ByKat Hours Updated
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Tuesday’s TPS Report: Ribbon-Stripe Skirt

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Our daily TPS reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices. Lela Rose Ribbon-Stripe SkirtNeiman Marcus is having some crazy sales in its sales section. For the most part, only lucky sizes are left, but boy are they lucky! I am loving this ribbon-striped skirt from Lela Rose, which looks like it could be accessorized for all seasons. Was $695, marked to $243, with an extra 30% off — the prices comes to 170.10. Ribbon-Stripe Skirt Seen a great piece you'd like to recommend? Please e-mail editor@corporette.com with “TPS” in the subject line. (Disclosures)

Sales of note for 1/1/25 (HAPPY NEW YEAR!):

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

Some of our latest threadjacks include:

62 Comments

  1. Does it look see through at all? For some reason I’m not seeing it as see through but I’m getting a see through vibe from it

    1. It’s totally see through! You can totally see her legs through the skirt up to a point that would be very inappropriate to wear to work (and I do not think tights would make it okay).

      Good to know about the sale though.

      1. yep, both skirt and top are see-through.

        i wouldn’t wear it to work anyway as i think it might be too short for me.

  2. Is it just me, or have Kat’s picks been really off lately? This skirt is either transparent or lined in a way that creates the illusion of being transparent – which is the opposite of what I want to wear to work. I’m all in favor of Kat making money for her hard work on Corporette, but sometimes I wonder if the advertising and affiliate links have taken over the original spirit of the site.

    1. Like the skirt for off-work hours, but would be way too short for my office. I’d pair this with black tights and a fuzzy sweater.

      1. Even if it’s not too short, I feel like the horizontal strips make it look shorter than it is. Does that make sense?

    2. I don’t think this is a sponsored post Eponine (at least, it’s not labeled as such). I think everyone has their “off” times (especially when “off” is totally subjective and others might disagree).

    3. Did she make money on this post? I don’t see the L- notification that usually is on it.

      1. Hi guys. Nope, not a sponsored post, and actually most things this week (Neiman Marcus, Boden on Friday… I forget what yesterday was… weren’t affliates.) Still, almost everything has an affiliate link to it these days one way or another (some added by me, some added by software I’m running on the site), so I need to come up with a new disclosure thing.

        1. I don’t think this skirt is off, and even if others do, I think part of the point of Kat’s post is to point readers to the Neiman’s sale. Regardless of whether you like this skirt, it’s great that Kat is filling us in on crazy sales!

        2. I think if almost everything is an affiliate link, then disclosing it really on a per-item basis is really not that important – maybe you can just add a disclaimer somewhere on the site that says that most links are affiliate links. These days I just kind of assume that most links on blogs are affiliate links anyway.
          What I do like to know is if a post is sponsored – that is, if you’re picked a particular product because you were paid to do that. And you’re been disclosing that very visibly.
          Thanks for all your efforts at transparency!

  4. To me “striped skirt” says “young,” in part due to the styling. And also because I used to dress like that in high school, when I had the body to carry off a t-shirt and striped skirt without 200 other things layered over or under.

    Wait, the skirt was originally damn near $700?!?!?

  5. If the stripes were vertical and the skirt were longer and more fully lined, I could maybe see this working. As it is, I don’t think this skirt would be appropriate for work or flattering on most women.

  9. Never mind the sheerness, it’s so…wrinkled. Nothing bothers me more than women in the office with wrinkly clothes. I understand things getting mussed up after a day of sitting, but those tell-tale fold marks at the knees of pants drive me crazy.

    1. How exactly are you supposed to prevent these? I mean, obviously you’d take care of them before getting to work, but when you have a 4:00 meeting and you’ve thoroughly wrinkled your pants by then, what can you do? (Short of preventing them by sitting around your office pantsless, I guess!)

      1. I think by “tell-tale folds” she meant the straight, obvious folds that are in your pants from hanging or sitting in your drawer, i.e. it’s worth it to give them a quick iron in the morning. Nobody can avoid wrinkles around their knees at 4 pm.

        1. Ah. Those folds come higher than my knees in my pants (usually about 1″ above in fact) because of the weight of the top of the pants v. the legs, but I think it would really depend on the person. That’s what my steamer is for anyway.

    2. I’m with K … how do you prevent this from happening to your clothes? Isn’t this a bit unrealistic/OCD?

      1. I suppose for really important meetings — and assuming you can close your office door — you could keep a small iron or steamer at work, and go over what you are wearing before being wherever it is you have to be.

        Otherwise, sitting carefully helps (e.g., pulling skirt down gently before sitting, etc.), wearing certain fabrics less likely to wrinkle, and wearing something freshly pressed (wearing pants fresh from dry-cleaners ends up looking much neater at the end of the day vs. pants on their 3rd wear post-dry cleaner).

        1. I can close my office door but everyone would see (everything’s glass here), and please do not use an iron/steamer on clothes you’re wearing or you are very likely to burn yourself. I just really don’t see how this is important. For super important meetings in the middle of the day, I suppose you could bring a change of clothes, but who has time for all this primping? Men certainly don’t do it (or even spent 1 second thinking about it!) All the time we spend thinking about wrinkles you get because you sat down to work is time you could be working and/or impressing people with your work! (and with that, I’ll get back to it)

          1. I have my own office, no glass, and it doesn’t look odd if I close my door. In that situation, I don’t think it would be that odd if I took off a skirt to quickly steam/iron it. It would take maybe 5 minutes & if it helps me feel more put together, I think it pays off in productivity. Not suggesting this as an everyday thing, and certainly not suggesting that people iron or steam while wearing their clothes.
            Agree that we should spend less time worrying about it at all, though :)

    3. I always wondered if people notice the crease in the knees of my pants after I take them off the hanger. I guess they do.

      1. You can get hanger clips at target and hang your pants upside down from the hem. I find that the easiest to do to avoid the ironing twice issue and it is easy to hang with any crease folded correctly. I also think it takes up a little less space in the closet width-wise.

      2. I crease mine along the front and back of the legs and hang upside down. Problem solved.

        I actually don’t own a dryer so I hang dry all my clothes, and I dry my pants hanging like this, too, and almost never have to iron them. The crease just forms itself and stays in. But if you dry your pants, you could iron in the crease and then hang.

    4. Natural fibers will often wrinkle. Polyester and the like won’t.

      I’ve no problem with the natural fiber naturally occurring wrinkles. Says “real fiber” to me. Others, I suppose, just see wrinkles.

  10. I love this. I think the shortness balances out the horizontal stripes. Feeling some unprofessional blood coursing through my veins right now…and all the time…

  11. I don’t think it’s completely sheer. I think the first inch or two from the bottom are sheer, and then the lining starts. If you look closely, you can see the edge of the lining in the zoomed picture Kat linked. Now, you can see the shape of her legs through the fabric, but not her actual legs.

    1. This was my impression too. Plus, I think the horizontal stripes do some wierd optical illusion thing in photos that makes it look see through when it’s actually just the shape of her leg.

    2. Sheer or not, if you can see the shape of a woman’s legs through her skirt/dress/pants, how is that appropriate for work?

      1. When is the shape of a woman’s legs NOT apparent? Every step you take pulls the cloth against your legs. People are aware that there are legs under there. Good grief.

  12. I love the Tim Burton-ish feel of the black and white stripes, and I think this would be fine for a more casual environment.

  13. Kat, if this blog is about clothes for work…..but seriously, the cardigan shown in the ad is so beautiful it makes up for the skirt which is OFF.

    Did anyone see the Tory Burch woven leather flats that Bloomingdales advertised in the Times today? They looked very nice to me, also the rubber tote advertised on the same page.

    1. I like the print, and it probably looks even nicer in gray.

      That said, I would not wear it at work. I think loop/infinity scarves at work are bordering on too casual territory. Maybe because they’re a very trendy item?

      At any rate, just my opinion. I am sure it depends on your workplace, etc. But I think if you’re going to do leopard at work, it should be on a very classic something, not something that may be the equivalent of legwarmers or a shrug (read: dated) in 5 years time.

    2. I like it! But, in my office, women wear pashmina scarves and regular outdoor cowl neck scarf things all day long. We are business casual, leaning more towards business for dress and more towards casual for accessories. What’s nice about that is if an important meeting crops up, you can just take off your casual accessory.

    3. Thanks for the feedback. I’m a law clerk this year and can wear whatever, but next year I’ll be at a big firm in DC. It’s business casual but definitely more on the formal side.

      AIMS, I didn’t realize that infinity scarves were considered more casual. The primary reason why I bought this scarf is because I can’t figure out how to wear a regular scarf and wearing an infinity scarf is a no brainer.
      When you say that if I do a leopard print that I should make it more classic, do you have an example of what you are referring to?

      1. Yeah, I don’t understand why an infinity scarf would be considered more casual either. Maybe I just haven’t seen enough people wearing them, but it seems like unless you were really looking closely, you wouldn’t necessarily even know if it was an infinity scarf vs. a regular scarf draped in a skillful fashion.

        1. I am sure opinions differ. I have only seen infinity scarves paired with casual outfits so they strike me as casual (e.g., jeans, tee, and bf cardigan + infinity scarf). Or, I have seen women at work wear them, but then take them off when they get into the office. I just think that because it’s generally looser & loopier than a traditionally tied scarf would be, it strikes me as more casual — and, therefore, not for a business office. But I could be totally wrong. It’s just my take. And, btw, I totally love infiinity scarves & I love leopard (esp. gray print leopard) . . .

    4. It’s a great scarf for casual wear, but for work I can see it in a casual office if it is the *only* distracting/casual/bright item in an otherwise staid outfit. e.g. a sober black sleeved dress, black pumps and this scarf. Or since you’ve got it in grey, perhaps with a grey sweater dress.

  15. Emergency outfit advice needed! I’m attending a pro sports event (indoors) with my husband tomorrow, and it’s a work event for him. We’ll be joining an industry exec, state gov’t officials, and wives. Only advice my husband could give me was that the suit I was wearing while we were talking about it was “too much” (duh!). Anyone have any thoughts about what might be good for this — I want to look “nice” and make a good impression as “the wife” but I’m truly clueless about how to convey that in this setting. Help!

    1. Can you tell us what sporting event? (Big difference between tennis and football I think) And what will your husband be wearing?

      1. Sorry! It’s a hockey game. Husband said he’ll wear “khakis or something, but not a hockey jersey” LOL, so helpful.

        1. Maybe dark jeans and a nice (eg cashmere) sweater? I would also layer, unless you are going to be in a fancy box with heat – hockey stadiums are cold!

        2. I am not much help in way of styling, but I can tell you that the arenas are usually pretty cold. Unless you are use to colder temperatures, I would suggest layering. You don’t want to be the one that looks really nice, but is shivering.

        3. second the dark jeans and cashmere sweater idea. Even better if you have a sweater in the shade of the home team’s colors. Or if not, maybe accessorize w/ a scarf of home team’s colors.

          1. I’d do trouser corduroys, a nice sweater or casual blazer and a nice blouse/shirt

      2. I suggest casual but well put together – this is a venue where riding boots with jeggings and a nice sweater will work well. Or just a nicer pair of jeans and something slightly nicer than a t-shirt for a top. Sporting events are casual – even in the suites generally – so unless people come straight from work in business wear, they will likely dress down significantly.

        1. No jeggings. I can’t think of any situation in which wearing spandex pants to your husband’s work event would be appropriate.

    2. I would recommend checking with your husband on where you’ll be sitting. I think if you’re in the suite or nice floor seats will demand nicer clothes than if you’re in the nosebleed seats.

      In my experience, most people have worn business casual or business dress to all of the indoor sporting events I attended as a work function – Jeans would have been out of place. I usually wear a nice warm sweater or blazer (L is right – hockey stadiums are chilly) and then dress pants that I can wear flats with. That usually matches the level of dress of the men who are also coming from work. However, I will absolute wear flats instead of heels since I hate walking around a stadium in loud clacking high heels – it just feels wierd. I think it’s fair since men’s dress clothes don’t involve anything as impractical as heels!!

      FWIW – I am a midwestern lawyer and sporting events are usually networking or client relationship events. My husband works in sales/marketing and also usually wears dress khakis and a button down when he has sporting events for work.

    3. Dark jeans, a sweater or turtleneck, a plaid or cable knit scarf, and leather boots. If you don’t want to wear jeans, wear slacks instead.

    4. Thank you all for the great advice; I knew I could count on the Corporettes! :) I think I’m going to go with a cashmere sweater in a team color, dark trouser jeans, boots, blazer, and a plaid scarf. (Miracle of miracles, I actually own most of the suggested items! Thanks again!

  16. Talbots red hanger sale is on! Much more in store than online.

    FYI just picked up the classic/grace jacket that goes with the pink or blue wool skirt with the little pleats/flares around the hem. They are not showing up on line any longer. In the store, the jackets were in stock and on sale, as were the skirts. My store had more items in the pink than in the blue. Of course, not 50% off as the sale says and “up to 50%” in small print is more like the truth of the sale. Here is a glen plaid one in the style I found in store and just adore:

    http://www.talbots.com/online/browse/product_details.jsp?id=prdi25259&rootCategory=cat70008&catId=cat80022&sortKey=Default&section=Regular&conceptIdUnderSale=cat70008

    Also an alert, the lace skirt in their catalogue that is navy actually has a deep green lining…it can be seen a bit, but not too brightly – but a surprise! Anyone know what color of lining is in the black one? The email consultant said they did not know!

    http://www.talbots.com/online/search/searchResults.jsp?removeAllFacets=true&addFacet=SRCH%3Alace+pencil+skirt&question=lace+pencil+skirt&pageNum=0&sort=&_requestid=234475

    Finally, the store had only a few lucky sizes of black skirts with the attached beds of rosettes around the hem…a bit shoddy in the workmanship but a glorious swing when you walk.

    http://www.talbots.com/online/browse/product_details.jsp?id=prdi25511&mode=search&backurl=%2Fonline%2Fsearch%2FsearchResults.jsp%3Fquestion%3Drosette%2Bskirt%26trail%3D%26pageNum%3D0%26addFacet%3DSRCH%253Arosette%2Bskirt%26removeFacet%3D

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