Monday, March 10, 2008

Where To Find Career Wear (Final Part)

Last but not least is territory where tweeners, particularly those on a budget, fear to tread: department stores.

About two years ago, things were not so good for those falling in between 14 and 18, with fashion being aimed more at the skinny and the stuff in bigger sizes looking old and matronly. That's if they even had it in stock.

Things are a little better now and most of your favorite department stores have decent workwear from their private labels or from nationally-known designers. For the sake of this post, I'm going to cover the national chains, not regional ones like Dillard's.

Macy's--Macy's probably has more variety for tweeners than any other national chain. Its INC label is available in misses and plus sizes. INC is not dirt cheap but it is not terribly expensive up-to-date wear appropriate for the office. There are also national brands like Dana Buchman, Liz Claiborne, Lauren for Ralph Lauren and DKNY available.

Bloomingdale's--Bloomies has really stepped it up with careerwear for tweeners. Solid well-made stuff from Ellen Tracy, Ralph Lauren, Anne Klein, Calvin Klein, and Tory Burch among other big ticket labels are there for the taking, with plenty of 12s, 14s, and even some 16s available. Sure a lot of it, even the diffusion lines, is expensive. But I have found some deals when they've had sales. For example, I found a great AK by Anne Klein shirtdress last year on clearance for $30.

Friday, March 7, 2008

Where To Find Career Wear (Part Four)

In this installment, I'm going to discuss mail order/home shopping.

Certainly, you can order over the internet anything from brick and mortar chains like Banana Republic.com, AnnTaylor.com, Nordstrom.com, Bloomingdales.com, etc. But I'm going to focus on retailers that offer things through the mail/home delivery exclusively.

QVC--QVC has for years had a great selection of reasonably-priced, well-made clothes for work in every size from 0 to 3X. Its best deals come from its own labels like the casual Denim & Co. or the career-y Dialogue line. Occasionally a "big name" comes along to promote a line and the nice thing about is that 1) it's often your only opportunity to find something in your size from that brand and 2) during the showcase is when you often get the best deals. QVC also offers FlexPay plans from time to time so you don't have to pay more than $30 a month on the item. QVC is also very easy to deal with concerning returns and exchanges.

HSN--Home Shopping Network doesn't have as many career-oriented wear as QVC, but if you work someplace casual, it does have some interesting clothes that are often exclusive to the network. For example, HSN just started carrying an exclusive line by a former designer from True Religion and unlike TR, tweener sizes are available. Like QVC, HSN is pretty good about returns and exchanges. Installment pay plans are also available on some products.

Spiegel--This old warhorse of misses' wear has long been one of the friendliest retailers to tweeners around. The clothes are womanly, not girly. They're with the times without being outrageously trendy. They're not too edgy but they're not stodgy either. The quality is excellent, the prices are reasonable, and the sales are pretty good. Of course, once you order something from Spiegel, you're on their mailing list for life.

Newport News--"Younger" than Spiegel's main catalogue and a little bit cheaper, Newport News is another option for the tweener set. Newport News can overdose on the animal prints, appliques, and weird cutouts, but the quality is high and the sales can offer great deals.

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Where To Find Career-Wear (Part Three)

For those of you who are willing to pay more for a little more style in your workwear but don't want to take out a second mortgage, there are still a lot of options for the tweener set. Here are my favorite mid-priced sources for workwear, though of course you can find great deals on the sales racks.

Zara--The Spanish international chain is famous for bringing runway knockoffs to its stores within weeks and its sizes run up to XL, which fits 14-16. I love looking here for jackets, skirts, and blouses. Pants are a little tricky for me and armholes can be small, but do give it a try.

Banana Republic--This store used to be a lot better for those up in the 14-16 range, but XL shirts, sweaters, and jackets are still relatively easy-to-find.

Talbot's--There was a time when I wouldn't be caught dead in Talbot's. To me, it was dull WASP-wear for middle-aged ladies. But in recent years, their stuff has gotten a lot better. Size 16 misses/XL is no problem to find. If you need to go a little bigger, there's Talbot's Woman, its plus sister store.

Ann Taylor/Ann Taylor Loft--I used to swear by Ann Taylor, although in recent years I haven't liked its stuff as much. Still, I can find some very nice things for work...Ann Taylor carries up to 16, while some Lofts carry up to 18.

Anthropologie--Want to give your work wardrobe something a little different? Is your workplace boho-friendly? Anthro can be overpriced IMO but aside from finding deals in its sales racks, you can find stuff that's not terribly expensive and nice enough for casual work environments.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Where To Find Career Wear (Part Two)

Today, I'm going to discuss discount chains.

You can find a range of brands at these chains, from big names like Ralph Lauren to labels made for the discount chain circuit, such as Willi Wear. Dresses are usually quite dreadful at these places, but you can always find nice-looking, up-to-date-styled complete suits for as low as under $100, plus all of the separates you could want for a low price. Casual or conservative, you can find pretty much anything at these stores to fit your office culture.

TJ Maxx/Marshalls/Ross--TJ Maxx and Marshalls have more or less the same merchandise since they are owned by the same company. How good the stuff is often depends on where you live/shop. I think the stores in SoCal have all of the best stuff, while TJ Maxx isn't nearly as good on the East Coast. My advice is to hit the stores in upscale neighborhoods...that's where you'll find the top notch stuff.

Loehmann's--You can find complete suits for less than $150. Search out the clearance racks and reduced price racks for the best bargains. A couple of years ago I got a complete Tahari suit for $99 on the reduced rack.

Saks Off 5th outlet--Here's where you can find Stella McCartney jacket on "sale" for $450 or luck out and find a Marc By Marc Jacobs blouse in a size 10-14 for under $150. But if you're budget is tighter than that or you need bigger sizes, there's plenty of stuff from Saks' in-store labels and other big names like Dana Buchman or Ellen Tracy to peruse. Again, head for the clearance racks for incredible bargains.

Nordstrom Rack--My local store always looks like someone tossed a hand grenade inside and ran, but if you haunt the racks near the front of the store, you'll find the best stuff culled from Nordstrom stores or from its catalog/website.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Where To Find Career Wear (Part One)

If you ask me, finding clothes for work is far easier for "tweeners" than finding trendy or fashion-forward wear. Here's where we have LOTS of options at every price point.

Today, I'm going to start off with the el-cheapo end of the scale (up to $50-ish). Having a limited budget is no longer any excuse to not find a decent suit or dress for work. Bargain hunters will also find some great pieces at great prices. These are all places where I often shop for work clothes.

Burlington Coat Factory--Billed as a discount chain, it does have some recognizable labels from elsewhere like BCBG and Tahari. In fact I saw on a couple of occasions gorgeous Calvin Klein suits...alas, the biggest they had was size 10. But many are obviously made to sell at the chain. Frankly, it's one of the best places to find complete suits cheap (average $49.99), as well as separates like blouses and trousers. The quality varies but you can find some awesome deals, like a pair of brown trousers for $12.99. Plenty of stuff up to size 18 misses.

Target--Grab Isaac Mizrahi's wonderful line (up to 18/XXL misses) while you can, because he's splitting for Liz Claiborne soon. Generally, his line is a little on-trend and a little classic at the same time, making it just conservative enough for the office. And the pieces are easy to mix and match. Aside from that, Merona has put out a lot of great pieces for work too, including skirts and dresses (up to 18/XXL misses). I've written a bit about the ongoing Go International line, which can fit up to 16 misses even though it officially goes up to XL/13 juniors. For example, I just bought a very nice Jovovich-Hawk For Target skirt in size 13 that fit me just fine.

Wal-Mart--The careerwear-oriented George line has put out some great blouses, suits, and skirts. A few months ago, I got a complete nice-looking suit for under $40. It doesn't look cheap at all and it fits great. The line is also easy to mix and match. I'm not crazy about the dresses--they're usually made of that horrid stretchy-jersey stuff that sticks to your every hump and bump--but everything else is worth checking out.

Steve & Barry's--Specifically, the Bitten line. Jackets, trousers, and dresses sell for $19.95, while shirts run for $9.95. (Plain tees for summer run for $7.95). Fit can be erratic, so try before you buy, but for what you get, the price is unbeatable.

H&M--H&M is tricky for anyone over size 14, since the clothes tend to run a little small. But I've found skirts that run true-to-size and have had little trouble with large or extra large shirts or jackets. Euro style on a budget.

Old Navy--For years, ON was known as a store to shop for casual stuff but lately it has put out more work-appropriate wear ranging from chinos for the business casual set to lovely pencil skirts. It's also a great place to find summer dresses. ON has carried up to size 20 misses for several years, so it's always been a "tweener" friendly stop.