I got a few basics at J Crew for the in between sizes - pants in a couple of colors. The Kate pants were half price last week and J Crew often has sales.

I tried to have a few things altered but it didn't really work.

Rayons! not crayons. Geez, evil spellchecker!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is also an Ann Taylor outlet at Potomac Mills, and the Nordstrom Rack at Potomac Mills tends to have professional clothing. Banana Republic Factory Stores also often have reasonably priced professional pants (including suiting separates); there's one at the Tanger outlets near National Harbor as well as other outlet malls. Ann Taylor outlet is not as affordable as it was in the past, but it still beats in-store pricing at AT and they have a lot of Petite options. Do not waste your time going to the Talbots outlet in Springfield VA; it has been disappointing for the last few years.

Ann Taylor outlet merchandise is totally different from the mall store and I like it better. Better quality unless you consider fragile silks and rayons superior to something that can be drycleaned many times without losing color or body. I also think the styles are more "normal" and less fashion mag like.

Oh interesting! I've never bothered with outlets but if they carry better materials than what I'm seeing in all the mall stores these days, I might give it a try. After christmas of course. I hate all the various plastic fabrics. Like with a fiery passion.

We might differ on what is a better fabric. I don't mind synthetics because they often hold dye better and are more stain resistant. A polyester satin or polyester silk feel blouse will release stains such as sweat, food, and ink. A cotton/polyester or extremely high-quality 100% cotton blouse will do pretty well with food and ink stains. Sweat and deodorant tend to mess with dyes in 100% natural material shirts. Unfortunately, I find that more expensive silks and crayons are created and treated in ways that make them not very durable. Silk is a great durable material but a lot of chemicals are applied to (less than premium grade) silk to give it a smooth hand. Those chemicals are not very durable and make it more likely that spot removal and drycleaning will damage the garment.

Loft has very nice sweaters but they tend to be cheaply made so they pill easily. The worst quality sweater I've bought lately was from Nordstrom's. A chunky open-weave cotton-rayon blend. It was $90 at half off. It lost it's body before the first wash. And the drycleaner refused to handle it since it said hand wash only.

Most fabrics are worse now than in the 1980s.

Quince has some nice work-appropriate stuff at good prices: https://www.quince.com/the-workwear-edit

I find Thred Up to be easier and cheaper than Poshmark. I can often find the same clothes that I loved in an XL/16 in a smaller size. Congrats your weight loss!

Anonymous wrote:The Real Real has great brands like Theory for very cheap (literally $10 for some shift dresses)

Wow really?! I hadn’t used them before but might need to check this out.

Anonymous wrote:JC Penny's for petite/ short sizes

OP said she wants clothes that look nice so Penne's out.