The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: Rightflyer on September 08, 2018, 02:27:49 AM
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With Mrs. Rightflyer's impending return to the world of consulting, she needs to reassemble a business wardrobe.
I remember glancing over a thread a few years back that discussed good value women's work clothes (office).
It was a mail order shop that sold decent quality suit/skirts etc for reasonable money.
Can anyone help?
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Well, most stores have an online presence and you can order from them. I don't know of any off the top of my head that are only online/mail order(?)
I've gotten the most value (lowest $ per wear over the life of the clothes) from Talbots. Their clothes wear like iron and look good years later. And the thing I value the most -- they carry lots of things that are machine washable. I hate spending money on dry cleaning, so I try to keep that to a minimum.
Wherever your wife decides to order from, I suggest she find a brick-and-mortar store for that brand first, to go in and try on things in person. Women's clothes are maddening in that your size may not be the same from store to store.
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I wonder if you're thinking of mmlafleur?
They make well made clothes that have become my work uniform.
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I like Talbots a lot for work clothes. And once you know your size, you can pick it up pretty cheaply on eBay.
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If you know what you are looking for Brand + Size, I have had plenty of people recommend Thred Up as an affordable option.
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Seems to me that a couple of good cotton shirts won't hurt, either. I am a fan of Brooks Brothers brand which I would buy only when they go on sale and with a gift card earned for CC points. The sales usually occur in July and December. The shirts are pricey when not on sale, but they last forever and they do make the wearer look like she means business. Machine washable and no ironing needed. I have had mine for five years at least and the only challenge is discoloration at the underarms, noticeable on the white ones, but not on the striped or blue ones. They come in several types of fit, and it does help to get to the store and let the salesperson size the buyer up and recommend the size and fit. Once that is done, they can be reordered without going to the store again.
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Who are her clients? Dress requirements vary a lot.
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I recommend looking for a consignment shop nearby. I’ve found great deals on business clothes at one in the ritzy neighborhood of my city.
For dry cleaning, I highly recommend Woolite dry cleaning cloths. I order them from Amazon. They work in the dryer to do almost as good a job as the cleaners.
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Thanks for all the replies.
Sorry, obviously I am not very good at shopping for women's clothes.
The name of the company I was searching for might have a bricks and mortar presence. It seemed to specialize in online sales... I may have that wrong.
I checked some of the ones suggested, but this place seemed to be very economical.
I have passed on the names so she can check them out.
As for her clients and suitable style, I'll have to leave that entirely to her.
I was just hoping to find the website and pass it on to her.
(Being a 6 pack of t-shirts and 6 pack of shreddies per year guy, I am in no way qualified to shop for clothes...)
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It kind of depends on her body shape. For example, one of my short friends loves Ann Taylor but I can't find anything that fits me there as I'm tall and relatively thin. Their clothes just aren't made for people like me. OTOH, JCrew is expensive but their stuff on sale is good as it lasts forever and fits really well - especially their tall sizes.
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A message from the Air Chief Marshall...
"Wow, thanks for all of the suggestions - I agree that my first step is to go to a bricks and mortar store... probably Talbot's - and figure out my size l. Then I am keen to try the thrift store idea (and ebay).
Thanks to everyone for your time and ideas."