Whole lotta ugly

This is one of my mom's favorite expressions for describing a day at the mall where everything is just crap. And it perfectly sums up my feelings towards clothes shopping over the past several months -- just a whole lotta ugly out there. :/

I am far from a fashionista, but I still like to dress cute and somewhat contemporary. My style is fairly tailored and maybe a little bit preppy with lots of neutrals and the occasional splash of color thrown in for good measure. Since my style translates well to the office I don't really keep a separate wardrobe for after-hours and weekend fun -- most of what I own easily transitions from work to play. However, I'm in dire need of new summery tops and cardigans for the office and I can't.find.a.darn.thing.

All my usual haunts are failing me - BR, J. Crew, AT, etc. For some reason, everyone is featuring the babydoll and empire waist silhouttes that I am so over. For a pear-shaped girl, that whole volume look is just awful. Terrible. Hideous. It hides everything I like (chest, waist, torso) while drawing massive attention to the parts I'd rather forget about (hips, bum, upper thighs). And yet, there aren't a lot of alternatives in the stores. Sure, I've found a few things here and there, but overall it's slim pickings. I had this same problem last spring, too, but figured I could make due until the following year, when the stores were bound to stock better styles. Um, wrong.

I've even tried to branch out and give stores that I usually breeze right by a chance. I know Miss Diabolina loves it (and lord knows I love the clothes on her), but Forever 21 just isn't doing it for me. I'm not nearly trendy enough for the store. H&M was a similar bust.

I mentioned the trouble I've been having to several co-workers and they echoed my dismay at what the stores are currently offering. While we share a smiliar style, these girls are not only a different body shape than me, but are also considerably thinner, so I feel like we aren't the problem here. Granted, the bouts of cool weather are helping things a bit, but at some point in the near future we're going to be back in the 80s and 90s and my fall/winter sweater collection just isn't going to cut it. Blah!

So dear readers, where do you get your cute and interesting work clothes? Is there some store out there that I'm missing? Or am I going to be forced to learn how to sew to ensure I actually have something to wear to the office this summer? Help!