Splurge Monday’s TPS Report: Peplum Blazer

62 Comments

1. Hey NYC Corporettes – The Housing Works Thrift Shop at 306 Columbus Ave. has, as of yesterday afternoon, about 100 never-worn, tags-on, pieces from the 2007 Brooks Brothers Black Fleece collection (designed by Thom Browne). All pretty small – but you’ll make out great if you’re size 4 or under. Pay $100 for a $950 jacket? Yes please. Plus, the money goes to Housing Works’ charity (people living with HIV/AIDS), and the peices from the 2007 collection seem a lot more work-appropriate than the current Black Fleece stuff.

   1. Anything at all for a size 6?

      1. You might be able to fit into a few of the remaining suit jackets and coat jackets – look for ones whose label says “BB size 4”. I’m a size 8 (though with no boobs), and those fit me, but there weren’t too many left – especially not after I was there :)

         1. The sizes do not correspond to reg BB sizes — they start at 1, and go up as 2, 3 . . .

2. i love this jacket, but the styling is so hilariously bad.

   1. And the model is creeping me out. Happy Monday morning.

      1. I know, why is she so angry?

         1. Maybe because someone photoshopped out one of her eyes? Seriously disturbing…

         2. We were probably all pretty angsty at age 14…

            1. I know I’m getting old when the models look like little girls playing dress-up to me.

               OTOH, why do the stores think that I am interested in buying the same thing that a 14-year old would choose?

3. Does anyone (women) really wear ties to work? I think it looks so cool, but have never really thought I could pull it off, personally.

   1. well, no, but does that model really scream “I”m off to work now!” anyway?

      1. I have seen an assistant at my work do this. I think you tend to look a bit punk or school girl thought depending on the styling.

         I remember Portia di Rossi wearing full pants suits with ties on Ally McBeal I believe, and it looked quite elegant. I think because it was a full suit – and very expensive – and she kept it buttoned with the tie knotted properly. Very masculine.

         Diane Keaten seems to have this as her signature look, although tucked into a vest.

         1. I suspect that busty ladies don’t do well with ties because they would puff up. This is why I’ve never bothered trying one on, even though I thought Nell looked great in them on Ally. (It was her flight attendant look: red tie, blue suit, white dress shirt.)

   2. Never tried to wear one to work; I think it would be perceived as little girl playing dress up… But I’d definitely give it a try in a more laid back context

   3. I really like the look. I think it can work on the right person — the Brooks Brothers manequin does the look beautifully, I think (discreet tie, sweater vest, nice crisp shirt & a thicker type blazer. Any woman who does scarves well may have a good shot. But I don’t do scarves well & I am busty so not sure I could pull it off. That said, confidence is everything. If you look like you feel comfortable, it goes a long way.

      1. I have done it a few times, but always with a three-piece suit and keeping the waistcoat on (although I’m not sure you Americans call it a waistcoat). I’ve had good comments on it – I like the look but agree that it needs to be a pretty crisp look and looks better with suits.

         Oh and I am busty too, but looked fine with waistcoat.

   4. Ugh, never. In undergrad I worked at a restaurant where we had to wear ridiculously loud ties as part of our uniform. They were so uncomfortable and unattractive, I will never wear a tie again.

4. I really like this blazer – it would look great with a normal outfit and a non-creepy model! :)

5. Corporettes:
   My fiance and I are from a small midwestern town. We both have large families and a large circle of friends. This will be my second marriage, but he has never been married. All through our relationship, he has assured me that he does not care what kind of wedding we have, etc. But last weekend, when I was trying to talk to him about what type of *small* gathering we should do… he completely changed his mind on me. Now, he wants to have it in our hometown (where I originally got married, and many of the guests would be repeats…) and have a big party. I wanted to do a smaller, more intimate ceremony and reception, with about 75 people in the town where we now live together.
   I feel that it is inappropriate to ask my extended family, who all live at least 5 hours away by car, to come back for my second wedding. He told me not to invite them. He doesn’t understand that having a bigger wedding means inviting the people that should be invited.
   Ladies… I need some help trying to iron this out. He thinks that the only reason I do not want to have our wedding in our hometown is b.c I am worried what other people will think. To some extent, that is true – I don’t worry what other people think about me getting remarried. I do worry about the proper etiquette associated with a second marriage.
   I need some advice. I am so sick about this dilemma that I don’t even want to have a wedding, and I simply do not have the time to stress about this.

   1. Would he be open to having your wedding as you had originally planned, and then having a reception in hometown to make it easier for people in town 2 to attend? We did that, to accomodate the fact that we wanted a small wedding, but I have an enormous and easily-offended extended family in another state. I thought it worked great. That said, I do sense you feel awkwardly about asking your family to drive 5 hours for your “second” wedding — and you shouldn’t. I would happily go to tremendous lengths to attend the weddings of my divorced friends and family — I am not keeping any kind of expense or inconvenience score. I just want them to be happy.

      1. Agreed. I think most people are just happy to see you find the right person, and will travel to help you celebrate. If they can’t or won’t, they will RSVP “no.”

   2. I think the answer is to sit down with your fiance and talk all these things through. Because it is his first marriage, he may feel that he wants/should be able to have the big party in his hometown, regardless of the fact that it is your second marriage. And if it is important to him, I vote for doing it his way – this is his one and only wedding, after all, and I can totally understand why he would want all the friends and family there to celebrate!

      Also, second weddings are super common now, so I don’t think you should feel badly about having a big party if that’s what the groom wants. The only thing you may want to do differently, IMHO, is the registry, especially since you say that many of these people will be repeat guests. I would go either for no presents (maybe charitable donations instead?) or for smallish presents. Your extended family can always decline the invite if they feel that one wedding was enough, but I would bet you that they will be happy to come and celebrate again. :-) And if his family wants to shower you guys with more lavish gifts, they will find a way to do it without going through the registry.

      1. Yeah. Just something to think about: this is your second wedding, but it is your fiance’s first (and, presumably, only) wedding. I’m not meaning this in any kind of accusatory or judgmental way. Just mentioning this because I was on the other side of it. It’s kind of tough to feel the event is being played down because the other person has, well, already done it before.

      2. My cousin’s been married twice. First guy turned out to be a huge jerk, she dumped him and was better off. We all went to the second wedding, . I didn’t think the first had anything to do with the second – she was married to the first guy for barely over a year. We still wanted to wish her well for the second time around and we did, and this marriage is going strong 7 years later.

         I don’t know if I would do the big white dress and the veil at a second wedding, especially if you did it the first time. But I would consider letting the groom have the big party. I had a much smaller wedding than I wanted because my husband and my parents pressured me into it. I was young then and gave in on some things I had regrets about later. All these years down the road, no it does not really matter. But I still wish I had held out for a church wedding and a bigger reception than what I had. Anyone who is going to look down their nose at you for having a celebration of your new marriage is probably not someone you want at your wedding anyway. So phooey on them. :)

         P.S. I do like the idea of the “invite, then call” that others have suggested below.

      3. This. I got married for the second time (to DH who also was on second time) and I don’t think the venue/scope of celebration much matter, but the key is (IMHO) to make it about the event/celebration, NOT the registry and all that. I did my invitations to say “your presence is our present, please no gifts” – I felt strongly about it and was very happy to not go through all that registry and thank you stuff….

         And the most important thing is – it’s about the two of you, and you need to communicate/compromise, do whatever, so that at the end of the day, you affirm your commitment to each other and move forward to your shared life together. The ‘ceremony and reception’ part only lasts 4-6 hours and is just another event for people to attend – your family and closest friends will *truly* want to be there with you, but most of the outer circles just.don’t.care.that.much.

   3. If you do the larger event, you should invite your extended fam but call them up and let them know that while you’d love to see them, that they should not feel at all obligated to go if it’s inconvenient. Acknowledge the slight awkwardness of the situation and move on. And don’t worry – plenty of people have large second marriages! I’ve been to two in the past year, and while yes, I’ve grumbled a bit about writing a second large check, I absolutely wouldn’t have wanted to miss welcoming the new member to the family and celebrating the marriage.

      1. I agree with the send invites but call them approach. Everyone, including those who cannot or do not plan to attend, likes being invited. No one should feel put upon by an invitation to a celebration and many (if not all) of them will be happy to celebrate with you. Congrats!

   4. I think you’re too sensitive about it being your second marriage. Divorce, sadly, is no longer unusual and no one is going to be shocked by your remarriage. While it would probably be a faux pas to register for gifts for a second time, your extended family and friends will more than likely be very happy to be invited to celebrate with you; if they aren’t, they can simply decline the invitation with no obligation to send a gift. In fact, I suspect they’d be offended not to be invited if you have a smaller celebration in your current town.

      The wedding isn’t just about you; it’s about your fiance as well. He obviously wants to get married in his hometown where his family can attend and you shouldn’t deny him that.

      1. Ok. I will suck it up and try to do what will make him the happiest. He told me that I was being overly sensitive, too. After an official poll of the Corporettes… seems like he’s right. I just need to chill about about the whole thing I guess. Hard for a genuine type-a chick to accomplish…

         1. Also, if you go with his choice on location, you will have that going for you when you can’t agree on menu, music, etc. Only fair that if he picks the venue, you should get to pick the food, right?

         2. In fairness, I think you were just trying your hardest not to offend/inconvenience anybody. So don’t be too hard on yourself about it! :-)

         3. eaopm3, I hope that you and your fiance find a nice compromise on your wedding that you can both be happy with. I can see both points of view on this, so it should be something that will make you both happy.

            In terms of the wedding planning process, I might also suggest you check out http://www.weddingbee.com. I don’t work for the site or anything, but I found the community of soon-to-be brides to be extremely helpful with advice and support in the run up to my wedding. There is a “boards” section that specifically has discussion forums including one devoted to second-time brides. Good luck and Congratulations!

            1. In a similar vein, I highly recommend the boards on http://www.indiebride.com. These (generally on the more feminist side) women kept me sane during wedding planning!

6. Threadjack:
   I recently bought a beautiful satin-y blouse that’s really slippery, and as a result, if I try to wear it tucked in, it quickly creeps out of my pants or skirt. Any recommendations on how to keep slippery shirts neatly tucked in? I’ve contemplated duct tape, but somehow that doesn’t seem like a great idea for all sorts of reasons.

   1. Tuck it into your stockings/underwear. Not the most elegant solution, but the spandex should do wonders.

   2. Tuck into your underwear/stockings.

      1. FWIW this is also a good solution to keep a cami from “rolling up” under a dress/shirt.

   3. somebody on this site taught me to pull the shirt over, and then fold it under, into underwear. This helps avoid the risk of underwear showing. Thanks to whoever that was. It works perfectly.

   4. I would do Hollywood Fashion Tape. I honestly don’t know how I lived without it.

      1. Thanks for all the ideas — I don’t wear stockings unless absolutely forced, but I like the underwear trick, and I’ll be Hollywood Fashion Tape (which I’ll Google here in a minute) will be far less painful than sticking duct tape to my skin (which I did once when I had a pantyhose waist blowout, but wouldn’t recommend it). Thanks!

7. Don’t like the velvet trim at the collar. It makes it too 80s equestrian for me, in a way lower end lines often do to make the look more “luxurious”, and distracts from the other detailing.

8. Wanting opinions about colors being in/out of style.

   In 2008 it seemed that kelly green was everywhere and I picked up a few sweaters in that color. Will they look dated if I wear them now? Or is kelly green a somewhat classic color?

   I’ve also found the same thing with hot pink in 2008/2009. It was everywhere, and I got quite a few dark pink sweaters. Now, I don’t see it so much, with charcoal gray being so in.

   Do colors go in and out that quickly? Opinions?

   1. Would also like to know your thoughts on argyle – which was all the rage in 2008ish.

      Is argyle classic or will I look dated if I continue to sport my argyle sweater?

      1. I personally think that kelly green is a classic color, but then again with my coloring all shades of green are flattering on me so I wear it very often (plus green is my favorite color). I also think that dark pink and argyle are classics, I see some some variety of these every season. That being said, wear your green, pink and argyle with pride!

         1. Just, you know, maybe not all at once. ;-)

      2. I wear argyle pretty regularly; it wouldn’t have even occurred to me that it was out of fashion.
         I can’t imagine colors being “in” or “out”, other than something like neon.

      3. Agree with both KM and shopaholic. Moreover, the color palette this season is so boring! If I wore nothing but the charcoal and buff that everyone seems to be making, getting dressed each morning would be such a bummer.

         1. kelly green and argyle have been around forever … i don’t see them going anywhere.

            1. I really want an argyle cardi/sweater. I remember seeing pretty pastel coloured ones when I was at a BB outlet in the UK.

         2. This. And if charcoal grey is “in”, I think pink sweaters would look fab with grey pants. Plus pink/green are classics.

            Most important, they should suit your skin tone, whether they’re “in” or “out”!

   2. Adding to this, both kelly green and hot pink go well with charcoal. If you want to update your look a bit, you could mix in a bit of charcoal (i.e. charcoal skirt, trousers, blazer, etc).

      1. I completely agree! I love kelly green and hot pink with charcoal. I think that kelly green looks great with my coloring, so I’ll continue to wear it even if its not as popular now as it was a few years ago. I don’t think its really actually gone out of style though.

      2. Agree w/all of the above.
         The only time I think of colors being in/out is either with certain particular color schemes (think black & blue color block items from the early 90’s, that are actually back in now) or on certain items that do not traditionally come in those colors (e.g., mens’ shirts in dark gray or dark red or green or whatever other hideous color was briefly “in” in the late 90s).
         I think classic items in particular colors do not become dated for 99% of the population. So unless you work at Vogue, I would not worry about it.

         1. Thanks everyone! I do pair these colors with charcoal gray pants and think they look lovely.

            And no, I don’t read Vogue – I get basically all of my fashion advice here! I just tend to notice trends in the stores…

9. I like the jacket, but only my fourth grader can rock a tie.

10. It IS gorgeous, but at $440 it’s also a bit out of my price range.

11. Ordered the perfect trouser pants from Gap over the labor day sale and decided they are going back. Gap lists them as being “at the waist” but I think that with all these years of low rise pants people have actually forgotten where the waist is. These pants certainly were not at my waist. They bordered on low rise pants in the back and created a particularly unattractive muffin top in the front. Not exactly my idea of perfect.

    But, I think I am happy because I am starting to see Hepburn style, pleated pants coming back into fashion. Totally elegant look and you never have to worry about your underwear (or your tattoo) showing out the back of your dress pants.

    1. PLEATS!!!!??? Sorry, I am not a fan of pleats. I like a single crease down the leg but if you are talking about pleats around the waist, yuck to me.

       1. Pleats in the right place can hide a multitude of sins. Pleats in the wrong place create sins where there previously were none!

       2. I’ve seen some pictures of pleated, high-waist, tapered pants coming back and am horrified. Talk about a bad look.

          @kjf- do you have a longer torso? Something that might be at the waist on someone else might be low rise on you if that is the case. I know I have problems with “modern” fit pants having an insanely low rise on me, even though they don’t look bad on the average person.

12. I have a jacket in that cut that I bought a couple of years ago on sale at Ann Taylor. I find that it goes with nothing except black pants. I had thought it would go with a couple of silk skirts, but it does not!

Comments are closed.