Ladies...
by I had my first evaluation at work today. Everything was a glowing complement, which made me very proud and excited.
The point my boss thinks I, and basically my whole department should work on: Attire.
I won't admit to being a fashion victim, by any means; I never look sloppy or mix plaids with stripes. It's rare that I feel completely put together, though. You know how you see an older woman walking down the street, or even in your office, and everything she's wearing matches, and she seems so professional? I want that.
My philosophy on style is understated, my closet is full of simple clothes that will never go out of style. The problem is, it seems that women's fashion, especially recently, has taken a turn toward the... um... skanky side. The juniors section is full of clothes that aren't office appropriate, but the women's section is full of clothes with no style.
I need some advice on where to shop. I want easy, fitted, yet polished blazers and tops, elegant sweaters, and funky jewelry to add a flare. I've got tons of skirts and pants, so I can match almost anything. Entire suits never fit me correctly, so I stick to separate jackets.
Girls, where do you shop?
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52 Comments
I shop everywhere from Dillard's and B. Moss, to Charlotte Russe, Rampage, Gadzooks, Wet Seal, and other cute, fun stores. Oh, this also includes The LImited and Express....very good for "work clothes"
the poll was hard for me. i picked conservative but thats really just for work. i shoot for classic with fashionable accents otherwise. going out i def glam it up.
right now i am wearing tweed flat front straight leg trousers, a black sweater with white trim and 3 1/2" inch square toe black boots. that is a typical work outfit.
i do have suits, but i think seperates take you farther. i shop in ann taylor loft, the limited, express, h&m, value city, marshalls/tg maxx, and mix in some old navy tops.
i have the same problem w/ being caught between being skank-o-rific jr section and old lady clothes. I like gap-they have nice stuff and also I found the BP section in nordstrom (which can be a little pricey sometimes)has really nice stuff sometimes too. mostly i just have to wonder around to a million stores to find what i like
I prefer my nude stockings more than my fishnet ones. But thats my personal preference when I go to work.
I have this problem mostly because what i want to wear is what no body else has on, which is impossible these days, i remember i used to be able to go into my favorite store put an alphet together and vwala, no one would have that same alphet on as me, now its impossible, & everything is so cliche and skanky like you said nothing really has class anymore.
I shop everywhere, I dont have a favorite store anymore becuase like i said i want to be different, i wear stripes and plaids but i make it classy, well i try anyway.
my whole style on dressing i guess would be look different but look classy, sometimes fun / sometimes sweet/ sometimes cute, never look slutty, you get no respect, so for that i have to shop everywhere!
I also have a problem finding cloths that fit me right, i am extremly picky about cloths fitting right. double 0's arent easy to find and to find them so they fit right and dont make you look skinny is hard, i hate that!
anyway, what im getting at ha ha, is i shop everywhere. anywhere i see something that looks like a color i like, (i first go by color, immediatly following style,its weird)
probably not much help, sorry, ha ha
alphet=outfit
yeah i have the double o problem too. aaa puh.
wow, i'm funky but stylish but i'm my own. i really can't catergorize what style i am.
seriously though, the style for this season and next really has taken a turn, but for hte better. the new "in" thing are tweeds, suits, everything ladylike. maybe you might want to try express, nordstrom, charlotte russe, macy's, H&M or new york and company. OR you may want to check out your trendy little asian store that has great prices.
yea i love tweed, ive loved it for ever, i hate when i have to wait for things to come into fashion like tweed for me to wear it cause otherwise i cant find it anywhere. Times like this makes me wish i could sew better, or had a personal clothes maker. ha ha.
Ahh, the asian store closed over the summer. I love Charlotte Russe, but there aren't any near my house. I might have to make a big shopping trip.
or when i'm out there next month you can do some shopping with my sister and i in the city! =)
Latley I have just gone in and asked for some ones help, explaned the style i am going for and basically have them walk me around the store. I usually know exactly what it is i am looking for, and id rather ask someone see if they have something like it than walk the store for nothing, that annoys me to high heaven. I hate searching through cloths id rather just be shown. It has made shopping alot more time well spent, i guess you could say.
i'm so the wrong person to ask about clothes. i'm like hippy/eclectic. whenever i try to go with in style things, i end up looking like i'm wearing someone else's clothes. i can rarely find clothes that fit right cos of my size/shape. what works best for me is skirts and tops. i don't feel comfortable about my appearance in pants. i shop at h&m, jc pennys (here and there), and target. i'm also on a major budget clotheswise.
Okay. I know I don't look it like, ever but I do own some very cute clothing and if I took the time to look nice I could. I just feel very self-concious in nice clothing usually, or not comfortable. Here's the breakdown though:
Express- Not the most affordable, but when there is a sale you can get some really good deals. I got some very comfortable cotton+ something pants from there this summer that are suitable for work. While they do have some sluttier (can I say that?) clothing they also have very nice skirt+jacket matches and some blouses.
Limited- This is definetly the more working-lady style without looking like an old lady. The Chesley girls in my hall are all about the Limited and they always look nice!
H&M- Best place in the world. Unfortunately, you'd have to go fairly far to get to one. However, it's worth it. I've never had much luck with their pants but they always have cute skirts and shirts and pretty much anything else you could want.
I'm all about "The Real Sale" at the Limited and Express. There's an H&M about 15 minutes from me; I went on Sunday and bought some nice shirts. They were leaning more toward the slutty side, though. Maybe it's just a poor time of the year.
Really? At what mall? The one at Garden State Plaza is great because it's fairly big and so is the one at Palisades Mall.
There's a small one in Phillipsburg. I always went to the one in the mall in South Orange, I forget the name. I haven't trekked out to the Palisades or Jersey Gardens yet. I think I might start with Bridgewater.
the thing is a lot of their tops are xtremely sheer & and you confuse that with slutty but they are aLL made to be worn with tops underneath them. but for basics, its usually cheaper. like genuine perfect black shirt $6. or long sleeve $10 that last long. they have amazing assories. sometimes of year they focus on club clothes too but i love em and go whenever i can.
Also, I think things like nice necklace and earrings go far in tying an outfit together. Brooches and belts as well. Hair comes into play as well.
Since I started interviewing for office jobs and then started working for a company strongly linked to marketing and advertisement, I started to adopt the corporate business style of dress...I found it easy to be neither skanky nor old woman-y. I shopped at NY&Co, Gap, JC Penney (believe it or not, they have stepped up in their style), Macy's (clearance!), and Parade..OH! and Target's got some sophisticated inexpensive lines now too.
Start with the basics..black boot-cut pants, black skirt(just below the knee), Black jacket (go for a stylish cut). You can add more stuff later like pin stripes/brown/khaki bottoms. Your shirts are where the style really comes in. I sport a lot of lace trim tops because they're pretty and kinda vintage looking. Go for bright/bold colors and prints too. The round-toe pumps and square toe boots are in now. AND cardigans, any color! With Jewelery..you want simple and elegant while sometimes a pair of chandliers will look great against a simple outfit. I'll go shopping with you if you want! ;)
I don't really need suggestions on what to buy, just on where to buy it. But everyone's suggested stores I already shop at, so maybe I need to try a bigger mall with a larger selection that's not in eastern PA.
Thanks for the offer, though, it's very sweet! If I'm still stumped on Monday, I'll let you know.
I dont wear clothes.
LIES! ALL LIES! *whew* thank goodness...
he he heehe hehe... you said lie... hehe he hehehe
I've decided to spend as much time as I can stand at www.kingofprussiamall.com on Saturday. They have all the stores we've talked about. I'm going to brave it.
I WILL BE 15 MINUTES AWAY FROM THERE SAT!!
Oooh, you wanna go shopping????
lol
seriously i would, i'm like the gay guy you take with you shopping, except i'm not gay. HAHA!!! Anyway, do you know kim mcnair or jess albertson?
No...
You're so funny. You'd seriously spend the day shopping? Cuz I actually have all the bag boy I need in my husband. Maybe we can meet up later, though. We were thinking of going to the Cheesecake factory for dinner (aka a dinner plate full of cheesecake).
i'm going to be down there with my buddy cuz his fiancee and her maid of honor are picking flowers or some crap like that. I'll let you know...
HEY!!! theres a place i LOVE called Killdare's. A wicked awesome Irish pub/resturant. if you all wanna go i'd meet yas. it's like ten minutes from KOP.
I hate to make plans with anyone because I don't know how cranky I'll be after a day of shopping. I thought cheesecake would make me feel better. But I do like a good thick beer... we'll see.
sounds cool, but we should make a plan to play halo. Are you on live?
i beg do differ about the gay comment you silly silly boy
I personally thing women should always wear miniskirts, a lingerie top, and wings.
Like all the time.
Fishing, hunting, cooking, delivering mail... whatever.
Even eating ice cream they should be wearing this.
AND ESPECIALLY when they are shoe shopping
wings are really more of a given then anything else, the other stuff, well might be scary.
hmm? you think lingerie ( pronounced LINGER- REE) is scary?
I CALL SHANNINIGANS!
I love the Gap. They have very professional slacks. Piece that up with a turtleneck sweater and you have the classic look that you seem to be into. Banana Republic outlet stores are good too.
the new outlets in Atlantic City are great, and they're not too crowded because a lot of people don't seem to know about them yet.... not sure how far that is from you though
(this is Katie - I didnt feel like signing on with my name). Well, I usually shop all over. Macy's, Kohl's, TJ Max, Marshalls, Old Navy, etc. I usually go for classic and sometimes tie in a little funky. For work, if I have a semi-casual top, I'll wear it with a skirt to dress it up. Shoes are a good way to incorporate a modern look but I think it's important that they're not too clunky like combat boots. I have a pair of (comfy) black heels with a little character that dresses anything up. I think skirts are the best way to go but if you prefer pants, try getting some with a crease since they are a little dressier. Bottom line...dressy feminine shoes and less casual pants should do the trick.
i tend to hit up jcpenny. suprisingly i like their stuff.
or macys'. i always find jeans i like at macys. got these awesome j.lo ones that are majorly comfortable.
H&m definetely as well. a large portion of my wardrobe is from there. great headraps, pins, stockings, tops. nice skirts. they had an amazing long green dress on saturday. wanted it really bad but it was kinda dressy and i don't have anything to wear it to.
i loved wet seal before they moved it out of rockaway. only bad thing was that they had awesome displays that i wanted but their display was really five seperate pieces for $15-20 each. catch really good sales here in the back of the store.
vanessa always comes home with good stuff from express that she makes look good. i never find stuff to fit me or that i like but it works for other people.
same with mandees. some people come oout of there lookintg so hot with great stuff. my aunt ( ayoung aunt) has a charge card from there with a stip no longer on it. but to look at her you'd never think it was inappropriate or that she was married with 2 kids.
we went to nyc this weekend though and i went into saks fifth avenue and there was a large row of clothing that simply looked like fairy dresses. crinkled crepe paper really. nice. cool colors. $6,000 DOLLARS and UP!!!! have you lost your mind? i could be a nice used car for less than that. i could buy 6 cheap cars!!! insanity.
there's a sax outlet in the bergen mall. really good buys there. like a dress that would be $6,000 is marked down to $300. my mom got me an all silk layer upon layer dress for my high school graduation. it was the most luxiriant thing i ever wore. on clearance there tho, serious buys. you can get designer tops for like 50 bucks. that's unheard of.
yes. i've been there. they had an awesome 20's looking dress that i wanted lynz to get for her prom and it woulda looked cool but it was in black. so not nice. shoulda been in gold then i woulda snatched it.
Yeah, I think of that dress sometimes. I should just own it to wear for fun.
On another note: There is also a Saks outlet at Woodbury Commons. Along with several other designer outlets.
So, if I paid you $5,000 you would be a nice used car. I have to see this. Anyone want to put money in on this?
h&m is really great... they have everything in every color and they aren't expensive.
Or a fixer upper and with the right modifications a real Roadster baby YEAH!!!