Help a short woman find good work clothes

[SoxonFeet]

I’m in a professional role and have always gone down the black trousers (petite from Next) and nice top approach. However I am more senior now and would like a range of stylish but professional clothes for a very short person.

I have a bit more of a budget than I used to but struggle to find clothes that fit properly. I’m a size 8 with a good set of hips and come in at 5’1”.

I do tend to wear heels a lot too.

Can anyone help me find something suitable/nice?

I’m 5ft and a size 6/8.
Agree it’s hard to find clothes that fit well.
Boden do petite fit and some of their shirts and trousers are suitable for work.
I also find the odd shirt online in the M&S petite range. But I find most of their petite stuff very frumpy.
Banana Republic do a petite range and some it is work wear. If you don’t live near a store, you can order online.
Although not a petite range, I find Warehouse dresses and skirts fit well.

I just posted about a good haul of trousers from ASOS petite. It's ASOS so the quality isn't amazing but it is ok for the price.

I have changed my approach recently and am concentrating more on fit than anything else and bought a coat in Dorothy Perkins in the Petite section which looks massively better on me than the stack of coats 3 times the price I worked through in John Lewis. I wish I could fine quality that fits but after too many shopping trips where I came back with bugger all I've decided that's a pipe dream.

Précis petite has the odd thing as does Fenn Wright and mason petite, both in JL. However they are aimed at an older demographic so for me they are hit or miss.

Gap do petite and I see someone else has mentioned Boden.

Curvy petite is hard though, especially for smart workwear where you want well fitting tailoring.

Ohhh and I did google a whole heap of petite bloggers to get some advice and it wasn't fab but if you haven't, it's worth trying. I can't recommend any as nothing matched what I was after so I didn't bookmark them but there are some out there.

That’s the problem I have, in that I have a flat bottom but do have boobs so struggle to fit in the slim stuff. Or if I go to the next size up it can be baggy and again doesn’t give off a structured look. I like skirts/dresses but often find it difficult to find fitted work appropriate dresses for my figure.

I have googled some petite bloggers in the past, they tend to be American so copying their look in UK stores is difficult.

I have no objection to JL but the petite stuff in there is definitely for the more mature demographic, and not something I would wear. I didn’t think about Boden, I wouldn’t automatically think to look there for work wear.

ASOS is ok but I find I have to get through an awful lot of clothes suitable for early 20’s, often with Cut out bits in outfits that then makes it inappropriate for work. I do have some of their casual stuff though.

I wish I was a bit taller - it’s a bloody nightmare being this size!!

I do hear your pain.

I used to be much much bigger and never had to get petite stuff but I'm a size 12 now and all of a sudden swamped by stuff. I find this bewildering as a 12 isn't small, I am just over 5 3 so top end of petite and have fairly long legs for my height.

But I'm hourglass shaped and short waisted which means stuff does just not fit.

Have you looked at Jeetly.com? I haven't bought from there but it came up in an article I googled (it's in the independent).

I get pretty much all my work clothes from banana republic petite, or just get things taken up from “normal” places like Hobbs, Jaeger and whistles

My current thinking is that smart plain ish dresses and little cardis and jackets work better than the old black trouser look.

I have the same problem! Massimo Dutti has some nice jackets atm (channel type) - and and like @Chewbacca says they look good with a plain dress. I have also found a great dressmaker and I take a lot of clothes to her to be altered (often from so called petite ranges - including Banana Republic - who I think are only on-line now).

5ft, size 6-8 here and agree that conservative (but not frumpy) smart work clothes can be difficult to find to fit (and forget about trying to find quality materials!).

I tend to stick with:

• Fitted or slightly A-line dresses (slightly above knee length) with sleeves.

Am not a fan of cardigans or sleeveless dresses for work and hate having to wear a jacket all day. Currently have dresses from Phase 8 (their dresses can come up quite small), Boden petite, Banana Republic petite, Wallis petite and a couple of random House of Fraser ones that I've had altered A LOT by a v good seamstress.

• Trousers, ankle length (I get them taken up at the dry cleaners) from Mango or Zara (they do a size 34). They're the only places I can get the hips and crotch length to fit. I also tend to buy smart blouses or short sleeve tops in their workwear sections as their size 8 comes up quite small.