Ladies, recs for where to shop for clinical attire?

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MorningGlory

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So I'm having trouble trying to find places that aren't too expensive and aren't primarily dry clean only materials, yet nice enough to wear in clinic. Any thoughts? So far I've checked out Old Navy & Target to no avail. Ann Taylor has some nice clothes, but does not fit the first two requirements. Where do you do your shopping?

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So I'm having trouble trying to find places that aren't too expensive and aren't primarily dry clean only materials, yet nice enough to wear in clinic. Any thoughts? So far I've checked out Old Navy & Target to no avail. Ann Taylor has some nice clothes, but does not fit the first two requirements. Where do you do your shopping?

Ann Taylor Loft (lots of washables, usually $20-40 for pants), Burlington coat factory, Ross, nearly anywhere in the mills/outlets, esp for tops...
 
So I'm having trouble trying to find places that aren't too expensive and aren't primarily dry clean only materials, yet nice enough to wear in clinic. Any thoughts? So far I've checked out Old Navy & Target to no avail. Ann Taylor has some nice clothes, but does not fit the first two requirements. Where do you do your shopping?

Target, Gap, Kohl's, NY & company, Express
 
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So I'm having trouble trying to find places that aren't too expensive and aren't primarily dry clean only materials, yet nice enough to wear in clinic. Any thoughts? So far I've checked out Old Navy & Target to no avail. Ann Taylor has some nice clothes, but does not fit the first two requirements. Where do you do your shopping?

Banana Republic (they have good sales), Benetton (again, good sales), Gap. Don't forget your regular department stores--Anne Klein has nice work clothes and is reasonalby priced. And if you have Dillards nearby, they have some of their own lines of clothing which are really nice like Intuitions.

NY & Company has nice clothes but if your on the smaller or more petite side, forget it I'm usually a size 4 at other places and their XS is barely small enough. Same with Ann Taylor Loft IMHO--nice clothes, but they come up big.

Personally, I feel that if it's a very well made piece of clothing made of easily washable fabric that you see yourself wearing frequently, I think it's okay to spend a little more. I have a pair of French Connection pants I bought in 2000 that I still wear--that's good value even though they weren't cheap! Can't say that about anything I've ever bought at Target (and i do love Target, but not for work clothes).
 
I've bought most of my clinic clothes at Express. They have some good sales, and their clothes are good quality and pretty nice.
 
95% of my clinic clothes came from Goodwill/Salvation Army. Like the others I tend to buy mostly (preowned) Ann Taylor, Petite Sophisticate, sometimes Express. It seems that the people who have to dress professionally also tend to be the ones who don't shop second hand, so there's usually a fantastic selection of good hospital clothes. Old Navy clothes don't fit short women or women with a waist, so consider yourself warned.
 
i have a problem with length - I'm nearly 6' tall so pants are such a pain in the butt to buy - but I can't help you with the dry cleaning thing - I love having my clothes dry cleaned - i just feel cleaner wearing them

I shop at the following:

Victorias Secret online - they have long pants - and they are usually on sale in the 40.00 range
Express - their pants also run in longs and sometimes are on sale
Tops: Ann Taylor loft all the way - they always have good sales!

Also Nordstrom Rack has some good sales as well

I find that the express tops are too slutty for the hospital - theres like always one button that shows cleavage which i think is inappropriate - especially at the VA ;)
 
I have found that Eddie Bauer has some really nice clothes. They are easy to keep up (wrinkle free, non-dry clean) and they also have a great clearence section.
 
Not sure where your at...but if you have an Outlet mall semi-nearby it might be worth to check out. You can do very well at the Gap and Ann Taylor outlets, especially at this time of year.

NY and co. and Target (as mentioned above) are definitely places to get cheaper clothes, but unfortunately the quality isn't as good...but if you're not really hard on clothes, it shouldn't be a problem.
 
Express, Express, Express.

Sometimes Gap.

And J. Crew with the help of sales.

I'm big into spending a little more for a higher quality item that I'll wear for a long time.
 
as girls we're lucky because we're not stuck with the strict shirt/tie policy. ive felt that i can usually get away with more casual attire than my male counterparts

ann taylor loft for some nice sweaters/cardigans and comfy easy dresses, express for office type pants (i swear by them), j crew and the limited for khaki pants in assorted colors (i wear alot of these b/c they are machine washable, comfortable, and can be dressed up), the gap for more casual cotton tops. and although they are not so fashionable, i wear brown and black dansko clogs with everything (except skirts/dresses)

the key is to buy some good quality, well fitting pieces that you can wash and wear over and over again. you really dont need a huge wardrobe if you are good at mixing and matching. for my nicer stuff that cant be machine washed, i wear it a handful of times and then dry clean it. as long as you are a clean hygenic person and you dont sweat alot, that should work fine for you.
 
I don't have lots of money to spend on clothes and stuff, so when I get a day off and need clothes, I go rummage through the racks at TJ Maxx or Ross stores. They have a lot of the same stuff as Macy's or other nice department stores for half the price or less. I have found some awesome deals there. I once got a beautiful formal dress in perfect condition for less than 20 bucks!!!
The only problem is that with the way the store is arranged, you can't just run in and out, you have to devote some time to looking through the aisles. But it is totally worth it - you can get a whole WARDROBE for what it costs to get one outfit at other places.
 
I guess at Ny and Co it depends on what you buy -I've had pants I bought there for literally a decade, and I'm hard on clothes (see my avatar for the culprit). I've had issues with Express quality, though.

I also agree with the Banana Republic, Bennetton, Express, Target, suggestions. I've bought slacks at Target for like 6 bucks, and got a dress at Banana for $35 on clearance. Macys, the big department store around here, I think is usually overpriced, even on clearance. Depending on your size/taste, LLBean can be a good source for clothes -they are super about returns for any reason at all.
 
And J. Crew with the help of sales.

I'm big into spending a little more for a higher quality item that I'll wear for a long time.

J. Crew also has student discounts, at least in WI.

I like Brooks Brother's outlet stores (love the No Iron stuff) and Nordstroms. I think I got my favorite pants at Sam's club though for $15. They're so comfortable.
 
JC Penney's has some decent, inexpensive work attire. Ditto for Macy's and Dillard's.

Express has excellent button-down shirts in short and long sleeves (depending on season) and occasionally they run a great sale on these shirts. They're well-tailored.

A lot of my work pants come from Gap, and most of them came from the sale rack for around $20.

I've gotten nice work shirts and blouses from NY & Co, but I find their pants to be cheap-looking and/or ill-fitting.
 
I'll second the Ann Taylor Loft rec (outlets especially, although the sale rack is really good anyway). I also like sale items from Banana and J. Crew. and every once in a while, something from Target. (I'm a fan of mixing inexpensive with nice pieces for an overall together look)
 
Today only (Saturday 9/8) Ann Taylor Loft is having a special. You have to spend $50 today and $50 later and you wind up with $100 in FREE merchandise. When you spend $50 today, you get 2 $25 savings cards. These cards can only be used on a purchase of $50 or greater and you can't use them together. You have until Oct 21 to use your savings cards. The deal is both online and in stores.

Happy shopping ladies!
 
I just ordered some cute tops from the new Vera Wang (for Kohl's) line, and they'll definitely match with basic black pants or a black skirt.
 
I'll second the JC Penny and Burlington coat factory (pants $20, shirts $10). Also along the lines of TJ Maxx is Marshall's - same thing you have to go searching but if you have some basic pants (black/tan/navy) you can pick up tops reasonably to match.

I am also currently pregnant and work clothes can sometimes be a litttle revealing in the cleavage area so I find if I wear a shell under the shirts it covers well. I found most of my preg clothes at JC Penny and at Khol's - both well priced and at least once a month they seem to have 30-40% off sales on all maternity stuff.
 
I love H&M. I used to mostly shop Banana Republic sales, and weed through Marshall's (which is still a good place if you have time), but lately all of my dressy clothes have been from H&M.
 
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