The other day, I went to T.J. Maxx to try and find some good business casual clothes. While I do already have a very expansive wardrobe overall, I’m still working on building up a collection of “grownup” clothes that will be appropriate for work after I graduate. I found a few okay things, but I was again reminded of how frustrating it is to shop for business casual clothes. Maybe it’s just because I live in a small city in the Midwest, but finding cute work clothes is a challenge. I’ve been hunting for a basic, knee or midi length pencil skirt to wear since last May, and have yet to find one. Where are people hiding all of the cute, affordable pencil skirts and power suits?! Do they even exist?!
The following is a list of 5 of the most frustrating things I encounter when shopping for work clothes:
1. Flutter sleeves. Either be a sleeve, or don’t be a sleeve. But don’t just be this ruffly, awkward flap of fabric that serves no purpose and just gets flipped back over the shoulder like a dog’s ear turned inside out. Can we just cancel flutter sleeves?!
2. Business… leggings? The one place TJ Max
x always fails me is in the area of dress pants. I’ll find maybe three or four pairs of dress pants if I’m lucky, but usually they don’t even end up fitting. But do you know what I do find? A plethora of those leggings made of thick, stretchy material so they look professional-ish, but are definitely still just leggings. Sometimes they have pockets (real or fake) to make them appear more pant-like, but still… they’re leggings. They have a stretch waistband and hug every curve of your legs. What are women wearing with these? Is cameltoe not an issue? Or do the women just all own countless business casual tunic tops? Will I be given those my first day on the job? Please let me know, because I’m very confused.
3. Ugly patterns. I’m at the age where I don’t know if I should keep shopping in the Juniors section, or move over to Womens/Misses. The thing about the women’s section though, is that all the shirts have the same, muted color palette and unfortunate paisley/floral pattern. Or that strange sort of… abstract pattern I guess?
Also, the styles of the shirts themselves are often really unflattering. Why? Why can’t they make cute shirts with cute patterns that are work-appropriate?
4. That slinky, stretchy fabric. You know the one. It is often found in jewel tones, and there are countless shirts and dresses made out of it. And it’s confusing because it seems like maybe, maybe it could look good, but something about that slinky fabric just ruins it.
5. Colorblock sheath/shift dresses. Every single store has some version of this, and in theory, they can be cute. But often they’re boxy, the colors are too bright, the sleeves are ill-fitting, and it’s not something you can style to make it you’re own. It just exists in its own style realm full of exposed, metallic zippers. It’s like the one work-appropriate style of dress they’ll have, but not everyone is into colorblock.
Do you guys encounter these things when shopping for work clothes too? Does anyone know where to find cute, affordable business casual clothes? If so, please send help.