Business attire for women

good point - I tend to like skirt suits better (more flattering for my build) and always regret not getting the pants afterwards!

So my favorite heels to wear with suits broke and are beyond repair

Before I buy new ones, thought I'd ask: any recommendations? Any brands that are more comfortable than others? Any brands that you can't stand?

I'm looking for a pair between 2" and 3" high that I can wear with skirts and pants (ie no loafers!)....

any suggestions?
thanks for your insights!
ac.

You should pimp it out, red bebe/prada.

I might be in the minority, but I try to avoid matching suit pieces. Especially for networking events, I've noticed that I stand out more by wearing separates. Clothes will never be a substitute for substance, of course, but if you're not afraid of taking a bit of risk with your attire, looking different could work in your favour.

I simply can't describe the feeling of wearing a stark white blazer in a sea of black and greys. It's invigorating.

As for shoes, brand doesn't matter as long as they don't "look" cheap. I have a pair of brown heels costing $10 which get complimented all the time (by both women and men, surprisingly.) When it comes to footwear, the biggest contributors to looking sharp are:

a) the shoes look new, even it they aren't (here, shiny materials perform better than matte, and beware of materials that leave a permanent crease where your toes bend.)
b) you can actually see most of the shoe (this has nothing to do with the shoe itself, but rather how high your pants are hemmed.)

Does anyone know good brands for suits in size 0 and 2. Its impossible to find something that doesn't look baggy so I've given up on stores like Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, etc. I know United Colors of Benton have some, but do you happen to know any other brands that cater to skinnier women?

I think Ann Tayler has petite size 00, you will need to order them online. Jcrew, or banana republic has them too. I don't know much, but I think other stores have something similar.

They have them in theory but never in stores, so when looking to try something for fit in those sizes, they are impossible to find. Ann Taylor stores outright say they don't offer 0s in stores. It doesn't help that I'm in Atlanta, and the south generally has less of the smaller sizes available.

Try online, or have the store order them for you ($ave on shipping). My gf does it all the time from J.Crew or Ann Taylor. Even size 00Petite still needs to be tailored.

I kind of have the same problem. But some store has my size, just needs to be tailored (short arms). I recently went to get a pair of shoes, and the smallest size they have makes me look like the Mickey D clown. After two special orders and nearly 3 weeks, I now have something that fits (still a little lose).

Sigh...yeah it's a total pain.

Key question:

Should I be buying Miu Miu boots on my lunch hour or saving for business school? (Hint: This question has already been answered).

I've been looking at Hugo Boss and Brooks Brothers. I can't seem to find a Hugo Boss skirt suit, though.

The comments upthread about too-high high heels made me chuckle because I am totally that person tottering around in 4.5/5 inch heels. In my defense, I am really short, as in barely 5'2", and a lot of the male attorneys I've worked with over the last five years have mistakenly asked me to get coffee the first time I met them or assumed that I was the secretary or the paralegal ("when's the attorney going to get here?" was a routine question for my first 2 years). It sort of became a defense mechanism for at least being able to look them in the eye.

What about hair during interviews? If your hair is longer than shoulder length, how did you wear it on interview day? Pony tail, bun, down, put up with a clip, etc?

definitely get your hair back if it's longer. i was back on campus to do Mock Interviews and two of the women had their hair down and it really did distract from their faces. you don't want to be tempted to fiddle with it, and you want to be sure the interviewer is focused on your eyes and your message.

Hi muffeebrown! I'm a petite as well (under 5'3", size 2), and work in the retail industry in finance. I avoid petite offerings by most lines, but give them credit for trying. I frequently meet with retail executives and am expected to look not only professional and conservative (finance side), but also trendy and updated (retail side). I usually pick up a suit by Theory or Nanette Leopore (if you can find a conservative one), and tailor the heck out of it at Nordstrom. Theory does a great job because they are owned by Link Theory (Helmut Lang owner) of Japan (where my equally petite ancestors live). Their jacket collars are on the smaller side which is nice when you've got a smaller frame. Nordstrom also does free alterations as long as you buy the items at full-price.

(Hugo Boss I agree is fabulous but a bit out of my price range. And I would love to be that girl that can pull off the five-inchers, but I'm just not that coordinated!!)

Someone asked about hair - I've got a razor sharp bob. It's the only way to keep myself looking current in the retail industry without being too flashy.

Good luck everyone!

retailgirl, you rock, thank you. I was looking at Theory suits on the Bloomingdales website but my impression was that the style "skews" a little younger/edgier and I was worried about the issues cited above about looking too young and unprofessional (exacerbated for me due to my height). I plan to get my wardrobe this summer, in any case, as the last year was very hard on me, healthwise, and I gained 20 lbs doing the whole b-school thing (yuck). I am in the process of getting back to "myself"-however my normal weight is approximately a size 4.

Brooks Brothers looks like it has the requisite conservatism but it looks like I'l spend additional money tailoring it down to my frame.

On a seperate note, you wouldn't by any chance have any good recommendations for tailor made button down shirts in petites?

I'm a total fan of Theory suits - when you look on the Bloomingdale's website I think they style them in such a way that they look "younger / flashier" than they actually are. I would try one on before deciding they aren't for you. I have really struggled finding petite suits that aren't too boxy (I'm also a size 4 and often have to wear suits for work); I feel like Brooks Brothers's suitwear is actually really difficult if you're below a size 8 - I swim in their jackets. That being said, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE their button downs for conversative dress shirts - there are lots of options in terms of tailored/slim cut/traditional cut, etc, and they hold up really well.

Thanks smadge. I debated about saying this explicitly in the initial post but one of my issues with button down shirts, which is why I asked as obliquely as possible, is that when I am slim (which, heh, is not the case right now), my chest size is out of proportion to the rest of my body. This has long condemned me to wearing nice tshirts under suits, but I am guessing that will be unacceptable in finance interviews. Unfortunately, in the past, either I've ended up wearing a shirt that is far too big for me size wise, or I wear my size, but have the dreaded button-gap over the bust. I ended up googling for this issue and discovered a company called Carissa Rose that makes shirts for women with this problem. If anyone has any other recommendations short of getting a shirt made, please let me know.

My girlfriend and I went to a Hugo Boss outlet store a few weekends ago thinking it'd be reasonable.

Yeah...

Quickly sidestepped out and over to Polo.