If you’re a petite woman with an interview, courtroom appearance, or other event where you need a conservative, classic suit, you may be in a panic: why is it so hard to find stylish petite suits for women?
We’ve done roundups of the best workwear for petites in the past, but it’s been a while since we’ve done a roundup just for petite interview suits. You may also want to check out our last guide to suiting alterations for petites! We’ll keep revisiting this page to keep it updated.
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{related: work fashion tips for petite women}
Where to Find Stylish Petite Suits for Women
Any store that may have limited options for conservative suiting (or mostly separates) is marked with a * — and our favorites are in bold!
Where to Find Petite Suiting at Department Stores
- Bloomingdale’s* – Nic & Zoe, Eileen Fisher
- Dillards – Calvin Klein, Kasper, Tahari
- JCPenney – Alfred Dunner, Liz Claiborne, Worthington
- Macy’s – Anne Klein, LeSuit, Tahari
- Nordstrom – Boss, Club Monaco, Nic & Zoe
{related: where to find petite-friendly clothing for work}
Affordable Suits for Petite Women
- Amazon – Calvin Klein, Kasper, Tahari – you might also try Marycrafts (under $60!)
- Abercrombie & Fitch*
- ASOS*
- Banana Republic Factory (00P-18P)
- Chadwicks
- Express
- J.Crew Factory* (they have wool suiting in petites occasionally) (00P-12P)
- Loft*
- Lands End (particularly their washable wool suiting)
- New York & Co.* (mostly fun suits, some options up to 20P)
- Nordstrom Rack*
- Old Navy*
- Tahari – note the Warehouse sale section for petites also!
Mid-Range Suits for Petites
- Ann Taylor
- Banana Republic
- Boden*
- Brooks Brothers*
- Club Monaco* (00P only)
- J.Crew (00P-12P)
- Jeetly*
- Karen Millen (00P-12P)
- Spanx (petite pants offered but not for blazers)
- Talbots – petites & plus-size petites
- White House | Black Market
(Psst: we love these petite hangers at Amazon!)
Investment Petite Suits for Women
- Boss
- Hobbs
- Lafayette 148 New York (0P-16P!)
- MM.LaFleur* (some 0P sizes)
- Reiss
- Sumissura – Bespoke/custom suiting
- Theory (some P sizes)
{related: made-to-measure work clothes}
Where to Find Suits in 0P Sizes
We’ve rounded them up above, but thought we’d collect them in one spot…
- Aritzia (short sizes 00P-16P, blazer sizes as small as XXS)
- Club Monaco* (00P only)
- J.Crew (00P-12P)
- J.Crew Factory* (they have wool suiting in petites occasionally) (00P-12P)
- Lafayette 148 New York (0P-16P!)
- MM.LaFleur* (some 0P sizes)
- Theory (some P sizes)
If you’re hunting for extra small suiting, you may also want to consider clothing for boys…
Suits for Teen Boys
As of Jan. 2023, here are suits for boys that might fit any smaller body — note that the measurements noted are for the largest size offered. (Compare to Aritzia XXS/00 sizing with 30.5 bust, 22.5 waist, 32.5 hip.)
- Appaman – Suiting up to 35″ chest, 30.5×29 pants
- Brooks Brothers – boys’ suiting up to chest size 35″, 29.5″ waist
- H&M – boys’ suits intended for those up to 5’6″ tall, 35″ chest, 29.5×31 pants
- J.Crew – boys’ suiting intended for those as tall as 5’6″, waist size 27
- Jos A. Bank – boys’ suiting
- Macy’s – Nautica boys suits (up to 91 cm chest, 76 cm waist) and Lauren Ralph Lauren suits (35″ chest, 32.5″ waist).
- Men’s Wearhouse – (offers “boy’s” suiting up to 42″ chest, and 31×31 waist and inseam)
{related: wearing kids’ clothes when you’re petite}
Where to Find Suits for Plus-Size Petites
These can be really tricky to find, even for “cusp sizes” like 14P and 16P!!
As of Jan. 2023, these are your best bets for where to find suiting for plus-size petites…
- Chadwicks (up to 16P)
- Eloquii (short lengths offered for pants up to 32WP, but no petite blazers)
- Lands End (particularly their washable wool suiting)
- Lane Bryant (up to 28WP)
- New York & Co.* (mostly fun suits, some options up to 20P)
- Spanx (petite pants offered up to size 3X, but not for blazers)
- Sumissura – Bespoke/custom suiting
- Talbots – petites (up to 16P) & plus-size petites (up to 22WP)
Where to Find Suits for Curvy Petites
Hunting for work pants if you’re curvy? As of 2024, you can find them at Ann Taylor (regular and petite sizes 00-18), Banana Republic Factory (00-20, 00P-14P, 00T-20T), Loft (regular, petite, and tall sizes 00-18), Express (regular, short and long sizes 0-18), and White House Black Market (00-18, regular, short, and long). Talbots also offers some options in sizes regular, petite, plus, and plus-size petites, as does Lane Bryant. (Banana Republic seems to have temporarily stopped making them, unfortunately.)
Stay tuned for a roundup of some of our favorite work dresses for petites!
Looking for great shoes to go with your suits? If you’re looking for a narrow width or a smaller size, check out some of these options…
Comfortable Heels in Narrow Widths & Small Sizes
In our last roundup of classic black heels for business attire, we rounded up some pumps that came in extended widths, including:
- Extended widths (AA, C, W): Target (M/W), Vionic (MW), Rockport (NMW), Ferragamo (2A, B, C), Trotters (M,W, WW), Sam Edelman (NMW), Bella Vita (AA-EE), LifeStride (AA-E), Naturalizer (N-WW),
- Extended sizes (4-13): Target (5-12), Calvin Klein (4-13), Ferragamo (4-11),
Some Comfortable Flats in Narrow Widths & Small Sizes
In our last roundup of comfortable flats for work, we rounded up some flats that came in extended width sizes…
- Extended widths (AA, C, W): Børn (M-D), Sam Edelman (NMW), Ferragamo (N M W 2A B C D),
- Extended sizes (4-13): Børn (5-12), Sam Edelman (4-13), Ferragamo (4-11), Sarah Flint (4-13), Rothys (5-12)
Trish
I have yet to find a petite size 12 or 14 suit at any higher end store. I look for one in earnest on Nordstom site all the time. It is pretty easy to get sleevs and trousers tailored but that is not the case for dresses since I am so short-waisted.
Anonymous
As a 0p i find no suits in stores and haven’t for a while – but now even the companies listed here have cut back on (or just don’t carry) their 0p online. I am on the short side – 5’2, 108 lbs – but am by no means the only one around. I need suits for my job and it’s been incredibly frustrating to find only a very few suits to fit me in a style appropriate to my work.
Anonymous
Agreed! After the Limited (went bankrupt, now has a poorly rebooted website/manufacturer) and Express (only sometimes), not many other options.
Anonymous
I could have written your comment – at 5’2” and 108 (honest!) I gave up finding businesswear in stores years ago, but now it’s nearly impossible to find suits small enough! As an attorney in a conservative area, I have to have court-appropriate suits, so can’t rely on my weekend go-to clothing from places like North Face or Patagonia (which, at least, still recognize there are smaller folks out there). If I had a $1 every time some helpful, off-the-rack shopping soul suggested I could “just have things tailored,” l could have retired long ago and live in my hiking gear full time!
Anonymous
RIP The Limited. They had the best petite suits!
Anonymous
My daughter is 5’1″ and 85 pounds. Needs suits for work, and it’s nearly impossible. Even the 00P at Ann Taylor are big on her. It’s a constant struggle to build her wardrobe! We have found Limited suits in thrift stores, and it’s like hitting the jackpot! We constantly lament the lack of options for her both for professional and casual clothes.
Midsize petite lawyer
I love this blog but I’m still constantly struggling to find petite suits in the mid-size range in stock. I’m petite but busty so I need separates and I’m usually a 10-12 bottom but a 14-16 top. I need a petite blazer or suit coat or else the arms are too long but I don’t have a Nordstrom near me so buying a regular sized suit and getting it altered for free isn’t really an option.
I’ve had the best luck with Ann Taylor, banana republic factory and, lands end. If my size is in stock (which it isn’t always), the suits fit off the rack with no alterations required. I also like Liz Claiborne at JCPenney and the Limited line at Belk. I don’t think the Belk version of the Limited is the same exact quality as the LimIted used to be, but they’re affordable and they fit right off the rack. I also like Kasper but I’ve found the suits do not hold up so I only buy if it’s on sale. I’ve heard good things about WHBM but I’ve never been able to try them because they never have my size in stock. I know Dillards has an Investments brand that sells petite suiting separate but I haven’t tried them yet. Also, shout out to shortstory (a stitch fix like service for petites) as they recently sent me a Liverpool suit in petite sizing that was perfect.