Comments for For Petite Sake

Comment on PETITE AND EXTRA SMALL ARE NOT THE SAME by Frankie Ortiz

Frankie Ortiz — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 01:56:58 +0000

I absolutely agree! I’m an aspiring petite fashion designer also committed to educating the population on this miseducation of petite=xxxs. I’m becoming more and more fed up everyday at the lack of options us petites have when shopping because most “petite” retailers don’t understand that petite is in fact a proportion and not a size. I am 4′11” and I am definitely not a size 0. In fact, my measurements are 35-25-36. It’s time the industry realizes the need for the large percentage of the population that require REAL petite sizing. My Petite Collection will be launching this fall (with correct proportions lol) but definitely check out the blog in the meantime! http://www.THE16THBAR.COM

Comment on FASHION TIPS FROM THE HOME OFFICE by Monex

Monex — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 22:21:01 +0000

Yes arent you always curious to see what another woman has in her wardrobe?It doesnt help when fashion dictates that you must have this and that and you go out and buy a whole lot of this and that before you have even filled your wardrobe with essentials. Its like furnishing a home and discovering that the floor doesnt match all the furniture you have diligently amassed.A working wardrobe is really a family of complementary personalities. It is her wardrobe that sets her apart.How you assemble your wardrobe to make it work for you really depends as much on taste as necessity .

Comment on PETITE AND EXTRA SMALL ARE NOT THE SAME by XSPetite

XSPetite — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 10:58:45 +0000

I feel your pain and frustration! I’m in my 20’s and wear Extra Small Petite on top (even though I have long legs and am 5′ 5″)! People always try to sell me small tops that are not in Petite sizes because they just don’t get it. It’s sooo frustrating! The next time a sales clerk offers me an extra small top in regular Women’s sizes I’m tempted to try it on for them so they can see with their own eyes how it looks on me (then they can see how the breast part of the shirt hangs down below my own breasts and looks ridiculous).

I would LOVE it if the clothing industry stopped using the term “PETITE” and instead used the term “SHORT.” The term “TALL” is used in clothing for taller people so why not use the term “SHORT.” I think it would make more sense to people and all the confusion would go a way. I also think it would make it easier for shorter women (or women who are short on top like me) to find clothes that fit them. I didn’t even know I had a Petite torso until I was in my mid twenties and went to get fitted for a bra at Nordstrums (the lady told me I needed a Petite bra which has SHORT straps). Up until that point I didn’t buy much clothing because nothing fit me right. I could never figure out why…I just thought there was something wrong with my body. If someone had only told me I was Petite on top years ago it would have saved me a whole lot of tears and frustration.

As I’ve explored blogs etc. online I’ve realized that a lot of the women who wear my size in Petites are young women or Asian. Perhaps if more of these women spoke up people would realize that being PETITE is not the same thing as just being Extra Small with a normal body length.

On a side note: I think there are actually more women than people realize that are Extra Small Petite. It’s just that a lot of women aren’t educated about their size. If they are young or small they are told to go to Kids or the Juniors department. Kids and Juniors are not designed to fit PETITES and adult women. These departments also more than likely don’t have appropriate styles. (Just educating those non-petite people out there.)

Thankyou for your post! : )

Comment on SCARVES: THE PERFECT PETITE ACCESSORY by Luanne Lozier

Luanne Lozier — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 12:10:04 +0000

Hi Kim,
I cannot believe there is someone who finally gets petite dressing! How thrilling it was to find your blog! My brother lives in Casselberry, FL with his petite wife (5′3″)! He’s over six feet tall and I’m only 5′2″ go figure? I live in northern Indiana in a small town that has very limited petite clothing stores. I have thought “I need to open a petite boutique” here because I can’t be the only one in this town that cannot find decent outfits to put together! I’m tired of the “old lady” bands around the bottom of tops and the petite pants shrinking to fit a Barbie Doll! My choices to shop at are Kohl’s (which just came to town in the last two years), J C Penney and Elder Berman/Bon Ton department stores or drive an hour to a larger city with a mall (not always ideal). Many times the sizes are picked over because they don’t stock a lot merchandise locally. It’s a real problem! Well you get the picture! I’ll be ordering your handbook. Thank you for your wealth of information on this site!

Comment on Petite Buying Blues by Cyn

Cyn — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 03:08:49 +0000

Love your blog. But as a Canadian petite (5′1″, about a size 10 or 12) I find it bizarre that you call the petites market in Canada “very developed”. On the contrary, I have to make regular shopping trips to the USA to have any hope whatsoever of finding clothes that fit. Most of the lines you take for granted – Macy’s, Nordstrom’s, Ann Taylor, even GAP petites – aren’t available in Canada, and for the most part can’t even be ordered online. An endless source of frustration, to be sure.

Here in Canada, they’ll look at you strangely in stores when you ask about petites sizing, and then point you toward a size XS. There are a few clothes that carry petites, including the Bay, Laura and Reitmans, but their stuff tends to be for older women, and not very fashion-forward. I’m thirty years old and work in advertising; I don’t want to dress like seventy-five year old.

I think it’s because we have about one-tenth of the population in Canada as you do in the USA, so there just isn’t the critical mass in the market to make niche sizing an option. With fashion geared towards the “long and lean” segment of the market, those of us who are vertically-challenged get left out in the dust.

Basically, my only recourse is to take a very expensive trip to New York City about once a year, load up my suitcase with tons of clothes, and then toss out the receipts and smuggle them back across the border. Other than that, I can buy ill-fitting clothes that have to be dramatically altered (seriously, hemlines are one thing, but taking in the shoulders and raising the waist are just ridiculously expensive), or I can just wear old clothes for years on end. Fashionista? I wish!

Comment on THE YEAR OF THE CARDIGAN by Tamara

Tamara — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 01:32:44 +0000

I LOVE MY CARDIGANS!!! I always get compliments on the different cardigans that I wear – the small details make the difference. This past spring/summer I paired them with tanks and jeans w/bold accessories.

Comment on The Shrinking State of Petite Clothing by nnucci

nnucci — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 20:57:25 +0000

Agree. Am 5′2, 115 and 47 y/o professional with 4 kids; 3 still at home. Used to get great stuff at Anne Taylor Loft but their selection has fizzled this year. With money tied up in my kids, I can’t afford tailoring. I used to go to consignment shops where I could find excellent, classic suits which fit well. They have all gone out of biz. Funny, too, how I used to be size 5 when I was 16 and now am a 2…….Try to find ANYTHING in a 2.

I find it ironic how the culture of fashion teaches woman to be slim…..but then forgets about the ones who are. Rock on, tiny but mighty chicks!

Comment on IS MADONNA’S “MATERIAL GIRL” FOR GROWN-UPS? by Yvette

Yvette — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 00:50:35 +0000

Oh you are too funny! Franceska is a *star*!!
Love ya

Comment on PETITE AND EXTRA SMALL ARE NOT THE SAME by Kim Dahlman

Kim Dahlman — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 14:28:04 +0000

Actually the average American woman is 5′4″ tall and weighs 165 pounds. It sounds like you have a great petite figure and is sad that you have such a hard time finding clothing to fit. Clothing manufacturers have been very sporatic over the years about addressing the needs of petite women and the current trend seems to be to ignore this huge segment of the population. All we can do is join together and make our voices be heard in an effort to force change.

Comment on PETITE AND EXTRA SMALL ARE NOT THE SAME by Rosemarie Greenwald

Rosemarie Greenwald — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 23:05:19 +0000

I receive many catalogues through the mail. There are places I’d love to buy from but they offer no Petite sizes; only extra-small. I am 4 ft. 8 in. and currently weigh 115 lbs. with a DD bra cup size and not so slim hips. Does the clothing industry ever “get it?” I’m not a freak and people think I have a nice figure. Fortunately, I can make my own clothes but it does take a lot of fussing with a pattern to accommodate a small frame with a real bosom and hips. I don’t understand why retail clothing manufacturers or pattern companies for sewers overlook this. Isn’t it obvious? Look around–the average American woman is not the tall, willowy type.