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Updated: Nov 1, 2018 68 Comments · by

Wednesday’s TPS Report: Serengeti wrap dress

Fashion· The Personal Shopper (TPS)· Wear to Work | · · · · ·

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Our daily TPS reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices. Banana Republic Serengeti wrap dressLoving this great silk and viscose wrap dress — with sleeves! amazing! — from Banana Republic. We like the V-neck, the abstract print — and did we mention that it has sleeves? We'd tone down the print for work by pairing it with more conservative accessories like a classic strand of pearls and a pair of basic pumps in black, brown, or nude. It's $120 at Banana Republic. Banana Republic Serengeti wrap dress Seen a great piece you'd like to recommend? Please e-mail editor@corporette.com with “TPS” in the subject line. (L-2)

Sales of note for 9.30.24

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Comments

  1. FEF

    I like that it has sleeves, but that is too much animal print for me. I could see it looking good on someone taller than me, though.

    • Shayna

      The animal print is confusing… on the one hand it seems so trendy … but it keeps showing up year after year… but I agree – I would not buy (Not a fan of how I look in it) — but in a solid neutral? Love it!

  2. Legally Brunette

    I’ve seen this in the store several times but never felt compelled to try it on — not sure if it was the length (it looked short to me) or the print or what. Curious to hear if anyone has purchased this dress.

  3. Amber

    I’m very excited that it has sleeves, but it looks a little leopard-y for me.

  4. anon

    I love it! I see animal prints everywhere these days and I am coveting this dress!

  5. SS

    I like the print and don’t find it too leopardy, but i hate wrap dresses in general and don’t like the way BR ones fit on me.

  6. RR

    I don’t usually like animal print, but this dress looks like it would be very flattering. I’d have to try it on to know if it would work for me, and I’d probably try it with a white blazer or cardigan to cover up some of the “Raaar” of it.

    • dee

      I was thinking you could cover it up with a blazer or cardigan, but then isn’t the point of a dress with sleeves that there is no need for the blazer/cardigan?

    • Interrobang

      One is nearly reminded of Banana Republic of yesteryear, when it sold only safari clothing befitting imperialists civilizing [tongue planted firmly in cheek] a true banana republic. (And also those cotton tees with illustrated African and “Oriental” fauna on the back.)

      Fashion’s nod to O. Henry is, apparently, cyclical.

      • Kristin

        And their stores smelled just like an Army Navy surplus store. I got the most wonderful pair of leather Greek-style sandals there that I wore for years.

        Thanks for the memories

  7. cee

    I love this dress- the cut, the length, the sleeves. But I’m not an animal print person. I wish it was in some other more conservative design, I’d buy it in a heartbeat!

    • RKS

      Same here. I actually like the idea of animal prints and like how the dress looks on the model. But whenever I put them on, it just never quite looks right on me.

  8. Law-Less

    I *love* the abstract animal print on this dress! Generally, an all-over leopard print would be a bit much, but I think this is subtle enough to be appropriate for work, or anywhere, really. Admittedly, I am a *huge* leopard print fan, but I usually keep it to a cute flat shoe on Fridays or the lining of my bag. However, I think that this dress is totally appropriate. If it’s too much for you, I also think it would look lovely with a blazer or cardigan.
    Also, I like the way it is styled in the photo with a nude shoe. I think that helps to keep the dress from being over the top.

  9. AIMS

    I actually saw this in BR yesterday but didn’t have the time to try it on. The nice thing was the fabric felt a bit thicker, if that makes sense, so I am assuming (or hoping) that means it will be relatively flaterring on (as opposed to some other super thin, clingy BR dresses).

    My one gripe (and the main reason I didn’t try it on) is the print. I like it, actually, but I hate things that are this memorable from mass market retailers b/c I know I will end up seeing this dress 5 dozen times this summer & each time I will think, “that’s that BR dress.” I don’t know if that makes sense or if anyone shares this gripe, but I’m just not a fan of “distinctive” looking items that everyone & their mother ends up wearing on my subway ride to work.

    • LegallyBlonde

      I get it. I found a shirt that was really flattering on me from a big retailer. And it was on sale! So I bought 5, in different colors. Apparently, so did most of the women in my building. On most days, I see at least one person wearing the shirt. All five of mine have now been resigned to weekend wear because it was embarrasing to me to be wearing the same thing as so many other people.

      • Cat

        Don’t be embarrassed – the other women aren’t! A few associates on my floor (including me) each bought the same semi-distinctive knit top from BR. Fortunately, we each picked a different color. I do admit that I wait to see it go through their rotation before wearing it myself — I don’t mind that we all have the same one, but I do feel very “Who Wore It Better” if someone else is wearing it the same day.

    • Kimbo

      AIMS, I didn’t automatically think that with this dress, but I know exactly what you’re referring to! D.C. is the land of J. Crew (at least that’s how i feel a lot of the time) and every season there are at least five J. Crew pieces that I see at least once a day (no, I’m not exaggerating). I mean, if you really like something, go for it and get it, but I can’t help but feel that some of these women are buying these items just to fit in.

      • AN

        A colleague and I both have the identical DVF wrap dress and we text each other a day in advance so the other can avoid wearing hers! It doesn’t help my cause that she is a size 0/2 whereas I am a curvy size 10:(

    • E2

      Yes, there are a few recent/current Ann Taylor dresses and skirts (that unidentified black and gray “animal print,” for instance – I think Kat even featured the skirt version at one point) and a BR luxe tee with a satin trim around the neck that I see all over NYC. Not sure this dress will gain enough traction to reach that point, but yes, I completely agree and try to avoid items that will be so easily identified.

      • em

        I bought two of those BR satin tees, and was totally unimpressed. One pilled after about 3 wears, and the other (yellow) is so sheer that to wear it I’d have to wear a cami.

    • AIMS

      Ha — I am so glad I am not the only one!!!
      It used to happen to me with gap skirts & dresses in college all the time & it drove me nuts; good to know other people have experienced the phenomenon.

      • Anon

        Yes. I’ve learned never to buy a JCrew dress to wear to a wedding because I can’t remember the last time I attended one where several guests, if not bridesmaids, were in JCrew.

        • Elle

          I have the same approach now to Ann Taylor dresses after one summer wedding season where I went to TWO weddings where another guest was wearing the same AT dress as me! (I attended 10 weddings that summer/fall and turned down another 3 or 4 invitations so I bought 3 dresses at AT at the start of the season to rotate among the different crowds of people – hopefully only my husband really knew how frequently the dresses got worn that year!)

    • anono

      When I was a summer associate (back in the day when summer classes were huge and summer events were plentiful) the girls would all make sure we wouldn’t be dupeing each other, since we had all basically gone to AT/BR/J.Crew and stocked up on that season’s offerings for our summer professional warddrobe.

      God, I miss the days when the biggest concern on my plate was what to wear to a partner’s dinner party :)

      • Anon

        No kidding about the “back in the day when summer classes were huge” comment. I’m in-house now and summers don’t exist for me, but I recently read that the bigger firms in town (large Southern city) have approx 10-15 summers each this summer. They each had around 50 when I summered. Damn times have changed.

    • Emily

      True! I wore a green AT sweater to work one day, and two other women were wearing the same sweater. We knew it immediately, because it has a distinctive v-neck in the back (if that makes any sense). We were able to laugh it off, but none of us have worn it since.

  10. Kimbo

    I like this and I’d seriously consider buying it. I’d try to make it to a store to try it on first though. I’m very short from my collarbone to my chest and sometimes things that are appropriately cut on models (and most women) are too low cut for work for me. I wear camis sometimes to help solve the problem, but a lot of the time I feel that camis cut off the lines of the dress.

  11. Bee

    I bought this dress — and quickly returned it. If you have any kind of curves, it will be too short for a conservative office. If you think you can get away with 3-4 inches above the knee, however, it will be great.

  12. anono

    I guess I’m in the minority, but IMHO this looks like something you’d see on Real Housewives of New Jersey, not in a corporate office environment.

    • ERP

      anono – Love the RHNJ reference. Huge fan of all of the housewives. The RHNY are definitely the best dressed of the bunch.

  13. Clerky

    Thread hijack – anyone ever buy something from Rue La La or Ideeli? I have been a member on both for months now but never bought anything, mostly because I don’t like the “store credit exchange” only policy. Curious to hear if anyone has a positive or negative experience.

    • L

      I have bought from Rue La La several times. In fact, two items from MICHAEL Michael Kors just arrived this week. They recently changed the return policy, so you now can receive cash back (but they will deduct the return shipping). I returned three Calvin Klien dresses during the credit-only time, and found plenty of other things to spend the money on. The returns are incredibly easy. Everything is included in the shipment, so if something doesn’t work out just reseal the box and stick on the return label.

    • jcb

      Am a big fan of Ruelala (and like L said, they recently changed their return policy). Never had any issues and once, when I thought I did (but was mistaken), their customer service was quick, friendly and accurate. Never have ordered from ideeli.

    • Clerky

      Thanks for the feedback ladies. Are you guys free members or premier members (which I assume involves some sort of membership fee)? The reason I ask is because I’m a free member and every time I click on something, it seems like most of the sizes are already sold out because the premier members get first dibs.

      • jcb

        I don’t think ruelala has premier members (or I would be one by now, I order obscene amounts of things from that site). You just have to get to the boutique right when it opens. The items that they advertise ahead of time are usually the ones that sell out immediately.

        • K

          Ditto, they send out emails AFTER the site opens (11 am?). I bought a work tote (Michael Michael Kors) and a betsey johnson LBD from there and they are both great.

    • Amy

      I’m a big fan of all the “club” shopping sites – RueLaLa, Hautelook, Gilt, Ideeli, etc. I’ve ordered from all of them and never had a problem with anything that necessitated a return. The one thing I will say is that I have experienced some pretty lengthy shipping delays with Ideeli, where I’ll order something that is supposed to ship within the week, and then get an email a week or more later saying they haven’t shipped it and don’t know when they will. They do give a $10 credit when this happens, which covers shipping on my next order, but I ordered once and it happened, then I ordered again and it happened again, which is a little annoying.
      One thing I will say, is all the sites provide an estimate of when something is supposed to ship – pay attention to it, because sometimes shipping dates are three to four weeks from the date the item is on sale. I don’t know whether the sites are having things made specifically for them, or they’re selling new products that haven’t actually hit the market yet, or what. But last night I was going to order some Kate Somerville products from Gilt – and then I saw the ship date was in mid-to-late July. I don’t necessarily want to wait that long to get something, so I passed. It would really become a big deal if you were trying to buy something you needed within a week or so, and didn’t see that the shipping date was weeks in the future.
      As far as quality, I’ve ordered everything from clothes to skincare and makeup to accessories and never had one complaint.

      • Amy

        One more thing. I keep an eye on all the sites because the same brands show up over and over in a rotation on all of them. So if you see something on one site you like, but it’s sold out, one of the other sites might have an “event” with the same designer (and the same merchandise) a week to a month later (sometimes even on the same day). Gilt just had a Botkier sale last week, and then RueLaLa (I think) had one this week, with some of the same bags in it. The whole “buy it before it’s gone” think isn’t as absolute as they would have you believe, because there seems to be significant overlap in the designers they’re dealing with. (Although I will say Gilt seems to have higher-end merchandise, and stuff you don’t see anywhere else, more frequently.)

    • anono

      I have had mixed results with these. Several times now, I’ve seen things on Rue La La that I already owned and bought for less money either at in-store clearance or at some place like TJ Maxx. Don’t let their “slashed” price fool you becuase, for many of these brands, they were never sold at that supposed “suggested retail price.”

    • CTx

      I love all of the sites mentioned above and have had easy return experiences with Ideeli and RueLaLa, but I have had significantly more problems with Gilt. I have received a different size from the one I ordered several times–and by the time the items arrive and I realize the problem, I’m out of luck, as the sale has ended. Obviously there’s not much you can do about this, so this is just meant as a heads up, because Gilt seems to be the most frequent offender when it comes to these mix-ups.

      (P.S. I have the premier membership with Ideeli, which is great when I actually get a chance to log in an hour early. Work usually prevents me from making the most of it, though, as I usually can’t check the site until lunchtime.)

  14. Kimbo

    I’ve ordered from both. I’ve never had to return anything from Ideeli. But, Rue La La does credit your money back when you return (Just make sure you’re extra mindful of the 30 day time limit on Rue La La returns.)

  15. Meredith

    Great wrap dress! I can see how the print could be a little much for some offices, but as mentioned by others earlier, it is a rather abstract print, so it could probably pass in many office environments. I love how it has sleeves, possibly preventing the need to wear a sweater or blazer the whole time. In the picture it looks appropriately long, but that is something that always varies with height. As a tall woman myself, I ALWAYS have to pay attention to that. In general, though, I find that wrap dresses work on a wide variety of body types.

    For anyone interested, I co-write a blog and we posted about wrap dresses a few months ago. The DVF dress in particular is iconic and has an interesting history. Here’s the link: Cubicle Chic on the Wrap Dress.

    – Meredith

    • anon

      great blog! I am a huge fan of wrap dresses, but faux wrap dresses even more.

      • anono

        Huh, earlier today it was just xs and m. Banana’s site generally drives me crazy with the way they pull things on and off though.

  17. 75

    Yesterday I attended a meeting of a very upscale women lawyer’s association, held at a good restaurant. As usual, I noticed what people were wearing. There was a lot of silky print fabric, which I thought looked frumpy. There were also a lot of cardigans, which I though also looked frumpy. In addition, I saw a certain amount of very raw looking pastels such as pink and turquoise, which I thought also looked frumpy. I personally was wearing a summer weight skirt suit (gray tweed) with a sleeveless silky shell (white), and ballerina flats, plus a sparkly necklace. The jacket came off at the lunch table. I think prints other than a small scarf or a small suit blouse are a danger area, if someone wants to look professional.

    • 76

      I think grey tweed looks frumpy. Also silky shells. And sleeveless? Out in public where people can see you? The horrors.

    • Interrobang

      Won’t you share with us, darling, your definition of frumpy? To most it connotes shapeless garments to obscure girth–think Mr. Hitchcock in a dressing gown–but saddling a textile or print with the insult is, as far as I’m concerned, novel.

      • Kimbo

        I second this. I could see how some prints would be unprofessional, but, if anything, I would think they would go in the opposite direction of frumpy.

        I’m not one of them, but a lot of people consider ballerina flats frumpy and/or too casual for work. I wear them to the office about once a week, but probably wouldn’t wear them to a work event. (Although, I wouldn’t think poorly of someone who did, I’m just pointing out that some people might.)

        Also, is turquoise really a pastel? I’m honestly asking because maybe the color I think of as turquoise is different than what others think of.

        • E2

          No, turquoise is not a pastel, at least not in my book. I could imagine a pastel-ish version (mix turquoise paint with white), but I’d probably call that something else.

          Also, what’s wrong with pastel pink, and what makes a color “raw”? I’m in the market for a pastel pink top – probably a cardigan, in fact, because I think pastel pink looks nice with both black and gray bottoms.

    • E2

      Hmm, I think other people there in their “frumpy” cardigans probably thought it was inappropriate of you to go sleeveless.

    • dee

      man, you think a lot of things look frumpy. i don’t understand how silky prints look frumpy – DVF made her career on those.

      and cardigans may frump-ify an outfit, but you’re at work – some level of frump is expected.

      • Anon

        Yes, I’d rather err on the side of frumpy than err on the side of sexy when it comes to work clothes.

        • AIMS

          I think *frumpy* is one of those words that’s defined differently by most people & thus causes a great deal of debate/disagreement on this blog.

          • Kristin

            LOL – I’m starting to think this blog causes a lot of debate/disagreement on this blog!

            Seriously, I know our work lives call for us to be analytical, to parse every word and phrase for every possible meaning, but I’ve actually thought about stopping by Corporette less often because the biting is so frequent and so unprovoked.

            Yesterday I wondered if all those who so carefully conceal their tears don’t just let the excess emotion out in other forms of expression.

          • dee

            @ Kristin – people on this blog *are* very judgmental. Before I started reading this, I never would have thought I’d be judged on my hair style, my lack of makeup, my too-casual flats, my handbag, my expensive shoes, my bare legs during the summer and, as of yesterday, my laptop sleeve. And you know what? I still think that in general I’m not judged on those things. But some people will pick and criticize and you’ve got to ignore it.

            I don’t know if men are the same way. I’d think not, but maybe they are all silently judging one another one their ties and how wide the stripe on their shirts are.

    • Ru

      Not to criticize, but according to your tally, only solid colors are not frumpy? Isn’t that a little…bland?

    • Delta Sierra

      Frump is in the eye of the beholder. I’m pretty sure the 20-somethings would look at one of my (I’m 50-something) basic outfits and think euw, frump. The 30-somethings might think it’s a bit, just, off, somehow. 40s and over will think hm, nice, and have said so.

      Thus, every time the frump-hammer is swung here, I put a little pinch of salt on it. (Note to self: go to grocery store and get more salt.)

  18. 75

    What do I mean by frumpy? First of all, that is a word I had never used until Corporette came along. I think I had heard of the word, but never heard anyone use it until I started seeing the word on Coporette. So….I am trying to use the word the way I think it is typically used in this blog. This is what I take the word to mean: 1) clothing that ages you – unless you are so young that you badly want to look older; or 2) clothing which looks old fashioned or outdated (which happens to clothing quite fast), or 3) clothing that is so unimaginative and dreary looking that it makes a sort of statement, “this person is boring”. Clothing that is not frumpy has certain attributes, I think, such as wit, elegance, artistry, simplicity, fine tailoring, quality fabrics.

    Now here’s what I mean by a raw pastel. To me, if you mix a pigment with a certain amount of white – such as red and white or blue, green, and white, you will get a raw pastel. If you paint your wall with that color, you will not be happy. Likewise, such colors are often not pleasing in fabrics for clothing or decor. But if, in addition to adding white to your color, you also add some black or gray, you start to get the subtle pastel shades that tend to look great in textiles. Try it and see. Maybe you will agree with me.

    I think I will not use the “f” word again. Instead, I will say “unstylish”.

    • E2

      Interesting. Thanks for the followup, particularly on the “raw” colors. I’m still not sure I agree that there’s anything wrong with wearing raw pastels – I’ve certainly never noticed a pastel clothing item and found the color in any way offputting unless it didn’t match the rest of someone’s outfit properly, but still good to know.

  19. Sharon

    To me, frump is more about shape (or lack thereof) than specific material or colors. Frump is oversized, shapeless, hides the figure.

    • Cat

      I agree – “dated,” “aging,” and “frumpy” are independent characteristics. I think of frumpy more as the opposite of figure-flattering, even if the clothing is in style — so a sheath dress that cuts you in all the wrong places (even if it “fits”), a baggy, plain sweater, or pants with a droopy rear are all “frumpy” to me… all are not likely to make you look your best.

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