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Suit of the Week: Theory

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Theory suiting

The below content is about the 2013 Nordstrom Half-Yearly Sale.

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 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.

OK. I don't want to alarm anyone, but I think it has finally happened: the Ally McBeal, short skirt/long jacket look has returned.

(My guess is that the horrid shorts suit trend was really just a long con to get us used to the aesthetic again.) I'm not quite sure what to make of this, as someone who lived through that look the first time, at least as a teenager. I suspect the look should primarily stay with the teenagers, but if anyone is thinking of attempting it for a casual day at the office, my advice is to wait until fall when you can wear dark tights with it.

The jacket (Marcela Virginwool Jacket) is $445, and the dress (Taline Virginwool Dress) is $315. ‘

(In actual recommendation news, though, Theory's sale section has a ton of classic pieces on sale, including Gabe Classic Tailor Blazer, the Betty Tailor Shift Dress, the Golda Tailor Pencil Skirt, and the Max C. Tailor Pant. Nordstrom's Half-Yearly Sale also includes those same classic Theory pieces.)

womens suits 2womens suits 3

Sales of note for 3/26/25:

  • Nordstrom – 15% off beauty (ends 3/30) + Nordy Club members earn 3X the points!
  • Ann Taylor – Extra 50% off sale + additional 20% off + 30% off your purchase
  • Banana Republic Factory – Friends & Family Event: 50% off purchase + extra 20% off
  • Eloquii – 50% off select styles + extra 50% off all sale
  • J.Crew – 30% off tops, tees, dresses, accessories, sale styles + warm-weather styles
  • J.Crew Factory – Shorts under $30 + extra 60% off clearance + up to 60% off everything
  • M.M.LaFleur – 25% off travel favorites + use code CORPORETTE15 for 15% off
  • Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
  • Talbots – $64.50 spring cardigans + BOGO 50% off everything else

And some of our latest threadjacks here at Corporette (reader questions and commentary) — see more here!

Some of our latest threadjacks include:

71 Comments

    1. actually, i’m short (5’3″), short-waisted and hourglassy, and i’ve found that the only way i can wear a blazer with a dress is if it’s on the longer side – shorter jackets are just unflattering that way. it’s not quite this exaggerated – i wear theory’s gabe b blazer 2-3 sizes up from my normal theory jacket size, and it hits low hip/upper thigh region – maybe an inch or two shorter than the model here, with the skirt falling around my knee.

      1. Me too! I love this suit. Because I’m only 5′ tall (27″ inseam), the skirt would be much longer on me than on the model. Too bad I’m on an absolute shopping ban right now!! Blast!

    2. Me also. I am also to squat to get away with a micro mini skirt, mainley b/c my leg’s are to short and stubby, my dad say’s. It hasn’t stopped guy’s from wanting to date me (and more), so I am NOT compleaining. Dad just got an “EXECUTIEIVE SUMMARY” of the firm policie’s and he is very mad. FOOEY! I think Dad want’s me to pull out from the partnership even BEFORE I am a partner! How can I get a man if I am NOT a partner? FOOEY!

    1. It’s way too short a hem for any office.

      I really like the long jacket look but not with skirts that short.

  3. I used to have a double-breasted burgundy suit that had an above the knee skirt and a long jacket with shoulder pads. It was from Brooks Brothers (!!!). I wore it with nude hose. To court!

    3. I sort of think that should be the Corporette theme song:

      I want a girl with the right allocations
      Who’s fast and thorough
      And sharp as a tack
      She’s playing with her jewelry
      She’s putting up her hair
      She’s touring the facility
      And picking up slack

    4. I looked at the photo and said ‘a short skirt and a looong jacket’. My roommates now think I’m nuts.

    1. I thought it was interesting that Google Plus is growing. I only know a few people who use it. But I was looking at Google’s list of services the other day and I have to wonder what they’re thinking. They’ve gotten rid of Reader and will soon phase out iGoogle. Do they think that people don’t use feeds? What are people using in place of those two products?

      I also found it interesting to see how many times people use their smartphones. Between emails, texts, and calendar, I’m sure I’m up there. Actual calls, not so much.

      1. I don’t use Google Plus for social networking, but Google makes you join it in order to use Hangouts (aka video chat), which I do use all the time.

        1. Interesting. So I guess I must have joined Google Plus since I use video chat daily. It irks me that video chat is now Hangouts because when I go to labels on my phone, I can no longer find chats/hangouts under chat. Even when it’s not video.

      3. I use google plus mainly to share pictures with a limited group of people (e.g Family circle, college friends circle). I find the privacy setting for sharing pictures and posts much easier on google plus than fb. I know I could probably do this in fb somehow but so far I like google plus for this reason. Most of close friends/family are on it and we get notification when someone uploads pics. Plus I feel google plus definitely helps me save wasting time on fb going through baby pictures of elementary school friend (who i haven’t seen in 20+ years). Google plus is more directed, I only go there when I know someone put something I am interested in.
        May be because goog+ came later than fb and I have just been more careful about privacy settings. It just feels too much effort to go back and sort 400+ “friends” on fb into appropriate circles for sharing pic/posts etc.

    1. Agreed. I reserved judgment for a few hours, but I’m going to go ahead and say I think this is awful, and that the 90s want their power suit back.

  7. Can the return of the chunky shoe be far behind? I loooooooooved those chunky shoes we had in the 90s! ;)

    1. I just noticed last night that clunky heels are all over the J Crew catalog. Now, where did I put my dark brown matte lipstick and choker?

      1. Ha – just actually tried on Clinque’s Black Honey at the make-up counter but decided that after 15 years, I couldn’t go back.

        1. I still use Black Honey (which is quite sheer) but can’t return to the dark, matte lipsticks.

      1. I have these in a different color and loooove them. They aren’t delicate looking obviously but they aren’t too clunky in person.

        2. I have these too. I walked for blocks and blocks and took the subway in Manhattan the second time I wore them with narry a twinge of discomfort. Amazing shoes.

    3. I am totally behind chunky shoes and, if I’m thinking of the right shoe, have definitely seen similar looks in a fair number of designer or designer for mall level shoe stores (a la Tory Burch). That is a trend I’d be 100% fine with coming back (though the heels may be slightly less chunky) because sometimes I just prioritize comfort over fashion in my shoes. And all the better if its comfortable AND fashionable.

        1. Wow–nice find. I can’t even pretend to afford it, of course, but I’ve been waiting for the long jacket to come back. I love the look.

  9. Today Belle at Cap Hill Style posted a rant against bubble necklaces (link in reply). Can someone help me? What is the problem with bubble necklaces?

      1. I think it was just that they are everywhere, which they are. I still like them, but I don’t wear mine that much for two reasons: 1. they are everywhere, and 2. I bought one of the knockoff ones from B a u b l e Bar, and I just don’t think it looks as nice as the original J. Crew ones.

    3. Maybe it’s a regional thing? I haven’t seen very many here – in the interests of full disclosure, I have one (and love it) and get a ton of compliments every time I wear mine, but I haven’t seen anyone else wearing one IRL.

    5. What exactly is a bubble necklace? I am picturing actual plastic bubbles. Or is it just an umbrella term for all those bright ubiquitous Jcrew plastic necklaces? Or all weird costume-y statement necklaces generally?

      I think they’re mostly fine as long as they’re well made and you don’t look exactly like you’ve stepped out of a Jcrew catalog. I have noticed a definitive “Jcrew-ification” lately with everyone wearing the same bright colored jeans, denim shirt with sweater & said necklace over it and the same orange-red nail polish. It’s becoming kind of not interesting, which I think is the opposite of its intended effect!

    6. Yeah, I haven’t seen them where I am either. (I googled.) But they look like they would be cute with a lot of different outfits. I’d wear one.

  10. Help! I got an interview with a tech company… in NYC.

    I currently work in somewhat of a creative environment, but still wore a suit to the interview for my current job. It’s also on a Friday, so I don’t want to be super-obvious to my coworkers (Friday is super-casual here). Also guessing that a suit isn’t appropriate for a tech company… so what do I wear?

    1. I’d say wear a suit but with a fun/less formal shell or top underneath — something colorful or printed — and bright or interesting accessories. But then, I come from the always-wear-a-suit school of thought. Good luck at your interview!

    2. I would also wear a suit with a less formal top underneath or maybe a sheath dress with a jacket.

      1. Business development- I’m guessing that commenters are correct about the suit with a wear-able top underneath. It might even make sense if I carry in the blazer (as to not seem too stuffy) since it’s supposed to be a hot day.
        Thanks, all!

    4. When interviewing with tech companies (I am not a lawyer) I usually wear a suit but with a button down or a nice top with sleeves so I can easily take off the blazer if I am looking very formal in the setup. If it is technical interview and I am coding on a white board for 4-5 hours, I am usually more comfortable without a blazer. When I have had day long interviews and I am speaking with both very casual dressed (jeans/tshirt/flip flop) developers and higher level exec or business side people, then I would either wear the blazer or take it off in between breaks.

      1. I’m a lawyer with tech co and startup clients and my standard uniform for visiting them is a back blazer, white shell, cool necklace and a skirt with a pattern in black, with heels or tall boots. Not a suit, but yet semi fashionable and sets me apart from my t shirt and jeans wearing clients.

    5. I would definitely wear a suit. My friends who work in tech all wore relatively conservative black suits for interviews even though they now wear jeans to work.

  11. Question about budgets – when did you all decide to institute one? I have never lived with one, but am also single with no kids, so I wonder if it happens when you have kids and therefore more (fixed) expenses. FWIW, I max out my 401(k) and have a Roth IRA, and don’t worry about savings / spending really at all. But I know I generally don’t spend too much, and while I uploaded my info to Mint, I have never used it.

    1. I also don’t have kids and I also don’t have a budget. I could probably save more money, but I generally feel like I have a good internal compass about these things and it allows me to negotiate my money without having to sit down and actually budget. I know generally how much money I can spend vs. how much needs to go out vs. how much I should be putting aside. What works for me is to just figure out my fixed expenses (rent, loans, phone, etc.) and automate certain others (savings, retirement contributions, flex spending), and then play with the rest. If I start to spend a lot of money, I usually notice it and cut back. But this way, it doesn’t feel forced. I may have to change my system at some point, but I feel like it works so far.

      I am the same way with food, incidentally. Do not do well with diets or calorie counting, but fare much better with a natural, internal clock type approach. Pizza lunch at work = fruit for breakfast, fancy event coming up = maybe I take the stairs a bit extra or get off a few subway stops early…

    2. Preface: I got married really, really young (as in my 20 high school reunion is this summer, my 20th wedding anniversary is next summer), so all of my young adult experiences were pretty much as a married rather than a single woman. That being said (mostly to explain the ‘we’ references below)…

      We had a budget years before having children, but that was mostly because we were very poor students and if we overspent in food we had trouble paying rent or utilities.

      We’ve had some type of budget ever since. Over the years we’ve relaxed the categories, combining some, adding some, refining what works for us. Right now it’s a one page Excel spreadsheet that is color coded and updated every time something changes, but referred to almost weekly to make sure we’re on track and none of the bills got missed or lost in the mail.

      Works for us.

      1. This is awesome! Happy 20th Anniversary (next year). I love it when people marry young and it lasts.

    3. I started keeping a budget when I wanted to save for something big, so I wanted to see where I could spend less. I started by tracking all my spending for a month or two, then categorizing, and then figuring out where I wanted to make cuts.

      I stopped doing it for a while, and just started again when I got married and combined my finances with my husband’s. We use mint, and I like it.

    4. Here’s how we (myself and DH) budget:
      $x per person per paycheck into savings (then split into shorter- and long-term savings/investments)
      $y per person per paycheck into additional retirement vehicles beyond our maxed out work 401ks
      $z per person per paycheck into our “fun money” accounts, which are separately managed
      everything else goes into our checking account. The checking account is used to pay our mortgage, bills that are automatically withdrawn at certain amounts each month, and our credit card bill.
      All our joint purchases, for the most part, go on the credit card which is paid off in full each month. We know what our credit card bill *should* be, and if it’s high, and we can’t justify why (eg. “oh, it’s $2k higher because of the new couch we bought”), we’re “over budget.”
      Whatever is left over in checking either gets moved over into savings, kept to pad the account for the next month, or thrown as a bonus student loan payment.

      We have specific goals, like paying off DH’s grad school loans by X and Y dates, and having enough for a downpayment on a bigger house in a couple of years.

      We’re about to have a kid, though, so I think we’re going to have to re-adjust to allocate for kid-related expenses.

    5. I’m similar to AIMS, I think, except that I do have a budget. I instituted it when I realized my husband didn’t have a good intuitive sense about where our money was going. Specifically, I suspected that if he saw how much he was spending on fancy beers, he would cut back. (I was right.)

  12. So…I hope I don’t get kicked out of our little club here for this…but I don’t mind the long jacket and suiting dress look in theory. I think executed correctly it could be a great power look (though for some reason I’d really prefer it in a color other than black, like light gray or maybe with a contrasting dress and jacket.) But the skirts got to be longer. Got to be. That is absurdly short, I’d be uncomfortable wearing that to a club, let along work – and I am not a believer that black tights can make a mini skirt work appropriate (you know, because tights aren’t pants.)

    Just THINK about how short that skirt would be if she sat down. I shudder to imagine. But I like the look otherwise. Does that make me unfashionable? Or is it just because I was young enough when Ally McBeal was on that I was brainwashed.

    Truth time – it may mostly be because of that song where he likes women in a “short skirt and a looooooong jacket” because I’d walk around all day with that song stuck in my head and thinking I as a BAMF who was running all the things.

    1. I was in high school during the Ally McBeal era and totally ripped off this look for things “serious” things. I did it with a black dress with a large floral pattern (like four hand sized flowers on the front) and a black jacket. I thought I was so awesome. And at 16 I had the legs for it.

  13. So I’m having coffee with someone in the field I’d love to work in. She knows I’ll be in the middle of vacation. I won’t wear shorts, obviously, but if I put on a jacket and all, it seems like it would look I was trying too hard. Does it work to wear a short-sleeved patterned cotton jersey shirt with nice black pants?

    1. They are biz casual. No one looks like she has a suit on in the head shots on their website. Most of them aren’t wearing a jacket of any type.

  14. TJ re: asking for a raise: I know it’s late but if nobody responds I’ll try again… I started a new job almost 4 months ago. The background: I went back to practicing law and found a job in a small firm in a sub-specialty I am interested in and my experience was relevant to. I am an older woman (in my 50’s) and my career and work experience has been unusual (which is good and bad). I found this job within a week after I started looking. At the initial interview they asked me how much I wanted but said they could not match this number although I might be worth it. After consulting the recruiter I came back with a lower number they agreed to immediately and also agreed that we will discuss again after 3 months. I think they are happy with my work product and commitment. I know the clients are happy. I am not sure if how and when to approach the partner who hired me. … Any ideas?

    1. It’s always a little bit awkward, but much easier in your case since the partner specifically mentioned the three month mark. I’d ask in person, when the partner does not seem too busy, mention you’ve been there 4 months already and would like to schedule the performance review you discussed when you were hired.

    2. I’m not in law, but I had a similar situation with my current job. When they couldn’t match my desired salary, I accepted but we agreed to revisit in six months. At the six month mark (knowing that they were very happy with me), I approached my boss and asked for a salary review. In my case (probably because he detests actual management stuff), he simply went to HR and requested a raise. I ended up with slightly less than I asked for, but very close.

  15. TJ re: dressing for grad school.

    So I’ve been accepted into grad school. Yay! Except I have no idea what to wear to any of my classes. My school is a small, prestigious graduate school on the West Coast, and I’ll be doing a professional degree (but not finance/law) in a field where dress codes generally skew a little on the formal side. My previous experience with grad school dressing is that the only requirement is that you come dressed, so I’m kind of lost. Plus I live halfway around the world, so I’m basically limited to the contents of one large suitcase + backpack due to space and budgetary reasons.

    Additional questions:

    – How acceptable is non-Western formal wear? Not for interviews, but I’d like the option of going to events and such in something that isn’t a cocktail dress or a suit.

    – How cold does northern CA get? I have a lovely (but incredibly heavy) pair of boots that I’m not keen to schlep around the world unless I really need them.

    Thanks in advance!

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