time for hiking in the woods – ticks! Stick with water-based recreation.

      1. Yes! I got a tick bite this weekend and wholeheartedly agree with avoiding the woods. They seem worse this year. (And yes, I have an appointment to see a doctor to rule out all the fun tick-borne diseases)

    8. Williamsburg/Yorktown – hiking, beach, nice dinners and much more. Might be too hot right now though.

      1. And too humid! Williamsburg is bearable in the summer when I was 18, not pregnant, and full of beer.

        What about the Greenbrier (or less expensive variants)? Higher elevations = nicer in the summer

        Go Tribe!!!

    9. Southwest PA. There are tons of little B&Bs, and nearby are Nemacolin resort/spa, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, and Ohioypyle State Park (with a river and hiking).

      I went there when I was about 7 months pregnant. It was a great little escape.

      I also like the MD eastern shore idea above.

    10. Berkeley Springs! It’s near the C&O Canal, which is flat–since I’m assuming you don’t want strenuous hiking–and you can get a massage at one of the numerous spas. There’s also antiquing and lots of great views.

  11. This dress looks work appropriate on the model because she is probably an A cup. On my 34DD frame, it would be waaay to much b@@bage to show at work – unless I started working at hooters!!!

      1. Agreed. And unless you are always the tallest person in the room, and never sit down, anyone standing near you will have a bird’s eye view down your cleavage (regardless of the amount of cleavage).

  12. I was on travel last week and may have missed it, but for some reason feel the need to know if the poster who was annoyed that her on-travel bf hadn’t conveyed birthday greatings in the morning ever posted a follow-up. This site has become my soap opera.

    1. Haha, me too. Really want to know the outcome of that one considering how upset she was.

      1. I saved that whole thread to use as a perfect example of how reasonable women may disagree on how to respond to that situation. I loved that it all worked out in the end.

        1. He may have been thinking the same thing: I sent flowers and she can’t even text me a thank you . . .or that she’s busy and we’ll check in later.

        2. It did work out! He sent flowers as a surprise and was waiting for me to receive them before he texted. They went to the wrong address, I didn’t receive them (until the next day! and they are beautiful!) and I was frustrated he didn’t text.

          Silly miscommunication. I adore him.

          1. I feel like this is a really good example of why you should give the people that you love and care about the benefit of the doubt.

  13. I’m curious about the poster that was nervous about how her boss was going to react about her coverage quitting after she had announced her maternity leave. Was that Famouscait? How did that turn out?

    1. That was me! I think I made the right choice taking the Hive’s advice to announce before her. My boss is clearly irritated with her (for their own reasons – having nothing to do with not being able to provide maternity coverage for me). I think knowing the full picture helped him realistically assess the next 6-9 months as I roll out for a bit and we have a new person joining. There’s at least two major projects that he’s decided to wait on, which is good. Announcing first also helped me avoid having him ask me to handle some of her duties during the transition, which I would have been unable to commit to (obviously).

      Other than my boss’s inability to resist making an unnecessary, blush-inducing, mild sex reference, it all went as well as I could have hoped. Thanks for checking in!

      1. Awesome, I’m glad we steered you right and your boss had the best (???) reaction possible! :)

  14. Has anyone ever done a juice fast? I’m thinking about buying one of those 3-day ones.

    1. I haven’t but I love incorporating freseh juices into my diet. Everyone needs to do what’s best for them but I’ve read a lot of negative things about juice fasts and how Doctor’s say there are no benefits to doing it.

    2. I have, twice. Word of caution that they don’t help you lose weight — any weight you lose will come right back. But I found them helpful as a “reset” to get back to healthy eating (and, for me, to stop drinking so much Diet Coke again). I also feel amazing afterwords, which I think helps me remember why I need to eat better in the first place. Also note that you really do need to follow the directions. I really wanted a cookie the day after I ended the first one and was not a happy camper. So if you approach it with these things in mind, I think it can be perfectly fine.

    3. I’ve done one as an experiment – I think the general consensus amongst the informed communities is that there is no physical benefit to doing them. However, it was a good mental jump-start for me into a much healthier lifestyle (actually trying to stay below the daily recommended amount of sugar of 20 g) so I liked it. I would not do it again though. I was so very hungry and grumpy during the three days.

    4. We have done a lot of juicing over the past 3 months, though not a fast. I might recommend doing 1 juice in the morning for breakfast, either another juice or perhaps an almond milk drink for lunch, and then a really clean dinner (ex, vegetbales, vegan, raw, etc.). That can help with a clean eating reset if you don’t want to do a full on juice fast.

      1. +1 to not a full fast. Instead of full-on juicing, I’ll just replace one meal with a juice and eat like normal.

        1. Agreed. My new routine is juice in place of breakfast (usually green juice), raw nuts or fruit as a mid-morning snack, a small but hearty raw/vegan/semi-raw or vegetarian lunch and then a normal/full sized balanced dinner (usually meat protein, vegetable, whole grain). I feel good when I follow this schedule.

    5. I’ve done some medically required fasts, e.g. broth and liquid fasts. Wouldn’t suggest to anyone who has a really fast metabolism, that was pure torture.

  15. I just this weekend learned about the rule that men don’t button their bottom suit button (what can I say, I have no brothers & DH only wears a suit under duress). Does the same rule apply to women? As an apple, it would certainly make suit fitting easier if I could leave the bottom button undone.

    1. I leave mine open, but I think the rule for women is you can do whatever you want. I worked in the Men’s Suit department at Macys when I was in college and you would be shocked how many guys that wear suits all the time had no idea they were supposed to leave the bottom button unbuttoned.

    2. I used to wear skirt suits where the jacket was my garment on top (so I wore something underneath to extend wearings, but not that could have stood to see the light of day. Then, I buttoned everything.

      For blazer-type jackets, I only button to avoid flapping when walking (then then just the top one). In court where you are up and down, doing more then one would seem to be really distracting to everyone. But you really can’t sit in a long jacket that is buttoned — they gape where they should be smooth and look really bad (regardless of gender).

      I’m curious about this though. Unless pregnant, I think that either gender should be able to button the jacket. I guess when riding horses, the jacket is buttoned (and is more practical), but can’t otherwise think of when you button as a rule (outside of the military — can someone comment on that, too?).

      1. I never button either. I think a suit jacket SHOULD be able to button without pulling (good way to tell if it fits correctly) but there is no need to have it buttoned at my desk and it’s way too constricting to have it buttoned if I’m moving around a courtroom .

        1. If you are sitting, you should definitely unbutton. I believe that’s the etiquette for the guys, and it really makes sense since the jacket is really tailor to hang when standing, but sitting changes the fit geometry, so you unbutton all the buttons you need for the jacket to not be restricting when sitting.

    4. No need to button the bottom button ever. I am more of a pear but I find one button jackets that fit well too.

    5. I also don’t think the rule applies to women, per se, but I don’t button my bottom button either. I like the look of top button buttoned, bottom not.

    6. The rule of thumb for buttons that I’ve always heard (for both men and women) is “sometimes, always, never.” On three button suits, the top button can sometimes be buttoned, the middle button must always be buttoned, and the bottom button is never buttoned.

  17. I posted a bit ago regarding dresses and three piece outfits (particularly with cardigans) looking frumpy. A lot of ladies suggested belting and looking at the shape of my cardigans as the cause of the frump. I did some closet cleaning this weekend and WOW. Seriously, you all were very right. Belts make things look much more pulled together and my cardigans are definitely throwing off the ‘look’ of my outfits.

    So, since my Land’s end cotton cardigans are making me look like a librarian from the ’80s, does anyone have any favorite cardigan suggestions? I can’t do JCrew (borderline plus size and too busty, so they look terrible).

    1. Lands End cardigans seem to lose their shape pretty quickly. For the winter months, I like Benetton’s wool cardigans which are a bit thicker and more structured.

    2. I have been very pleased with the Halogen brand at Nordstrom. The shape stays current – they have all different colors.

    3. I like the Anna cardigan at BR. Colours come and go, though – they don’t always have a ton of options.

      1. Oh, I should add, I also have a few looser flowy thin ones from Forever 21 or H&M that I wear a fair amount – I got the same one in 3-4 colours (light grey, dark grey, dark blue, dark teal) for about $10 each and they’re still holding up.

    4. Boden cardigans are fabulous and often in patterns…I buy only on sale though.

      You might look into V-neck cardigans; I think they offer a better shape and neckline if busty. But they are difficult to find …

      So how do the others in the Hive deal with the round-neckline cardis and the top parts of the cardi flapping open/over/around?

    5. For me, the cardigan has to fit properly across the shoulders and not too big through the body, so not too boxy. I am busty as well, so I have a hard time finding the perfect cardigan. I also find that it needs to have a straight edge at the bottom, not ribbing that pulls it in. That looks weird with a dress (at least to me). I have older cardigans that I’m wearing like crazy because I can’t find any right now that fit the bill.

    6. I’ve found the Talbots charming cardigan to have much better lines than the Lands’ End cardigans. It fits a little closer to the body, and is not quite as boxy.

  18. So how big of a faux pas is navy and black still? I want to buy a navy and black sheath from BR (attaching link in next post) where the body is navy with big black panels on either side, which looks very slimming on me in real life! But it’s a suiting material and I want to get a jacket to wear with it. Would I want the navy or the black in the same material??

    2. I love black and navy together; it looks so sharp. I was unaware that it was a faux pas at all. That is a gorgeous dress!

    3. If the dress is made with navy and black, it’s clearly “supposed to be that way” and doesn’t look like you got dressed in the dark. It’s fine. As for the jacket, I’d personally go with the navy for that dress.

    4. If done intentionally its not a faux pas at all. But if you’re concerned why not do a grey or a white blazer?

    5. I really liked this dress but couldn’t get the right size. I think it would be easier to match with black than navy. Beware that this dress is fairly shirt. I’m 5’4″ and the regular size was a few inches above my knees.

    6. I also love navy-black colorblocking. I was going to say black blazer rather than navy, so I suppose either could work!

    7. I think the only time it is not appropriate to match navy and black is when the navy is so dark it could easily pass-off for black. In that instance, it can look like you just mismatched two blacks. But a brighter navy/dark blue looks lovely with black, imo.

    8. I think it’s pretty standard to mix navy and black, at least this season. I’d go with the black jacket, though.

  19. I have this, and have worn it with both a BR black suiting blazer, and a different brand wool navy blazer. I love this dress.

      1. Seconded. I love my navy lightweight wool. I wasn’t impressed by their cotton sateen, though.

    2. Probably not, but I *think* BR still lines their pants, if that’s important to you.

    3. I haven’t found much of one. What I have found, though, is that both companies target their petite suiting at someone who is 5’2″ instead of someone who is 5’2″ or under. Which means that 5′ and short-torsoed me still needs significant alterations…which means I always end up returning and waiting for AT to have a cropped jacket suit. But now that I’m back in California, the need for suits has reduced quite a bit.

  21. Lovely dress. I would probably choose a full slip with a moderately high, plain neckline, and I might wear a scarf, jacket, or wrap with it (those cap sleeves wouldn’t be very warm in my air-conditioned office. The nice thing about a dress like this is that without the extra cover-ups, I think it would dress up very easily for something after work, or even a wedding.

  22. Not only is this dress too low cut, as many have noted, but you can see the outline of the model’s belly. How will this look on most of us?

  23. I have been asked to help coach a fairly junior recruiter at our consulting firm on professional attire. We have been work-friends for a few years and have a good working mentoring relationship. She has just transitioned from an assistant into the recruiting role. She is an adorable girl, but dresses inappropriately and is clearly not aware of professional attire. A few years ago, we would discuss clothing – and I would make some comments here and there along the lines of “Oh, wow, are you going out tonight? You look ready for the dance floor in that!” – being my usual passive aggressive self. It did not phase her/she has not changed. I have now been asked to coach her in what to wear – she is going on to campus, meeting candidates in the office – and is not dressed appropriately at all (think after 5 dress and rhinestone platforms). She is good at her job, but is not building credibility by her initial appearance (which yes, it matters here) – and we certainly cannot have her going on campus in leather bustiers with miniskirts….I am 10 years her senior and much more conservative in my attire – so not sure she is going to take advice from me! How can I help and not totally offend her? I want her to be successful here.

    1. I feel like this was discussed recently (maybe as part of the summer associate series) but I think here you need to be direct. Her job has changed and her clothing needs to change with it. She may be offended (and I think that can be tempered by her knowing you want the best for her), but it’s better than the alternative.

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