If you are petite, your best bet to find clothing that fits you is to get the petite size from petite clothing stores. Regular size clothing is made for women 5’5″ tall, so most likely it will not look right on women under 5’4″. Whether you are looking for petite dresses, petite jeans or petite jumpsuit, getting the right fit is critical so that you don’t have to spend more on tailoring.
Everyone has different budget for what they are looking for. Sometimes you might be in the mood to splurge, but other times you want to save some money. While there are investment pieces you should consider spending more, there are also other items you want to add to your closet which shouldn’t break your bank account. Building a stylish petite wardrobe needs both. That is why we have put together this post.
Nordstrom Rack
Nordstrom is one of the highest rated shops for petite women. They have a wide selection of petite size clothing, ranging from different price points. They also carry a big selection of small size shoes from size 3, size 4 to size 5. So, if you are petite or if you have small feet, this could be one of the best discount petite clothing store for all your fashion needs. Nordstrom Rack is similar to the regular price cousin, but only it is better with good discounted prices. So this is different from shopping at Banana Republic Factory store or Jcrew Factory store, which sell the lines especially made for the factory stores (i.e. most likely with different fabrics and designs).
At Nordstrom Rack, you can sometimes find the same designer brand names as Nordstrom, only at a much lower prices. The reason they are discounted could just be there are only a few items left, or simply because they come from a different source liquidating the stock. Did I mention Nordstrom Rack has an excellent app for your mobile devices which you can access any time and shop when you are on the road or bored at the Starbucks line?
Century 21
Many of you have heard of Century 21 Store, a famous department store in New York City which carries designer names and sell at a deep discount. They have also opened locations outside of Manhattan in other cities of New York State and New Jersey. If you don’t live in NY or NJ, the good news is they also have a website you can shop from anywhere, so you don’t have to come to New York in order to take advantage of those discounts.
Most people will not think of them as one of the best discount petite clothing stores, because they don’t seem to advertise that much. Plus, it always a hassle to try to treasure hunt in a massive department store for petite clothing. However, did you know their website also has a petite section? They carry designer names from Ann Klein, Max Studio and Via Spiga, and the prices are discounted as much as 77% in some cases!
I love the brands at C21 store, and I have been to both locations near World Trade Center and Columbus Circle in Manhattan, but I have to admit it was very difficult for me to find my sizes there. As you could imagine, it is just as frustrating as going to any other department stores to look for petite sizing, most of the time you are just wasting time and energy going through piles and piles or racks after racks without finding anything that fits you! Fortunately, C21 store made it easy on their website. Within a few clicks, you are able to pick out your size and your style, and you are ready to go! Who doesn’t love that?
Jcrew Factory Store
Jcrew is one of the most popular designers that carry petite sizes, known for their chic and simple designs. Their prices are slightly higher than some other chain brands, but you might find it worthwhile for the good tailoring. For the price, you can also find some items made from very nice imported Italian fabrics that will last more than a couple of seasons.
For those petite girls who are not ready to throw in $300 on a coat, Jcrew Factory Store is a good place to dig for relatively well made and not so expensive petite fashion. Jcrew Factory Stores inherit the similar minimalist city chic style as their regular lines, and they offer petite sizes as well. They have suiting, dresses and sophisticated separates like the regular store, and they are constantly offering sale on top of the already discounted prices so you will end up getting great deals there. The only downfall, perhaps, is that they do not have petite section in their factory stores (correct me if you have seen it, but I have never found any petite clothing in any Jcrew Factory Stores). Still, ordering from their website is your best bet.
Banana Republic Factory Store
Banana Republic is one of the rare chains that carry petite sections in most (if not all) of their locations, unlike Ann Taylor which only has a selected few stores with petite section and Jcrew which has even fewer stores with petite section. Are you already happy about Banana Republic regular line stores which constantly have decent promotions and never shy away from 50% discount around major holiday seasons such as Black Friday? If so, you are going to be even like a kid in the candy store in Banana Republic Factory stores, one of the best discount petite clothing stores. And the best part? They have petite section in store! Obviously I haven’t been to every one of their factory stores, but for the ones I have been to, they ALL had petite section. That is one great news for us petite girls.
It is hard enough for us to find regular priced clothing that fits, let alone discounted clothing. Nothing is better than trying them in store before you decide to purchase, which saves you all the hassle of returning. And of course, their website is always available at your continence whenever if you feel like shopping. If you are under 5’4″, you can almost find any work clothing you need from this discount petite clothing store, from blazers and dresses to skinny jeans. They fit petite women pretty well and no hemming is needed.
Ruelala
Ruelala is one of the most popular names in the flash sale websites, so I’d be surprised if you have never heard of them or shopped with them. If you are into high end designer labels, this is the heaven for you. They specialize in high end designer names sold at a deep discount (we are talking about up to 70% here). You may not have thought about them as a good discount petite clothing store, but actually they have a good selection of petite clothing.
One thing to keep in mind is they are a flash sale site, which means their merchandise is only available for a certain amount of time (could be 18 hours or 2 days). Therefore, you won’t find an ever-lasting petite section on their website menu like other discount petite clothing store. However, they very regularly have petite sizes from major brand names such as Not Your Mother’s Jeans (NYDJ), Lafayette 148 and many more.
The tip is to dig into their boutiques which can be under the name of “Few-of-a-kind steals” or any other name, and look for “petites”. If you are lucky, you can score a Tahari ASL petite pant suit for $69.99 (originally $249) and Nic +Zoe petite silk-blend cardigan for $24.99 (original $148). Are these amazing steals? Ruelala has an app which you can download from your mobile devices, and make your shopping much easier when you are on the go.