<p>I haven’t owned or wore a blazer in years to work. Don’t have a single one in the closet. D who is 25 and works in a large modern PR firm might have bought one blazer type jacket in the last couple of years that she probably hasn’t worn more than once or twice.</p>
<p>However we both have oodles of colored cardigans - much more comfortable and if they fit right, they look perfectly appropriate and we are much happier with the comfort.</p>
<p>The corporate headquarters of a large company certainly has a written dress code and an employee handbook. She should contact HR for this. </p>
<p>Also, someone mentioned that sleeveless is OK now, but I would check. In my firm sleeveless is not OK unless covered by a jacket or cardigan.</p>
<p>Kohls works as a one stop location for both my DD and DS</p>
<p>Fits the budget and halfway between stylish and frumpy!</p>
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<p>I would guess that my office is more casual in general than this, and we cannot do sleeveless, mainly because one of our Sr VP’s thinks it looks unprofessional.</p>
<p>I did a co-op at a large company that had about 40 co-ops at once. They got very specific about the dress code and had documents to hand out with examples of what was okay and what was not, since this was some people’s first office experience.</p>
<p>My D. likes Banana Republic.</p>
<p>Agree that that even in high profile companies that espouse ‘business casual’ dress code, a nice cardigan (paired with dress pants, skirt of dress) is perfectly OK. I confirmed this with niece, who’s a senior consultant at one of the biggest, most prestigious consulting companies in the US. She swears by cardigans, says the only time she wears a formal jacket is when meeting top clients for the first time.</p>
<p>Sleeveless tops, otoh, aren’t considered part of a professional (albeit still casual) look in many companies.</p>
<p>All companies have a dress code. It is different from company to company. Things lke sleeveless and bare legs are usually specified. The dress code is most likely availabel on-line at the internal site.</p>
<p>J. Crew has 25% off the entire store this weekend. I would only go to the sale rack as clothing hits their sale racks quickly. (Drexler continuing his old Gap policies.) Their regular prices are too high but 25% off the sale price is reasonable.</p>
<p>As advised above, do check labels for dry cleaning as much of their clothing requires dry cleaning. They have some really cute blazers on sale. The sale prices in the stores are much lower than the prices on the website. I paid $70 for the first jacket & $35 for the second.</p>
<p>[Schoolboy</a> blazer in crosshatch linen - blazers - Women’s new arrivals - J.Crew](<a href=“http://www.jcrew.com/womens_feature/NewArrivals/blazers/PRDOVR~48370/99102927756/ENE~1+2+3+22+4294967294+20~~~20+17+4294962512~45~~~~~~~/48370.jsp]Schoolboy”>http://www.jcrew.com/womens_feature/NewArrivals/blazers/PRDOVR~48370/99102927756/ENE~1+2+3+22+4294967294+20~~~20+17+4294962512~45~~~~~~~/48370.jsp)
[Maritime</a> blazer in stripe - jackets & cardigans - Women’s knits & tees - J.Crew](<a href=“http://www.jcrew.com/womens_category/knitstees/jacketscardiagns/PRDOVR~84593/99102956150/ENE~1+2+3+22+4294967294+20~~~20+17+4294962512~45~~~~~~~/84593.jsp]Maritime”>http://www.jcrew.com/womens_category/knitstees/jacketscardiagns/PRDOVR~84593/99102956150/ENE~1+2+3+22+4294967294+20~~~20+17+4294962512~45~~~~~~~/84593.jsp)</p>
<p>Can’t offer shoe advice as my feet often hurt!</p>
<p>An open tote bag in a coated canvas would be lightweight while large enough to hold wallet, shoes, iPad, the papers, etc.</p>
<p>J Crew also gives a student discount. If she goes there make sure she takes her school ID</p>
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<p>Makes you wonder why they want to hobble women and hurt their feet.</p>
<p>My D wore pants from Ann Taylor Loft, Banana Republic and Ann Taylor. Once she finds the style and fit that works for her she can shop sales. My D was lucky that her summer rental was 1/2 block from a huge outlet mall. She wore sleeveless silklike shells under a cardigan. She also had a couple of lightweight shirtsleeve sweaters. She’s we’re a practical low pump from easy spirit. Ross often has Calvin Klein dresses that can be worn with a cardigan.</p>
<p>My D’s present job is ultra conservative and she wears a suit everyday. No open toe or sling back shoes. She wears an inexpensive black pump from Payless.</p>
<p>I think that she will pick up the business culture and dress code fairly quickly. I work in a business casual environment and I mostly wear skirts and slacks with tops that I would not exactly call blouses and lots of different cardigans- some are twin sets, or sometimes I wear with a camisole or shell underneath.Have some blazers but haven’t worn in a while- I find too confining when I sit at my computer to be really comfortable, same with dresses. While I do wear dresses for many social events, I haven’t worn a casual dress to the office in a long time. I generally wear flat shoes or a low heel- and in the winter lots of boots, or loafers. Sleeveless is generally not acceptable. I try to maintain my level of dress and I do dress better than most, but there are others who wear dress jeans and open toe sandals. I usually shop at Ann Taylor and Banana. Just brought two great cardigans and a lightweight V-neck on sale at J. Crew. Older do who works in a museum has days where she can really be dressed down or events where she needs to be dressed up for programs and events. She finds clothes that work well for her generally by paying close attention to what is on sale at Anthropologie. You can also find less expensive stuff that looks well at H & M and also Uniqlo.</p>
<p>“Makes you wonder why they want to hobble women and hurt their feet.”</p>
<p>No, unless the policy states that heels have to be 2"- 3" or taller, this policy actually saves women from hurting their feet. Many women erroneously think that flats are good for their feet. They are as bad as high heels! A shoe with a well-positioned kitten heel with arch support and a wide toebox is much better for the foot than a completely flat shoe. Take a closer look - most men’s shoes and athletic shoes are not completely flat. Paul Green makes fabulous “flats” with a 1/2 inch (I get mine at Nordstrom Rack and wear them if I have to stand on my feet all day long). Most office workers spend 90% of workdays sitting at their desks anyway, so the shoes mostly matter for short walks around the office and commute. If flats are a requirement, I would look for flats with built-in wedge heel.</p>
<p>I’d buy her an outfit or two then see how they dress once she’s there.</p>
<p>Business casual in my office is nice pants or nice jeans with a nice top (not a band tshirt) and even sneakers are ok. No flip flops, shorts, or spaghetti strap shirts. You rarely see skirts… And very rarely will you see a suit. There are a bunch of guys that do tie Tuesdays.</p>
<p>Business casual at our corporate office is nice dress pants or nice jeans with a nice top and they don’t wear sneakers there. We are more casual. You do occasionally see suits there depending on the day.</p>
<p>Even our vice president will wear nice pants and a polo most days.</p>
<p>Thanks to each of you who wrote! I looked up every link and got some ideas. I buy all my clothes online, so this advice is really helpful.</p>
<p>Today’s trip yielded one skirt at Ann Taylor that fit and looked nice, so we bought it.</p>
<p>My daughter has a junior-shaped body, but most of the junior clothes we found at a department store looked poorly made or unbusinesslike.</p>
<p>This leads to several additional questions:</p>
<p>What shoe brands do you recommend that offer pumps for less than $100?</p>
<p>Where would you shop for tops in size XXS, XS, 0 or 2?</p>
<p>What is the difference between Ann Taylor and Ann Taylor Loft?</p>
<p>The Loft clothing tends to be cheaper (and more cheaply made) and more casual than Ann Taylor’s. </p>
<p>When it comes to finding business casual clothing in small sizes, J. Crew would probably be your best bet. Banana Republic has pants and shirts in sizes 00, 0 and 2. Their websites usually have a better selection of sale items, and the website bought stuff can be returned to their brick and mortar stores without the hassle of shipping it back.</p>
<p>Are you near an H&M? They’re cheaper (and cheaper quality) than somewhere like J.Crew or Banana Republic, but they have some nice-looking work-appropriate clothes and I think their stuff tends to be cut pretty slim. If my body shape was closer to junior’s, I’d buy more work clothes there. I don’t think their website is particularly representative of their store inventory, for the record (and their stores can differ in inventory also).</p>
<p>They have a junior section, and I’m not talking about that, but the business-y corner of their regular store. I also agree with FenderGirl that waiting and seeing can be a good idea. In some work places, she will feel very overdressed in fancy blazers, and in others, they’re worn every day.</p>
<p>I remember walking into my second co-op job on a sweltering July day in pinstriped dress pants, a nice top, a shrug sweater, and nice black shoes to find everyone in the office in jeans or shorts. I didn’t dress like a slob but I never wore dress pants to that office again.</p>
<p>Just reminding people–Nordstrom’s big annual sale is just a few weeks away! This sale is the one where they give large discounts on all the new clothes for fall. Every year I find some items that are current, well made, and in my size. </p>
<p>Even better, to work with a personal shopper is free. My sister made an appointment for her new college grad daughter last summer–her grad gift was a wardrobe to start her new job with a Big 4 accounting firm in their transactional practice, which was going to entail a lot of face time with clients and a lot of travel. The personal shopper was wonderful–she helped put together a great, functional wardrobe within the budget my sister specified, and showed my niece how to get various looks for various occasions.</p>
<p>Nordstroms also altered everything for free.</p>
<p>OP, i buy XS tops at New york and company and banana republic.</p>
<p>Also, if she would like a cute pair of flats I’d suggest a pair of rocket dogs. I have these
[Rocket</a> Dog Memories Black Thai Silk - Zappos.com Free Shipping BOTH Ways](<a href=“Rocket dog memories black thai silk rocket + FREE SHIPPING | Zappos.com”>Rocket dog memories black thai silk + FREE SHIPPING | Zappos.com)
and they are very comfortable.</p>
<p>Fender girl–I might have to buy myself some of those cute rocket dogs! The “most helpful” review of those shoes is hilarious.</p>
<p>As to your earlier suggestion that she wait to see what they wear: that makes sense, but she is a little hard to fit, and I get the impression that almost everyone in her area (IT) is male–or at least, she saw only one female at her interview.</p>