What Does Smart Casual Look Like For Women In 2024 In DC?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Basically anything but athletic wear/logo wear/cotton tee shirts.
Knits/slacks/sweaters/skirts all ok. No one notices if I am wearing Target or Ann Taylor so long as not stained or ripped and it fits decent. No athletic shoes but with slacks you can get away with skechers style sneaker-type loafers.

Yes actually we do. And we judge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I second MM LaFleur
Also like Hugo Boss women
Ann Taylor

Classic elegance for business attire[/quote

The quality of Ann Taylor has really gone down.

Brooks Brothers has some decent pieces but the quality is hit or miss.

I second Hugo Boss and MM LaFleur (although arguably it's for the younger crowd). I also like Amour Vert.

[Anonymous]

I bought these pants (I think), and really like them — very comfy.

https://www.nordstrom.com/s/wit-and-wisdom-absolution-skyrise-flat-front-wide-leg-pants-regular-petite/7829595?country=US¤cy=USD&utm_content=148385015026&utm_term=pla-293946777986&utm_channel=low_nd_shopping_lia&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=20089166048&adpos=&creative=657505712041&device=m&matchtype=&network=g&acctid=21700000001689570&dskeywordid=92700076314742466&lid=92700076314742466&ds_s_kwgid=58700008384935856&ds_s_inventory_feed_id=97700000007631122&dsproductgroupid=293946777986&product_id=A0980892&merchid=1243147&prodctry=US&prodlang=en&channel=local&storeid=623&locationid=9007767&targetid=pla-293946777986&campaignid=20089166048&adgroupid=148385015026&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAD8eAEli-V1_kGMa3KQZdMpSK-dhY&gclid=Cj0KCQjwyL24BhCtARIsALo0fSB8lCCY3_a-iRgccixWPor2bHWvxXBh98BzPaJztLmMucqb7gPBUbUaAuSoEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

[Anonymous]

This is advice from someone in your age cohort who used to shop at a Saks, Brooks Brothers and other comparable retailers for office clothing pre covid. Being in the office just a few days now means I don’t invest in an expensive wardrobe anymore. As others have mentioned, clothing quality has gone down. I still have quality pieces I wear for special meetings. For a regular day, I like basics from Uniqlo and Banana Republic. I have found decent leather boots and pumps at Macy’s at a reasonable price. I mix in trendier pieces from everywhere else including Marshall’s, Amazon, Zara, Target, Kohls and even Walmart.

[Anonymous]

Second on quality of clothings going down. When I shop at saks Neiman I have no desire to buy anything. What has worked for me is shopping abroad - FARFETCH, ssense and italist . I can find nice wool sweaters in $120 range from patricia pepe, chinti Parker, twinset etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ann Taylor and Banana Republic

AT and BR pants have extremely shallow cut and would saw my lady parts off when I sit down. I have been buying pants at athleta.

[Anonymous]

OP I think it basically just means no athletic wear, and possibly no jeans. But jeans might be okay if you pair them with more formal tops, jackets and accessories. Don’t overthink it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just visited the Everlane website and clicked on their "cult classics." In pics the clothes look very meh and the quoted testimonials are so obnoxious. One after another, literal quotes here: "This sweater made me examine my whole life" "I got married in this tee." What is up with their marketing?

I agree their marketing is weird. However, if you have the chance to visit a store (there's one in Tysons and I think one in Georgetown as well) I recommend it. The quality is really good and everything kind of works together in a very easy way. While the cuts on a lot of the tees and sweaters tends to be boxy there are also more fitted items and if you get the right size the clothes are flattering. But the biggest thing for me is that the quality is excellent especially when compared to so many other "mall" brands. The denim in particular is really nice for the price point but I am also a fan of everything in their "dream" fabric, their ribbed tees, and their cashmere and cashmere blend sweaters. I think they do a good job finding factories that can deliver consistently good quality and they pay attention to fabric content and don't cheap out the way other brands do.

But yes the "reviews" are weird and their website product photos are pretty meh. But if you look at it all in person I think it's easier to understand why people like it.

I also recommend shopping their sales. They've had two recently where everything in the site was discounted 20-25% and their end of season sales are good.

Agree with all of this. I like the Georgetown store quite a bit. I also think they tend to go oversized on their models (or more of a Gen Z styling) so that the pieces often fit differently when I go try them on (and look more put together, in my millennial mind). I really like their “dream” line too.

[Anonymous]

My suggestion is to buy a few pieces and start the first couple of weeks and observe what the fashion looks like at the office. Then build a wardrobe from there.

I’ve found a few items at Talbots.

[Anonymous]

Smart casual?? Who comes up with this nonsense?

[Anonymous]

Talbots might be looking into too. Biden as well.

[Anonymous]

Boden not Biden.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just visited the Everlane website and clicked on their "cult classics." In pics the clothes look very meh and the quoted testimonials are so obnoxious. One after another, literal quotes here: "This sweater made me examine my whole life" "I got married in this tee." What is up with their marketing?

Most importantly, how difficult are returns at Everlane?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Smart casual?? Who comes up with this nonsense?

I think it's ridiculous, but I work in a field (environmental) where you can also stand out in a bad way if you are too overdressed because your clothing is supposed to be professional but also signal your ability to tun out into "the field" any minute. Oh, don't be too girly either. I prefer either full outdoor/athletic wear or nicer dresses because I'm short and finding well proportioned pants is so hard, so this drives me crazy.

I'm slowly building up a collection of short and long sleeved button up shirts that are for women but not flowered or ruffled, mainly secondhand because good prints are hard to find. Sweaters and boxy blazers are easy for winter. Haven't found pants that actually look good.

[Anonymous]

Also, apparently Spanx has some ama ing work pants.