Just Another Work-Clothes Rant

[ladysprite]

I am not that small.

I mean, yeah, I'm short, and I'm not big, but I'm not freakishly teeny, either. I'm kind of.... average-sized. So why the hell can't average stores carry clothes in my size?

I need to wear clothes to work. And while I can deal with my non-work clothes being either poorly-fitted or highly specialized, for work I need simple, washable, professional-looking stuff. No hip-huggers, no pencil skirts, no babydoll tees.

Unfortunately, if I want clothes that fit, I need to either shop at Super Petite Elite Specialty Stores, where pants costs more than my wedding ring did and are dry-clean only, or at the Juniors department of other, more reasonably-priced stores, where the current trend in clothing is best described as Little Ho Peep.

All I ask out of life is a pair of non-pleated, machine-washable pants that start near my waist, end near my ankles, and either don't gap enough at the top for a patient to crawl down them or actually have belt loops. And a sequin-free, glitter-free blouse that doesn't hang like a tent. Is that too much to ask?

This rant is brought to you by my mad dash through my closet as I try to get ready for a new-practice interview today, in a desperate attempt to look professional and not like an eighth-grader in my mom's clothes.....

Comments

[ladysprite.livejournal.com]

Honestly? I don't know for certain. I know what size I *think* I wear, but when I buy stuff in those sizes, by the time I get them home they don't fit anymore.

So... best guess is 0-2, and/or XS. Which also boggles me, because... then what do the people smaller than me wear?

[dreda.livejournal.com]

You're right - that's going to be tough. I wonder if your best luck might be at the outlets, like in Wrentham? (Which is a little closer than Kittery, I think.) I know that places like Coldwater Creek and J.Jill do a decent range of smaller sizes, and at the outlets they're actually priced for normal humans. (Same with Ann Taylor and Banana Republic - their outlet prices are reasonable and they do small sizes quite well.)

[lisagw.livejournal.com]

Ann Taylor and Ann Taylor Loft have excellent petites (good for short legs) that are work appropriate. Slightly cheaper and less dry clean only sorts of fabrics - Old Navy. Much cheaper and also less dry clean only - Target - but go round the corner to the Misses section, out of the LIttle Ho Peep Juniors section.

[lisagw.livejournal.com]

PS, I do find I have to hem pants from Target and sometimes from Old Navy. If I shop Petites at AT I don't have to hem. Also, big fan of wide leg Editor pants from Express (a higher rise than most of their pants). They sell lengths: Short, Regular and Long. If I buy short I am ok, but Regular I have to hem. Watch for Express sales for good deals.

[quietann.livejournal.com]

I also love love love Ann Taylor Loft. They have good sales promotions, and cute (albeit a bit young) clothing... I have a few sweaters from them that I've had for about 5 years and they are wardrobe staples.

[mermaidlady]

I love J. Peterman, but his stuff is fairly expensive. However, if you were to go to the Last Chance Department, it would be a lot cheaper. It would also come in sizes like XS (like this top which I have and want more of, but I wear a small). And each garment has a sizing chart based on measurements, not weird numbers plucked from thin air. I don't know that there's currently anything useful as work clothes for you, but check back from time to time.

[dreda.livejournal.com]

Oh! And you might also try shopping in Chinatown - their average customers are smaller than the American average, so they're less likely to balloon their sizes. (I appreciate Talbots trying to make me feel good, but when their 14 is an 18 somewhere else, it's just silly.)

[quietann.livejournal.com]

That's a really good point.

Back when I was at UC Irvine, where 60% of the student body were Asian, I was chatting with a clothes vendor who'd come to outdoor sales there. He said he always stocked up on size 0 clothing when he came to UCI. Many of the young ladies were tiny -- 5 feet tall, 80 pounds dripping wet, but not too thin at all.