Shopping with Kat: SoHo Edition
2018 Update: Check out our new and revised guides to Where to Shop for Workwear in NYC!
And now it's time for an occasional feature on the blog: shopping with Kat. For this edition, I ran around SoHo, looking for clothes on the racks that looked like good workwear items. I popped into a number of stores including French Connection, Diane von Furstenberg, Missoni, DKNY, Miu Miu, Ralph Lauren, J.Crew, Intermix, Club Monaco, Bauble Bar, and Hugo Boss — below are some of my favorite pieces from the trek (in order of price, low to high). You can follow my full adventures on Instagram. (This was my first time using Instagram, so please bear with me… all pictures taken by me with my new Samsung Galaxy S4 (which I bought a few weekends ago and love).
J.Crew: The photos don't do justice to the bright blue of this linen blazer from J.Crew — it's fresh and happy, almost a neon. And, in even better news, it's on sale — it was $175 but is now marked down to $130 at J.Crew; it's also available in a flamingo pink and mossy green. (If they had the other colors in stock at the store, I didn't even notice them.) Schoolboy blazer in crosshatch linen
French Connection: The Ruth jacket doesn't look like much online, but in the store it was great — nice heavy material with a nice drape. It's on sale for $169 at French Connection (final sale only). Piperlime (pictured above) and Bloomingdale's still have the jacket marked full price. Feather Ruth Jacket
Club Monaco: I've recommended the Nora blazer at Club Monaco before — it looks just as nice in person. It's now on sale in blue and orange for $139-169, in stores and online. Nora Jacket
Club Monaco: The Amber sheath dress looks like a great black sheath dress — it has a lovely grosgrain ribbon detail at the waist, and some interesting seaming details on the bust. It's $198 at Club Monaco. Amber Sheath Dress
Karen Millen: There are big sales at Karen Millen right now. The SoHo store had a lot of very cocktail-type dresses, but I think the interesting origami details on this dress would be appropriate for work as well as an evening out. It's a nice high neckline, and the straps are a lovely grosgrain. (It didn't occur to me to check whether there are loops to hold your bra strap in place, alas.) This Minimal Crepe Shift Dress is still available online, in limited sizes, in both red and black — it was $299 but is now marked to $199. Minimal Crepe Shift Dress
Hugo Boss: This Kaiya dress (which I think was on sale in the store for around $225ish) was absolutely gorgeous — nice heavy material, super flattering stitching. I'm not a huge fan of that orangey red color, but the dress also comes in black. For some reason it's only available online through the Italian site for Hugo Boss, where it is full price at €349.00; I'd suggest calling your local store to see if they have it in stock or can get it for you. Hugo Boss Kaiya Dress
Hugo Boss: This Adiny blazer from Hugo Boss has a lot to love — it's a nice heavy, soft fabric; the jacquard is really lux, and, I think, it's a very office-friendly version of the moto jacket trend happening right now. I would not have looked twice at it online, though — hate the styling. It's $575 at the Hugo Boss store. Hugo Boss Adiny Blazer
Intermix: I had ogled this blazer during our white blazers roundup a week ago, but you couldn't really see any details online. I considered including it anyway since I'm a big fan of rag & bone, but other contenders won out. Having seen it in person, though, it's absolutely gorgeous — very cool contrasting jacquard patterns, and the fabric feels as light as a cotton pique. It's $575 at Intermix. rag & bone 20th Anniversary Capsule Collection EXCLUSIVE Sliver Combo Blazer
Coach: I darted in to the Coach store briefly and immediately became fixated on this gorgeous python satchel. It's $598 at Coach, part of their new “Poppy” line of bags. POPPY EMBOSSED PYTHON LARGE FLAP SATCHEL
Readers, have you had a big shopping expedition lately? Any recent scores?
Kat, I like this new feature, but what would make it even more helpful (beyond the fabric feel notes you included, which are nice) would be if you tried the garments on! Even if you don’t want to post pictures and measurements etc. like many shopping bloggers do (ex Gigi’s Gone Shopping), it would be great to hear you compare the fit to well-known brands. Like, “I went down my typical 2 sizes as compared to Theory pencil skirts b/c of my hourglass shape” or “I was between my normal Jcrew sizes on this one b/c the bust was too generous” or “this dress looked great on the rack, but the short sleeves were longer than cap sleeves and so gave me shoulder wings, so beware” or “Although this looks like it could be bandage-dress tight, the thick jersey draped really comfortably and not clingy once on”
I agree! This is a fun feature and I appreciate the detail provided, but I would also like it even better if it were a bit more personalized.
Agree! You could also bring along a friend of a different shape/size and both try things on…that way readers of shape A and B would know how things fit.
That might be fun for a series of guest-posts, as well. Different cities, different women with different bodies.
Co-sign. That’s probably my biggest issue with bying clothes. Something looks normal on the rack and then you try it on and realize that it’s way too clingy or the arms are huge or that top is way too loose if the bottom fits or vice versa…
I second this, seeing it on the rack is not that much different than the usual pics with a model wearing it. Trying an item on does make it more helpful. Maybe post a pic with the head cut off–some bloggers do that. I also like the idea of bringing a friend who can try on the same item and post their opinion too.
Even if I’m not your shape (pretty sure I’m a few inches taller), it would help to hear how it fits you, sort of like having a standard against which everything is measured instead of random models of various shapes.
Agree- when I’m reading reviews and someone discloses that they’re narrow/athletic build, I definitely take that into consideration when judging if a garment would be right for my tinkerbell shape.
I’m sure several readers would volunteer to go with you to help with try ons – sounds like a fun day!
Agreed. This post is still awesome though. Really helpful.
TJ – How do you phrase a response to “salary requirements?” Do you respond $5k too high so they’ll negotiate down? Do you give a range with the bottom of the range being your goal?
My husband is currently job-hunting. He honestly fills out his current salary if asked, but for the requirement, says “to be discussed, commensurate with experience and responsibilities.” Especially at the resume-submission stage it feels ridiculous to put a random number out there that may or may not be realistic (or a total low-ball).
I agree , but what about electronic input fields that reject any response that isn’t a number? I have had this problem. Even n/a does not work.
I’ve only encountered it once and did research similar positions so i had an idea of what was reasonable and put in a number that was a little higher than what I wanted but was still within the reasonable range. Unfortunately it’s been a fewonths and I didn’t get an interview, but there is no way to know if I priced myself out of it. It’s always possible that you’d be asked again later in the process and if your number at that point was much higher than this one, then they’d want to know why. So I’d put a number in that your willing to negotiate down from.
I’ve not encountered this issue myself, but have heard others enter all zeroes as a sign that they want to discuss and negotiate.
Some systems take $0. I use that.
Sometimes the recruiters do not take “negotiable” for an answer. For these cases, I believe a vague range would be the best answer: for example, “low to mid-90s” covers anything between 90K and say 98K, but you are not committed to a fixed number.
I actually would give a range, not a single number. I would say something like,
“Ideally, for the position we discussed, I am looking for a salary in the range of 70-80K, depending on what is offered in the comprehensive compensation package” which would include things like vacation days, health benefits, relo expenses, etc. If it’s fairly early on in the process, I would tack on a note at the end like, “But of course, my expectations about compensation depend on learning more about the position and about Company. I look forward to discussing the role further with you.”
Yes–but I have a feeling OP is talking about the online application systems, which typically require an actual number (some let you leave it blank).
This sounds like the most fun day ever! I’m now tempted to do this in Toronto but it would probably just result in me buying myself new clothes.
Random threadjack: How do you all feel about wearing navy with dark jeans? I’ve always been vehemently against it, but recently tried on a navy sweater with indigo jeans from BR and I didn’t hate it. Are my style senses weakening?
I never thought of it as being a “don’t.” Why are you so vehemently against it?
I think it just always seemed along the same lines as wearing separate black suit pieces. I figured they were too similar, yet different, in color to work together.
I don’t think so because you’re talking totally different textures. Black separates work great if they’re clearly different: e.g., black pants and black tweed jacket, or black skirt and black silk top. Pretty much half of Armani suits are built around this principle! It’s only when you try to make two mismatched pieces look the same, that it looks bad. I would say denim is the same – as long as it’s not denim jeans plus identical color denim top, you’re fine. (And, even that last bit is not set in stone, depending on how you style it and how you feel about ironic facial hair ;)).
I love dark jeans. I think they are way more versatile than lighter denim, since they almost look like a trouser if they’re dark enough that you don’t see all the “jean” details. I’m only in my twenties, but I am so used to wearing dark denim that I always feel very young and casual when I wear light jeans or anything will lots of distressing. I also find them more flattering on myself.