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Updated: Nov 1, 2018 178 Comments · by

Sensible Thursday’s TPS Report: Knitted Blazer

The Personal Shopper (TPS)

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Our daily TPS reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices. Our guest poster this week: Lisa Carnochan from Privilege — a huge welcome, Lisa! – Kat Zara Knitted BlazerZara, long available in Europe but bricks and mortar only in the USA, this week opened their American online shop. I like this knit jacket in green, especially for the redheads. It's a trope for good reason, redheads in green. Use these things to your advantage. The jacket also comes in grey – with a little red trim on the buttonhole. I know some of you could carry it off. The blazer is $89 and available in both “bottle green” (pictured) and black. Zara Knitted Blazer Seen a great piece you'd like to recommend? Please e-mail editor@corporette.com with “TPS” in the subject line. (L-0)

Sales of note for 9.30.24

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

Some of our latest threadjacks include:

Comments

  1. Ru

    Looooooovvve this. The color, the cut, everything. Perfect for my bizcas office, for when I went to dress up a little without going over-the-top (silly casual engineers, grumble grumble).

  2. DC Kolchitongi

    I LOVE this! I have a terrible weakness for fitted jackets and blazers and there are way too many of them in my closet already. Must…. not…. purchase…..

    • MaggieLizer

      It’s really a versatile piece. When I first saw it I thought it was very medieval maiden meets the apocalypse. But the styling on the website with the oversized combat boots gives it more of a gothic clown look. Come to think of it, I need a Halloween costume. I think zombie Princess Jasmine might be in the works.

      • Little Lurker

        My HS goth friends reject your comparison, unless you are referring to the Visigoths or the architecture. I do think the piece makes a fabulous coverall for the sunbathing toga-wearing vampyres among us.

        If you dress up as zombie Princess Jasmine, I demand photos, or at least a polyvore recreation.

        • Ru

          Oh, LL, your comments have me rofl lately.

          Oddly enough, I think I could make the skirt work. But not at work, of course.

        • Em

          I really think that vampire office wear is undercovered on this site. As a vampire lawyer, I’m consistently appalled that undead-Americans aren’t given the same professional wear option as the rest of us. It’s like people think it’s all coffins and blood sucking in the alley 24-7 or something.

          • JJ

            It’s just so hard to style someone who “glitters in the sun like a million diamonds.” People would rather just throw up their hands in defeat.

          • Nonny

            Well, you know, Nan Flanagan does* the office wear thing fairly well, though, granted, it’s just for TV and styled to make the humans feel comfortable. If I were turned, I’d definitely go for the Sophie-Ann look.

            * or did

      • Kady

        I actually love the zombie Princess Jasmine (or zombie any Disney princess) idea. I’m going to run it by my daughter and see if she’ll do it.

    • Herbie

      What I love about that skirt–coming from Texas– is that it’s versatile enough to handle the heat outside (hello, ventilation and short skirt) while giving you extra material to bundle up with when your office is 68 degrees. Plus, it’s like a super seksi alternative to the broomstick skirt when you feel like you need a little pick-me-up to remind yourself just how fab you are.

      I just wish it came in more colors.

    • JJ

      Love that skirt. It’s like Stevie Nicks got into a (losing) fight with the shredder at her office. (I know I’m making a fairly large assumption that Stevie Nicks has 1) an office; and, 2) a shredder in said office).

    • mamabear

      I am a day late and a dollar short, as usual, but this is the funniest thread I have ever read.

      • Ms. Basil E. Frankweiler

        You should check out the one from yesterday, complete with $400 Pegasus shoes.

      • zora

        yes, i want to thank all of you profusely for making me laugh so much lately, i really need it these days. Love you corporettes!!

  4. anon

    nice jacket.

    hate the skirt it’s paired with. if it’s unflattering on the model, who is probably 5’10 and 120lbs, how is that going to work for anyone else?

    but nice jacket.

    • Bonnie

      I don’t mind the skirt, just not paired with this outfit. It could be cute dressed up for going out. Love the jacket though.

  5. Emily I

    Very tempted by this pick, especially since I got a lot of wear out of my green felt blazer that I really need to (finally) retire. I looked at the gray, which I like a lot, too, but I noticed that the website refers to it as “blue.” I wish I could see the color in person.

    As an aside, I also love the “twisted tube dress” on the website I would generally stay away from a sweater dress for my business-not-really-formal-but-definitely-not-casual office. But this one seems appropriate – nice length, more polished looking. Thoughts?

    • anon

      i like that dress, but my concern would be that it could very easily look slouchy and shapeless. the material looks kind of thick and not very stiff.

      so i think you’d need to be on the tall side to pull it off, and give it length to balance out any potential slouchiness. Also, maybe a wide belt to give it more shape?

      • Emily I

        Definitely on the tall (and lucky for me), slim side, though some good foundation garments, including Spanx and a padded bra, might be in order. If it ended up not being work appropriate, it still might be okay for other things.

        • anon

          then definitely give it a shot! it will probably look great on you. alas, at 5’4, i don’t think it would work for me. i’m pretty skinny but i think it would look like a knitting project gone awry.

          maybe with tall slim boots too. i think that would look great for you.

    • Bonnie

      Definitely needs a belt or something else to give it life. Maybe long necklaces.

    • Equity's Darling

      That is so the perfect way to describe my office, I’m stealing your description of “business-not-really-formal-but-definitely-not-causal” office.

      • Ru

        OOooooh, so poet-sipping-an-obscure-drink-at-a-coffee-shop, me like. All I’d need is the ironic beret and I’m set, with trim tapered trousers and plaid fabric ballet flats.

      • Nonny

        Isn’t this actually the top Audrey Hepburn wore in the cafe scene in Funny Face?

  7. RR

    Love this! Loving Lisa this week–so many new places to shop being opened up to me!

  8. Sydney Bristow

    This is fairly timely as I have just begun a search for a kelly green wool coat. I like the look of the J Crew ones that come out every year that are mid-length (not hip length but not ankle length), but I’m a size 18. Has anyone seen any yet this year? I checked Talbots this morning, but the only green I saw was a darker green like this jacket.

    • SF Bay Associate

      Last year, Lands End’ had some great looking wool coats. A quick browse reveals no wool coats in kelly green, but you could chat with a customer service rep and see if such a thing is part of the winter collection. My other guess would be Macy’s – sometimes there are fun items (colorful, fitted, etc) in the plus-size section at the flagship SF store.

      Another thought is checking with the flagship department stores in Chicago – a rather fashion forward city which probably offers a large variety of coats because everyone needs to wear them most months of the year and probably likes having several options at home to avoid wardrobe boredom. And due to population demographics of the surrounding areas, I bet Chicago stores have a better variety of plus size coats than the coasts might. Which is not to say that the coasts are all standard-size and the midwest is all plus-size, or some other categorization… not saying that all. Just that there are perhaps more plus-size in the Chicago metro area than some major metro areas with real winters, due in part to the fact that the Chicago metro area draws a larger radius of shoppers than most metro areas because there aren’t a ton of competing metro areas near Chicago (contrast the eastern seaboard, which also has real winter). So, that should lead to 1) more voluminous merchandise selection (more customers means more merch) and 2) more variety in plus-size coat options.

      • Bunkster

        Funny. I just did a quick check of Land’s End, Boden, and LLBean. But I didn’t see any kelly green either. I bet that was last year’s hip color. This year everything seems to come in crimson, in addition to the basic neutrals.

        • Sydney Bristow

          Dang, kelly green is one of the best colors on me. I couldn’t afford to get one last year, so fingers crossed its still in style enough for them to come back this year!

          SF Bay Associate, thank you so much! I’ll check out everything you mentioned.

        • don't need a boyfriend

          Bunkster, I thought about Boden’s kelly green with trim car coat from last season immediately! Great minds think alike. I’ll keep a lookout for coats, Sydney, but here in Texas it’s not terribly popular…

      • Nevadan

        Good gosh, I don’t think Chicago is a fashion forward city, altough it does have great stores. I think Chicago is an extremely frumpy city. Also I have not noticed Chicago as being more over-sized than others. I used to live in Chicago and there are a lot of Chicagoans now living here in Nevada. I think Chicago is more notable for its “go” than for its “chic”!

      • PollyD

        I grew up in Chicago, went to grad school at Michigan, and now live on the East Coast. So – shopping demographics. I think Chicago had a much, much bigger selection of winter coats, and nicer ones, too, than anything I found in Michigan or have found here in the DC area. Shopping in Michigan as a whole was pretty crap when I was there (1990s), though. I think people on the East Coast tend to be much smaller than in the Midwest, and I don’t necessarily mean fat. People in the Midwest are just generally taller, broader, larger. That said, I love going shopping in the Chicago area because all the small sizes are left! I can get some awesome deals at the Banana Republic on Michigan Avenue when I visit. In the DC area, I find that smaller sizes really tend to run out quickly.

        So Chicago probably does have an initial better stock of larger sizes, and generally more selection in winter coats since you actually do need a good winter coat there, but the larger sizes might tend to run out more quickly.

        • Mir

          Yes! I’m a Midwesterner born and raised but live in DC now. I’m always astounded when I go home… I often feel “big” in DC at 5’9ish and size 8ish, but when I go home I’m so willowy and svelte! (relatively) haha

      • Sydney Bristow

        Thanks Monday, I saw that too. Its not quite what I’m looking for, but thanks for the suggestion!

    • Anon

      I would check out nordstrom’s. The one near me has an amazing plus-size section. It’s not huge but incredibly well curated. I hate poking through all the racks in my real nordstrom searching for good stuff so I often stare longingly at the small, but awesome plus section.

  9. anon

    Oh, this is awesome! Anyone know much about Zara’s sizing? I usually wear a 6 in J Crew or Banana for blazers, so I am thinking a Medium is the way to go here.

    • Diana Barry

      Zara generally runs small. The sleeves and pants are long, but the fit through the body tends to be really skin-tight – like I have to get a Large in any shirt or dress I would get from them, where at Banana or J crew I would get a Medium. (I am a large 6/small 8 normally). I think the blazers might be a little more generous, but it might be worth it to order 2 sizes.

      • Yeah Zara

        I love Zara’s fit and quality. I am a 0/2 (x-small) in Banana Republic or J. Crew and sometimes even the smallest size is a little big, and I am a small in Zara. I am very thin (but super curvy- decent butt, hips, knockers) woman with very long limbs, and Zara fits me to a tee, and I am not by any means the smallest size in the store. I have never tried anything on in the store that was not long enough for my unwieldy arms.

        (I will warn that my pencil skirts from Zara are a little booty-licious, and sometimes I doubt whether they are work appropriate. )

          • Yeah Zara

            Not meant to brag. (Sorry if it came across that way.) I have a ton of trouble finding things that fit curvy, thin people with long arms and legs. (Most clothing for my size is for people who are straight up and down- like my sister. Plus, if it were not for the long limbs, I would be borderline petite. So, fit is hard for me.) I thought the best way to describe fit would be to explain my body type. I guess I will be more careful in the future.

            If it makes you feel better, I have the shortest torso ever and nothing good can come of me being pregnant. Also, I have had vericose veins since my early 20s.

          • Esquirette

            Way to shame her. It’s not bragging to give a factual statement of her body type. While I may envious, I do not expect Yeah Zara or any other woman around me to be self-depreciating about the positive attributes. Everyone has positive things about their body and they should appreciate them. Everyone has things they don’t like about their bodies and they shouldn’t have throw them out as apologies because other people are hating. The things women do to each other! (If you are interested, there are often thought provoking discussions about this on Already Pretty and a lot of the other bloggers she links to on Fridays.)

          • Ms. Basil E. Frankweiler

            No, I think she meant, “I am able to answer your question and will give you my sizes to let you see the difference.”

          • Bridget

            No worries. I don’t think you came across as bragging, just describing your body matter-of-factly, as many women do. Of course, it sounds like you have an awesome, jealousy-inspiring body. :)

          • AB

            This description really helped me as I face similar fit issues and I did not find it to be offensive in any way. It sometimes irks me that women who are of small size and petite heights are put down when they talk about themselves or their bodies.

            Anyway-Thank you for the awesome description!

    • Kady

      Although I generally agree that Zara tends to run small, I’m wondering if they are climbing on the vanity sizing bandwagon. I just ordered a slim pant last week in my usual JC/BR/AT size, and it was huge on me.

      • SAlit-a-gator

        I tried on a Zara blazer back in June and it ran small. I am usually a size 8 in blazers but their large would not button (it was close though).

    • M

      I normally wear a 0-2 in tops at Banana/AT and wear an M in a lot of tops at Zara and wear an S in blazers. If you are a 6, you should definitely go for an M or even an L.

    • Anon

      I am a 8T in jcrew blazers and need an extra large at zara (if it fits me at all.) The shoulders tend to run really narrow. The store is awesome but I am seriously sized out of 95% percent of the clothes.

      • eaopm3

        Well. There goes shopping at Zara for me, same-size-sister. Which is too bad, because I really liked the price point. Sigh.

        • Anon

          yes! it sucks. i keep buying things, wearing them once and then catching site of myself in a mirror and realizing my dress/blouse/blazer just doesn’t fit.

          my size 8 normal sister loves the hand me downs though!

    • ADL

      Zara runs small. I think part of it is that it’s a store originally from a European country and uses European sizing. I’m typically a medium or 8/10, with broad shoulders and my clothes from Zara tend to be L or XL.

      • Denise

        Thank you thank you! Because I am typically a medium 10, but with a FF chest, and I MUST have this blazer. And I would have ordered a L or even M, and now I’ll go for the XL. Nobody but me sees the tag, right? It’s just that I work so hard to NOT be XL…

        • ADL

          It’s hard but I just ignore the tag. Or cut it out. :) I’m way past having clothes just for the size it says. I want something that fits.

    • seltzer pop

      I usually wear a 6P/4R in BR, and I take a medium for dresses/sweaters/shirts/blazers in Zara.

    • EN

      Yes, just generally I think it’s the shoulders that are the issue. For me the rest of the M blazers I have tried on there would fit fine except that I am of hearty midwestern stock and have broad shoulders. Zara is cut for narrow, thinner European shoulders. An L will usually work for me as long as the piece is not designed to have a very body-conscious fit.

  10. GRA

    Love the color, love the cut, love the material. The only thing that is keeping me from buying it are the exposed zippers on the sleeves. WHY?! Why are exposed zippers ruining so many fabulous pieces this fall!?!

    • anon

      really? you can barely see those zippers, they seem pretty subtle. would they really be a problem in your office?

      not to start yet another zipper debate, but those really don’t seem so bad to me. then again i don’t have anything against exposed zippers anyway.

    • RL

      Exposed zippers on sleeves seem to be a little different to me than exposed zippers on the body of the garment – they seem to have less of the “unzip me!” connotation that we’ve discussed here before.

      That said, I don’t like them – they remind me of the zippered-ankle jeans from the 1980s. (I had a burgundy pair from Guess and thought I was hot. stuff.)

    • Emily I

      I am normally with you on the exposed zipper thing and wouldn’t have considered buying clothing for work that had them, but I actually like them on this piece for some reason.

    • AJ

      I actually have this blazer in black and bought it BECAUSE of the exposed zippers. I think it adds some edge to a basic blazer.

      PS. It’s a great weight, comfortable, and sleek and professional. Totally recommend.

  11. Anon

    A while ago, I posted about my worry in telling a new boss about my pregnancy since I was just head hunted to a new role. Well, I told him today as I have been having a couple bad days and he was Amazing!

    Said he was delighted, and looked it plus said I shouldn’t overcompensate in the next few months ( to my reassurance that I wouldn’t let any balls drop) but just putty health first. Best of all, he shrugged off my semi apology about it being bad timing job- wise by saying ” there is no bad time for a baby”.

    Feel like a big load is off my shoulders now. And thanks to all who gave me advice.

    • DC Kolchitongi

      Congrats! That’s awesome! We should all hope for such understanding bosses…

    • Inva

      That’s awesome news! What a relief. I just told my boss about my pregnancy this week, as well!

    • JJ

      Congrats! It’s such a relief to have a supportive boss and work environment when you make that announcement. Here’s to a happy and healthy however-many months you have remaining!

      • PollyD

        The maternity leave is nice, but cutting the amount of vacation carryover is not so nice. Some people may never get pregnant, but everyone can take vacation. I have no problem with limiting the amount of vacation time you can get paid out for, but only letting people carry over 5 days seems stingy.

    • Diana Barry

      Congrats. I am worried about hiding from work for the next 4 weeks – I am already to the can’t-hook-my-pants stage at almost 8 weeks!!!

      • JJ

        Get thee to Target and buy a Baby Band/Bella Band. Those saved me. Also – skirts are a lot more forgiving. I’m 16 weeks and still wearing all my same skirts and they still zip. Granted, they sit a lot higher on my hips now than they did a few months ago.

        Also, Gap’s maternity pants and jeans are awesome (relative to other maternity clothes). Just bought a bunch because I have to have a long inseam, and I’ve been wearing them a lot.

      • OP

        Me too! Ghastly, since I went to 4.5mths in “normal” clothes with #1. 8 weeks = only fat pants/jeans work. Use a bella band, I do that now.

    • CSF

      I love the sentiment “there’s no bad time for a baby.” It sounds like you’ve got a supportive environment, what a blessing!

    • Mary Ellen

      Twenty-five years ago, the director of our law office, a woman who had gone to law school after staying home with her children until they were in high school, reportedly became seriously irritated that so many female attorneys were pregant and would be taking maternity leave. I still find that men supervisors are often more supportive than women about taking time for family.

  12. A Regular Lurker

    For Lisa: I’m really enjoying that you have named all the days for the TPS reports this week.

    • Lisa

      :). After all the years of corporate text, it’s been such a pleasure to set the goofy word play free. Thank you.

  13. MaggieLizer

    My Ann Taylor order arrived yesterday from the sale a week or two ago. PSA: they’re having another 40% off sale today, no code needed. Thanks to everyone who recommended the wrap dress, it’s really a great weight. I love that the skirt isn’t a true wrap – it’s pleated to make it look like it’s a flap. I got the dark purple color, which is lovely, but I’m kind of regretting not getting the blue. I already have a blue wrap dress, I think from BR, but it’s too thin to wear to work.

    I’m wearing this blouse today: http://tinyurl.com/5v3aa7p. It looks a bit more like an animal print than I thought it would, but the fit is great and I need more prints in my wardrobe. The neckline drapes sits just below my collar bones, but it doesn’t drape too much when I bend over.

    I’m debating whether to keep this dress: http://tinyurl.com/6zb4y7c. It’s really lovely, but the fabric is kind of stretchy and casual-feeling. The dress also hugs my curves more than I usually like for work, so I might pop into a store this weekend to see how the next size up works. The front is really beautiful. I’ve been looking for a basic black sheath dress with a little something extra, so I’m hesitant to part with this one.

  14. Blue

    Oo, I love this. As a redhead, I am instantly attracted to anything in this shade of green. I don’t know what exactly it is about the redhead/green thing, but I always get compliments when I wear something in this shade.

  15. Lindsey M

    I would love to buy it but I have such a hard time putting separates together for work. Can anyone suggest a skirt that is work appropriate to wear with this blazer?

    • Lisa

      Lindsey – depends on your coloring. If you are high contrast, you can wear a black skirt. If low contrast with blue tones, gray. If low contrast with yellow tones, brown tweed (to avoid the tree thing). If you’re in a arty field, plum or cordovan:). The skirt shape will depend on your body shape. I highly recommend a blog called Inside Out Style to determine your shape – Imogen Lamport lists all the shapes and shows photos and recommendations for clothing approaches.

          • conbrio

            How interesting – thank you for this! So it appears that I’m a “high color-contrast” person – red hair, blue eyes, fair skin. So I really should stop wearing black with black with black. Sigh. One day I’ll learn! I have ventured into a lot of blues this year, and it seems to be helping.

      • Mir

        Oooh I love the plum suggestion. And I love this blazer — not a true redhead, but my hair color has been confused for red on several occasions and this green if one of my favorite colors to wear.

        Thanks Lisa!

    • Sorority Tree

      Going anon for this one since there aren’t THAT many corporettes who would have this experience, I hope: I have never been able wear the combination ever since one of my sorority pledge events was planting trees (for Earth Day?) and we were required to wear green tops and brown/khaki bottoms that week for precisely that image. (That sounds even more ridiculous typed than it felt having to do it.)

      Anyway, as a result, I only wear greens of this shade with grays or creams. Lighter greens I will also pair with navy.

    • Ru

      You need a third color. Unless you don’t care about the tree thing (which I really don’t, I love green and brown together). Pick your favorite color, which you know looks great on you and put it together with the brown green. Taking this jacket, I’d put a plum shell with brown pants or skirt. Or navy sateen. Berry. Something like that but not a neutral – I think white/beige/cream would just look meh, in my eyes, anyway. A walnut/mushroom color would look nice or any other varying greige shade (when did all these colors become standard, anyway? My Crayola education is beginning to fail me). And like Lisa said above, fabric texture is important, too.

  17. bakema

    Just wanted to report back on the Ann Taylor A-line jersey dress with keyhole opening (#265705). I inquired recently on corporette about the fit and I believe there was someone else interested (Little Lurker, perhaps)? I got it in the vintage wine color, in the tall size. I really like that Ann Taylor makes dresses in tall sizes, but in this case it might have been too tall for me -the zipper puckered at the back and the dress was a couple inches below my knee. The fabric was nice and heavy, but there is a 4-inch wide seam from the waist down to the slit that is noticeable. The color is pretty, but somehow looked a tad faded – like it would look washed out quickly. Overall, it’s a dress that has potential. What bothered me the most is the way that the zipper in the back would not lie flat. I considered re-ordering it in black, in the regular size (to see if that would solve the zipper issue) but decided I don’t need yet another black dress.

  18. Littlest Attorney

    I really like the clothes at Zara but as an 8 on top and 12 on bottom at BR/AT I’m too big to fit into most of the stuff at their store. Please make bigger clothes Zara!

    • Ellie

      And bigger shoes! They max out at size 10… so frustrating as I LOVE their shoes. I ordered a beautiful pair of pumps from them anyway, and will wear them in my apartment on carpet for another couple days until I finally return :(

  20. Gem

    I have asked on an earlier thread but am stuck in moderation (sigh)!

    In short, the Mr and I are considering a small start-up business to run alongside our main jobs and I’m looking for pearls of wisdom for those who have gone before. Thoughts and advice from the hive mind please?

    • Monday

      Gem, no experience with this, but in case you didn’t see my apology on the thread yesterday I wanted to repeat it now. I struck the totally wrong tone, and I care.

      • Gem

        Now seen. Thank you – it’s so easy to set the wrong tone unintentionally. I’m sure I do it plenty. I appreciate your reply (on both threads)

    • Anon for this

      It’s a ton of work. And it can be a ton of fun, too. More stress than seems humanly possible.
      Do you love love love the product/service you are going to offer? Can you afford it financially?
      Because it will consume your life.

      (Can you tell I’m having a bad day (month, year) with mine? )

      There are lots of entrepreneur resources available, so look for support systems in your state or city that can help you realize what you don’t know and put you in touch with resources and mentors.

    • Anon

      Never done it by my SO and I talk about it all the time. What are you doing, if you don’t mind sharing?

      • Gem

        We’d like to fashion furniture from (now defunct) aircraft parts.

        Bizarrely something we do love. There are a couple of companies offering similar, but we think we could make enough, and uniquely enough, to make it a worthy sideline. Close enough to the day jobs for us to have the right contacts. Far enough away for it to be fun.

        • Denise

          OMG, I want to see it. Seriously. Post a link as soon as you have a website!

        • Little Lurker

          Def try again on the Weekend Open Thread. This sounds awesome and I’m sure other ‘rettes could use similar advice.

  21. Amelia

    Sometimes I hate being on the west coast because every morning when I check Corporette there are already 100 posts ;-)

    I used to work at a Zara brick and mortar, it was the worst job I’ve ever had. I like this jacket, but I doubt I can ever shop there again. Has anyone else sworn off a retailer because of a bad working experience?

    • a passion for fashion

      No, but I shopped at Zara when I lived in New York and have found their clothes to be crappy quality. I think of Zara in the same bag as Forever 21 and H&M — can get some cute stuff there, but dont expect it to last more than one season.

    • SF Bay Associate

      I love having 100 posts to read right away!

      Victoria’s Secret was my first retail job and it was truly hellish. Horrible company with atrocious values and deceptive customer service goals. Plus, how the merchandise is treated in the back rooms is downright disgusting. I will not set foot in that store.

      • Monday

        Can you recommend another similar source for underwear and lingerie? I don’t love shopping at VS, even online, but I don’t know where else to go unless I’m spending twice, or more, per item. My somewhat rare bra size makes it even harder.

        • PCV

          I love Gap Body! I worked there for a summer and it definitely didn’t turn me off their clothes–maybe if I’d worked there for longer I would have gotten sick of it, but as it was I had a great experience. I ended up spending most of the money I made on bras and underwear. It’s generally cute and/or pretty, not expensive (there are always sales), and usually made out of soft, comfy stuff.

        • DC Kolchitongi

          I’ve had really good luck at Soma. I think it’s a subsidiary of Chico’s (or some other store of that type) so it doesn’t have that Victoria’s Secret ‘everything is pink and lacy!’ vibe. But the bras are high-quality and fit well, and the customer service is pretty great. My mom (age 53) and me (age 26) both get our undergarments there. Pretty enough for me, and sensible enough for her :)

          • another anon

            Seconding Soma. The stuff holds up really well and is comfortable. Now I am curious about what is going on in the back rooms at VS though.

          • mamabear

            Ditto Soma. Great bras. Great “underwears,” as my 10 year old calls them.

        • Denise

          If “somewhat rare bra size” means >D cup, I recommend Bravissimo. Their brick-and-mortar stores are only in the UK, but I shop online there all the time. Love them, and they have sizes up to something like J, even for back sizes as small as 28. And they aren’t those hideous “minimizer” numbers, either–beautiful bras and cup-sized swimming suits that actually fit otherwise-slim-but-busty women.

    • Bunkster

      I worked at Tiffany as a seasonal during the holiday season. I’d been laid off from my real job.

      It was an eye-opener. The customers mostly sucked. This was when Tiffany was very popular and the merchandise was everywhere. Also, we all had to look a certain way. I was once sent to the back because my skirt was too short.

      I tie a mean bow, though.

    • Ekaterin Nile

      I’ll never buy a Chrysler because a fairly high-level Chrysler employee was incredibly rude to me during a business meeting (when I was working for a supplier).

    • coco

      I worked at Ann Taylor for about a year, and then tried to venture into an outlet store a few months later. I had horrible flashbacks because everything looked either the same or so very similar. I have yet to go back to either an Ann Taylor or an outlet – although Loft doesn’t bother me.

  22. Nonny

    Curious – has anyone checked out any of the new season offerings at Land’s End yet?

    • anon

      Yes. Well, at least to the extent I ordered a tweed skirt because i desperately wanted something tweedy and brown. I’ll report back in when it gets here.

    • Nonny

      I’ve been eyeing that tweed skirt as well, but am also looking at their basic denim skirt (I really need one) and one of their wrap dresses, which seem to have gotten good reviews on this site before. FYI, I am 5’4″, with a large waist/hip ratio and fairly small bust. Thoughts?

    • Argie

      Real Simple (Oct 2011 issue) had a pretty black/gray/white plaid sheath dress (that you could get with a discount with a RS code) from Lands End…except its not on the website yet!

  23. jcb

    Just a vent. I received in the mail, at my OFFICE, a Victoria’s Secret catalog. There is was, sitting on top of my inbox for the world to see. I got in a little late today, so who knows which older male partners may have stopped by in the meantime. Embarassing, and a little mystifying since I haven’t actually bought anything from there since high school. So I call them to have myself removed from the mailing list, and am informed that my name was “rented” from Boden.

    What?? I’ve always had such good feelings about Boden. The quality, the service. I order from them all the time. I am so very angry that they decided they wanted to make a little more money off of me and so sold my name and address – and to VS, of all places.

    I recognize that at the end of the day I am getting all worked up over receiving a catalog in the mail. But I am still really annoyed about it.

    • ADL

      According to the Boden website: We do occasionally make names and addresses (but never email addresses) available to companies whose products we think may interest you, unless you have told us not to. If you do not wish to receive such offers please email us at custserv@bodenusa.com with your account number, which can be found above your address on you latest catalogue.

      While not saying I agree with Boden’s policy or the renting (read giving) of my information, it’s another way for companies to make money.

      • jcb

        I know companies do this (though I don’t like it), I was just surprised. Usually if a retailer is going to sell your personal information, there is an easy opt-out box to tick, and/or you are at least informed at some point during the checkout process. Not so with Boden, at least not that I noticed. I guess I will just have to jump through their hoops to have my data kept private.

    • anon

      this is much more common than you may realize. i’ve never ordered from Boden before, so why do I get their catalogs every few months? because some other company – Banana Republic, maybe? – decided to share their information, and so it goes. quid pro quo in the retail world. also see – Pottery Barn/Crate & Barrel/Williams-Sonoma; Land’s End/LLB; Bloomies/Nords; etc. etc.

      You can call/email and complain, you can request to get your name removed from any such lists (if it’s possible), or you can just use only your home address for deliveries, never work, to at least prevent the catalogs from arriving at the office.

      There is also a site where you can request to have your name removed from multiple catalog mailing lists – but not all companies agree to it . Unfortunately I can’t remember the name of the site right now – sorry! Maybe someone else does.

      • jcb

        I did sign up for a service a while back to get me off of various mailing lists – greendimes.org, I think? Not sure if they are still around. I do realize that there is a lot of quid pro quo, but I always, always, always opt out. At this point it is actually pretty rare that I’m sent an unsolicited catalog. I guess my surprise here was because I never was given the option to opt out (aside from apparently finding the policy on their website, requesting a Boden catalog, waiting for it to arrive, collecting my mysterious “customer number” unavailable anywhere else, and then proactively sending an email to their customer service department making the opt-out request), and also because Boden markets itself as such a service-driven, “Boden community” kind of company. Also, the VS model in her lingerie peering out from my work inbox.

    • another anon

      Wow, I hope that doesn’t happen to me. I order stuff from Boden all the time, and I have it shipped to my office because it often requires a signature. But I get the Boden *catalogs* at home, so hopefully if they’ve shared anything, they had the good sense to share my home address, not the business one.

      • jcb

        Fingers crossed for you! In the meantime, I am just trying not to look the mail guy in the eye.

      • Anon

        Ah, Boden is to blame! I have been receiving VS catalogs at my office and scratching my head about it as well. Fortunately, my office is fairly laidback. Still a bit awkward because my mail sits for a bit with my assistant, whom I share with a very senior partner.

        • Anon

          Also, my billing address is home but my shipping address is the office. Now that I think about it, I should probably stop the Boden catalog from showing up to the office weekly, as well. With their tasteful covers, though, it’s not nearly as embarrassing.

    • Anonymous

      There’s opting out info in J Crew catalogs, too, which many of us likely get.

  24. Aria

    I need some jacket help since I live in SoCal and am perplexed by winter accoutrements. I’m going to Eastern Europe in the winter and ordered a coat from Land’s End that says it’s designed for “Warmest” (up to -20 degrees). However, the jacket seems *very* thin and I didn’t get hot wearing it around my house last night. Can you trust warm ratings on jackets? Any experience with Land’s End fancy fiber coats? Can thin winter jackets really protect you from the cold? TIA!

    • Nonny

      Land’s End has a really good reputation for their outdoor wear (although I personally have never bought a coat from them). But a coat does not have to be super thick to be warm. What is the coat made of? I try to go for wool since my climate is cold and wet. But in places where the winter climate is *really* cold and snowy, people often like down coats.

      Personally, my two recommendations for cold weather dressing are: (a) layer your clothing, since the goal is to create warmth-trapping pockets of air (which, by the way, is one reason why wool is so warm – take a look at a cross-section of wool fibre one day), and (b) keep your extremities warm. If your feet are cold and wet, you are never ever going to get warm.

    • PCV

      I haven’t had experience with Land’s End but I have had experience with Eastern European winters (shudder!). A thin(nish) jacket might be okay, if it’s made of fancy stuff. You may have not gotten hot if it has wicking technology, or whatever Land’s End calls it–the point of that is so you don’t sweat and then freeze from the sweat making you super cold because it’s wet. However, past a certain point you just want to stay warm, and you can self-regulate exactly how warm by adding or removing layers (or hats, scarves, etc.).

      The real keys to staying warm are 1) layers and 2) coverage. Make sure your new jacket has room for a sweater or two and a scarf. Also make sure it doesn’t leave any part of you exposed–I have a long torso, so I can’t really wear jackets, because I get frozen by the gap between the bottom of the jacket and the top of my pants even when I have a shirt on. Also check the length of the sleeves. If they’re at all short, make sure you have gloves that are long enough to go up into the sleeves, even when you bend your arms.

      Also, long underwear bottoms under everything and smartwool socks to wear under boots are great. It’s often easier to layer on top and forget about the lower half, but it really goes a long way to make sure all parts of your body have a few layers on.

    • Argie

      Lands End is pretty good with their temp ratings. Are you looking at the Squall Parkas? I think they are lined with Thinsulate. And I’ll echo what those below have said – layer. REI has a tutorial on how to layer – what you should look for in each layer. The layer closest to your body should be a wicking layer (silk, tech type fabrics, never cotton), followed by the warmth trapping layers, like cotton, or wool. Your foot wear should have some breathing room too – don’t cram thick socks into shoes without room for your toes to wriggle. You need a little space in their so you can build up that warm air pocket. And if you will be outside alot, I would recommend having boots/shoes that have some sort of cold barrier in the sole (frost plugs, or a wool liner for the bottom of the boot – you can find them on amazon and then cut to size).

      • Aria

        Thanks ladies! I bought the Land’s End PolarThin Insulator Coat, which is also long enough to cover my rear (since I hear that’s important in staying warm), so you’ve all made me feel better that it will work (along with proper layering), despite its thinness. I also spent an agonizing amount of time researching and buying proper boots (hats and gloves are next), so I think I will at least look prepared, even if anything colder than 60 degrees is totally strange to me.

        • Nonny

          You sound like you will be fine. On the hat – make sure it fully covers your ears, otherwise it will be completely useless! It shocks me how many hats are around these days that are just too short to do any good.

    • KM

      Yes! absolutely yes! I am in Chicago and ordered one of their warmest coats last year and couldn’t wear it zipped outdoors (even in the blizzard) because it was so warm.

    • Equity's Darling

      You’ll be fine- as long as it’s material that blocks the wind. If it’s cold and still, it’s not nearly half as bad as cold and windy. And if it’s dry, it’s better than wet. So…the main goal is something that will stay dry and block the wind.

      Long underwear for under jeans may be nice (a pair of silk ones), because even if the jacket covers your rear, if it’s actually -20C, and you’re from SoCal, your knees are going to freeze. And make sure you have good insulating socks if you plan on walking around outside a lot. And layering is SO key. And good mittens/scarf/hat. Definitely hat. And mittens are better than gloves for keeping fingers warm.

      Something else weird- make sure that your purse fits over your 5 layers+jacket. It’s really, really annoying to have a purse falling off your shoulder because you have too many layers on.

      I live in a city where -40C is common for at least a few weeks every winter, and before that I lived in Montreal. I know how to deal with cold.

      Have lots of fun on your trip to Eastern Europe!

  25. don't need a boyfriend

    One of the most flexible and warmest things we’ve gotten is from aramark, used to be wear guard. My DH wore through winters in northern Canada and Alberta, and also through Iceland winters, construction sites to board rooms.

    Two pieces, worn three ways…

    polartec zip-up fleece
    weather fitting, insulated zip up jacket
    both together and the fleece has loops on the sleeves/cuffs which keep it in place

    I have a nice red and black set from them… and it’s been around the world with me in many permutations. No complaints. Even snow shoveling.

  26. Divaliscious11

    Generally disappointed in Zara USA. Us to shop regularly in Spain, and the quality on the WOMAN line was so much better. Still have a few fabulous pieces. Seems like in the US, we have lower quality and higher prices….. Have found a few things, but nothing like I used too….

  27. M

    Ladies, I need some serious help. These shoes must be mine:

    http://tinyurl.com/3psvvar

    Sadly, I don’t currently have oh $400 sitting around to plop down on my feet, so I started looking for a cheaper alternative (like under $150). None of them compare. At. All. Has anyone found a good loafer/mensware inspired pump that’s not a gabillion dollars?

    • Anonymous

      Anything not made in the US, Italy, etc. is made where it’s made for the express purpose of being dirt cheap, and the worst should be assumed. This means most clothing sold by most stores under most labels.

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