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Underground > Art, Fashion & Design >

If I were to buy a suit

19:04 / 30.03.04

...what should I buy?

Help me, fashion-peeps. I'm looking for something to wear to work on days when my regular jeans-and-jumper look isn't the thing. Probably black, probably a trouser suit, though a bias-cut knee-length skirt or even a long straight skirt aren't impossible. A-line skirts make me look like a Girl Guide leader, so steer away from that, please.

Bear in mind that I'm 4'11" when I stand up VERY straight and a size 10ish (which isn't fat but isn't super skinny at my height either).

What shops should I go to? What's in fashion? Any tips? I don't want to spend huge amounts, but I will if I find the perfect thing.

19:48 / 30.03.04

Go for a classic cut in a dark fabric, rather than a trendy one...that way you have something that you'll be able to wear for a couple of years rather than one season. OK, so you might not look quite as cutting edge, but it is very easy to look dated in a suit that's too trendy (or was trendy three seasons ago).

19:51 / 30.03.04

Yeah, I think that's probably a good idea, Grey Area. I do have one suit but it's a bit too small and also three years old. I couldn't have told you that suit-fashion had changed, but looking at it I can see it has.

19:55 / 30.03.04

I tend to prefer pants & I've found wide-legged pants to be very flattering. I never wear suits anymore, but I think that the formula is short jacket + wide-legged pants for petite women. But I have magazines at home, I will check!

19:59 / 30.03.04

That sounds about right, Persephone. At least, I can imagine that would look good. I'd appreciate any advice from the magazines though - all I have is a Vogue that seems to suggest wearing nothing but underpants and diaphanous (sp?) blouses all day.

20:40 / 30.03.04

According to Vogue:

Petite women with cutting-edge style do not shop in petite departments (except, according to Bobbi Brown, Tahari, "which can work in a pinch"). Five-footers prefer to buy looks from Ralph Lauren, Piazza Sempione, Jil Sander, Theory, and Armani --and then completely rework them in the tailor's shop. At great expense.

That's kind of annoying advice. But it's a bit true --I got my wedding dress off the rack in fifteen minutes; it was all humpy in the back, but it went straight to the tailor & then it was a perfect fit. Saved so much time hauling dresses on and off... but I digress.

Here's more:

No long jackets, nothing double-breasted; two buttons, not three. No big skirts ("If a skirt is too full, I feel like a ballerina on a music box") and nothing mid-calf.

Now I'm reading about poor Ivanka Trump, whose figure flaw is that she's thin...

20:41 / 30.03.04

...which could give you an advantage in those high-level meetings. Throw them off balance, as it were.

Can I also add that from what I remember of flicking through style mags, most recommend a dark suit that you ca combine with different styles of shirt/blouse. Colourful and loose with interesting accessories/jewelry for a more relaxed feel, white/grey with discreet accessories/jewelry for more business-like feel.

20:43 / 30.03.04

My post was meant to follow Ariadne's...not Persephone's. I cannot imagine any situation where wielding Ivanna Trump's disembodied skinny legs would give you an advantage.

Goodness Gracious Meme

00:22 / 31.03.04

okay. if you want something classic that you want to be able to wear for ages, you'd be wise to spend on it(i'd look at least at spending £200, ideally, a good bit more). ie. don't go looking for cheap suits, they date in *seconds*

shape/colouring-wise, I'd look for pure wool, dark charcoal grey pinstripe or something with an 'invisible' twill, ie something with threads of another colour in, ideally, dark purple,green,blue. Subtle but qualitee. will pick out/work well with yr colouring

shape-wise, if yr going for trousers, have a jacket that finishes just above yr hips, anything longer will make you look like a dwarf.

you have a fab figure, so go for slightly (not massively, you don't want to look like Alexis carrington) fitted jacket, and wide-ish legged but definitely straight-legged trousers. *not* flares. will over-balance.

white fitted shirt.

plain shoes/boots. black.

hope that's helpful.

07:51 / 31.03.04

That's very helpful, BiP. God, how can you be so on top of things at that time in the morning?

All these ideas make me want to go shopping straight away. Any idea what shops to go to? I mean - should I go to a department store like John Lewis? Or do I have to walk into scary boutiques?

Goodness Gracious Meme

11:34 / 31.03.04

Honey, it's me, if I'd been posting at 10.5 all you'd get is 'bluerruughghghzzzzzthud'

You don't have to go in scary boutiques if you don't want to, depending on budget I'd look at John Lewis/Selfridges in terms fo department stores...

13:18 / 31.03.04

Trouser suits are your best bet, I think. Professional, ballsy, smart.

Now I'm risking a slap here, and if I offend I'm sorry, but take a look at these from the Next petite range. I like the one on the second page, four across from the left (sorry, can't link direct to the picture).

River Island is crap these days, but you could team a dark suit with this boucle coat to add some colour.

However, there's four hours left to bid for this size 12 Karen Millen suit. Purple but what the hell. It's about £14 at the moment.

13:26 / 31.03.04

At my height I'd be a bit silly to be offended when people suggest petite ranges. And they're still too long!

I will have a look in Next - the suit I currently have is from there, but three years old. I'm just a bit wary of looking like everyone else on the tube, and of it wearing out fast or going out of fashion, and so I thought I might 'trade up' a bit. But I'll go and see what they have.

That Karen Millen suit isn't purple, it's lilac! The very thought of wearing pastels makes me all shivery, I'm afraid. Having said that, I do like the coat.

19:21 / 31.03.04

Ariadne, I know you want to look businesslike, but I think all too often women think businesslike = boring, and only choose clothes that a middle-aged banker would wear.

Personally, wouldn't buy a navy suit because it's SOOOO corporate and also you can sometimes go very wrong with navy suits, they can look cheap. And allthough you want to look professional you don't want to look dull in your meetings. So if it were me I'd proably buy a grey wool trouser suit, (as suit skirts are generally horrendous,) and then I'd buy a super-cool, fitted, pointy-collared white shirt, and then I'd probably find a really vibrant coloured scarf to tie round my neck, but that's just me going for the 'creative but professional' angle.

The other alternative is to choose a colourful or unusual print shirt with a smart suit. Or unusual shoes. Anything that marks you apart from the 'boring suit wearers' really.

I own a wicked black linen suit from Jigsaw which is really summery and which, although it has three quarter length trousers, still looks really smart so you could try there although they're a bit pricey. French Connection has sometimes got good suits, too. And don't buy anything too 'department store-y' would be my main advice.

06:51 / 01.04.04

I'm with olulabelle on this one -grey suits are where it's at. I was looking at suits in John Lewis at the weekend, and everything they have (in Edinburgh at least) seems to be skirt and jacket, which might be worth bearing in mind if you decide to go for trousers.

That Karen Millen suit isn't purple, it's lilac!

When I read Sax's post, I imagined the suit being the colour of this forum...

15:49 / 01.04.04

they're hard to find, as time tends to make the pieces lost from each other, but a vintage suit is an option.
don't buy a suit w/too much polyester in it, then it looks shiny and cheap. a plain black or gray suit is good, then you can wear a weird/cool shirt under it, and/or fab accessories. which is awesome. get a suit that works for all seasons, too, if yr only getting one.