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Update: This is still a fun discussion on hated workwear design details of 2015 — but if you want to see our current thoughts on design mistakes for workwear, click here!
We haven't talked about design no-nos for workwear in far too long — so I thought today it might be a fun open thread. I know readers were recently talking about their hatred of exposed zippers (which I agreed with several years ago, but I guess I've been worn down by their omnipresence — the exposed zipper is everywhere!), and many of shared their hatred of unlined pants for a while now.
For my $.02, these are the workwear design details I hate:
- shiny fabrics — why? No shiny suits, no shiny blouses… no thank you!
- “personality” necklines, like the horseshoe — I bought one sweater like this a while ago and always felt like I was in costume for some play. They just don't seem appropriate for work…
- shirt-tail hems on dresses — these really just feel like a nightgown to me, or, worse, like you're wearing your boyfriend's shirt or something.
- cutouts exposing the lower back on otherwise work-appropriate dresses — no bueno! To me that automatically makes it a “fun” dress that isn't for work. I suppose you could make it appropriate by keeping a blazer or cardigan on, but you never really want to be forced to wearing something like that — what if you get hot?
- built-in necklaces — these were more popular a few years ago, but I hate dresses and other tops that have costume jewelry affixed to the dress. It's usually poor quality, limits your options for care (to say nothing of your options for accessorizing it!), and — worst of all — the necklace makes the front of the dress so heavy that it gapes open.
Those are my least favorite… ladies, what are your most hated workwear design details?
AIMS
Full length exposed zippers, esp. if they can be zipped from either direction. Because the exposed zipper trend wasn’t enough.
Cheap embellishments of any kind – buckles, buttons, belts, etc. I’ve never understood this because if I was going to make a line of affordable clothing (esp. for work), I’d want to keep things really simple to make it all look nicer. But so many companies like to put cheap plastic buttons and buckles and what have you all over their suits and dresses as if anyone really wants a suit with shiny plastic buttons that yell Anne Klein at you. I’m not a fan of logos in general, but I cannot for the life of me understand the need to put mall brand names all over professional clothing – who is that supposed to appeal to?
Michelle
I agree with the zipper issue. I nearly bought a $250 dress on-line until I found out that there was an entirely gross exposed zipper going all the way down to my arse. It would have been very difficult to wear this in the office, and even with a sweater, the bottom of the zipper would still have been visible. Whoever came up with that idea probably watched too many Sharon Stone movies.
Anono
+1 to embellishments, and also any non-functional buttons or zippers, even if unbranded. And fake pockets!
Anonymous
+1
I really HATE fake pocket’s, particularly those that look real b/c when I want to stick a key in a pocket and they are NOT there, I get REALLY frustrated. FOOEY!
I also do NOT like the big exposed zipper’s b/c Frank likes to unzip me, or at least try to. DOUBEL FOOEY on FRANK b/c he has NO licence to do that to me.
Obvious
You’re not anonymous; You’re Ellen.
Mary Woll
Work dresses which are narrower at the hips than at the waist, like an upside-down A-shape dress. Who are these dresses made for? Young men? Being a woman, my hips are wider than my waist. In order to wear an upside-down A-dress, I have to increase several sizes to make the dress fit over my hips. Which means the neck opening is too loose and moving about, the upper back has too much fabric which sticks out like a small mountain between my shoulderblades and makes me look like the Hunchback of Notre Dame, and the fabric surrounding my waist looks like a fragile tent in the wind; excess fabric moving about and changing between various hill-shapes as I move. All of this to be topped by the most unsightly sight further down: the dress stretched too tightly around my hips.
lsw
Short. Hemlines. (on dresses, that is) Why, why why why???
And shirts that require a camisole – because they are too sheer, too low, whatever – just make me a shirt I can wear! Without having to wear other shirts to wear it!
A
Sheer shirts bug me so much! Why? Why are so many white tops sheer?? Feels like I can’t buy anything white online, I have to try it on first. When I went to the Gap and found solid white on sale, I felt like I was in heaven!
Also, I hate tops and dresses with necklines that are so low I have to wear a camisole, because even a demi bra pokes out over the top. It’s one thing if this happens with an old dress that’s just been stretched from multiple wears, but when a new dress is already too low? Who was it made for??
Senior Attorney
Yes, sheer tops! Hate it! I refuse to wear an undershirt/camisole so that really limits my options for work blouses!
anon-oh-no
so do you mean shirts that are supposed to be sheer, or like A notes, shirts that are not necessarily meant to be sheer, but nevertheless are? The second category drives me crazy. The first category I like.
ITChick
Same. If it’s supposed to be sheer, I have no problem wearing a tank or cami under it because sheer fabric has no real weight or warmth to it.
KateMiddletown
About 10% of my wardrobe has the problem of needing a specific type of undergarment or cami, which I never have clean or on hand at all, so they just sit in my closet waiting for their “helper” pieces.
jkesq
Add my vote to the exposed zipper camp – it automatically disqualifies any potential purchase. I just can’t do it – but I guess with their ongoing prevalence, I am in the minority.
Pretty Primadonna
Thin, see-through material that is not supposed to be sheer.
Ruching.
Drop waists.
Edited to add that I like exposed zippers, but not for professional wear.
Liz
+1 accidental sheer clothing. Terrible.
NYNY
My pet peeves, in order of how much I hate them today:
1 – Exposed zippers, especially top-to-bottom ones
2 – Leather or pleather trim
3 – High-low hemlines – who needs a mullet anything?
4 – Peplums
5 – Weird cutouts on otherwise work-appropriate clothing
Anonymous
So glad I’m not alone in hating Peplums.
AK
+1 on leather or pleather trim. Real leather requires special cleaning; pleather will look worn out quickly and usually looks cheap to begin with.
Anonymous
Pants without pockets in the front or usable pockets!
Meg Murry
Fake pockets in general!
To be fair, most of the clothing I by is “cheap” by most standards, but why do men’s suits and work pants have real pockets, and women’s at the same price point have faux pockets or faux pocket flats or tiny little useless pockets that can’t even hold a single credit card? I always carry a men’s wallet, I want to be able to fill up my pockets and not have to carry a purse. At a minimum, I wish I could find blazers with a decent internal pocket.
KateMiddletown
I don’t think I’ve ever found a woman’s blazer with a pocket inside, aside from the New Schoolboy @ J Crew, which I believe has a “lipstick pocket.” Honestly, is that the only thing they think women carry with them???
Katie
Super high waistlines, esp. on fit-and-flare dresses.
Anything that requires getting an unusual bra.
Anne
Women’s tailored Blazers or jackets with working buttonholes or stitching made to look like buttonholes on the cuffs…if you need to shorten or lengthen the sleeves, you’re out of luck.
Anonymous
Threadjack: Any recommendations for apps or websites with do-at-work bodyweight and yoga workouts?
Anon
I don’t mean for this to come across as snarky, but can’t you just look for apps/websites with bodyweight and yoga workouts generally and then do them at work?
Anonymous
Try looking for “at-home” ones with no equipment. Or “body weight” ones. Fitnessblender.com has lots of options.
Anonymous
Yoga Studio for iOS (if you want a super-clean, no-frills kind of yoga instructional video that you can customise), Yogadownload.com (if you like being taught by an actual instructor), Workoutlabs for bodyweight workouts. I tried You are Your Own Gym but wasn’t a fan. Otherwise, I’ve been told that climbing up and down long flights of stairs is a good start for HIIT. I know someone who does 12 flights up, take the lift down, three times in a row.
A
I agree with cutout backs, I hate finding a dress I think would be great for work or dancing and then seeing it has a weird cutout in the back! In fact, the dress I’m wearing today has an awkward gap in the back, and I have to wear a tank top under it so my bra doesn’t show. Then again, I seem to always have a cardigan on in the office, so I’m not sure why I bother.
I also don’t like built-in necklaces. I’ll admit, I have a couple articles of clothing with these, although nothing I’d wear to work. They almost always look cheap and will often warp after a few wears.
a
anyone going to be at the employee benefits seminar in Minneapolis, MN this week?
Anon
My biggest workwear pet peeves:
– sheer anything
– cutout or low backs on dresses
– “tall” skirts that are 20 inches in length and sold as workwear. Sorry, J.Crew, but that is mid-thigh
Anony
I am only 5’4 but I always buy my skirts in tall sizes so that they will be appropriate length for work.
Parfait
At 5’10”, alas, there’s nowhere to go.
Former Biglaw
Boden has generous longs
Ana
JCrew telegraph pencil skirts are just below the knee for me at 5’4″. https://www.jcrew.com/womens_category/suiting/super120s/PRD~44461/44461.jsp
Anono
Logo or branding anywhere visible, and cap sleeves. IMO a cap sleeve isn’t more office-appropriate than sleeveless (if your office frowns on sleeveless) but it makes it harder to style the dress or top with a blazer or sweater neatly. Also cap sleeves are a tough fit in general.
Sleeves
I love cap sleeves. I refuse to buy anything sleeveless because I like to be able to take off the suit jacket or cardigan to get comfortable and I don’t like bare arms in front of partners or clients. For example, during trial, when you get back to the office and everyone peels off their jacket, but I can’t because otherwise I would be in nothing but a tank top compared to their nice button down shirts.
Anono
I feel you. But why cap sleeves specifically? Why not real sleeves (short, long, or mid)? I don’t understand how a cap sleeve is better than sleeveless; I can understand why an *actual* sleeve is more appropriate in front of partners and clients, but a cap sleeve is still pretty bare, just like sleeveless. That’s why I think they are useless. Sleeves or no sleeves, for me. Not baby sleeves.
shopping challenged
I like cap sleeves. Tops that have cap sleeves generally have necklines and cuts that are more modest/work appropriate, and not tank-top like. Plus, the underarm is high enough that deo doesn’t rub off on clothes.
gingersnap
Well, personally, I work in an incredibly casual environment (particularly even more casual during hot &humid summers). I have a tattoo on my shoulder that sleeveless shirts won’t cover, but cap sleeves do. Also, I often wear a cardigan or lightweight short sleeved blazer as a top layer to shield myself from overly-aggressive air conditioning, and these often lay better without sleeves underneath.
Sleeves
Oh, I’m not particular to cap sleeves. It just have to have some kind of sleeve – cap, short, long.
Tunnel
+1
Elle
I hate cap sleeves. I think they look awful. I’m in the camp of “if it’s not going to be sleeveless, then set a dang sleeve in.”
Ana
I hate cap sleeves on me but that’s because it just makes my arms look skinnier. A cap sleeve can look nice on a woman with fuller arms or shoulders. Sometimes sleeves don’t fit large arms correctly but you want to be a little more conservative than a tanktop.
Jennifer
1. Ruching
2. Sheer, worse if it’s unintentional
3. Logos
4. Decorative pockets
5. Backless
6. Unnecessary embellishments (buckles that serve no purpose, drawstrings that don’t actually create a waist)
Jennifer
Mesh details at the shoulder for an otherwise work-appropriate dress. Do they think women want to wear a strapless bra to work? Ann Taylor had at least 3 pieces this summer that would have been perfect for work, except for the damn mesh.
Sleeves
Ha. +1.
R
Or lace detail for the same reason.
L
– The lack of sleeves on EVERYTHING. Give me a damn sleeve.
– Sheer/thin material. Remember decade(s) ago, when you could buy a t-shirt and wear it without 27 layers under it? I miss those days
For plus sizes:
– work wear that is always dark. I get it, black is slimming. But my fat looks good in color too!
– loose, schlumpy, jersey/cotton blend everything. Yes, I love a waterfall cardigan as much as the next person, but in order for it to look nice, it has to be fitted in the sleeves/shoulder area.
– lack of appropriate dresses. Almost everything is a little too ‘ladies who lunch’ for work anymore.
nutella
Agreed. I want sleeved dresses!
Anonymous
I agree on the lack of sleeves… I don’t want to get deodorant all over my cardigan or blazer, so I would like short sleeves on my work shirts.
It seems like everything is sleeveless right now. Is everyone exposing shoulder at work, or are they just constantly washing their top layers?
Anonymous
Yes, it is very frustrating that so many things are sleeveless now! My office actually doesn’t frown upon sleeveless clothing, but I’ve found that a top with short sleeves actually flatters me more than something sleeveless. Plus, for swing dancing, follows definitely want leads to wear sleeves, even female leads.
I actually bought a T-shirt at an event recently, and the vendors gave me so much garbage for buying the “man’s shirt” instead of the tank top they had for women. When I explained why I opted for short sleeves, they got grouchy with me and said “oookaaay, that’s fiiiiiine, buy whatever you waaaant . . .”
Clothes
Strange why workwear clothes can’t be made work appropriate. Can someone email this link to clothes companies please…? We all feel the same thing!!!
AK
+1000 to hating sleeveless dresses/shirts and jersey/cotton blend. Sometimes I don’t want to wear a blazer all day (at least when I’m at my desk). I think of cardigans over dresses as a uniform for secretaries, so that won’t do either. The last item may be a direct result of one firm from my past, but the association has stuck. I find that jersey is hard to wear for top heavy people because it either tents out from the bust or hugs the curve and results in a lot of wandering eyes.
I mostly stay in suits because most female business casual is really veering toward fully casual and that doesn’t work in a conservative office.
LAnon
Arm holes that are apparently cut for bodybuilders and mean that I MUST keep a jacket or cardigan on to avoid showing side-bra!
I have a few others but I don’t even want to list them because my dislike for them pales in comparison to my hatred for giant arm holes.
Maddie Ross
What is a “sharkbite” in fashion?
AIMS
I think the random bit of missing fabric/cutout such as in the bottom middle purple dress pic.
Anon
I’ve usually seen sharkbite refer the hem length on something like this: http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/img-thing?.out=jpg&size=l&tid=15153718
It’s like the shark from jaws came up and took a bite out of your hem, so its short in front and back and long on the sides.
ning
Can’t stand:
– Sheer tops. It’s impossible to get a white blouse anymore. Even cardigans are going down the drain… I put on a pretty mint green one the other day, and realized my cami was fully visible.
– Unlined anything- dresses, skirts, or pants. Just unflattering and cheap.
– Low-cut necklines. Is it too much to ask not to flash my boss when I lean over to examine a file? Must I switch to a full wardrobe of turtlenecks?
-Embellishments, ruffles, ruching. I want to be the CEO, not the secretary.
shopping challenged
+1 on sheer tops! I’m fairly flat on top, so any top with minimal support works for me, and some cuts even look fine without a bra. Even if I did wear a bra, I don’t want everyone to see it through my shirt!
shopping challenged
I love the built-in necklaces! Accessorizing can’t get any easier, and you never misplace your “necklace”.
What I hate:
Peg-legs, ankle pants, any other short cut that makes it look like I’m just popping out of my clothes.
“Boat” shoes. I don’t mean Sperrys. I mean styles where the front top part barely covers my toes. They elongate my feet so much they look like boats.
Icky fabric–polyester, primarily. It makes me sweat in a weird way, even if I feel chilly.
moss
Polyester is THE WORST! It’s weirdly hot but doesn’t keep me warm when it’s cold. I hate it.
Mary Woll
Polyester seems to be the new black. Even the expensive brands are now regulary trying to trick us into buying polyester clothes; maybe thinking that if the label says “Ralph Lauren” (they have a lot of polyester these days) and the prize tag is high enough, we will be stupid enough to buy the garbage.
Another thing about fabric quality: More and more clothes now seem to need extra care, like being hand washed, or needing dry-cleaning. I know this is often deliberate “under-labeling”; the manufacturer playing safe to avoid complaints. I sometimes buy these clothes and wash them without any problems, but for for expensive items I do not want to take the risk. When the shop assistants try to push them on me anyhow, I usually say “I am sorry, I have a full schedule and no housewife. So there is nobody to care for my clothes in extra time-consuming ways”.
WorkingMom123
Hmmm, I don’t mind exposed zippers (as long as they don’t go all the way from top to bottom so that they unzip in both directions). I LOVE sheer blouses that require camisoles. I love faux leather trim (LOVE it). I also love high-low hemlines on dresses, though not in work clothes.
My pet peeves:
– Midi length. Ew, looks frumpy. I’m not on social security yet. I like my dresses and skirts to hit no lower than the top of my knees. Otherwise, it makes my lower legs look stumpy.
– Dresses with defined waists that are too high. I am not unusually tall, but a lot of brands (looking at you LOFT) make their dresses with the waistline somewhere around my lower boob.
– Button down blouses that gap between buttons.
– Anything requiring a lot of ironing. Not cotton button downs for me. EVER.
– Sleeve lengths that are just a little too short. I am not particularly tall, so it takes me by surprise when sleeves are too short.
– Fall/winter dresses that are sleeveless. Sorry, I live in DC. In winter, I need sleeves. I don’t want to wear a cardigan with everything.
shopping challenged
I love mid-calf dresses and skirts. They make me look willowy, maybe even graceful.
TO Lawyer
I love leather trim on things – I can’t help but be drawn to it regardless of how many other pieces I have.
Also love peplums because they hide my tummy.
I agree about sleeveless dresses – sometimes it’s just easier to throw on a sleeved dress and necklace and be out the door.
Mary Woll
Quote: “– Fall/winter dresses that are sleeveless. Sorry, I live in DC. In winter, I need sleeves. I don’t want to wear a cardigan with everything.”
Have you noticed how many clothes ads show men in suits (a shirt, closed by a tie at the top, and then a wool jacket outside the shirt) next to women in sleveless or tank-top dresses, often made in thin silk or similarly non-warming materials? The couple is always together – meaning they are in the same climate zone, the same city, at the same party, with presumably the same temperature for both him and her. Given the fact that men normally are warmer than women (more muscle mass, which produces warmth), do you not find it peculiar that the fashion industry state as a norm that women should wear considerably thinner – and fewer – clothes than men? Given our different needs for warmth and clothing, it should be the other way round. Might make for a few good sights, too. ;)
ridic
I wonder if they do this because they think all women suffer from hot flashes!
Anita
Midi-length dresses and skirts. Die now, trend.
Anon
Oh, I feel the opposite way! As a tall person, this is the only guarantee of having skirts and dresses that just skim my knee! I hope it sticks around.
Mpls
+1. A length that hits just below the knee for me is the most flattering. And I definitely don’t get that with “regular” length skirts, and a lot of times not even with tall sizes. Bring on the midi!
N
Peeves:
-Button-up shirts with boob gaps
-Cropped pants
-Inconsistent sizing between different brands/ stores
-Poor quality material that does not stand up to use/ washing
-Not just unlined pants, but these unlined pants in light colours that highlight the dreaded VPL
-Pants that shrink in length after one wash (looking at you Banana Republic)
moss
I hate cuts that are too tight in the sleeves. I’m plus size, fine, but shirts and jackets in my theoretical size do not fit my biceps so I normally have to size up in non-stretchy fabrics.
Parfait
THIS. Why must manufacturers size up the garment everywhere else but keep the sleeves the same?
padi
1. Low quality relative to men’s clothing at the same price point.
2. Colors that don’t match last season’s colors.
3. Seasons where I can not, for the life of me, find a decent pair of navy slacks because “navy isn’t in style this season”. It is fricking navy, fer cryin out load.
4. Lace inserts.
5. Neon colors.
6. Shirts that are colorful through the shoulder and chest then white through the belly (I do not want to look my cat, thankyouvermuch).
7. A sweatshirt cut to look like a blazer is not a blazer.
8. Drumroll please… Personal stylists and sales persons who have never worked in an office and have no friking clue about what is office appropriate, how things should fit, or what can be altered to fit. If I am spending $500 for three suiting pieces, they had better know to call alterations or find me the right size.
Paging Kat
Kat — I actually LOVE that picture of the top with the horseshoe neckline. Could you provide a link, please?
Kate
Pretty sure it’s this one, on sale at Last Call!
http://www.lastcall.com/Lafayette-148-New-York-Horseshoe-Neck-3-4-Sleeve-Tee-Pomegranate/prod32210038/p.prod
Anon
+ too-short skirts/dresses in otherwise work-ish styles. Who is wearing this stuff to work?
+ see-through/ultra thin shirts (knits and button downs, they’re all terrible these days)
+ the shift from natural/thicker fabrics to thin and synthetic fabrics
+ unlined pants and skirts
+sleeveless stuff in general (which means I can’t take off jacket/cardigan at work)
What’s happening in fashion mirrors what’s happening in other consumer industries…there’s been a purposeful and planned shift away from quality construction and fabrics in classic cuts that last several years to thinner, cheaper fabrics in super-trendy cuts. This ensures the consumer is constantly having to buy new items as they wear out or go out of style almost immediately. Which really annoys me because 1) I have to shop more frequently, which I really dislike as it’s hard to find good items these days and I have no time, and 2) it’s super wasteful and bad for the environment to have to throw out and replace your wardrobe every year or two.
NancyD
I like sheer if it’s meant to be sheer—I like wearing camisoles and usually have one on anyway. My biggest pet peeve is that almost all dresses are too short. I am 5’7′ and leggy and it is next to impossible to find skirts that are long enough. Yes, I can buy tall online at some sites, but I like to shop at Nordstrom, Macy’s, etc and buy stuff off the rack…
Anon
Peep-holes in the front of a blouse. They always attract attention of the wrong kind and make you think about what you can fit into the hole. Seriously not appropriate for work.
KateMiddletown
My pet peeve revolves around the whole ath-leisure trend which has recently crept into workwear. I love sweatshirts and leggings at home and at the gym, but I’m not wearing “flatforms” to the office, nor am I wearing something with racing stripes down the side. Work = workwear. I just want some well-made, long-lasting basics!
Mary Woll
I hate skirts (and dresses) that have extra material/plaits on the front. As mentioned before, being a woman (as opposed to a man) my hips are wider than my waist. This is no problem; it is how the female half of our species usually are made, and I feel fine looking like this. I do not feel fat or strange having a female form. I do feel fat – and strange – however, when my clothes not only show my normal, wide hips, but adds loads of extra bulk down my belly in addition. With wide hips I only look wide from the front or back. With layer upon layer of extra material in the front, I suddenly look wide sideways as well. I actually look preganant. So who are these skirts and dresses made for? People with a Mother Earth complex?
Mary Woll
Needing clothes for work, and usually only finding clothes that are unsuitable for work (tacky embellishments, cut-outs in weird places, peplums, sheer fabrics, vulgar low cuts, strange clothes shapes that do not fit hardly anyone, high-low hemlines etc, sleeveless tops that require I take my blazers to the dry-cleaners several times a week.), I have often wondered why it seems to be so difficult for manufacturers to just make simple, basic, good quality work clothes for women – when they so obviously are able to make such clothes for men (so obviously so that I usually look longingly towards the men’s departmens with envy, they always have a wide range of basic, standard suits in a myriad basic, conservative colours to choose between, without tacky plastic pieces glued to theirs suits, without shocking cut-outs in the middle of their suits, and without weirdly extra-short trousers that makes them look like they grew out of their clothes, and always having the luxury of knowing that in spite of minor ill-fits, the suits are as a rule made to fit with the male body shape).
After many years of frustration, I have come to the cynical conclusion that the manufacturers have branded us a “succer” market; women are so vain they constantly need new fashions to follow (or so the manufacturers think), a phenomenon that combined with the manufacturers’ greed makes them come up with ever-new lines of workplace fashion (so they have to change tacky detail after tacky detail in order to comply with latest trends) to make us discard the dress we bought 4 months ago in order to by their latest and slightely different dress from their ever-changing, ugly collections. They are able to make clothes we can work in; they simply refrain from doing so because they can make more money from refraining to do so if we are stupid, which they think we are.
Anonymous
Needing clothes for work, and usually only finding clothes that are unsuitable for work (tacky embellishments, cut-outs in weird places, peplums, sheer fabrics, vulgar low cuts, strange clothes shapes that do not fit hardly anyone, high-low hemlines etc, sleeveless tops that require I take my blazers to the dry-cleaners several times a week.), I have often wondered why it seems to be so difficult for manufacturers to just make simple, basic, good quality work clothes for women – when they so obviously are able to make such clothes for men (so obviously so that I usually look longingly towards the men’s departmens with envy, they always have a wide range of basic, standard suits in a myriad basic, conservative colours to choose between, without tacky plastic pieces glued to theirs suits, without shocking cut-outs in the middle of their suits, and without weirdly extra-short trousers that makes them look like they grew out of their clothes, and always having the luxury of knowing that in spite of minor ill-fits, the suits are as a rule made to fit with the male body shape).
After many years of frustration, I have come to the cynical conclusion that the manufacturers have branded us a “succer” market; women are so vain they constantly need new fashions to follow (or so the manufacturers think), a phenomenon that combined with the manufacturers’ greed makes them come up with ever-new lines of workplace fashion (so they have to change tacky detail after tacky detail in order to comply with latest trends) to make us discard the dress we bought 4 months ago in order to by their latest and slightely different dress from their ever-changing collections. They are able to make clothes we can work in; they simply refrain from doing so because they can make more money from refraining to do so if we are stupid, which they tink we are.
JP
The inadvertent empire waist everything!!! Are all dresses empire waist? The belting under the boobs is not flattering on me. I am top heavy and it makes these damn fit and flare dresses empire waist, my waist is a solid 2-3 inches below where the waist of all dresses are. Literally have to have a dress custom made for it to fit at the waist.
Anony
Color blocking, leather trim, exposed zippers, cropped pants and sweaters that have sheer panels or insets.
B
My peeve – anything with a neckline that forces me to wear a cami. This has gotten 100x worse with maternity clothes – why would I want to show more of them when I am already bigger?
L
Exposed zippers
Fake pockets
Shirts that require other shirts underneath
Dresses without sleeves
Jackets/blazers designed (or worse, sewn) for rolled up sleeves
Any online retailer that doesn’t put together the matching suit pieces — Haven’t bought at Ann Taylor in years in part because of this.
Things I love:
If strapless (shirt or dress) at least give me the snap strap to keep garmet over bra straps
Hidden snaps/buttons to prevent wardrobe malfunctions
Real pockets — and better yet, an interior pocket like nearly all men’s suits have
Elle
A lot of the things I hate have been mentioned already: exposed zippers, cut-outs, sheer blouses, cap sleeves, too many sleeveless styles, but here’s one that I haven’t seen yet in the comments: color-block dresses, especially if the color-block is on the sides, as if that is going to make someone look thinner or curvier. I just hate it – I think it screams, “I’M TRYING TO LOOK THINNER OR CURVIER.” Why oh why?
Anonymous Associate
I like exposed zippers, i think it makes think it makes things very slightly edgy and stylish. I don’t get the hate on sleeveless and cap sleeves. That is basically all I wear for over half the year. Is it really not appropriate to wear a conservatively cut sleeveless dress or shell in some of your offices?
All that being said, I am in Southern California, and female partners at my firm wear the things described above too.
Port Recorder
There’s so much! Where to start?
-fabrics that look awesome but start to pill within a week
-high, tight waistlines on skirts that do no favours for below-belly button fat
-waterfall cardigans that elimitate your waistline and replace it with a giant fabric vagina
-polyester. Don’t get me wrong, I love synthetics – – a cool, drapey Rayon, non-pilling acetate, or Tencel piece does wonders – – but a sleveless shell I have to wash every damn time I wear it? No way Jose.
-no linings on skirts! Are you insane? You could never tuck anything in, ever, and it’s VPL city.
-the complete lack of quality collarless angled blazers this fall/winter season. They’re literally the only thing that looks good on my frame.