Another year, another set of Black Friday deals. Or, as it’s referred to here in Quebec, “vendredi fou”.

Just like last year, I opted to do a fair amount of my clothes shopping for the year over this week and weekend. For one thing, it meant I could get it over with all at once and, hopefully, not have to think about it for many months. For another, the deals offered at this time of year tend to be pretty good. We petites know that we tend to pay a “short tax” on everything we buy, in higher prices for petite clothing, plus the added alteration costs. Every little bit of savings helps.

Like last year, I’m posting my Black Friday haul in multiple parts. This is Part 1, covering what I ordered from Canadian retailers. Stay tuned for Part 2, containing my shipped-to-the-border US purchases, soon.

Banana Republic

BR is still a go-to brand for us petites, despite the higher prices and lower quality of recent years. This year, like in previous years, they were running a 50% sitewide sale for Black Friday. It’s worth noting that Banana Republic often has promo codes of up to 40% on regular priced items, but the 50% sales are pretty limited to this time of year and, perhaps, Boxing Day.

Anyway, I wasn’t thrilled with a lot of this year’s collection from BR. But I did pick up a couple of sweaters. For starters, there was this holiday-season inspired grey metallic sweater:On me, the sweater fit okay, if a bit big. I could see curling up by the fireplace in this and a pair of leggings and feeling very festive. The metallic sparkle was fairly muted — I was worried it would be too much bling, but it’s actually pretty subtle. It does give the fabric a slightly itchy quality that I don’t love. But overall, this ain’t bad.

Sweater: Banana Republic, size SP, $67.50 CAD (reduced from $135)

The other sweater was really more of a long-sleeve tee — a v-neck luxespin knit. Yes, it’s yet another item in my favourite colour. The first step is admitting I have a problem, right?

It’s more casual than I thought it would be. More of a sweatshirt than a sweater. The dropped sleeves and slits at the hem make this more of a weekend piece than an office option. But it’s just so comfy and easy and it fits perfectly and, oh yeah, did I mention it’s purple? I can see wearing this a million times. Definitely a keeper.

Sweater: Banana Republic, Size SP, $27.50 CAD (reduced from $55)

Old Navy

I didn’t find much worth splurging on at Old Navy this year. It’s usually my go-to store to pick up cheap and cheerful basics — t-shirts, pyjamas, activewear — in petite-friendly sizes. The prices are low enough that I generally don’t have to wait for sales to shop, though. So I’ve actually done okay there throughout the year.

The only item I added on a whim to this year’s Black Friday shop was this v-neck summer floral dress, mostly because it was only $9! I felt like I had to:

On me, though, it was a disappointment. The fabric felt cheap and thin, and — as I suspected — the dress was too big on top. That made the fabric bag and bunch awkwardly at the waist, rather than falling properly. I really wanted to like this, because who doesn’t love a deal? But honestly, it will probably just sit unworn in my closet. I suppose I could return it, but for nine bucks, it’s almost not worth the trek to UPS. Maybe I can get creative with my sewing machine and turn it into a skirt or something.

Dress: Old Navy, Size SP, $9 CAD (reduced from $35)

Hudson’s Bay

The deals were really not that good at The Bay this year. And I despair a little more every year at the declining selection, quality, and style range available in petites from what used to be a pretty good place to shop. These days, the Bay is tired, stale, and not even a shade of what it was.

Still, though, petites with limited options must sometimes make do. I was frustrated to see that my favourite v-neck Lord & Taylor cashmere sweaters weren’t back in petite sizes this year, only in regular, which are unfortunately a poor fit on me. I mean, taller women get a choice of 19 different colours in v-neck, and we petites get zero? Arrrgh.

But I decided to pick up a couple in crew neck instead, which I don’t like quite as much, but hey, better than nothing. These sweaters get a LOT of wear and at least I know they’ll fit. Here were the two colours I added to my wardrobe, purple (of course) and a lapis blue:

Here they are on me. I particularly like the purple one. I just wish they’d brought them back in v-neck.

Sweaters: Hudson’s Bay, Size SP, $79.99 CAD (reduced from $99.99)

Overall, not much folie on this side of the border in this year’s vendredi fou. It’s pretty slim pickings out there for Canadian petites these days.

Did I fare better in my ship-to-the-border US purchases? Stay tuned for Part 2 of this post to find out.