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Reader E wrote to us to suggest this lovely purple tweed suit, and it sparked our interest because it is available in regular, petites, and tall, which we don't see very often. We like the two pieces together, but we like that they would both look nice on their own, as well — the jacket would look lovely, open, with a long-sleeved turtleneck beneath it and trousers; the skit would look great with very high heels and a navy sweater. Our suggester, E, also asked what kind of shirt we'd wear beneath it — we would advise either a thin short-sleeved scoopneck tee, or a turtleneck or other long-sleeved tee. (Either way, we'd cut down on drycleaning costs by putting a barrier between us and the jacket.) The jacket (Exploded Herringbone Stand Collar Jacket) is $238-$248, and the skirt (Exploded Herringbone Metro Skirt) is $138 at Pendleton-USA.com.
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Erin
Omg. Adore this, but don’t know if I can pull off both pieces together.
Gorgeous color.
Amber
Oooooh… I love this.
I’ve never been able to wrap my head around long sleeves under 3/4 sleeves. Is this something that everyone else wears without a problem? I guess I should just try it on sometime…
Cat
I would only wear the long-under-3/4 look with a jacket like this that is slightly mod in feel (or one with cap sleeves), and with a very snug turtleneck (bagginess in the arms would look too messy, and I think a round-neck tee might create competing necklines).
KH
Cat – Thanks for the great styling ideas! Wouldn’t have occurred to me, but I can see them all (realize I HAVE seen them all) working really well.
KLo
I WISH I could wear this!! I LOVE it.
Ellen
Love love love this. So classy, but feminine, strong color, pendleton so likely nice quality. Heart it!!
J
Wow, I love this.
I’ve never bought anything from Pendleton before (actually, I’ve never even heard of it), and I don’t see a size guide. Does anyone know how the sizes run?
I am surprised to see that there is actually a store nearby. Who knew?
Gail
I’ve gotten their petites, and sizes run a bit on the small side. Very good quality materials.
Jay
That is gorgeous. But again, I don’t get the suggeste navy/plum combo. I think that would make it look like you got dressed in the dark. Also, Corporette’s love for long sleeves under short things doesn’t work for me–I apparently don’t own enough sweaters with super tight sleeves, which is the only conceivable way that wouldn’t look super slppy.
Jane
I have a Pendleton skirt I bought — ummmm — let’s say, over 20 years ago. Excellent quality.
Nita
The size guide is at http://tinyurl.com/kkm3jr
In the past Pendleton always focused on classics (or “dowdy” in Corporette-speak). This year they are offering a new updated look. I have found the sizes are somewhat different between the new look and the older styles (generally, the “seasonless wool” collection). The retail stores seem to be locally owned franchises, and they vary considerably in terms of inventory and service.
Mel
I don’t mind this suit, but agree that it would need something with tight sleeves to work. Anyone else have trouble finding plain shirts/sweaters with snug long sleeves? All I’ve been able to find are 3/4 sleeves.
Jay- this purple is a royal purple, not a plum, so it would look good with navy, I think. I agree that plum and navy look very odd together, though.
J- I checked the size chart and it looks like it runs a little bit smaller than other size charts I checked.
Marla
Love this. Gorgeous. Any experiences with their quality recently? Had some of their sweaters years ago and was happy with them, but have never bought a suit from them.
Dasha
Pendleton is an old Oregon company, and is known for high quality of their product. They usually tend to go with a more conservative ( sometimes dowdy) look, so I am pleasantly surprised to see such a beautiful suit made by them.
Kathryn
Very chic!
A brooch at the side of the neck or a scarf filling in the neck under the collar would be very soignee!
A silk or rayon/modal/viscose tee –long sleeved or not, would work, but with a scoop/boat neck. Google yielded a bunch of hits.
NB
Love it – I was actually googling yesterday for a purple tweed suit. I have never heard of this brand, though, so I am a little concerned about the quality. May make sense to order and take a look at it in person.
L
What do people think about their A-line pocket skirt? I think it might be a tough fabric / pattern?
http://www.pendleton-usa.com/product/Women/SKIRTS/SKIRTS/A-LINE-POCKET-SKIRT/167198/pc/1815/sc/1809/sc/1809/c/1809.uts
Mel
I’m pretty liberal in the workplace, but this is just way too festive looking for the workplace. Orange/black shiny pattern just screams Halloween to me. Fabric aside, I think the front pockets will accentuate the hips, thus negating any slimming benefit you might otherwise get from an a-line.
Marla
I think it could work depending on where you work if you paired it with something other than black. Looking at the skirt alone I thought Halloween, but then when I looked at the full pictures where it is paired with the teal(?) sweaters it looked fine. Wish they had it in a different fabric, because it looks like a cute skirt. Though I agree that the cut/etc. limit the body types it would look good on.
Karen
I ordered some suits from them once and did not like them – I returned everything. I can’t remember exactly what I didn’t like, but I think it might have been a combination of mediocre fit and the fabric not looking as nice in person. Love the look of this suit, though, so maybe it’s worth giving them another shot.
Emily
This is everything I am looking for in a suit – (1) the skirt looks long enough, (2) 3/4-length sleeves are great because I have long arms and rarely find jackets that are long enough, and (3) purple is my color, but this one reads almost “neutral” enough for my somewhat conservative office. Thanks for the great find!
Kim
Beautiful! Stylish yet subtle. Nice tailoring; fits even curvy women. A purple that doesn’t scream “I am 24!” I shall start saving for it now! I think I’d wear it closed – there are too many buttons to wear it open. Must wear decently-high heels to avoid a dowdy look. I’m not sure those pockets woudl accentuate the hips, they don’t seem like they’ll stick out.
This morning I put on new dress pants that somehow in both trying on & tailoring I did not realize had side pockets (like in men’s pants). Argh! I tried to offset with higher heels.
Delta Sierra
Would it help to sew the pockets shut? Many people do this anyhow, since once you’ve stuck a tissue and a lipstick and who knows what else in a pocket, it changes how the skirt/pants/jacket hangs.
nycassociate
Wow, I’m jut the opposite — I wish women’s pants had pockets more often! I have the hardest time finding pants with pockets, and it annoys me because I seem to always have something to carry around with me — money, keycard/keys, blackberry, a pen, etc. Pockets are so handy, and IMO it’s not fair that men get all the pocket-ed pants.
Penelope Phillips-Armand
Can’t help liking it. In 1982, I sewed a suit very much like this one using a Vogue pattern designed by Nina Ricci and a purple Donegal tweed (with flecks of cranberry, camel, écru and turquoise)–similar collar, but longer jacket and narrow, full-length sleeves. I’m still wearing it, usually with fine-knit sweaters or t-shirts that pick up the colors in the tweed (although its original top was a navy paisely-printed shirt with a pleated jabot continuing around the neck as a fluted collar. Wore it to court in Aix-les-Bains last winter and, incidentally, won the case.
lm
What shoes would you wear with this suit?
KH
Black? Grey (grey is the secondary color, according to the description)?
jcb
Yep, I think black. If you try to mix it up with color or metallics you could end up looking clownish, and I don’t think nude will work with this tweedy herringbone fabric.
Though if you are wearing a navy long-sleeved shirt underneath that might look weird. Maybe you go all-black with the top and shoes?
D
I love this, but didn’t I read here a while back that color suits in general are only for women over a certain age?
Mama JD
Love the tweed in this gorgeous color combination, but I’m not sure the suit would flatter my petite frame. Also, I’ve never bought Pendleton and, although I’ve heard of the brand, am not familiar with the quality of their clothing.
SM
Thank you, nycassociate for highlighting my single greatest pet peeve about women’s clothing—-non-functional pockets! Even when the exist, they are way to shallow to actually hold anything (especially back pockets)
I hate trying to put my hand into a side pocket in a pair of slacks and realize my hand doesn’t even fit! Who came up with this ridiculous idea? I need pockets for keys, coins, money just as much as men do.