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

[dreda.livejournal.com]

If you don't mind answering here, what sizes do you wear, roughly? I might have some leads.

[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.)

[janetmiles.livejournal.com]

I have absolutely no useful suggestions, given that I am on the opposite end of the size range, but I must tell you that while I deplore the fashion, I adore the phrase "Little Ho Peep" as a descriptor of girls' clothing.

[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.

[matildalucet.livejournal.com]

I feel your pain. I've had Old Navy recommended to me recently. They have extended sizes on their website, so I'm thinking I should go to the store and see what's what and then try ordering online if I like something and need a size the store doesn't have. I dislike the thought of mail order returns, but apparently at my current size I might need to get over that.

[msmemory.livejournal.com]

Some of their stuff will fail the wash & dry test, but Talbots now has an outlet next to Fabric Place in Woburn, and it includes Petites. I got an oxford shirt there for $4.25 week before last (on a tip from elizabear.

[hugh-mannity.livejournal.com]

Have you tried boy's pants?

Now while there's a lot of boy's clothing that looks like it came off the rack at We B Pimpz Yo!*, there are more likely to be plain dress pants (khakis, chinos, et al) in the boys section.




*Matches the Little Ho Peep

[rufinia.livejournal.com]

Have you tried H&M? Their definition of a size 16 is adorable (in a "aw, bless their goddamn hearts" kind of way), but might work for you.

[flaviarassen.livejournal.com]

Well, I was trying to remember the name of the petite chain
I knew about - & you did it for me. Talbot's always has very
nice things in their windows (as you can guess, at 5'10" I
never actually go into the store...)

[tpau]

stores do not carry things in your size because yuo are small enough to be not in the majority of female population. (now i am, and they don't carry my size either but that is a different rant) if you went to a store in NYC or LA yuo would find things your size.

you might be better off ordering online from places like Chadwicks or something.

[spiritdancer]

Have you tried Lands End, Coldwater Creek, or Eddie Bauer? LE has been my fall-back for good, basic, etc. work clothes (and, frankly, if you end up in the kid's sizes? They are tailored like the adult lines. And they'll hem them to your specs).

[redfishie.livejournal.com]

you know --- I don't think it will make you feel any better, but I'm too big for most stores.

[redfishie.livejournal.com]

if you are looking for outlets in general, you should come up and visit me sometime --- I live 5 minutes from the Kittery outlet malls. I don't think we have a talbot's though.

[arachne8x.livejournal.com]

Actually H&M might be a really good option.

[arachne8x.livejournal.com]

You may want to try EB, but I find a lot of their stuff is sized up rather than down.

[umbran.livejournal.com]

Have you tried boy's pants?

Um, my Lady has hips in ways that boys don't.

[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.)

[hugh-mannity.livejournal.com]

True, but I've known some ladies, who despite having hips, were able to wear men's or boy's pants.

[mindways]

Another suggestion: secondhand clothing stores. I haven't perused the women's section in any, so I can't say for certain they'd work well, but if it's anything like the men's section, I've noted that there's usually a fair amount of "somewhat bigger" and "somewhat smaller" clothing. I'd also guess that even where the women's/junior's clothes fall into the "trendy" category, that they're not the *current* trend, but a smattering of trends from over the past decade. And the prices are usually excellent. (Moreso at Goodwill than at a specialty store like Ooona's, but still.)

The disadvantage, of course, is that if/when you do find something you like, you can't just buy a whole lot of that and call it a day.

(There's a stereotype that clothes from, eg, Goodwill, are shabby-looking. In my experience, while it's certainly possible to *pick* bad-looking secondhand clothes, the same is true of nearly anywhere one shops.)

[quietann.livejournal.com]

I'd also recommend the Talbots outlet.

[quietann.livejournal.com]

yep. I'm taking a medium-petite and 10P or 12P in their stuff, and I am not especially small.

[quietann.livejournal.com]

First... clothing is more expensive now. It just is. The days of a nice new outfit for $60 are long gone.

That said, because you are so small you will have a MUCH easier time finding things at outlet stores and clearance racks than, say, me. I am of a much more typical size.

Ideas for stores:

Macy's petite department -- their store brands are not that expensive
JJill (their XXS petite would probably fit you)
Talbots Outlet in Woburn as mentioned above

[catalana.livejournal.com]

I'm afraid you are many things, but average-sized isn't one of them. You're definitely on the small end of things, which makes life a bit trickier for you. *hug* I have another friend who is petite and fairly thin but very busty and she has similar problems.

[moiramisu.livejournal.com]

Little Ho Peep
This phrase has me giggling. A lot.