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Our daily TPS reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices. Neiman Marcus has a number of great pieces on sale, including this amazing wool dress from Rachel Roy (Neiman's exclusive). We love the round neckline, the A-line skirt, and the way the belt is tied in a neat knot and left to hang. We'd wear it with a brooch, as well as a cuff, perhaps, and skin-toned shoes. Was $1095, now $383 (sizes 2-6 only). Tie-Front Dress (L-0)Sales of note for 11.5.24
- Nordstrom – Fall sale, up to 50% off!
- Ann Taylor – 11/5 only – 60% off sale
- Banana Republic Factory – 50% off everything + extra 25% off with your GAP Inc. credit card
- Bloomingdales is offering gift cards ($20-$1200) when you spend between $100-$4000+. The promotion ends 11/10, and the gift cards expire 12/24.
- Boden – 10% off new styles with code; free shipping over $75
- Eloquii – Fall clearance event, up to 85% off
- J.Crew – 40% off fall favorites; prices as marked
- J.Crew Factory – Up to 60% off everything + 60% off clearance
- Lo & Sons – Fall Sale, up to 35% off
- M.M.LaFleur – Save 25% sitewide
- Neiman Marcus – Up to 30% off on new arrivals
- Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
- Talbots – Buy one, get one – 50% off everything!
- White House Black Market – Holiday style event, take 25% off your entire purchase
And some of our latest threadjacks here at Corporette (reader questions and commentary) — see more here!
Some of our latest threadjacks include:
- What to say to friends and family who threaten to not vote?
- What boots do you expect to wear this fall and winter?
- What beauty treatments do you do on a regular basis to look polished?
- Can I skip the annual family event my workplace holds, even if I'm a manager?
- What small steps can I take today to get myself a little more “together” and not feel so frazzled all of the time?
- The oldest daughter is America's social safety net — change my mind…
- What have you lost your taste for as you've aged?
- Tell me about your favorite adventure travels…
Shayna
Even with the sale price it’s a splurge (although one that is far more doable) ! Beautiful color, though I can never quite figure out how to wear sashes/ties without looking frumpy, and having them stick out weirdly :-(
s-k-s
I tie them on the side and I think they look a lot better that way. I too feel silly with a giant bow/knot in the middle of my stomach. Also, not an area I feel like calling attention to.
(I’m assuming its an adjustable belt and not a sewn in sash. Then all belts are off)
Shayna
I will have to try that! There are a lot of cute summer dresses (especially wrap dresses) that come with ties that just leave me confounded!
mille
I usually end up taking off the belt entirely, as long as the dress isn’t a pattern with an obvious seam/break in pattern underneath the belt. I can never get belts or sashes to stay tied.
Anonymous
If I weren’t preggers, I’d buy this. I love it and for a work dress, it isn’t that much of a splurge for me.
Anon
I would not have guessed this to be so expensive – it kind of looks like a belted red sack to me…
Also the (imo) short length plus front opening means a lot of thigh exposure when you sit down.
Lawgirl
co-sign, @Anon!
Grump
so agree.
RKS
I like the dress, esp the color, but the front slit killed it for me. I always end up flashing serious leg that way. And yeah, it looks ridiculously short on the model but am assuming the model is much taller than me.
AIMS
In what way is this “ridiculously short” on the model?
It looks about 2 inches above her knee, to me, and on most women this would come down to just about the right length. The slit also doesn’t look all that deep — maybe an inch or two.
I wouldn’t think twice if I saw a woman of the model’s height wearing this at work, and I certainly don’t think it would approach anywhere near inappropriate on most (statistically shorter) ladies.
Anon
If you click on the NM link and view the middle picture of the dress, the slit is actually much deeper than an inch or two.
AIMS
Ooh, that is a whole other type of dress! I did not realize this was a dress that came together in the front.
If that’s what it looks like on, I stand corrected.
One more reason why I hate to buy online — surprises like this in the store just don’t happen.
RKS
‘zactly. It was the middle picture on the NM site, of the model with bare legs, that showed the serious flashing potential.
Experienced
I agree! The other photos on the Nieman site displayed the slit better. Indeed, I instantly recognized that it would be an inconvenient reveal. My mom taught me a neat trick years ago: put your thumb over the pretty model’s face and see if you think the outfit is still attractive. Here, I think not.
M
I agree in part about the fit. I don’t think it’s that short, depends on your height.
dee
*sigh* i wish i had skin-tone shoes to wear it with!
RKS
I bought these (Naturalizer Vamoose) last week and love them! may be a bit too casual for a dress like this … but love, love, love.
http://piperlime.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=19923&vid=1&pid=755605&scid=755605002
First time I wore them, I spent the entire day on my feet and they were still comfortable at the end.
E
frumptastic.
Kelly
Exactly! I think this looks like a shapeless sack with a belt to cinch. Everything but the color is blah!
3L
It’s hids.
A
I demand credit for coining that word on the May 10th Splurge TPS Report. Thank you. Now please send your royalty check to… I’ll get rich off South Park internet money and buy dresses like this at full price.
If anyone wants to know- the definition is “so frumpy it is amusing to most, but absolutely fabulous to those who love the frumpy clothes.”
AEK
Love the red.
May I hijack the thread to ask if anyone can recommend a good portable fabric steamer? I need it for a special occasion, so I’ll be using it for dresses, but I’d like something that would work on my business clothes too. It’s important that it be both portable (but doesn’t have to be tiny) and powerful. Thanks!
G
Sorry, I don’t have any specific brand recommendations, but I would highly recommend getting the kind of professional steamer that a clothing store or tailor would have, if you need to steam clothing often. They are huge, expensive, and take forever to heat up, but they are the only ones I’ve found that are consistently effective and effortless. I worked for a theater’s costume dept in college and had great results with their professional steamer, then bought and returned a variety of consumer steamers because I ended up having to iron everything anyway (due to insufficient steam volume/force).
G
Oops, sorry, I skipped over the “portable” in your question. I have never found one powerful enough to be effective, and would just use shower-steaming on the go. But if anyone else has had good luck with a portable, I’d love to know about it, too!
EN
I have a portable Rowenta that I got a two years ago and it works great. I got it at Bed Bath and Beyond I believe. It works very well on everything but linen and I’ve been very happy with it.
ES
I love the Rowenta portable steamer. I found mine at TJ Maxx and another at Home Goods, but it would be reasonable at Bed Bath & Beyond with one of their many many coupons
Shayna
I recently saw a colleague’s while on a business trip with her and was very envious (I hate ironing and it was awesome!) – I meant to ask her when we got home what kind it was, etc., but forgot – thanks for the reminder!
She sent me a link to it: http://amzn.to/ckS5AX ($35 which isn’t too bad)
Jen
As far as steamers I have one that I got years ago from HSN.com It was portable and worked quite well. I am sure they still sell them. I just checked and they have one by Joy Mangano (“go mini”) and one by Conair. I have the first one.
KZ
I have a Lewis n Clark travel steamer I got a number of years ago that I like. I checked their website and couldn’t seem to find it, but check a travel type store and you might can find one. I also have a conair that’s larger that works pretty well.
Ru
Initially, I thought this dress was too shapeless but maybe that’s because of how it fits the model. This dress could look really nice on a differently shaped woman. Having said that, I’m with Shayna on being clueless wrt sashes…I always feel like they look so odd on me.
Cat
I love this except the style of the sash, which is too plush-hotel-bathrobe for me.
My secret to the sash is to tie the knot very carefully, as that creates the weird, one-end-sticking-out-oddly effect. A square knot will work for most materials — for some, playing with the length of the bow loops can do wonders (or even doing a half-bow).
lawyergrrl
seriously — only available in size 10. what up?!
Shayna
Maybe because it’s on clearance? It’s so far marked down that I’m surprised it’s still in stores (or maybe it’s just on line)
lawyergrrl
Thanks — I appreciate that N.M. may only have a handful of these left & it’s trying to clear these out (hopefully to make room for new yummy items). What I don’t really understand is the consistent posting of items on this site that are not really available for the readership at large (or small as the case may be). It’s not a meaningful post if it’s only available in a single size. Thanks though Shayna for your post.
Blue
dislike
ceb
There is no way this dress should be so expensive. It looks like an “Easy Sew” pattern with a belt slapped on:
http://mccallpattern.mccall.com/m5701-products-8507.php?page_id=108
Louise
One of the options on that McCall pattern is lining the hem with Krugerrands. Makes the dress hang better and justifies the $1000 retail price.
ceb
Oh! That explains it. Ha ha ha!
Little Lurker
Threadjack!
A good friend accidentally (ie without thinking) machine washed and dried a bunch of skirts that needed more careful handling. She is panicking. I haven’t seen the results yet, but I figured I’d turn to all you lovely ladies for some quick unseen advice.
The skirts are largely cotton/cotton blends, the long and flowy types fit for summer wear in hot countries. On a student budget, she can’t afford to replace them.
What to do???
Cat
without knowing what happened to them, it’s hard to opine — I’m surprised that anything too horrible can happen to a cotton skirt?
Anon
Are they ruined (mishaped, snagged?) or shrunken?
If shrunken, I recommend seeing if a slightly smaller sized friend wants to buy them (or sell on ebay) and put the money towards new skirts. I’ve never had luck bringing shrunken garments back to size.
MelD
I imagine that they are just slightly shorter now unless it’s ultra cheap fabric that shrinks in an unflattering way. She may be able to get them wet and try to stretch them again to see if they get back some of their size. I’ve had a little bit of luck with that before. I normally dry my cotton clothes part way and then do a pull/stretch before hanging them up to dry.
Little Lurker
Addendum: I think one of them is silk. Is that possible? Can anything be done for that one?
Thanks for the advice so far!
Louise
Some silks can be washed in water, even in a standard washing machine, without being much worse for wear. It’s the dryer that really shrinks and fades.
I would suggest line drying the items, if it isn’t too late for that, then ironing them while still damp. Often cotton and silk can be gently re-shaped with an iron.
ERP
I would love to meet the woman who purchased this number at $1095. Someone must’ve, right? I want to know (1) how fabulous she is and (2) what she does for a living…
Does this woman just wear the dress over and over – or does she have a closet full of $1000 outfits? Ladies, I must be doing something wrong!
Ru
hilarious!
Chicago K
Ha, I think the same thing when I look at these outfits that are in the high hundreds. I always picture a model or socialite type shelling out the money.
I’ll never forget the time I was at a Neiman Marcus clearence sale and saw a tshirt for $1500 on clearence. Seriously, who needs a 1500 tshirt no matter WHAT it’s made out of!
Shayna
Yes — I would like to meet her and then become her… although many stores do have listed prices that items were never sold at, with subsquent markdowns taken as the ‘sales price’ (Kohls’ and appliance stores are notorious for this marketing technique) I don’t think Neiman Marcus is one of them (Usually in the circular there’s a note disclosing in very small print).
Imagine that closet… Yes, I need a new life plan!
anonymous
I can afford to spend $1000 on dresses, but wouldn’t buy this one.
I made my money with some serious stock options from high tech. I’m not fabulous at all, though, so there’s no need to be jealous of my closet.
mm
Hijack: Problem: I live in a city that doens’t require pantyhose in the summertimte That is not the problem. Problem is, my legs were attacked by mosquitos over my otherwise lovely memorial day weekend. Can I still go bare-legged or do I need to cover these suckers (ha ha) up?
eem
Depends on how bad it is, I would say. If it is just a few, I don’t think it is a big deal. But if your legs are covered with them, you probably should go with pants or wear pantyhose for a few days. I would try putting some hydrocortisone cream or benadryl cream on and see if that helps with the swelling/redness. (Be careful not to use too much of the Benadryl–you can absorb it through your skin and it can make you drowsy.)
B
There was a thread on this very topic last year.
https://corporette.com/2009/07/13/reader-mail-how-to-look-professional-and-cover-my-bug-bitten-legs/
mm
Thanks B.
StyleMadeSimple
An A-line dress is a must have in any women’s wardrobe and flattering on ALL body types. This grey dress by Michael Kors is another great option.
http://www.michaelkors.com/store/catalog/prod.jhtml?itemId=prod8170008&parentId=cat18008&masterId=cat18007&cmCat=cat000000cat101cat102cat18007cat18008&index=6&tid=V1
AEK
Please no one click on that link!
Ru
why? what’s wrong with the link? granted, the dress was meh, but is there any other reason?
Cat
discouraging spammy, unrelated posts. Dear stylemadesimple: you may start receiving the glambassador treatment if you don’t watch out!
Ru
I really really LOVE the comments on this blog =)
A.
Please start your own blog if you want attention, and stay off this one. Thanks.
Lynette
I like this particular dress and think that some simple adjustments by a tailor could solve the issue of the slit.
I was looking at some of the clothing on the Rachel Roy site and I just don’t get why she has been the darling of the fashion industry for the last couple of years.
AA
$1,000 for a dress? And a casual one, at that? You’ve got to be kidding me. $400 is about $300 too expensive for something like this. I go to work to work (and pay my mortgage), not to compete in a fashion show (and be broke living in a studio).
Anon
Actually this dress (full price) is more than the rent on our 2br apartment (not in NYC obvs).
cat
Sale alert – went to BR yesterday and picked up 2 3 piece suits (jacket, skirt, dress), for $170 per suit (over 50% off) – total steal. They’re made of lightweight wool, fully lined, fit well and appear to be good quality. Limited sizes are left and they’re not online, but if you live near a store, may be worth stopping in. Also, they had extra 25% off coupons yesterday, but not sure if they do today.
75
I would not want to buy a wool dress now. By fall, it may be really “old” looking. It is not a classic. Fall’s hemlines may be quite a bit longer. I would rather buy a summer dress now that is on sale but still in style. I would never buy a red wool dress.