Where do you shop?

I use to be able to buy clothes from LL Bean or Lands End and know that they would fit. But a lot of manufacturers, including these two companies, seem to be tinkering with their sizes and the way their clothes fit, moving towards a lower rise and I'm no longer sure what size I am.

I'm not opposed to low rise - if there is not a huge gap in the back. I have not been able to find anything that I really like how it fits and how it is styled. I'm 42 and a 5th grade teacher. I want to look good, not too young and not frumpy. Why is this so hard? I'd prefer my clothes be machine washable, definitely comfortable and fairly durable. I do spend part of each work day sitting on the floor in class meetings.

So where do you shop?


Veronica

The Loft, Banana Republic, once in awhile J Crew and Ann Taylor. No other stores have petite sizes that are not either too "old lady-ish" or for young girls. I like low rise, but I try to be cognizant of my age (55) and not go too crazy. Petite sizes are getting bigger or stores no longer have them, like J Crew, who has cut down on what styles they carry in my size.
I used to buy a lot of stuff at Eddie Bauer. Have you looked there?

I love clothes, but buying things, other than cycling stuff has become an exercise in frustration. I would buy all of the casual work stuff at Title 9, if they had things in my size.

I buy dockers at JC Penney's and the last time I noticed the cut and size HAD changed. Sigh.
No advice from me.

I like Title 9, but their pants are all too long for me.

I tried some Eddie Bauer stuff, but it was too big. I THINK I should be a size 8. But apparently I'm now a six.

I was just looking at Talbots and they say if you have a 26 inch waist, you're a 2. Didn't that use to be an 8?

Veronica

J. Jill (on sale or on eBay). Ann Taylor Loft (eBay! Great deals on brand-new items). Talbot's for a few well-made basics. Lands End for jeans. Chico's for whimsical jackets. Athleta for some casual outdoor stuff. Target for its Merona 'double layer' tees---sleek, stretchy, substantial material.

I hate shopping! If I must, however, I go to a great consignment store near my mother's house in North Carolina. I can always find nearly new clothes for a very good price.

If I must shop, and I can't get to NC, then I'll go to Ann Taylor. I like their stuff. I don't know if they are even in business anymore, though. It's been a while since I did any shopping.

I never buy clothes on the internet, except from TE (I've done that twice). I have to try them on because it's just too much hassle to return them.

I shop all over the place and 95% of it is through the internet.

Most of my pants are no longer carried at their respective stores, and I have to keep changing where I buy stuff. And I never shop for pants based on waist - I always have to look at hip measurements.

I have found that the recent trend towards 'curvy' fits has been great for me. Ann Taylor Loft in the 'Julie' cut (petite) fits me right off the rack and that's a rarity for me! Most of my current work dress pants are of these style. The waists are only slightly big and not so much that a belt can't take care of it.

Most of my jeans are Gap (long and leans), but I have a couple of pairs of Carhart and of Chico that also fit. None of them are super low rise. My legs are too short - I look silly in the really low pants.

Tops - all over the map but there is definitely a general trend toward Ibex in the past two years. :p

Duhhh, I forgot to mention thrift shops, too! Love 'em! Thanks, Tulip, for the reminder.......One day between Christmas and New Year's Day last year, my BF and I spent the day visiting 7 or 8 thrift shops in Richmond and then collapsing into comfy chairs at the bar at swank, holiday-decked-out Jefferson Hotel to review our bargains! A day of practicality topped off with a little holiday cheer! ;)............

PM me those thrift shops, KathiCville! I haven't been out to search any in Richmond yet (yes, I've been here for two years...)

First choice was always Jcrew, American Eagle, Up Against The Wall, Old Navy, Banana, Off 5th, Nordstrom Rack, I love to shop sales :p

Martin & Osa, Nordstrom, REI.

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Originally Posted by Veronica

I'm 42 and a 5th grade teacher. I want to look good, not too young and not frumpy. Why is this so hard? I'd prefer my clothes be machine washable, definitely comfortable and fairly durable. I do spend part of each work day sitting on the floor in class meetings.

So where do you shop?


Veronica

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I find lots of the clothes to be either for the super young or older set. It seems to be getting harder to find clothes that are comfy and hip (well at least hip for a 44 year old). The only thing I have figured out is that if I find something I like buy two because you can bet they will stop making it.

I still buy most of my clothes from the USA via the internet. The selection back here in Aust is not as varied.:(

I just found the perfect jeans at Old Navy. I've never shopped there for pants before, but we were getting some things for dbf, and on a whim, I tried them on. I'm also curvy, and there's no gap in the waist, and they're even the perfect length. The best part (and I know you'll care about this)--cat fur does not stick to them!

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Originally Posted by Veronica

I was just looking at Talbots and they say if you have a 26 inch waist, you're a 2. Didn't that use to be an 8?

Veronica

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Um, 24 inch waistband on anything for me...never fitted me.:D:D except maybe when I was 19 yrs. old. Otherwise too tight. Yea, underweight at that time but too tight on those waistline measurements.

At this time, I'm a size zero to 2, depending on the cut, line, etc.

Reading everyone's non-cycling clothing place responses so far, actually depressed me abit and reminded me how long I have not shopped for any dress clothing, even business casual.

I also buy either dressier clothing (when I did buy), made do with 1 pr. of jeans (from nearly 9 years ago...:rolleyes:) or cycling clothing. But nothing really in between. Hence, no favourite store for business casual. I just pick away like a bird from different places/boutiques. Working in an office for a construction project, made me super slack in terms of fashion.

These are the type of dress shops (which do sell jeans and I've nearly given up trying) I do check out stuff, on the rare occasion have bought a garmet at places below. But I'll go to any independent and just buy also. Not notice the name of store next time.

Zara
Plum
R.W. & Co.
Mexx
Banana Republic
Jacobs
and I don't what-the-store-name-is-but-I-can-visualize-store-in-my-memory. :D

I've never bought any clothing via Internet yet. If I did, it might be casual type of tops. Never pants/fitted shorts with a waistband.

Or I've wrapped a hawaiian/bali like pareo large scarf, sarong skirt style. But I double wrap the whole scarf around me so I don't have to wear a slip. It works. Yes, I wear dress shoes. Wrapped scarf skirt sits above my knees. Top would be a fitted sleeveless but high neck tank top. Black always works against a brightly designed skirt like that.

For work clothes, I shop at Ann Taylor, AT Loft, Nordstroms (usually only sales), Banana Republic, or Limited (mostly for pants). For casual clothes, I usually order from Title Nine, Athleta, or Patagonia.

I love the consignment store. I have a nice one I love to visit, especially if I need pants. I just pick up everything I sort of like, in my size, from their rack, and I eventually find one or two pairs that fit. At regular stores, it's a lot more complicated because the range is not that wide.

I've scored two pairs of obviously new - maybe worn once - Banana Republic pants recently. Now I know that I can go check out the store. It's a great way to see lots of brands at the same time.

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Originally Posted by tulip

PM me those thrift shops, KathiCville! I haven't been out to search any in Richmond yet (yes, I've been here for two years...)

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Will do, Tulip! I'm away from home at the moment, but will pull out my thrift shop list when I get back. Remind me if I don't get back to you within a week. :)

I forgot Athleta; they are selling more "regular" casual clothes and they have lots of petite sizes. I really like their stuff.
I still buy most of my regular clothes, as opposed to cycling stuff in stores, although anything I get from J Crew is on line, since they quit selling petites in store quite awhile ago.
The size thing... well we've had this discussion before. I have a 26 inch waist, too and I am a size 0 or 2, like Shootingstar, even though, I know she weighs less than me! The Loft is getting crazy with size creep and I have to get an xxsmall petite in their tops. Yea, I am flat chested and short, but I have very broad shoulders for someone my size.
When I got married and weighed about the same as I do now, I wore a size 6. After I had my first kid, I started exercising seriously and they started making petite clothes around this time, I could still wear junior sizes... usually a 5 or 7, sometimes a 3. Then, I lost more weight (too much). I wore a 2 or 4 petite, but I had a lot of trouble finding stores that carried those sizes, so I still ended up buying junior sizes. That was fine into my early thirties, but eventually, I had to start dressing like a grown up. I did wear suits to work at that point and remember shopping at Petite Sophisticates. Now those clothes seem cheaply made to me. Anyway, I bet if I tried on those size 2s and 4s from the 80's, they would be tight on me because of the way sizing has changed.
Truthfully, I struggle with making sure I am not dressing too "young." I don't feel old and I am thin enough to wear some of the styles that are not OK for an old lady. So, I stick to classic styles that are a bit updated.
My close friend from college just had her first grandchild, so this old/young thing is on my mind. She is a year younger than me and her kids are the same age as my kids. I saw her picture on Facebook and she looks, well, like a dumpy, middle aged person. This was someone who was model-gorgeous and fit. Part of it was the way she was dressed; she looked like her mother did when we were in school! I know this is really shallow, but it made me feel old to see her looking so old.

I like Eddie Bauer for business casual--nice machine washable dress pants that look professional, fit nicely and are comfortable. I've started to shop more from Boden and J. Jill but can't afford everything I'd like to get! I used to shop at Coldwater Creek for work clothes, but I haven't liked their style in the last few years. I still shop with them for dressier things. Size creep is a problem, though--back when I was in college and 120 pounds I easily wore a size 10, as I had since I hit puberty. Now I'm 20 years older and 20 pounds heavier and I STILL wear a size 10. Something is very wrong there.

Sarah

:(:( indeed size creep is crazy these days. Ann Taylor (which I like and often fits me) is down to a 00 for the smallest sizes... what's next? I'm only 5 feet tall and relatively thin as well, so I'm almost always on the lowest edge of fitting into anything, even petites (I'm already relegated to kids jeans, not even Gap fits me anymore and hardly anyone else goes even close to small enough). If sizes creep much more I won't be able to find anything that fits. The funny thing is that Ann Taylor goes out of their way to talk about how if a size fits you in the spring line, the same one will fit in the fall line... ummm yeah right, that's why stuff I have from a few years ago, the smallest size was a 2?

Petite pants, especially jeans, now generally have 30" inseams :eek:. I am a 28.5. That's why I like Athleta; their pants have 28.5 or 29 inch inseams.
I am about to give up on jeans. I am wearing a pair that is 5 years old and worn out. My new ones can only be worn with heels. It seems crazy to hem jeans (I cannot sew and have to pay for this), but I might have to. I don't think I could fit into kid's jeans, though I have thought about it. My mom used to buy shoes in the kid's department, since she wore a size 4.

It use to be that regular pants had a 30 inch inseam. Those fit me great. :rolleyes:

I've tried a few petites but the rise isn't long enough for me. I'm just under 5'5", so I'm not really a petite. Again I think it's clothing manufacturers wanting the public to be happy with their size. They don't seem to realize that average height of women in the US is 63.8 inches. I think they are making their clothes to suit their models' average height.

Veronica

Veronica --

I'm a bit heavier than you, but I think from photos, we have a similar body type, so I'm going to suggest Cristopher & Banks if you have one handy. Prices are reasonable, and jeans are decent. I've always had the problem of the gapping waistband, but not with their pants.

Some of the tops are annoyingly cutesy for anyone who's not into "theme" garments (y'know, holiday shirts/sweaters, for example), and I've found that on the "jeans style" non-jeans, I've got some pair that have been off-grain, so not come through laundering real well, so I'm wary of those, but like I say, prices. Often you can buy a pair of pants for around $25 there. -- and you're a teacher. Special sales for teachers occasionally AND you're not paid near enough for the work you do. Every price bargain is worth looking into!

(besides, then you can spend the real money on bike stuff)

Karen in Boise

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Originally Posted by Crankin

Petite pants, especially jeans, now generally have 30" inseams :eek:. I am a 28.5. That's why I like Athleta; their pants have 28.5 or 29 inch inseams.
I am about to give up on jeans. I am wearing a pair that is 5 years old and worn out. My new ones can only be worn with heels. It seems crazy to hem jeans (I cannot sew and have to pay for this), but I might have to. I don't think I could fit into kid's jeans, though I have thought about it. My mom used to buy shoes in the kid's department, since she wore a size 4.

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I have this problem too (with length). I'm 5'4" but have a 28.5 inseam. Dress pants are no biggie because I can always hem them, but jeans are a pain. And forget buying jackets or dresses - I need petite in length, but misses in the body or the waist hits me at my armpits. Ugh!

I buy kids shoes all the time (particularly Keens which are much cheaper in the kids and yet are pretty much the same styles!). :D

I'm a big AT Loft and Target fan too, over half of my wardrobe is from both of those stores. RE: the sizing issue...I'm a bit bigger but I still think the whole "vanity sizing" thing is obnoxious. I have everything from a 6 to a 10 in my closet depending on where I purchased it. 29" waist and 40" inch hips should not EVER fit in a 6!

I'm 5'6" with a curvy, athletic build ;) and Eddie Bauer fits me well. They also have a choice of cuts that fit higher or lower on the waist. I also like J Jill. Do you have one of those stores near you?

Of all the pants (and jeans), I've bought in life...only 1 pr. i never had to alter hem by shortening it, etc. on my sewing machine. I have a 28" pant in-seam.

I expect most pants and long sleeved tops not to fit me in limb length in the store --99% time it's too long. Either I alter the length or for some tops, roll up neatly into a wrist cuff. It is a problem with tailored long-sleeved tops with buttoned French cuffs.

There is a whole group of stores I just don't bother walking into anymore...I might have a decade ago. Eddie Bauer is one of them.

Many stores do provide size 0 or 2. But often it's the only one left..so if I really want it, I buy it instead of waiting for discount sales. Hence, it gets expensive...