Suit of the Week: Theory “Wool Crunch” Suit
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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 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 will freely admit that I would look horrible in this Theory suit — and yet it's drawn my interest for more than a few weeks now. I like the sharp shoulders, contrasted against the otherwise laid back vibe of the suit (it is SO laid back that the jacket doesn't even have a button). The loose pants, and the wool/linen blend — something about it all just seems glamorous and professional at the same time. The jacket (Theory ‘Itora – Wool Crunch' Jacket) is $425, and the pants (Theory ‘Fyran – Wool Crunch' Pants
) are $315.
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Way to expensive for me. Plus, it looks like my PJ’s! I don’t think people in my office would take me seriously wearing these bedclothes to work!
For some reason, I am picturing Lauren Bacall having a fabulous cocktail party on a yacht, and wearing this suit.
She’d look fabulous.
Looks very Katherine Hepburn to me. Pretty, though I think you’d have to have her figure to pull it off!
That was my exact thought – Katherine Hepburn. Not my style either, but I can admire it in theory.
Food for thought: if the occassion is this casual (no button, gasp!) do you even need to wear a suit? I like this overall, but I’m struggling with when this would be appropriate. Plus I can’t help but imagine this linen suit completly wrinkled after sitting down.
I don’t really like this particular suit, but I do like to wear a suit even when it’s not required. I like the silhouette of suits.
How does not having a button make it not a suit?
Totally agree about linen making something less formal, just not sure a button or not is equivalent.
Not for me but very cool for a very cool colleague.
I’m not saying the lack of a button makes it not a suit, I was using that as an example for how casual of a suit it is. Kat mentioned that in the description and it cought my eye.
This reminds me of PJs
This would look horrible on me, but would be so fun to wear for someone with the right figure!
I don’t understand why they don’t have at least one picture of the full suit with the shirt tucked in. Without a picture like that, it’s very hard to visualize how the suit would look.
http://www.theory.com/womens-blazer-itora-woolcrunch/B0601104,default,pd.html
Might look good on someone tall and lean.
Just a personal preference, but I like my clothes crunch-free.
I don’t get intentionally “crunched” clothing either.
I hate this jacket, but love the pants. The jacket is both too sharp in the shoulders and too loosey-goosey otherwise for me. (a la Miami Vice)
Shine/Yahoo posted a working-wardrobe horror list…
http://shine.yahoo.com/event/poweryourfuture/bosses-reveal-worst-wardrobe-don-ts-2518505/
The comments on that are incredible in just about every dimension.
According to the rules stated by one commenter, my boatneck blouse is inappropriate because when I tuck my chin against my chest, I touch skin.
You learn something new everyday.
Wow. I’m generally pretty conservative when it comes to necklines, but that is a little much even for me!
That’s crazy.
Great. I get to wear crew necks, then, and look like I’ve got a couple of potato sacks on my chest. Or something like that. Women with “large tracts of land” *can* look funny in crew necks, turtlenecks, etc. YMMV, but I look awful in them….
That is ridiculous. Thanks for helping to save me some time by not looking through the comments….
I have “large tracts of land” as well, and a turtleneck or crew neck really just emphasizes their generous real estate.
I’m in doc review hell – subscribing in the hopes of interesting threads this afternoon!
I don’t think it would be flattering on me, but I love the style. Perfect for a more creative field. For me, I like a button to define my waist.
I hear ya. For me, would need a skinny belt inside at least, which negates the cool slouchy breezey thing. A fitted but waist-accentuating top might do the trick– in a dark color. So the waist can say: “hello, I’m in here!”
Threadjack – does anyone know of any good websites/online communities (similar to Corporette) centered around personal finance?
People here have recommended Get Rich Slowly. I enjoyed the blog years ago but find that it’s a bit too frugality focused (esp. the comments) for me. Making one’s own laundry soap comes up way too frequently for my taste.
So I second the call – I’d love something focused more on retirement planning, investing, etc.
The Bogleheads forum! It’s focused on the tenents of Jack Bogle, and is very pro his company, Vanguard, but the commenters are great at assisting each other with selecting investment strategy and prioritizing savings.
The three I check most days are Frugal Dad, I Will Teach You To Be Rich, and Mr. Money Mustache (not linking them to avoid moderation!).
Can’t wait to see what everyone else says!
wwwDOTlearnvestDOTcom
wwwDOTdailyworthDOTcom
http://www.wellheeledblog.com is written by a young, fashion-y woman. Lately she’s been a little too enthusiastic about her upcoming wedding for my tastes, though.
For some reason this didn’t appear so I’m trying again – wellheeledblog (dot) com is written by a young, fashion-y woman. Lately she’s been a little too enthusiastic about her upcoming wedding for my tastes, though.
The Simple Dollar is pretty good – and Trent often reviews personal finance books.
I read a few of those already suggested, and I’ll add “Money Under 30” (www.moneyunder30.com) to the mix. It’s a mix of very basic information (er, spend less than you make) and somewhat more sophisticated (investment strategies). The author is actually 30 now, and it’s not just for 20-somethings.
I would love thoughts on my recent job interview experience. I met with the managing partner of a small firm in late June for the first interview and it went really well. After our meeting she had me meet with the associate attorney that I would be working very closely with for a brief meeting. The partner even told me the “timeline” of everything without my prompting. She told me that she would like me to come back for a second interview and they would be in touch “mid to late July.” Needless to say, I was very excited and hopeful that it would work out. The problem is that I have not heard anything since that date. I sent a “thank you” note and I’ve been patiently waiting since. Do you think I should reach out or no? I don’t want to be pushy but I also want to be agressive enough to show my continued interest. Any feedback would be great. Thanks!
It’s time! Follow up with at least an email if not a call. Reiterate your interest and ask where they are in the hiring process. Could be they hired someone else, or there could have been some reason (vacation, personal emergency) that the original timeline was delayed.
Good luck! Be confident. They wanted you– either they still do and you need to know, or they want someone else/can’t afford you, etc. and you need to know… it’s not that they don’t want you, because you aced it. Find out and chin up. You had good stuff and impressed.
Have any Corporettes purchased Asos brand clothing? Any comments on the brand’s quality?
For me, it’s been a hit-and-miss experience. I’ve sent back a dress because the material seemed cheap and gifted another to a colleague, because it was too clingy for me, but a have a nice parka from their line (unlined, though).
Curious to hear what others have to say. They have some really cute going out things, and their online “outlet” has some good deals. I just bought a few tops there for a very reasonable price, so I’ll post reviews when they come in.
Asos is cheap because it is….well…cheap. Dresses are very short, everything is unlined, can’t expect things to last long. But if you want a quick fashion fix, it is great. That said, they *do* make more of an effort with some of their higher-priced items. You get what you pay for.
This suit reminds me of Chicos
I was thinking jammies.
That’s pretty much the same thing ;)
Threadjack:
I’m very confused by a recent experience I had in interview-land and I’m hoping someone can clarify. I applied for a lateral associate position. This afternoon, the firm (which is in another city and so the interview would require me to travel) said it would like to interview me on Friday (i.e., 36 hours from now) or Monday. I reiterated my interest in the position and stated I was unavailable those days because I had court appearances that I could not delegate. I offered to interview tomorrow, or any day next week, and also volunteered to do a phone interview on either Friday or Monday. The recruiting coordinator said that the firm didn’t want to interview me if I wasn’t available in person on Friday or Monday, but that they would keep me in mind for future openings. Can anyone explain what I did wrong? Does anyone else think this is bizarre?
I had a similiar experience while interviewing for a lateral position in another city. I told them I could come x dates. They told me I had to be available on y dates (which were within a week of their call). I could not be available that quickly or that on the dates given. When I explained this they politely told me thanks, but no thanks. I was surprised, but decided that if they were that fast-tracked about the whole thing, I probably was not the person for them anyway. My guess is that in this economy, they probably had so many people apply, they could afford to be picky.
Glad to know that it’s a common thing and I didn’t say something really stupid. The firm called back to say that it has changed its mind and will interview me next week.
Sometimes the HR people get a little overzealous. They might have told the decision-makers about your court obligations and who told HR to interview you anyway.
Yeah, that’s what I was thinking too. HR probably was just told that those were the only days, and initially didn’t check to see if the decision-makers could be flexible.
Landlord question– I just starting moving boxes into my new apartment and it doesn’t look like the landlord had anyone come in and clean the place. Is the landlord obligated to clean the apartment after the last tenant moves out? It’s nothing too major, but the stove doesn’t look clean and we found oats and rice spilled over in the cabinets.
So frustrating to be paying more for a nicer apartment and then to move into a dirty place. We already have a ton of boxes moved in so I’m concerned about my things even if they offer to have someone in and clean.
Should I just let this go and clean it myself?
Landlord responsibilities are generally regional. I’ve lived in places where they were required to paint the walls and have the carpets cleaned between tenants and places where there were no rules and the old tenant’s broken furniture and drifts of cat hair were still sitting in the (pet free) apartment. To be honest, though, even where cleaning was required the landlords usually did a poor job or didn’t bother at all. I’d say you should just clean it yourself.
Or they hire someone to sloppily paint over all the crud.
The main thing is, you’ll love your new place– this is a hiccup you won’t remember later.
If you can afford it, I suggest hiring a company to do a top to bottom for you. You’ll be happier with the results and save time (unless you are a really good cleaner – I am definitely NOT a good cleaner!).
Depends what your lease says. Usually not.
Since I’ve noticed in comment threads that we have a lot of sci-fi/fantasy readers hanging around, I thought people might interested in voting in NPR’s top fantasy/sci-fi book poll:
http://www.npr.org/2011/08/02/138894873/vote-for-top-100-science-fiction-fantasy-titles
I love this suit. I am also not sure I could pull it off at 5’4, but then again I think sometimes clothes like this can be surprisingly flattering (i.e., I don’t think you necessarily have to be tall & willowy to pull this off). Every so often, I make myself try on something I think would never work on me, and funny enough about half the time it actually ends up really working out.
White (cream? ecru?) scares me. I once had a white Chanel-style suit made by Adrienne Vittadini (her bridge line). I must have blotted from memory the reason for its rapid demise. I’m pretty sure it got stained.
I like having the option of buttoning a jacket. The blouse is my favorite part of this outfit.
A nice suit for the woman who can wear it.
I like this suit a lot but wearing cream/ivory to the office ensures getting something on it within minutes of arrival. Never fails.
I do love the style. It figures, just after I’ve donated all of my old suits, which included a few styled like this one, it comes back.
I’m guessing that the wool-linen combo makes it less slept-in looking than a linen only.