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Updated: Nov 1, 2018 83 Comments · by

Frugal Friday’s TPS Report: Tie Front Blouse

The Personal Shopper (TPS) | · ·

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Our daily TPS reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices. TIE FRONT BLOUSE-ASST-BKIVSBRDMax Studio has some great sales going on, including this lovely patterned blouse. Its main flaw, of course, is that low, low neckline:  I'd pull out my trusty camisole in warmer weather, but in colder weather I could see a thin jersey turtleneck working nicely beneath the whole outfit, in both cases worn with a colorful statement necklace for a pop of color. It was $68, now marked to $38 at Max Studio. TIE FRONT BLOUSE-ASST-BKIVSBRD Seen a great piece you'd like to recommend? Please e-mail editor@corporette.com with “TPS” in the subject line. (L-2)

Sales of note for 9.16.24

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Comments

  1. Anonymous

    I just don’t see the point of buying something for work that has such a low neckline that I’d NEED to wear something underneath for it to be appropriate. There are so many other cute tops out there that can stand alone!

    That said, I love the pattern!!

    • Laura

      There is no way I could come into the office wearing this. It is not formal enough, but worse yet, the guys would be staring at my breasts all day. I have a blouse like this which I wear out on weekends, and believe me, guys can’t look me in the eye. It is actually annoying, not flattering.

    • Lyssa

      Hmm, that just doesn’t bother me. I already own a number of camis, so it’s not like I’d have to buy anything else, and it just doesn’t bother me to have to wear one most of the time. I just think of it like underwear.

      Of course, I’m so small that cleavage wouldn’t be an issue for me if I showed up topless, but I still sometimes find necklines that show too much skin for professional wear, thus requiring a cami.

      • AIMS

        I saw a woman wearing a shirt with a similar, if not slightly lower, neckline in court yesterday. No cami. No bra. Lots of chest area.
        She was small-busted, but I totally agree tha cleavage or not, too much skin is not appropriate in the office.

  2. Anonymous

    Love the pattern but the low cut and the “elasticized blouson” bottom take it out of the running for me.

    • Bonnie

      It’s the bottom that bothers me. That much loose fabric around the middle makes me think of maternity shirts. Somebody asked me once if I was pregnant wearing a loose shirt like this and now I avoid them like the plague!

  3. Cat

    I like this in theory, but would need to layer a sweater over it for my frigid office — and needing to wear three layers in summer just irritates :)

    On a related threadjack, does anyone have recommendations for camisoles that aren’t too low cut on their own? I’ve taken to wearing a few of mine backward (so the straight part that normally goes across your back is in front, and the front “scoop” is hidden) to avoid the cleavage risk that otherwise comes with doing anything other than looking straight forward and typing. But I need some new ones — any suggestions for higher necklines?

        • Anonymous

          I think it’s nordstrom’s web site, I noticed in the last few days all the nordstrom’s links go to their home page instead of the specific item, very annoying

      • Cat

        Oh I like these – they are very close to what I have now, but I wouldn’t have to wear them backwards. How does the sizing run? I wear a S in J.Crew sweaters but want a cami that’s on the shorter side to avoid bunching… PS?

        • JDS

          Hmm, I wear a small in these and small in J. Crew sweaters. They are fitted, but not skin tight. I’m 5’4, and they hit me mid-hip, so they are a little longer. It looks like there is a petite version that might be a good option for you, but the color selection’s not as good. That’s a good point though, next time I’ll try the petite!

    • Emily I

      I have a couple from Ann Taylor that are nice and high and cut straight across. The straps are adjustable, so I lower and raise the neckline as needed. They have a bit of detail at the neckline, too, which I think makes them look less like an undergarment.

      • lawmamma

        Second this. I have some from Ann Taylor (several seasons back, not sure if they are still doing them) that are straight across, with just a thin sheer ribbon running across the top for trim, nice heft to the fabric, and I wear them under jackets and cardigans (that I keep buttoned) all the time.

        • somewherecold

          I think I have the same ones with the ribbon across the top. Nice to have a little detail without looking lingerie-ish. I picked them up from Ann Taylor Factory Outlet last winter.

      • SF Bay Associate

        I have probably a dozen of these too and wear one pretty much every day. The detail is a double-layer of a sheer material of the same color, so it is seamless under clothing (unlike bumpy lace), and doesn’t look anything like lingerie (like lace).

    • VA Gal

      I need camisoles with wider shoulder straps so I’ve actually been wearing the cotton/spandex tanks from Talbots. I have them in several different colors and they are wonderful under sheer blouses. They’re mostly cotton, but have just enough spandex to keep them from being too loose and to hold them in place under tops (camisoles with migrating necklines are a pet peeve of mine).

    • Eponine

      I like the plain cotton tank tops from Loft, $2 for 20. They’re higher cut than a real cami.

    • Cat

      thanks for the ideas so far! @VA Gal and Eponine – how have you found the cotton to hold up, especially in darker colors?

      • Anne-on

        A second rec for the Ann Taylor ones. I find the nylon in the camis holds up better than similar cotton ones I’ve had. They’re cut straight across, and if you go up a size they’re still slim enough to layer under things, but not so clingy that you can’t wear them under an open cardigan. Oh – plus Ann Taylor is having a 40% off sale this week!

      • Eponine

        I have about a dozen of them that I wear for yoga, in all colors. They have held up great with biweekly wears and washing.

      • Tired Squared

        Just purchased a couple of these at a great price–thanks for the recommendation!

    • Celia

      I’ve had luck at Express, whose camis tend to have great built-in bras (which I like since I can then wear a flimsier bra underneath it), TONS of colors, and is made of a relatively thick cotton that clings really well to my torso/stomach — which has the great advantage of meaning that the cami doesn’t ride up my tummy all day and is less noticeable under my shirt/dress. Also, I got some great silky ones at Banana Republic last year – very soft, and very nice colors as well (I got some nice warm neutral shades (shades of cream and beige), but they had a pretty wide selection of browns and blues as well). Hope this helps!

      For higher necklines, you may want to look just for camis that have adjustable straps, and pull those up as high as possible. Both the Express and the BR ones do, which I’ve found very helpful.

      • TK1

        Second the Express camis. They are nice and long too which probably helps with not riding up

    • Ri

      If you have a Costco card, I love my camisoles from there. They are 2 for $12 I think. I buy a pack everytime that I am there. I am pretty sure that I have at least one in every color that they make. The ones I have do not have a built in bra, but I think that they recently added one.

  4. Skippy pea

    That bottom is a big no for me. That pattern just frames my big hips unfortunately. Also the neckline is way too low, and wearing a cami underneath is a hassle I am not often willing to endure.

  5. Anna D.

    I have no problem with camisoles, actually, and the pattern is pretty, although I can’t do blouson bottoms. I kind of just wanted to ask a different question: I really don’t get the short-sleeves-over-turtleneck concept, which this blog recommends quite a bit. Is that just a function of my body type? Do people find short sleeves over a turtleneck a versatile/effective look? (I don’t mean something like a jumper-style dress or sweater-vest which, to me, seems designed to be worn with something underneath and would look weird on its own. I mean your average short-sleeved blouse or sweater, which, if they fit me properly, I really can’t wear over long-sleeved tops.)

    • Ru

      I think it’s more of a personal style thing. I usually buy tops/dresses I would be able to wear over a full-sleeved t-shirt/turtleneck/blouse but that’s just me.

    • Mel D

      I do short sleeves over turtlenecks or other long-sleeved shirts from time to time. Since I live in Florida, I’m not going to get a whole lot of wear out of anything really warm. Wearing a turtleneck/long-sleeved shirt allows me to wear my short-sleeved blazers and some short-sleeved shirts/sweaters year round.

    • Eponine

      I love short sleeves over long ones. It works with some tops and not with others; it just depends on the particular top.

    • Sally

      I’m with you Anna D., I just can’t picture the short sleeves over turtlenecks working.

      • Anna D.

        Glad it’s not just me! It’s just a look I can’t really get behind, I have to admit. But maybe it’s because I never see anyone doing this where I live? Unless it’s a really casual look. (Offices where I am are pretty casual, but I never see short-over-long in an office-type outfit.)

      • Jay

        I’m with both of you. I have (a) never done that look and (b) never seen anyone wear it. I’m in a major city on the West Coast.

    • anon

      I do short sleeves or sleeveless over thin turtlenecks at least a few days ever week during the colder months. You have to have thin/tight turtlenecks for this to work. I have a drawer full of turlenecks I would never ever wear on their own, but work well under things.

    • rg

      Along these lines, anyone have thoughts about long sleeves under 3/4 sleeves? I’ve seen it done, but I don’t really know how to do it without looking sloppy or like I made a mistake. Any tips?

      • AIMS

        I think you need longer sleeves and a tight fitting, thin fabric for this look to work. As in the sleeves should be a little bunched up. Kind of like a reverse of elbow length gloves.

      • Eponine

        I do this if the 3/4 sleeve top is a sweater, but otherwise I can’t make it work.

  6. Eponine

    I posted this yesterday – I don’t think a cami makes this top acceptable. I think camis under too-low-cut tops draw attention to the bust and make it evident that your top was too low cut. I’d avoid this for work.

    I do like the idea of it with a turtleneck, but I wouldn’t buy a top that could only be worn to the office over a turtleneck.

      • Anna D.

        I think it depends on how low your cami is, and how busty you are. I know for some well-endowed friends, a cami in itself can be kind of revealing. Myself, I am less well-endowed (unendowed?), so even if something does draw attention to my bust, it doesn’t look inappropriate.

        I also think it depends a little on how the top is designed. There are some tops that look like you’re *supposed* to wear something under them, and there are some that look like you’re *not* supposed to. Sometimes trying to professionalize the latter doesn’t work, but I think there are a lot of things out there that a cami can save. (Thinking about it again, this particular top might be one of the latter?)

        • Em

          I mentioned this yesterday, but for some of us, if we can’t wear camis under things our work-appropriate top choices boil down to turtlenecks and buttondowns (which make your chest look larger and aren’t sized to fit over it, respectively). So I, for one, will continue to wear them.

        • Eponine

          “There are some tops that look like you’re *supposed* to wear something under them, and there are some that look like you’re *not* supposed to.”

          That’s a good point. A cami under a cardigan or a tunic looks fine to me.

  7. LawyrChk

    Just need to rant that my SO’s got today off as a holiday, and I’m stuck in the office (and would probably need to be working even if I did have an official holiday). Blech.

    • Anonymous

      Same situation as you LawyrChk. At least here in NYC, it’s kind of chilly and gray outside — if it were a beautiful spring day, I’d be even more annoyed.

    • Honeycrisp

      I’m right there with you, LawyrChk. My office is “technically” closing at Noon today, but no one will actually be leaving until the end of the day. To help with morale, someone brought in bagels. However, I have a gluten intolerance and cannot eat the magical morale-boosting bagels. Double blech.

      • Coach Laura

        Honeycrisp, I’m gluten intolerant too, (celiac disease) and I hate it when I can’t eat the moral-boosting bagels or magical pizza!

        Of course, on the West Coast, Good Friday is not a holiday, so no one gets off/off early…

        • Lee

          I’m on the West Coast and it is a holiday for me! The stock market is closed on Good Friday, so most of us that work in the securities industry get the day off.

    • Emily I

      My darling hubby is off today, too, but I’m chosing to look at it this way: he’s at home doing the housework I usually do and keeping the kids entertained (more effectively, since it’s a treat to have Dad at home during the day). I get to come home to a clean house and happy children!

    • Honeycrisp

      If it makes you feel any better, I am STILL in the office. There is nothing particularly “Good” about this Friday.

  8. AnonInfinity

    There’s a book that I’ve seen recommended on this site about how to dress in a business casual workplace. I think that one of the suggestions in it is to wear blazers or structured cardigans to look more authoritative. Does anyone remember the name of the book? (or another similar book)

    • AnonInfinity

      Aha! It was “Casual Power.”

      Has anyone read “Beyond Business Casual”?

  9. LinLondon

    Threadjack- What are everyone’s thoughts on linen suiting? I’ve got several meetings in New York in June and I pretty much can’t handle heat past 70 degrees without getting very red and warm, so I’d like to buy some nice linen-blend pieces (dress, trousers, jacket that works with both), but my colleague is of the opinion that, and I quote, “Only old people wear linen formally.” She grew up in Asia and I’m American, so I don’t know if we have different views on this, but it never occurred to me that it wouldn’t be ok. Opinions?

    (Meetings will be with BigLaw partners, but aren’t interviews or anything)

    • Anonymous

      I’ve only been to NYC in the summertime for fun (not work), so the women who work/have worked there can probably weigh in better than I can – that being said, it is extremely humid/muggy, and I think linen would end up a wrinkled mess very quickly.

    • JessT

      I think linen pieces can work in NYC, but I don’t think a full suit would work for formal meetings here. It’s usually not too humid and muggy in June – actually, i love NY in May/June and even into July. Once you hit late July and August, you’d have more leeway with a linen suit, I think, because the weather is just unbearable. Can you wear layers that can be removed when you’re outside or out of the air conditioning?

      If not, then by all means wear the linen if it is a health reason.

    • anon

      I think if you look for a linen/synthetic blend (not linen/cotton, which wrinkles just as bad as linen imo) in a darker, more professional color, you might be okay. I also get very red faced if I get hot (slight rosacea, not to mention the age-related hormonal issues), and suiting in the summer just kills me. I had a black linen/lycra blend suit a couple of years ago that worked pretty well for business formal. It’s just hard to find good linen blends that won’t wrinkle anymore. Fabric in general seems to be of lesser quality in most clothing, even higher end brands, than a few years ago, cost cutting measures, I guess. I have even had a light weight tropical wool suit in the past that I could wear on hot days, but I haven’t found anything like that in a long time. Good luck, hope you find something.

    • anon

      I would avoid linen generally, and esepcially for anything requiring whereyou will need to pack. It wrinkles so easily that you run a big risk of looking sloppy after simply sitting in a cab on the way there. I also think it tends to be a fabric associated with less than formal events unless it is a tropical setting.

    • Celia

      I’d avoid linen. I got a fantastic Calvin Klein linen suit for work, and by lunch I was praying no partners would come by my office – despite all my care, it looked like a wrinkled napkin. Now I save the jacket to wear with slacks or jeans on the weekend, but the skirt is pretty much unwearable unless I plan on standing all day…

      I think a flowy linen skirt can avoid looking messy, but that usually won’t work for a business setting. So yes to linen jackets most of the time, but no to linen bottoms if you will be moving alot/in the suit for more than an hour or so!

    • Seersucker

      No linen for business. It wrinkles. It looks like you meant to go to the beach and ended up at the office. It is not professional.

      In the summer in Manhattan, instead of linen, try seersucker. I have a VERY traditional blue and white striped seersucker skirt suit. Appropriate for the stuffiest finance or law office or court. And still quite cool.

    • Eponine

      I think linen suits are fine, but I’m like you, I melt in even the slightest heat. However, in the northern US at least, it’s not considered very formal. So while it’s not inappropriate per se, you’d probably be the only one wearing it.

  10. Hollis

    Thank you to the Corporettes who responded to my plea for help with my shoe problem yesterday. After a normal day at work, the back of my heels were hurting and my cramped pinky toes on both sides were red and swollen and I decided to just donate those shoes. I also vowed never to buy patent leather slingbacks ever again. There’s only so much pain I will tolerate for fashion!

    • Livia

      I missed you yesterday, but I quite literally feel your pain. I posted a similar question about patent slingbacks a few weeks back and got some helpful advice. If it makes you feel any better, mine were also peep-toes, which invariably kill my feet – but the Corporettes definitely helped!

      Glad you survived, and I hope you have comfy shoes on today. ;-)

  11. Ru

    Hey ladies, I remember some time ago that somebody mentioned an eye cream from Clarins, I think. What was the name of the eye cream? I tried hunting it down but our threadjacks don’t really help, lol. With all the Friends and Family discounts at all of the departments stores, I wanna take advantage of the sales and try out a new eye cream/moisturizer/etc.

    • Annie

      Not sure, but pangea organics eye cream (which I recommend and love) is on gilt today.

      • Ru

        I don’t remember but it stuck with me for some reason. I think it’s a moisturizer and for wrinkles. Random memory – it costs $30ish dollars and sometimes some department stores have a deal where you get it for 2 for $50/$60. I don’t know why I can remember this but not the actual name of the cream.

  12. Accountress

    Was it “Clarins Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch”? The commenter wrote: “It fills in fine lines and wrinkles and makes my undereye concealer and foundation last all day in the FL heat and humidity. I even use it on my eyelids when I wear eyeshadow to prevent creasing.”

  13. Mille

    Have to rant a little– just clicked on an advertisement on this site for a plus-size clothing website that I have shopped at before. First thing, the outfit pictured in the advertisement isn’t available on the website. That drives me nuts. Second, this particular site has the same clothes it used to have but has raised prices by $75 or more per dress. If you have the same clothes and haven’t increased quality, how can you justify raising prices so much?

    • Accountress

      Which website is it? Inquiring plus-size minds want to know, in order to avoid overpricing and poor workmanship.

    • Two cents

      It’s very cute and I have tried it on. One thing to note is that it is a short jacket, much shorter than a lot of CE jackets. I would buy it if it were about 2 inches longer.

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