Ann Taylor Stores (NYSE:ANN) issued an announcement with its third-quarter earnings on Friday morning that suggested the women's clothier was dressed to kill. The big news? Ann reported earnings per diluted share of $0.42 on net income of more than $30.3 million, figures that surpassed analyst estimates and more than doubled up on 2004's third quarter. This time last year, the Manhattan-based firm sewed up just roughly $14 million in net income and earnings of $0.19 per share.

Investors promptly went gaga over the news, bidding up the company's stock by more than 7.5% on Friday. But not to worry if you missed out on the fashion fun. Impressive though Ann's third quarter certainly was, there's reason for some skepticism.

For starters, there's the company's eye-popping price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio. True, Ann is in sound financial shape, and its forward valuations are in line with those of its average industry rival. Still, a P/E ratio north of 80 on a trailing-12-month basis pole vaults over the broader market's comparable multiple, not to mention those of other major players in Ann's highly competitive field.

According to Capital IQ, Limited Brands (NYSE:LTD) trades at 15.7 times trailing earnings, for instance, while uber-hip Abercrombie & Fitch's (NYSE:ANF) P/E of 20.4 is roughly in line with the industry average. Meanwhile, shares of American Eagle Outfitters (NASDAQ:AEOS) and Gap (NYSE:GPS) can currently be found on the market's sales rack, with P/E ratios in the vicinity of just 13.

What's more, as my Fool colleague Rich Smith pointed out last week, Ann has been doling out big capital expenditure bucks, and, so far anyway, the company hasn't gotten much in the way of a bang for its bucks. Moreover, in Friday's announcement, Ann painted a decidedly mixed picture with respect to comparable-store sales. Yes, overall, that metric ticked up 0.2%. Last year at this time, however, the company experienced a 1.4% increase. And this time out, its lower-cost Loft unit was a Q3 laggard, with comparables down during the period by 2.5%.

To be sure, Ann's net income figure gives the company plenty to crow about. And the company's purchase of some 700,000 of its own shares during the third quarter suggests that management has the courage of its convictions.

On average, however, the company paid only $25.18 a stub for its shares, which is a nice discount to Ann's closing price on Friday of $30.42. For now, then, investors interested in the retail clothing biz should consider shopping elsewhere. Ann Taylor's stock looks a bit too upscale just now.

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Shannon Zimmerman runs point on The Motley Fool's Champion Funds newsletter service and owns none of the companies mentioned above. You can check out the Fool's disclosure policy by clicking right here.