From time to time, people ask me: Where can I get washable suits for women?

As you may expect, there aren’t a TON of places out there making washable suiting, at least for the entire suit — but there are a few — so we thought we’d round them up!

Before we get to all the advice on washable suits, though, here are our latest favorite washable suits for women:

Table of Contents

Where to Find Washable Suits for Women

• Washable AND Travel-Friendly Suits
• Washable Workwear in General

How to Wash Washable Suits

Specific Washable Suits for Women:

• The Best Washable Suit Overall: Ann Taylor (shop / read our thoughts)
• The Best Affordable Washable Suit: Banana Republic Factory (shop / read our thoughts)
• The Best Washable Suit to Splurge On: Hobbs (shop / read our thoughts)
• The Best Trendy Washable Suit: Madewell (shop / read our thoughts)
• The Best Plus-Size Washable Suit: Lands’ End (shop / read our thoughts)
• The Softest Washable Suit: Brooks Brothers (shop / read our thoughts)

Where to Find Washable Suits for Women

In general, there are a few noteworthy brands making washable suits for women in the past few years:

• Ann Taylor – in fact almost all of their basic suiting styles are washable! (Here’s our last discussion on the best Ann Taylor suiting line…)
• Banana Republic
• Banana Republic Factory
• Brooks Brothers
• Hobbs (also at Bloomingdale’s)
• Lands’ End (regular and plus sizes)
• Madewell (regular and plus sizes)
• M.M.LaFleur (select styles up to size 20) – their OrigamiTech line is all washable, but note that many of their blazers are not washable
• Ministry of Supply
• Paul Smith
• Talbots

If you’re just looking for washable parts of a suit (such as pants), you can find those at more places — but do note that it’s in your best interest to launder both pieces together (and at the same frequency) so the color and fabric doesn’t fade unevenly. (We’ve got more tips in our post on everything you need to know about drycleaning women’s suits.)

Washable AND Travel-Friendly Suits

We have a separate roundup of travel-friendly suits — in general these are all machine washable as well, but travel-friendly suits may have additional properties such as wrinkle resistance, moisture wicking, UPF-rated materials, and more.

Hunting for travel-friendly suits for women or lightweight suits? As of 2023, some of our favorites include these brands/lines: 1) M.M.LaFleur, 2) Ministry of Supply, 3) Paul Smith, and 4) Talbots. (Not pictured: Eddie Bauer and Suitably! Brooks Brothers also occasionally has suiting in their BrooksCool line, and Uniqlo occasionally has Airism suiting. ) You may also want to check out our roundup of washable suits for women!

Washable Workwear in General

Hunting for more machine washable clothing? We feature some trendy washable workwear every Wednesday at CorporetteMoms, have listed the best brands for washable workwear, and occasionally do roundups of just washable basics for work outfits!

How to Wash Washable Suits

As noted above, you really want to launder all the matching pieces of a suit together so they wear evenly. General tips for good suit care include:

• hanging the pieces up when you’ve taken them off for the day, both to air them out and prevent wrinkles from setting in
• use proper hangers for them — for most suit jackets I prefer hangers that have sculpted shoulders instead of the velvet-covered hangers that save space
• spot cleaning as needed
• spraying vodka or another deodorizer as needed
• (in general, this is a big reason why I prefer sleeved tops under suits instead of sleeveless tops — the more your bare underarms are touching the suit the more it’s going to get smelly)

When you wash your suit, be sure to follow all washing instructions carefully. I would probably opt to air dry the suit regardless of what the instructions said, but if it said tumble dry I would possibly put it in for 15 minutes at a normal setting to get the wrinkles out.

Once your suit is out of the washer, shape it immediately — put the blazer on a shaped hanger and smooth out the lapels and pockets.

Ditto for your pants — help any creases or pleats find their way back into the pants. I often like to take a pants hanger and hang them upside down, both so the clips keep the pant hem smooth and taut and so the waistband of the pant pulls the rest of the pants taut.

Specifics: Some of Our Favorite Washable Suits

We’ve mentioned some of the best brands to know, as well as (at top) our latest favorite suits — but let’s take a look at some specific suiting styles.

The Best Washable Suit Overall

Ann Taylor

$79-$198 (full price) at Ann Taylor

It’s hard to beat Ann Taylor when almost all of their major suiting lines are washable.

Both their seasonless stretch line and their bi-stretch line (pictured) are machine washable, stretchy, and great year-round — they’re classic cuts in neutral colors, perfect for interviews.

Meanwhile, their double knit line is machine washable, wrinkle resistant, and comes in seasonally fun colors as well as neutrals. If you want something drapier or airier (and with mostly seasonal colors), check out their fluid crepe or lightweight weave lines.

The Best Affordable Washable Suit

Banana Republic Factory

$90-$200 (full price) at Banana Republic Factory

Banana Republic Factory seems to (for the moment at least) stopped their hugely popular line of washable wool suits — but a lot of the suiting that remains is still washable.

Banana Republic Factory is known for its sales, of course — you can regularly find suiting pieces for under $50 here.

Their Sculpted suit blazers and pants are all fully lined and machine washable — and they tend to come in trendy cuts and colors.

The Best Washable Suit to Splurge On

Hobbs London

$185-$480 at Hobbs

also at Bloomingdale’s

Hobbs is one of the first brands that I noticed making washable workwear — and the London-based brand is great if Kate Middleton is one of your style icons.

You can find some Hobbs storefronts in the US, but they note that shipping starts at $10 and you have a one-month return window. Note that the brand is also available at Bloomingdale’s, though!

The Best Trendy Washable Suit

Madewell

$88-$188 (full price) at Madewell

Madewell has a number of suiting materials that are machine washable, and the brand in general is a great option if you’re looking for a special size like petite, plus, or tall. The brand has a much younger, more casual vibe in general, which may not be appropriate for interviews, presentations, or appearances — know your office!

Specific lines that are machine washable include their Drapeweave line (pictured), their Easygoing Crepe, and their Softdrape line.

The Best Plus-Size Washable Suit

Lands’ End

$61-$175 (full price) at Lands’ End

Lands’ End has had a suiting line in washable wool blend for years — trendy, no, but it is one of the last places you can find details like fully-lined blazers. They have a limited selection of a few blazers, skirts, pants, and even dresses all available in regular, petite, and plus sizes (up to 34W).

(Whoa, they also have matching maternity suit pants — those are really rare these days!)

The Softest Washable Suit

Brooks Brothers

$228-$348 (full price) at Brooks Brothers

Brooks Brothers is known for their easy care blouses and shirts, of course, but they only recently got a line of suiting that is easy to care for — their Soft Icons line.

As they describe it on the product page, “We revisited some of our most sought-after women’s pieces, including the navy blazer, the pleated chino, the button-down shirt, and reinterpreted them in a soft, flowy Cupro-blend fabric that drapes and tailors like washed silk, and is easy to care for.” Nice!

The Best Washable Blazers for Women

Sometimes you don’t want an entire suit — you just want a blazer that you can wash.

As of 2023, these are some of the reader favorites that are also machine washable blazers…

Readers, which are your favorite washable suits for women?

The post The Best Washable Suits for Women appeared first on Corporette.com.

Reader M had an interesting question about where the heck to find suits with dresses (instead of skirts or pants) these days. It’s a great question: where can you find a great suit dress these days?

Here’s her question:

I’d love an article on buying suits that are dress + jacket combinations (as opposed to skirt/pants + jacket combinations). They look a more polished, they eliminate the step of finding a shirt to go underneath the jacket, and they’re one less thing to pack on trips. AT’s selection is limited – I own both and love them; Talbots’ is matronly. Need ’em conservative enough for court appearances, but not “mother of the bride.” (I’m 35.) Slightly fashionable would be a bonus!

Great question — and you’re right, suit dresses are disappearing; it was a bit of a hunt to find some to feature here. Readers, do you prefer to wear suits made up of a dress and blazer — or do you prefer other suit separates like pants and a skirt? Where are your favorite dress and jacket skirts from?

(We discussed non-suit dress+jacket combinations in this post…)

Update: Our Latest Favorite Suits with Dresses Instead of Skirts

Some Easy Tips to Find a Great Suit Dress

On the budget end, check out TJ Maxx and other similar discount places — a lot of times these dress+jacket suits are sold on a single hanger and can be found for some serious steals.

If you like colorful suits or suits with a lot of colorblocked details, keep an eye on Macy’s and Lord & Taylor — they have a lot of brands like Kasper, Tahari, Calvin Klein, and Anne Klein that I traditionally associate with this kind of look.

On the higher end, keep an eye on Boss, Theory, Reiss, and Brooks Brothers — they often have suiting separates that include dresses — and on the much higher end, St. John’s suits often have a matching dress.

A Closer Look at Some Recent Suits with Dresses Instead of Skirts

M.M.LaFleur

I particularly like this MMLF suit because the dress looks comfortable but polished. They describe the “Origami Tech” fabric as “a machine-washable, wrinkle-resistant fabric that looks perfectly polished but is so comfortable, you might be tempted to nap.” Nice!

This Origami Tech fabric is also one of our favorites for travel-friendly suits for women!

The dress is $225, the blazer is $295, and the pants are $195. (There may also be joggers and a pencil skirt available, depending on the color you want.)

White House | Black Market

Hat tip to the readers, who clued me in to White House Black Market’s “comfort stretch line!” I’m intrigued by the idea of a really stretchy fabric for sheath dresses and pants, and I like that you can make a suit out of them with matching blazers. (Although White House Black Market does not make it easy to find the matching pieces, grumble.)

The brand in general has a bunch of work appropriate dresses, many with matching blazers. Our suggestion if you’re not seeing it in their section with suiting separates: look through the blazers next– when you find one you like it should have info about matching pieces on the product page. Another idea — look through the work dresses, find one you like, and then search by the specific color, such as “Amazon” or “denim blue.”

Readers, let’s hear from you — do you like to wear suits with dresses instead of skirts? What do you see as the pros and cons to the look? Where’s your favorite suit dress from — and where would you go to look for one right now?

Updated images via Deposit Photos / sheftsoff.

Admin note: this post was originally written March 2018, but updated substantially as noted.

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Can you wear “interesting” suits to court — colorful, patterned, fanciful, haute? (You know, kind of like in our weekly Suit of the Week feature?)

Reader E asks — specifically wondering about this teal LK Bennett suit that Kate Middleton is wearing here  — and I think it’s a great question for all the women lawyers:

This is a lawyer-specific question – can you wear interesting suits to court if it’s still a suit? I agree with previous suggestions here that a dress/blazer combo, unless its meant to be a suit, is not formal enough for court. But, my question is, what about things that are true suit sets but are more interesting – like an AT tweed suit, or the LK Bennett dark teal dress and jacket suit set that Kate Mid. has? Or do you think court suits have to be black/grey/navy and totally plain? Thx!

I can’t wait to hear what the readers say here.

(Psst: In the past we’ve shared our roundup of the best suits for women this year, given tips on suiting alterations for women, and offered advice on dry cleaning women’s suits. Also check out our post on C-suite style for women if you’re interested in power dressing!)

When It’s OK to Wear Interesting Suits to Court

I always think of my reaction to an article years ago about a young public defender who wore Balmain (at the time, their blazers had super pointy shoulders) and other couture suits to court. The impression it left on me was a bad one — it seemed like she was not showing respect for her clients or the fact that she was there to represent THEM, in life-altering matters, before stodgy judges and juries who may or may not have approved of her fashion choices (or her designer budget).

Plus, as readers have pointed out in the past, wearing ostensibly designer, moneyed things in front of juries can be a bad move, particularly if you’re a public defender.

NOW: A crazy/trendy Balmain suit is one thing — a dark teal LK Bennett dress and jacket is another. But where is the line? And are there different rules for “first appearance before the court” and “day 30 of a 6-month trial”? 

Here’s my take on when it’s OK to wear interesting suits to court:

If you’re appearing in court, remember that you’re representing someone else. Honor that relationship by keeping the focus on your arguments and their situation, not on your personality or your clothes.

Treat early appearances like an interview. If it’s early on in anyone’s relationship (yours to the client, the client’s relationship to the judge or jury, YOURS to the judge/jury), then treat it like an interview and go with the “hit ’em with my smarts” approach to interview attire — classic, tasteful, inoffensive — so your brain can shine, and the focus can be on the arguments you’re making on behalf of your client.

If it looks like you’re in costume, don’t wear it. Period. This may apply to vintage couture, overly girly suits, or more.

Stick with standard rules for trends at conservative offices: If you wouldn’t have worn the shape five years ago, reconsider it. If it’s body-baring, don’t wear it. (I’d include in that a skirt suit with a miniskirt, or a shorts suit, unless you are a lawyer in Bermuda.) If it’s illogical, for example, exposed toes in winter, and possibly a cape blazer as well, don’t wear it.

With regard to the teal LK Bennett suit, it’s a gorgeous, gorgeous suit, and I think the color is muted enough that you can get away with it.

Our Latest Favorite Interesting Suits

Every week on Wednesday we pick one suit to feature for our “Suit of the Week” — and it’s almost always what we’d call an “interesting suit.” These are the latest ones we’ve featured:

Stay tuned for a roundup of some of Kat’s latest favorite interesting suits!

Suits That Look Like Kate Middleton’s Green Peplum LK Bennett Suit

If you’re hunting for a suit just like Kate Middleton’s green LK Bennett suit, we’ll round up the latest ones we’ve seen. Some of the key characteristics: It’s a dark green color, maybe even a teal… it has a peplum detail on the jacket… and it’s shown with a pencil skirt.

Hobbs

This is suuuuuch a pretty skirt suit from UK brand Hobbs.

(Fun fact: So many things there are machine washable, including this skirt! The jacket says “dry clean,” but not “dry clean only,” so you could in theory wash it carefully in the machine.)

The color, the peplum, the cut of the skirt… It all really reminds me of Kate Middleton’s LK Bennett suit!

The suit is new as of Aug. 2023, so all sizes (US sizes 0-16) are in stock. The jacket is $480, and the skirt is $275.

Suits with Dresses Instead of Skirts

Other Suits with a Ladylike Vibe…

In general (as of 2023), brands that specialize in suits with a ladylike vibe (for lack of a better word) include Hobbs, LK Bennett, The Fold London, and Ted Baker — Amazon seller Marycrafts also has some great (super affordable!) ladylike suits.

Readers, what would you say — can you wear interesting suits to court? Would you wear them; where are your lines for when a suit is TOO interesting to wear to court?

The post Can You Wear Interesting Suits to Court? appeared first on Corporette.com.

For busy working women, the suit is often the easiest outfit to throw on in the morning. In general, this feature is not about interview suits for women, which should be as classic and basic as you get — instead, this feature is about the slightly different suit that is fashionable, yet professional.

It’s that time of year, ladies: blue suit time! I’m seeing a million suits out, so instead of featuring one in particular for our Suit of the Week, I thought we’d have a conversation about them in general: do you wear a blue suit during the spring and summer? Which shade of blue have you found to be the most versatile? What colors do you like to the wear the suit with, and do you wear the suiting pieces together or mostly as separates?

For my $.02, I was shocked when I first realized how versatile my light blue blazer was.

I wore it a ton, mostly with black (pants, sheath dresses) and white tops and blouses, with the occasional pop of color like a red pendant necklace or purple heel thrown in.

That said, while I’ve found the light blue blazer to be amazingly versatile, I think light blue pants or a light blue skirt can be a lot less versatile (although I suppose blue pants could take the place of my beloved staple, light gray pants). How about you?

Our Latest Favorite Light Blue Suits for Women

Psst: If you’re hunting for colorful suits, note that light blue suits for summer are some of the easiest because you can wear them as you would a light gray suit. Here are our favorites for 2023!

Workwear sales of note for 11.28.23

Our favorites are in bold!

• Nordstrom – Black Friday deals have started! 1,800+ sale items! Shop designer, get bonus notes up to $1200. Markdowns include big deals on UGG, Natori, Barefoot Dreams, Marc Fisher LTD, Vionic and more!
• Anine Bing – Sale, extra 20% off! Many blazers down around $250
• Ann Taylor – Up to 40% off your purchase
• Banana Republic – 40% off your purchase, including cashmere; up to 60% off sale styles
• Banana Republic Factory – 60% off everything & extra 20% off purchase
• ba&sh – Up to 50% off Fall/Winter styles
• Bergdorf Goodman – Extra 30% off select sale, save up to 70% off
• Club Monaco – 25% off almost everything
• Cole Haan – Up to 60% off almost everything plus extra 10% off (ends tonight 11/29)
• Express – 40% off everything
• Her Room – Up to 50% off 1000s of items
• Hugo Boss – Up to 40% off women’s & exclusives
• J.Crew – 50% off everything + free shipping
• Kule – Up to 40% off, $50 off when you spend $250
• Lands’ End – 50% off sitewide (readers love the cashmere)
• Loft – Free shipping, 60% off 2+ styles or 50% off 1
• Lo & Sons – Up to 70% off; spend $100, get an extra 10% off wallets – reader favorites include this laptop tote, this backpack, and this crossbody
• Ministry of Supply – 25% off sitewide with code (ends 11/29)
• Summersalt – 30% off everything plus extra $10 off sweaters with code; up to 60% off (this reader favorite sweater blazer is down to $75)
• Talbots – 50% off all markdowns and 30% off entire site — readers love this cashmere boatneck and this cashmere cardigan, as well as their sweater blazers in general
• Theory – Cold weather essentials up to 40% off
• Theory Outlet – up to 80% off sweaters and outerwear – readers love this t-shirt
• Uniqlo – Limited time deals starting at $14.90 (ends 11/30)
• Universal Standard – Enjoy 30% off everything (as a minimum) + extra 10% off
• White House Black Market – Up to 60% off sale styles
• Zappos – Early Black Friday sale! Save BIG on footwear, clothing, bags and more. Daily Deals 50% off, and check out these reader-favorite workwear brands on sale, and some of our favorite kid shoe brands on sale.

Kid- and Family-Related Sales

• BabyJogger – 25% off 3 items
• Crate & Kids – Up to 50% off everything plus free shipping sitewide; save 10% off full price items
• J.Crew Crewcuts – 50% off everything + free shipping
• ErgoBaby – 40% off Omni Breeze Carrier, 25% off Evolve 3-in-1 bouncer, $100 off Metro+Stroller
• Graco – Up to 30% off car seats
• Nordstrom – Big deals on CRANE BABY, Petunia Pickle Bottom, TWELVElittle and Posh Peanut
• Strolleria – 25% off Wonderfold wagons, and additional deals on dadada, Cybex, and Peg Perego
• Walmart – Savings on Maxi-Cosi car seats, adventure wagons, rocker recliners, security cameras and more!

Some of our latest posts here at Corporette…

And some of our latest threadjacks here at Corporette (reader questions and commentary) — see more here!

• Favorite comfy pants for an overnight plane ride?
• I’ve got a nasty case of tech neck…
• What’s a good place for a relaxing solo escape?
• What’s the best commuter backpack?
• I’m early 40s and worry my career arc is ending…
• I canNOT figure out the proportions in this current season of fashion…
• How is everyone wearing scarves in 2023?
• What shoes are people wearing to work between boot and sandal season?
• What’s a good place for a relaxing solo escape?
• What are some of your go-to outfits that feel current?
• I need more activities that are social, easy to learn and don’t involve extreme running/jumping/etc.

The post Yea or Nay: Light Blue Suits for Workwear appeared first on Corporette.com.

Can you wear black and navy together? What about a dark blue pinstriped blazer — how can you mix that with black suiting pieces? Reader D wonders:

I scored a dark blue (navy ish) pinstripe pant suit, but then realised that pant suits don’t really suit me. Which shades of blue go well with a solid black skirt? I’m afraid it might be difficult to mix and match because this is both blue AND pinstriped. Can I also wear it with a solid black dress? I’ve just tried that combo on in the mirror and am afraid that it might look funny. I’m hoping to use it for interviews and eventually work, in the finance industry.

Great question, reader D! We’ve talked about how to wear black and navy together before, but not in a long while. I’m curious to hear what the readers think, but this has always been my rules of thumb:

{related: what tights to wear with navy skirts}

How to Wear Black and Navy Together with Work Outfits

Make Sure You Look Like You’re Wearing Them Intentionally

All shades of blue go well with black — so long as you don’t look like you got dressed in the dark.  This is really the trick — the closer the blue is to black, the more you have to wear it with intention. So how do you wear a dark blue and black — with intention?

Add a Third Color

Wear black and blue with a third color.  When I wear black I either tend to wear it with all black, or with at least two other colors — so if I were wearing a navy jacket with a black blouse, I might pair it with a charcoal skirt, or perhaps a purple necklace (or, hey, purple pumps).

Black, blue, and white go wonderfully together — try adding a simple pearl necklace, or pairing a white blouse with a navy blazer and black pants.

{related: all of our latest favorite sweater jackets like the M.M.LaFleur one above!}

Add a Piece That Mixes Black and Blue

Add another piece that mixes black and blue.  For example, wearing a black sheath dress, a pinstriped blazer, and adding a black and navy floral scarf can be a fun way to pick up the theme — but you want your blues to match pretty closely, so this can be tricky.

If you’re not quite so bold with mixing patterns, there are many shoes or necklaces that mix the two.

Wear Blue Accessories

Repeat the blue with accessories.  I would not do navy tights if you’re wearing a black dress — but a watch or a sapphire necklace (or another blue necklace) can also show you’re intentionally wearing black and navy together.

(For example — notice that for this Reiss blazer, the model is wearing the black and blue blazer, a navy blouse, and black pants.)

This is a great example where playing Closet will help you figure out what to wear with it — it may take a bit of time and effort, but hopefully it’ll be fun.

If you’re still not feeling confident about wearing the pinstriped blazer with black, you can always try it with a solid sheath dress of another color, such as gray, white, purple, or even a teal or green.

Readers, what are your thoughts on wearing black and navy together? What would you try to pair a navy pinstriped blazer with? 

Some Of Our Latest Favorite Navy Suits for Women

Navy suits are a great basic for interviews, conservative workplaces, and big presentations!

The pros are that navy is generally a more flattering color for many skintones than the harsher black, and one of the big pitfalls of navy (getting the navies to match) is taken care of by the fact that you’re buying matching pieces in the same fabric!

The only con to navy suits is that they can be slightly harder to style — as a general rule of thumb, wear black accessories to dress them up, brown to dress them down.

Some of our latest favorite navy suits as of 2023 include these options:

Some Of Our Latest Favorite Navy Blazers

As of Aug. 2023, some of our latest favorite navy blazers include these… also check out all of our favorite blazers to wear as separates!

Some Of Our Latest Favorite “Bridge” Accessories with Both Black and Navy

Stay tuned for our roundup of any bridge accessories with both black and navy that we see! This loafer from J.Crew is a great example.

Even More Navy Accessories If You’re Interested…

Stay tuned for our latest favorite navy tights!

Admin note: this post was originally written in 2015, but substantially updated in 2023 and beyond as indicated.

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