Archive for the ‘General’ Category

Jul

COOL TIPS FOR PETITE FASHION

Let’s face it. July means that it is HOT everywhere. The Northeast is wilting under a heat wave. Here in suburban Orlando, you can’t even walk to your mailbox without sweating. So how can a petite woman keep cool in July and August and still look stylish?

The obvious answer is to wear the least amount of clothing possible. Bare arms, bare shoulders, bare legs, exposed toes. Wear sundresses, strapless or one-shoulder tops and dresses, halters, tanks, shorts, minis, flip-flops, and sandals wherever, whenever you can.

Another simple petite fashion solution is to stay cooler by wearing fabrics that breathe. Exactly what does that mean? How can a fabric breathe?

To explain, let’s take a look at the two types of fibers used to make petite clothing, natural fibers and synthetic fibers. Think of a fiber as a piece of thread that is woven together to create fabric. Natural fibers originate from plants or animals. Synthetic fibers are created from man-made chemicals. Natural fibers breathe due to a looser weave. Synthetic fibers don’t. Synthetic fibers like polyester, nylon, and rayon don’t absorb moisture. It gets trapped between the fibers causing your body temperature to rise. On the other hand, natural fibers like cotton, linen, and silk make the best choices for a summer wardrobe because they absorb moisture, offering you a natural source of air conditioning.

Featured: Banana Republic blue silk dress $110.00

Posted by: Kim at 12:27 pm No Comments » | Topic: Fashion Tips, General

Jun

SEX AND THE CITY STYLE SECRETS FOR PETITE WOMEN

I have seen Sex and the City 2 twice already and still cannot believe how 5’3” Sarah Jessica Parker, a.k.a. Carrie Bradshaw, looks like she has the legs of a 5’10” supermodel. She is one of those petite women blessed with extremely long legs.

Short women with long legs? A tall petite? It sounds sort of like a fashion oxymoron, which is by definition a figure of speech in which 2 contradictory words are placed together for effect. Aren’t all short women supposed to have short legs? Au contraire.

Look at Sarah Jessica. Granted, she is known for her skyscraper heels, a guaranteed way to make toned legs look like they go on forever. Her sometimes eclectic, always fashion savvy alter-ego Carrie Bradshaw breaks petite fashion rules on a regular basis, but she follows some pretty basic guidelines to create the illusion of height on camera. Wear it really short or wear it really long.

Carrie wears her skirts or dresses short, well above the knee, or she wears long dresses that drape all the way to the floor. From the Halston Heritage white jersey dress she wears in Sex and the City 2’s first scene to the short electirc blue pleated dress also by Halston Heritage (featured below) or her Dior newsprint dress, Carrie shows that the shorter the dress, the longer the leg looks.

The long black Emilio Pucci evening gown worn to Smith’s movie premiere proves that one color story from head-to-toe always makes a petite woman look taller, sexy and glamorous. One of Carrie’s most controversial outfits is the Zac Posen purple and gray crinoline skirt (rumored to be the bottom half of a ballgown) paired with a J’Adore Dior cotton tee shirt. Believe it or not, this unusual combination backs up the petite principle that a short top paired with a long skirt divides the petite figure at uneven points for a body lengthening effect.

Petite fashionistas take note. Even if you don’t particularly care for Carrie Bradshaw’s style, this “all leg or no leg” approach to petite fashion seems to really work. You don’t have to be in the middle of the desert to pull off the mirage of really long legs.

Posted by: Kim at 5:08 pm No Comments » | Topic: General

Apr

CAN PETITE WOMEN WEAR CAPRI PANTS?

The “Capri Fashion Controversy” wages on for petite women. Shorter women truly have a love/hate relationship with capri pants. Some petite women love them, others wouldn’t be caught dead in a pair of capris. Capri pants prove to be tricky when you are short but can be flattering on the right petite figure shape. Women who are 5′4″ or under need to follow a few simple fashion rules when wearing capris. Always, always, always wear shoes in the same color of family of color as your capri pant. This pairing visually lengthens short legs. Good choice: Black shoes with black capris. Bad choice: Red shoes with black capris.

If you are really short, have heavy calves or thick ankles, capri pants may not be your best look. For those of you in the 5′2″ to 5′4″ height range with shapely legs, matching your shoes with your hemline will help you pull off the look with confidence and style.

Gap cropped denim capri pant $54.50 www.gap.com

Posted by: Kim at 5:11 pm 7 Comments » | Topic: Fashion Tips, General

Apr

WHERE O WHERE IS THE PETITE DEPARTMENT?

If you have been in a department store lately, I am sure that you will agree with me that the Petite Department has become increasingly hard to find. Finding petite clothing in major discount chains like Ross or T. J. Maxx is now like finding a needle in a haystack. Like many of you, I have never been more frustrated with shopping. Petite women have always been the misunderstood customer, now they are also the forgotten customer.

So why is a consumer base estimated to spend $10 billion annually on clothing being ignored? Having spent over 20 years in the petite fashion industry, I have my theories. When I started my career as a Petite Buyer, the petite business was booming. Every manufacturer wanted to produce their line in petite sizes. Every trendy item, every hot look was offered in petite sizes. Department stores jumped on the petite bandwagon and profits surged.

But as the years passed, these same stores started to take the petite customer for granted and eventually got lazy. Management always loved the sales that the Petite Department produced, but never really saw the petite customer as having different needs from other customers. They failed to understand that not only a large selection of merchandise, but special attention kept this customer loyal to their store. When upper management got bored with the petite niche market, they moved on and sought new areas of business to develop. The centralized check-out counter dealt another blow to the petite customer accustomed to high levels of customer service.

As the economy started to stagger, department stores having already lost their zeal for the petite business, started to let manufacturers dictate what is cut in petite sizes. Inventory became more about basics, less about fashion and newness. The bottom line is that Petite Buyers, store management, and manufacturers quit fighting for us. Thus, the dramatically altered or non-existent state of the Petite Department.

So what is a petite girl to do? Unite as a group and vent your frustration loud and clear. Power comes in numbers. Join a grass roots movement like www.bellapetite.com and advocate for change in the petite industry. Please send me your thoughts and suggestions on how we can collectively stand tall and be heard.

Posted by: Kim at 6:55 pm No Comments » | Topic: General