Women's Business Attire

[starla]

What the fuck is up with women's suits? That's supposed to be formal business attire? Are you fucking kidding me?

[Sappho]

What the fuck is up with women's suits? That's supposed to be formal business attire? Are you fucking kidding me?

What else? Skirts, heels and blazers?

[Sistamatic]

What the fuck is up with women's suits? That's supposed to be formal business attire? Are you fucking kidding me?

This is why I will never be traditionally successful in the business world. I would rather be homeless and starve than have to navigate THIS mess every morning. The corporate world will just have to do without me and my brain.

[Blorg]

The phrase "business-casual" makes me hyperventilate. Next they'll be asking me to wear business-casual-business. Or business with a subtle quirky hint of casual. I can't imagine having to figure out this kind of thing on a daily basis, that would be a nightmare.

[starla]

What else? Skirts, heels and blazers?

I'm fine with suits that look like suits. But most of the shit out there that they try to pass off as women's career wear looks more like a 60s flight attendant uniform. If your look is completed with a pillbox hat and some little white gloves, don't expect to be taken seriously in the boardroom. Also, capri pants should not be part of a suit.

This is why I will never be traditionally successful in the business world. I would rather be homeless and starve than have to navigate THIS mess every morning. The corporate world will just have to do without me and my brain.

Some of the stuff on that page is fine. But the okay stuff is impossible to find unless you shop at Brooks Brothers (which coincidentally is where I bought my interview suit). What passes for career wear at most stores is frilly little sleeveless tops with frilly little skirts. Bows. Lace. A jacket with a little skinny pointless belt. Some of this shit looks like mother of the bride outfits, and most of the rest looks like something an elderly black lady would wear to church.

[starla]

Amp up your professional wardrobe with this two-piece skirt suit

Highlight your professional wardrobe with this two-piece skirt suit

Get feminine, yet powerful style in this two-piece suit Nothing screams power like pink plaid and cap sleeves.

Designed with notched lapels, three-quarter length sleeves and a lace skirt, this unique set is an impressive office combination.

Highlight your professional wardrobe with this geo print flyaway jacket

[Hephaestus]

Yeah... Business Casual is code for "Expensive shitty clothes". I would rather wear a dress shirt and decent slacks than a polo shirt and anything. Don't get me started on button down collars on polo shirts. Button down collars are hideous to begin with, but on a polo shirt? That's like being obese, covered in large skin tags, tumors on your face that your insurance wont cover removal of because they are "benign", and wandering around in nothing but dense body hair, a dangling cigarette, and a painted on smile.

Not that I don't think people should have a right to wander around nude regardless of whether or not they should have the confidence to do so. I fully support the ideal of a society freed from nudity taboos--not as a lecher, but as a person who thinks nudity taboos are terrible and far more psychologically harmful than getting an eyeful of naked people.


Edit: What the hell is up with this "Highlight your professional wardrobe" shit? Are these people getting paid to wear clothes or do work? If the former, that's gross and they should dress better, if the latter, then what the fuck? I do appreciate the boldness of that last link--marketing a Cosby sweater for professional attire either takes courage, or a big dose of not giving a shit about anything anymore. I'd need a few drinks to pull it off.

[Perdix]

What the fuck is up with women's suits? That's supposed to be formal business attire? Are you fucking kidding me?

I've never seen a female executive in a (pants) suit, IME they wear dark formal attire. Honestly, in the modern business world most people don't wear suites if they don't have to.

Spoiler: Extraneous Personal Experience

The first meeting with the execs of a R&D company that wanted me to sell their hardware ($7-$16M USD contract) was casual, we were all wearing jeans, belts and t shirts. I was initially planning on wearing a suit but decided against it because there really is no notable practical advantage.

[C.J.Woolf]

Holy Mad Men, Batman! (but the first suit could have come out of the 1940s)

[stigmatica]

Walking through the women's clothing section in a store is a lot like what I imagine it would be like to walk down the street of an advanced alien city on another planet. I can't make much sense of anything, but it's fascinating.