Petite Doper Women, advice needed!

In My Humble Opinion
21

I’m 5’1 and I buy almost all of my work clothes at New York & Company. They do great clothes for short women. I found a nice suit on sale at Express a couple of years ago, so that may be worth chekcing out.

As others have mentioned, Target has a crummy petite selection. Unless your daughter has hours to spare, I’d recommend against thrift stores. I don’t know what they’re like in your area, but I’ve had a hard time finding flattering, well-fitting professional clothes at the ones around here.

Convential wisdom says that when it comes to women’s suits, skirts are dressier/more “professional” than pants. I’m not saying the conventional wisdom makes any sense, but if I really cared about making a good first impression, I’d go with the skirt for the job interview.

22

I’ve never heard this, really. And my personal observation has been that all of the really successful women I’ve worked with or around (My last boss ran her own lobbying firm, our chief political officer was a woman, our general counsel were both women, other CEOs and presidents we worked with were women) have a tendency to dress more in slacks and pantsuits than skirts. The ones wearing skirts and dresses tended to be the secretaries and receptionists. I’ve also noticed a difference in how I’m addressed when I’m wearing skirt and dresses v. a pantsuit or slacks. So I guess it’s a matter of what you prefer and how you want to be perceived. I’m just a bit surprised to hear that skirts seem more professional to some, as it’s always been just the opposite in my perception.

23

It has nothing to do with doing the job – I could do my job in jammies and big fuzzy slippers, but wouldn’t dream of it, because I’m a professional and work in a professional environment (editor in chief of a magazine).

It’s about dressing appropriately, which is important in making a good impression on the person doing the hiring. Wearing jeans and a T-shirt says loud and clear “my own comfort and convenience is far more important to me than any needs or expectations you might have.” Wearing an “appropriate” job interview outfit communicates that the candidate understands the need to present oneself professionally in a professional situation. The job itself may not have such a high dress code for day to day (and probably doesn’t), but the job interview is the high bar.

For an office job, esp. in a conservative environment like financial services, you should dress up to the level of the person interviewing you, not down to the level of the person who’s cleaning the office you’re meeting in.

If jeans is a one, and a full, matching skirt-and-jacket suit is a ten, a matching pants suit is probably an eight (and non-matching, but tailored, pants and jacket combo a seven; non-matching skirt and jacket a nine). I’m not saying she needs to go for a ten, but she should be aware what ten is, and make the deicision whether she wants to settle for a seven or not.

For instance: for my first interview at my current job, I wore a brown knee-length skirt; a cream-colored rayon (nice drapey material) shirt; and a brown tweed blazer – plus dark tights and brown flats. This was a nine on my scale above. For my second interview, I wore a full-skirted jersey dress with a plaid blazer over it; this is about a seven and a half, maybe an eight. In both cases I was going to the interview from my other job, which didn’t know I was looking – so in both cases I swapped out the sweater I’d worn over the outfit at job one for a blazer for the interview at job two – and didn’t get any comments at job one along the lines of “hey, you got a job interview today or something?” for being significantly dressier than usual – because I tend to wear skirts and dresses at work. In other words, day to day, I dress at about a seven or eight on my scale, because I am a professional, and I dress professionally.

24

Well, since we’re playing the “Wow look at me, I’m more professional than you game”, I work in professional environments, too. My past job was as Political Operations Manager for a business association, where I was required to wear a full suit every day during session, committee weeks, and election season (about 80% of the year). Now I work as a consultant for a software development firm, and while I get to ‘dress down’ to business casual when not meeting with clients, I still prefer to wear something more on the professional side. And again, it’s been my experience that the more successful and professional women tend more towards slacks and pantsuits than skirts or dresses.

According to you, perhaps. What makes this more professional than this? Because the only difference I’m seeing is that skirts are more ‘clasically feminine’, and I hardly think that’s a factor in what makes someone look professional, unless they’re really being hired based on how they look in a skirt.

25

XJETGIRLX, I’m really not trying to start anything with you here. It has been my experience that skirts “read” as more professional than pants, and that is my mindset when I’m doing hiring. Why that is, which of us is more feminist – or professional – than the other – whatever, shrug.

Kunilou is looking for advice for helping his daughter dress for an interview for a job in a conservative professional environment – I’m saying there is a significant group of people, amongst whom I count myself, who’d consider a suit with a skirt to make a better impression than a suit with pants.

That’s all I’m saying.

26

This probably won’t be much help for your daughter since I don’t know where you guys are located, but I’d figure I’d throw it out there for anyone reading that might find themselves in a similar situation in the San Francisco area.

A Miner Miracle offers low cost clothing, shoes, cosmetics, and image consultations for low income men and women and young adults entering the work force.

I have no experience at all with the program, but I’ve walked by their public shop a few times (ground floor of the garage next to the Metreon on Mission) and thought it was a great idea.

I second thrift stores and discount stores like Ross/TJ Maxx/Marshalls and that the pieces don’t need to exactly match.

27

Actually, that’s not at all what he asked. He specifically asked where to find a jacket and slacks for his petite daughter, not what she should wear. And I’m not starting anything, just challenging you on an opinion that I don’t think is as universal as you’d like to believe.

28

You are correct.

I apologize for offering an opinion.

29

Benetton is also another place that sells proffesional type clothes that you would not need to hem for pants if you were 5 feet. They sell matching jackets and if their stuff is on sale, it is pretty cheap.

30

My opinion? For a financial advisor job, DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, wear “slacks” or dress pants or pants of any form. Wear a skirt suit. Trust me, it looks far more professional.

Anyway, I’m 5’ 2" and just found a very nice quality three-piece skirt/pants/jacket suit for $40 – fully lined and beautifully cut, at Ross.

Ooops. Upon preview, I see twickster has been given a rash of shit for the exact same opinion I just offered. Well, XJetGirlX, I live and work in the same town you do and in MY experience here, the female executives who wish to be taken seriously tend to wear more skirt suits and dresses than “slacks.” Just that word, slacks, to me, makes me think “slacker,” which makes me think “sloppy” which makes me think “poor attention to detail” and “not very professional.” I’m not saying that’s right, or the way it should be, but that’s how business works. It’s quite often all about image. Just MHO as well.

But you can find nice stuff at Goody’s, Ross, Marshall’s, Steinmart, Target (the Isaac Mizrahi collection has some very nice stuff) and IMHO, I think it’s well worth the investment, especially for a young professional just starting out, to invest in professional tailoring for an exact fit as well as a good pair of shoes. (Remember that line in Silence of the Lambs? “You know what you look like, Clarice, with your good bag and cheap shoes…? You look like a rube to me.” How you dress sends a message.) As the cheeseball commercial suggests, you have only one chance in an interview to make a good first impression. A well-tailored skirt suit, and some nice dress shoes (closed-toed, low heel – nothing over 2.5 inches – conservative leather pumps) can sometimes mean the difference between one candidate and another. If all other factors are equal – same qualifications, skill sets, talents, unique fresh perspective, whatever the employer is looking for – sometimes it comes down to superficial crap like appearances or how well the employer thinks the candidate will fit with the other personalities. When I have two equally-qualified, able candidates, I do look at details like how a person presents herself, how well he’s put together, how he or she sells his or her portfolio or resume or presentation skills.

True story: I did have two equally qualified candidates once. My team couldn’t decide which to hire. One wore a tie and when we asked to see his samples, he stood up, held up his portfolio and presented them to us. His presentation was relaxed, humorous, organized, pleasant and easy to follow. The other guy wore a sport shirt and “slacks” and tossed his samples out in a random pile on the table. We were completely confused and had no idea which piece he was talking about in relationship to which piece each person was looking at. I wasn’t sure what he was selling us. I broke the tie by asking my team this, “Which guy would you send into the Chairman’s office to pitch a new ad we designed for the company? Who do you want to send into battle to fight for the project we want to work on?” Unanimously, my team chose the guy with the tie. I know this is way TMI and nobody asked for dressing for an interview tips; I’m just sayin’. You can do well at the discount stores if you shop carefully, but I think it’s worth it to invest in your career image to break out the credit cards and spend a couple hundred bucks on some nice stuff that’s going to last through many years of boring-ass meetings. A great gift for a young person who is about to go through the first-job-interview gauntlet would be a nice attache or briefcase or a high quality portfolio.

I apologize, also, for offering opinions and TMI.

31

In my experience, women who want to show off their legs wear skirts and women who want to show off their brains wear slacks.

32

Because Lord knows it couldn’t just be that I look dumpy in slacks due to the shape of my hips, right? No, sir- I’m a bona fide skank that wants to use my good looks and loose morals to work my way up the corporate ladder. I mean, I would use my brain but why would I do that when I’ve got LEGS! :rolleyes:

33

Hi Kunilou,

Thankfully I don’t have to wear suits to work everyday but the nature of my profession requires me to don it more often than I’d like. I have had great success with Banana Republic petites. I don’t know if it’s pricier than you’d like but for me it is worth it to not have to go get everything tailored afterwards.

It is very good for businessy looking clothes as well.

Anu

(almost 5’2")

34

The added benefit of BR is that while it’s not a Prada or anything, they are really high quality and last a long time. YMMV.

35

Teehee! But no one said anything about your mind, dear! :stuck_out_tongue:

36

Well then what do you call those things that guys wear over their legs with a suit jacket, then? Are you suggesting that women in pants look sloppy whereas men don’t?

37

LOL who nedz a brian newayz rite?!!1111! I meen, I got legs!!! LOL LOL Boyz lik legz n’ i wil go FAAAAAR cuz I gotz LEGS!!11!!! LOL LOL ROTLMAO!1!!!1!!! LOL Mi legz r teh Sexxxurz!!!1!!
No seriously, I really don’t see how being intelligent and (gasp) wearing a skirt are mutually exclusive. It seems as though Bluethee is attempting to say that an intelligent person would not wear a skirt, but I find it hard to believe that there aren’t intelligent women out there that a: dress fashionably and b: might show off a little leg. In fact, I find that point to be completely baseless, as I know that is not a fact.

OhEmGee, you guys! Nobel Prize Laureates in skirts- they must be dumb sluts, huh? Christiane Nusslein-Volhard- 1995 laureate in Medicine , Wangari Maathai- 2004 winner of the prize in literature , and there’s many more, but I wont post them here because I’d hate to propagate the idea that women in skirts might have some semblance of intelligence.

38

Oh, and that wasn’t an attack on you, kawaiitentaclebeast. You made me giggle. It wasnt really an attack on anyone, just me clarifying my point. :slight_smile:

39

Twickster is right. Where I work, in the largest real estate office in town, the top producing female agents usually wear skirts and dresses, and the assistants and lower rung agents typically wear pants. This is not to say they don’t wear slacks occasionally, but when they are meeting with clients it’s usually skirts.

There are lots of different work environments, but the safest course to take when applying for a new professional job is to wear a skirt.

40

It’s OK sweetie, you’re self conscious about these things, I COMPLETELY understand… :slight_smile: