Where did the petite dresses go?

At just under 5 feet tall, I cannot wear standard misses size dresses. For many years, I have been able to find a limited, but adequate, selection of petite sized dresses at department stores and through catalogs. Recently though, I have found that many stores and catalogs have all but eliminated petite dresses (petite sports wear is still widely available). My quest to buy a new dress last week was futile. The closest Belk's store to me has stopped carrying petite dresses -a sales clerk there says that weren't selling. Dress Barn had 5 or 6 petite dresses, all size 6 or smaller (I wear a 12). Steinmart had maybe eight styles to choose from (dozens in regular misses) I used to be able to rely on Chadwick's to have a good selection of dresses in Petites - no longer; the latest issue of their catalog shows dozapens of cute dresses in summer prints NONE of which are available in Petites (there are about 5 basic, solid-cooled dresses) Is this a problem other petite ladies are experiencing?

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At just under 5 feet tall, I cannot wear standard misses size dresses. For many years, I have been able to find a limited, but adequate, selection of petite sized dresses at department stores and through catalogs. Recently though, I have found that many stores and catalogs have all but eliminated petite dresses (petite sports wear is still widely available). My quest to buy a new dress last week was futile. The closest Belk's store to me has stopped carrying petite dresses -a sales clerk there says that weren't selling. Dress Barn had 5 or 6 petite dresses, all size 6 or smaller (I wear a 12). Steinmart had maybe eight styles to choose from (dozens in regular misses) I used to be able to rely on Chadwick's to have a good selection of dresses in Petites - no longer; the latest issue of their catalog shows dozapens of cute dresses in summer prints NONE of which are available in Petites (there are about 5 basic, solid-cooled dresses) Is this a problem other petite ladies are experiencing?

 

 

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I'm 5'1 and wear Large/12 dresses and can never find petite. Dresses tend to hit me right below the knee which I actually like. I can't wear the cute maxi dress/skirt styles because finding them for petites is impossible. I've found that most petite sections are online only. When I search a retailers website they have the cutest petite clothing but it's always online only. I prefer to try things on before I pay for them. If you don't mind online shopping you may want to look at online. I know Old Navy has a petite section (not sure if you like their styles). I've seen petites on Target's site but have heard terrible things about their shipping. I even have trouble finding jeans. When I buy "short" or "petite" jeans they are still too long. Good luck! If you find a retailer with a good petite section please let me know.

TJ Maxx, Marshall's, and JC Penny all have Junior Departments and so does Ross 4 Less, Kohls, Macy's and Nordstrom. Also, there are stores like Forever 21 that cater to mostly junior-sized clientele. I'm 5'4" and usually wear either XL or 1x and I always find things that fit in these stores. You just have to give yourself time to shop and look around. I try a gazillion things on and usually end up with maybe 3 or 4 items that I really like. But then, I'm a shopaholic!:eek::D

Most of y'all know that I am at the other end of the height spectrum, but I definitely feel for the petite ladies. It seems that the fashion industry caters to the average height woman and other than online retailers, forgets about the rest of us. I was at Dillard's on Saturday and the sales lady commented that all petite ladies have to do is take up hems and things will fit them. I looked at her and said, that is not entirely true. Petite women have a shorter rise than average and their proportions are shorter as well. It's like saying all I have to do is let out the hems. :rolleyes:

I shop a bunch, so I will keep my eye out for stores that stock petite dresses for y'all. Somehow I always wander into petite land.

Lisa

I'm 5'1" and boy do I agree that it's becoming very hard to find petite sizes in stores. I'm also pretty critical about fit (which is why I sew many of my own clothes) Jr sizes are not cut for the petite figure ( proportionally short), they are just geared to more narrow figures of young women. The length is the problem and not just at the hem but from shoulder to bust, bust to waist and so on..... Petite clothing should have proportional details too, like smaller lapels and pockets. OKAY...rant against ready to wear is over:p

Macy's tends to have a better petite department than any of the other stores in my area. If you have one near, you might try them. I used to buy Chadwicks too but now they carry very little in petite. Good luck!

Garnet Hill has a great petite selection... & so does Nordstrom, Ann Taylor & Ann Taylor loft has a petite section in all of my local stores.

Talbots has a decent petite section (and I find their regular size tops to be cut dang petite as it is;)) Even the outlet stores have petite (and Women) at my closest outlet.

Kohls has some petite but I haven't been in ages; not sure if they have any dresses in the petite section.

Guess it depends what style & price range you're looking for.

Most of y'all know that I am at the other end of the height spectrum, but I definitely feel for the petite ladies. It seems that the fashion industry caters to the average height woman and other than online retailers, forgets about the rest of us. I was at Dillard's on Saturday and the sales lady commented that all petite ladies have to do is take up hems and things will fit them. I looked at her and said, that is not entirely true. Petite women have a shorter rise than average and their proportions are shorter as well. It's like saying all I have to do is let out the hems. :rolleyes:

 

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Lisa

I'm one of those that only have to hem. My rise and waist are 'regular'.

I'm 5'1" so I know the feeling! The Limited just started carrying petites, but it's online only. Banana Republic and White House Black Market also have petites. I like these three sites because they post customer reviews which are always helpful when buying online. They are priced in the Ann Taylor range though.

I do most of my shopping online because it's so hard to find anything cute in stores that's my size.

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I'm one of those that only have to hem. My rise and waist are 'regular'.

Huh...I am the opposite of you! My rise and waist are petite, but the rest of me is average! I wear mostly separates because misses dresses are often too long in the waist for me, and petite dresses are too short in the hem and too tight across the shoulders! I look for tops in the petite department -- misses tops are often way too long for me. I usually wear misses skirts. The rise of misses pants is often too long, but I need length in the leg, so petite slacks or jeans are totally out. Perhaps this is why I have begun to appreciate ankle-length (crop) pants.

I thought I had noticed a lot of petite style (dresses, too) in our local Steinmart -- perhaps that varies by store...

I agree.....

Try Noordstroms, Ann Taylor, Talbots, Lord & Taylor, Dillard's, Macy's.

I find petites in those stores.

try white house black market. They carry petites.

Nordstrom and Macy's still have decent petite departments in my part of the country. I do most of my shopping online now, and I've had no trouble finding plenty of well-fitting petite dresses and blouses from Lafayette 148, Anne Klein and Tahari (Arthur S. Levine). Eva Franco's dresses fit me well, too, though I don't think they offer petite sizing. (I'm 5'2".)

It drives me crazy when people tell me I can just get stuff hemmed. lol First, I feel like I'm required to pay for things twice when I get things hemmed. If I'm paying for pants/skirts/dresses I want them to fit. Whey should I have to pay for clothes then turn around and pay someone else to make them fit. If I knew how to sew it would be a different story but I'm domestically challenged :D Plus, if I don't buy "short" or "petite" pants they sag and make me look like I'm wearing a diaper.

I just bought a really cute pair of pants at Ross 4 Less today. They're by Jones New York and they fit perfect but as usual they are too long by about 2 inches. So after I spent sometime in front of the mirror, I realized that because they are supposed to be ankle length and are therefore narrow at the hem, it won't take much for me to hem them myself.

Ann Taylor and Loft both have petite sections in their stores. Our Loft store actually had a really cute dress in petite but not in Misses. I tried on the petite just to see if I liked the cut and color and then ordered the regular size online.

It drives me crazy when people tell me I can just get stuff hemmed. lol First, I feel like I'm required to pay for things twice when I get things hemmed. If I'm paying for pants/skirts/dresses I want them to fit. Whey should I have to pay for clothes then turn around and pay someone else to make them fit. If I knew how to sew it would be a different story but I'm domestically challenged :D Plus, if I don't buy "short" or "petite" pants they sag and make me look like I'm wearing a diaper.

Your comments made me smile -- you sound exactly like so many of the participants on (the now defunct) "What Not to Wear." Stacie and Clinton kept repeating, "tailor, tailor, tailor." Yes, it may be a shame and seem unfair that clothes off the racks don't fit every single shopper in exactly the way the person would want, but think about it --how could they???

The reason the clothes that any WNTW participant "revealed" at the end of the show fit her so well was that every one of those garments was tailored to her body! (The tailoring costs were taken out of the $5000 -- you could see exactly how much was spent on tailoring on the website.)

I do not spend money on tailoring, either. I do some of my own tailoring, though I am not a professional by any means. But I bet if you spent enough time shopping (not an easy thing for many of us to do), you would eventually discover styles, labels, cuts that would fit you in a way you find acceptable without much or any adjustment. Again, this is why I wear mostly separates, because I can get the best fit.

But you will most likely never find clothes made perfectly for your body unless you have them tailored, or have them custom made -- a very big expense. Most of us have to make some compromises.

Macy's, Nordstrom, Lord & Taylor have petites. Try Talbot's, Ann Taylor and Loft for dresses. I just received a Lands' End catalog and they have dresses including maxis.

Ann Taylor and Dillards are great for petites! At AT I do have to buy one size up from their regular size if I buy petite bottoms, though.

Check out Dress Barn's website. I was looking at it yesterday & they offer 65 petite dresses. The selection varies from day dresses to cocktail & maxi.

I'm 5'1" and wear a petite. Dillard's has a good selection but not always in my price range.

JC Penney carries petite dresses as does my local Ross Dress for Less, but one has to rummage through the racks. Marshall's will sometimes have them but they are mixed in withe the regular sizes.

Bealls, which also goes under a couple of other names, carries a nice selection of petite dresses.

Probably the place where I find the best selection in dresses is Burlington. They are pretty much all over the US.

This is for anyone who shops at Bealls.....today, in store AND on line,

EVERYTHING is an additional 25% off.....no matter what the item.

Clearance, regular, etc...etc...etc......:D.....they are taking 25% off

your total.....and normally those clearance racks can have some nice

things, fun things, etc...etc....:)

I'm 5'3" -used to be 5'4":(,- so on the edge of the petite sizes. But, I must have a regular rise and waist length, as I can't normally wear petite pants or dresses because the rise is too short as well as the waist.

I can wear most petite tops. I wish women could more often find pants in lengths like men can--say, 30", 31", etc. I can't imagine how people under 5 foot find clothes to fit.

We have some selection of petites in Penneys and Herberger's here, but most aren't my style. I am 68, but I don't really want to dress like I'm 88.

I realize, having a DIL who is almost 6 foot and very, very slim, that the other end of the spectrum is no piece of cake either.

I don't want to tailor things, due to cost and inconvenience; besides, I don't even know if anyone does that around here anymore.

Tadashi Shoji offers some long gowns in petite sizes - and I occasionally find them offered online at the "flash sale" sites such as ideeli and Rue La La.

Your comments made me smile -- you sound exactly like so many of the participants on (the now defunct) "What Not to Wear." Stacie and Clinton kept repeating, "tailor, tailor, tailor." Yes, it may be a shame and seem unfair that clothes off the racks don't fit every single shopper in exactly the way the person would want, but think about it --how could they???

 

The reason the clothes that any WNTW participant "revealed" at the end of the show fit her so well was that every one of those garments was tailored to her body! (The tailoring costs were taken out of the $5000 -- you could see exactly how much was spent on tailoring on the website.)

 

I do not spend money on tailoring, either. I do some of my own tailoring, though I am not a professional by any means. But I bet if you spent enough time shopping (not an easy thing for many of us to do), you would eventually discover styles, labels, cuts that would fit you in a way you find acceptable without much or any adjustment. Again, this is why I wear mostly separates, because I can get the best fit.

 

But you will most likely never find clothes made perfectly for your body unless you have them tailored, or have them custom made -- a very big expense. Most of us have to make some compromises.

I used to love that show. I seriously wanted to submit myself at one point because every time they talked about tailoring I would laugh because it reminded me of how cheap I am.

My shortness does come in handy when buying skirts and dresses because I do not like anything hitting above my knee. I'm not a fan of my thighs so I like dresses being knee length and since today's styles tend to be on the shorter side they hit me right at the knee.

I have a closet full of clothes right now so I really don't need to buy anything. I guess that's a good thing for now but when i start shopping again I'll have to actually spend time going to multiple stores. I hate shopping so I don't go unless I have nothing that fits or if everything gets so old it's falling apart.

Yes, I would have been great for WNTW lol