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Thursday’s TPS Report: Asymmetrical Neck Knit Dress

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Our daily TPS reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices. Ann Taylor Asymmetrical Neck Knit DressAnn Taylor is taking 30% off all dresses this week, meaning that this great knit dress (viscose, polyester and elastane) becomes pretty darn reasonable. We like the interesting but demure neckline, and the ladylike knee-length. It's available in peacock (pictured), a winey red (“port”), a gray, and a black, in regulars, petites, and talls. Was $98; price comes to $68ish after the discount. Asymmetrical Neck Knit Dress Seen a great piece you'd like to recommend? Please e-mail editor@corporette.com with “TPS” in the subject line. (L-2)

Sales of note for 12.5

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

Some of our latest threadjacks include:

140 Comments

  1. I tried this dress on, and the knit is very thin & clingy- shows every single bump & ripple. Could possibly be solved with the additional of a slip. The colors were beautiful though. Someone should tell the people at AT that people are willing to pay more for a dress that is a heavier knit and actually looks good.

    1. I had this thought when I saw the materials listed — thanks for confirming. This is why I am always reluctant to shop online — it seems like at least half the stuff sold at BR, AT, Talbots, etc., looks great as pictured but is hideously wrong (whether b/c it’s inappropriate or just crappy) in person. What is the point?

    2. This seems clear even on the model in the pictures. This would be a pretty skintight dress, but I agree that the super-saturated colors are really pretty.

      1. I wanted this dress so much, but thought the same thing. The colors are beautiful, but not when stretched over the sack of potatoes my body has become recently. Make the same dress in a nice heavyweight cotton or light wool though, and I’m sold.

      2. I tried this on yesterday in the store and it was gorgeous, but I went up a size to try to reduce the visible ripples (from a 6 to an 8) and would still have had to wear a foundation garment, so sadly I hung it back up and pledged to get more exercise :(

    3. Sigh. The color and the cut are so pretty – but I too thought it looked really thin in the picture. Thanks for confirming and saving me the trouble of a return.

      1. I have this dress in black (available in stores, not online). I did not find the fabric too thin. To the contrary, I thought it was very flattering and slimming. I had to size down a size (usually a 6, bought a 4), because knits like this stretch during the day on me.

        1. Have to agree, particularly as to the black, which I bought today at lunch. I thought it would be a good replacement for my comfort go-to black dress that’s matte jersey, but a touch more casual-looking than I would like. And my judgment is that the fabric weight is just fine — perfect base layer for winter and wearable year-round.

    4. I have found this to be true with most AT knit dresses. I am a slim person — they are so clingy that I get the dreaded “polterwang” in them.

        1. LOL and I have no idea what that means either, but from your comment, Amy, I think I’ll just be satisfied not knowing. :-)

          1. ha! It’s when you get suspicious fabric activity around the crotch area – e.g. bunching, clinging on the pelvic bone, etc – that gives the illusion of, well, a wang. :)

      3. Definitely just made myself choke because I read “polterwang” while taking a sip of Diet Coke!

      4. Never heard of this, but this fabric does tend to give women the dreaded camel toe, which shouldn’t even be possible in a dress but somehow happens with this fabric.

          1. I first learned it from GoFugYourself, which while not as career advancing as this blog is, is fabulously funny.

          2. <3 gofugyourself. That is also where I got the term "bat sh-t crazy" which I find is a *perfect* description people on occasion. =)

  2. Ladies,

    I’m interviewing and desperately need a conservatively-cut shell (no jersey, pale color, preferably a silk blend) to wear underneath. I stopped by BR yesterday and found nothing. Also can’t find anything on the Ann Taylor website or the J. Crew website, although I’m thinking about their cashmere shells (the Jackie shells fade terribly, so they’re out). A quick browse through Bloomingdales.com also disappointed. Any recommendations? I don’t have a local Nordstrom’s, so it’d have to be online to be useful. It needs to be moderately high cut (but not a boatneck). I’m desperate!

    1. I would think that Ann Taylor in-store has these things – I have two that I bought around this time last year. If you are close to a store, I would check it out.

          1. I ordered up a size in the white for that reason, and didn’t have any problems.

            (Anon above)

    4. These aren’t real silk but they’re very cheap and otherwise meet your requirements. You might have to call to see if the store near you has them:

      http://www4.jcpenney.com/jcp/X6.aspx?GrpTyp=SIZ&ItemID=17e2352&Ntt=Charmeuse+Shell&hdnOnGo=true&Ne=4+877+878+5+961+6+29+3+598+11+15+12+506+10+23+585+596+1031+8+18+904+903+840+969+949+833&submit%20search.y=4&SearchString=Charmeuse+Shell&submit%20search.x=9&N=4294959029&Nao=0&SO=0&PSO=0&CmCatId=searchresults

      (I’ve ordered one in every color and I’m waiting for them to arrive to review them)

      1. I got one, too–from a suggestion on here. I cut the shoulder pads out, and it looks great!

      2. I don’t want to be mean, but this looks like something my mom wore with her powersuits in the 80s. And it comes with shoulder pads? Frumpy.

        1. I agree that the main picture looks like that, but I think it’s how the model is standing. The other pictures don’t look like that … but mine are in the store and I’ll be picking them next week, maybe they’ll all go back!

        2. I was also concerned, but it was $6. I’m normally a BR/AT addict, and was pleasantly suprised that this fits better than the (very limited) shells there, once the shoulder pads are out!

    5. I’ve always liked the brand August Silk’s shells — silk blend, solid colors — I believe Macy’s sells them though I have also found them in TJ Maxx.

      1. August Silk is also available at the Rack. I have several.

        Lafayette 148 has silk shells as well.

      2. I do like August Silk, but beware if you’re taller and/or long-waisted…I may be an outlier because I’m very tall, but every shell I’ve tried on from them has been more of a crop top. Barely appropriate for me in a skirt (i.e. it will come untucked, even though I wear them higher up on my waist). Their cardigans, however, are lovely.

    6. I think if you actually go to just about any department store, the department store brand will have something along these lines. I’ve had luck doing this at the last minute and always found something that worked.

    7. I know many consider this to be an old-lady brand, but Eileen Fisher does very basic, conservative shells in all kinds of colors and fabrics. Whenever I need a shell in X color, Eileen Fisher is the first brand I look at. I don’t enjoy a lot of the drapey pants/cardigans she has in her line but the shells are fantastic. I get mine on eBay, mostly, but just about every major high-end department store (Dillards, Saks, Bloomingdales) carries Eileen Fisher. You can do a Google/ShopStyle search and see what turns up.

      1. I’ve had good luck with Eileen Fisher…not every year but she occasionally does some great work pieces… and I don’t do “old lady”! ;-)

      2. You beat me to this suggestion. Troll their website for sales, and also look at Garnet Hill (also online). Both sites regularly have a lot of items on sale.

      1. Pretty – but $200! For a polyester top!! I’m not against man-made fabrics but this seems like too much money for what it is.

      2. I am in love with this top. Annnnddd it’s yet another reminder why my “save” money goes straight into a minimally accessible savings account after I get paid… ;)

      3. I agree that this looks lovely in the picture, but I tried it on in the store and it looked horrible on me. The beige color completely washed me out and it didn’t drape nicely on me at all.

    10. I’ve also been looking for a short-sleeved solid color shell/blouse with no luck. Plenty of patterns out there, and plenty of sleeveless solid colors, and plenty of quite casual jersey options. Out of desperation, I finally bought a Koret (Koret! Ugh, talk about old lady brands!) blouse at Dillard’s yesterday. I love the color (a spring green) but the fabric is 100% polyester and will be too hot. It will do for now, but still on the hunt.

      I know certain colors come and go, but you’d think solid short sleeve blouses would be a staple in summer business wear…

      1. Lafayette’s cotton tees (if you can get them on sale) are great for this. I got a Swiss cotton one 2 weeks ago from Saks online for just $50.

    11. I bought a bunch of silk blend shells at brooks brothers a few years back in a light yellow, a pale blue, and a green. They are good quality – still look great a few years later. Not sure if they still have them, but it’s a good place to check.

    12. Talbots, or if you live near a Macy’s they always have things like this. Bloomie’s should too – sometimes you can’t find things like this online with department stores but if you go in person you’ll find it easily.

    14. Talbots has some! http://www.talbots.com/online/browse/product_details.jsp?id=prdi24783&rootCategory=cat70018&catId=cat90030&sortKey=Default&section=Sale&conceptIdUnderSale=cat90030

      Actually, I just got one form JC Penney, too–it was $6 on super sale with a code someone from Corporette gave me!

      Ann Taylor has a navy one and a leopard print one with exposed zippers–not quite what I was looking for!

      I’m always on the lookout for non-button down shells! haha….I actually I e-mailed banana republic last week demanding additional short-sleeved shells!

      1. I actually just got a couple of these in the mail – in the green and the ivory – and I really like them. Nice fabric and good fit, will make a great shell.

        Just FYI – I got a few things in the Talbot’s sale despite being worried after all of the boxy fit comments here – most of the things worked. Short-sleeved thin cable-knit sweaters and wrap cardigan were fine. But as AIMS noted above – one of the sweaters was a horrible thick knit, really hideous combo with the kelly green and short sleeves. And, not returnable bc final sale. Oh well, it was cheap!

        1. My stuff from the big Talbots sale all came today, too! I got a pair of pants, two of these shells, a polo, a cashmere sweater, and a a pair of pants for $112, shipping included–I was suprised that everything was back to the “full Sale” price today.

          I like almost everything–I got the shirts in a 6 and an 8, and the fabric is wonderful! they are a tiny bit boxy, but nothing to write home about–I’ll have a jacket or sweater on, and nothing can be “non-boxy” if there’s not a side zip, you know?! I LOVED the cashmere! (It was 35 dollars! WTH?!-20% of the retail price!)

          The pants fit OK… I’m normally an 8 or a 10, and I got the 8…they fit OK–the 10 would have been too big. However, the pockets are TERRIBLE–they gape strangely, and I’m not sure that they would look right if you had them cut out.

          All in all, a pretty nice wardrobe day!

      2. Oh, that’s actually quite nice looking. (I’m one of the ones that has had horrible luck with Talbots being too big/very boxy.) Unfortunately, they’re out of my size.

      1. Thanks, everyone, for all the suggestions!

        I work crazy hours currently, so making it to the stores isn’t something I can count on. I appreciate all the online suggestions.

        And that Theory top mentioned is super-cute in person (tried it on last week when I did have a chance) but I am interviewing for residency and conservative is definitely what I need. I am staying away from button-downs on my advisors’ advice (both for sweating reasons and because they make me look extremely boyish).

    17. Jones New York makes wonderful silk blend short-sleeved shells in ivory, white, light pink and other colors. They are $35 online but I’ve bought most of mine at Macy’s on sale. I have at least 10 of these (mostly in shades of ivory and beige — they change up the colors every few years) and I wash them in the machine (hang to dry) and they have lasted me for years and years. They are truly one of my favorite work wear items. http://www.jny.com/Platinum-Silk-Knit-Shell/22956811,default,pd.html?cgid=22962158&itemNum=44&variantSizeClass=&variantColor=JJDJ3XX#

  4. Ladies,

    I have an interview coming up with a mid-size southern firm – think atlanta. Do I wear a skirt suit or can I get away with wearing pants instead of skirts!

    3. For atlanta, pants are probably fine. If you are interviewing in a more “truly southern” city – I’m thinking Birmingham, Savannah – I would be more likely to wear a skirt.

      1. I am in a southern city, not Atlanta, and I would be put off by a female interviewee wearing pants. And FWIW, I’m a young associate myself and involved in the interview process at my firm. And often wear pants to work. I just think that a skirt suit is part of it for interviewing. And if you’re not willing to suck it up and wear a skirt suit and hose for the interview, what else are you not willing to do? It would come off to me like you were difficult or entitled. Again, that’s my opinion.

        1. Wow, someone is difficult and entitled because she doesn’t want to wear a skirt suit? I think I’d have a problem working for a place that makes that sort of assumption just because a woman doesn’t want to wear a skirt for an interview.

          1. It’s a social norm and a formality. Many firms value employees who follow formalities. Neckties are as uncomfortable as hose and you’d never see a guy interviewing without one.

          2. I really don’t think it’s a social norm that women MUST wear skirts. At least not in 2010. I definitely wouldn’t want to work for a place that thought this was required.

            The court situation is understandable because you don’t want to get your client dinged on your account and in some cases you’re playing to juror’s prejudices (which could go either way in my opinion). But at an interview with someone who wears pants on a regular basis to work? This is just madness.

          3. It is absolutely a social norm for women to wear skirt suits to interviews. And, though I don’t like it and don’t think it should be the rule, I would notice if someone showed up in a pant suit and wonder if they just didn’t know the “rule” or if they were trying to push the envelope.

          4. And for what it’s worth, I work in NYC and have briefly worked in the south and the midwest. I even graduated from a very liberal all-women’s college and was told this by my career services office there as well as at my law school.

            It’s the norm across the board–we may not like it for what it suggests, but it’s an interview; why take the risk? Suck it up and wear the skirt.

        2. What? geeeeeeeeezus I’m sorry but this just comes across as ridiculous. Do you have specific rules as to what number of button-suits a man must wear for an interview? Can they wear pants without cuffs or must they always be with cuffs? Are front pleats okay or must they be flat-front?

          The obsession with skirts never ceases to amaze me. If someone is appropriately dressed (with a suit that fits them and is clean, unwrinkled etc) WTH does it matter whether it’s pants or a skirt they’re wearing?

          3. I think that wearing a tie is different because a tie is considered to be an integral part of business attire. Both skirts and pants are business attire for women.

          4. I’d like to add some perspective on this.

            Not so long ago (I’m 50 but feel younger) women and girls did not wear pants other than on weekends. When I was in elementary school, girls couldn’t wear pants to school. Women didn’t wear pants to church or other religious services.

            So the idea of women wearing pants in conservative settings is newish. Law is a conservative setting, as is banking – which is my field. Both these fields are still male dominated. Engineering and some business fields are not conservative. Even though engineering is also male dominated, it is less conservative and really, form may follow function more in an engineering firm.

            For those that think pants are more conservative, you are only right in that pants show less leg skin. What they do show (and why they were banned) is female contours, more so than skirts (not talking about short skirts, which are also a “newish” trend).

            The skirt suit is the most conservative option. That being said, if I were interviewing and I had a personal or religious bias against showing my legs, I wouldn’t show them. Yes, you may lose an opportunity or two. I personally would not discriminate (and I do do the hiring and firing) and I hope that that is not the case but the overriding caveat is that an interviewee should look like they are going to fit in. If a firm is a skirt-type place, why work there if you don’t want to wear skirts?

            If you are going to wear pants, then the pantsuit should be the most elegant, timeless and non-trendy suit possible…black or navy wool, tasteful accessories and understated makeup and jewelry in order to conteract the “trendy” message sent by wearing pants.

            Just my $0.02 worth.

          5. I said this below, but I’ll say it again in response to the necktie argument–ties, while uncomfortable, neither expose a significant portion of one’s body nor require the wearer to sit in a certain manner or put the wearer at risk for flashing thighs and/or crotch at a colleague.

        3. FWIW, I very often wear hose with my skirts to work. I also almost always interview wearing pants. To each his own. I will absolutely look down on a candidate if they (1) fail to wear a suit, (2) borrow Ally McBeal’s suit, (3) borrow makeup tips from Tammy Faye Baker, (4) are wearing so much perfume that my eyes water, or (5) have visibly dirty hair. Other than that, impress me with your abilities/words, thanks.

          1. Ditto. And for this comment (@1141), I am glad that I don’t live in a Southern city.

        4. 11:41 Anon here: All I’m saying is, when you’re interviewing a slew of people and all of them are interesting, smart and capable, something like “not playing the game,” can be a dealbreaker for me. If you haven’t listened to the advice of career services and other people, then I will wonder what else you won’t listen to if you join my firm. Additionally, if you litigate in my city, as a female, there is no question but that you should be prepared to wear a suit to court. All. the. time. I don’t want to fight that fight the first time you go to court for me. I want to know you follow the “rules,” as silly as we all think they are.

          1. “Additionally, if you litigate in my city, as a female, there is no question but that you should be prepared to wear a suit to court. All. the. time.”

            I assume you mean a skirt suit to court?

          3. My law school’s career services has never informed students on how to dress at interviews. You can probably guess which school based on my “name” and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen law students from my school in the most inappropriate suits. But I have to agree, in Atlanta, you wear a skirt suit to interviews or you don’t get called back. At least not in the current job market. (And, yes, I am well aware that many of you were called back, but did you interview as a law student since the 2008 crash? It’s just too competitive out there right now.)

          4. I am not a law student (a few years out) but I interviewed for my current legal job, in Atlanta, last year, wearing pants. No issues.

        5. You are aware that there are some women who wear pants due to faith based dictates on modesty?

          1. Really? I am honestly asking, because every single woman I know who dresses “modestly” at work for religious reasons wears long skirts and never pants.

          2. Thank you!! I honestly think that people are not aware of modesty issues sometimes.

            Thankfully wearing pants instead of skirts hasn’t hurt me yet–I’ve been getting internships and things without having to sacrifice my faith!

          3. I wear pants to interviews for non-faith-based modesty reasons. I’ve yet to find a skirt suit that is long enough for me to feel comfortable sitting down in it (28 inches please, I’m tall). If I do, GREAT – until then, pants it is!

            And I don’t think my lack of a faith-based reason for this choice should make a difference.

          4. Res Ipsa, yes, really – many people who dress modestly for religious reasons will wear pants. Often looser pants and with a longer top, but not always.

          5. It is also possible to be both stylish, professional and and modest in pants and long-sleeved shirts, but I think much harder to achieve all three in a long skirt – I don’t know that I’ve seen a lot of nice, long-skirted suits, for instance but it is obviously easy to find pants suits if you want to cover your legs for religious or other reasons.

          6. Very true. A woman in a neat, well-fitting pants suit will be seen as pulled together and professional by the majority. A woman in a neat, well fitting skirt suit with a full or calf length skirt will be seen as dowdy by the majority.

          7. I agree w/ Anon 73. Why isn’t my non-faith-based desire not to expose my lower legs good enough? I mean no disrespect to those who have religious beliefs requiring them to cover their legs; I just don’t understand why modesty for religious reasons is acceptable but modesty for non-religious reasons is not.

        6. Sadly, this is pretty representative of my experience interviewing in the south, and why I don’t work at law firms there. Nothing against the south in general – I’m from there – but I found the law firms have a much more old-school way of looking at things that I just couldn’t tolerate on a daily basis.

        7. Why don’t we women just stop this nonesense and stop holding these things against other women. There could be many reasons why someone doesn’t want to or can’t wear a skirt on a particular day, why make them stress about it? I think at this point it’s mostly women judging other women for these alleged faux pas that is keeping these stupid rules in play.

          1. Or woman feeling self-righteous and bitter and thinking “well, I was told I had to wear a skirt suit even though I didn’t want to, so since I played the game now I’m going to look down on anyone who doesn’t!”

            Hello, grow up.

        8. I’m a school in a southern city (not Atlanta), and I’ve worn both skirts and pants to OCIs. I wore a skirt to the only one that I did not receive a callback after.

          So, not everyone in the South will be upset with those difficult ladies who like to wear pants. I just wanted to present a little counter-point lest all you Yankees think us southern-folk are all backward.

          1. If this was at me, I really don’t think sotherners are backwards (I’m from there and still think of it as home) but I interviewed in several old southern law firms in non-ATL southern cities and they were full of a very specific type of woman that I am not and can never be. Nothing against them, I’m sure they were great lawyers, but they definitely fit the mold of women who would judge other women if they didn’t wear the right kind of skirt suit, the right kind of shoes, the right kind of pearl necklace, etc. If OP is interviewing and wants to work in that kind of firm – wear a skirt suit.

          2. Sorry, the backward thing wasn’t aimed at you, nonA. I wasn’t responding to anyone specifically with that comment, though after I hit “Submit,” I realized I sounded a little harsh.

            There are just lots of perceptions about the South out there, and I think that a lot of those old ways are quietly changing in a lot of cities. I wanted to make a point that not all southern cities are filled with law firms that would refuse to hire a woman who didn’t wear a skirt to an interview.

            It hurts my heart that people like Anon @ 11:41 are still out there, feeding the negative stereotypes about the region that I love and call home. I’m also sad that your experience was negative. I would not have wanted to work at a place like you describe either.

          3. non-A – I know EXACTLY what you mean. I have Southern family though I am from the North and I have tried to explain why I wouldn’t want to practice down there. I think “pearls” just about sums it up, but you would have to be exposed to both to really get it.

        9. This sounds to me like a bias, not necessarily a norm. How would you feel if found out your interviewer actually harbored the opposite bias? Maybe not even an arbitrary bias but a well-reasoned preference? Namely that women in skirt suits are fussy and delicate while women in pants are ready for whatever comes their way (lugging boxes to court, running through airports, digging through documents in warehouses, etc.). Oh, and women in pants are practical and independent thinkers. Does that sound petty all of sudden because it doesn’t agree with your world view? I’ve interviewed a lot of people and I don’t judge people on what they are wearing beyond whether they are clean and well-groomed, but if I had to choose based on clothing alone, I would pick the candidate with pants! So mandating skirts for interviews makes little sense except for very specific and limited contexts. BigLaw in a cosmopolitan city like Atlanta probably isn’t one of them.

        10. Wow, that’s a bit judgemental (to me)! I’d wonder what else I was being judged on, if you judged me as being difficult/entitled for wearing a pants suit (without even knowing the reason – could be modesty/scarring etc apart from comfort levels).

          Sounds like a place where even casual water cooler conversation would go into your appraisal:)

    4. No female attorney ever got dinged for wearing a skirt suit with hose. It’s pretty evident that on rare occasion women attorneys do get dinged for wearing pants. Ergo, I would always wear a skirt suit with hose.

      1. I have to disagree. I saw more than one woman in my school’s OCI season wearing a skirt suit with a skirt that was far too short. You can also go wrong by having an inappropriate slit, having a skirt that rides up too high when you’re sitting, or by wearing a skirt suit with a more sexy fit a la Cuddy from House.

        1. Seriously? This “social norm” only has life because of judgmental women. I only see this reaction from female interviewers not men. Can we please come into 2010? It is perfectly acceptable for women to wear pants or skirts without nylons. Similarly, there is no requirement that you look like a drone when you interview. The only requirement is that you look professional. It doesn’t matter whether that’s a navy skirt suit or gray pant suit. If you don’t get a job because you had the audacity to wear a colored blouse or a necklace, you have to ask yourself if you’d want to work for judgmental people like that at all.

          1. This happens to be a forum of only women and so yes, you are getting a woman’s perspective, but it is not only women who have this view and in fact, many older men judge women for not wearing skirt suits–some are even judges.

          2. I think Bonnie makes a valid point. Some women are fine working in a type of workplace where women are judged for choosing to wear pants while others are not. I am one of the latter. I have worked in places with outdated views about women and would prefer not to work at those places again, even in this economy.

          3. I agree that it’s perfectly acceptable to wear pants, but it is not acceptable to wear skirts without hose. Bare legs are casual and have no place in a formal business setting, period.

          4. Anonymous – I can’t even remember the last time I saw a woman wearing hose in the office during the summer. I work at a large, 200+ attorneys, office of a large firm – and I’m talking about all ages, from older partners on down.

          5. I’m about 5’8″ and well over 200 lbs. If I wore a skirt suit, even one that hit mid-calf, I’m certain that I would be judged very harshly.

            I’ll stick with pants. It’s better than the “OMG cankles, GROSS!” looks I’d get otherwise.

          6. amen bonnie! i don’t own a skirt suit and i am employed in the deep south. on one of the few occasions i opted to wear a skirt to work, i was told that it was “too sexy.” it hit me at the knee and was not tight, so fit was not the issue. you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t. some people care, some people don’t. since then, i’ve let my work, rather than my skirt, speak for me.

          7. I know I’ve said this here before, but I know of a sitting federal district judge (who was actually relatively young–40’s/50’s) that repremanded a woman in court for crossing the bar in a pant suit. Bitch all you want and please, don’t judge other women for wearing a pant suit, but when it comes to deciding what you *should* wear–put on the skirt suit if you want to play it safe.

      3. Not an attorney, but a wardrobe consisting of only skirt suits with nude hose looks very junior, dumpy and frumpy to me. It looks like what Corporate America left behind years ago and the attorneys haven’t gotten the message. It’s like playing dress-up. True powerful women can rock pants suits along with skirt suits … and they rock separates to mix it up (such as a jacket and great pants), not the silk-dress-for-dinner-with-random-blazer-thrown-on-to-make-it-look-appropriate look that gets featured here all too often.

  5. Ordered! And I found a coupon on Coupon Cabin for an additional 25% off if you spend $150 online: CCABIN25

  6. wow that dress is gorgeous! I wish had the figure to wear it, I don’t think Spanx would make that look good on me

  7. Maybe AT is putting all of their website resources toward airbrushing rather than proofreading, but did anyone notice the header when you click the link? “Petite Ponte *Assymmetric* Neck Dress”!

    Insert your own juvenile joke here….

    2. How can one buy things online, since online you only have the picture really to go on for fit, drape, etc. when they airbrush. That doesn’t help customers determine what the dress would look like on them. Stupid.
      I think France and UK have it right when they have groups supporting labeling images that have been airbrushed, it sends a bad message to everyone, not just young girls, for women to constantly be not real. Ahem. End rant.

  8. Threadjack: Neiman Marcus has 30 percent off clearance through today at midnight. They have some nice things marked down for those who are not in super-formal workplaces.

  9. HELP! What do I write in a thank you note for my summer internship? I can’t come up with a good way to making it personal… none of my assignments or experiences were particularly better (or worse) than the others – all were very interesting.

    1. Thank you so much for giving this wonderful opportunity. It was wonderful to spend my summer seeing legal theory I studied in class be applied in legal practice at agency/firm. I particularly enjoyed working on X. It taught me Y.
      I am very grateful for your guidance in …. You really made this internship a tremendous learning experience for me by Z, … Thank you so very much. I am confident that as a result of my experience at your firm/agency/whatever, I am now much better prepared for the next year (s) of law school, as well as my future legal career.

  10. Random comment – I am so amazed by how important skirt suits are in the law profession. I know I’ve stated umpteen times that I’m in engineering and the way I dress is very different due to religious reasons (so please, feel free to discount what I’m saying) but seeing a woman in engineering wearing a skirt is so rare. My engineering class was unusual in that we had many female engineering students and not a single one interviewed in a skirt suit. Not one! It really isn’t an issue of engineering gals being not so girly or anything like that, it just wasn’t the norm (in NYC). Now, at work, my female engineering coworkers wear skirts maybe once a month during the summer. Really, I’m just fascinated by this skirts discourse, lol.

    1. If it helps, I’m an attorney in a conservative practice group at a large firm in the South. I had no idea that skirt suits were so important until I started reading these comments. I sure hope they don’t come take my career away for being the entitled attorney who thought she was the only one with the right to interview in pants ;)

      2. I grew up in the South in a large, old-school Southern family and my brother and sister-in-law both practice as attorneys there (I’m an attorney on the West Coast), and I think that the attitudes displayed by many commenters above would be considered to be pretty retrograde by every attorney I know. I saw female attorneys in pants suits in the South all the time, from large, prestigious law firms to small-town solo practitioners.

        Frankly, the admission by the commenter above that she would ding an interviewee for wearing pants despite the fact that she wears them herself sounds like a bizarre power play to me.

    2. heh, I’m a former engineer and I interviewed exclusively in skirt suits for that as well. Engineering firms are pretty conservative here, even for jobs where I’d be covered in grease at the end of the day. Now, work was another matter, but interviews were still a skirt.

      As for law, maybe it’s a small firm, mid-size firm, or big firm thing, but I know for a fact that women who interview law students for big law in Atlanta notice and consider whether the law student is wearing a skirt suit, especially if the firm appears in federal court often. This has been candidly discussed in front of me at social networking events.

    3. Ru, I’m in the same shoes as a scientist. I actually wear skirts quite a bit – far more than most women scientists I’ve known, either in academic or corporate settings – but really only because I find them comfortable and they’re flattering on me. Actually, I find myself wearing pants more often than not when I need to project authority (though my general style is in no way masculine), so the “suit skirt” point of view is fascinating to me as well.

      1. What you’ve expressed is *exactly* what I find in engineering. I usually wear dresses because I like them (and like to think I look great in them) but when I need to project super-on-point-and-don’t-mess-with-me authoritative, I wear pants.

        1. Anon from 4:24 again – just to be clear, part of the authorative feeling derived from wearing pants in a male-dominated profession is that this ever-so-slightly moves you further away from any potential sexual overtones. My legs are high on the list of my most attractive features. Wearing a pencil skirt and heels, while flattering, puts me a little too far from the norm of my colleagues (many of whom would probably be described as a bit geeky). Perhaps this will change over time, as North Shore describes – certainly I’ve already seen the general of women scientists change during the time I’ve been working.

        2. Exactly! Fellow engineer here. I wear skirts and dresses for fun and to feel girly, but when I have an important meeting I always go for pants. I feel like if I wear a skirt, I’ll look girly, feel girly, and possibly act girly – whereas in pants I feel emancipated and powerful.

    4. Keep watching, Ru, because the skirt thing is changing rapidly. I got my law degree in the early 90s, and did not even own a pant suit because they were hard to find, plus completely inappropriate in a courtroom, and I was a litigator-in-training. The judge I clerked for would have been shocked if a women wore pants in the courtroom, and in the two years I worked in the courthouse, I never saw it happen. But I had a federal trial last year, and I wore pants frequently, and no big deal. So now, I think skirt suits in the legal profession are still completely appropriate, but not expected so much anymore as the uniform. I guess we just cling to our notions of formality longer than others. Heck, even in Hawaii where everyone else wears an aloha shirt to dress up, the lawyers in federal court wear suits.

    5. I don’t know how important they actually are. I’ve never worn a skirt suit EVER to an interview, and I’m working as a lawyer and have been for over five years.

      I think, perhaps, in the south things are different. But they shouldn’t be, and I doubt I would conform to regional “norms” if I worked down there.

    6. Me too Ru — I’m in medicine and for our residency interviews, it was split 50/50 between pants and skirts for the women — and I interviewed in a very male dominated field that holds tight to tradition and culture (my father — an attorney — refers to my specialty as the litigators of medicine). I interviewed all over the country — though not in the true deep South, but pants were and are totally okay for interviewing. I’m fascinated by the strength of feeling women have on this topic in law.

    7. For that matter, it’s 50/50 whether the people I know in many non-law jobs will actually wear a suit to an interview at all. I can’t imagine them worrying about skirts vs. pants.

    8. Another engineer here…..I’m in the deep south, and all of the female engineers I know wore only pant suits to interviews. I never thought it really mattered, but honestly, as much as I like this site, I think we over-analyze things that probably aren’t that important.

    9. Consultant for corporate America (Fortune 50 firms). Skirts and skirt suits are incredibly rare. It’s pants all the way. All the skirts shown on here make me think I”m having a flashback to John Molloy mid-80’s dress for success.

    10. Thank you all for your interesting observations – glad to know I’m not the only fascinated one floating around here.

    11. I worked as an engineer for five years before going to law school. I cannot even remember seeing any female technical or managerial employee wearing a skirt, which the exception of one supervisor who dressed in fussy, old-lady skirt suit with old-lady brooches. Having entered the legal profession, I am amazed that the skirt/pants issue is even a debate, and even more amazed at the number of women of my generation who are willing to support this as a requirement going forward.

      I also don’t get the tie/skirt analogy. Ties, while uncomfortable, neither expose a significant portion of one’s body nor require the wearer to sit in a certain manner or put the wearer at risk for flashing thighs and/or crotch at a colleague. Not. The. Same. Thing.

      This debate irritates me so much that I almost think less of interviewees who wear skirts.

    12. I don’t really think the skirt suit thing is about conservatism, but about formality and following the rules of the game. Neither of those issues are important to engineering, but they’re very important in law. Once you’re a superstar – say, Elena Kagan or Hillary Clinton – you can break the rules, but when you’re trying to make it, being formal and conforming to the norms of the profession are a big deal for lawyers.

      1. Makes sense. That’s why I could never be a lawyer ;) Mad respect to all of you who manage to navigate all these unwritten rules.

  11. I think wearing pants to try to project authority is one great big mistake. Wear pants if you look good in pants. Some do, some don’t.

    Today’s dress – asymmetrical is definitely what we are going to be seeing, and I like it, but this dress is way to slinky for work except maybe the office Xmas party.

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