Help with business casual-ish attire for travel - MMLaFleur?

[elbert]

I’m going to be assuming a new position and getting back into travel for work. I’m in an academic medicine field, so not particularly dressy or formal, but I still want to look professional.

Any recommendations of brands or outfits that travel well. I’ve tried Googling this a bit and the brand MM La Fleur keeps coming up. I’m not familiar with it. Anyone have experience?

For what it’s worth, I’m a short/petite pear-shaped size 6-8.

[lizzywednesday]

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Any recommendations of brands or outfits that travel well. I’ve tried Googling this a bit and the brand MM La Fleur keeps coming up. I’m not familiar with it. Anyone have experience?

...

I thought Ms PacMan had a lot of good things to say about MM LaFleur a few years back; I would love to try them, as the pieces look amazing, but they're out of my budget. (Not to mention, I don't really need work clothes right now.)

[♥ms.pacman♥]

I thought Ms PacMan had a lot of good things to say about MM LaFleur a few years back; I would love to try them, as the pieces look amazing, but they're out of my budget. (Not to mention, I don't really need work clothes right now.)

Hehe, yup, that was me!! :) Back in 2018 i started getting various pieces and i bought regularly from them until the pandemic hit.
Overall, i really like their stuff and i would say 90% of what i wear to work now (when i do go in) is from there. i'm a size 4/6 and am 5'6" and apple shaped and i found many pieces that were flattering (and i think they care a variety of styles that different body types would find flattering).

The prices indeed are $$, so after i got some staple pieces, i would get most other pieces from either ebay or Poshmark for 1/3 or 1/2 the price. Or i would only buy items when they went on sale for 1/2 off. That helped a ton.

I found the pieces overall held up well. THe best thing about them is that they are very classic pieces, so now for example even pieces i bought from 2018 don't appear "out of style" and people can't usually tell i wore it before. a lot of pieces coordinate well with other pieces. the same cannot be said for Ann Taylor for example (where i used to shop), where things had bolder patterns but usually have to be worn with a set.

i have various pieces that are dry-clean only, which is annoying but i found a really cheap dry cleaner here so it's not too bad. before the pandemic i would just go there once a month with half a dozen pieces so wasn't too much of a hassle.

i would buy more from them, but i'm looking to transition to fully remote for work, so i don't think i need to buy more of these type of clothes. i really like the overall style though!!

[elbert]

So, so helpful!!


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[jent]

Congrats on the new position!

I have also tried MM LaFleur, and I am short and pear shaped. I went in person in Boston years back (pre-pandemic). I like their styles but the fit was hit or miss on me. No petite sizes so some stuff just didn't fit right. The pieces I have though are still in good condition, still very classic style and I still wear them.

It's not the same at all but I have decent luck with Stitch Fix-- they do a good job with getting the sizing right. I have been less excited with the stuff they've sent the past 1-2 years and I don't know if their quality went down, or I'm just getting pickier as I have more. That said, I have a fair amount of professional clothes from them that I still keep in rotation.

Nordstrom is another great place to shop for clothes, I've bought pieces individually and also done trunk club.

[gatorsmom]

I wear dressier for clothes for church on Sundays and wear business-type suits for board meetings and such so I can't speak to longevity after regular and daily use, HOWEVER, I too am a 5'4" pear shape. I've always had good luck with Ann Taylor curvy petite pants. They fit me well- not a lot of gaping around the waist with their pants (because as a pear shape, regular non-curvy pants either are too tight in the hips or gaping at the waist). As long as I stick to "curvy" they fit really well. And I've found the quality to be very good. In other words, no poorly sewn seams, no threads hanging off, usually lined skirts and jackets. Much of their stuff is machine washable too.

I agree with Ms. Pacman though, you have to be careful because much of their clothing has a slightly trendy bent to it. For example, there was quite awhile puffy sleeves were on everything. And all their jeans were skinny or their version of straight (which was almost as clingy as skinny jeans). But honestly, it's really hard to find true classics that cut out all the trendy bits. I've yet to find one. I love their Essential shirt, especially the sleeveless one. They are so comfortable and never wrinkle. They look great under cardigans and blazers.

[elbert]

Thank you, fellow pears! Great suggestions.


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[twowhat?]

I love Athleta. The Brooklyn ankle pants are a work staple for me and they have machine washable knit blazers that look sharp enough to wear to important meetings but are comfy for travel. They often come in sets with pants so you can create a full suit. I only buy sale items though, so I keep an eye out! But look here for ideas (this is their "travel and commute" filter:
https://athleta.gap.com/browse/category.do?cid=1196433&nav=meganav%3AShop%20All%3ACATEGORIES%3AShop%20All %20Women%27s%20#activity=1923&facetOrder=activity:1923

Everything I wear from Athleta for work is comfortable and machine washable and I often get compliments on something I'm wearing (a couple of work trips ago in San Francisco a young very pretty conference staff member probably in her 20s took one look at me coming in to get my covid vaccine card checked and said "I love everything about your outfit, I can't even say what I like best" and omg it made my day. I was wearing Athleta pants and an MMLaFleur blouse, with Rothy's slip-on sneakers. I am a remote employee so I only get dressed for work when I have to travel, so my entire work wardrobe was built with travel in mind. I'm not in academic medicine, but in pharma so most meetings I go to focus on interactions with academic medicine.

My work pants are almost exclusively Athleta styles. Same with blouses. Free shipping, free returns makes it so worthwhile. Many styles come in petite and tall.

I do have a few MM LeFleur pieces that look great and have generally held up well and I chose them for their classic styling (eg simple wrap blouse, simple straight leg pants, sheath dress), but I just can't justify the cost. MM LaFleur pieces sometimes show up on Nordstrom Rack!

eta: and recently I've obtained a couple of work pieces from Uniqlo that I LOVE, including a (men's!) blue gingham blazer. But it's riskier buying, with no free returns/exchanges. Sizing can be tricky. And no local store nearby for me. But there are some styles on there that I love that are a little edgier without being toooooo out of the box.

[bcafe]

I like the looks of the Brooklyn pant but it is short for me to wear to work. I notice many pants now seem to be ankle length and I can't wear those.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I like the looks of the Brooklyn pant but it is short for me to wear to work. I notice many pants now seem to be ankle length and I can't wear those.

What about this style? Would look very good with flats https://athleta.gap.com/browse/product.do?pid=882642022&cid=1059471&pcid=1059471&vid=1&cpos=27&cexp=2702&kcid=CategoryIDs%3D1059471&ctype=Listing&cpid=res22092307908943891948528#pdp-page-content


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[twowhat?]

I like the looks of the Brooklyn pant but it is short for me to wear to work. I notice many pants now seem to be ankle length and I can't wear those.

If you like the tapered leg of the Brooklyn and you're not super tall, you can try the Tall sizes (they have longer inseams). I often buy Athleta pants in Tall sizes if I like a look of a pair of pants but want them to be full-length on me! It works great for my height (5' 6") and my guess is that it would work great for anyone not taller than 5' 7", depending on if you have long legs relative to your torso.

[bcafe]

What about this style? Would look very good with flats https://athleta.gap.com/browse/product.do?pid=882642022&cid=1059471&pcid=1059471&vid=1&cpos=27&cexp=2702&kcid=CategoryIDs%3D1059471&ctype=Listing&cpid=res22092307908943891948528#pdp-page-content Sent from my iPhone using Baby Bargains (http://r.tapatalk.com/byo?rid=87652)
Well, how did I miss those?

[wendibird22]

I'm a petite pear size 4/6. Most of my work pants are from Ann Taylor...curvy fit. I like that they can be machine washed and dried. I have navy, black, dark grey which stay consistent year to year so if I need to match a suit jacket in a future year the color and fabric match. The straight pant in curvy fit is timeless and the "seasonless stretch" fabric (comes in navy and black) has been around for years, as has the "bi-stretch" fabric.

I love dresses but hate traveling in them. And I find if I invest in quality pants then I keep them current by mixing with pops of color or trend with the tops. I also have an army of blazers and suit jackets that I mix and match.

[wallawala]

I'm frugal but have loved a few MMlafleur pieces

Highly recommend the Foster Pant
https://mmlafleur.com/products/foster-black

And the Antonia Top
https://mmlafleur.com/products/antonia-black

I'm curvy petite and busty, but this top stays in place.

These are forgiving, comfortable and are effortlessly pulled together. I don't travel enough to buy more, but have had these since 2019, and still wearing for the rare conference travel. If you can find a pop-up in your city or store it's fun to try on. Thier stylists are pretty good at proposing options.

[twowhat?]

I'm frugal but have loved a few MMlafleur pieces

Highly recommend the Foster Pant
https://mmlafleur.com/products/foster-black

And the Antonia Top
https://mmlafleur.com/products/antonia-black

I'm curvy petite and busty, but this top stays in place.

These are forgiving, comfortable and are effortlessly pulled together. I don't travel enough to buy more, but have had these since 2019, and still wearing for the rare conference travel. If you can find a pop-up in your city or store it's fun to try on. Thier stylists are pretty good at proposing options.

I'll second these 2 options from MMLF and both are machine washable. They are flattering, classic options. The Antonio top is what I was wearing when I got the compliment from a very attractive 20-something year old. :) I was totally not sure about it but the stylist at a pop-up I went to pulled it and told me to try it on. It looks AMAZING tucked into pants. And I've never been a tucker but I will tuck this top in because it looks so great that way. The Foster pants have an almost compression-like quality to them which is really slimming, yet they are comfy once you get them on and zipped up. They are the perfect slim pant that aren't "skinny". My only beef is that they have no pockets, so I always have to pair them with a blazer that has pockets.

I'm an hourglass so I really do think that Antonio top is super forgiving to lots of different body types.

[jent]

I'm frugal but have loved a few MMlafleur pieces

Highly recommend the Foster Pant
https://mmlafleur.com/products/foster-black

And the Antonia Top
https://mmlafleur.com/products/antonia-black

I'm curvy petite and busty, but this top stays in place.

These are forgiving, comfortable and are effortlessly pulled together. I don't travel enough to buy more, but have had these since 2019, and still wearing for the rare conference travel. If you can find a pop-up in your city or store it's fun to try on. Thier stylists are pretty good at proposing options.

So I have that top, I need to wear it more often. Mine is from 2018!

I'm always leery of getting non-petite pants. So these worked out? I assume you had them hemmed?

I forgot to share but I have several pairs of the BR petite curvy skinny Sloan pant in black, navy, and gray: https://bananarepublic.gap.com/browse/product.do?pid=582918002&rrec=true&mlink=5050,12413545,brproduct2_rr_1&clink=12413545#pdp-page-content