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Updated: Nov 1, 2018 85 Comments · by

Splurge Monday’s TPS Report: Side-Pleat Dress

Fashion· The Personal Shopper (TPS)· Wear to Work | · · · ·

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Our daily TPS reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices. Carolina Herrera Side-Pleat DressToday we're liking this regal red number from Carolina Herrera. Love the side pleats on the one shoulder, and the way they continue to the hem; it's also great to see an asymmetric neckline again. The dress is made of wool, cashmere and angora with a silk lining — so perhaps we'll have to wait until the heat wave breaks to wear it. It's $2,790 at Bergdorf Goodman. Carolina Herrera Side-Pleat Dress Seen a great piece you'd like to recommend? Please e-mail editor@corporette.com with “TPS” in the subject line. (L-0)

Sales of note for 10.10.24

  • Nordstrom – Extra 25% off clearance (through 10/14); there's a lot from reader favorites like Boss, FARM Rio, Marc Fisher LTD, AGL, and more. Plus: free 2-day shipping, and cardmembers earn 6x points per dollar (3X the points on beauty).
  • Ann Taylor – Extra 50% off sale (ends 10/12)
  • Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything plus extra 25% off your $125+ purchase
  • Boden – 10% off new styles with code; free shipping over $75
  • Eloquii – Extra 50% off a lot of sale items, with code
  • J.Crew – 40% off sitewide
  • J.Crew Factory – 50% off entire site, plus extra 25% off orders $150+
  • Lo & Sons – Fall Sale, up to 35% off
  • M.M.LaFleur – Save 25% sitewide
  • Neiman Marcus – Sale on sale, up to 85% off
  • Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
  • Talbots – 50% off 2+ markdowns
  • Target – Circle week, deals on 1000s of items
  • White House Black Market – Buy one, get one – 50% off full price styles

And some of our latest threadjacks here at Corporette (reader questions and commentary) — see more here!

Some of our latest threadjacks include:

About Kat

Kat Griffin is the founder, publisher, and editor-in-chief of Corporette. You can read more about her here.

Comments

  1. E

    Beautiful, but I can’t see it at a meeting – it has ‘evening’ written all over it.

  2. Ru

    Oooohhh, very nice splurge! So chic, if only I had some gala to attend (and the money to afford this dress!).

  3. myohmy

    I just can’t see this for work, maybe the way it’s styled? It seems really cute for a party but all the draping seems a bit busy for the office.

    OT: My office got robbed this weekend – they took a flat screen TV, some laptops, monitors, etc — and I’m freaking out because I’ve realized just how often I come in alone on the weekend – and I thought about it this weekend! So just a plea for vigilance and safety to all of those of you that work absurd hours with fewer people around – we are in a very low crime area, have been in this office 6 years and have never had a break in, etc, but I’m scared to think what would have happened if I had come in Sunday afternoon and walked in on the burglars.

    • Anon

      I’m glad no one was injured (I’m assuming no one was injured since you didn’t mention it in your post).

      This is a great reminder to take extra precautions if you’ll be in an empty office over the weekend. Tell someone where/when you are arriving, about how long you’ll think you’ll be there, and when you leave. If you are trained, feel comfortable, and know the laws of your jurisdiction and rules of your workplace regarding weapons (mace, bladed weapons, firearms), it’s also something to consider for times when you’ll be alone in a dark floor with no one around.

    • nonA

      Yikes! I cannot think of how many times I have been there super-late or on a weekend and wondered if there was anyone else in the office (there was probably some other random colleague slaving away on a different floor with the same thoughts) – our building’s “security” is so lax it’s laughable.

      • Makeup Junkie

        Scary! Nothing is more frighening than an empty office building on the weekends or late at night. I’m surprised more horror films don’t have that as a backdrop.

        • v

          Or a courthouse. I’ve never experienced anything as eerie as the dark, empty courthouse when I got stuck there late at night as a law clerk.

    • anano

      Glad to hear that no one was hurt! Also glad I did not hear this last week when our office’s key card system was down for several days. We have a security guard for the building, but still.

    • mille

      I walked in on a break-in at our office last year. I get into the office around 5:45 AM, and it was clear from the moment I stepped in that we’d been robbed. It was scary. Even worse was that the police, in a small town, took forever to get there, and totally botched the whole thing. The first officer on scene actually took me back into the office before he had searched it, thinking it was a cold break-in. It took 4 officers to figure out that, while they were all standing out front of the office, the burglars were still taking stuff in and out of the back.

      Luckily the burglars literally left a trail of papers to their hideout next door. D’oh!

  4. L

    Gorgeous. Would need to be in a more creative field to wear it for work – the pleats and asymmetry mean that it would look odd if you wore something over it.

  5. SRS

    Lovely, but I agree with everyone who says it works better for evening than day wear.

    OT: I work for a federal government department in Ottawa and I am well aware that the dress code here is much less formal than it is for y’all in Big Law or in government in DC. However, that does not explain the woman I just saw in the elevator who was wearing what can only be described as hammer pants. Hammer. Pants. In my book, hammer pants are never acceptable office attire. Not even in Canada.

    • Anon

      Thank you for getting Can’t Touch This stuck in my head at 10am on a Monday :)

    • A-n0n-lawyer

      Oh my.

      I think that you should strike the word “office” from the next-to-last sentence.

      • UnSub

        Second. Where, exactly, would Hammer Pants be acceptable? Not anywhere in Canada that I’ve ever been (or would want to go to).

      • SRS

        A-n0n-lawyer, I totally agree . Upon reflection though, they were probably more like harem pants (sorry for the orientalism, but I don’t know how else to describe them) than hammer pants as the tapered cuffs started a bit too low and the crotch ended a bit too high for them to truly qualify as hammer pants. Still not office appropriate in my opinion, but maybe less egregiously wrong than I first thought. Maybe.

        My first thought when I saw her was “I wonder what she was thinking when she looked in the mirror this morning?” My second thought was “I have to post this to Corperette as soon as possible.”

        • KelliJ

          Exactly. “Harem” pants are all over the fashion magazines and I just can’t understand them.

          • AIMS

            As someone who spent her childhood watching I dream of Jeannie reruns & secretly still wants to dress as Jeannie, I completely understand them.
            But I would never wear them anywhere even near work!

        • surrounded by lawyers

          May I ask about the fabric? If it was a print, then it’s Hammer no doubt. If it was a solid neutral, alas, I have seen such in the fashion mags being encouraged at least for after hours/weekend.

        • A-n0n-lawyer

          I mean, I know there’s a small difference between the “harem” pants and Hammer pants, but they’re all really the same idea. Big cloth parachute on the biggest part of my body. No thanks!

          I’m intrigued, though… What was the fabric? Solid or print?

          • SRS

            The colours were a mostly solid black and grey, but I don’t know what kind of fabric they were. It looked like a synthetic, almost like the water resistant material used in some sports’ clothes, but I’m not really sure. I only shared an elevator with the woman for a few floors and now I’m feeling a little guilty for sharing her sartorial missteps with the entire internet. Not guilty enough to stop doing it though, so I hope she doesn’t read this site.

    • anon

      Is she a co-worker of yours? If not, then I think you might be making a lot of assumptions about who she is, what her lifestyle is and her reasons for being in the building.

        • anon

          LOL. Hey, it takes all kinds. And if someone wants to rock “Hammer pants”, more power to ’em.

      • SRS

        She was definitely an employee. She had a departmental id and you can’t go anywhere in the building, not even the elevators, without one. I have never seen her before though, and she doesn’t work on my floor.

        Still, I think I’ll stop beating up on the poor woman. We’ve all made mistakes and hopefully she’ll realize that hammer/harem pants are just that. There is no need for me to continue to point it out to the internet rather than to her.

  6. Other K

    I’ve been eying this red sheath dress from Paul & Joe for a while. Same color, less draping, $545. I’m pretty sure it’s the model that makes the hemline look short.

    http://www.net-a-porter.com/product/76894

    Of course, my budget is closer to $100 for a nice sheath dress, but I might track this through next year to see if I can pick it up on sale. Maybe someone else will see it here, buy it, and I can enjoy it vicariously.

    • NGO doesn't mean No Good Outfits

      That is really nice, but I’m not sure it is just the model that makes it look short.
      I’m 5’10 and I need a sheath dress to be at least 38″ long to be knee-length (aka work appropriate). This dress is at longest 34 1/2″ though it looks like it hits even shorter on the model than it would on me.
      If you’re 5’6 or below though, go for it!

      • Other K

        Just under 5’9″, sadly. I have noticed that Net-A-Porter and Bloomingdales models somehow hike up the skirt or maybe downsize their model’s dress — items that look way too short work better in person. I bought two Theory dresses last year that were just the right length but online looked as short as this.

        I like 1″ above the knee, but I can get away with maybe 1.5″ if I’m wearing dark hose in winter. I’d risk it for something this pretty.

        • NGO doesn't mean No Good Outfits

          I find that sometimes dresses that look very short on a model will look longer on me (I always just attributed it to not having model legs!). Maybe they do pin it oddly to add vampy appeal.
          But usually the length measurements are spot on. An idea is to pick out a sheath dress you own that is the perfect length on you and measure it yourself, it worked for me!

    • lawDJ

      That dress is gorgeous and would actually look fine on me at 5’3″ length-wise but doesn’t it look like the slit on the back is both super obvious and comes up to almost the model’s bu-tt?

      • Anon

        Yikes, yes. Click on “play video” – the slit is dangerously close to exposing cheek.

  7. 75

    If….I lived in an old fashioned luxury apartment in Manhattan….and if….I threw small dinner parties….and if ….there was a cook or caterer in the kitchen….then….maybe. But, Carolina Herrera is my favorite designer – love to just stare at her store windows – this dress gives us a clue that asymmetrical is coming our way.

    This would also be a nice dress for mother of the bride for rehearsal dinner. Hint, Hilary?

  8. NGO doesn't mean No Good Outfits

    That colour is incredible.
    My only reservation is the asymmetrical sleeve, too heavy on one side for my liking.
    Oh, and the price. That is reservation numero uno.

  9. E

    Darn you Corporette! I was at the Nordstroms Anniversary sale, planning to pick up a pair of black wool slacks (why did I not have these yet), which I did get. The problem? I found gorgeous peep toe Cole Haan pumps with a bridle detail on sale, in the most lovely shade of brown, and since they were on sale, I snapped them up. They are beautiful, and I wouldn’t have indulged myself except Corporette has made buying Cole Haan’s a normative experience…they are like this, in a very nice brown:

    http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/3095543/0~2376778~2372808~6028080~6028540?mediumthumbnail=Y&origin=category&searchtype=&pbo=6028540&P=1

    PS: peep toe totally work appropriate for me.

    • AE

      Good pick! Unless you live far north of the Mason-Dixon line, it won’t be too cold to wear them until November or so.

      • Maya

        Beautiful! Somehow, Cole Haans don’t fit me correctly, no matter what I do to them. But if those shoes were by Paul Green or Taryn Rose, I’d have arm wrestled you for them.

    • BT

      I am wearing these NOW but without the buckle! They are SOOOO COMFY! If I were a runner, I could do a marathon in these!

    • UnSub

      Love, love, love. Just bought, bought, bought. Thanks.

      Ladies, if anyone is thinking ahead and looking for boots, look at the 6pm clearance section. Great selection and great prices right now.

      • lawDJ

        THANK YOU! I just bought a pair of 2″ leather tall boots that in WIDE (hard to find) and waterproof (YAY for winter) and according to the calf height/width measurements should totally fit me. Here’s hoping!

  10. nonA

    Gorgeous dress! I would wear it to any sort of fancy evening dinner thing, but never to the office. There is no way a blazer or cardigan would work with the neckline or draping … at least C didn’t say “wear a turtleneck under it.”

    • AN

      Love the dress. But it’s one of those that’s too “evening wear” for the office and yet too “business-y” for the evening/dates. It’s perfect for work -related dinners/functions, IMO.

  11. Legally Brunette

    Gorgeous color.

    Thread hijack — I finally made it to the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale on Saturday. Frankly, I wasn’t all that impressed. I bought a bunch of dresses online and am still waiting for those to come in, but nothing at the store really jumped out at me. I ended up buying a black suit during the pre-sale, but upon second glance I’m not sure I love the jacket and may end up returning it. I did buy a pair of Spanx (my first ever) which is awesome.

  12. CC

    This dress is absolutely gorgeous, but I think it’s too dressy for work, though it would work for a cocktail party.

  13. L2

    FYI- 30% off Banana Republic, Gap and Old Navy online through tomorrow with code save30

  14. zee

    OT: Anyone have good suggestions for a maxi dress that looks ok on curvy girls? ie, no open back, no spaghetti straps, roomy enough in the chest… I’d really appreciate any recommendations/links, i’ve been looking since May!

    • NGO doesn't mean No Good Outfits

      A UK website called Goddiva has a bunch of maxi dresses, Goddiva(dot)co(dot)uk.
      I bought the gathered bust day maxi in the seafoam/aqua frond pattern and love it, I bought the large and have plenty of room (36c/d). The quality isn’t designer-esque by any means but they have so many options for good prices.

    • M in CA

      Cute stuff on Goddiva! I’m short and curvy, and I have found only 1 maxi dress that works for me. I think the trick is to find a dress that has a border design at the bottom, as opposed to one pattern over the whole dress. I don’t know why, but it just seems to work on me. Something like Goddiva’s Border Print Halter Neck maxi dress.

  15. Suze

    Regal, indeed. I looove this dress, not for work but for evening. The red is perfect, the drape is nice, I like the assymetrical design and….if I had $2800 just laying around, I would go on a really nice trip!

  16. KelliJ

    Sorry to hijack, but I need to share…

    My daughter decided to help Mommy by changing her own poopy diaper this morning while I was in the shower.

    I hope you all have a better start to your Monday morning!

    • RR

      As a mom of 2.5 year old twins, I sooooo feel your pain. Except in my case, one of my twins would try to change the other twin’s diaper. Don’t you just love potty training? :)

    • Amy

      Oh my…brings back memories of potty-training my son and him hiding his squishy, poopy underpants under the dining table because he didn’t want me to know he’d pooped his pants…unfortunately the dog found the underpants before I did and had a high old time. I ended up throwing a lot of things away that day, things I wasn’t necessarily ready to part with but which could not be reclaimed.

      Hope your day gets better, mama! Remember, some day you’ll be retelling this story and laughing…maybe not today though. :)

      • KelliJ

        Oh Amy! Your story made me laugh. At least my little one stayed in the kitchen and I just had to wash her and the floor.

        • Suze

          All of the above made me laugh and remember some of the bad old days…

          When my oldest was hitting the 2 1/2 mark, she would wake up at 0600 and immediately have a poopy diaper, begin screaming and if I didn’t get there to change her in .8 seconds, she would rip it/fling it – at one point, I had a tarp under the crib. Eeep. And, yeah, my twins used to change each other’s diapers too….

          Now they try to make me breakfast in bed. For awhile, they were big on attempting ‘omelets’ – very creative – usually involving some totally unrelated food item like cinnamon or applesauce (IN the omelet), and the resulting kitchen mess is almost as bad as those bad old diaper days.

          I love them with all my heart but I don’t understand how it is that they just seem to hold endless, and I do mean endless, potential to (generally sort of innocently) make just horrendous messes?!

          • KelliJ

            A friend of mine has nicknamed one of her twins “Poocaso”. They resorted to putting her pjs on backwards (with the zipper in the back) so she couldn’t get out of them (and at her diaper).

          • Ru

            OMG I’m literally laughing OUT LOUD at my office. Don’t forget these stories Suze – brandish them with relish when your kids are older =).

            Poocasso – GENIUS!!!!

          • RR

            I will definitely put breakfast in bed on my list of things to look forward to! It’s a good thing kids are cute!

          • KelliJ

            We tried breakfast in bed for Father’s Day and I just ended up having to wash the sheets.

          • Suze

            @KelliJ – yes, breakfast in bed really means breakfast in h*ll (kind of since you get to clean up WAY more than if you just did it yourself…even ‘mom supervised’ dinosaur pancakes are cleaner than breakfast in bed). BTW, I just saw your comment on the weekend open thread re whether to have baby in law school or not – very insightful.

            Thanks for the :) Ru! I am keeping a detailed journal of all sorts of information for future strategic (read: blackmail, bribery) uses….

          • AN

            Aaargh!! I am glad i escaped these stories. As mum to a 2.5 yr old, the worst it got was my young man squatting in the same corner in his pants for a poo and thankfully staying there till someone yanked him off to be washed in the loo. (Of course, this was guaranteed to happen during our mealtimes:(

            Thanks heavens we are DONE with the pee & poo training with him.

  17. LawyerChk

    Not sure it’s work-appropriate, but this is a gorgeous dress that I’d love to own if were $2,000 cheaper.

  18. Nordstrom rut

    I’m in a Nordstrom rut and would like some ideas on venturing out and buying clothes from other stores. I love Nordstrom but lately it seems to be the only place that I shop, mostly because I love the CE brand and they have free shipping, and I HATE to pay for shipping.

    Any other recommendations on stores that have free shipping, have work appropriate clothes for BigLaw, and are good for thin but curvy women? Not interested in AT, Banana, Lands End, or JCrew.

    Thanks!

    • Va Gal

      I was in a work rut, too. I used to shop at AT, but their quality has been going down for the past couple years, and I just can’t find anything there anymore. In my hunting around, I’ve actually had great luck at Nordstroms (sorry!), Talbots (they have done a revamp that was a big step up – cute clothes and good quality), Brooks Brothers and Dillards.

      I work boutique law, but often have court and depos so have to dress conservatively. Am also thin but curvy.

    • LawyrChk

      Brooks Brothers is my fallback for work clothes, but I wait until items are on sale. I’ve bought some cute pieces from BCBGMaxAzria, (just no dresses or skirts–generally too short) and my local TJMaxx and Loehmann’s. I also heart Bloomingdales for all things.

    • Nordstrom Rut

      Thanks for the recommendations ladies! I haven’t been to TJ Maxx in a looong time, maybe I’ll try that. I have never had much luck with Brooks Brothers either (a bit preppy for me) but I will check it out again. No Dillards near me either, unfortunately.

  19. lawDJ

    Off-Topic: Thank you SO MUCH to whoever posted about the Barrie Pace sale. I had never heard of that website before and now that I’ve got most of my orders in (still some pants on the way) I feel like I made out like a bandit!

    The blue Tadashi dress is an AMAZING find at $20 + shipping. Somehow the size I order fit me like a glove and since it was petite, no alterations whatsoever needed. So happy with that purchase! Two other dresses I ordered (same dress, in red and in black) are very Mad Men and also fit me perfectly (different sizes than Tadashi, I was totally guessing).

    The “wool jacket” is actually a wool blend but the fabric looks fairly nice. Nevertheless it was a bit of a disappointment: somehow the sleeves were sewn on backwards and the buttons were on the inside instead of the outside. Took it to a tailor and for $25 I’m having it taken in a bit and made into bracelet sleeves. Total cost $45 which I think is worth it.

    The “maize” jacket someone was raving about before is so versatile I predict I’ll wear it all the time. It goes with everything.

    I hope other corporettes got in on the sale, there isn’t much left yet anymore.

    • TennADA

      You’re welcome! I’m trying to picture that jacket and having some trouble with backward sleeves and wrong side buttons!! Glad you were able to get it straightened out okay at a reasonable price. I got the Austin Reed wool blend jacket – maybe the same one but my sleeves weren’t freaky, and at $26 and some change, including shipping and tax, am ecstatic with it. Wish more of the stuff that had been left had fit me. Wish they weren’t going out of business, too.

    • Clerky

      Would anyone be interested in the Barrie Price faux wrap dress that I bought? It’s size 4, and pink/brown. I bought it for $17 including shipping and that’s how I much I would sell it for. It’s a great dress but the proportions are off on me. Let me know if anyone is interested.

  20. Sharon

    This is an evening gala dress. I just do not get how there seems to be this confusion of “something that’s formal / dressy” with “something that works in a professional daytime busines setting.” There are different types of dressed-up, and this is the dressed-up-for-the-evening version.

    • Anon

      I like it. Sadly, dresses need to be 41 inches from shoulder to hem to be knee-length for me :(

      • Another red dress

        Me too! I don’t even mind if dress makers make their hems shorter, but why don’t they include enough fabric at the bottom to let out the hem? The only brand that does this consistently is the CE brand at Nordstrom.

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