Which stores sell the best clothes for the ladies?

[Bill Cowher]

Dear Actuaries,

My girlfriend is feeling left out and expressed her interest in also cleaning out her closet.

But she only would like to purchase summer attire. Where should she go?

TTIA reg's,
:viola:

[ressap maxe]

Personally, I like to shop at Charlett Rouse, or Rampage. The clothes there are nice, but also cheap.

[JohnGalt]

K-Mart

[ressap maxe]

Then again, I am not a female. So what do I know?

[ressap maxe]

Then again, I am not a female. So what do I know?


More than I should.:tfh:

[llcooljabe]

Victoria Secret?

[micaelagb]

Bloomingdales! Or Loehmann's. :tup:

[L. Mo]

Kohl's!

[Happy Salvador]

http://www.fredericks.com/ (http://www.fredericks.com/Default.asp?cookie%5Ftest=1)

[crayolaab]

Well.... Victoria's Secret for underwear. Old Navy and Kohl's for cheap but decent casual stuff, and some workwear depending on job. Macys/Nordstroms for department stores (generally have good help who can advise on styles). Ann Taylor or the Limited for more professional stuff.

[persephone_ashes]

Well.... Victoria's Secret for underwear. Old Navy and Kohl's for cheap but decent casual stuff, and some workwear depending on job. Macys/Nordstroms for department stores (generally have good help who can advise on styles). Ann Taylor or the Limited for more professional stuff.

i'd add banana republic to this, but stick to sale stuff. otherwise is can be rather expensive....

[HangerAngler]

Target or Super Target. K-mart is tough to beat. JCPenney's if there is one near you.

[JMO]

Hawaii. It's always summertime there.

[Maine-iac]

I like Appleseeds for work clothes and some casual, though you have to sift through a fair number of old lady clothes to find the good stuff. LL Beans is good for casual. Talbots is great if you have serious money to drop or hit the sales right.

Marshall's and TJ Maxx are good if you are in the mood for bargain hunting.

Friends rave about Kohl's and Target, but I don't have any near me, and the few times I've been there while out of town, I didn't have much luck.

[micaelagb]

Well.... Victoria's Secret for underwear.

After wearing VS for years, I'm convinced that their underwear is sub-par. Serged seams. :-P Calvin Klein fits better and is much nicer material. Other top picks are Wacoal and Cosabella.

[The Waiting Hurts]

Century 21.

michaelagb, you can get Cosabella, Wacoal, & CK there for great prices.

[Maine-iac]

I agree though, that the VS brand is pretty cheaply constructed.

[violaactuary]

After wearing VS for years, I'm convinced that their underwear is sub-par. Serged seams.
Agree. Downgrade.

Their hose aren't worth the markup either- feel nice but don't last.

I do like their cotton sets.

[violaactuary]

When I was in college I wore Gap jeans- they had one style that fit me really well. I have since switched to Gloria Vanderbilt- they last longer and fit my curvier adult body better.

If I have to shop for something, I go to a dept. store (JC Penney, Dillards, etc.) or Steinmart. But, I don't do much shopping. I have so many clothes I rarely wear anything out. And I'd rather shop for handbags ;)

[Traina]

Well.... Victoria's Secret for underwear. Old Navy and Kohl's for cheap but decent casual stuff, and some workwear depending on job. Macys/Nordstroms for department stores (generally have good help who can advise on styles). Ann Taylor or the Limited for more professional stuff.
Agreed. Add Express and occasionally GAP for trendy stuff. Target and Kohl's for cheap workout gear.

[LoneGirl]

Every year I seem to find a new favorite store. I used to buy almost all of my clothes at Kohls. However, the last couple of years I've been disappointed in their selection. Last year I bought almost everything at the Gap. This year, I haven't yet found much there. This year, I've bought a few things at Eddie Bauer. For jeans, my favorites are good ol' Levi's from JC Penney. I've been very frustrated with shopping for work clothes this season - every store's business outfits seem to have cropped pants for the summer and I'm not allowed to wear cropped pants to work.

[Maine-iac]

I've been very frustrated with shopping for work clothes this season - every store's business outfits seem to have cropped pants for the summer and I'm not allowed to wear cropped pants to work.

Now there's a classic look that's going to last in work-wear. :roll:
I'm all for cropped pants or other trendy stuff for casual wear, but when they start pushing them for the office, I've got to wonder what the store buyer was smoking when he or she was ordering.

I've done pretty well at Macy's this year for business clothes, and the sales have been very good.

[SykoChikka]

GAP and Ross's too...I like Sears too

[persephone_ashes]

Target and Kohl's for cheap workout gear.

i find a lot of cheap work out stuff at TJ Max and Marshalls too...

[violaactuary]

My latest purchases have come from Express. The one thing I don't like about Express is that the outfits they try to put together never really match. And the salesgirls always try to say - oh that goes with this- um no, have you looked at it? :shake:

So I usually end up buying a bottom there, and finding a top at another store, or vice versa.

Does anyone else realize this, or is it just me?

[The Waiting Hurts]

I'm all for cropped pants or other trendy stuff for casual wear, but when they start pushing them for the office, I've got to wonder what the store buyer was smoking when he or she was ordering.Cropped pants can look good in the office, it's about how the person wears it. If the person puts it on looking as if they are going to a picnic then they will look like they are going to a picnic. Sometimes it's not about the clothes, it's about how the clothes are worn.

[The Waiting Hurts]

My latest purchases have come from Express. The one thing I don't like about Express is that the outfits they try to put together never really match. And the salesgirls always try to say - oh that goes with this- um no, have you looked at it? :shake:

Does anyone else realize this, or is it just me?Maybe the way outfits are pieced together are too trendy for your taste. I actually think the way they are put together are safe and boring.

[violaactuary]

Maybe the way outfits are pieced together are too trendy for your taste. I actually think the way they are put together are safe and boring.
When I actually try to pin them down on how they think it goes together, they usually agree with me. Maybe it's not every outfit, but the nicer outfits, not the more casual ones. I'm convinced that they do not actually make the nice outfits in "outfits" but instead as "seperates", and then the girls behind the counter are stuck trying to figure out what to hang with what.

[Salzmann]

I'm all for cropped pants or other trendy stuff for casual wear, but when they start pushing them for the office, I've got to wonder what the store buyer was smoking when he or she was ordering.


I just think that VERY few women can wear cropped pants and look good in them. It helps to be young and not have too large a rear end. Two reasons I don't own any! One woman in our office last year, pretty but definitely on the zaftig side, had a pair and I thought they were a really bad choice for her.

But, to get back to the topic, I've been buying at Chico's lately, especially during the sales, and filling in with stuff from Marshall's. Chico's has found a great market in women who are too old for skimpy pastel spaghetti-strapped things but don't want to wear housedresses from K-Mart, either.

[LoneGirl]

Cropped pants can look good in the office, it's about how the person wears it. If the person puts it on looking as if they are going to a picnic then they will look like they are going to a picnic. Sometimes it's not about the clothes, it's about how the clothes are worn.

I agree that certain outfits with cropped pants can look fine for the office. In fact, I've seen a few very professional looking cropped pants outfits that I really liked. However, my problem is that my office's dress code doesn't allow us to wear cropped pants. I wear cropped and capri pants alot in the summer on weekends, but I'd like to find some cute outfits for the office that have a full length pant.

[Maine-iac]

It's not that a work quality outfit with cropped pants can't look good, or be appropriate. It certainly can. (Though I agree with Salzmann that it's not a look that the vast majority will be able to pull off.)

The objections that I have are:

1. Work clothes should be higher quality and last longer than casual clothes. This is an obviously trendy look, and if the clothes are high enough quality for the office, the look isn't going to last long enough to get the wear out of them that the price deserves. (This comment goes double for gauchos. Good grief, they're back again!)

2. One has to be very careful about trendy clothes at the office. Insurance is a conservative game, and there is a fine line between looking polished and up-to-date and looking like a flaky fashion victim. A cropped pants look could certainly be on the right side of the line, but it's tricky.

[The Waiting Hurts]

It's not that a work quality outfit with cropped pants can't look good, or be appropriate. It certainly can. (Though I agree with Salzmann that it's not a look that the vast majority will be able to pull off.)

The objections that I have are:

1. Work clothes should be higher quality and last longer than casual clothes. This is an obviously trendy look, and if the clothes are high enough quality for the office, the look isn't going to last long enough to get the wear out of them that the price deserves. (This comment goes double for gauchos. Good grief, they're back again!)

2. One has to be very careful about trendy clothes at the office. Insurance is a conservative game, and there is a fine line between looking polished and up-to-date and looking like a flaky fashion victim. A cropped pants look could certainly be on the right side of the line, but it's tricky.I don't agree with this. Fashion is constantly changing. What is considered trendy today, will be classic tomorrow. It was a trend to wear business casual to the office that has now become a staple in many office environments. I don't think your work clothing has to be confined to boring skirts/slacks that will stand the test of time. Fashion, what someone considers fashion, is personal to them.

I definitely think that you can have "work clothes" that are of the moment without looking like a flaky fashion victim. It's about the pieces that's purchased and how they are arranged. The key with anything trendy is to not overtrend. I think what you're talking about is just people with poor/no fashion sense or maybe it's about form and comfort for them and fashion is the last thing they think about.

[JMO]

Company dress standards are written for exactly those folks -
people with poor/no fashion sense

[The Waiting Hurts]

Company dress standards are written for exactly those folks -the problem with the standards is that it's written by people with no fashion sense anyway.

[ShebaPoe]

If she likes to dress up and knows how to put an outfit together, Saks and Neiman Marcus are fine for off the rack. It helps to be a little bit price insensitive, too - but I've shopped here with women when they;re just looking for something else to wear. (It sucks when you buy stuff and she wears it once....that's another topic)

For work related clothes, most of the women I know shop at Ann Taylor and/or Express, but I don't really hang out with too many women who are career oriented, so WTF do I know about that?

Nordstrom has the best selection for shoes (men and women IMO) but they fall way down from NM or SFA in other apparel.

the women in my office are not a stylish lot.

[Maine-iac]

the problem with the standards is that it's written by people with no fashion sense anyway.

But they know the company image . . .

And I stand by my comment that cropped pants will look stupid again within 3 years. I've seen them come and go several times. As have tapered pants, stirrup pants, low cut pants, etc., etc.

I think work clothes should say "quality", and a quality cropped pant will sadly end up gathering dust, I predict. Business casual isn't a particular cut of clothes, it's a philosophy of dressing. It has proved enduring, (although I do see some backlash), but a business casual wardrobe needs to be high quality just as much as business professional wardrobe (as opposed to play casual, which can be inexpensive and fun and needn't get a lot of wear.)

If you want to have a little fun with your work wardrobe, it's generally better to play around with the inexpensive items like shirts and accessories, than the staples of pants/skirts/jackets.