The Best Stores to Shop for Women’s Petite Clothing
Updated on September 27, 2024
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If you’re 5’4″ and under, you’ll want to know about these stores that carry clothing proportioned just for you.
Women’s petite clothing is clothing that has been proportionally designed and tailored especially for women 5’4″ and under, in order to best flatter and fit women of this height.
If you’re looking for new women’s petite clothing stores to shop at, check out the places on this list—you’ll be surprised at how many items come in petite sizes! As all of these stores carry multiple size ranges, make sure to navigate to the petites section of these websites, or select the petite option on individual item pages when it’s available.
I’ve personally shopped at all of these stores over the years—most of them for well over a decade—and consider them my go-to stores for finding petite clothing sizes. They have the perfect mix of classic and trendy items to choose from. This list of stores includes something for every occasion, from casual weekend clothing and loungewear, to work outfits and wedding guest dresses.
Below is a list of the best stores where you can shop for petite clothing sizes. You can also read more about petite clothing in the frequently asked questions section near the bottom of this post.
Quick Summary: The Best Petite Clothing Stores
J.Crew – click to shop the women’s petite clothing section
J.Crew Factory – click to shop the women’s petites section
LOFT – click to shop their women’s petite clothes
Ann Taylor – click to shop the women’s petite clothing section
Anthropologie – click to shop the women’s petites section
Banana Republic – click to shop their women’s petite clothes
Banana Republic Factory – click to shop women’s petite clothing
Nordstrom – click to shop the women’s petites section
Old Navy – click to shop their women’s petite clothes
Madewell – click to shop the women’s petite clothing section
Gap – click to shop the women’s petites section
Gap Factory – click to shop the women’s petite clothing section
Macy’s – click to shop their women’s petite clothes
Lands’ End – click to shop the women’s petites section
Talbots – click to shop the women’s petite clothing section
Kohl’s – click to shop their women’s petite clothes
Women’s Petite Clothing Stores
J.Crew
J.Crew is a good option for classics that are timeless, as well as some trendier options. It’s a great place to shop if you’re building a capsule wardrobe, and while some of their items are more of an investment, the prices are still attainable and you can find good sales. They offer beautiful petite dresses including petite mini dresses, petite midi dresses, and petite maxi dresses, petite cashmere sweaters, women’s petite trench coats, petite jeans, pretty petite tops, petite winter coats, and petite business casual clothing, such as petite blazers, petite work pants, and petite dresses for work.
J.Crew Factory
J.Crew Factory often carries the same or similar items to J.Crew, in addition to exclusive items, at even more affordable prices. You can find great petite business casual clothing here — especially if your office is more on the casual side of business casual. Their everyday clothes, especially summer and winter items, are both classic and fun, often having big, colorful prints, but they carry a lot of neutrals, too. They frequently have sales or deals running, so you can get a lot of items at a great price. Some favorites are their petite dresses, petite pants, petite jeans, petite sweaters, and petite blazers.
LOFT
LOFT is the casual sister-store to Ann Taylor. A favorite among teachers and young professionals, but appealing to everyone who wants to look stylish yet be comfortable, you’ll find fun, modest, on-trend pieces for your everyday or work life. They’re great for colorful patterned and printed petite tops, petite dresses, petite jeans, petite shorts, petite sweaters — and petite cardigans to go over dresses (which is great for workwear). They also carry curvy petite sizes. A lot of their dresses also make for nice options to wear as a guest at a bridal shower or baby shower.
Ann Taylor
Ann Taylor is the dressier sister-store of LOFT. They have a huge selection of petite workwear, business clothing, and formal clothing, as well as some more casual pieces like petite jeans, petite sweaters, and petite tops.
Anthropologie
Anthropologie has an incredible selection of beautiful clothing, ranging from more affordable to more of a splurge. If you’re in need of a unique petite dress for a special occasion, such as your birthday, honeymoon, or other event, definitely check out Anthropologie. They also have a nice selection of petite tops, petite jumpsuits, petite skirts, on-trend petite jeans, and more, in styles varying from coastal and beachy to upscale boho to formal.
Related: Cool and Classic White Sneakers for Women to Wear With Everything, Including Dresses
Banana Republic
Banana Republic used to carry a lot of classic, timeless pieces, but has taken a different approach in recent years that feels more trendy and edgy; although you can still find some classic items that would work in a capsule wardrobe if that’s what you’re looking for. Items you can find here are women’s petite jeans and denim, petite tops and blouses, petite dresses, petite skirts, petite coats and jackets, petite shorts, petite sweaters, and more.
Banana Republic Factory
Banana Republic Factory carries some classic petite pieces and some trendier items, at more affordable prices than Banana Republic. They also have a lot of good sales. They have a large selection of women’s petite tops, petite sweaters, petite sweatshirts, petite dresses, petite denim, petite coats, petite jackets, petite pants, petite jumpsuits, petite skirts, and petite shorts.
Nordstrom
Nordstrom carries many brands that offer petite sizes in a wide variety of styles for women, such as Topshop, Wit & Wisdom, Club Monaco, Lauren Ralph Lauren, Vince Camuto, and many more. Styles range from casual basics to black tie evening gowns. You can find petite jeans, petite coats, petite jackets, petite blazers, petite tops, petite sweaters, petite dresses, petite leggings, petite wedding guest dresses, and more. They have free shipping and free returns on all orders, which makes it convenient to shop online.
Old Navy
Old Navy sells affordable items that keep up with the latest in women’s fashion trends, and many of their styles are offered in women’s petite sizing. They sell everything from petite workout clothing, to casual clothing like petite loungewear, petite women’s jeans, petite shirts, petite dresses, petite coats, and jackets, to petite business casual blouses and pants. It’s an ideal place to stock up on inexpensive basics and closet staples.
Madewell
Madewell is known for their excellent selection of denim and jeans, with many styles coming in women’s petites, including curvy styles. You’ll also find women’s petite pants, petite sweatpants, and petite lounge pants, as well as some petite dresses and jumpsuits. Also be sure to check out their popular women’s bags.
Gap
Gap is a great option if you’re looking for basics. They have a classic selection of almost anything you can think of, like women’s petite jeans and denim, petite activewear, petite shorts, petite jumpsuits, dresses including petite maxi dresses, petite sweatshirts, petite sweatpants, petite blouses and tops, petite t-shirts, and more.
Gap Factory
Gap Factory is an excellent place to look for affordable basics. They frequently run sales, meaning you can stock up on your favorites for a fraction of the price. They carry many of the petite clothing categories that Gap carries, with some of the best options being their petite casual dresses, petite t-shirts, and petite pants and jeans.
Macy’s
Macy’s is a good place to look if you’re in need of an affordable petite wedding guest dress, bridal shower guest dress, or baby shower guest dress, and also for affordable petite business casual clothing like blazers and pretty blouses. You can even find a nice selection of petite gowns. They carry many petite brands like Adrianna Papell, Tommy Hilfiger, Michael Kors, Lauren Ralph Lauren, DKNY, and Calvin Klein, among others.
Lands’ End
Lands’ End has a good mix of basics and loungewear for petites, as well as petite swim cover-up dresses, petite rash guards, petite swimsuits, and petite pajama sets. They also have women’s petite jackets including rain jackets, and petite winter coats. Some of their prints and patterns aren’t the best, but most items come in solid-color options that are classic and timeless.
Talbots
Talbots’ target demographic is middle aged women, but there are definitely some gems to be found for younger women as well. Generally known for being timeless and classic, they also have some fun, on-trend pieces. Not only do they carry petites, but plus petites, going up to size 3X petite. Their women’s petites offerings include tees, blouses, dresses, sweaters, jeans, pants, skirts, shorts, jackets, outerwear, loungewear, shirts, and suiting.
Kohl’s
Kohl’s carries many affordable women’s petite brands including LC Lauren Conrad, Simply Vera by Vera Wang, Nine West, Croft & Barrow, and Lands’ End. You can find petite t-shirts, petite tops, petite activewear, petite pajamas, petite outerwear like jackets, coats, and vests, and much more. There are even some fancier dresses that could work as affordable wedding guest dresses.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does petite clothing mean?
Petite clothing is clothing that is proportionally tailored to fit women who are 5’4″ and under. If you’re 5’4″ and under and have ever had to bring clothing to the tailor to get it shortened, you should try petite sizes to see if they fit you better! Generally, women’s petite clothing has a few inches taken off the length of dresses, skirts, pants, and jeans; a shorter rise on the waist, shorter sleeves on shirts, smaller arm holes, and other proportional adjustments to fit people who are 5’4″ and under.
Our list above has our suggestions for the best women’s petite clothing stores where you can try clothing in standard sizes and petite sizes to see which works best for your body.
What are the best stores for women’s petite work clothes?
If you’re looking for petite work clothes or petite business clothes, some great options are Ann Taylor, J.Crew, Macy’s, LOFT, J.Crew Factory, Banana Republic, Nordstrom, and Old Navy. All of these brands carry petite business casual clothes — women’s petite work tops, women’s petite blazers, women’s petite work pants, women’s petite dress pants, and more.
Where can I buy petite wedding guest dresses?
Some great places to shop for women’s petite wedding guest dresses are Nordstrom, where you can find beautiful petite dresses for wedding guests including petite evening gowns and black tie gowns; another good option is Macy’s petite dresses, which has some nice formal options including some gowns; and you can also find good options for petite cocktail dresses for wedding guests at J.Crew, Anthropologie, Ann Taylor, and Banana Republic. These stores also have nice petite bridal shower guest dresses and petite dresses for baby shower guests.
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Now you know all about the best stores to shop for women’s petite clothing, no matter the style or occasion!
Which of these stores is your favorite for finding petite clothes? Do you have a favorite women’s petites store that didn’t make it onto this list? Let everyone know in the comments.
