Petite Shopping Links: 3/19/10

Gap Give and Get Program, Friends & Family Event: 30% off at Gap, Banana Republic, and Old Navy through Sunday, March 20. Unfortunately no multiple use online codes that I can find, but I have a multiple use coupon that can be printed and used in store, linked below. 5% of the amount spent goes to charity, so I choose the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society as my non-profit of choice. Since I work in cancer research, it is a charity that is near and dear to my heart. Printable Gap Give and Get Coupon

I have my eye on this fitted ruffle jacket in size P00. I'll have to pop into my local LOFT and see if they have it. Fitted, huh? I'll have to see about that. Pictured. (LOFT)

I love pearls, especially when they aren't perfectly round. I think baroque or irregular shaped pearls are a really fun and modern twist to a classic. That's why I really love this long freshwater pearl necklace that just looks perfectly dainty for a petite woman.  Imagine how cool it would look doubled or tripled up. For some reason, fake pearls don't come in irregular shapes, but here is a similar look for less.

Nordstrom shoe clearance is still going on...shoe picks in size 4: Stuart Weizman "Ritzy" Pump (I love weird details...this borderlines on strange, but could be really cool), BCBGeneration "Tinas" Platform, and the Cole Haan "Carma Air" Pump (are you bored of me always posting about Cole Haan yet?).

I have a bunch of Ann Taylor coupon codes that I'm not going to use...so I'm giving them to you! These say "one time use", but may work for more than that. If you use a coupon code and it does not work, please leave a comment, or email me so I can make note of it. All expire March 23.

20% off entire purchase of $100 or more (25% off if you use your AT card)

Code: 108020369

Code: 108020397

30% off any single full-priced item (35% off if you use your AT card)

Code: 108020404

30% off full-priced covetables purchase (shoes, accessories, jewelry, etc.) with your AT card

Code: 108020376

Tips And Tricks: The Miracles of Fashion Tape

Fashion tape is basically double-sided tape that is safe for skin and fabrics, and is used to keep garments where you want them. An offshoot of toupee tape, it has been used by stylists on photo shoots and celebrity red carpets for years. I've seen fashion tape mentioned as a useful product several times, and picked up a box at a beauty supply store. It's been a staple in my handbag ever since.

I use it primarily to keep necklines in place, but I've also used it to keep cardigans perfectly draped, and it even kept a co-worker's over-the-knee boots up during a very crucial after-work happy hour. It won't work for everything, as it sticks better to some fabrics than others, but I've found it very useful in making garments more wearable.

There are lots of uses for petite women. Tack a neckline that comes down a little low so it doesn't slip and expose anything. If you wear a lot of wrap tops and dresses like I do, tape the neckline down so nothing opens accidentally. Tack up extra length on a pair of trousers or skirt (probably not strong enough to hold jeans folded under, but will work on thinner material well enough) that you haven't hemmed yet, or just don't want to spend the money on.  Tape extra length of a belt down so it doesn't flap around. These are just some of the uses I've found for it, and I'm sure there are a ton more.

The brand I have is called Topstick, which you can find at Sally Beauty Supply. Other popular brands are Braza and Hollywood, which I've also seen at lingerie boutiques. They are especially handy if they come in a "purse pack", because then they're always on hand if something goes awry.

Anyone else use fashion tape? Any other uses I didn't mention?

From The Alterations Needed Forum:

The Introduce Yourself thread is off to a smashing start.

Have you ever been "Simba'd"? Some of these women have...

Advice for curvy petite women.

Some great petite layering advice.

In other news:

Banana Republic has 25% off regular priced merchandise today and tomorrow with code BRSAVE25. My pick is the Shirred Tank that I'm wearing in this post. PXS is still available.

Ann Taylor still has 25% off two regular priced items, and 40% off three regular priced items with code ANNSTYLE. I just tried on this stretch silk top in size P0, and it runs pretty small. Too bad P00 is sold out online already! I wish they'd carry more small sizes!

Review: Ever Stillwater Silk Skirt in Size P

While returning some ill-fitting suiting to H&M, I somehow found my way to the contemporary department at Bloomingdales. This sort of thing happens to me all the time...one second I'm diligently heading back to my car, thinking about what to do for diner...and the next second I've somehow found my way to the store I had no intention of going into in the first place.

Fortunately, my side-track led me to a new discovery. Walking around, checking out the new Spring merchandise, I saw a sad little silk skirt that was much too small to fit properly on its hanger. A mean sales associate had stretched its little elastic waist band and forced it to stay clipped in a manner that even made me say, "ouch!". I took the poor little skirt off its hanger, and my first thought was, "wow...this skirt is tiny!"

So off I went to the dressing room, and after a few twirls in the mirror...the little skirt came home with me.

Skirt: Ever, size P (Barneys) (Madison LA) (Shop.Ever)

Top: H&M T-shirt, size XS

Cardigan: Abercrombie & Fitch, size XS

Shoes: Cole Haan Carma Open Toe Pump, Wine Patent, size 5

By a brand called Ever, this skirt fits on the smallest part of my waist very snugly, so that I could even size up if I wanted to.  The elastic waistband is cut really small, so this skirt will work nicely for ladies even smaller than myself!

Knowing how hard it is to find garments in nice fabrics, that actually fit the way they should (not hanging off the hips when it's supposed to be high-waisted...etc.), I was really excited about this silk skirt. The elastic waist band is completely wrapped in silk, so it's doesn't show or look ugly. I hate when a nice silk skirt is completely ruined by an ugly black elastic waist band! Bleh!

Besides that, the skirt is pleated so it flares out in a cute waist slimming silhouette, and has an exposed back zipper. And my favorite part about it...it has pockets!

What I'm not too excited about is the color. It's marketed as "slate", which to me should be a bluish grey right? This skirt looks anywhere from dark grey, to military green in certain light, which is hard to match. So if you were looking at my outfit and thinking, "has she gone color blind?"...no, I just don't know how to match this color from the limited palate of my wardrobe.

If it came in a different color, I would give it a perfect "10". Otherwise, I'd highly suggest it to anyone who knows how to incorporate this color into their wardrobe, because I just can't seem to do it.

Any color combination suggestions to keep me from having to return it to the store?

Petite Shopping Links: 3/12/10

This is for all the ladies out there who are even smaller than I am! This is by far the smallest fitting silk skirt I have ever found. Better review on Monday. (Barney's) (Madison LA) (Shop.Ever)

The ribbon placket cardigan I'm wearing in this post has gone on sale, and size PXXS is still available in every color. (LOFT)

Nordstrom is having a shoe clearance sale, and there are quite a bit of small sizes online. Plus, use code SHOES to get free shipping on shoe orders. (Nordstrom)

"Guess?" makes petite outerwear now? When did this happen? (Nordstrom) (Nordstrom again)

Guest Post on The Demoiselles

The bloggers at The Demoiselles invited me to write a guest post for their "Out of the Nest" series, in which they share different thoughts and experiences about body image from fellow bloggers. Here's a little post I put together for them, and check out the rest of their series. There's some great stories in there!

Review: H&M Suiting in Size 2

There was talk of size 2 suiting popping up at H&M stores in the forum and Facebook, and luckily, there happens to be a H&M on my way home from work. Up until recently, H&M suiting only went down to a size 4, which is about 1-2 sizes too big for me depending on the style and cut. Yesterday I scoured the sales floor for this new size, and ended up finding only two suiting separates in the entire store! Amazingly, they matched! I also picked up a button down shirt from a few options that had the best fit.

What's great about H&M suiting is it's inexpensive, so women entering the workforce, switching careers, or just short on cash can get a matching suit for cheap. For example, all three pieces I bought came to $110 before taxes.

However I tend to avoid H&M for anything more than layering tops because I hate the way the items wear out, am easily put off by messy hems and puckered stitching, and end up dissatisfied with the fit.

Here is a quick tossing together of the pieces I picked up after a few adjustments to make the suit look a little better on me:

Jacket: $49.95

Button Down Shirt: $24.95

Pants: $34.95

In the picture above, I had to tuck in the button down shirt, roll the jacket sleeves, roll the button down sleeves, and fold up the pant hems to make the suit look semi-decent.

Lots more pictures and a breakdown of the different pieces after the jump!

From The Alterations Needed Forum:

Introduce yourself in our new introduction thread.

Check out these, or post some new Petite eBay finds.

Have you shared your tailor yet?

In other news...Nordstrom is having a shoe clearance sale. Check it out here.
LOFT has new markdowns at up to 60%, like the petite ribbon placket trim cardigan.

Petite Outfit: Fun with the Ann Taylor Floral Front Top

Out of the five tops I ordered from Ann Taylor (which you can see in this post), only the floral front shell made the cut. I really like the color, and of course the fun flowery detail in front. I like the placement of the floral detail, because I tend to wear a lot of jackets or v-neck cardigans, so details that show in the front versus the side work really well underneath these items.

This is also an opportunity for me to show off my recent purchases from the Carlsbad outlets! Whoohoo! I love a good deal!

The Theory outlet had some great discounts, and while small sizes were hard to find, I did score this cute jacket in size 00. It has a nubby texture to it, which I find really cool! It' not the most fitted Theory jacket I've ever found, but it's pretty close and looks cute after I roll the sleeves up. For the price, I couldn't' pass it up. I forgot to cut the tag in the first photo...oops. Ignore that. =)

My shoes are another new score from the Cole Haan outlet. They're a really cool thatched design, with a few strips of interwoven patent leather among the regular leather. They give a little bit of shine in the right light. Way cooler than a regular pair of black pumps.

Jacket: Theory Shamara NP Jacket in Insight fabric and Black/Light Ivory color, size 00

Top: Ann Taylor Floral Front Shell, size PXXS

Jeans: Paige Laurel Canyon in McKinley, size 24 (waist taken in and length hemmed)

Shoes: Cole Haan Genevieve Open Toe Air Pump, size 5

Petite Shopping Links: 3/5/10

20% off $100+ at Ann Taylor with code 108020369. Use it on this floral front shell that is still available in PXXS in "Dark Basalt". **Update**- Starting today (3/6/10), 25% off any two full-priced items, or 40% off any three or more full-priced items with code: ANNSTYLE.

Free shipping on $150+ at LOFT. I've had good luck with their sweaters lately, so I like this ribbon cardigan (that I'm wearing in this post), this smocked detail cardigan, and this ruffle cardigan (where's size PXXS Loft?).

Pint-Sized Musings is wearing these really cute oxford flats from Steve Madden. I wish they were still in my size, but a lucky size 6 girl can still snatch them up!