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Suit of the Week

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For busy working women, the suit is often the easiest outfit to throw on in the morning. In general, this feature is not about interview suits, which should be as classic and basic as you get — instead, this feature is about the slightly different suit that is fashionable, yet professional.

This week we're loving this suit — on sale! — from Anne Klein, whose suits tend to fit comfortably and classically. We're particularly intrigued by the notation that this suit is machine washable — we can't say we've ever tried that with any of our AK suits. We particularly like that the suit is available in a wide variety of sizes — regular, petite, as well as plus sizes. The jacket (Micro Stripe Three-Button Blazer) is now $94 (was $189), the pants (Micro Stripe Slim Bootleg) are now $49 (formerly $99), and the skirt (Micro Stripe Straight Skirt) is now $44 (was $89) (available only in regular and petite, not plus sizes).

19 Comments

  1. this would be an ideal illustration regarding the recent post on pant hemlines. these are clearly flats length pants for the model (also because the bootleg looks ridiculously wide when it hits at the ankle instead of the floor!).

    machine wash? intriguing!

  2. Nice style and great price. I still don’t think I’d throw it in the wash though! I’d definitely interview in it. Is it just me, or are those pants too short? Also, from Corporette comments I read last week about popping the collar on suit jackets, it’s all I notice (in real life, magazine photos, etc.) now… never used to give it a thought before and wore them both ways depending on the lapel and collar shapes… oh well!

  3. Manufacturers are overly conservative with their dry clean labels, so if they say it is machine washable, it is. If you are worried about shrinkage, just let it hang dry.

    Although about 90% of my work clothes say dry clean only, I don’t dry clean anything (except some non-work gear like sequin tops and down comforters). Instead I wash on delicate in mesh bags, using The Laundress detergents, and hang dry. The detergent is expensive but it is a fraction of the cost of dry cleaning. And they even have a chart that gives you washing instructions based on the material:

    http://www.thelaundress.com/LaundryTips/PDFs/washingChart.pdf

  5. Am I the only one who finds the model’s stance in the skirt listing a little disturbing? She looks as if she’s just broken her ankle. That said, it’s a nice suit.

  6. @El – ha, yes, although my first thought was that she might be doing the bathroom dance… and come to think of it, that’s a pretty awkward wrist angle in the pants listing too.

    @lulu – thanks for the link! I have some silk-linen blend sweaters that I haven’t needed to wash yet and will try the laundress’ tips (labels say dry clean, but J.Crew seems very overzealous about DCO so I’m tempted to rebel).

  8. I can’t say I’m into this at all. It looks a little too ’80s to me with the high-wasted, slim cut, shorter pants and a shoulder that looks like it is has a bit of padding to it.

  9. Here’s what I don’t understand. I thought men’s suits would be completely unacceptable if they were not mostly wool. In particular as an interview suit (perhaps they can get away with cotton suits in the summer).

    Yet this purports to be an “interview-type” suit IMO (since it’s not “fun” at all) and it’s polyester and rayon. What’s up with that? I’ve never seen a man’s suit made of polyester in any medium to high end store, though granted, I’m not usually shopping for men’s suits.

    Any thoughts from other readers about polyester/rayon suits for women?

  10. @DJ–I agree that suits should be wool, especially if they are going to be worn on interviews, to court, etc. I think this applies equally to men and women but I do see a lot of polyester/rayon in the stores for women. I think there are a couple of things going on. First, AK barely qualifies as medium-end; it is possible that a similar level suit for men would be synthetic. Second, even generic men’s suits rarely cost less than a thousand dollars; most women on the other hand (perhaps b/c we are inclined to have so many more clothes) would balk at spending that much on a suit. I’m guessing that the economics is causing AK to chose cheaper materials. (BR does the same.) Not that they have to–I am a big fan of J. Crew suits which are wool at a great price.

  11. My favorite place for everyday suits is J Crew. Their wool and cotton suits are great and a great price. For interviews and dressier work occasions I prefer Brooks Brothers suits, which look classier and are higher quality.

    No offense, but the AK suit looks really cheap to me.

  12. DJ and Lulu, it probably depends on the area. I think in some parts of the country, wool just isn’t as practical. In FL, you rarely find wool outside of the winter season and some places always mentioned on here for selling suits like J Crew don’t even have suits at all or will only sell them one season out of the year. In the warmer months, women are definitely not wearing wool to court and probably wouldn’t wear them to interviews.

  13. Pretty style, but I agree that pants are too short, and I’d have to see the fabric in person. I never launder anything work-appropriate — my dry cleaning bills are horrible, but I am really bad at ironing.

  14. Mel, “high-wasted” is hilarious. I don’t mean to highlight a waisted/wasted slip-of-the-keys but this one is unintentionally awesome.

    Re the skirt, yeah, it’s a variation on the “peepee stance” and judging by the sickling, I would venture that model was never a dancer (or maybe she’s going into garudasana?)

  15. Hah- I just got through with the bar exam, but at least I can still have some fun slip of the keys. :)

  16. Any thoughts from other readers about polyester/rayon suits for women?

    Do not do it. I was just lamenting this move yesterday. When I first started I bought a few wool basic suits from Ann Taylor. 5 years later, they are still going strong. One day, in a total OMG I need a clean suit rush, I ran over and bought a rayon/polyester basic black suit from Ann Taylor. Even though I had heard that you should not buy suits in polyester/rayon. Turns out, people weren’t kidding. The horror. It pills. Everytime you touch it, it shows every speck of dust, makeup. The fabric is sagging. I’m ready to throw it out/give it to Goodwill after only a few wearings. Total waste of money.

  17. SM – yes, it does look cheap. Also, some of these synthetics look ok until they’ve been washed, or even dry cleaned, a couple of times, then they start to pill and beard. And sometimes the whole garment changes shape. Gentle hand-washing in a bathtub with lots of water and no wringing and drying it flat can help. But then it still needs to be ironed very carefully. Sigh. Another good reason to buy fewer things, but always good quality, and get your variety from tops, scarves, jewelry.

  18. NB, Mel, with regard to wool in warm weather, in my opinion, a high quality fine wool twill or wool gabardine is just as cool/breathable as synthetic blends, and wears, looks and feels so much better. Strangely, I have even found that stretchy wool blends feel less breathable and sticker in hot weather. It’s in the 90s now where I live and I feel very comfortable in wool suits. Obviously the better the quality of wool, the silkier and more fluid the feel and drape. I find Brooks Brothers has the best year-round wool suits, at least in my price range.

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