Chico’s, Coldwater Creek…Casual Corner went out of business (to my dismay). Sometimes Christopher Banks (though they can get a little schoolteacherish).
I’ve discovered the art of the “casual jacket.” The type Coldwater Creek carries constantly. Under it you can wear a tank top, or a mock t, or a plain tshirt, or a blouse - and still look professional.
Something’s wrong here. I’m picturing sea birds without feathers.
:smack:
What’s wrong with shopping at good ol’ J.C. Penney? Or Target? Or Kohl’s? Or some equivalent wherever you are? It’s just for work, for heaven’s sake – you’re there to do a job, not make a fashion statement.
My job is to perform to my employers expectations. If part of that expectation is that I don’t show up in my jammies (we’ve had that problem), a tube top (that one too), or flip flops (arrrgh!) then I’m not doing my job. If the expectation is too much for you, you might want to find an employer who doesn’t care.
I’m glad we’ve gotten more casual as a society - no reason to make high school teachers wear ties or make most office employees where nylons and heels. But there is a point where casual goes too far.
I also don’t think Cosmo and Mademoiselle really help the situation when they do their spreads on “business attire” where you have a woman in a suit with her bra showing, or another in a skirt so short you hope she doesn’t drop a pencil (or maybe you do) or one in fishnet stockings.
That probably would have been me. I can see it now …
CW: “Is it inappropriate for the office?”
Me: “Oh, hell no. Girl, if wearing something that gives me a boner is wrong, I don’t want you to be right!”
It seems that all the women I’ve ever worked with have been dressed disappointingly appropriately. Maybe I’m in the wrong field.
While I’m fully aware we are at certainly different stations in life, I suppose this furthers my point. While I understand that clothes from places like Chico’s are perfectly appropriate for work (and they do have tons of work appropriate outfits), the clothes are also designed for, cut for, and styled for people at least 10 years older than me. In fact, my quite stylish 63 year old grandmother (and I mean that sincerely, she’s quite stylish and always dressed on point) absolutely LOVES Chico’s.
Plus, Chico’s and the like are incredibly expensive. Sometimes I’ll pop in, thinking I can maybe find a nice shirt or something, but $80 for a button up? Eesh. No 21 year olds I know can afford that.
I wonder if we’re thinking of the same store? This one? They do have tons of adorable things (and as an aside, some of the prettiest evening dresses around). That said, we again fall into the “too expensive for most 20-somethings” trap.
Not that being poor is an excuse. I mean, if I find something that’s good for work on a clearance rack, I pick it up without thinking. The fact is though that most cheaper clothing that is cut for or marketed towards younger females tends to be on the sluttacious side. I suppose my main point is that it is a bit harder for us to dress appropriately and still feel comfortable and attractive in our clothing.
And Kalhoun- Ann Taylor actually has tons of cute stuff- plus! They have an outlet in each of the two outlet malls I regularly shop in. Score!
I suppose you can never go wrong in black slacks and a button up top, but that gets so boring sometimes. I like bright colors, I like cute (but flattering and appropriate) cuts, and I love, love, love shoes. So, I try to work with what I’ve got while maintaining some level of appropriateness. It ain’t easy though, let me tell ya.
My office is flat-out casual – people show up looking like they’re auditioning for Starsky and Hutch remakes, entering superhero look alike contests (the woman yesterday in the knee-length go-go boots, short black skirt, and – I swear – a mini cape really took the cake :)), or just back from their “friends-only” area myspace photo shoot.
Although I try to take people as they come, it can be hard to take someone seriously in a business meeting when they’re displaying full-back tatoo art and full cleavage and, only 15 minutes earlier, you saw them taking a juice box out of a Dark Crystal lunchbox.
When going on job interviews, I’ve heard that they make up their minds about a minute into the interview, and a big part of that has to be how you’re presenting yourself. Anybody working for a company who wants to advance who thinks that what they wear isn’t affecting their career is either fooling themselves or doesn’t know much about how humans work.
What we see on tv doesn’t help, either; I’m thinking mostly of Katherine on “CSI” or Cuddy on “House” - these are professional women dressing very provocatively. At least House calls Cuddy on it all the time.
Question for the bosses: Assuming you sometimes have to deal with dress code issues, do you find that you more often have issues with:
a) a person (presumably female) dressing too revealingly or otherwise sexy,
b) people of either gender who dress too casually, like wearing a pair of cords during the week perhaps because they don’t have any in-person meetings?
A friend of mine works 3rd shift for an alarm monitoring company. She only deals with the public over the telephone. When she started working there, employees on 3rd shift were allowed to wear “neat, clean” jeans. Because some of the other employees didn’t bother with the “neat” and “clean” part, now they have to wear dress pants or skirts and may end up in uniforms. So someone who dresses inapporpriately can not only hurt themselves (by not being taken seriously) but can ruin things for the others.
[Beavis] You said “long.” Hehehehe. [/Beavis]
Now, if I can just manage that lazy circle walk around the pole. Promotion! 
You can’t always find appropriate stuff there, either. It’s kind of scary.
(I just picked up two at Coldwater Creek. Jackets can turn a semi-casual outfit into professional like that!)
Word. The only clothes I buy at Kohls are ultra-casual. So casual that fit has become secondary to function. I usually wear these clothes to the grocery store or possibly the nursery when I plan on hauling a sapling out to the truck.
First of all, many of the stores you mentioned have questionable at best work clothing. Like I said, for someone my age, it is difficult to find some middle ground between old fuddy duddy and stripperella.
And while I know there’s no fashion statement to be made, if I’m not dressed in a way that I’m comfortable and feeling good about myself, I’m not going to be 100% with a client. If I feel and look miserable in a shapeless pantsuit with shoulder pads, I’m not going to be my normal, bubbly self (which is the #1 reason clients say they love me). Sure, my bright pink button up (that’s properly fitted and I’m not spilling out of) may not define my being or anything, it certainly reflects my personality. So to me at least, it is very important that I’m dressed in a way that makes me feel good, because it directly relates to my work.
Not Target - Targets stuff is crap - doesn’t hold up. I buy Dockers at Penny’s or Kohl’s. And I’ll buy the mock t’s, little sweaters, etc., that go under the jackets. But they have the worst selection of jackets - which is what does manage to turn Dockers and a mock t from “Saturday” to “Tuesday.”
I just picked up this jacket:
http://www.coldwatercreek.com/W07/products/product.aspx?np=true&productid=18884&ensembleid=25606&Skn=BlacknWhite
and this one:
http://www.coldwatercreek.com/W07/products/product.aspx?np=true&productid=32199&ensembleid=38009
I like them because they’ll work with a number of outfits and I’ll get some serious mileage out of them.
Actually, I really miss buying career clothes. Maybe this new gig will give me reason to shop more often!
Yeah, I’d agree with that, I don’t know many women under forty who shop at Chicos. A lot of it has to do with the cut. Chicos and Coldwater Creek are too “flowy”. You want clothes that show off your basic form without looking like they were painted on.
I find younger stuff at places like The Limited or The Gap. If you choose carefully, you can find appropriate clothing at Old Navy and Target, although it’s usually very cheaply constructed and won’t last longer than a season. Sales at Banana Republic and J.Crew can be good. Nordstroms has great buyers and a range of price points. There’s stuff out there but it takes a little work to find stuff that’s cheap and stylish.*
*I’m not Anna Wintour but I do work at remaining current and dressing appropriately. And both my bosses and the high school girls I coach seem to think I’m doing something right.