The bridesmaids' dresses for both my and my sister's weddings were bought off the rack at Ann Taylor! Pretty, silk knee length cocktail dresses that all matched and worked for all sizes. Ahhh, memories. For my wedding they were red silk, crossover top. For my sisters they were pink floral with ruffles. I bought other wedding guest dresses at AT as well as some nice workwear. I never really shopped at Loft.

I stopped shopping at Loft mainly because of the quality. I recently started shopping at Ann Taylor again. It seems like they’ve improved the style and quality over the last year. I’m back in the office and I’ve been able to find good basic pants/jeans, tops, skirts, and dresses. I do mix AT pieces with higher end clothing.

I bought a beautiful summer dress a couple of years ago from AT. I do remember ordering a bunch of dresses and most of them either fit weird or hung weird on me. Now, I am a curvy short girl so it's hard for me to find dresses that are flattering so I wasn't surprised most of what I ordered did not fit well.

AT and Loft used to be my staples in the mid to late 2000s because they had pants/jeans tailored to petite curvy women and fashionable petite clothes. But the quality went down and I found myself returning stuff more and more. Recently I wanted a pair of nice navy pants...I was going to order from Loft but then I found a pair from Amazon for 1/3 the price. I figured the quality would be similar, and since I wouldn't be wearing them a lot, I went with the cheaper option.

Anonymous wrote:Ann Taylor-->Loft
Gap-->Old Navy
Gymboree-->Crazy 8

Crazy 8 hasn't existed in about a decade.

It’s so random these days with mid priced clothing. I have a few AT items bought in the last few years that are great for work and have held up really well but I also try on tons of I tend there with strange fabrics and cuts.

I have boycotted Loft ever since my 20's -- I lived in Dupont and used to go to the Loft there (largely bc I was broke) and my roommate and I agreed that they did something with their mirrors that favorably distorted how you looked. I hated everything once I got it home and always ended up returning it! The few pieces I did keep did not hold up at all.

Ann Taylor-->Loft
Gap-->Old Navy
Gymboree-->Crazy 8

At is better quality than loft. And more expensive.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s a good Ann Taylor or Loft alternative for work that is better quality?

Nothing. All mid-priced clothing is awful these days.

Agree that mid priced clothing is not great these days. Would love to hear about exceptions, if anyone has recommendations..

Every mid-priced brand I shop at I have to be very picky to find anything even remotely decent.

There's a whole passel of reasons, and they all started in the late 80s/early 90s and will only get worse.

I agree but sometimes it feels great to spend $200 or less on a blazer and sub $100 on pants. I dislike much of what I find there but can always pick out a couple things at a great price

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s a good Ann Taylor or Loft alternative for work that is better quality?

I have found some really good pants that have held up at White House Black market. I usually get tops at Nordstrom, Banana Republic, J.Crew.

I love boden, but it’s annoying to have buy all online and try own. There’s an outlet in PA and occasionally they do a show in a hotel. Their return policy is fine, but it’s still annoying.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s a good Ann Taylor or Loft alternative for work that is better quality?

Nothing. All mid-priced clothing is awful these days.

Now, the key question is: what’s a good place to learn fashion design and sewing?

I have a few work dresses from AT from the last few years that are pretty classic and nice fabrics, but the bottom hems have fallen out of each of them relatively shortly after I got them. Had them repaired and now they're fine, but it's weird that the same thing has happened with multiple items.

Anonymous wrote:What’s a good Ann Taylor or Loft alternative for work that is better quality?

I have found some really good pants that have held up at White House Black market. I usually get tops at Nordstrom, Banana Republic, J.Crew.

I used to buy all my work clothes at Ann Taylor 30 years ago when I was a recent college graduate. I still have some of the clothes. They were beautiful quality. But I have not bought clothes at AT or Loft in years. Their clothes are boxy, poor quality, not useful for work or play. JCrew was nice about a decade ago, but it's gone the same route. Shapeless, poor quality clothing that I wouldn't wear to work or on the weekends. Weirdly, I've bought a few beautiful things at Zara -- linen jacket and pants -- that are both cheap and surprisingly well made. And they fit perfectly. I'd pass on AT and Loft, OP.

Anonymous wrote:OP - I’m looking mostly for timeless work clothes. I bought a pair of pants I liked from Loft and stopped shopping after the hem fell out and I realized they had been glued, not sewn!

Oh, I would not call anything They’ve been carrying as timeless.