Suiting Help!

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chakakhan

chakakhan

obsessed.
O.G.
Jun 11, 2007
468
11
#1
Hey ladies... I'm starting a new job next week where the dress code requires wearing a suit everyday. I checked out Brooks Brothers, J.Crew, Banana Republic, and Ann Taylor, but nothing struck my fancy... where do you ladies find your business attire?

Thanks!
 
#2
I recently found some great suits on sale at Benetton.
I haven't shopped there before, but I realized after buying one suit from jcrew and 1 suit from banana republic that the suits from Benetton (/w pencil skirt and jacket) was more refined, slim fitting, and had better silouette. So I purchased 3 from benetton (They were on sale for $100 each) and returned my suits from BR and Jcrew.

Club Monaco has some but were more fashionable than conservative, and I needed conservative suits.

I had bought some emporio armani wool suits several years ago, but they don't seem to make them like they used to any more.... their proportions are weird now....
 
#4
For straight-up business suits, Theory or J.Crew (I found their quality to be much better than Banana, and I'm a huge fan of their suiting collections with mix and match dress, skirt, jacket, pants, etc). For "cute" suits, Nanette Lepore has some great vintage-inspired designs.
 
#7
I have always liked Ann Taylor suits, but since you didn't like those, I would concur with other and suggest Theory or Tahari. Nordstrom has a nice selection of suits as well. I just pre-saled a great suit from one of the store brands.

Also, if you don't buy many suits, I would suggest trying on several different sizes to see what has the best drape. I find that I like to go up a size in the pants (I don't want them tight in the hips) and then have them taken in at the waist. I am often up to two sizes smaller on top. I find that when jackets are two loose, the whole outfit looks terribly messy. Again, a good tailor can really make a suit look fantastic.
 
#8
Theory - shoulders were cut very slim for me, had to go up 2 sizes bigger than I normally wear
J Crew - quality not as good as Theory, wool pants are itchy, but good conservative suits that won't go out of style
Benetton - again not a big fan of the material, but the cuts are good
Elie Tahari - more mature styling, uses more synthetic materials
Club Monaco - for pants that are more fashionable in wide legs or skinny and a lot of the jackets are cropped, I think the the quality of the wool is pretty good, not as good as Theory, but better than J Crew
BCBG - haven't been in for awhile, but remember they had so fashion cuts, and the quality was ok
I haven't tried it in person, but the Alvin Valley wall street suit looks nice.
I do not like Ann Taylor and Ann Taylor loft because the pants fit weird and the high v in the jacket.
 
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#9
^^ I agree, Ann Taylor pants are cut oddly and don't fit me very well. At tPF's suggestion I tried a theory suit and LOVED it, and I love club monaco suits as well - fit well, high quality, very wearable.
 
#10
If it wasn't clear in my list above, I do like Theory suits. The quality is better than most of the other brands listed but they are also more expensive. My wool pants are unlined, and they don't itch!
 
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