Tuesday’s TPS Report: Black Wool Blend 2-button Ruched Sleeve Blazer
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Our daily TPS reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices.
June can be a great time to stock up on clothes for the other three seasons, and along those lines, we're loving this wool ruched blazer by William Rast, on sale at Bluefly. The ruching detail on the sleeves strikes us as fun, and we love the flattering darts in the front. The sale price is great, as well — was $379, marked to $227 by Bluefly. (Today they're offering an extra 10% off everything, too, so the price goes to $204.30.) William Rast black wool blend 2-button ruched sleeve blazer
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Sales of note for 5/16/25:
- Nordstrom Rack – Looking for a deal on a Dyson hairdryer? The Rack has several refurbished ones for $199-$240 (instead of $400+) — but they're final sale only.
- Ann Taylor – Suit Yourself! 30% off suiting (ends tonight) + 25% off your full price purchase (ends 5/18) + extra 40% off sale
- Nordstrom – Beauty Deals up to 25% off (ends 5/17) — also lots of markdowns on AGL (50%!), Weitzman, Tumi, Frank & Eileen, Zella, Natori, Cole Haan, Boss, Theory, Reiss (coats), Vince, Eileen Fisher, Spanx, and Frame (denim and silk blouses)
- Banana Republic Factory – 50% off everything + extra 20% off
- Boden – 10% off new women's styles with code + sale up to 50% off
- Eloquii – Up to 60% off everything + extra 60% off sale + $1 shipping on all orders
- J.Crew – 60% off sale, and 40% off packing picks (prices as marked)
- J.Crew Factory – New arrivals, plus up to 60% off everything and 20% off orders of $125+
- M.M.LaFleur – Daily flash sales, and lots of twill suiting on sale! Try code CORPORETTE15 for 15% off.
- Rothy's – Up to 50% off last-chance styles
- Spanx – Free shipping on everything
- Talbots – 30% off dresses, skirts, shoes and accessories
And some of our latest threadjacks here at Corporette (reader questions and commentary) — see more here!
Some of our latest threadjacks include:
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- talk to me about the estrogen patch for perimenopause
- where did you “learn to clean“?
- how do you travel light with business clothes?
- what do you answer if prospective dates ask you if you “like your job”?
- how gross is it to put spilt jam back in the container?
- how do you know if you're irritable from depression vs irritable from stuff being irritating?
- what are you doing for meals if you don't cook or barely cook?
I have a jacket with ruched sleeves like that – it’s so flattering, so comfortable and I’ve gotten tons of complements!
Very flattering cut. I like it. I also think it would be great for a casual Friday with a pair of trousers and simple blouse. Plus, the sleeves are stylish without being to trendy. Nice pick!
– Meredith
cubiclechicblog.com
Very flattering cut. I like it. I think that it would go great for a casual Friday with a pair of trousers and simple blouse. Plus, the ruched sleeves are stylish without being too trendy. Great pick!
I tried on a Calvin Klein ruched sleeve blazer recently and I just couldn’t get into the style… it was comfortable (soft fabric is always nice!) but just looked sloppy on me, and the whole point of a blazer is to look neat…
Looks nice. I just bought an black Ann Taylor blazer with ruching at an outlet store for $69 – will be a great summer jacket, can dress up an outfit or can wear it with jeans. Interestingly, though, I had to size it up to a 12 when I am normally an 8.
Adorable. This would be a really cute take on the basic black blazer. I think it would also be a casual Friday choice for me with gray or tan slacks (or even winter white). It’s a little pricey for just a jacket without matching pants, but it does seem to be a good quality wool.
Cute!
On a completely unrelated note, we’ve been interviewing candidates for a reasonably senior job opening in my office for the past several weeks. A number of candidates have shown up 30 to 90 minutes early, which has been a minor inconvenience for us and has reflected rather poorly on the candidates. Our office is in NYC upstairs from a large shopping area with many indoor coffee shops and public seating – it should be fairly easy to comfortably kill an hour. “Better early than late,” yes, but that only applies to 5-10 minutes early. Just a reminder to all those of you who are interviewing!
90 minutes? are you serious?
Yes! 3 people of about 10 have been over an hour early. I thought it went without saying that this was a no-no, but it just happened again this morning so I figured it was worth the public service announcement!
I may be giving people too much credit for common sense, but is it possible a secretary sent them the wrong interview time or something? That is completely crazy.
Nope, they’ve all acknowledged that they’re (very) early, though not particularly apologetically. And the people who’ve had contact with the candidates in advance are among the most peeved about this so it doesn’t seem like anyone has been saying something along the lines of, “the earlier you show up, the better.” So odd, I know.
That is crazy. I feel bad if I’m more than 15 minutes early, and in fact have driven around many a neighborhood to kill 5-10 minutes so I arrive at just the right time. What are people thinking
That’s really weird. If I’m not familiar with an area or don’t know how long it will take, I normally try to get there early, but I’d never actually walk into the office more than 15 minutes early. That’s what Starbucks is for, people!
I agree! Get there an hour ahead of time, spend 45 minutes walking, reading, sitting your car listening to the radio… oy!
I’ve had interviews in somewhat isolated areas where there isn’t anything around for a quick stop. Even so I try not to get there THAT early, but sometimes it can’t be helped. It’s not possible to sit in a 100+ degree car for 30 minutes so I show up exactly on time. I will never go in that early though.
If it was 100 degrees out and I was in the middle of nowhere and had to go to the bathroom or something I still wouldn’t “arrive.” I’d walk in and tell the receptionist I was far too early and ask if I could use the restroom. Then I’d go back to my car, turn on the ac, and drive around a bit.
Unbelievable. I second the grab a coffee or tea and relax at the coffee shop for a bit before going into the interview. I’m a punctual person, but that’s far to early to be twiddling my thumbs in an office before an interview. I’d much rather walk around, get some fresh air, and review my resume and other materials one last time.
Note that it is a blend – not necessarily a bad thing. I can’t quite see the point of the ruched sleeves, but what bothers me is the combination of the rather tight fit of the jacket plus the low cut of the V. I can’t quite see what is going to fill in the V to make it look interesting. Maybe a light weight cashmere sweater or a silk blouse.
I do thin, simple cashmere sweaters in the winter.
Basic clean cut tops in neutral colors with a straight across or slightly rounded neckline in the spring/summer.
If I want interest, I add it with jewelry.
Since I have to wear this stuff so much, I like to keep the clothes as simple as possible so I don’t get sick of wearing them. Jewelry & other accessories is much easier to switch up.
I like this a lot! I never know what to do with black blazers that don’t belong to a suit, though. Too dressy for jeans, but don’t quite look right with a dress . . . do you lovely ladies have any styling suggestions? I have a few in my closet begging for an airing, as soon as I can figure out what to do with them. Is the idea to pair them with a solid colored skirt, like in a gray? Apologies for the fashion novice question. :)
I pair them with jeans (I love the jeans and black blazer look), solid color skirts and pants in colors other than black (light and medium gray, tan, beige, white, etc.), or patterned pants (black and white plaid, etc.), and then either go with a neutral shell and interesting jewelry and accessories or a bright shell and more low key accessories. This kind of look (non-matching blazer and pants/skirt) is kind of my work uniform on non-court days. I tend to do it more with pants than skirts for some reason (I can’t find as many skirt/non-matching blazer combos I like in my wardrobe, and I feel like a skirt is dressier and allows me to skip the jacket more). Works fine in my business casual office even with the old guard formal partners and even for last minute client meetings or runs to state court. (Not the jeans – that’s a casual look).
I do the same with both skirts & pants. Suits that come as a set don’t usually work for me, so I end with a lot of “separates” in my closet that I bought on sale, etc. I tend to mix and match pretty liberally. Gray & navy looks nice; gray & black or black& tan also. I love the way a tan skirt looks with a black top & black blazer. Throw in cute shoes, perhaps in a color (red, purple. . . leopard?), a fun necklace & you’re set!
Sadly, as cute as jeans & a blazer looks, I can’t do it. By the time I am wearing jeans, the last thing I want on is a suit jacket ;)
Looks great on others though!
I like to pair my black blazer (which doesn’t go with a suit) with a patterned brown/black skirt as well as with a red skirt. I’m not a fan of the black blazer with gray skirt look, for some reason it looks a bit dated to me.
Thanks, all! I very much appreciate the ideas, and look forward to trying them out!
If they’re lightweight then a black blazer with white pants is a nice look – I would stay away from any overly patterned skirts/pants because I think that’s a very outdated look (but of course that’s just my opinion).
Thread Jack: I am starting to get overwhelmed with to-dos related to my blog, which is actually a great problem to have. Does anyone have project-management software that they use that works really well? I have tools for my actual job, but I feel strange about using company resources for my personal endeavors, plus that software is expensive. Low cost or free would be great, and if they have an iPhone app to go along with it that would be even better. Thanks in advance for your help!!
As far as this jacket goes, I really like it. I like that the V allows room for a pretty blouse to show, and the ruching makes it more interesting than a plain black blazer but not so memorable that you would have to wear it sparingly.
Check out Basecamp (basecamphq.com). They offer a free account that will accommodate 1 project (or paid accounts – still inexpensive – for multiple accounts and file sharing). It’s simple and functional; I highly recommend it.
this actually looks uncomfortable to me. Wouldn’t the ruching on the sleeves dig in when your arms on the desk?
I dont have that problem with a similar jacket.
Forever21-ish to me, but I guesss if Rast makes it, he can charge more. Pass.
Did you buy the Etsy dress and if so, have you received it yet?
Yes, bought two items @Clerky and can’t wait! These: http://bit.ly/9VKcfA (spring garden dress in lavendar!) and http://bit.ly/cJCehr (romantic wrap top) I’ll post a review, promise!! And thanks to you for your reviews; I didn’t buy that Suzy Chin dress because of you. LOL. http://bit.ly/c7Xu7Q
Clerky, my comment is awaiting moderation (too many links I guess). I bought 2 dresses on Etsy from Lirola (spring dress with belt in lavender and romantic wrap top in coral). I’ll post reviews when I get them (can’t wait!). Thanks for your review of the Suzy Chin dress; I didn’t buy it after your comments that it was too clingy/thin/sexy. LOL.
I like the relatively low stance. Does anyone else feel that jackets with buttons that start too high are stodgy (usually 3-button jackets). As a petite person it’s hard to find jackets that don’t start the buttons too high.
However, the ruching seems very “juniors” and trendy to me.