Best Clothing Stores and Brands for Petite Teenage Girls and Young Women

If you're short and skinny with a small frame, you know how hard it can be to find clothes that fit, especially jeans. Certain brands or stores sizes run big, other brands tend to run smaller. Below are lists of clothing brands/stores you should avoid, and brands/stores you should check out:

Stores/Brands to Avoid:
1) Old Navy: I have had very bad luck with Old Navy. Even their small shirts are generally large on me, and sometimes the extra smalls are too large! They seem to have larger sizes in general.
2) Kohl's: I hate to say this because I do love Kohl's, but everytime I go there they seem to have 20 large and extra large shirts, a bunch of mediums, maybe one small, and no extra smalls. I know they get them in; I guess they just run out of them very quickly. But their clothes tend to run large also, so smalls are usually too big for tiny people like me.
3) Lee/Levis: both brands of jeans tend to run large in my experience. I have tried on size 1s in Levis that are still by far too large, and the same with Lee. They also run very long.
4) The Gap: Gap jeans generally run bigger around the waist. Their shirts, however, are fine and usually fit well.
5) Paris Blues: As far as jeans go, I have never found a pair of Paris Blues that fit properly. They always seem to run really long, and also are usually a bit bigger around the waist.
6) Target/Mossimo: Target brands, especially Mossimo, are often too large. The tank tops and sleeveless shirts tend to come too far down in the front, even the extra smalls, and the pants are generally larger than other brands.

Stores/Brands to Check Out:
1) Mudd: Jeans are difficult, because, as most women know, you can try on two pairs of jeans that are the same brand and the same size, just a different style, and one will be too big, while one will fit or be too small. It's very odd. I don't think men have these problems; we really need to change our system to be more like theirs. Anyway, I have a lot of Mudd jeans because many of the styles run fairly small and are not super long if you get the right kind. And they make a bunch of different styles so there's always a lot to choose from. If one pair doesn't fit, just keep trying, because another pair might fit perfectly. Some of my best fitting jeans are Mudd jeans.
2) LEI: LEI is another brand of jeans that I have found fit pretty well. Their small sizes tend to run small, and they've begun making them in petite, average, or long lengths, so that's also helpful when picking out jeans--and the petite length really is quite short.
3) Aeropostale, American Eagle, and Abercrombie: Whether you love or hate the three As, you have to admit that they have nice, small, comfortable sizes. They, too, classify some styles of jeans by length in addition to the number size, which is pretty much essential if you're short. They have plenty of cute shirts in small in extra small and their sizes are made for teenage girls so they don't run too big.
4) Delia's: It can be risky ordering from a catalogue or online, but Delia's is really good about giving you enough size information. With jeans, they give you the inseam length, and they have 00s. With shirts and dresses, they tell you the length in inches and usually have extra smalls. They are also a number of Delia's stores opening up or already opened, so check out the website for more information: http://store.delias.com/
5) 579 Store: the 579 Store is geared toward young women age 13-22, and carry sizes 00-9. Due to the fact that their target age group starts so young, in addition to their commitment to carrying small sizes like 00s, they usually have a fairly large selection of cute clothing for petite girls.

One more thing to consider: it may sound weird or silly, but shopping in the girl's department of certain stores can be helpful. Girls clothing is usually much cheaper than juniors and certainly much cheaper than petites and women's, and some items will still fit well. The main problem is that girl's clothing doesn't account for hips and breasts, so jeans, jean skirts/shorts, and most shirts should probably be avoided. However, stretchy clothing like cotton/spandex skirts or skirts with elastic waists, sweatpants, stretchy shorts, and tank tops may actually fit quite well.