Suit of the Week: Armani Collezioni

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Armani Collezioni Side-Stitched Jersey Jacket and Sleeveless Seamed DressFor 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 for women, which should be as classic and basic as you get — instead, this feature is about the slightly different suit that is fashionable, yet professional.

I love the look of this jersey knit suit from Armani Collezioni. The sunburst dart detailing on the jacket looks flattering and interesting, and the princess seams on the back look lovely. Personally I wish the dress had a lower neckline — a jewel neck or even a scoop or a V — but the seaming on the dress looks really lux. The jacket (Side-Stitched Jersey Jacket) is $1295, and the matching dress (Sleeveless Seamed Dress) is $855, both available at Saks Fifth Avenue.

(L-5)

47 Comments

  1. Nice looking (but ordinary) suit for a whole a lotta cash… I’d have to feel it to “believe” it … :-) I like Nancy Pelosi’s Armani suits better — more swing and looseness to them and less “severe” looking than this one.

    1. Agreed – I really like the seaming on the jacket, though. I think part of the reason it looks so severe is that the model is wearing a very small size and it is a bit tight…if it were looser it would look more swingy.

      1. So right, Diana. We’ll be laughing in 5 years at the “skin tight suit jackets” that were stylish back in the 2010’s… :-)

  2. Fitness related threadjack:

    Has anyone done the Insanity or the Julian Michaels videos? If so, I’d love to hear your thoughts. In particular, do they work? What kind of results have you achieved with these videos?

    1. JM’s 30 day shred is a good one. Two friends and my mom’s personal trainer recommended it and it’s worth trying. I have a few of her other videos too (yoga, kettlebells, and abs) but I think 30 day is the best. I like the 30-ish minute videos because it’s a doable amount of time to set aside every day, especially if you’re just starting a workout routine.

      I didn’t lose a significant amount of weight doing the videos (even with 20 or so minutes of cardio tacked on), but people thought I did. I definitely became a lot more tone and my clothes fit better.

    2. The Insanity videos are fantastic. I like that the workouts are fairly short for the benefit (first month is 30-45; second month is an hour) and that you don’t need anything other than a pair of sneakers. I technically did not lose any weight but went down a full size in a month and got much stronger. I’m going to do a second round as soon as my ankle is cleared.

    3. I love, love, love Insanity. It absolutely works. I was in the best shape of my life both cardiovascularly and bodywise. I agree with Bonnie that I like that you don’t need any equipment except the DVDs and space to work out. It’s definitely a committment – 6 days a week for 2 months, ~45 min per day – but it’s totally worth it.

      1. If you’re in good shape cardio-wise, Jillian’s 30 day shred is a bit of a joke. Its much better for someone newer to exercise or getting back into it after a break. I like her core and weight training exercises in her other videos better myself.

  3. Threadjack —

    We sold our house! We’re moving out of state, had put it on less than a month ago. Got about 90% of asking price, which seems pretty good considering the market. Selling it to a person with a VA loan, which is supposed to be painful to deal with. Hopefully inspections and assessments will work out. Each step we take toward moving to another state and another type of life makes it feel scary and real and exciting.

    Sorry, needed to tell someone, and I’m afraid I’ll jinx it if I tell people who actually know me.

    1. Congrats! That is really exciting. I know that the VA loans can be a pain, as my parents just went through that process with their buyer, but it worked out for them and I have my fingers crossed it will work out for you!!!

      And please keep posting as much as you can during your move and resettling process. You consistently contribute quality advice and a great perspective and I for one really value your input to this community :-)

    2. Congratulations! Selling your house is such a major hurdle when you are moving….you must feel so relieved. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for the purchaser’s loan to clear!

    3. Wow, that’s awesome!

      One think to keep in mind – a family member of mine has been trying to sell this season, and her buyer ran into some trouble with the lender. Apparently lenders are waaaaaaay more cautious these days. Her buyer was not a first-time homeowner, and was pre-cleared, but apparently needed an official copy of his tax return *from the IRS* before the bank would approve him. So that held up closing for like an extra month.

      But congrats on getting close to your asking price!

      1. I’m buying right now and it has been a pain getting all the material together for the lender. But the official IRS form was not the biggest pain and I can’t believe it took a month! Ours took no more than a couple of weeks and were done well before our closing (which is tomorrow!!!!!!)

  4. Casual wear threadjack –

    Have any of you ladies ever purchased anything from Ruche? They seem to have been getting a decent amount of press lately so I went to their website to check them out. They seem to have some very cute things for casual wear, but I am wondering about quality, etc. Any good or bad experiences to share?

    Thanks in advance!

    1. Ruche has nice casual wear and good quality. It won’t last forever (I’m assuming) since it’s so inexpensive, but the dresses and skirts I’ve bought from the site are the same quality as ModCloth or Target. Warning – the skirts and dresses tend to run on the SHORT side!

      1. Yes, for that price point I totally don’t expect the things to last forever, but then again, for that price point I can afford to buy new things next summer anyway. I have noticed the short skirts – will be carefully noting the skirt measurements before I purchase any item…

    2. I JUST bought a purse from Ruche, which I am returning (because it was too big — but good quality for $40.).

      Just be aware that they do not refund shipping if you make a return, and you have to pay for shipping back. So if you end up wanting to return anything, it gets pretty expensive.

  5. Corporetters, after probably about a solid year and half of searching for full-time permanent employment, I finally got a job offer! Yay! It’s in an area of law that I like, and while the money isn’t as good as I had hoped, it’s good enough to pay back loans, rent, and still eat, so I’m happy and excited!

    (So take hope, fellow 2010 law grads. People are still hiring!)

    1. CONGRATS! It is not great out there, so don’t worry to much about it if you have a significant other to HELP. Right now, I am staying PUT because I do not have a boyfriend, but I will move on once I get a boyfriend who can help with the rent.

  6. Anyone here follow the Pomodoro method of getting work done? I read it on here a bunch and finally tried it and I LOVE IT.

    I’m curious how strict you are with it and what allowances/concessions you make because of your type of work. For ex: if I get interupted by someone but the interuption itself is shorter than telling them I will be available in 15 minutes, then I record the interuption but I don’t restart the Pomodoro. For ex, someone just popped in and said “meeting is moved till 5” and ducked back out. I treated that the same as if I had said “I’m busy, I’ll be by in 20 to talk.”

    Also, as far as eliminating interuptions, I still leave my office phone on and email pop up on as I am still a lowly associate. I glance down to see what comes in or who is calling. If it is a partner I am working for I read it/answer it. If it is anyone else, I check it at the end of the Pomodoro.

    Is this pretty much what you all do or do you go totally “do not disturb no matter who you are” until your pomodoro is up?

    I am finding this technique so helpful for dealing with my ADD.

    1. I was distracting myself from getting work done by checking corporette and got further distracted by your comment to go google the pomodoro technique instead of getting back to work when I got to the end of the comments… irony?

    2. I use this technique and find it helpful. I do deviate because the nature of my work requires some interruptions, so if it’s quick I don’t restart the timer. I only restart if the conversation is long enough that I actually mentally switch over to the conversation and away from the task.

      I have not been diagnosed with ADD but I have a very hard time staying focused, to the point where it feels awful and uncomfortable to hold focus on one task that isn’t exciting and new. The timer helps me most by reminding me that I don’t have to do it forever, and keeps me off my iPhone because I use an app (iTomato) for the timer.

      And added bonus – it keeps coworkers from being overly chatty if you explain the system to them and they can hear or see that your timer is running when they come to talk to you.

      The drawback (in my experience anyway) is that I actually have been teased about the timer, and am worried I appear juvenile for using it – but I think some people act like any type of earnest attempt at self-improvement is juvenile, so I’m dismissing that for now.

  7. thread-jack

    Can anyone weigh in on Aldo shoes? I see a ton of great looking styles on 6pm for sale. I am thinking about buying 3! Does the sizing run small? Good quality? worth wearing for 2 years or longer?

    if you don’t like Aldo heels, what do you like instead?

    Thanks!

    1. I have one pair of Aldo’s. They fit nice and are very comfy. Another pair that I bought (and returned) had horrendous fit issues — too small, too narrow, and too cheap looking. (shrugs).

    2. I have two pairs of Aldo flats and have been happy with them. I think their leather products tend to be a bit better crafted than synthetic, at least in my experience. I’ve tried on a few pairs of their synthetic shoes that were terribly uncomfortable. They run somewhere between a little small and true to size, but they only offer half sizes. I am usually between a 9 and 9 1/2 and I needed to go up vs. down. I have inserts in the shoes and they would be too big without them.

    3. I have a pair or two. I like them, but I think they must run narrow, because I have a fairly narrow heel and they fit me really well. Mine have lasted, but I think the quality is fairly erratic.

    4. Like Laura, the leather ones seem to be better – the synthetic ones can be horrible! I would say they run small…but they are sized on the 30’s system (like 36-40, not 5-10) so I think that’s it. They call a 40 a 10, but I’m a 9 or 9.5 and have to have a 40 in Aldo shoes. They do have some great deals online, though.

    5. I’d buy one at a time (unless you can return them). I’ve had a few pairs of Aldo shoes over the years, and it seemed to me like they use the same last for all their shoes: they all fit me the same way, which was never perfect for the shape of my foot.

      Quality-wise, I’d say they’re fine but not great.

  8. I think this suit is gorgeous. Alas, I can’t afford and have no reason to wear it.

    Off-topic, ladies, what do you think of this dress? It also comes in cobalt blue:
    http://www.ideeli.com/events/48431/offers/1540223/latest_view/1196039

    I’m think it might have to be a replacement for the blue linen Adrianna Papell that I ordered from Nordstrom last week, only to be told the next day that it was unavailable. I’m now shopping to replace the sheath dress that I wasn’t looking for in the first place.

    1. The link just takes me to the Ideeli sign in page and I don’t have an account. I feel your pain on shopping for something you didn’t plan to look for in the first place. Sometimes you just can’t get the thought of it out of your head!

    2. I know I’m a day late, but I own the dress in cobalt & it is great — very flattering. However, you can “tell” it is polyester (if that bothers you).

  9. Threadjack/vent: I was recently put on a project in Buenos Aires, which is going great, despite it being winter again. I am working in an environment that I was told was business casual, with some days of business formal. That said, I brought my winter wardrobe, which I think is really quite in the middle of business casual. However, when I got here, I saw that I was way overdressed compared to all the women and some of the men. Most men tend to wear slacks and sometimes a tie, while the women wear jeans and leggings with oversized sweaters. When they dress up/wear business formal, they wear tights with a black skirt and a cardigan or a wrap dress. I feel like I am way too dressed up for my position and I´m stuck in that bad habit of prefering to be underdressed than overdressed. I´ll be working for another 3 or so weeks (6 week assignment in total) so I don´t want to go run out and buy a whole bunch of clothes. That said, I would feel incredibly uncomfortable if I showed up in jeans and boots or any of my other after work clothes. Theres probably no good answer to this, and I know its better to be on the more formal side, its just not my favorite.

    As an aside, I´m not from somewhere where we walk/take public transportation to go to work. What on earth do you do with your pants in the winter so that they don´t get wet on the bottom when you walk in flats?

    1. Are your coworkers Argentine? I’m a US citizen who travels extensively for work and I just always wear a suit no matter what. Often I’m overdressed, but it works fine because I’m a foreigner and people just assume I’m dressing the way Americans dress. Women outside the US and western Europe tend to have way different standards of dress than men in their countries or women here.

      I normally tuck the top of my pants into my boots while I’m walking on my commute. If you’re wearing flats, I’d use a binder clip or something similar to keep them up. If you’re talking about walking with colleagues from work sites or something and need to look professional, then I suggest getting shoes or boots that won’t allow your pants to drag.

    2. Can you mix in your casual clothes with your formal clothes for everyday work wear? E.g. wear the bottom of a suit with a cardigan or sweater or jeans with a blazer? You could also just buy a couple pieces to fill the gaps in your wardrobe? I recall a Zara on Avenida de 9 de Julio.

      1. I’m a little hesitant to wear jeans, but this is the general approach I’ve taken. Honestly, I think I would feel just as uncomfortable in jeans and a blazer. I’m also assuming that most of the Argentinians I’m working with assume that is how Americans dress for work. I’ll definitely be going to Zara this weekend, though. They have some cute winter stuff that I don’t know if we will ever see in the States.

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