I have been a big fan of the great white shirt since college when my uniform was a starched white oxford button-down with jeans or khakis.  This timeless classic is being touted as one of Fall 2009’s “must have” items for every petite woman’s wardrobe. 

So last week, I headed to my favorite mall to find a white cotton shirt perfectly proportioned for petite sizes.  My search ended up being much more difficult than I anticipated.  The problem wasn’t selection.  The stores that I shopped – Banana Republic,  Gap, Talbot’s, Ann Taylor, and Nordstrom offered at least one style in a basic white shirt.  The problem was finding one that fit. 

Gap had the perfect white stretch fitted shirt priced at $44, but not in petite sizes.  Petite sizes XS – XL are available online.  The salesgirl tried to convince me that a regular XS is the same thing as petite.  It is during these moments that I know my work as a petite educator will never be done.  Petite does not mean tiny.  Petite does not mean Extra Small.  Petite sizing is based on height, not weight.  Her total incomprehension of what I was saying told me that it was time to move on.  The only white shirt I found in petite sizes at Nordstrom was on the sale rack marked down to $37.90.  When I tried the shirt on, I was very surprised to find that the sleeves nearly reached my knuckles.  I have fairly long arms for my height.  Maybe there was a reason the shirt was on sale.  At Talbots, I found a great basic white shirt priced at $69, but was hopelessly stuck between sizes.  The 6P was too tight in the bust; the 8P was too big.  Ditto for Ann Taylor.  As frustration began to mount, I finally found my winner at Banana Republic.  Their $59 no-iron fitted white shirt fit me perfectly in a Petite Medium. If you’re like me and hate to iron, the new cotton/lycra no-iron fabrics are a girl’s best friend. 

Three hours, eight shirts, and a tussled hairdo later, my quest for the great white shirt was complete.