At what age

AmoroAgain

At what age should women stop shopping in the juniors section? 

I ask because I'm doing a little spring looking, and I'm trying to look through the non juniors stuff, but frankly, it sucks.  It's boring and lame and not at all what I would wear.  But if I shop in the juniors section, I feel like a dumbass.  What's a non old, non young gal to do?

brookelynpaisley

I gave my answer of 23-24 mainly because at around I suddenly got hips and junior styles no longer looked right. I can see wearing tasteful items from the junior section now and then after that, but not a whole wardrobe of it. I personally think it's incredibly hard to find clothes between the ages of about 24 and 28. Everything is either too young or too old, so I feel your pain.

baystateapple

I think there's a difference between "shopping in the juniors section because the clothes fit my personality" and "shopping in the juniors section because I'm in denial that my body/age/looks aren't those of a fifteen year old anymore."  I don't think you're old enough that people will give you the side-eye when you wear junior clothes or shop in the junior section.  I also don't think that being in your twenties earns you an automatic ban from the junior departments of stores.

However, I do think that very-much-older women who look their age and shop at DEB and Forever 21 should start dressing a little closer to their age.

AmoroAgain

Well shoot.  I just turned 30 in January.  Does that mean I should be firmly entrenched in misses clothes?

I think the problem is, that they're all very "mom" styles for people in my age group, and I'm not a mom and I know that there are lots of women my age who aren't either.  I mean, I can shop at BR and Jcrew, but sometimes I can't/don't want to spend that much money.

dani7248

this is one of my life's biggest challenges. i never can find cute trendy clothes in the missy sections but a lot of juniors clothes look cheap or are cut weird. i agree with PPs that BR or The Loft is great but its pricey.  I try the Limited from time to time and Macy's has a cute line called INC but its still a struggle. 

baystateapple

I feel your pain on another level...when I was in my teens I was far too busty/hippy to wear ANYTHING in the junior's department.  I was in misses when I was about 16, and it sucked.  Everything was mom-like.  I don't mind it so much now, because I'm pretty boring and conservative with the way I dress.  But when I was a teenager, and all of my friends were wearing cute things while I was shopping in the misses section...not fun.

I agree with brooklyn...there are a lot of really cute and tasteful things you can buy in the junior's section or junior's stores.  I think it's more of a question of knowing what to wear, rather than where to shop.

brookelynpaisley

I wear a lot of Old Navy, though I know the quality isn't the greatest and things are cut funky sometimes. But I hate spending a lot on clothes, so it works.

ggmae

I actually prefer the misses section to the juniors' section in a lot of department stores - JCPenney and Kohl's for example. The clothes in the juniors' section are too short and tight for my liking, and I feel 16 when wearing clothes like that. I think that Kohl's has some really trendy clothes in the misses section, but that's JMO.

sucrets4

I don't think there's a certain age, amoro.  If you can find cute, appropriate clothes that fit your body, then go for it.  Just because there are some hoochie clothes in the junior section doesn't mean they all are.

They just don't fit my body anymore.

AmoroAgain

Talk about not wanting to spend a lot on clothes-- there's a reason I don't shop over here. 

tlv204

Honestly I buy most of my clothes from Target, Marshalls, and TJMaxx, and therefore everything is kind of a combination of age groups. I'm assuming you don't have Marshalls or TJMaxx over there ( ), but Target?

AmoroAgain

If Target were over here, my life would be complete.

samurai21

I think a lot of it depends on your body type. I have a friend who will shop in the juniors because she's so petite that often the clothes there fit her better than petite women's.

And then there's my sister who is very curvaceous and the clothes in the junior section just aren't cut at all to fit her body like the women's cuts are. She'll try because the clothes can sometimes be cute and age appropriate, but they just don't fit. Fit is the key for me I think.

jasmineh7777

I shop in both right now, and I'm 21. I find Junior section jeans fit me better, but I am a smaller size in misses, which I enjoy.  My mom is 42, and is very petite. She can still shop in the Juniors section, and it looks fine. She isn't wearing lowrise jeans or anything, but she can find cute slacks and tops. I think as long as it fits you well, you are fine.

TurtlesAllTheWayDown

Like Samurai, I have a friends who HAVE to shop in the juniors section (like my BM who is 5'2" and 98 pounds). While buying business attire is tough, I think you can get away with some casual things. 

barbbhoww

I buy shirts in the junior's section and pants in the women's. 

spaje

LOL!  I just wish I had this option!

sweetpea0911

I said 50+ but the honest truth is that it depends on your reasoning.  If it's because "I'm so cool and hip that's where I have to shop!" then dear Lord, get outt NOW.  Otherwise, I think you should be fine.

topchef33

I'm 25 and I still buy some clothes out of the JR's section. Sometimes a small in Misses is too big on me.

I'll sometimes buy jeans in the JR's section, like Levi's, and occasionally sweaters or tank tops to wear under button down shirts.

I'm definitely not one of those people who shop in that section b/c I can't deal with getting older lol.

amagwire

23.  Out of college age.  It's difficult to make the transition, but you have to find the right stores to shop in, then it makes it worth it.  Thank you, Anthropologie.

tenofcups4me

No options between 30 and 50+?!

I'm 46 and sometimes shop in juniors. I'm small (5 feet and usually between 100 and 105 pounds) and juniors jeans, pants, and shorts tend to fit me better, sometimes sweaters too. On the whole juniors fit me much better than petites, which almost never work right for me. I shop in juniors and misses, depending on what I'm looking for.  

andyandhillary

It depends on the store and style but I said the youngest age group.  If you find "appropriate" stuff then it's fine but I feel as though juniors are a lot of times just more "trashy" and less well made clothes. 

Have you tried stores like Ann Taylor and Ann Taylor LOFT?  I shop there and I think it's trendy but it's in normal woman sizes.  Ann Taylor is expensive (to me...) but LOFT isn't. 

polichik

I say if you fit in it and it doesn't look trashy, shop at any section you want! I've gotten some great jeans in the guy's section. I think it's ridiculous to pay $90 for a $40 pair of jeans just because they're a "boyfriend" style for women. It's the same as guy pants!

CaptiolBride

OMG i'm going thru that exact issue! I was at Macy's the other day.. The women's section was soooooo BLAND. and soooo not stylish. But it's becoming a little too "thick" for the juniors section. These womanly curves are serious business. LOL. I'd probably still buy dresses and shirts in the juniors section though. Any if they carry jeans in my size until I'm 30+.

beatlesgirl25

I wouldn't put an exact age on it either. I'm with you, Amoro, I think a lot of the non-juniors stuff can be boring. I think it's more important to dress appropriately for your age than to worry about where you get the clothes.

For example, I'm 29 and pretty much past the point of wearing super low-rise jeans with mega flare bottoms and the camis that are meant for a junior-sized chest with cleavage. So I'll stay away from that stuff, but the junior department at Kohl's has a lot of cute, affordable blouses that I can wear to work with some good quality pants. I find that they are more fitted too with darts, etc., whereas the ones in the Misses section (even the Vera Wang stuff) are shapeless and weird.

eastunder1

I don't shop the juniors section much just because the clothing there is ususally poorly made and a lesser quality material than most womens clothing.  I sometimes buy dresses out of the juniors section just because they tend to be shorter, just like me.  But thats about it. 

But I think putting age caps on a time when you "shouldn't" shop there is silly.  Should you LOOK like a juniors section threw up on you, in trends for 15 year olds?  No.  But if you want to buy things that will still look ok on an older person there, I don't see why that should be a problem.  It would be silly to say "No I can't get this thing I really like" just because it came out of one section and not the other.   Says who?

goheels05

Do you have H&M over there? 

I think you might have better luck finding cute clothes when you get to Sweden.  I'd pass 2 H&M's and a half dozen other young (but not too young) women's clothing stores just on my 15 minute walk from class to the train station, and Sweden had a lot of the same shops as Copenhagen.  It was all reasonably priced; I bought a ton of clothes while I was there. 

I'm going to check my closet and see what the names of those other stores were . . .

goheels05

Vero Moda and Only were the other shops I liked.  But I'm looking online now, and they look "younger" than I remember.

But still, the shopping going to be way better in Sweden, methinks. 

thesuninherhead

We don't really have 'juniors' here (thus my question on what the go was with the odd sizing when we were in the states! haha). Everything I bought whilst over there was adults, but over here in target we do have a section called 'hot options' which (though running in the same sizes as adult, but slightly different cuts) is geared towards teens to twenty-somethings. I still shop in the hot options section if I'm in Target, because their adult stuff seems to be designed for those around 40, and in addition nothing really fits me right in those 'adult' styles because the cuts are different and I'm rather small.

In every other store, I shop in the adult section, and there's quite a few stores that I won't even enter because they are far too 'young'. I mainly shop in places like Portmans (http://www.portmans.com.au/) that are geared at women aged around 20-35. 

luckyme502

New York and Company, Old Navy, H&M, Macy's, all of these stores have nice misses sections.  I am kind of biased because I have a friend who is 30, has two kids, and does not have the body of a junior (her bra size is like a 34 DDD) and insists on only shopping in the juniors department.  Most of the time I think she looks ridiculous!