OK, let me start off by saying I’m frugal. I don’t like to pay retail and I definitely don’t like paying top dollar. That being said, Talbots is good for career clothing. Its that«investment» quality stuff that the«style experts» say you should buy. Which I do buy when its on clearance. I don’t know if I’ve maybe lost weight or if their clothes run bigger than at other stores, but the size that I normally wear in pants was not working for me when I went to Talbots. I tried on a size smaller and it was ok, but I still wasn’t feeling it. I did score a little black dress(regular price $ 169) for about $ 70. It’s more than I’m accustomed to paying, but totally worth it! The salespeople were ok. Not particularly helpful, but they didn’t harass you either. Everything on sale is clearly marked and the store was orderly.