Corporette.com

Updated: Nov 1, 2018 49 Comments · by

Suit of the Week

Fashion· Suits· Wear to Work

This post may contain affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

iconFor 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.

It's hard to put my finger on why I like this suit so much — the camel color (fall's hot new trend)? The pinstriping? (Always great with a skirt suit!) The details on the lapels of the jacket? Either way, it's great — and the matching dress looks versatile enough to pair with other items as well (perhaps a dark plum cardigan, or a navy blazer). The jacket (Antonio Melani “Hallie” Jacket) is $199, and the dress (Antonio Melani “Hattie” Dress) is $159. The pants (pictured at top, Antonio Melani “Antonio” Pantsicon, are $119.)

(L-5)

About Kat

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

Comments

  1. legalicious07

    Love this suit (minus the styling of the shirt worn underneath). I always see Antonio Melani dresses when I go to Dillard’s. I think I should give his line some serious consideration.

    • Anonymous

      Sadly, that’s not the styling. It’s the actual suit – a mock two-piece dress (not skirt) + jacket.

      • kellyn

        Yikes! That’s unfortunate for those of us who really dislike this top… I would have considered the suit had it been a skirt and jacket, with the top sold separately.

        • fresh jd

          Curious why you dislike the shirt. I bought a very similar one at Zara yesterday, except that it is long-sleeve and the neck-tie is much lower (i.e. doesnt tie/strangle around the neck).

          • Anonymous

            For me, it’s not so much a dislike of the shirt per se as it is a dislike of the fact that this is the ONLY shirt I’d ever be able to wear with this suit. Not versatile.

          • Anonymous

            I think it’s fine as a shirt on its own, but that neck-tie looks awkward with a jacket, plus the v-neck on the shirt is too low to wear in an environment where you’d be wearing a suit.

          • Shayna

            Not a fan of neck-ties — for one thing I don’t like anything wrapped around my neck and for another it just looks too frilly on me – like I’m dressed up as a present at the company holiday party or something equally horrific

          • kellyn

            Yeah, I agree with Anonymous 4:03. Also, though, button up shirts don’t necessarily work on my anatomy. I have a very large chest and there is no way a shirt that would fit my chest would be paired with a skirt that would fit my bottom half. So. Just inflexible all around.

        • guest

          I don’t even dislike the top, but I don’t understand how this suit would work — I’d have to dryclean the “dress” every time I wore it. The top portion would likely wear out much more quickly than the skirt fabric. It would end up being much more expensive than if it were just a skirt/jacket separate set!

      • KH

        Oh that’s terrible! I thought that Kat was just having an off moment – calling a skirt a dress, but no. A “rule” I read somewhere years ago – no items that are one piece trying to look like something they aren’t (such as shirts with flaps on the front purporting to be coordinating cardigans, dresses with “vest” fronts sewn into the side seams) – has stuck with me. Something about it has always seemed tacky.

        That said, it seems like a perfectly nice pant suit.

        • dee

          I disagree with that rule, I have two very nice dresses (one Theory, one Classiques Entier) that are skirt-and-shirt combos. I don’t think either are tacky and the fact that it’s a dress is a bonus to me.

        • Anonymous

          I think shirt-and-skirt dresses are an exception to this. It’s a pretty classic look. I just wouldn’t like to have a suit that always must be worn with the same shirt.

          Faux vests, on the other hand, are just awful.

          • Kaye

            I’d edit that to say that vests are just awful :) I have a no vest policy. I think I’ve seen exactly one vest in my life that I liked.

        • MelD

          I think there are some benefits- no problems with the skirt swirling around (this happens to me when I walk to work) or the shirt coming untucked. I wouldn’t buy a lot of two-piece lookalikes, but I have one that’s quite cute.

          • houda

            I also have this problem of the skirt turning and I have to readjust it as I walk

  2. AIMS

    I can’t really see the jacket!
    The model is posed in such a way that I am not sure how anyone can say the like the detailing, given that her arms are blocking both the lapels and any potential pockets or lack thereof!

  3. KM

    Sorry to threadjack right away, but has anyone else tried to order from J.Crew today? The suit jacket that I’ve been eyeing finally went on sale but there are only two sizes left (one of which is mine). I’ve tried to buy it all day but it won’t show up in my shopping bag. Is this happening to everyone or are the shopping gods telling me to hold off because it will be discounted further in the very near future (in my size)?

  4. M

    I really don’t like this suit. Something about it says 1970’s airline stewardess to me….

  5. VA

    I hate to threadjack so early, and this is my first comment, but I’ve been reading such great advice on here I thought I would give it a try. I’m a 2L with an undergraduate biology degree. While I’m interested in working for a law firm, my ideal job would be with a company– biotech, pharmaceutical, hospitals, etc. Basically anything with an environmental or medical lean.

    Is it impossible for 2Ls to get summer positions with companies? I know a lot of in-house counsel jobs require some experience, but I was wondering if anyone has heard of any companies that let law students work during the summer. Every once in a while I read about someone who managed to get one. Are there any good resources for finding summer jobs like this, or is it just a lost cause?

    Thanks in advance! This is such a great blog.

    • AIMS

      The people I know who have have been successful at this have usually had help by way of a professor or other connection. I would research the hell out of any of your possible connections, speak to your career office, any profs at your school teaching related classes, etc., check linked in to see if you have any connections, or even contact in house lawyers at your dream companies and ask for informational interviews.

      The one downside is that — of the people I know, at least — no one was able to translate in-house summer position to after graduation position. But it can still be a great experience and you will be building connections that you can come back to after you work at, e.g., a related regulatory agency after graduating.

    • EC

      I went to law school in the Midwest, and had 2L friends working in house. There are not many positions, but I know Cargill hired several 2Ls for summer work. I think we also had an unpaid externship program through the law school that placed folks at in-house positions at Best Buy, some big insurance companies, and maybe some of the big bio-tech companies too. A few people translated those jobs to post-graduation, and a few returned there after working at law firms. But that was two years ago; I’m not sure whether those positions exist anymore.

      Another possibility for summer work might be government, either federal or state. There are lots of really interesting government agencies that do environmental work, medical device regulation, etc. I worked for the DOJ, and it was a great job. It might also help you get a handle on who not to work for after graduation!

    • Anon in IP

      I worked for companies both my first and second summers, and started with a company when I graduated law school. My last company (manufacturing not biotech) actually had a 2L intern every summer. It definitely can be done.

      My advice is to start networking now. See who knows who at the companies and institutions you are interested in that have legal departments. Tap your professors, alumni, and friends and family. I’m not sure where you are located but I would recommend trying to check the listings at the Career Service Offices at law schools in areas where there is a high concentration of biotech, hospitals etc. My first thought is Boston and Cambridge, MA because there is such a high concentration of bio/pharma and hospitals.

      Good luck!

  6. RoadWarriorette

    I was about to post about how much I liked the skirt. Then I read the comments and now I get it. Sometimes the skirt/shirt = dress thing works really well. I’m not sure this is that time. Bummer.

  7. Louise

    Threadjack for those of you who are undergrads (or with friends/relatives in that age range). Just read about a nice scholarship from Talbots:

    http://www.talbots.com/online/landing/landingPage.jsp?landingPage=Scholarship&cmp=emc-20101004_Scholarship-Scholarship&om_rid=Dw2zBJ&om_mid=_BMqoIwB8VBFmVl

    $15k or $30K for women who meet the following criteria:

    * Be women currently residing in the United States or Canada;
    * Be women who earned a high school diploma or their GED on or before September 2001;
    * Be enrolled or planning to enroll in a full- or part-time undergraduate course of study at an accredited two-, three- or four-year college or university in the United States or Canada;
    * Be attending the full 2011-12 academic year and receiving a degree no earlier than May 2012; and
    * Have at least two semesters (24 credit hours or more) remaining to complete an undergraduate* degree as of the beginning of the 2011 fall academic term.

    I had no idea that Talbot’s offered this. Has anyone else heard about it? Been a beneficiary? Maybe a Corporetter will win!

    • Suze

      Wow. That’s impressive considering that they just reported crummy earnings, closing 100+ stores, etc….I am too lazy to post the links, but it was all over the financial press earlier this week (yesterday?). anyway, nice of you Louise to put this up for our community :)!

  8. Grump

    I LOVE the suit (or I guess I would if the dress were instead a blouse + skirt for the versatility factor). I think there’s nothing cuter than a feminine blouse under a business suit. It’s nice to show some personality.

  10. CMJ

    Very slightly off topic — can anyone find a size guide on the Dillard’s site? I’ve looked and looked. Thanks!

  11. Carrie

    I’ve had this $50 gift card from Dillards floating around in my purse for six months now. Our store is just a scattered mess so I never shop there. Perhaps it is time to stop avoiding the store and use my gift card.

    Anyone else a regular Dillards shopper who can tell me what good stuff they carry? I used to shop at the store in my hometown and it was always nice, but that was back when I still shopped in the Juniors department. I haven’t shopped there in years (again, the mess of a store) and have no clue as to what professional clothe

    • MelD

      Antonio Melani and Alex & Marie are the two big professional options. A&M is a more budget oriented. There may also be a few decent pieces from Giani Bini (the other house brand). Some also have a fairly good dress selection, which will usually be in a different area, and the suits that come as a set instead of in separates. I’ve found that not all stores have options that are particularly youthful- e.g. pastel short-sleeve jackets in watermelon/honeydew- no thanks!

  12. Anonymous

    The Dept of Ed complains that career colleges create “labor oversupplies” by graduating too many qualified workers for a specific profession causing unemployment and depressing salaries. Of note, the Ed Dept is silent on the thousands of lawyers graduated each year by law schools.

Back to Top

About

Work with Corporette®

Serious Stuff

work fashion blog press mentions