I can empathize with most of y’all in this thread. Going to the mall is very annoying, because two paths seem to present themselves since I cannot afford to shop regularly at places like Ann Taylor and J.Crew, let alone more expensive boutiques like Anthropologie:
Dress like a tent
Dress like a scarlet woman
To make things worse, I cannot buy pantsuits from anywhere because I have a 35-36" inseam and I have yet to find a company that makes decent and reasonably priced pantsuits (or, to be honest, expensive and luxurious pantsuits) that are so accomodating. I save up (often with some aid from my parents) to buy clothes at the Kasper ASL outlet (these are a good option and every Kasper outlet I’ve been to carries an extensive petites section).
All I can say is that L&T did not used to be dowdy. It used to be classic clothes, made to last and look good all the while. I loved L&T. Talbots was dowdy…
I was a Field’s girl (even worked at the State St store in college). I loathe Macy’s and won’t shop there–so it’s Carson Pirie Scott for me (and who would have dreamed that Carson’s would still be here and Field’s gone?). If Carson’s goes–dunno what I’ll do…
Some of us don’t want to look like white trash skanks-you’d think stores would know this.
I feel your pain, Anne, though from the opposite end of the spectrum. I’m 5’10.5" barefoot. It’s almost impossible to buy slacks long enough in any store except speciality places that charge the bloody earth for stone-ugly stuff. I like Coldwater Creek for some dress/jacket combos but even they’ve pretty much phased out their tall clothing. I can get away with most of their dresses because they’re styled long but otherwise…drat.
Land’s End has some fairly nice classic women’s separates. I have a few of their basic wool skirts, slacks and jackets that can be dressed up with a silk blouse, good boots, etc. They aren’t exciting but at least they’re well-made and long enough.
It’s nice to have a bit of age going though, Eve. Many trendy styles are 1. ugly and 2. desperately unflattering to anyone without a perfect body. I really feel very sorry for some young women I see dressed in styles that emphasize every body flaw. Low-rise pants, bared midriffs and skimpy camisole-like tops are fashionable but make the absolute worst of women who wear them. It’s great to have the confidence and impeccable excuse to say not only no but hell no to wearing them.
My point–made way too subtly–was that what I call “quiet, classic good taste,” the stores and marketers call “dowdy.”
I’m a sweater-and-skirt girl; straight, kneelength skirts, worn with cotton sweaters or T-shirts; all solid colors, no patterns, bows, frills. I also have a few suits, with very clean, simple lines: kinda Givenchy, ca. 1960. It’s what looks best on me: I love long skirts, but am way too short to wear them, and I look downright silly in anything flowing or “girly.” And pants–oy! Cannot wear them.
Soooo . . . I know exactly what I want, but the damn stores want me to dress like this!
Well, about solid-colored tshirts, my secret weapon is Old Navy’s perfect fit tees. They’re always on a twofer sale, are well made and extremely well fit, and come in a constantly changing spectrum of colors. I looooove Old Navy perfect fit tees.
And they are nice and long this season, too. Stock up.
Audreyesque, you mean.
Don’t laugh, but I see some nice stuff at J.C. Penney’s. Yeah, I know it’s Penney’s, but they’re not too bad. Do you have Kaufmann’s where you live? They’re pretty nice.
And if you’re not adverse to shopping on line, there’s always Bluefly.com.
They’re expensive, but their stuff is well-made, well thought out, classicly styled, and they carry an extensive line of petites. If you can find one of their factory outlet stores, so much the better - they’re serious outlet stores that sell slightly imperfects, overruns, samples, off-season, last season, brand-new etc as well as things like skirt lengths to sew up yourself and packages of extra zippers and buttons.
I love Pendleton - I make an outlet store pilgrimage at least twice a year. The discounts in the outlets really are very very good as opposed to paying what the stuff costs in the stores. I have noted in talking to friends that Pendleton seems to be pretty much unknown on the East coast, thought, which is a real pity.
Sorry, Eve --my defensiveness shield filtered out any irony or sarcasm…
Dowdy is not frumpy, but I read frumpy for dowdy. I also am a Katherine Hepbun type dresser–clean lines and tailored look. I look silly in frills, low cut anything and sequins.
I have taken to looking casual at all times, at least a t-shirt and jeans is classic.
What is it with female clothig today? Toddlers are routinely dressed as prostitutes, and 13 year olds–I can’t even go there…
I hear ya. I’m 28, and I work at a college. If I don’t dress professionally, people assume I’m a student. I’ve had good luck at New York & Co. Some of their stuff is revealing, but they have a nice selection of slacks, button-down shirts, etc. that are both professional and not grandma-esque. (They also have pants that actually fit women like me who have petite little legs, but not a petite little butt.)
Oooh, thanks for the tip–you’re right, $$$, but I like some of their selections!
eleanorigby, another horrible trend I have noticed (well, in the suburbs) is of middle-aged or elderly women apparently going out having accidentally put on their granddaughter’s rompers.
Christopher Banks is good - you have to weed through the schoolteacher stuff. But its possible to come out of there professional, not trendy, and not spend a mint.
Good lord, but I hate that. No one over 18 should be allowed to wear overalls. Unless you’re painting the house or hauling compost. Aside from the fact that they hide any hint of a waistline you may have, they just scream “I don’t give a shit.”
O, I don’t know–overalls look ok on some pregnant women. At least pregnant women actually have a choice now as to fashion.
Which are worse–overalls or shortalls on grown women? And what of the women of a certain age that decide to look like their teenage daughters? Oy and yikes and ick.
I loves me some Susan Sarandon and Goldie Hawn, but let’s face it–not many women that age can dress that way and still look good…
I have to say I like the Gap for their jeans. I also like Kohl’s for some of their t-shirts. Target (yes, Target) actually had some nice stretchy tee’s this spring-solid color, with nice scoop necks and no rips, tears or sequins. Thank you, god.
I figure Audrey or Katherine–if you go Hepburn, you’re bound to look good!
Yeah, these are not just overalls, they’re shortie, sleeveless, two-piece affairs. Usually in a pattern last seen in 1970s wallpaper. The sort of thing that might concievably look cute on a toddler, but on a grown woman is a crime against humanity.
(P.S. It’s Katharine Hepburn. She might well rise from the grave and beat you to a bloody pulp for spelling it “Katherine”).
Personally, I’m kind of wishing I’d stocked up **before ** Old Navy (and the Gap) decided that tshirts should be tunic length. The very last thing I need is a tshirt that ends at my widest point, and makes my waist disappear like magic.
This thread appeared at a particularly appropriate time for me. I’m 5’3.5 and 115 lbs with a 28" inseam. I have problems finding pants that fit, and even if I didn’t, I still have no sense of fashion but refuse to show up to meetings wearing things that the local college girls wear.
Lands’ End was my solution for a long time, but then they changed their item numbers or product names, or “updated” their products. Now I can’t buy my old favorites - decent good-looking clothes - and the newer products don’t fit in the same sizes. I just made another trip to Sears for a return and sent them a long and whiny letter.
Of course, “updating” a product means that you can now only buy it in cheap fabric or cut halfway down the ass, with mega-boot-cut legs.
sob
I figured this meant a trip to The Mall for extensive trying-on of pants at every possible store. I couldn’t deal with the idea. I’ve started shopping at the Goodwill store, because they have a huge variety of brands and fits, and it’s much quieter than the mall. If I find something there that fits, I can pay $4 for it, test it out, and then look for it new elsewhere when I need more of the same.
I’m a proven thread-killer. Somebody, please post after me. Pleeeeease.
Check out Vickie’s Dirty Nasty Icky Little Secret. I buy my career pants there and they fit. Every Time. And I believe you can order them in different lengths. I swear by them.
