Would you consider this a professional dress? - YouLookFab Forum

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Would you consider this a professional dress?

Gigi

Veteran

I recently ordered the dress that I have attached in the find below. I bought it thinking that it might be a good dress to wear to church, since several of the reviews said that it was great for wearing to work. One reviewer even said she wore hers to a christening.

But the zipper up the back...wow. I don't interpret the zipper as "cute," as some of the reviewers do...I view it as more sexy. Is this just me? My plan was to wear the dress with the Nic and Zoe cardi that I have, but you can still tell that the zipper goes all the way up the back (my cardi is a sheer white). It doesn't help that I have an hourglass figure with a big bum, so this dress plays all that up.

Maybe it's best to keep this for attending weddings and performances? What do you think?

In case it matters, I ordered the navy.

FELICITY & COCO Felicity & Coco Ward Seamed Pencil Dress

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Nic + Zoe '4-Way' Convertible Cardigan (Regular & Petite)

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Dressing

34 replies

Latest reply was from abby

Jane

Veteran

It’s a super dress, but in a formal work environment I think I would have to think twice about the zip. BUT because it goes all the way up the dress I think it is more design oriented than say ‘cute’. I actually think it looks modern....I’m almost shifting my thinking as I type!

bella

(website)

Veteran

I think zippers are a fairly common design feature nowadays, so I don't see sexy. However, I think this is one of those situations where whether you feel it's appropriate to your work and how you feel in the dress is the most important factor. So, I say wear it a few times in other contexts and judge for yourself if you would feel comfortable wearing it to work.

rachylou

Veteran

No, to me a zipper up the back is not sexy... but I might feel it leaning a little toward tacky/cheap construction if there’s no placket covering the teeth. Is that what we’re talking about?

Sisi

Veteran

It's a beautiful dress and yes, I see it as rather sexy. Nothing wrong with it. I bet you will look gorgeous. I think Bella gave you excellent advice: wear it and see how you feel.

jussie

Veteran

I like this dress, and see it more as a slightly (I mean very slightly) avent garde feature, more so than sexy...
I’d wear it to work, without any worries about the sexy factor- however it sounds like you don’t like the aesthetic of it either which might rule it out for you....
I’d wear it with some non- sexy shoes though and no red lipstick just to be safe!
Good luck with it

Staysfit

Veteran

I reserve my zipper up the back dresses for non work days or for work days when there is a special event like a retirement dinner after work, or a special award ceremony to honor someone. There is something not quite classic about them that makes me uncomfortable wearing them regularly for work.

kkards

Veteran

hmmm...maybe its me, but its not the zipper that makes me rethink this as a work/church dress, but its the fact that the 1st 4 reviews that call out how form fitting it is....i think this is one of those dresses that can not be judged by the picture but most be tried on and then decided

Kathie

Veteran

I think it depends on what you’re comfortable with, and your environmental norms. The zipper is an interesting design detail, but if you’d feel uncomfortable wearing the dress to church/work, then reserve it for other occasions.

tanstaafl

I don’t love the exposed zipper look, but it has become so common that I don’t see it as unprofessional. My concern with this dress is how form fitting it appears to be in the model. I would be uncomfortable with the side profile for my workplace. It may be a matter of how it fits on each person. From the front this dress looks very professional.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

I agree with Bella — the exposed zipper was so prevalent a few years ago that I think it now looks fairly commonplace and not overtly sexy. However, if the fit is that form-fitting (and on an hourglassy figure that may be emphasized), I can see not feeling entirely comfortable in it for work or church. I agree this is one of those things that needs to be tried to see the overall effect on the individual.

Mary Beth (formerly LBD)

(website)

Veteran

This dress is business in the front, party in the back...

I think this looks like a professional dress, but the zipper is very high-contrast. I think it will really depend on your work place. From the front, this dress looks like a Claire Underwood, take-no-prisoners business sheath.

The back, though.

I have had some comically bad luck with zippers in the last couple of years, so I tend towards caution. You're going to be sitting and standing and that zipper is going to be constantly in contact with chair upholstery and caught between friction and the weight of your body. I would be worried about the zipper catching on one of those upholstered nylon office chairs and yanking zipper teeth out of alignment, and the dress coming open. Or *not* coming open, when you get home and want to change!

When you get this dress, I would look over this zipper carefully, and if it isn't a metal zipper, either replace it with one, or find a different dress.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Personally, I don't think the statement zipper is an issue at all.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

I get a "sexy" vibe from the combination of zip up the back and form fitting, plus high contrast between zipper and the fabric of the dress. If it were a loose trapeze style with a zip up the back it would not seem inappropriate to me. If the zipper were closer to the colour of the dress, that might also affect the overall look. It's the combination that gives me pause.

I think the dress is attractive though and could look gorgeous! So it is all about how self-conscious you'd feel. I wouldn't wear to work, myself, but I'd wear on a date.

Helena

Veteran

I think it's professional, providing the accessorizing/styling is also professional. The zipper doesn't give me any sort of vibe, except 'modern'. I agree that it's very Claire Underwood!

Zibbets

Veteran

The exposed zipper doesn't bother me, but the fact that it goes all the way to the hem makes it too edgy/sexy for work, imho.

Vildy

Veteran

WoW. Cool dress but the "for business" part looks like monkey business to me. I don't think it's a good idea to play up your gorgeous curves in a business setting. And not to church services, either. Though I suppose if no one unzipped the dress there wouldn't be a christening. Great fun for personal life, though.

The Cat

Veteran

Yes, I would. And at work, I would probably wear it with a jacket of some kind, perhaps a long cardigan, and a colourful scarf or necklace.

Gigi

Veteran

This was all very interesting, to see how we all interpret the design elements on this dress differently!

Suz's assessment is exactly what I was seeing: the particular combination of elements was what was giving me pause.

I do think that the dress looks very good on me, and I don't have anything similar, so I will probably keep it and wear it to special occasions for the time being. I'll see how people react to it, and maybe after that I will graduate wearing it to other things.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

That makes sense, Gigi. A lot depends on your own comfort level, I think, and just how curvy the curves are. It's a great dress!

Janet

(website)

Veteran

Ok, I’m having a little trouble with the idea that something that is as modest as this dress — high neck, long length — is seen as somehow too sexy because the shape of a body can be seen in it. As long as it’s not worn skin-tight, I don’t see the issue.

Otherwise, people with hourglassy figures may as well wear sacks to work.

Vildy

Veteran

JANET, it's not the fact of having womanly curves, it's the connotation of unzipping, undressing. I think that's what *makes* the dress and why I find it attractive.

anne

Veteran

I like it and think it is suitable BUT - I have a precautionary tale. I bought a sheath dress with a zip like that (those mine was in front) planning to wear to a wedding and then for work. Got K approval from Angie. Wedding went well.

On the way home from the wedding the zip broke. I think there was just too much pressure from being tightish around the thighs. The shop refunded me the price, but it has burnt me from that combination of sheath and full length zip.

https://youlookfab.com/welookf.....-breakdown

Dianna

Veteran

What Bella said!

Style Fan

Veteran

It is a gorgeous dress but the zipper says unzip me. I would wear it on a date night or for a special occasion.

nomadicliz

I think it depends a lot on your workplace and your position.
The exposed zipper makes it read slightly edgier to me, but not necessarily too sexy for work.
In my workplace this would definitely feel too formal, but in a lot of places with a more corporate, or a dressier business casual dress code, I think it would be perfectly appropriate, especially with the cardigan.
I also think it would look fab under a curvy blazer or fitted jacket.

unfrumped

Veteran

Just commenting on how the rage for exposed zippers changes so many things.
Pencil skirts now often have exposed zips and of course won’t be covered except at the top.
It can be a fun detail but makes it harder to find classic versatile items to dress up or down.
Definitely get the dress and then see how the wearing goes!

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Janet, it's really body con on the (presumably thin) model and it's that, combined with the zip, that makes me feel it's a bit much for a work environment -- or at least for me, personally! I wear body con stuff all the time, from stretchy sheaths to skinnies, and while I'm not a very curvy hourglass, that stuff does emphasize such curves as I have. So it's not that I don't like to see curves -- it's just that curves plus extremely prominent calling attention to itself all the way down the body zip seem wrong to me for the environment. The zip seems to say unzip!

Keep in mind my work environment wouldn't be right for this dress even if it were a shift, so my thoughts might be skewed.

Then again, I'm the one who work a body con quilted denim skirt to teach in the other day! So what do I know?

Liesbeth

Veteran

I don’t wear tight dresses to work at all, I’m uncomfortable accentuating my figure that way in a professional environment. Add the zipper which tickles the imagination and I wouldn’t do it. A non see-through cardigan would change all that but would break up the style statement. On the other hand, I would not judge a co-worker for wearing this, it all depends on your confidence and style persona...

Gigi

Veteran

Janet, your sentiments are exactly why I was wondering about the *zipper* specifically. If there had been no zipper (or if the zipper had been a standard, hidden one just on the bodice), I would have had no question about wearing the dress to church or to some kind of professional function, no matter how much it empasized my curves. I used to feel like I needed to be more "modest" by disguising my curves, but then I decided that that was just a form of body shaming (no body shape is inherently immodest), so I now wear whatever I want, regardless of whether it emphasizes my curves.

I was able to accept how my body looks in a tighter dress by watching a very well-dressed woman come to church every week in a tight dress. The dress was tight simply because she was an extreme hourglass shape. She wasn't trying to accentuate anything. She always looked very well put together, not "sexy." I think that if the dress fits properly, the effect is different than if the dress pulls and bunches up in various spots.

It is really interesting to see how different people react to the zipper. Some people feel that it says "unzip me" (which was my initial reaction), whereas others see it as simply a design element or a modern touch and nothing more.

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