Yes. I went to Eddie Bauer and bought men's slacks and jeans so I could get the correct length.

Have you tried
Talbots - store, catelog and internet site
Lands' End - store, catelog and internet site
Eileen Fisher - internet site, or Dillard's, Macy's
Misook - Dillard's and Nordstorm and their internet site

They all carry wonderful petite selections. Once you know your measurements and their sizes, watching for their sales, you can find beautiful, classy, high quality clothes at reasonable prices.

I saw that Petite Soph. is closing here in Ral. It's a shame, because I could almost always find something that fit there. Talbots does have petites, but the price tends to be double what I had been paying at other stores.

Susan

Try Ann Taylor Loft or Ann Taylor stores. They have a nice petite selection. Sometimes they are a bit pricy, but they do have coupons and their markdowns are terrific. I just bought some petite pants for New York and Company today. They fit very nicely and the legs aren't so long. My only problem with Ann Taylor is that the pants are way too long. I am a size 12 petite, so it is nice getting a size that fits in the waist hips and length.

Jones New York petites are nice as well. And Ralph Lauren. I like Macy's petite department, they carry all these brands. They have their own brand called Style & Co. that is trendy. They also have a more conservative brand called Charter Club but I find that they run small through the bust. Short women are supposed to be built like children I guess!

Here is a link that might be useful: Macy's petites

Vonmaur has wonderful petites.....and is a great store....if there is one near you.
Linda C

Here is a link that might be useful: vonmaur

I'm 5'2" have been ordering J-Crew Petites with very good luck. They have a pretty big selection of items, and you can return the items to a J-Crew store even though the stores don't stock petite sizes. They also have great ongoing sales.
My 5' sister loves Banana Republic petites, which you can find in some stores or online.

Another suggestion is J Jill. Stores are mainly at high end malls, but they have a very nice catalog (which is online). I *love* their clothes. They are much more stylish than a lot of Talbots' clothes (some of which I find rather dumpy), yet not teenager-trendy like Bloomingdales. I also have good luck with Liz Claiborne and LL Bean petites.

That said, finding a new store that consistantly carries clothes in one's personal fit can mean shopping around and trying stuff on.

Also, as I've grown older, "shop 'til I drop" means I "drop" a lot sooner. ;) So I don't have the energy to physically shop around. When I first did online shopping I sent a lot of stuff back. Some Petite lines can be either too loose or too tight. You just have to try them. (Nordstroms, BTW has a nice return policy.)

It wasn't that many years ago that there were no stores catering to petite sizes. I remember when there weren't even any petite clothes at all! (You probably weren't even born yet. :)) We had to do a lot of hemming, let me tell you.

Just as a guess, the petite-only stores (and P-clothing lines in higher-end retail stores) may be suffering from increased online shopping and cheaper lines in discount stores. I'm sorry to see PS disappear, but then I haven't been patronizing them either. :q

My DD wears a small petite size, and we find Jones New York brand fits her best. We also like petite INC. I find both of them at Macy's. We bought some great discouted blouses at Christmas at our Petite Sophisticate. Then I reminded her a few weeks ago to check PS in her town, and she made another killing.

Elizabeth, you have reminded me of when I was a teenager and had such trouble finding petite sizes. I don't know where you live, but in the 60's the only place to find good petite clothes in northern New Jersey was in Arnold Constable's - wonder if anybody else is old enough to remember that store! My poor mother must have had a terrible time with me - dragging me all around to shop, especially for a prom dress or some special occasion - gosh it was difficult.

I'm 5' 4 1/2", and regular clothes are way out of proportion (and pants way too long), but many petite pants are too short. I love Macy's Style & Co. petite line--fits me perfectly. I also like Ann Taylor Loft, although I haven't tried their pants yet--only dresses and tops. JCPenney also has a pretty good petite department.

In Canada, there's Cleo. They have mostly office wear.