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Our daily TPS reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices. Max Studio has a ton of cute jackets for 50% off, including this interesting black jacket. We like the ladylike curve of the neckline, the puckered (and functional) pockets, and the fact that it's made from silk and wool, and lined in silk. This seems like one of those great blazers to keep at the office and throw on over everything. Was $348, now $168, still available in sizes 2-12. FAILLE CROCHETED EDGE JACKET (L-2)Sales of note for 11.5.24
- Nordstrom – Fall sale, up to 50% off!
- Ann Taylor – Extra 40% off sale
- Banana Republic Factory – 50% off everything + extra 25% off with your GAP Inc. credit card
- Bloomingdales is offering gift cards ($20-$1200) when you spend between $100-$4000+. The promotion ends 11/10, and the gift cards expire 12/24.
- Boden – 10% off new styles with code; free shipping over $75
- Eloquii – Fall clearance event, up to 85% off
- J.Crew – 40% off fall favorites; prices as marked
- J.Crew Factory – Up to 60% off everything + 60% off clearance
- Lo & Sons – Fall Sale, up to 35% off
- M.M.LaFleur – Save 25% sitewide
- Neiman Marcus – New sale, up to 50% off
- Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
- Talbots – Buy one, get one – 50% off everything!
- White House Black Market – Holiday style event, take 25% off your entire purchase
And some of our latest threadjacks here at Corporette (reader questions and commentary) — see more here!
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Shayna
I like everything but the price tag! Although collar-less blazers have a tendency to look dated/matronly on some women, so like most things, this is a must-try-on-to-decide item.
I do love pockets though!
Grump
The price is far more than I’d be willing to pay for a jacket that didn’t come as part of a set/with a matching bottom half and even then, it’s pretty pricey for what it is. I do like that style of jacket though and would probably like it even better if it were a different colour – I do like a bit o’ colour in my life.
LPC
I think this jacket is completely worth the price – if it stands up to in person inspection for quality of fit, fabric, and finish. There’s a touch of the Chanel classic here, (but modernized, and more youthful) which sends good signals in many, many environments. Also could be the kind of piece you build a style around, a signature, if you will. Nice combination of feminine and classic.
Delta Sierra
Agreed on all points.
AC
I’m surprised that there would be complaints about price. Nice fabric, nice cut, under $200…. I’m sold.
AIMS
Agreed. Not to say this is “cheap,” but if the quality is as seems (and I have had good experience with the brand), this is the kind of piece that will be more than worth it in the long run. It’s fairly classic (I disagree that it looks dated at all), and something that’s made well will last much longer (and look much better) than some suit you get as a set for the same price. I think under $200 for a quality blazer is very reasonable (and I like that it’s on sale, and was originally priced as twice its price).
1L (Summer) NYC
I like it too, although can’t afford it right now. Does anyone know if the 0 that they sell is a true zero (i.e. like Tahari not DKNY)?
Grump
I would personally wait for it to be reduced further given that it isn’t part of a suit. I don’t think that’s particulalrly unreasonable to suggest. But, each to their own. I’m am curretlly waiting for a lovely jacket I ordered online to arrive ($300 down to about $35 including P&P by a designer brand here in the UK) . That’s the kind of $300 jacket I like! :)
dcm58
I agree! I thought the price was quite good for the fabric and detail of the jacket. I just purchased it!
I googled for coupons and just used “welcomemax” for 10% off my order — and free shipping. yea me!
I also purchased this jacket — http://www.maxstudio.com/cgi-bin/dynamic/product_2010.cgi?frame=main&style_number=7401A21&color=BLK_SL_CRM — looked to be a good price for a standard basic.
I have ordered shoes before from Max Studio and loved them. This is my first experience with clothing. I hope the quality rivals their shoes!
K3L
If I could afford this (and if I was just a touch thinner) I would have already bought it. Great coupon and other jacket as well!!
RR
I agree. I think it’s lovely and could look very timeless and yet still fresh. On “casual” non-suit days, my work uniform is pants or a skirt and a non-matching jacket. I love a good textured jacket that doesn’t look odd worn non-matching (and a suit in that fabric would seem like too much to me). So for me, this is right on the money, and I think I would get a lot of wear out of it. Lovely.
sheila
$168 for silk and wool blend in a classic cut sounds imminently reasonable to me. I would pay that for this if I didn’t already have something analagous. I think these complaints are unfounded.
AIMS
We’re a hard to please bunch, eh? ;)
dee
i love it! does anyone have any suggestions about a jacket like this, but in a color? i also think the price is very reasonable – jackets are expensive.
lawDJ
I love this!! Love the price and love that I can wear it with gray/black/cream bottoms and still look good. I think it’s classic and if the quality is good, the price is great. Yes I’d love to pay less, but I think this is a very reasonable price. I’m only afraid of sizing since I’ve never bought this brand before.
I looked at some of the other items they have on sale and they look great too. Wish I had more money to spend!
M
Love it. I already followed a suggestion here about the Karen Millen knit jacket, and it fit exactly as it was shown on the website. This seems like it could have been another winner, had they had my size!
75
I don’t see this as “Chanel” type, but I like it, and I like the price. I don’t like the notion that you can keep a jacket at the office and just sort of toss it on over lots of things. I think if youhave 15 jackets, each of them is going to look good with 2-5 skirts/pants. You can’t expect better than that. Ditto with sweaters.
Anon
I agree w/75 about the jacket-at-office idea. I’ve never really understood this concept. I don’t have one jacket (or sweater) that would go with anything I could choose to wear in a given day, and I’m not about to keep 1/2 my jackets at the office.
More to the point, if I’m that concerned that I’ll suddenly be underdressed for work and need the extra formality of a jacket (impromptu meeting, unexpected client lunch), then I should probably reevaluate whether my daily outfits are formal enough for my environment, period.
Anonymous
Well, I think if your wardrobe doesn’t have too many standout bottom pieces, one jacket might very well go with all of them. I pretty much only have black and gray skirts and pants. A black jacket like the one featured would probably go with all of them.
AIMS
I agree that it likely depends on your wardrobe & color scheme. I mostly wear neutrals and a simple black blazer will, more or less, go with 90% of what I would wear to work — which is why such a blazer hanging in my office closet.
Yes, there are items it looks better with than others, but I don’t think of my workplace as a fashion show. If I need to look a little bit more formal (or it’s sweltering outside, like today, and I didn’t want to wear a jacket to the office) — it works in a pinch. I think that’s kind of the point. Not that it’s what you do it always, but that it can work when you need it to.
The sweater idea, I think, is more than it’s sometimes cold inside and rather than lugging extra layers with you, you have a fairly neutral piece that goes with most things (and that’s understated enough that no one would care even if it didn’t match perfectly).
Blonde Lawyer
I have a long black hooded sweater (the old bathrobe style) that lives in my office for when it is too chilly. I work in business casual. It can be worn to run to the copier or the bathroom but I wouldn’t wear it out and about. I love that it is long so if someone decides to blast the ac I can drape it over my legs if I am wearing a skirt. It also looks snug and professional (from the front) when I am seated at my desk facing the door. I think keeping something to throw on when you are chilly is a must!
Bonnie
Instead of keeping a black jacket at the office, I keep a black suit. Whatever shirt I’m wearing generally goes with a classic black suit. If I unexpectedly have to go to court, I’m ready.
s-k-s
I love it! I generally have had a good experience with this brand and own a bunch of their fun print dresses for non-work outings.
Moving on, do people here mix black jackets/black pants when they aren’t a part of a set (and the fabrics don’t match perfectly)? I’ve always thought this was a big no-no, but it seems from the comments that it’s pretty common …
Bonnie
I’m not a fan of mismatched black clothing. This jacket would look great with gray or tan though.
Anonymous
As AIMS described above, the in-office black jacket isn’t for days when you know you need to be suited up (in full armor, as it were). I think of it as for those days when a client is in the neighborhood and decides to drop in when you’ve come to work in a skirt and top rather than full-on suit.
dee
I haven’t done this (because I don’t own a black jacket) but I would think that it’s OK to pair a black jacket with black bottoms if the fabrics don’t match. in fact, the only time i would pair the black on black is when the fabrics obviously don’t match so that no one thinks i got dressed in the dark. so i wouldn’t pair a black wool skirt with a black wool jacket unless it was a “set”, but I would pair this jacket with a black wool skirt.
dcm58
I definitely do that — this jacket is the perfect example to me. I would wear it with simple black pants (like the bottoms from Ann Taylor suits) and think it matched well because it is clearly separates. I agree that if the fabrics are obviously different (one is a true solid and the other has texture), you can create an outfit by putting them together.
eem
This. I think it would be fine to pair this jacket with a plain (no texture) pair of black pants, becuase the jacket has a texture that would be obviously different from the pants. I think the problem arises when it looks like you were trying to match, but didn’t quite get there.
LexCaritas
Totally agree – you might even have texture overkill if this jacket was worn with matching bottom half. I would completely pair this jacket with plain black trousers or a black dress.
Robin
I read somewhere, can’t remember, that to be truly stylish, you wear color with color, black with black, and never color with black. I think that’s an overstatement, but I do think colored shirt/sweater and black pants can tend to look “i dressed in the uniform today — a shirt with black pants”. So, yes, I think its totally appropriate to wear a black jacket with black pants so long as its obvious that you know the black jacket is not the same fabric as the pants. And this is the perfect jacket for that.
Lucy
I don’t frequently wear color with black, but I wear loads of neutrals with black — or even palers colors like dusty blues & light pinks that are popular now in that 80s revival trend.
CF
Love!
Victoria
Just wondering what people’s thoughts are….
I’m not sure if the answer to this is obvious or not…. but with a collar-less jacket like this, can you wear a collared (button-down) shirt? Or do collared shirts need to go with collared jackets?
Thanks!
3L
I was just about to right out this same exact Q! I don’t think it would and I definitely don’t see it as a “throw on over everything” type of jacket.
Lucy
I would not wear something like this w/a collared shirt. Slouchy turtlenecks, yes, tees & shells, yes . . . but collar, no.
MM
Would I pair it with a collared shirt in the morning with my whole wardrobe in front of me? No, it’s not ideal. But it would it be awful if this was my emergency-office jacket and I happened to be wearing a collared shirt that day? No, not horrible.