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Welcome to today's installment in our ongoing series, How to Build a Work Wardrobe At ___, based around the idea that if you're ordering from a new-to-you store online, it's great to be able to consider all the bestsellers/classics/hits at once.
Today, we’re looking at how to build a work wardrobe at Lands' End — you can also check out how to build a work wardrobe at Talbots, Boden, and Nordstrom (and eventually view the entire series on how to build a work wardrobe).
Lands' End has long been a reader favorite for affordable, washable sheath dresses, but there are a ton of other great things to buy there as well. If you're on the hunt for a difficult size range, such as plus-size petites, Lands' End is a great spot to look. Tons of things are machine washable, and they have a pretty fabulous return policy: Lands' End will accept any item at any time for an exchange or refund if you're not satisfied with your purchase. Their tagline is “Guaranteed. Period.®.”
They also, of course, sell clothes for men and kids, home items, and a ton of things that you can monogram or otherwise personalize, which are great for gift ideas.
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OBVIOUSLY, we must start with Lands' End ponte dresses. Readers turned me on to these years ago, and they have yet to disappoint as affordable, machine-washable dresses — and many of the styles have pockets, too! The pictured sheath dress is their classic style and perpetually in stock, but every season they mix it up and offer different details like sleeves, keyholes, lattice trim, portrait collars, and more. Right now there are a zillion colors and prints available in size ranges regular, petite, tall, and plus. Note that if you're in that difficult-to-fit size range for workwear where you might be a 14, 16, 14P, 16P, 12W, 14W, 14WP — you get my drift — then Lands' End is a great spot to look because they often have all of those sizes and, as mentioned above, a fabulous return policy.
Readers have always loved Lands' End cashmere — it's affordable and available in a wide range of colors, sizes, and styles. For example, the pictured cashmere cardigan is available in 20 colors for regular and petite sizes, and 15 colors for plus sizes — priced at $169–$189. It's hand-washable, too, which is great if you want to avoid dry cleaning.
Lands' End's lighter weight supima cotton cardigan has also won major props from readers over the years, and it's obviously a bestseller for Lands' End — they have a ton of new colors, prints, and patterns every year, all with a matching short-sleeved sweater, in case you like a twinset look. They range in price from $19–$89 and come in regular, petite, tall, and plus sizes.
This is a relatively new find for me: Readers were recently calling Lands' End ponte pants their “Holy Grail ponte pants.” Comfortable! Durable! Affordable! Professional! Sounds great to me. They have a number of styles right now, from leggings to wide-legged pants to these cuffed ankle pants, all generally $19–$99.
If you're on the hunt for an affordable but warm coat, note that Lands' End tends to deliver. Their “warmth ratings” tell you the comfortable temperatures for each coat, which I find particularly helpful if I'm buying for someone other than myself (cough, kids and husband). As always, I like a mid-thigh length wool coat for work (like this pretty light blue pictured coat, $199–$219 and available in plus, petites plus, and tall plus sizes) but I will note that I'm a huge fan of their more casual packable Primaloft jackets for weekends (and they're machine washable!).
Finally, while Lands' End, in general, is great for machine washable workwear, it's also worth noting that this is one of the few places you can regularly find washable wool suiting for women — pants, blazers, skirts, and, occasionally, dresses, are all offered, usually in multiple size ranges like regular, petite, plus, and tall sizes. If you prefer more of a body-skimming fit than Lands' End usually offers, you may want to check out our guide to suiting alterations for women.
It's also worth noting for the bargain hunters among you to check their On the Counter section (briefly discontinued but not back by popular demand), where they put a new group of reduced-price products “on the counter” on Saturday, reducing the price more and more each day until the limited quantities are gone.
None of this is exactly workwear, of course, but I'm also a huge fan of Lands' End's silk long johns (GREAT for layering under unlined pants in the winter or otherwise winterizing some of your lighter-weight work pants), DD+ swimwear, rashguards, great sheets and towels (we just got a new set of these towels and they're lovely — absorbant, fluffy, and a happy “marine” blue).
If you're a mom, you can also find iron-knee pants, backpacks of course, and, for the holidays, personalized stocking holders. They also offer a ton of other monogrammable/personalizable gifts such as dog jackets, decanters, baby blankets, and more.
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Ellen
I have a lot of clotheing from Land’s End that I use for weekend’s. I have a great DOWN vest that look’s great on me, and I also have pant’s from Land’s End that men continue to whistle at me when I am wearing them, even though my tuchus could be smaller. Dad keeps telling me I need to slim down, particularly my “derriere” which is the French meaning for tuchus. FOOEY!
lsw
I like items like the ponte dress and their supima sweaters – cardigans and short sleeve crew necks. I usually check every so often to see what colors are on sale and then pick them up. It’s a great way to get inexpensive staples. Be aware their sizing is on the larger end for S/M/L (seems mostly on point for numbered sizes). Also, their stuff goes on sale so much that I like bookmarking a few things I like and checking back occasionally to see if it has gone on sale. Currently waiting for this silly flamingo sweater I can’t justify buying at full price…
Anonymous BigLaw Associate
Frustrating that the size chart says they carry my size, but literally not a single item on their website in that size.
Anonattorney
Does anyone else find their dresses to be really loose in the midsection? I’m not sure if it’s specific to my size (14T), or if it’s across the board. I don’t have a particularly small or flat stomach, but for some reason every one of their ponte dresses has fit extremely loosely in the middle for me.
I guess I’m just writing as a heads up for other readers.
Another Anon Attorney
I find that when I buy Ponte from them that matches my measurements, I don’t activate the stretch at all, so it looks loose in the midsection.
April Blake
I would have never thought to look at Lands End for ponte pants but I am in dire need. Thanks!
Anon
I have some of their pajamas and they are amazing. I’m not a pajama person, but they turned me into one. So soft. I’ve also been buying some of my fave dresses from them. Machine washable + pockets = amazing. I’ve been wearing their coats for years and just got an awesome wool coat that is super stylish. The fact that everything is available in plus sizes is incredible. I’m a huge fan and may try out the ponte pants next