aWardrobe Question - Business/business Casual-ideas for Winter?

No to leggings at the office. Katie D has given some good tips. Talbots also carries good work-appropriate clothing.

Also, keep in mind that if you find some great pants, you can always have them altered. I have big hips and a skinny waist, so I almost always have to take pants to an alterations place to get them to fit right. It's not very expensive.

As far as shoes, I have plantar fasciitis and buy Vionic/Orthaheel shoes. They have terrific arch support. Look them up online. They have the most decent styles I've found for people with foot issues (most styles are just plain ugly otherwise). They have a couple of new boot styles this year.

I don't think flip flops are ever appropriate in the office.

Leggings and thick opaque tights can be worn with skirts and boots. There are some great pencil skirts out now perfect for work. Also, as others have said, just have some pants taken up by a seamstress. Short dresses worn as tunics with pants and a smart jacket looks good. Get yourself three or four different jackets you can wear indoors. Don't be afraid to go bold, but always keep it professional.

You can look for pants / jeans in short length. That's not as short as petite. Might work for you. I think leggings in an office would be a no. I actually think leggings for anything other than young children under skirts is just tacky. Sorry :( to many years is seeing my very tacky sister in law in tight leggings showing let me tell you way more detail of her nether regions then any of the family wanted to see.

Yes, like LuckyMom, I would say find a good tailor and buy nice slacks.

When I need to expand my wardrobe due to weight change (up and down), I hit the upscale thrift stores.

Sweater dresses were a god send in my office days. With leggings. I'm tall-so sweater dresses were a little short but leggings were the perfect pair. With nice warm (waterproof) winter boots. I can't remember the brand-but I had a pair of flat boots that still looked stylish.
My favorite go to pieces were H& M or Target (mossino). Really depends on your style. I've also recently shopped from Fiilly Flair. Something different.

I am also at that in between height. I turn my average pants up one hem then tack it up. For the petites I take the hem out and turn it back up half way. That gives me an extra 1/2"-3/4" length. I hem them by hand and it's pretty easy. When we have costumes the girls are going to wear for a while and we know they're going to grow we use clear scotch tape and tape the hem up and then we can let it down again easily. You can see if that works for you. You can't wash the pants and leave the tape on though, you'll have to take the tape off and retape it again. This is sort of a try it and see if this length feels good and works then hem it by hand.

The thing about pants is this. The average height fits nearly an inch longer from your belly button down under the genitalia then up the hiney to the back waist. The petite will fit lower and better if you think about it you can determine if the petite's fit better or too tight.

I like having the petite sometimes because the pants don't hang in my crotch. But if they don't stretch the right way then I want that extra length of the average.

Women's clothes sizes aren't hard. They used to be very defined and now they're more generic.

Juniors were made slim. For younger women/girls who hadn't had kids yet and still had narrow hips that hadn't born children. Juniors were the odd number sizes. I wore a 9 or an 11 in high school.

Then a ladies size was a narrower waist and fuller hip for those who'd had kids and spread their hip bones out a bit. Ladies sizes were only even numbers like 6, 8, 10.

A tall has at least 2 inches more between the crotch and the waistband where the petite might have 2 inches less in that same area. The inseam would also be longer or shorter but the biggest difference, that you would notice if you were tall and tried on a short is in that crotch length.

So for your height you should be able to try on the same pants in both average and petite and see which ones feel better that way then address the length issue separately.

Taking a hem length off an average is pretty easy but turn them up and pin them then put on the right shoes and walk around in front of a mirror. If it's too short when you take a step you need to take the hem out and just do it half of a hem up.

I buy almost all my clothing at Cato Clothes. If you have one in your town you can go and find lots of clothes under $10 on the clearance rack. I pay maybe $24 for a new top and $16 for pants? They do have a lot of stuff that is fun and comfortable.

http://www.catofashions.com/?gclid=CM-dqs-lgMECFTOZMgodn0...

I'm so glad you asked this! I'm in your same boat (except you're taller and slimmer than I am). I carefully read all those suggestions and only have one thing to add. If you have pants you like, you can wear those more often (and people don't notice pants as much), but I'll take plain sweaters or nice long sleeved t-shirts and dress them up with a scarf - the scarf becomes the focal point of the outfit.

This has been motivating! I appreciate Gamma G's explanation of rise - I really hate all that extra fabric in the crotch, but didn't realize the differences in petite vs. regular - I'll be more discriminating in the store from now on. (Actually, I always appreciate her advice - rock on Gamma G!)
Next stop for me is to find a place to get things tailored - that's a good suggestion. Good luck!

A few suggestions to add-

First, find a tailor. Hemming is about $10 here. Factor it in when you're shopping. There is also hem tape which can be bought at any fabric store. You iron it in. The only downfall is it sometimes melts in hot wash or hot dryers so you have to re-do it occasionally.

I like your leggings and boots idea if the top is long enough to cover your butt and the leggings are thick enough. If you like the pants tucked into the boots look, check out Old Navy's Pixie pants. They have some stretch so they're comfortable to sit in all day. They come in a variety of colors and different inseams can be ordered online.

You might consider investing in a neutral colored blazer that you can push the sleeves up or roll them. It's an easy way to dress up an outfit.

I also have foot issues. In addition to boots and sandals, I wear a lot of ballet type flats. They look good with tights and skirts or dresses and also with pants. As for shoe shopping, I LOVE Zappos.com. They offer free shipping both ways and the selection is amazing. They provide customer reviews that include arch support and the staff is super helpful should you need to call.

Happy shopping!

Winter office casual in my mind includes wool or tweed pants or knee length skirts, a blouse and or women's dress shirt, a sweater vest, a sweater, or a twin set. some nice jewlery, that is understated.

As for footwear- wear whatever you have to that is weather appropriate for your commute. In the office change into kitten heels, wedges, oxfords, or ankle boots. Since you have foot issues, look into clarks, they are a good and supportive shoe, and have many cuts/ styles that will do the trick, as do aerosoles.

As for clothing brands- I shop old navy. Their petite line works for me. I stand 5'1" and weigh 125. Talbots, dress barn, ann taylor, j crew all carry good separates to this end.

Best,
F. B.

Khakis, slacks, sweaters, nicer quality boatneck tees, maxi skirt and top. The possibilities are endless. Loft has good, stylish business casual options.

I have foot issues too. I can't even wear sneakers. A physical therapist told me to wear "fit flops". They have great arch support. Check them out for summer.

Fyi...I wear leggings with shorter dresses (1/2 way to my knee) and high boots throughout the winter. Definely appropriate for an office setting but I am 5'7" and wear a size 6 or 8.

If you're just starting to build a work wardrobe, I'd suggest neutral bottoms (grey, camel, khaki, olive, black) slacks or skirts with jazzier sweaters/tops.
No leggings.
Sweater sets are comfy, warm and professional yet casual.
A printed shell blouse with a flyaway cardigan, a cable sweater, textured blouse, etc. in more color and/or patterns will take you a long way.
Stick with boots if those work best, or look at some cute Clark's or Merrell brand shoes for fall/winter.
Good luck!

No on the leggings. Leggings are NOT pants, and they're certainly not business dress, except under an actual dress and with boots. They need to act more like tights.

You can have fun with your boots by wearing them with long skirts and dresses. I understand the frustration with pants; I think that that is just a trial and error issue, finding ones that fit your body well. In the meantime...skirts.

I wear high heels a lot, so I can stand to wear pants that are a little too long. Otherwise, I have a similar pants issue as you. My solution--crop pants. Not capri pants, which hit right under the knee. Crop pants come closer to the ankle. They flatter any shoe EXCEPT a short boot or bootie. The right ones could be the right length for you. Then, maybe a longer boot?

Sweater dresses (can include a belt if necessary) w/leggings & flat, tall
boots.
Comfy slacks w/a slim ankle, short boots, long sweater top.
Long tunics are good.
For boots that fit your feet w/problems (go to a good "foot/shoe" store.
Long skirts w/tall boots?
Blazers are good.
Dress things up w/costume jewelry (long necklaces & bracelts).
If you ever wear jeans (which I'm really a fan of in the workplace), make
them dark & crisp.

It sounds like you have been wearing business casual pretty well.

I have more issues in the winter time because I have an ankle issue that requires me to wear a brace a couple weeks at a time here and there and when that happens, I am stuck with tennis shoes. I have to have a good supportive shoe or I am in pain. No spiky heels for me...can't do it.

I buy a lot of clothes from White House Black Market, Banana Republic, Nordstrom and little boutiques in my area. I love the WHBM casual pants... classic style and goes well year round. I also love the colored WHBM pants that I have worn for 3 yrs now and have held up very well.

Typically, I work from home and I am in WHBM jeans and top. I'll run my errands and such like that. If I have a lunch or meeting, I might wear my darker jeans and I have a few cute tops with very cute lightweight sweaters to add a pop of color. Other times, I am substituting at the school and it is more business casual with Fridays being jean day.

For shoes, I like DSW warehouse, Macy's, Dilliard's and Nordstrom.

It is equally as important to have a great seamstress. Most everything I buy has to be altered. I'm typically a 0-2 and depending on what I find, I sometimes will purchase a slightly larger size and have it altered to fit.