Where to buy petite clothes?

[Anonymous]

It seems like very few stores carry petite sizes these days and those that do, have really limited selections. Even if I didn't mind spending the money on alterations (which I do), who has the time??? Ann Taylor has been my go to for work clothes for years, but I'm over it and they have had a terrible petite selection for a while now. Any recommendations on good places to buy petite? I need work and casual everyday options. TIA!

[Anonymous]

Yeah, the selections aren't great. I like Banana Republic Petites for work clothes. Trouble is, Tysons is not convenient to DC. For casual stuff I go to Lord and Taylor in Friendship Heights, which has a small collection that's not great in general, but I like the petite Kenneth Cole and Michael Kors. Nordstrom has a petite focus dept. that skews kind of old for the most part. Of course, there's no Nordstrom in DC either, so that's a pain, too.

[Anonymous]

I agree with PP. The only problem I continue to have is that the crotch (rise?) is always too long for me. The pants seem to be shortened in length but not from crotch to waist.

[Anonymous]

Ann Taylor, Ann Taylor Loft, Gap Online, Macy's has a huge petite section as does Nordstroms and Bloomingdales.

[Anonymous]

Have you tried Saks? I thought I read in the paper a year or so ago that they were bringing back petites.

[Anonymous]

Talbots. Look online and see if they have anything you like: http://www1.talbots.com/talbotsonline/prodnav/petites_default.aspx?BID=

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree with PP. The only problem I continue to have is that the crotch (rise?) is always too long for me. The pants seem to be shortened in length but not from crotch to waist.

I occasionally find weird proportions like that, too. It's easier with trousers that are intended to have a lower rise, anyway. That's one of many problems with the traditional assumption that short women are all frumpy middle-aged secretaries. Of course, now I actually am middle-aged, but I still want well-cut clothes!

[Anonymous]

Saks did bring back petite sizes, but is now dropping them again. (They weren't all that great anyway, but I'm still irritated.) You can order petites from JCrew; don't know if they carry petites in Tyson's, but even if they do, who wants to schlep out there? Overall, it's a grim scene for the vertically challenged. I try to shop at places where the sales staff is good enough to know which regular cut lines and styles can be easily altered. And, I've found a good tailor -- whose children I'm sending to college.

[Anonymous]

Banana Republic is THE place for petite pants. I still need them hemmed (I"m under 5') but the fit is great.

J.Crew works for petite tops, but the bottoms never fit me.

For Jeans, a few lines carry petite (7s, Joes), though the rises are so low on those, you can usually just wear regular and cut 18" off!