What Pizzagirl said.
( And Chico’s is how the Dressing Young thread started. 
)
The Chicos dread has a trickle down effect. Sometimes I wonder if some of the brands I favor – Vince, Helmut Lang, Anthropologie, for example – aren’t just Chico in lamb(ish) clothing.
Yikes, I still browse the overpriced racks at Anthropologie for my DDs ( who would prefer thrift shop)
I also think some of this is regional or defendant on shopping center. The Eddie Bauer near me seems aimed at 45-60 year olds. The one at my MILs at Bellevue Mall seems aimed at 35-45.
It’s interesting to me so many seem to think one should dress differently at 90 than 50 or 40something . I am wondering what you think the difference should be? Are you going to show less skin at 90? Different colors? What do you think you will wear when you are really old?
D talked about seeing the elderly in France, so nicely put together, in their dark skirts and elegant shoes, as such a contrast to the American elderly with elastic waist pants and pastel sweatshirts. Perhaps in the S. of France they dress differently. On the other hand, the American women I would want to emulate in retirement are gardening and volunteering and improving their communities, so some of it is chosen lifestyle and the clothing to facilitate it.
Ages ago Coldwater Creek had amazing catalogs and the descriptions were impressive. When I was married I had things from that catalog, which were higher quality than much of what I saw at their stores in the outlet mall a decade or more later. An article once described their demographic as the southern CA woman stuck in a freeway in a Volvo, who dreamed of being in the mountains.
Some of what you are describing as poorer quality in Chicos is echoed in clothing in general. I have great things from the Gap 20 years ago, lambswool sweaters, all wool mittens, and can’t imagine finding that quality there now.
For a long time I thought it was just my imagination that clothes weren’t the same quality they used to be, then I read some research that said that is really true. I’ve posted this before: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/10/books/review/overdressed-by-elizabeth-l-cline.html?_r=0
She’s not the only one writing about this.
Of course a 55-60 year old is going to dress differently than someone 25 to 30 years older. Just as 20 and 30 something’s dress differently from us.
For instance, at 26, I wouldn’t have been caught dead in the Clarks Mary Jane comfy shoes I wear on weekends now! When I go out on the town, I wear these cool gladiator peep toe shoes, with black leggings, long black sweater. .I think I’d die if I saw my mother wearing that.
Agree that clothing quality has gone way down. I used to buy weekend casual stuff at Gap that was decent quality, but no longer.
There are things I don’t wear b/c I think they look “too young” for me. Some of the cute short dresses for example. But I also try to stay away from the “middle aged” look. It’s a little hard to describe. A lot of this is personal preference and some is not wanting to look like the “older woman” at work.
I don’t wear much from Chico’s but I do have a plain black tee that I wear quite a bit. I did buy a pair of their black jeggings after the sales clerk swore to me that they didn’t pick up lint. Does anyone else have this problem with black denim? Everything sticks to them like glue. The black jeggings pick up everything, I’ve only worn them a couple of times.
I wear quite a bit from Talbots (White House Black Market is my other go to chain). So does my mil. We are both petite so the pickings are slim. Sometimes we have the same thing, thankfully not at the same time. I have a talbots local to me and it is slim pickings trying to find petites. My mil is a classic stylish older person, so I don’t mind shopping at the same.
Sometimes I shop where my mil does, and sometimes I shop where my 26 yo daughter does. I would hope that my D wouldn’t be horrified if we had the same shirt or outfit.
What happened to chicos happened to Ann Taylor and Ann Taylor Loft a few years ago. The quality went downhill fast.
I pretty much stick to Nordstrom or a few specific designers now…I say that loosely, I’m not talking chloe or prada, but Ralph Lauren or eileen fisher.
I find I’m getting better in public but worse at home, but at least my pajama tops and bottoms match.
I’m trying to figure out where you petite people shop that you don’t think there’s any selection. I keep walking around the stores saying “Please save me from the petites.” Trying needing a tall size. We really don’t have any selection.
My mother-in-law wears Chico’s merchandise and looks great in it. However, she is tall. I am not petite (really long-waisted), but I am not tall either (only around 5’4"). And, I am slim and do not like flowy, billowy clothing. It just tends to swallow me. I used to shop a lot at White House/Black Market, but they, too, have started going to more flowy tops. I really like my clothing to have structure to it. Maybe a throwback to wearing all those “power suits” in the 80s - ha ha!
I have recently found a brand of dresses on-line that I am enamored with: Karina Dresses. I bought a couple to take on vacation and they do not wrinkle AT ALL. The fabric is soft and comfortable, but many of the dresses still have a “cut” to them with a defined waist. Their customer service has been very helpful, too. I e-mailed and asked about my long-waisted issue, and the rep replied and suggested styles I should not buy because they were shorter-waisted. Their dress descriptions also state which body types they work best on. I have gotten to where I really enjoy wearing dresses - less to think about in terms of looking pulled together. Also, less expensive to have an “outfit” since the dress is the bulk of it. Many dresses can be dressed up or down depending on heel height, jewelry, accessories, etc. As I am getting older, I want ease! But, I still want to look fashionable, not frumpy.
@cnp55 - I do understand your frustration. I have a couple of really tall, leggy friends who lament that we shorties can cut fabric off to shorten clothing, but they cannot add it on at the bottom to lengthen.
I have never stepped in a Chico’s but a few years ago my niece who is very tall and curvy and then about age 30 actually would find stuff there - kind of this and that outfits with some of their jewelry too. Things must have changed!
My closet consists of either work stuff - casual dresses, skirts, cardigans that I either wear bare legs in warm weather or with footless tights and flats or boots in colder weather - or casual stuff for home and off-work time - which consists of shorts/skorts and tees or tanks in summer and leggings/athletic wear, layered tech shirts/athletic wear in winter.
I love Athleta or Nordstrom Rack for dresses. Max Studio dresses work well for my needs. I shop online at 6pm a good bit. TJMaxx is my second home. Though I don’t seek our traditional malls or shopping centers much, if I am there I’d be looking in Gap (less than used to), JCrew sale racks and MOWC is right, Limited has GREAT buys especially on their sale racks! I still like to wander Eddie Bauer too.
I’m 56 and would say I dress younger than many mid 50’s ladies in my circles of work and home.
I have this dress on today from Madewell. https://www.madewell.com/madewell_category/DRESSES/casualdresses/PRDOVR~E6327/E6327.jsp
I have it on with maroon fleece tights and Tom’s blue booties (wedge heel). I have the dress belted and have on a fun necklace. The dress is plenty long (longer in back than front) but I would not wear it to work bare legged. I’m 5’4". It’s so cute and comfortable. I work at a business casual company and it is perfect.
It is darling! I’ve never heard of that line before, I will have to investigate!
Back in August, my (5’1") sister and I (5’3") spent three hours at a huge mall outside Kansas City and tried on a ton of clothes from MANY stores. Neither of us are fond of shopping, but we had three hours to kill and a need for specific clothing. JJill fit me–but the only thing I liked was a pair of black sweat pants. I bought casual slacks and compression camisoles (for wearing under t-shirts) at Lucy (but the running pants gapped at the waist, big time) and running tights from Athleta (where the t-shirts made me look four months pregnant, somehow). I bought a tailored black sweater at Brooks Brothers (to replace a similar sweater that no longer fit correctly). The Chicos clothing was made for someone who was straight up and down, no waist at all. I tried on five different jeans and the waist gap varied from two inches to five inches, while the hips and thighs were uncomfortably snug. I bought nothing from Chicos. (I do have two nightgowns from their Soma store, though.) I also bought some casual cotton t-shirts from Prana.
My “uniform” these days is black pants or leggings and a sweater. My sweaters come from Patagonia and J.Crew. The black pants and leggings come from Icebreaker–their Villa pants or their Villa leggings. Merino wool, so cozy even when wet and chilly, which is Portland (OR) from mid-October to mid-March. (In the summer, I wear black capris and a t-shirt.) (I’m nothing if not predictable.)
A few days ago, my daughter (who is living in the apartment over our garage for a while while she goes back to school and works part-time) borrowed one of my sweaters to wear to work. When she came home from work, I realized she and I were both wearing black pants and a sweater (mine was orange, hers was pink). It made me feel vaguely fashionable–especially since she told me a few weeks ago she thought my “new look” looked pretty good.
Madewell is a stand alone store.
Nordstrom also started carrying the Madewell brand.
I didn’t know that, Bunsen!
I was surprised to find a few Madewell items when I searched Notdstrom for a cardigan with pockets. 
http://m.shop.nordstrom.com/c/madewell-women?origin=srcontent?keyword=madewell