A recent conversation with the Petite Buyer for a national department store chain alarmed me enough to call out to all women 5″4″ and under, the newly named “Sisterhood of the Petite Women,” to UNITE!!! It is time to stand tall and be heard!
The economy is forcing retailers to re-evaluate their buying plans, and I fear that Petite Departments are going to get the short end of the deal. There are rumblings within the fashion industry that some Petite Departments will be shrunk and possibly eliminated. Here we go again! Didn’t we this just happen 2 years ago with Saks and Neiman’s? Some major retailers have the mistaken notion that all petite customers are little old ladies with one foot in the grave. I’ve got news for them. The “Sisterhood of the Petite Women” includes 45 million women of ALL ages with tremendous buying power!
So “Sisterhood of the Petite Women,” make some noise out there! Speak your mind! We want fashion. We want selection. We want quality. We want updated items in the Petite Department, not just dull, boring basics. If you are not content with the merchandise offered by your favorite petite store, let somebody know about it! Make it somebody with the authority to make a difference. Complaining to a salesperson gets you nowhere. They have zero control over what their store sells. You need to get to the buyers, the people with the power. Ask for the address and phone number of the buying office or corporate office. Write, call, send an email. Believe it or not, most buyers actually like customer comments. They are just too busy to go out and solicit them. Send feedback to your local newspaper or favorite magazine. Ask for more articles devoted to petite women. Tell the ladies at The View. Tell Oprah. I have been working on Oprah for years, trying to convince her to do a show or segment on petite women. I just know that my perservance will pay off one day. So be relentless. The combined voices of the “Sisterhood of the Petite Women” speaking out across America will show that we may be petite, but we are powerful!
Petite used to be 5′2″ and under. To me 5′4″ is not petite which means those of that are 5′ and under still have trouble with lengths. And what about lingerie, there should be bras for petites. again 5′ and under.
Thanks for your comments and I do appreciate the frustrations of those petite women under 5′ tall. Some manufacturers offer pants in 2 lengths – short and regular – including Levi jeans, Lee jeans, DKNY. Dillard’s Investments, and Macy’s J.M. Collections. I am on a constant campaign to get more manufacturers to offer 2 lengths for petite women. Good news about Petite bras, Wacoal makes a bra for petite women. It is available at most major department stores.
I love your website.
Are there any particular colors that are better for petites?
Thanks for the compliment. There are really no right or wrong colors for petite women although I highly recommend learning how to use colors to create optical illusions. Dark colors reduce fullness. Light colors increase fullness. Dark colors on a heavy set petite woman will have a slimming effect. If you are one size on top and a bigger size on the bottom, wear darker colors on the bottom to reduce fullness in the hips and thighs. Bright colors on top will increase fullness and even out your pear shape proportions. There are lots more tips on how to use color to your advantage in my book, The Petite Handbook (http://www.thepetitehandbook.com)
Thank you so much for your book, I just read about it online and am going to buy it tomorrow! Anne Taylor Loft just shut down in my hometown, which was a major loss for petite professionals in our area, like my 5′ tall mother, so I hear your pain! I am 4′11, 98 pounds and have always had a difficult time putting a “together” look together, which is quite frustrating for my husband to see me go through. I have some good pieces, but mostly not so good ones. Do you have any tips for a woman of almost 27 who is about to graduate college and move into the workforce? I always nail my interviews with my charm and wit, but I need something that they will remember and compliment me on time and again. I will continue to look at your site! Thanks again for your hard work. Lindsay
You can’t go wrong with classic items especially in these crazy economic times. Invest in pieces that you can wear for months, even years to come. I am always a big fan of a black suit for interviews. Update the basic suit with a trendy animal print top, brightly colored blouse in a lush fabric, or a solid layering piece with a striking necklace. Pair the suit with black pumps and you are sure to impress your potential employer with your sense of style. Continue to build a basic wardrobe with classics like a khaki wool gab pant, a pencil skirt, a tailored jacket, and update with trendier tops.
A good rule of thumb is that your wardrobe should be 70% basics and 30% trendy items. Good luck with your job search and thanks for the words of encouragement.
I know the frustrations of trying to find petite clothes, ‘I say to myself ‘guess I will have to put on 50lbs, so I can, maybe, find styles, dressy and otherwise, what are the fashion industries thinking???
If you can find petites in most of the stores, you have to dig thru all sizes to find petites sizes, what happened to the petite departments, do we have to march on the streets in front of stores to get their attention???
Rose
I am also a petite – 4′ 11 & a half” tall – weigh 97 lbs. When I was in my 20’s, I weighed 85 lbs so can fill the tiny bitty ones pain. It is still hard to find clothes now. I shop everywhere & like clothes suitable for the more mature (which I am a baby boomer)crowd but with a edgey trendy vibe. No sense making ourselves older than we have to be! Right?
I am a “mature” baby-boomer petite and a fashion consultant. I just found your website and will become a regular cyber-visitor. I’m always looking for new resources for myself and my clients and am a big fan of information sharing. Living in a city with limited retail resources, I rely on larger stores when I travel to find a selection of petite clothes. Sadly, as you have noted, even those resources have diminished greatly in the last few years. I will visit ForPetitesSake! Just to know you are out there is encouraging!
Just because we are petite it doesnt mean we have no boobs or are anorexic! What is wrong with retailers?
So fed up of having to mix and match sizes!
Is there a you tube site where real petite women (preferably over 40 and with some curves) try on clothes so we can see what they REALLY look like on petites? If not, I’d be willing to be a guinea pig and try on anything and everything that clothing companies want to send me…and then either take photos or video to be displayed on line so other women can actually see if it looks good or not. I’d also be willing to write my thoughts about the fit, fabric, etc. This would be a good opportunity for on line catalogs and small stores to find eager women to purchase their products. I oftentimes shy away from on line purchases because so often they don’t fit and then I have to spend all the shipping costs to send them back. I’d be willing to model why it is, for instance, that my 47 year old, size 6/8 petite, 34 D top half would NOT work in an unsupported Cami. But how with a certain Victoria’s Secret bra it would look fabulous:)