Hey guys! I am a recent college graduate, so I am starting to build my collection of work attire, starting with that classic work suit. But since I am so petite that I even envy people who can fit into xxsp / 00p suits (4'9", 90 lbs - skinny with muscular legs), I am really struggling with the task. Currently, all I have are some blazers from H&M and Nordstrom that fit ok, and pants I found in Nordstrom's children section. The pants fit really well in the waist and in length (with heels on), but because I have a bit of a badonkadonk and very muscular legs, the tightness in the thigh and butt area is awkward.

So I was wondering if there are people on the shorter(er) side here that have some experience with this? I've looked through a lot of petite blogs, and the shortest blogger I've found thus far is Kelly. But even she needs a lot of suits altered, so I can imagine what alterations I would need since I am a good 2 inches shorter, lol.

On a side note, sooo annoying that the boys' section at places like Nordstrom have quite an extensive mini suit collection, but the girls' section only have frilly dresses and the occasional formal pants.

Okay! I am a size larger than you, but I definitely feel the pain on the lack of options in the girl's section.

Suggestions:
-Zara and Jcrew (crewcuts) kids section have blazers! I don't know what your build on top is, but if you have trouble with the shoulder width on 00p blazers, the kids section might help. (I think Zara's TRF line runs small?)
You probably won't be able to find a suit set in the girls section, but unless your work is corporate (is it?) you can get by with two more formal suit sets and a mix of nice dresses and blazers.

-Skirts suits. I have a similar lower body (bootyy) and dress pants are really hard for me to find. Skirts are a lot easier. I buy to fit my butt and then get it hemmed and the waist taken in. Cheaper alterations than for pants, but still additional money :/

-H&M. Sizing and cut of their blazers VARY. I tried on a heavy knit blazer and went up to a 6 to fit my shoulders and boobs. Maybe next time you're in, ask the salesperson which styles are the smallest? This is the only non costly option I could think of for getting a matching suit jacket and bottom.

-Rock a longer blazer?

Great idea for a topic! I'm even shorter than you, and just a touch lighter.

ShortieK's suggestions are good ones - I have a couple Zara Kids blazers. However, I thought when I bought them they were the epitome of fit, but I realize now they're a little long on me. I've been lusting after one on their website that's a cream stripe fabric with a tie around the waist, though, and it looks like it might be shorter than the ones I have based on the length of the sleeves compared to the hem; can't be sure, though. If anyone got that blazer, I'd love to know how it turned out!

Loft is also a really good place to look, its smallest petite sizes can run a bit smaller than most stores, including regular Ann Taylor. You may have to try different styles, but I would bet something should fit. I found a really well-fitting dark green velveteen blazer there recently on sale, the velveteen fabric is stretch so it might be cut a bit smaller than ordinary. But it's not too long on me, which is always a problem.

This is so very hard, and I truly feel for you ladies who are even smaller than myself, because I know how hard it's been for me to find suiting pieces that fit.

H&M blazers usually fit me large in the shoulder and bust, unless they are the knit kind, in which case the size 2 can fit really small. The only bummer about those is they tend to not look as professional. If you work in a business casual environment, they'll work just fine.

Random thought...Nordstrom just changed their credit card policy on alterations. They now give you $100 worth of free alterations a year. What about shopping the boy's suiting department for small fitting blazers, and then opening a Nordstrom card to get $100 worth of free nips & tucks, since boys blazers usually run boxy?

Pants have been the hardest to find for me, and if you don't need pants, I'd suggest looking for suiting skirts just to get your wardrobe started. They are easier to fit, and are way cheaper/easier to alter if you need to. LOFT has been my best bet for finding pants that fit on the smaller side, but even then they are hit or miss. You've gotta try on a lot of pants to find the one that looks decent.

I'm also extremely petite with a butt and muscles lol

I have my professional clothing from Express and Ann Taylor mostly, I find that those two fit the closest and the quality is good enough that you can keep them a long time, AT especially.

Sadly though, finding clothes for a curvy petite is SUPER hard. You're likely to have to invest in some alterations.

When buying a blazer, make sure the width from shoulder to shoulder is okay. That particular alteration is the most expensive to fix but slimming and hemming is usually pretty reasonable.

Thanks for all the great advice guys!!

I went into Banana Republic for their Work Event sale today and checked out several of their 00p work skirts. Ohhhh boy, I swear I need to take in about 1/3 of the waist.... (Really such a pity too because some of them were at the perfect inch or two above the knee length on me). So I'm kind of wondering whether it'll be less trouble to just custom make a skirt somewhere? Does anyone have any experience with this and know an approximate cost vs the cost of taking in the waist by a lot a lot?

Haha, I actually don't mind all too much if the shoulders in the blazers are slightly big. But I think the biggest problem for me is, even when I find some petite blazers that are cut small and fitted, they still look slouchy on me because of that built-in boob space.... I'm not quite sure how to get this problem fixed except wear those bras that have two boobs in them, haha. But I did really like the two Zara kids blazers I saw (unfortunately only available in size 8 at the time), so I'll keep an eye out for new arrivals!

For pants, I dug out the two I got from Nordstrom a while ago and tried them on again, and they didn't look as bad as I remembered. They just look kind of awkward on me because of mah big butt and muscley thighs. Otherwise, I think would look great on people with slimmer legs. I don't know if they're still available, but they are Ivy & Moon bella dress pants if anyone is interested and wants to try and look for them. Here is a picture I found:

http://girlstweenclothing.com/Pants.php

EDIT:

I just checked Banana Republic's petite sizing chart (http://bananarepublic.gap.com/browse/si ... ?cid=32368), and now I'm really confused. I measured myself to be 29-23-32, but their listed measurements for 00P is 30.5-23.5-33.5, so the waist isn't all that much different. How is it possible the clothes are SO huge on me??? Can these sizing charts be trusted? I'm also curious about Loft's supposed measurements (http://www.loft.com/loft/editorial/LOFT ... catl000067).

I don't know the cost of getting a custom suit made, but Jean of Extra Petite recently mentioned 9tailors, a shop that custom-makes suits and dress shirts:http://www.extrapetite.com/2012/01/lookbook-sweater-dress-simples.html. From a quick review of their site (http://www.9tailors.com/), they will only do suits if you are in the Boston area. If you live in that area, that could be a place to start.

I found this site after a google search: http://www.thesftailor.com/women. After a sloppy run-through of a dummy order, I was quoted $70 for a custom skirt, which is about the same price or even cheaper than many retail suit skirts! I have no idea how much it would actually be if I really went through with the order, and I didn't look for any testimonials. However, maybe it can get you started.

As for the measurement issue, I always take those online measurements with a grain of salt. Sometimes the clothes are cut much more differently (usually bigger) then the standard measurements. You're not alone! Ann Taylor is the worst offender for me. According to their measurements, I should be a size 2P, but their 00P jackets fit me best.

I am probably thinner than you, since I am just shy of 5'1 and about 83 pounds. However, I may have several classic garments by top designers in mint condition that might fit you, and I would be willing to sell them. You'd need to hem the skirts if you want to wear them at or above the knee, but that is a very simple alteration. If you are interested, send me measurements for your natural waist and low hip (wherever you are biggest around) so I can gauge whether these clothes might fit you.

What is your shoulder measurement? I love the Talula shrunken Exter (from Aritzia) blazer in 00 - See it on me here and Jen (frmheadtotoe) here and here.

The blazer measures about 13" across the shoulders (smaller than most H&M ones I've found), and has a very tiny waist. It might run a little big on you (Jen is 4ft10-4ft11, I am 4ft 1), but it could be worth a shot if you have an Aritzia nearby. It retails for $125CAD, and it's the best I've found without spending crazy amounts of money - I'm still in college myself.

It has some very nice details (small lapel, bronze buttons, small bust, good waist placement), but may not be professional enough for your needs (although I've worn it to co-op job interviews just fine). The sleeves will be too long on you, so that may be an issue. The main "casual" factor of the blazer, I think, are the buttons - You can replace them with something more "grown-up" for more professionalism.

I perfectly understand your pain and particularly for the 4"4 lady here.

So far I managed to avoid buying too much clothes from the children range from Zara or H&M for instance. But I did buy clothes from top designers children range like Chloe, Dior, Cacharel.... 12 years old (sometimes 14 years) do fit me, Europe size (don't know if the US children size are larger).
Well no skirts mind you as I do have bottom and large hips but thin waist.
But I have the opportunity to find nice skirts and jackets work appropriate in second hand and vintage as women were smaller and thinner (or rather there was not vanity sizing at that time...).

Other option would be to have your main garments (I mean work appropriate garment) custom made: there are some nice shops in Etsy and the sellers are always so very kind!
Or learn to sew, either by hand or using a sewing machine. That is unfortunately one of the only option to have a proper wardrobe that fit and flatter you.
I could buid a wardrobe along the years and try to keep my clothes in good shape as I know than most clothes now are not so good quality as they could be before. And yes I do a lot of alterations, either myself of through a tailor.

Mind you, I even found some women skirts in XS at Zara that where too short and too narrow at the waist! You just have to try your luck again and agin with, I think, a 10% rate of right fit clothes....