Business Wear Update
I have a new jacket that I finally got to wear and I am so besotted with it! It's Jones New York in a Woman Petite size, meaning it has an awesome fit and really cool fabric. The cut is very feminine, rather New Look. 3/4 length sleeves with little notches that make a pretty cuff when turned back, and a very small Mandarin collar. Three big buttons, the lowest at the waist, so that there's a slight cutaway or weskit effect at the bottom. It comes just to mid-hip, a flattering length but perhaps not enough to cover all my longer sweaters. The fabric is heavy cotton in a textured weave shot through with translucent nylon threads that give it a subtle sparkle. The color is a warm tomato, though I suspect in New Look terms it would be called Chinese Red. It's cheerful and flattering and comfortable. It was also 75% off on sale at Macy's last month!
Nothing is so much fun as having a whole outfit where every piece is new, so I also snapped up some tapered ankle-length trousers in black polished cotton, and a jaunty tee in a black-and-white baroque floral. There was even a new pair of black sneaker janes to complete the ensemble. I debuted this outfit on a recent trip to a business meeting in the midwest, where it was interesting to observe the other women's outfits as well.
The assembled teams were from New Jersey, Boston, and Columbus OH, all from the same large publishing company. Middle and upper management, about 10 women and 5 men, mostly over 40. The default look was definitely black trousers with a colorful solid top. In fact, on the first day of the meeting, three of us had on almost the same magenta shade, but in very different styles. Mine was a cotton twinset with a shell and cardie, another was a loose peasant-style jersey tunic, and the third was a tailored blouse with a small peplum. I got to wear my red jacket and print tee on the second day, when there were also a few other print tops over the black slacks among my colleagues.
The outliers who were not in the black trouser uniform included a cream linen pantsuit with a very soft shirt-style jacket and the ubiquitous-this-summer black-and-white print skirt with a black tee.
Now that I'm back, I'm wearing the red jacket over a stretchy wrap dress in an earthy animal print and loving both the colors and the proportions.
ETA: Oh! I've found the jacket online.
Nothing is so much fun as having a whole outfit where every piece is new, so I also snapped up some tapered ankle-length trousers in black polished cotton, and a jaunty tee in a black-and-white baroque floral. There was even a new pair of black sneaker janes to complete the ensemble. I debuted this outfit on a recent trip to a business meeting in the midwest, where it was interesting to observe the other women's outfits as well.
The assembled teams were from New Jersey, Boston, and Columbus OH, all from the same large publishing company. Middle and upper management, about 10 women and 5 men, mostly over 40. The default look was definitely black trousers with a colorful solid top. In fact, on the first day of the meeting, three of us had on almost the same magenta shade, but in very different styles. Mine was a cotton twinset with a shell and cardie, another was a loose peasant-style jersey tunic, and the third was a tailored blouse with a small peplum. I got to wear my red jacket and print tee on the second day, when there were also a few other print tops over the black slacks among my colleagues.
The outliers who were not in the black trouser uniform included a cream linen pantsuit with a very soft shirt-style jacket and the ubiquitous-this-summer black-and-white print skirt with a black tee.
Now that I'm back, I'm wearing the red jacket over a stretchy wrap dress in an earthy animal print and loving both the colors and the proportions.
ETA: Oh! I've found the jacket online.