More Petite Sized Rebecca Minkoff Mini Mini Bags

The Rebecca Minkoff online shop recently opened, and because I'm obsessed with the Mini Mini, I took a peak to see if anything awesome was available. Sure enough, this Croc Mini Mini quickened my heart rate. What a beautiful shade of grey, and the croc embossed leather adds great texture and a bit of lux to an outfit. It's available for pre-order, in limited quantities.

Rebecca Minkoff Croc Mini Mini, $330, rebeccaminkoffstore.com

I got a few questions about my Red Berry Mini Mini, and even though I can't seem to find the same color online, I found this equally beautiful one. This color is called "Plum" and looks like a great neutral purplish red. I love pairing this color with navys and greys.

Rebecca Minkoff Mini Mini in Plum, $330, rebeccaminkoffstore.com

Related Posts:
Petite Sized Accesories: Rebecca Minkoff Morning After Bag Mini Mini

Saving Money on Clothing That Need Alterations

For petite women who find themselves having to get lots of garments altered, costs can add up. First there's the price of the garment, then you have to factor in the alterations. Next, you want to make sure the garment quality is even worth investing the alterations in, so the garment will probably be on the pricey side to begin with. Many stores keep most (or all) of their petite inventory online, which tacks on the cost of shipping. Add into this equation the smaller store inventories of small sizes, which causes lots of petite women to buy items at full retail price, and it's easy to see how much extra money petite women end up spending as compared to average sized women, who can often forgo alterations.

Therefore, cutting cost corners wherever possible is a plus. Here are some of the ways I get discounts on my clothing, making it a little easier to swallow the alteration costs:

1. Sign up for e-mail updates from your favorite stores.

While they may junk up your inbox, e-mail updates come in handy. You'll be the first to know about promotions, and sales, so you'll be the first to get your hands on small sizes at a discount. Online coupon codes are plentiful and handy to save a few bucks on something still selling for full retail. Also, most stores offer a one-time-use free shipping code when you first sign up. I love free shipping!

2. Store credit card points programs.

As long as you pay off your statement in full in month (APR's on these are incredibly high), these have saved me a lot of money. Banana Republic and Ann Taylor offer a points program, so that every time you spend a certain amount of money, you get a "Rewards Card" to spend on whatever you like at their store. Banana Republic also offers free shipping to BananaCard holders on orders over $100, and free shipping on every order for BananaLux holders...again...I love free shipping!

3. Credit card points programs.

Again, these are only helpful as long as you pay off your statement in full each month. Credit card points programs like the American Express Membership Rewards, and a whole slew of Visa and bank rewards programs let you accrue points on purchases that you can redeem for gift cards at your favorite stores. I've used my points for gift cards at stores like Banana Republic and Saks Fifth Avenue. The way I do this is I pay all my bills and make all the monthly purchases I would normally make (gas, groceries, beauty needs, etc.), on my favorite card, and then pay my balance off in full each month. That way I don't have to pay interest charges, and I maximize my point accrual. Then when I have enough points, I cash them in for a gift card at the store of my choice, and go shopping, whoohoo!

4. Look for free shipping codes and promotions.

When you've found something you'd like to buy, do a quick Internet search for "coupon code" or "free shipping" for the store you want to order from. There are lots of Internet coupon code websites. My favorite coupon site is retailmenot.com.

5. Wait a few weeks after new merchandise arrives for early season promo and free shipping codes.

After new merchandise hits stores, merchants like to let it sit for a few weeks before offering any promotions. I like to peruse the website after I get my e-mail notification that new merchandise has arrived (because I'm signed up for e-mail updates, like I mentioned in #1) and pinpoint anything I'm interested in. Then, after about 3-4 weeks, the first promotion codes start to appear. Once those come, I know what I want to try, find a free shipping code, and snag my small sized item at a discount. If you wait for it to go on sale, chances are your size will be sold out.

6. Buy less, but invest in what you buy.

I used to have a ton of clothes, but was always disappointed when I dug in my closet. I never felt put together, and always felt inadequately dressed when I went places with my taller friends. I would buy things on sale, or because they fit, or almost fit, without really being picky about whether or not I really liked the garment. My closet was full of junk, and I kept wasting my money on it! I decided I needed a wardrobe overhaul and stopped buying junk. Instead, I became really picky about what I bought, and read all fabric content, and took everything in for tailoring that needed it. I purchase less, but pay more for things when I do, so my spending isn't much higher than what it was before. The confidence this provides is worth the extra money and effort!

Of course there are also the sales, discount stores, and vintage shopping, but I find those to be much less productive ways to spend my shopping time. I'll find a few gems here and there, but the bulk of my wardrobe is coming from the methods I described above.

Anyone else have other ways to save a few bucks? I'd love the tips!

Tiny Cashmere: Aqua

Aqua is a Bloomingdales house brand that sometimes runs pretty small, and is geared toward a teenage/early 20's market. It's cheaper than other Bloomingdales brands, and is cut to fit a slimmer frame.

I usually walk right past the Aqua department because the fabric contents are less than what I'm looking for, but I got sucked into their cashmere department over the weekend and found this little number. Look at how cropped and shrunken it looks on this tall model!

Aqua Cashmere Cropped Cardigan, $138, bloomingdales.com

And here it is on 4'11" me in size XS! I love cropped silhouettes, they usually fit me normally! This sweater has a more relaxed fit, but I'm sure it'll shrink a little bit when I wash and hang dry it, which should make it a bit more fitted. If you have a longer torso, then this sweater might be a bit short, but it's worth a look!

Aqua Cashmere Cardigan in size XS

This sweater also fit pretty small, but was not my particular taste, so I don't have any fit modeling pictures.

Aqua Cashmere Zip-Front Pocket Cardigan, $158, bloomingdales.com

This sweater was too baggy on me, but if you're about 1 size bigger than I am, it should be a great fit and comes in a variety of colors. I wish it fit smaller because I'd love to stock up on cashmere cardigans in every color!

Aqua Cashmere Basic Buttoned Cardigan, $138, bloomingdales.com

Don't expect Aqua cashmere to be the best cashmere in the world, but it's an opportunity to pick up sweaters in trendy cuts and colors.

Bloomingdales has free shipping everyday on orders of $150 or more, and free in-store returns.

Adventures in Alterations: How To Choose Pants That Can Be Altered for Petites

In searching for dress pants (which is probably one of the most difficult items for women of any size to purchase), I came across a lot of bad fits, and a few good ones. There was even one where I thought it was a good fit, but when I took them to my tailor, she had me return them to the store. It's a bit of a learning curve, and I'm by no means an expert, so if you have any advice to add, please do so!

I'll start with the bad...

Way too big:


These J.Crew Petite pants in size 0 are huge in the waist and hip. In order to tailor these down, too much fabric would have to be removed, which leaves a lot of room for mistakes in tailoring, or unwanted movement of pocket placements. Also, the rise is a bit high, which would make sitting uncomfortable, as the pant would ride up your stomach. This pant is just not worth altering. Put this one back on the rack and walk away!

Bad front fit:


These United Color of Benetton pants in size 38 are a no brainer...after I put these on, I thought I might have mistakenly grabbed a pair of men's trousers. The extra pouch of fabric in the front is unattractive, and no amount of tugging or pulling fabric would make it go away. Run away from these as soon as possible.


These Banana Republic Petite Martin Fit pants in size Petite 00 tricked me. The waist wasn't that big, and I thought with an easy waist alteration and leg/thigh slimming, these would work. However, my tailor took one look at these and said, "no way, the fit in the front is all wrong". If you take a look at the front/crotch and inner thigh area, there is a bagginess and wrinkling that according to my tailor, would look funny, even after alterations.

Now for the good...

Not too big, and good front fit:

Ann Taylor Modern Fit in size Petite 00

Theory Max C in size 00

These two pants are not so big in the waist as to complicate taking in the waist (especially the Ann Taylor! Those are a really close fit in the waist), and the front and inner thigh is nice and smooth without any bagginess. The rise is also decent.

The waist can be taken in (this includes those annoying gaps at the back of the waistband), the leg and thigh width can be slimmed, and the hem shortened. Those areas should be secondary concerns when shopping for pants. If you can find pants that don't need extra alterations...awesome! Otherwise, invest in a nice pair, pay to get them altered, and take good care of them so they last a very long time.

To see the Ann Taylor and Theory pants after alterations, see the Related Posts listing at the end of this post.

Anyone else have any pants fit shopping advice?

Related Posts:
Putting Theory to Rest...Part II
Dress Pants for Tiny Petites: Ann Taylor
Brand that Runs Small: United Colors of Benetton

Putting Theory to Rest...Part II

I explored the brand Theory for work pants some time ago, and walked away with nothing. I was frustrated because all I kept hearing from people were, "Theory runs really small, it would totally fit you!", but I found the pants to be way too big. You can read my original Theory post here.

Since then, I was having a really hard time finding pants that were not jeans. I wanted something in a nice gray fabric, preferably wool or a wool blend. Banana Republic was such a bad fit that my tailor told me they were not worth the trouble when I had her take a look at them. United Colors of Benetton ran small, but the fit was so awful, I questioned if I had mistakenly grabbed a pair of men's trousers instead.

Then I had wonderful luck and found two pairs of pants in the same week! Both needed alterations, of course, but at least they were alterable! The first were my Ann Taylor pants, which you can see here. The second is my new pair of Theory Max C pants!

Theory Max C, $245, nordstrom.com

These are the Theory Max C pants in Tailor (the fabric name) and Charcoal (the color). These are in size 00. Here they are before alterations. They are still big, but the fit is good, so alterations are easy.

Before alterations: the waist needs to be taken in, and the pants need some serious hemming.


Before alterations: the leg/thigh needs slimming.

I really liked these pants because the color was perfect, and the fabric was great. These pants are 95% wool/5% lycra, so they are a decent fabric content, and have a nice drape. I hate stiff cheap fabrics, so I was sold on these right away.

I took them to my tailor to see what she could do, and here they are after alterations:

After alterations

I had the waist taken in, the leg/thigh slimmed, and the length hemmed. Because they needed three things done, the alterations on these pants got a little pricey (about $50 total), but having a pair of nice fitting pants is totally worth it.

Related Posts:
Putting Theory to Rest
Dress Pants for Tiny Petites: Ann Taylor
Brand That Runs Small: United Colors of Benetton