The above Jacqui E advertisement recently caught my eye. It was on the back cover of one of the Sunday Sydney newspapers style magazines.
I could not locate a PDF version on Google or on the company site, so I photographed the back of the magazine & uploaded it....where there's a will, there's a way...
Basically the offer is a 3 piece suit for $199AU - so that's a jacket, skirt & pants.
However you cant just choose any Jacqui E suit - the offer applies to suits from a selected range - which seems to be the "Ariel" range.
The pre-offer prices of the Ariel collection are:
jackets - 230
pants - 120
skirts - 120
total = $470
Wow! Now the offer sounds terrific - that's about 60% off (without a calculator!)
Now, Jacqui E arent stupid - they're running a business to make money and they arent going to give away their best quality wool suits at such a crazy price. In fact, the Ariel range looks to be a polyester/viscose/elastene blend. So if you treat this suit harshly, my bet is, it wont last long looking fabulous. As a lower priced suit, you have to be more careful how you treat it, than if you had invested in a more expensive suit.
So how do you make this $199 suit look like a million bucks (well, figuratively speaking)?
1. Dry clean all the three pieces together, so you dont get the fabrics of each piece fading at different rates.
2. Use Jacqui E's alterations place to make sure the sleeves end just below your wrist bone. There is nothing more obviously unfinished than cuffs tucked under with pressing seams trying to keep them in place.
3. Use Jacqui E's alterations place to lift the skirt hem to the best length for you, bearing in mind the official and unofficial dress code of your office.
4. Never wear the pants or the skirt two days in a row as this places too much pressure on the seams & doesnt give the fibres enough time between wears to relax and fall back into place.
5. Try not to wear the jacket more than two days in a row for the same reason as # 4.
Spend some time thinking of how other things in your closet can substitute for the jacket, for the days when the jacket has a day off. This is shopping your closet.
6. When you take if off at the end of the day, hang all the pieces up (dont leave them draped over a chair or lying flat)...hanging them will ensure the creases fall out faster.
7. When you are deciding on the size to purchase, if any aspect of the jacket is pulling over your body, go up a size and have alterations take it in. Each piece should have enough room for you to insert a finger between the garment and your inner layer.
When you are deciding on the size to purchase, bring the typical inner layer you will wear with it, for the above purpose (eg: skivvy, blouse, sweater)
8. When you look at the skirt, you'll notice the back vent is overlapped, not edge to edge. That's a terrific feature that helps to keep the split well, unsplitted....nice one Jacqui E!
In case you're wondering - you'll recall that I constantly talk about cost per wear (CPW) and to always buy the best quality you can afford for core pieces (like suiting). Well, in case you cant afford to spend more and you do take advantage of this offer, I dont want you flogging this suit - be kind, be gentle and that's how this one will last the distance.
