Yesterday's Purchases at Banana

I'm having a bit of a problem with uploading photos to Blogger so bear with me! I managed to get these in before uploading stopped working....

My favorite purchase of all was this black velvet pinstriped blazer in 00P that I picked up for $59.99. I should probably stop buying all this black clothing as it's pretty hard to photograph in my apartment! (The weird washed out one was my attempt to capture the details using a flash....) I've been eyeing it since the early winter because it just fits so well on me. I don't need a single alteration!





Shoulder seam to seam: 13.5"
Top of shoulder seam to cuff: 21.5"
Top of neck seam to waist: 13"
Waist: 28"
Under arm circumference: 31"

The two pairs of pants I got were definitely a "settle because of the low price" deal. I have a sneaking suspicion that the seat size is getting larger and larger for the 00P as time passes. All the jeans I tried on were huge!







These cargo pants actually fit me pretty well - particularly because they didn't stretch. They were a ridiculously low $11.99. I almost can't bear to hem them, since the alterations will cost almost as much as the pants themselves!

Ryan cut slim cargos

Waist: 28"
Hip: 36"
Front Rise: 7"
Back Rise: 12"
Inseam: 31.5"
Thigh circumference (widest): 20"




The cords were actually a bit loose on me but they practically fit and were so comfortable! As you can see, they do nothing to particularly flatter my posterior, but well, I guess I can't blame the pants! For $25.99, not something to complain about it. They're loose because they're stretch cords, but don't stretch on me. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that they'll shrink in the wash.

5-pocket skinny cordorouys

Waist: 28"
Hip: 36"
Front Rise: 7.5"
Back Rise: 12.5"
Inseam: 30"
Thigh: 20"

Banana Republic 00P and 0P on Sale at UES Location!

Banana Republic
1136 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10028
212-570-2465

Now that I've already cleared through and bought everything I wanted, I guess it's fair game to the rest of you guys that haven't stopped in yet! I popped into this Upper East Side location while passing through a few hours ago. This has always been one of my favorite BR locations because it has a great petite's selection, and the foot traffic isn't insane (like in Rockafeller or at Lexington/59th).

If you're a size 00P, 0P, or even 2P, you're in fabulous luck! I think they decided to ship out all the tiny sizes to this particular location, as I saw a TON of pants, jeans, jackets, and dresses in those sizes for really low prices. What do you expect? It's the 2nd after-Christmas cut and they need to clear this stuff out NOW!

My stash:
* Ryan cut cargo pants for $11.99
* Ryan cut skinny cordorouys for $25.99
* Velvet jacket for $59.99 (really $99, they misticketed it but let me have it anyway)
* Strapless dress for $48.99

I'm debating on a bunch of other items, but I'm super picky. I brought a ton of pants into the dressing room, but alas, my butt is a touch too flat to wear them. There were jeans there for $10.99 or $12.99, and the rest were below $40.

If you're anywhere near this store tomorrow morning, my advice to you is to hit this place up! Normally, all the 00P and 0P online are all sold out or really ugly, so here's a chance to get everything and try it all on in one trip!

Only downside is that there are no size 5 or 5 1/2 shoes in the entire store. But I think the clothing is good enough of a reason to come in!

(I'll post photos of what I got tomorrow)

Shopping Spree Help Requested From a Reader

December 22nd, 2006

Hi Amy,

I like your blog I stumbled upon it while looking for a gift for my wife. I need some advice and was hoping that you could help. I am looking to give my wife a mini shopping spree in New York for the holidays, and I was hoping you could tell me where the best shops/boutiques for petites are in the city.

She has such a hard time finding things that fit, I thought this would be a nice gift. Any assistance you could provide would be great.

Thanks,
Zach

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi Zach -

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. I've been very bad about updating it lately, but hopefully, I'll be a little more prolific soon. Thanks for reaching out to me for advice!

As far as what your wife might like, it really does depend on what kind of price range you're willing to spend, what sort of items she likes wearing, and whether she's able to fit into regular missy clothing (with alterations). A word to the wise - NYC has a better selection, but it's still not a shopping mecca for petites. There's always a lot of give and take in regards to the style/fit/price that taller women won't have. Also, as you might have noticed, I personally tend towards the more practical side than fashionable (due to my size/price restrictions), but I'll try to give you some help.

My main suggestion is that if you can afford it and she's not short waisted, to go to a department store and get missy clothing altered. If it's a spree, it really is a luxury to get all her pieces to
actually fit well. Obviously, it's annoying not to walk straight out with something nice, but that's the way it goes for the petite. Actually, regardless of where she winds up shopping, try to persuade her to get alterations if things don't fit perfectly. It makes a huge difference. The associates at the high end stores do get a lot of customers that are short and thin, so they know if things can be altered properly, and which brands might be a better match. A personal shopper would be really helpful to help your wife out in selecting things and making sure they're a good fit physically and aesthetically.

Saks has reinstated its petite section on the 9th floor - although I honestly haven't had a chance to really check it out yet. Bloomingdales does have a petites section, but they've definitely cut
back on it, and it's not great (then again, most places don't have a petite's section at all). I happen to like Bergdorf Goodman because of their service and atmosphere, but they don't carry petites clothing (only thinner clothing) and neither does Barney's. Again, if she's
taller and can pull it off, that's my suggestion.

If she's really short proportioned, then it's going to be more difficult. Since it's going to be a special trip for her, I hesitate to suggest the usual Banana Republic/Ann Taylor/Brooks Brothers thing, but it does work, since they are better proportioned for shorter women. Make sure to visit the flagships to get the best service. You mentioned that she has trouble finding things that fit - but she wears clothes from somewhere! Conservatively, a shopping spree for that brand would also work out (but again, a shopping spree is a good opportunity to find some other brands other than the tried and true....)

If your wife is a little more sure of her fashion sensibility and doesn't particularly like department store environments, a trip to SoHo would be fun. I can't offer you any particular advice on where to go since I don't know your wife's style - but many of the places
there are owned and operated by the designers themselves. I went to Calvin Tran's store and he was walking around the store helping people out. Similarly, Zoolook was able to specially alter dresses for me and do custom work as well (and the owner is the designer). I can't personally afford it, but if cost isn't so much an issue, and she can't find her size, your wife can
probably talk these designers into making something specifically for her shape.

Finally, if she's not looking for designer wear, she can get things custom tailored instead. I know Dara Lamb on Park does do full bespoke for women. They charge an arm and a leg, but I don't know too many other notable places that do full custom for women. Admittedly, I have not used them, but they produce quality items.

Good luck with the shopping spree planning! The main thing for a successful trip is to council patience with trying things on and being honest about whether things fit. If you'd like more specific guidance, let me know what her shape and style is like, and I'll try my best.

Don't forget, a slightly larger spree/vacation to Asia is always an option! Labor is cheap and sizing is smaller....

All the best and happy holidays,
Amy

It's All Above My Head!

Ok, the typical scenario. I'm out shopping and I see something I kinda like hanging on one of the mannequins. Doing a room scan, I see a rack of them across the room...hanging overhead way out of my reach. How annoying! Everyone that shops here is 5'4" or under - what were they thinking to put stuff so high up???

Well, in a word, wall space. As much complaining about it might be fun, the reality is, stores need to shelve or rack their inventory somewhere. Yeah, they know it's a hassle, but ceilings aren't going to be dropping in height anytime soon. Anyone else thinking of the 13 1/2 floor from Being John Malkovich?

At this point, several options are available to you:

1. Forget about it. This usually involves justifying it to yourself with weak rationalizations. Oh, it's probably more than I want to pay. It's probably not as nice as I think it is. It's probably not gonna look good on me anyway.
   
2. Ask a taller, and hopefully sympathetic, fellow shopper to reach up and help. This usually involves some chit chat about the garment, your height, or both.
   
3. Ask a taller, and hopefully sympathetic, salesperson to help you. This usually involves hearing a few more suggestions for other items from a helpful staff member (along with 'can I set up a room for you?') or an almost rude interaction from a disgruntled worker.
4. Strain mightily on tiptoe at first, and finish with a mighty leap. First, extend a few more inches to peer up and search through the rack for you size. Once the prize has been spotted, lower yourself, bend your knees and jump. Extra points for a successful landing. As items are usually arranged smallest in the front, advanced practitioners of this technique may also become quite adept at guesstimating sizes and skip the first step.
5. Carry a foot stool or robo-arm around and use it. Learn to stop paying attention to funny looks and outright laughter.
   

Fine, I'm a big fan of #4 because I usually like to do things myself - and because it's kinda fun to do something sort of undignified once in a while.

However, I also think stores, particularly those that know they have a shorter clientele, should be a little more accomodating. After all, if customers choose #1 most of the time, stores will wind up selling a little less. Requests to the stores:

1. Use more of the higher wall space for displaying apparel or accessories instead of hanging racks of clothes. This hopefully promotes greater sales for the merchandise up there, as it's easier for customers to notice it and like it.
   
2. A few small steps (that match the decor) could also be set against walls so that customers can easily reach higher items. Steps would also be helpful for staff to put new items up, and can be moveable so that wall setups can be changed.
3. Piles of clothing should have the smallest items shelved lower. This is most applicable for non-petite stores, where height and size are more closely coorelated. I like to help myself rather than be forced to ask staff for help, but even so, doesn't the salesperson get tired of constantly pulling down size 0 jeans for shorties like me?
   

I figure #3 is painless (after rearrangement) as floorspace is not sacrificed. For the first two, there's no reason that a small amount of space can't be given up. After all, mirrors are on the floor and they take away from the merchandise space - but they help push sales too. And if that doesn't help, think of the number of customers that won't be hurting themselves after attempting arial manuvers like me.