<p>CCsiteobsessed: I suggest next shopping trip that she skip juniors, and go straight to women’s petites. 5’2" daughter found business appropriate wear there that was not not be found in the junior section, and the proportions were a lot better too.</p>
<p>My daughter will be interning at a brokerage firm this summer and this thread has been useful. She got her interview outfits several years ago at Limited Express and we’ll do some shopping in the next week at Ann Taylor Loft and Banana Republic and maybe go back to Limited Express. Thank you also for the tip on Corporette.
Back in the Dress for Success days, I was actually a junior size but found that missy blouses fit okay. But also in those days, you could actually find corporate appropriate junior outfits at Nordstroms (and also the late, not particularly lamented Liberty House).</p>
<p>Tractor Supply? :eek: No man or woman should ever be subjected to the experience of picking workplace clothes at a place with such a horrible name! Not even if they have to work on a farm! :eek:</p>
<p>arabrab@61: Sadly, daughter’s arms, legs, and trunk are all too thin for the Petite section, though I keep trying! All the clothes hang on her, esp. boobs & butt, and the darts are 2" too low. Also, at many stores, the sizes start at P6, which is even too big for me. I also hesitate to have her <em>invest</em> too much in work clothing since she is still in HS, so we don’t if she will have to deal with the Freshman 15.</p>
<p>I am still looking for Junior warm weather BLOUSES (not shirts) that aren’t overly casual or hoochie-hoochie. My review of the various stores’ web sites has been depressing. No wonder teenage girls don’t know how to dress for work. They have never encountered anything appropriate in their size/department!</p>
<p>CCsiteObsessed- Check the petite section at Ann Taylor Loft. My D has found most of her work attire at Loft, Ann Taylor and Banana Republic. The petite section of department stores are too big for her. All of the above three stores have petites starting at a zero petite. She found the junior clothes just don’t look professional.</p>
<p>I guess it depends on the definition of “professional.” Knit sweater sets (especially if they’re silk or heavier & not too clingy) make for a very professional look and keep you warn in air-conditioned rooms. They can be paired with nice slacks. Ann Taylor petite & Banana Republic have younger fashion choices in a pretty good range of sizes; my D has bought 0 and 00 petite. Those generally fit her nicely & they sometimes have good prices & coupons.</p>
<p>^^^@BB, yes my D felt the same way about Tractor Supply. She couldn’t get out of there fast enough. And she DID look like Frankenstein.</p>
<p>CC I’d check out Banana Republic for shirts or maybe even NY&Co.</p>
<p>D2 is working in the accounting department for an Architecture/Engineering firm this summer and she has had great success in finding size 0 pants at The Limited and Express.They sell different lengths for the pants (short/average/tall) so this is a great place to find junior size pants. We searched the entire MOA for pants and those two stores were the only place that could fit her. We did find a great black suit at BR outlet store…pencil skirt was $20 and jacket $25!!! Her other gray pant suit that she interviewed in was from The Limited. Tops have come from those two stores along with the clearance racks at Banana Republic, Loft, Macy’s and White House/Black Market. She was born with a horrible bunion but we have had great luck finding cute, comfortable designer flats at Nordstrom Rack…especially cute Coach shoes in the $50-$60 range. We were surprised that Nordstrom’s didn’t even sell junior dress pants at the MOA! Don’t be afraid to have the clothes altered.</p>
<p>Back to the search for flats - mathmom, I like those flats, and they’d probably even pass D’s muster, but apparently these interns have been told not to wear flats at all!</p>
<p>According to D, one of the interns was pulled aside on Day 2 of the internship and told that flats were okay to wear INTO the office, but once you’re there, your shoes need to have some kind of heel. D was flabbergasted (and happy that she was still wearing skirts and heels and had not switched to slacks and flats yet.) I find it really hard to believe that ALL flats are forbidden (I’m guessing this was just a nice way to say “your shoes are inappropriate”).</p>
<p>So we’ve suspended the search for work-appropriate flats and may just buy another set of low-heeled pumps. </p>
<p>CC, I’ve found that BR and Ann Taylor have plenty of conservative clothes, and if you have an outlet mall nearby that carries those stores, the deals can be amazing.</p>
<p>I find it incredible that they forbid all flats!!! There could be medical reasons for wearing flats. After my knee surgery I couldn’t wear any heels and even now my knee screams at me after wearing a small heel for a few hours.</p>
<p>I can’t wear flat-flats at all. My feet are killing me within half-an-hour. But it doesn’t take much heel to make me happy – even 1/2 inch can do. But what a weird rule, and how strange that they don’t have an explicit, written dress code if they care that much.</p>
<p>That’s why I think the whole “you-can’t-wear-flats” rule was just a nice way of saying “you-can’t-wear-THOSE-flats.” Either that, or the whole thing is some kind of weird urban legend.</p>
<p>As for the explicit dress code - sing it, sister! Prior to orientation, the summer interns received information about the dress code that was less than helpful. It was pretty explicit for men, but more like “suits, slacks, or skirts” for women, plus close-toed shoes, and “nice blouses” (and what does THAT really mean?) No jeans. Nothing about flats.</p>
<p>“Busines casual” has always been one of my pet peeves, dress-code-wise. Would it really kill anyone to make their dress code easier to understand?!</p>
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<p>Since high heels are bad for one’s feet and interfere with walking or running, such a rule seems to be very counterproductive.</p>
<p>Wearing heels must make a lot of the male co-workers feel really tall! But many must have some trouble with balance initially.</p>
<p>Wanted to bump this thread because I am still putting my looks together and need some help! So far I am doing pretty well on clothes, I’ve got some slacks, skirts, and dresses, plus two pairs of black shoes (need a brown pair), two blouses, and a cardigan. I also have two suits and four or so tops that can go with the suits, but not by themselves. Need more blouses. </p>
<p>Now I am starting to think about hair. I am hoping to come up with something I can do for a /very/ professional office other than straightening it and wearing it down. My hair is shoulder length, layered, and VERY wavy and crazy if left unchecked. Is there /anything/ I can do that won’t require a straightener or a curling iron? I started teaching myself to do a french twist but I still need to straighten to make that look good and my hair doesn’t seem quite long enough. I have no idea what I am going to do with my hair if I am ever running late. A pony tail has always been my go-to and that’s certainly not corporate. And I REALLY don’t want to have to heat style my hair every day, it’ll fry! Any ideas?</p>
<p>Could you consider just cutting it very short & letting it stay natural? That is also a professional look & you can wear some nice stud earrings to be a bit more feminine. I would also worry about the toll on your hair & scalp if you are heat styling your hair every day! If your hair is curly to the point of kinky, look at some kinky styles that are easy care & still look OK to you.</p>
<p>Try searching the web for hairstyles (or magazines in the library) that you like and seem to be hair about the length and texture of yours.</p>
<p>Ema, sister has hair similar to yours. Every once and awhile she irons it but that’s about it as far as straightening goes. She uses some kind of ‘straightening’ shampoo I believe. She also has some kind of mouse or something that she puts in it while it’s still wet and it keeps its shape without going insane. Good luck. I have naturally straight hair that lays absolutely perfect. I drive her up a wall. I could literally wash my hair, walk out the front door without combing or brushing it, and by the time I got to work it would be dry and laying in place perfectly. (Actually, I’ve done that, and I’ve gotten a few compliments from people asking me if I got my hair cut over the weekend because it looks so nice.) I do a pony tail on Fridays.</p>
<p>Ema, my D who recently graduated from college has learned to embrace her curls and wave. And she too has LOTS of it. Her current hair length is long - inches beyond her shoulders. She wears it a variety of ways in her professional office. Down, but some of the sides clipped in the back, looser side ponytail w/curls, etc. She uses some hair products to keep the curls, but to control the frizz and/or poofiness. </p>
<p>She gets many compliments and as long as she is dressed nice, it all works together. Ponytails can work - maybe w/curls it works best to wear them a little looser. </p>
<p>She has straightened her hair only a few times - not worth the time and effort to her!</p>
<p>For those who find work shirts too revealing, here is an article about The Shirt.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/03/fashion/for-women-a-redesigned-shirt-is-more-modest.html[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/03/fashion/for-women-a-redesigned-shirt-is-more-modest.html</a></p>