<p>Try looking on line for Pendleton or in the Denver area she should be able to find stores that carry it. They do make very nice women’s clothing, (conservative, classic) in nice fabrics like ‘seasonless wool’ and carry petites.</p>
<p>The Victoriassecret.com clothing catalog has a section of nice stylish suit separates starting at size 0.</p>
<p>Lands End is a good idea because they have such a liberal return policy–buy several possibilities and return what doesn’t look or feel right.</p>
<p>Thank you all. I have given her many of your suggestions. I think she will have the best luck at express or limited due to sizing. I would have never thought that they would have suit type of clothing. And hopefully Target to find things to pull it all together. Fit is going to be the next challenge. Always an issue for her. I think Lands End and Talbots and such are great ideas but she would swim in them. I hope she has some luck with finding things that don’t need drycleaning. Or at least get a dark forgiving color.
She says she has a new male gay friend who has a car and who loves to shop who has offered to help. I am so glad that I am only having to give her suggestions as to where to go versus having to actually take her.
Thanks again</p>
<p>My D would kill me for suggesting this, but you might try a Brooks Brothers Factory Store. D considers the store very stodgy, but Brooks has a women’s department and they carry the standard business suit styles.</p>
<p>It is also fairly reasonably priced and they are always running sales.</p>
<p>My niece (3rd year law student) bought most of her suits & a lot of nice clothes at Ann Taylor. She’s also about 5’ & petite. She was able to find many of them on sale & has purchased a suit & some other nice outfits. I have also purchased a suit & few tops there. The prices are reasonable & styles more classic.
It’s true that most things at Ann Taylor are NOT washable; I dry clean after several wearings rather than after each use & it has worked out fine for me & most others. Sometimes Ross Dress for Less has some great deals on closeouts including suits & separates. Nordstrom’s rack also has some great deals on suits & separates. Nice separates can stretch a wardrobe (mix & match the skirt/slacks, different top & same blazer).</p>
<p>I agree with the person who mentioned Ann Taylor Loft. My daughter is also petite, and when she needed a couple of suits last year, she couldn’t find anything that fit her. Nothing was small enough, and if it was, it looked incredibly matronly, somewhat ill-fitting, and very dark–always navy or black. So she went to Ann Taylor Loft, where the clothes are made for petite young women. Seems they even take fashion into consideration. And the cost was reasonable. I think she even found something on sale.</p>
<p>For her future reference, Mom60, I was referring to Talbot Petite in particular - DD is 4’9", and she can wear the dresses and jackets off the shelf, and it is Ann Taylor Loft that she has also bought things from</p>
<p>Thanks for the addition of ann taylor loft. Through the store locator online they have one in the mall near her school. It looks like from the website they will have some options.
So many petite D’s on CC. My D always feels like she is the shortest person in the room.</p>
<p>My DD needed a suit so we went the frugal route. Ross Dress for Less, Marshall’s and TJ Maxx all carry women’s suits and seperates. All very reasonable. All designer brands, Jones, Clairborne, Ann Taylor and some made exclusively for Macy’s and Nordstroms. DD’s suits ranged from about $29.99-$39.99 for both pieces. Some came with skirts, some pants. Also picked up shoes at Ross and Marshall’s. $14.99-$19.99 plus $1.99 for hose.</p>
<p>Good luck!!! I am pretty sure they have the stores in CO, we were in NV and they have them here in NC and in CA before we moved.</p>
<p>Kat</p>
<p>katwkittens- Ross is often a great choice and usually our first stop. When D needed to replace some clothes before going to her 2nd college after Tulane we did great. I have never seen woman’s suits at our local Ross. I do know that when son needed one they did not have them at Ross. Maybe they market merchandise by area.Very little call for suits in our area. I will definitely suggest she look at the Ross in Co.</p>
<p>Mom60-
I do think there is some truth to the marketing of different merchandise depending on the area. My mom in FL was able to pick up MANY (20+) speedo and nike swimsuits for DD at her local Ross and TJ Maxx. The ones in our area (NC) did not have any all season. I looked and looked and nothing. When we lived in NV, there was always a ton of Speedos to pick from. Speedo shop and online stores have them for $60+ while Ross had them for $12.99 and then at the end of season clearance for $5.</p>
<p>With DD’s two practices a day, she will be going through them fast.</p>
<p>It seems to me that Ross carried the dress clothes (ie., suits) as seperates while TJ Maxx and Marshall’s carried and sold them together as a two-piece outfit. (Not talking about swim suits now!) Hope this helps.</p>
<p>Kat</p>
<p>I haven’t been in a TJ Maxx or Marshalls. We have really poor shopping choices where I live. Little discount shopping and no Target. But I will have her look out for them in Denver. It sounds like they are similar to Ross in that they have name-brand merchandise for less. My D would love to shop with you, she loves to find the bargain.</p>
<p>Im late to this discussion but D at 5’0" needed a suit last year for a conference.Went to Limited and was able to buy seperates, and the pants come in petites (short) so no hemming is needed. They also provide HELP!! D explained where she was going and what she needd to do, they matched up different looks for her with shirts and a sweater.Also gave her a jacket she could match to other pants or a skirt. Shes now in a diffeent city and just went back to Limited today and bought another pair of dress pants (on sale!).
If your D has access to stores called Forever 21 or Dots they have cheaper clothes that are copied from more expensive styles. Also H&M but I dont know if she has one near her…
I would stick to pants, then no pantyhose needed. If they’re good enough for Laura Bush and Hillary, pants are good enough!!</p>
<p>my roommate is 5 ft tall, and she got hers at target (seperates).</p>
<p>My D was flown in to a college last year to meet with the interview committe. I made her get a suit, huge fight about it but finally she relented and found one at Express. They had pants and skirts to match a jacket. She bought beige and had the pants altered at a local shop to make the waist lower ie hip hugger style so she can wear them later. The seamstress made the pants comfortable and stylish. She was a wonder.</p>
<p>Cathymee…your post made me laugh…the parent cafe is so full of political back and forths (you now what I mean!) and you are very diplomatic…you said they were good enough for Hilary AND Laura…yay for you. </p>
<p>By the way, we really don’t have those stores like Marshall’s, Target or Ross here either. We had The Limitted but it recently closed. And when I say “we”, I’m still talking our state, not my town, so we’re talking 50 miles to go clothes shopping. I use catalogues a lot. But now one of my kids is in NYC and it is like another world. </p>
<p>Susan</p>
<p>I think “Petite Sophisticate” is in a lot of malls. They’ve got some good sales sometimes. They have from size 0 on up.</p>
<p>Besides saving on pantyhose, pant suits are great for taking the anxiety out of getting out of cars, sitting down or bending down. If a young woman has been wearing mostly jeans, she may not be in practice doing all these things comfortably while wearing skits.</p>
<p>“I see England, I see France…”</p>
<p>Susan
Thanks for noticing my “diplomatic” note…OP’s D is in Denver so I assumed she has a mall nearby.
Being in Vermont I would suspect makes shopping life a little harder.By the way one of my S’s friends just started UVermont and is loving it…especially likes the town and can’t wait for ski season.She’s Hispanic so I’m curious to get her feedback on this aspect of being in Vermont from her when shes next home.
Hope your D is enjoying NYC (Im in the NY burbs) I’m sure she’s having a great time exploring when shes out of the classroom.No lack of clothing stores for her here!!</p>