business wardrobe & tznius - dresses and dress suits

kmchica

Sun, Aug 04 2013, 3:05 am

I'm 5'8" and my legs are as long as my 6'1" husband's. It's always difficult for me to find clothing that's tznua at mainstream stores and almost as difficult to find tznua clothing at frum stores. (Note to other tall women: stores on Mea Sha'arim don't want to be told their skirts aren't tznua. Just lie and say you don't like them.)

So, I started a blog to keep track of the clothing I like and don't like that's tznua off-the-rack. If I can't put it on and cover everything that needs to be covered (collarbone, my knees while sitting, and my elbows) without layering, it doesn't make the blog. The website for the blog is: http://tznuafashionista.blogspot.com/.

You'll find a lot of work clothing on the blog. If you're interested in my views of formal business attire, I wrote a blog post that details my (admittedly controversial) view on why women's wages are less than men's. I truly believe women do not dress well enough for job interviews and the office. To summarize: an woman's outfit consisting of a cardigan, a polyester skirt, and inexpensive costume jewelry is not on the same madrega as a men's outfit consisting of a 100% wool suit, a 100% cotton dress shirt, and a 100% silk tie. Here's the link: http://tznuafashionista.blogsp......html

If you're looking for business formal, the only great options for frum women are by Pendleton unless you want to order a custom-made suit. Pendleton makes a 30" long skirt I'm not in love with for interviews, but it's 100% wool. It may have vents you need to sew after receiving it, but it wouldn't require additional length. And, since you're talking about pairing it with a cardigan, it would be appropriate. Here's the 30" long skirt: http://www.pendleton-usa.com/p.....5.uts

They also have a tznua-off-the-rack wool flannel skirt, but it's meant for the cooler months. It's 30" long with no vent: http://www.pendleton-usa.com/p.....5.uts

Also note that the blog has a related Facebook page where I post items that are on sale and I don't expect the sale to last long. I also use it for items I haven't had time write full blog posts about: http://www.facebook.com/TznuaFashionista/