It's all about the clothes

[rolanni]

Back in the Dark Ages, when Rolanni had to appear daily behind a desk, she was an early adopter of so-called "menswear trousers" for women. These were fitted at the waist, fell smoothly, had nice, useful pockets, broke at the instep and wore like iron.

Now that there is somewhat more of Rolanni than there was back in Those Days, and she mostly works at home, her clothes are divided into "everyday" -- read, jeans and t-shirt or jeans and flannel shirt, depending upon the season -- and "con clothes" -- involving wide-sleeved, flamboyant shirts, and leather. Neither one of these lifestyle choices is reasonable for office wear. That being the case, I went looking for a couple pair of the old-style menswear slacks.

...only to find that -- at my usual sources, anyway -- "today's body-hugging fashions" have totally eclipsed the classics. Trust me, you don't really want to see a middle-aged, six foot, 170 pound woman in belly-button-baring lycra crop pants.

So, anybody have a lead on classic clothes? Pointers very gratefully received.

Comments

[queenmaggie.livejournal.com]

I live rather distantly from Maine, so I'm going to have to keep to on line sources.

http://www.coldwatercreek.com/
Coldwater Creek calls itself "unique" but I have found their offerings to be close to classic, comfortable, and they are extremely well made: seams finished, sewn to proper sizes, and they wear well. ( I particularly love their outlet near here, in Lesburg VA)

http://www.landsend.com/
Landsend calls itself casual, but I've found quality office wear there, and they have always stood behind their quality. They've been purchased by Sears in the past couple of years, so i don't know current policies, but I've had items that had been worn by one child replaced when I asked for a new zipper toggle to use for the next: no hassle, didn't even want the original returned. They also hem pants and have an online 'model' that adapts to the measurements you type in to show you how their clothes will fit.

http://www1.talbots.com/talbotsonline/index.asp
The Talbots is what I grew up knowing as the "Classic" store... after Best & Co folded. High quality, very New England reserved style. Excellent customer service.

Hope this helps somewhat. I'm kinda used to offering this type of help to many of my local fiends: I'm about the most 'vanilla' person in the crowd of Rennfaire and performing artists that I usually run with.

[od-mind.livejournal.com]

Land's End and Talbots were the two I was going to mention. I'll note in passing that fit is a very personal thing -- I buy most of my office clothing from Land's End because they fit me well off the rack (once I figured out what sizes to ask for) and allow returns for any or no reason. Other people I know have had less luck with LE and more luck elsewhere.

Talbot's is the poster child for classic adult female clothing, but they ain't cheap. Anne Taylor is another similar provider, less to my taste.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

I've had luck with Eddie Bauer, which offers some styles of office-safe trousers in multiple cuts, flat-front to pretty full. I like their gabardine.

Sierra Trading Post sometimes features Jones New York suiting.

Lands End offers multiple styles in good fabrics, but I've always had trouble with their interpretation of rise.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

All these vendors have websites.

[jhetley.livejournal.com]

Eh? Last time I saw you, I wouldn't have called you "stout." But maybe I'm just being defensive, since we're about the same height and weight...

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

...we're about the same height and weight...

And, do you want to wear navel-baring lycra crop pants?

I rest my case.

[jhetley.livejournal.com]

>And, do you want to wear navel-baring lycra crop pants?

I do not bicycle in Spandex. God has forbidden some sights to mortal eyes.

[jennifer-dunne.livejournal.com]

I'd second (or third) the vote for Land's End. Once you know your size from them, you can order anything and it will fit. And their interpretation of "no questions asked" is amazing -- I once called to ask how to fix some color bleed from a striped shirt, and they sent me a new shirt instead. Because I'd screwed up the laundry!

I've also had good luck with the Worthington line from JC Penney. That's designed to be a business line, so even when they're being "trendy", it's still modified to be acceptable business wear. And they have very nice "wardrobers", or matched sets of skirts, pants, vests, and jackets, allowing you to create multiple looks from a few coordinating pieces. Very helpful if you're starting from ground up.

[jennifer-dunne.livejournal.com]

Oh, and Penneys uses both "Tall" and "Ultra-Tall" in their sizing. Those extra inches really matter for pants. :-)

Land's End will hem-to-length for their dress pants. Their Tall length on pre-fitted pants tends to run to 32-34" inseams, depending on how loose the seat is.

[serge-lj.livejournal.com]

I love it when a 6-foot-tall 170-pound woman makes it sound like she really is a denizen of MunchkinLand upon whose head someone dropped a 16-ton weight.

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

Yeah I know, but I weighed between 140 and 145 most of my adult life, and I'm not being graceful about the transition to a Woman of Substance.

[dancinghorse.livejournal.com]

LL Bean has a line of classics that I would look to for business dressing--blazers, trousers, oxford shirts, that kind of thing. Nice colors, too, and plenty of range. I've found their quality and fit to be better than Lands' End. Plus they're a lot more local to you.

[od-mind.livejournal.com]

Just to reiterate my comment above about the idiosyncracies of fit, I had the opposite experience -- Land's End fits me very well, while L.L. Bean does not (at least for men's officewear). My Land's End garments have worn at least as well as anything else I own, and much better than any of the department-store shirts or trousers I've purchased.

Of course, this could be a feature specifically of their menswear; my wife has certainly found that some places that do men's clothing well do not do anything well for her, or vice versa.

Since both LE and Bean offer no-question returns, it's probably worthwhile trying similar items from both, to see which you prefer.

It's all about the clothes

[(Anonymous)]

I have the same problem with height/weight and really appreciate JC Penny's tall fashions. Their "Worthington" brand features a classic, tailored look and wears well.

Good luck!

[jerusha.livejournal.com]

I've been very happy with Liz Claiborne (and her plus-sized alter-ego, Elisabeth). I have several pairs of black 100% cotton office pants (with good pockets! and belt loops!) that I love to death. They have introduced a feature whereby they classify their clothes by cut. I happen to wear an "Audra" cut, and I can reasonably assume that anything in my size in that cut will fit me about the same. They have 5 or 6 cuts so you can play and figure out which one works for you. (Most cuts cross the regular - plus-sized divide - I don't know which side your weight puts you on (or whether it varies by manufacturer) - I have a greater problem of "substance" than you do, so my experience is from the plus side of that line.)

And they come (at least some styles) in petite-regular-tall. At 5'2", I'm on the other end of "Dammit, none of these pants are the right length!" problem, but hopefully their tall lengths will solve the problem for you.

[deb-krol.livejournal.com]

Classic? Ick--

of course, I don't live in Maine but in Arizona where it's not unusual to see folks in sandals and shorts dining at four-star establishments.

But if you're looking for nice clothes, believe it or don't but stodgy old J.C. Penney's has a lot of nice clothes these days, both 'classic' and more trendy pieces for us ladies of that certain age.

I still have my business suits from my bureaucrat days--which amazingly still fit! Which is a good thing for when I have to accompany the tribal council to a Do--but most days, I prefer long flowing skirts, cotton tops and various sandals to stay cool in 100-degree desert heat. And I have to keep rough wear in the trunk on the off-chance I get called to cover something out in the desert, where you don't want to wear some open-toed cutie and get stung by cactus spines. :) Or wildfires--when you want good sturdy boots.

Arriving late to the topic --

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

But thought I should mention that if you have an unusual rise (mine was a six when I otherwise wore a ten) Lands' End pants will not fit -- all the buyer could suggest was buying a boy's size 14 pants and belting them close.

There's a brand called French Dressing that has sensible pants for women, with some style. Otherwise, I will buy from LL Bean, Lands' End and Coldwater Creek -- preferably when there's a sale on. And there's a Canadian brand of jeans I like a lot -- name currently escapes me ....