Where to buy work dresses for petite women

[onlychildhamster]

I usually wear Joules, Monsoon, hush etc for my casual dresses. I only wear dresses (don't think I own any trousers other than 1 pair of skinny jeans!) and perhaps 1-2 work blouses/skirts.

I tend to wear prints (floral etc) on weekends, black/navy/subdued prints for the office which is paired with a blazer if I need to be more formal. I would like my dresses to be machine washable and tossed into a laundry bag (if required), so would prefer not to dry clean if possible. I don't really like sleeveless dresses, though I do wear them occasionally. I am 5 feet tall, so i find a lot of dresses nowadays are fairly long on me (which is fine for weekend/casual wear but looks strange for workwear).

Any recommendations would be great. I don't tend to spend a lot on my casual dresses as its easy to buy in sales for £35 or less. I used to buy black dresses from dorothy perkins (which was my default work outfit) and had a few dark coloured dresses from charity shops + oliver bonas + uniqlo, but would like to get some nicer work clothes! So I don't mind spending a little more if it is good quality. Thank you.

Are you under a size 10-12? If so H&M, Asos, Zara and Mango are doing some really good workwear at the moment.

@Ozanj I am size 8/10!

I find Tu and F&F really good for dresses (possibly they're meant to be tunics but they're dresses on me). Don't be put off by the supermarket label, I've found a lot of my work (teacher) dresses in there

Following as I'm the same height and need new work clothes.

Pre kids I bought dresses in Sandro and Maje but childcare and mortgage have turned me into a pauper.

@Ozanj I would check it out. I once tore a Zara dress in the dressing room so not too keen on them (it was that flimsy!) I have 2 nice print dresses from Mango. I liked asos when I was in uni, but I find them quite hit and miss- I have a £10 cold shoulder dress from uni days that I still wear but most of them seem to have fallen out of favour and been given away/consigned to charity shops! Ditto for H & M.

Have you tried Zalando? Lots of petite options but I'm not sure about their p&p to the uk

@SwimmingOnEggshells I used to buy zalando when I lived in Germany but I don't feel their quality is great? maybe it was just the stuff i bought. I think they do have a uk site so postage is probably fine.

Is Lipsy from Next good for work dresses?

www.next.co.uk/style/ls205943/P40228#P40228

www.next.co.uk/style/ls215356/p49965#p49965

I was just about to say Lipsy! I'm 5ft 1 and my fave work dresses are all Lipsy. They're the only ones that fit me properly and they last well too.

@SunnySideDownBriefly thanks that's amazing! So I really don't need to spend more. My DH's suits are all £500 minimum (he only has 5, all bought years ago and he says that it's hard to get decent suits below £800 these days), so I am thinking am I missing something!

[quote onlychildhamster]@Ozanj I would check it out. I once tore a Zara dress in the dressing room so not too keen on them (it was that flimsy!) I have 2 nice print dresses from Mango. I liked asos when I was in uni, but I find them quite hit and miss- I have a £10 cold shoulder dress from uni days that I still wear but most of them seem to have fallen out of favour and been given away/consigned to charity shops! Ditto for H & M.[/quote]
Quality has improved. I live in my H&M / Zara / Mango / Asos own brand clothes. I am constantly on my feet at work and so I need smartish workwear in natural materials at a reasonable price that won’t fall apart and these places provide that to a T. I also find Primark really good for wool / cashmere knitwear (better than Uniqlo or M&S)

For work dresses I find Boden is good. Lots of petite options, most dresses are machine washable and I have quite a few with pockets.

@karmakameleon I placed an order for 2 Boden dresses! One at £42 and another for £37 - Auris ottoman dress in navy and Nellie Jersey dress in a black bubbles print! Thank you.

They both look good, I know Mumsnet hates Boden but to me, I don't know how they are aspirational in the least, they just seem to sell basic dresses at sensible prices (in the sale). They are quite similar to Hobbs imho but cheaper.

Mumsnet might not like boden but if you’re petite they really do have one of the best selections!

Next is where I go for work wear. I'm 5ft3 and a size 10-12 with a large bust and they fit just fine and are good quality.