In my never-ending quest for comfortable yet professional clothes for business travel, the name BetaBrand kept coming up. Known for their dress pants that feel like yoga pants, they have quite the cult following. They have a ton of cool options targeting those who travel, and they sent me a few items to test out.. I tried a few different things, but my favorites are the a-line Work It Skort and the reversible Round Trip Dress.
The Work It Skort is seriously amazing and my new favorite wardrobe item. The thick fabric looks great, doesn’t cling, and hides imperfections. The wide band is incredibly comfortable and doesn’t dig into my skin. The attached shorts eliminate the need for my normal Jockey Skimmies which is a bonus for packing. I wore it on a marathon 20 hour travel/work day and it was comfortable and looked great the whole day. It packs like a dream, showing no proof of being crunched even after days in a suitcase. Every time I wear it I get tons of compliments! In fact I’m kind of obsessed with it, and desperately want to try the pencil skort next. I have the Work It Skort in Pebble, which is a versatile gray/black sort of tweed (but I seriously want all of the colors). If you are between sizes I recommend sizing down. If you like a-line skirts I highly, highly recommend this.
The Round Trip Dress intrigued me from the second I saw it. A dress that could be not only worn forward or backward, but also inside out. For those of you keeping track at home, that’s four different ways you can wear one dress–the multitasking holy grail. There are a ton of patterns to choose from, typically with a solid on one side and pattern on the other. I loved this dress–the fabric is heavy enough to skim without clinging, drapes really nicely, and moves with you. The length on me is perfect (I’m 5’7”), hitting mid-knee. What’s interesting about this dress is that it’s not one dress with a reversible print; it’s like two dresses that have been sewn together, if that makes sense. On the model it looks like it’s sleeveless but it was definitely cap-sleeved on me. The Round Trip Dress is great for people who want to get the absolute most out of their business travel wardrobe. I have it in Digital Pool, which is a gorgeous saturated navy on one side with a fun navy/teal geometric pattern on the other.
I tried a couple of pairs of pants, but I just have terrible luck buying pants online. I loved the Travel Dress Suit Pants in navy, but they were too big on my waist and hips while fitting everywhere else. The Straight Leg Dress Pant Yoga Pants in charcoal fit but alas looked like yoga pants in a nice fabric–too clingy for work!
Note: Several BetaBrand items are available on Amazon with Prime shipping, however the prices are not all the same as the actual BetaBrand site.
Like all brands, what works for you depends on your body, style, and preference. You may need to try a few different things before you find what works for you. But all of the BetaBrand garments were well constructed, the fabric was gorgeous, there are tons of innovative products, and almost everything has good reviews. The skirt and dress have been fantastic additions to my business travel wardrobe, helping me look polished but (thank goodness!) stay comfortable.
Readers, what are you wearing these days that is professional yet comfortable?
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Beware washing BetaBrand items – I’ve had a few shrink REALLY badly, even on cold water with line-drying. 🙁
@Rachel noooo! That makes me so sad. I haven’t had any issues washing my two things yet. Do you remember what shrank? Was it the pants?
@roadwarriorette – yes, I had two pairs of dress yoga pants become… crops? I agree, I love their designs, but I was soooo disappointed!
@rachel Oh, no! That shouldn’t happen. If you feel this is a defect, we’d gladly take them back and exchange them for you. Just email info@betabrand.com.
I love therenpants. I bought an amazing sweater. Wore it twice and it’s seems fell apart and it shrunk even after hand washing. Not great for a sweater That was over $100, I have ordered anything since.
I love their designs but I have had absolutely dismal experiences with customer service in the last month (December 2017). I received an email prior to Christmas from BetaBrand stating there would be a drawing on Christmas even for preferred customers–all we had to do was place 5 items of any price in our shopping bag; the lucky winner would win all 5 items. Imagine my surprise when my credit card got charged for all 5 items and then no one responses when I emailed repeatedly to have the items removed! Scam! Also I returned an item with a mis-labelled size prior to Christmas. I have proof it was received but no acknowledgement/refund/credit. Based on these experiences I won’t be ordering from BetaBrand again–sad because I do love their men’s stuff.
deeply disappointed in the product (travel sweatshirt dress) ordered in August – received last week (JAN18), def NOT a sweatshirt and it took WAY too much time to deliver
Their petite pants sizes are still too long if you are under 5’3″ (even in heels), which seems strange. I even tried washing them to shrink them but no dice. I’ve bought their navy crop leg version and it works as an ankle length pant on me and looks super cute with a red/blue/white blousy patterned sleeveless top and a red jacket and heels. I think that is the key- wearing a blazer or suit jacket hides the tightness of the pants and they look like dressier pants. In any event I ordered three new things that should arrive shortly and I’ll let you know how they are (black work-it skort, and cowl neck sweatshirt travel dress and the black croed yoga pants). I travel internationally almost every month and am always looking for good finds! Thanks for the good article.