I have had two clerking gigs during school, but neither of them required suits.
My current gig is super casual (jeans pretty much every day). Sometimes I mix it up and wear something a little nicer, but it's not necessary. My old job was business casual. I pretty much wore black pencil skirts, tights, heels, and a sweater or something similar every day.
Since I went straight to law school from undergrad, Iactually only own a couple of suits, and no basic black interview-type suit. That is high on my list of things to purchase (since I'm hoping to have an interview at some point in this lifetime). This week, I ordered this suit from Nordstrom:
*images from Nordstrom.com
I own very few pairs of dress pants - part of the problem is that I'm tall (5'10") and they're always too short. I figure if these are on the shorter side i can just wear them with flats (if they fit). I ordered the jacket, pants, and skirt.
J.Crew makes their suiting pants in Talls, which is nice, but their Tall pants are usually way too long, so I have to get them hemmed, which is a pain in the ass.
So, fingers crossed that my new suit fits. There's a good chance that it won't, but I'll just return it and try again if it doesn't.
Pretty much everything in my closet comes from Nordstrom or J.Crew, so they're obviously my go-to places for lawyerly duds. Where do you buy suits?
I actually bought my first black interview suit through the Limited's suit sale (such good prices), but most of my work clothes come from banana republic. For me, its hard because I'm on such a limited budget, and need to stretch it as far as I can. Good luck suit shopping!
ReplyDeleteDillard's has a nice line of washable wool as well. It's nice to have on hand since it doesn't require dry cleaning.
ReplyDeleteI used to get my basic black suits at Harold's. Oh, how I mis Harold's.
I love Ann Taylor's suiting!! Most of my work wardrobe comes from there.
ReplyDeleteI tend to buy my suits from Ann Taylor Loft. I'm in suits so much of the time that I have, like, 20. I've found that you can occasionally get really good deals on Overstock.com on Calvin Klein and Tahari. The outlet in Aurora also has good deals if you go into Ann Taylor, Banana Republic and Calvin Klein.
ReplyDeleteLuckily, I've found you can get away with wearing business causal in deps and things of that nature, or else I'd kill myself. I hate wearing suits.
I bought my suit from Banana Republic. Hubs nearly had a stroke when he found out what it cost, but he did say I look goooood in it. Haha.
ReplyDeleteI'm 5'11 so dress pants and I have a love/hate relationship. Banana's Tall are a good length but if you do need tailoring they have free tailoring for card holders. I have a hard time finding jackets with long enough sleeves. Lands End actually have these commuter pants I like and you can pick your inseam. I do 34 (their max) & they're perfect for flats for me. I haven't tried their jackets though. Brooks Brothers do special inseams too but I've never gotten one from there.
ReplyDeletehave you tried the jcrew regular length? I'm 5'5 and wear them with four inch heels- the inseam is 34- maybe they would work with flat for you?
ReplyDeleteI like Tahari, J.Crew Super 120's, BR and Ann Taylor for suits (try the outlets too). A former coworker/classmate of mine was tall and she'd wear Tahari and Nine West, the latter surprisingly has some cute suits. They often go on sale at Macy's for less than $100, but they're usually a poly blend.
ReplyDeleteI didn't build my suit collection until after my 2L summer and I went from one black suit to around 10 or so, none of which are getting worn at the moment, ugh.
Jcrew and Banana are usually my first stops. I had really good luck at the Limite last week. I wear talls as well but I usuall need to get Jcrew's talls hemmed because they are too long. The Limited tall were a perfect length. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI can't say enough good about Ann Taylor. Great simple pieces, always a sale or discount to make them affordable. I find that the AT mothership label is worth the extra $10-20 in comparison with their Loft line; the lining is key!
ReplyDeleteFor dressy suits, and especially for button-down oxfords) I like Brooks Brothers; women's suiting is kind of presented as an afterthought, but they use far better materials (read: actual wool as opposed to synthetics).
I also really like Calvin Klein, especially for hipper, younger-looking pantsuits, but be warned that they are cut narrowly and often need a size-up.
I'm not a fan of Banana, because I'm curvy. The girls simply don't work with suits cut for 12 year-old boys.
check out New York and Company for suits too. They have great 'tall' pants, and you can always buy a pair of pants, blazer and skirt to match for a really reasonable price, and their stuff is always on sale!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous suit darling!!!
ReplyDeleteLOVE your new suit!
ReplyDeletei cannot STAND synthetic fabrics, particularly for my suiting, which limits my options a lot. brooks brothers makes fantastic suits. they're more expensive, but they are high quality and delightful. they vary, too: from my standard interview suits to cute girly suits, i love them. keep an eye on the seasonal styles - lots of different options.
i know it's a pain to tailor stuff, but it makes everything look SO MUCH better. even super cheap suits look 800 times better if they fit you well.
Delurking for this very important suit comment! I'm a 2L at Michigan State law--my favorite place for suits is Express. But sadly, they are pretty expensive. (for this broke law student, anyways). It sounds gross, but my mom gave me a 3 piece (skirt, pants, jacket) suit from Jc Penny for my birthday (I would never EVER normally shop there!!) and it fits me great. I have the opposite problem and apparently I am short enough that the 'petite' size really does apply to me.
ReplyDeletethe only suit i have ever owned was from ann taylor, and i never wore it (maybe because it was mid-high school!) so i'm useless for recommendations. i hope that your suit works, though!
ReplyDeletei love banana suits. also like everyone said AT or ATL. i can't wear j.crew bc my bottom half is not...narrow. but j.crew has such cute shit dresses, and you could always wear a suit dress with a jacket.
ReplyDeleteIn my line of work I had to wear suits several days a week, so I've been through many in my short career. I started out with ones from ATL, then graduated to AT, and now purchase from Nordstroms and Brooks Brothers. I have to say that my go-to suit is my black one from Brooks Brothers - it has worn the best out of all the designers I've tried (it's kept it's shape and color), plus I feel good in it. It's my power suit! BB is great because they are experienced in suit fitting and have an in-house tailor. If it is something you will wear often, I would say definitely invest in a black suit from BB - it is worth the money in the long-run.
ReplyDeleteConcerning button-down dress shirts - my absolute favorite are Thomas Pink. Again, I have gone through many different dress shirts at various price points, but I've found that TP wears well (even after countless dry cleaning visits) and has more personality than your run-of-the-mill solid dress shirts. Definitely look for their sales! I also like my shirts from Charles Tyrwhitt, but get a bit frustrated with the sizing.
I find it interesting that the traditionally male-focused designers seem to provide better quality, longer-lasting products than female-focused designers. Sad but true.
I wear JCrew and Nordstrom suits. I still don't have a black interview suit either. I actually just have a gray, gray pinstripe and navy suits. So 3 total. I definitely need to expand too. The very nice thing about Nordstrom is that if you figure out what size you wear in the nicer brands of their suits, you can get them for pretty good prices during the half-yearly sales. I even just got a variety of dress pants (and skirts) that way and love them because they fit so well and are a little bit more unique than the plain trousers you get at BR, JCrew, AT, etc.
ReplyDeleteIf I could afford it, I'd buy from JCrew but Banana has great stuff too. And Nordstrom always have great stuff. Hope the suit works out!
ReplyDeleteI know it sounds sort of sketchy- but I have gotten both of my black interview suits from Victoria's Secret online. If you plan it right, you can get them at GREAT prices. I got pants, a pencil skirt & jacket for $135. I own a fair amount of them - and would stay away from their "stretch cotton" because it gives more of a clubbing vibe than court vibe - but, aside from that, the quality is just as good as the few Limited & Banana suits I own.
ReplyDeleteI have also heard amazing things about Brooks Brothers button down wrinkle-free & washable shirts. The attorneys at my summer gig last year all loved them. And, FYI, you get 15% off everything at BB if you register with the ABA.