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"I find outfits that are just sensational," says the former Charlie's Angel [Cheryl Ladd]. "And then I put them on and the sleeves are too long, the jacket is too long and I have to get everything almost remade for me." That's because at 5-feet, 4-inches tall, Ladd is considered petite.
According to this article, 43% of women are petite (er, hello? Let's make a definition that marginalizes nearly half of us) and we account for eleven percent of women's clothing spending. I find that telling. CLUE, clothing industry, getcha CLUE right ovah heah. When stuff doesn't fit WE BUY LESS OF IT.
According to this article, 43% of women are petite (er, hello? Let's make a definition that marginalizes nearly half of us) and we account for eleven percent of women's clothing spending. I find that telling. CLUE, clothing industry, getcha CLUE right ovah heah. When stuff doesn't fit WE BUY LESS OF IT.
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I find it really infuriating that I am average height and size in this country, yet I have to buy "petite" suits in the largest standard size.
Dumb, dumb, dumb.
I can't remember when I didn't have to roll up pants so the length would fit.
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Me thinks pre-manufactured clothing was in general a bad idea ..... especially given the bizarre STEREOTYPES about women that seem to influence clothing manufacturing -- making clothes for what size they "should be" instead of what size they *are* ....
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I really wish I had a backup option such as buying in the men's department. In fact, I wish I could buy in the men's department period; there are quite a few good styles and colors of shirts and sweaters there.
I like (er, mumble, forgot his name)'s idea of "custom mass production" (er, ok, forgot quite the phrase he used as well). The idea is to create a way of making objects such that a list of settings can be easily changed for each object. People with wide but short feet just use the settings width=EE, length=size5 and get what they need. The next pair of shoes could have different settings. This would work well if production were extremely automated and were moved close to the end consumer physically, much like photo development is. Imagine a clothing-maker machine the size of an automated photo lab machine, sitting at every Macy's counter. The rest of the shop has a few sample styles on display or to try on, and big reams of fabric. Maybe not 100% practical, but I know I'd pay a premium for it. Maybe 43% of women would too... not to mention taller women, larger women...
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AMEN! clothes shopping is a highly frustrating event for nearly every woman i know. i'm 5'8 ~ too tall for "average" and too short for "tall" when it comes to jeans. it's insane. i'm fortunate that i have a seamstress for a neighbor, and she has reasonable rates. So far she's only done alterations for me, but methinks i'll be hiring her to tailor-make some clothing later this year.
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(oh, sorry about my whole last comment being in bold!)
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And the shoes! Oy!
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*ducking and running*
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And what about if yer petite and plus? My wife can just about for-fuckin’-get finding anything approximating a size 18 for her 5’1” frame.
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Ooo, I hadn't even thought of that. If I ever get pregnant and choose to continue living, I will probably wear a bathrobe for five or six months!!
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Elastic waists are my friends. I like Capri pants--they come down right at my ankles! And I wear a lot of skirts--which I notice, CJ, that you do too! I don't care if they're out of style, I'm still buying pants that are tight at the ankles, because I don't have to shorten them--I just let them bunch up.
43% of women are "petite"--in a pig's eye! What's normal, then???
Fashion Industry: Get a clue, get a grip, and get your heads out of your collective *sses!
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I too am quite the size mishmash.
Shirts: "medium" or size 8 to 10. T-shirts: "small", because they're sized for
unisexmen. Torso length: shorter than anything ever made. T-shirt designs are unreadable on me because my belt cuts them off (but does anyone move the design up on a small? noooooo).Chest: 28DD is my best guess (though in any sane measuring system I would be a C cup at most). That's only a guess because I have never seen a bra that fits properly. I buy 32D, ignore that little extra of me that pooches out at the top, and cut a couple inches outta the back strap. That puts the cups too far apart but what can ya do?
Pants: "small" or size 6, except: butt, "medium", and waist, extra extra tiny. Rise: apparently larger than anything ever made. Inseam: too short for normal, too long for petite, one inch too short to fly most mass produced aircraft.
Shoes: 5 1/2 EE is my best guess, but I have never seen those so I don't know; I buy sevens and hope for the best. Socks: smaller than anything made for adults. Hats: five and a quarter, which means I can't buy anything in any store because every single hat is one size doesn't-fit all.
I can't even find EYEGLASSES to fit.
I do, apparently, fit standard pony-tail elastics. I guess that's something.
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Well, even if it's hard to clothe, at least your body is, ummm, eyecatching! Wonder how many ponytail elastics it would take to create a dress?
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I bet it would be quite an interesting dress. I'm imagining something giving the appearance of knit, but done by knotting each elastic with several others a la chainmail.
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Regarding shoes--I had a friend in college who was (if I'm remembering correctly) a 4 1/2 E. She referred to herself as "Roundfoot."
More grousing about the Fashion Industry--apparently something like 90% of women in this country wear shoes that are too narrow. I know even I have a hard time finding stuff that fits right, and I'm not *that* far off average in that department. Though, post-pregnancy, I now sometimes need a 9 1/2--and many shoe companies don't even carry THAT, let alone a 10 1/2 (which is what
Cobbie's shoes (I know there's one at Southland) has a pretty wide (pun not intended, but accepted) selection--any luck there? Not the most "fashionable", but sometimes they have decent stuff. And if you could get them to measure you properly, perhaps you could special order, or order over the Internet? You can get *anything* over the web....
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I have the exact same shoe size as my high school pal who had a vestigial sixth toe. Still, I can buy some European styles and do okay. None of them are fashionable. I look like a golfer or something. But I'm not in pain, which (in a business setting at least) is a win. Next after finding a good tailor/seamstress is probably a cobbler who'll do custom work!
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oh, and take another look at cYN's wedding pictures: the purple outfits that Valerie and Nancy wore? Handmade for them by a local seamstress, for less than alterations would have cost (Nancy's still nursing, and Valerie gave birth a couple of weeks before the wedding.) Custom doesn't have to be expensive. (and margaret was an adorable match...)
_Mark_
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