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Splurge Monday’s TPS Report: Snake-Print Carmela Dress

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Our daily TPS reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices. Tory Burch Snake Print Carmela DressCall us crazy, but it seems like we are seeing a resurgence of that in-again out-again classic, the snake print. Animal prints for the office can be dicey, but we really like this simple shift dress from Tory Burch. The loose fit, the high boatneck — and the styling of the model, with the clean, low pony-tail — all appeal to us. We'd wear it with pearls and nude-colored pumps, and perhaps “grow it up” even more with a black wrap. It's $395 at Neiman Marcus, in sizes XS-XL. Snake-Print Carmela Dress If you've recently seen a great work piece you'd like to recommend to the readers, please e-mail editor@corporette.com with “TPS” in the subject line. Unless you ask otherwise, we'll refer to you by your first initial. (L-0)

Sales of note for 5/27/25:

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

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33 Comments

    1. Yeah me too. It’s a great cut but the print is just too… snakey. Also, I am SO over silk. Such a pain to care for. My rule is that anything that directly touches my pits has to be cleaned/laundered every time it is worn, so, back and forth to the dry cleaners all the time = too much trouble and too much money.

  2. While I agree that the styling of the model is much better than some we’ve seen, I’m not a huge fan of this dress. Plus anything that short scares me. But maybe for some it would work out :)

  3. I love the cut and style of the dress, but with that print, I think I’ll pass. I’m attending several B-school admitted student events in the coming weeks. The acceptance packages don’t mention attire for these events and I’m unsure if I should wear a suit. I’d imagine most of the men will be wearing suits, so my initial thought is I can’t go wrong blending in. But I was considering wearing a knee-length, 3/4 sleeve black wool Theory dress that’s a staple of my work wardrobe. Thoughts?

    1. I would call the admissions offices and see what they suggest. I’d also recommend asking how much outdoor walking you’ll be doing. I know at my school admitted students days often involved a campus tour and had events in several buildings, so women tended to wear pants and comfy shoes.

    3. What kind of events are they? If they are cocktail/reception type things, maybe suit it up. But if its a “walking tour of the campus followed by a picnic” then casual is probably fine.

    4. Re admitted student days – the men wear formal shirts and less formal pants at my alma mater, a top 5 school. For women it is something akin to business casual but not too casual. For instance, a dress + blazer, or a pencil skirt and sweater, or black/grey pants and a sweater, all would be good. I agree on comfy shoes.

      1. Thanks, all, for the insight. I think I’ll go the business casual route, and of course stick with my comfy , low black heels (aerosoles…not the nicest looking things, but I can walk the two-miles from home to work in them without a second thought). Eva, I bought the dress from ruelala over a year ago, so couldn’t find a link or even picture. sorry!

  4. I love the boatneck style and am happy to see lots of stores carrying this type of neckline. I agree that the dress is too short to wear to work, but it would be cute for going out.

  5. I think this dress is fabulous and would work well in South Florida’s corporate environment alone or with a white blazer over it.

  6. Tory burch dresses are generally not that short. I don’t have this specific dress, but I have two others from past seasons in similar cuts. I’m 5’4, and they hit right at the knee on me. I think this might be a case of a super tall model.

    1. This is sort of a side topic, but…

      Is anyone else confused by the fact that designers are designing their jeans/pants for women who are model-height (and everyone else can hem) but dresses/skirts for women who are of average height (meaning the american average of 5-4)?

      By average, I mean that the average american woman is 5-4, and most dresses advertised as “knee length” hit me several inches above the knee (I’m 5-8 in bare feet). In contrast, I buy “regular” pants (not tall ones) and I just barely get away with not hemming them. And if I put on designer jeans – before the inevitable hemming – they cover over my entire foot like I’m wearing denim feetie pajamas.

      I can appreciate that they’re using an “everyone can just hem it to their liking” philosophy with the pants/jeans. More customers, probably. I just wish they’d do the same with skirts and dresses – I’d get to buy a lot more of them!

      1. Yes, it’s frustrating that jeans/casual pants are designed to be worn with heels. I don’t mind that dress pants are longer since not all brands carry a tall length and you have to hem according to heel height. With casual pants, I don’t tend to wear heels and want something that is appropriate with flats.

      2. It’s funny to me when people refer to jeans or pants as being designed for model height. I’m 6′ tall and have a terrible time finding pants and jeans that are long enough, especially to wear with heels. I’ve always wondered why they aren’t made longer because it’s easier to hem them to add on to them…

        1. K – hmm, several of the pairs I’ve ordered from gilt and similar websites I’ve needed to have 5-6 inches cut off of in order to wear them with flats (I am 5-8). So they might be borderline for you to wear with high heels, but would definitely work for low heels for you

        1. This is why open-toed shoes at work are a bad idea. Even if you have pretty feet, too many shoes do this to them.

          1. People in FL wear open toed shoes to work all the time and it is not a problem when the shoes fit. Most of the modeling shows like ANTM go on about how models often end up shoving their (typically large) feet into average sized shoes. It’s not as noticeable with some types of shoes, but horrible with this type.

  8. I think it’s pretty fab, but, maybe one of those pieces you get to wear when you’re established.

  9. Makes me think either super-thin Dallas society lady-who-lunches at the Junior League. Or a young, preppy chickie who doesn’t have to work in the first place.

  10. Too short, too snaky, too blue. (Also too expensive for what appears to be a novelty item.)

  11. This print equals TJMaxx, Loehmann’s, Kohl’s, Forever21 retail therapy in the $50 max range, IMHO… I do like that it’s silk, although it looks cheap-ish to me for some reason… Maybe better in person?

  12. Even though most seem to anti-animal print as a dress, how do we feel about animal print on shoes? Are they similarly inappropriate for an early-career lawyer to wear at the office (not to court)?

    2. I treat animal print at work the way I treat any other borderline-not-ok characteristic in a shoe. Pair them with otherwise conservative clothing and don’t combine more than one “borderline” characteristic in the same shoe (i.e. pick bright colored shoes OR patent leather ones, but not bright patent leather; animal print OR 4″ heels but not 4″ snakeskin stilettos, and so on).

  13. I think Neiman-Marcus has had its heyday. I think it’s come and gone, and has outlived its usefulness. It no longer stands for luxury; now it stands for over the top and showy.

  14. Has anyone any experience with “straight-cut” skirts like this one clinging to the thighs while walking? And/or bunching up in between the thighs while walking, which is even worse. I’ve found that one way to avoid this is to wear a slip, but the skirt-slips I have are generally longer (knee-length) so the slip showing beneath the skirt is a real problem. Wearing hose or tights makes it worse.

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