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My dry cleaner lost both of my OCI skirt suits. I am panicking, we are in the middle of OCI and I need something by Monday.

Here is what I already own, is any of this acceptable? If not, what is the least bad:

Black skirt suit, ill-fitting, looks cheap (might not have the jacket until Tuesday, it needs to be cleaned).
Black dress, made out of suiting material, not quite a sheath but looks like a "work" dress. A little too tight on bottom. Think Joan Holloway in Mad Men.
Red dress, made out of suiting material, same as above but not as tight.
Navy dress with herringbone navy-and-white pattern, sleeveless. Seems too casual to me.
Navy blue pinstripe pantsuit, too big (way too big) with cheap-looking fabric.

I am trying to find someone who can lend me money so that I can go shop in case there is something out there for me to buy, but I am not hopeful. It is not easy for me to find something that fits my body type.

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I am so sorry, this is such a total nightmare.

I would probably say black skirt suit first (depending on how ill-fitting), then navy pinstripe suit (can you find an emergency tailor, depending on how too big it is?). I feel like a dress without a jacket is never right for OCI, but if you absolutely had to, the black dress (do you have any jackets you could put over it? like gray maybe? I'm assuming different blacks will never match). I guess I tend to think that something that looks cheap but fits the usual parameters of interview wear is less of an issue than going completely out of the interview wear box.

(Or lean into the standing out and go with the red dress. But that's probably not a good idea.)

Honestly I think shopping on a credit card is the way to go, but again, I am really sorry because it's so frustrating to deal with worrying about your clothes in interview season.

Ok, I found a dry cleaner that will do same-day cleaning so I will go with the skirt suit for now.

I agree about shopping. I ran up my credit card on these suits but I am checking with (employed) friends to see if anyone can lend me money. I hate this but it will be over soon.

Thank you.

Anonymous User wrote:Ok, I found a dry cleaner that will do same-day cleaning so I will go with the skirt suit for now.

I agree about shopping. I ran up my credit card on these suits but I am checking with (employed) friends to see if anyone can lend me money. I hate this but it will be over soon.

Thank you.

Man, this sucks. Sorry!

Did the dry cleaner pay you for your lost ones? You should demand that ASAP. Otherwise, ann Taylor usually has sales, or try a TJ maxx, marshall's, or a resale store in a ritzy area. You may luck into one that fits well.

Thanks, they were not cooperative but I was so freaked out I was not really making sense. I will go back tomorrow when I'm focused-mad instead of panic-mad.

There is a Marshall's near me so I will go check, thank you for the idea.

I have more luck with suit sets at Burlington or Stein Mart

That really sucks though. You should definitely make them pay for the skirts

Anon OP, message me if you can. I've been through this and can help.

VG239 wrote:Anon OP, message me if you can. I've been through this and can help.

Thank you, that is so kind. I actually have a friend sending me money, and I found a suit that I can buy tomorrow that will fit, so it is not needed, but I am really thankful for the offer. It means a lot.

IsThisForReal wrote:I have more luck with suit sets at Burlington or Stein Mart

That really sucks though. You should definitely make them pay for the skirts

Thanks, I will look for those stores tomorrow.

The drycleaner called and left me a message saying they found part of my suits, but if I heard right, they found the skirt for one of them and the jacket for the other.

Which is useless as we know, but maybe they will find the rest of them. Plus the jacket for one might work over a dress as a backup option.

I have no idea why they even got separated. Still livid.

I mentioned above, a friend is going to send me enough money to pay for another suit, plus maybe a backup skirt/jacket/pants. That should get me through the next few days and I will just not sweat/eat.

Thank you for all of your help.

I am so sorry! I found Banana pretty great for for suit separates. I will never fit into a full suit off the rack, but at Banana could get, say, a 10P jacket and a 4R skirt on site.

LizLemler wrote:I am so sorry! I found Banana pretty great for for suit separates. I will never fit into a full suit off the rack, but at Banana could get, say, a 10P jacket and a 4R skirt on site.

Thank you, this is a great tip!