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Tuesday’s TPS Report: Chain Weave Dress

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Our daily TPS reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices. Classiques Entier Chain Weave DressLoooving this dress from the Classiques Entier line at Nordstrom. Love the color, the detailing at the waist, and we even feel like the little bow/sash hanging down gives the dress some vertical lines, making it more slimming. Love. We'd accessorize it with black, with a single bold red accent piece (a necklace, a cardigan). It's $228 at Nordstrom in sizes 0-16. Classiques Entier ‘Chain Weave' Dress If you've recently seen a great work piece you'd like to recommend to the readers, please e-mail editor@corporette.com with “TPS” in the subject line. Unless you ask otherwise, we'll refer to you by your first initial. (L-2)

Sales of note for 12.5

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49 Comments

  2. Aside from the ever-irritating need to put a few stitches along the faux wrap line, nice pick! A pencil-ish fit without being either too boyish or too sexy, and the length looks great for semi-shorties such as myself. I’d go with a cardi in navy, plum or (if I had different skin color) a nice melony orange for now, and lavender or a buttery yellow to take it into spring.

  3. This is a beautiful dress, but I so rarely see women at my firm wearing dresses and if they do, it’s always long sleeved and usually never above the knee. I’m in big law in DC. Maybe it’s just a DC thing?

    1. Not a DC thing–this would be totally appropriate in my business casual D.C. law office (with a sweater of some sort), provided it doesn’t hit too far above the knee–it’s always so hard to tell how a dress that appears somewhat short on a model might fit me.

  5. Re: lawdiva’s comment, I think skirt length at work is really just a personal preference thing. I don’t wear skirts or dresses above my knee to work but all of the other women in my group who wear skirts do wear skirts at or a few inches above the knee.

    Personally, as the most junior member of the team, I’m always on the “other side” of the desk if I’m meeting with someone, and the last thing I want to be worrying about is whether or not they can see up my skirt (which, if the skirt is above the knee, they probably can – even if just a flash of thigh, I don’t want that).

  6. I love this dress! I’d definitely wear it with a cardigan, open, so you can see the detailing at the waist, but I think it would be really flattering on most people. And being from Nordstrom, I expect to see it on sale soon.

    1. Did you buy any of the other sale dresses from BB? I’ve been contemplating a couple of them, but my local BB is men’s only (boo!) so I always have to take a leap of faith when ordering from BB. Typically works out though.

      2. sorry, this is the only one I bought – I think I got it too big, but the wrap is very forgiving that way. For some reason, the fit on this brown dress ran about a size bigger than the fit on their button-downs.

    2. I’d try a tan belt, or maybe a classy not to rustic looking woven type belt either in tan leather or linen fabric. Seems like a great dress, you could wear with light accessories for spring and darker for fall.

      1. shoot – I checked when I got home…and yes, very wrinkly. Now I’m doubting keeping it!

    4. Cute… I’d do a dark brown croc embossed belt or something to add some texture, or even a chocolate leather….

  9. I love this dress, but it would probably be too short on me since I have a long torso. I think it is pretty versatile. You could wear it with a turtleneck underneath on colder days or a longer jacket on top.

    meg- I think there are a lot of different options you could try with that dress. You could try a belt in a contrasting color like a bright green or turquoise or a warm metallic if you want to add some pop to the outfit. If you’re in a more conservative place, I’d just stick with a darker brown embossed belt to at least add some textural interest.

  11. I think this dress is very pretty, and still interesting. Maybe I am on a gray kick? I have been loving all things gray lately. I would hope that since I am 5’7″ and not a 6′ model it would be a little bit longer on me :) I will definitely keep an eye out for it on sale! Thanks C!

    1. I luuurve gray. More versatile than black (more colors go with it) and doesn’t show every little bit of fluff.

  12. Very pretty dress, but I still don’t see this as falling in the category of what a professional woman wears at the office. I still think that sometimes this site confuses nice-dresses-for-dinners-out-or-social-events with professional-office-wear.

    1. Where do you work? I, like C and most of the other commenters, would not hesitate to wear this to work.

      1. I totally agree. Very work appropriate. I might also wear this to church, but certainly not to a social event or dinner out. While it is a really pretty dress, it would look too stuffy if worn to a social event or dinner, unless everyone is going straight from work.

    2. I think it’s fine with a blazer, but definitely a little more casual with a cardigan.
      The only thing that I don’t like is the floppy tie/bow. But I am not a fan of superfluous details on my work clothes unless they’re far more subtle.

      1. I now work in a home office, so I can wear whatever the heck I like :-). But I worked in a corporate setting, not a law setting, and had significant contact with creative fields. It may also be a function of my age, which is forty-something — the dresses just don’t seem as personal-power to me as something with a cardigan, blazer, or jacket.

        Actually I take this back. With a third piece, this is lovely. It’s the dress-by-itself that I react to. But I came of age in the navy-suit-floppy-bow-tie era, so what do I know!

  13. Question about sleeveless dresses–when do people think they are appropriate? Ideally I would wear nothing but shift dresses (except for on days when I need to be in a suit) but I’m a little concerned about having bare arms, especially with a dress like this, which I think has too much detail to work well with a blazer or cardigan. (Usually I wear short-sleeve dresses.)

    1. Sleeveless dresses are never appropriate for work, unless it’s really hot and you can close your office door (and even then, you’d still need a backup cardigan or blazer for when you need to go visit people).
      But I think if you left the cardigan unbuttoned, you could still see the detail.

    2. It depends on your region. I think this type of dress would probably be appropriate in many parts of FL since it is so hot here in the summer. If you live in a colder climate, sleeveless might not go over as well.

    3. I definitely follow the “no bare shoulders” rule. But there are a lot of great options for cardigans, especially in the summer. I’d try this with a cropped cardi or shrug, worn open.

  15. I just bought this in gray and absolutely love it! It’s a tad cheaper than the Nordstrom one as well, and is missing the bow that I think might make it more difficult to pair with a jacket or cardigan over the dress (half bow peeking out in front, lumpiness if you want to wear a slimmer item on top, etc…)

    http://www.jcrew.com/AST/Browse/WomenBrowse/Women_Shop_By_Category/dresses/suitingdresses/PRDOVR~19883/99101879049/ENE~1+2+3+22+4294967294+20~~~0~15~all~mode+matchallany~~~~~banquette/19883.jsp

    1. the flannel banquette? i wanted to love this dress but when i tried the black version on, the v neck was so low i could see the band of my bra. the sales associate suggested i wear a ruffly silk cami underneath (like the frances) but then the dress didn’t fit right. plus, that seemed counterproductive to the whole “a dress is the easiest way to get dressed” thing.

      the black went down to $69.99 – 30% in stores and i still had to walk away.

      1. I’ve actually had this problem with most of the recent Jcrew “suiting” dresses – low necklines (I think I’m being objective when I call them low since they expose my bra). I’m not busty so it isn’t that the dress can’t handle me. It’s very frustrating.

        1. I am fairly busty and I’ve noticed the same problem with J. Crew dresses. I love the fabrics, but I just don’t like the fussiness of having to worry about my bra being exposed. I tend to do the ruffly silk cami under dresses, but sometimes I just don’t want to bother and I’d rather not reveal more than is necessary.

  16. I luuuuurve this. And I used to work at a VERY white-shoe law firm. Dresses are considered business formal (the equivalent of suits) as long as your arms are covered (cardi being fine for that). Don’t take it too far–I remember one poor summer who wore a flesh-baring sundress to work and was asked to join a client meeting. Before they got up to the conference center, the partner took one look and the SA and told her to go home and change. In other words, use your noodle, and dresses (within reason) are totally appropriate for very formal offices.

  17. Purdy. Gray is not a color that flatters me (dark-skinned Negro with dialect that I am, [snicker]…Gotta be a politico from DC probably, to get that joke).

    3. LOL… Are you sure? Although I am partial to charcoal …and its di’lec …

  18. I tried this on a few days ago and loved it (though not the price for now). The fabric is light, with an interesting, slightly textured weave. And they even tacked the neckline closed!

  19. I love the look of this. And I never minded bare shoulders under a light jacket or a sweater. The combination of gray, the fabric, and the tailored fit, keep it in the OK range, while the faux wrap, v-neckline, and belt detail keep you from falling all the way into corporate robot territory. This is the tightwire we all want to walk:).

  20. I have a very similar dress from Banana Republic, and I find the cross-over neck is fine when you’re standing, but if you sit with even a tiny bit of a slouch, people sitting next to you can see directly inside the dress. I found this out after wearing it to a work dinner. I am small chested, so maybe with a little more cup size this gaping wouldn’t happen. I will definitely be wearing a camisole with it from now on.

    1. Ask your dry cleaner to sew it shut — with dresses of this style, there’s often more than one layer to the fabric that folds into the front of the dress, so the stitches can hold the underneath layer flat without being obvious. Usually a pretty cheap fix :)

  21. This is a pretty dress, but I do not see it for the office. Maybe on a very hot day! To me, taking a dress that is a little too fancy for the office and then covering it up somewhat with a sweater simply does not work.

    1. Anne, you and Sharon must work at the same place! :) I’m not sure why you’d think it’s too fancy — the fabric is similar to men’s suiting, the detailing is fairly tailored, the neckline is modest, and the silhouette lends itself to a sweater.

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