When Petites Aren't Available Online...

Alterations Needed recently wrote about a Banana Republic cardigan she tried on at a store.  The colour she wanted, navy blue, was available in petites at the store, but the size was a little too big for her.  She therefore decided to go home and purchase the sweater online.  However, that did not happen as blue was not available in petite sizes.  Turns out that they didn't make blue for online sales in petites.  This happened to me recently as well.  I saw the embellished sweater jacket (above) in an XSP and tried it on.  It was a little bit big on me, so I decided to wait and see if it was available in XXSP on the US site.  Went home, logged on to my computer and lo and behold, it wasn't even available in petites AT ALL.  HUH?  I thought online stores were supposed to have more choices.  Guess I was wrong. 

Banana Purchase - Petite Sloan fit velvet flared pant (00P) and Petite Lettuce Edge V-Neck (XSP)



After seeing skinny after skinny at Toronto's LG Fashion Week, I told myself that I wasn't going to purchase any more skinny pants.  So far, I've kept to that rule and a few days ago, bought a pair of flared pants from Banana Republic.  Now, as we petites all know, Banana sizing can be inconsistent, and a 00P can fit really big at times.  This time, the pants - a velvet flared pant in the Sloan fit - were only a little too big - they are sitting right above the hips on me, when they're supposed to be "below the waist" (which I take as being slightly above where they're now).   However, they still fit quite nicely otherwise.  And though I am wearing heels in the pictures, someone who is around 5'2" can probably get away with wearing flats with these pants as well.  As for the sweater, I'm wearing an XSP . I could fit into an XXSP, but it would be a tighter fit, and probably won't look good with these pants.

Sweater:  Lettuce V-Neck (Banana Republic, size XSP in Emerald Green)

Camisole: Smartset, XS

Pants:  Petite Sloan fit velvet flared pants (Banana Republic, 00P)

Shoes:  Chie Mihara, size 5

Recent Buys from Banana Republic

A few weeks ago, I went to Banana Republic's After 5 event.  While there, I made some purchases, including the sweater and pants in the picture below:

Merino Sweater (XSP), Overdyed denim four pocket legging (24P) and scarf (cannot find on web) from Banana Republic

Camisole from Smartset

Shoes: Bernardo (purchased at Ron White)

Sunglasses: Prada (bought a long, long, long time ago)

The one complaint I read about the pants online was that it was too long.  I don't think it is.  The pants are meant to roush a little bit (as seen in the image on the site), so a little longer isn't too bad.

Here's another picture (please excuse the mess and the fact that the camera is hiding my face.  I don't have a proper tripod and it is difficult to get full body standing shots):

Banana Republic Fall/Holiday 2010 Collection

Note: The entire show is over 10 minutes long!! Out of what's already available, I know that the leggings (well, most of them, anyway) are available in petite as are some of the cardigans. However, I'd like to know what YOU think of the collection!

Banana Republic's After 5 Event

This past Tuesday, I attended Banana Republic's After 5 Style event at the Bloor Street store in Toronto. This was a spontaneous decision as I just happened to walk by the store and saw a guy with a guitar. I had actually thought that the event was private, but was glad that it was not.

The After 5 event was held at many (all?) stores across the globe to promote the fall line. Shoppers got to try the collection and have their picture taken by a professional photographer (a store rep was at the door asking people whether they were interested in being in the shoot - those who were had to sign a release form as their picture might be posted in the store's window). Usually at these events, photographers would only take three or four pictures at most, but not here. Perhaps I was there early - around 5:30 pm, when people were just getting out of the office, but the photographer must have taken at least 50 or 60. It took them at least two or three minutes to scroll through my entire shoot. Not only did I wear the outfit I had originally tried on (leggings, long cardigan and scarf) but a sales associate/stylist also added a leather jacket (probably one that was at least a size too big for me) and some bling. As a result, half the pictures taken consisted of my original outfit and the other half with the jacket and jewellery. The event was loads of fun and hopefully, the picture will actually end up outside the store.

In addition to the photographer, there were also nibblies for shoppers and purchases over $100 were given a 25% discount. My final purchase consisted of the sweater, leggings and also a pair of jeans.

Does this sweater look big?

A sales lady at Banana said that the sweater was a tad bit big on me. You be the judge.