The Joy of Being Short

[cjsmith]

"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.

Comments

[cassidyrose.livejournal.com]

Yup. Just like "average" size is a fourteen, yet anything above a 14 is considered "plus-size" and there are fewer choices. However, under a 14 and there are stores and choices abound.

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.

[lkeele.livejournal.com]

5'4" is petite???? I thought that was flipping AVERAGE! Bizarre. And let's not even GO to tall land -- every pair of pants I wear becomes 3/4 pants after two washings, and if I want a sleeve to reach to my wrist, I buy in the men's department. Half my shirts are too short to tuck in if I wanted to. (I'm only 5'10", I'm not 6'4" or something!)

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* ....

[portia.livejournal.com]

If I find pants that fit my fat waist they are WAY too long. I detest trying on and buying clothes...

[abz6598.livejournal.com]

Thats nothing...I have a 46R chest, broad shoulders and a 35" waist. Good luck finding a basic black cocktail dress!

And the shoes! Oy!

[curmudgn]

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.

[lesliepear.livejournal.com]

Petite materntity clothes - very hard to find. There's a size "Petite" - that's like a size 2. Most of the pants I bought have the crotch in the wrong place for a 5 1 1/2" woman - especially because there's extra fabric to cover the growing middle. I did buy a size 12 P pair of jeans via Pennies catalogue - happilly they fit :) (Maybe the regular size one's will fit better as I get bigger and I won't have to roll the waistband - that was a very nice tip from the maternity store saleswoman).

[dawnd.livejournal.com]

Don't get me started! I'm one of those that defies EVERY size category. Too short for Average, to big for Petite, a size 14-16 (most of the time, except when I'm not....), which is on the top end of all the "normal" stores, and the bottom end of all the "plus size" stores, so nobody ever has anything in my size: "I'm sorry, we had one of those, but it sold right away." Well, if it SOLD right away, why didn't you ORDER MORE?! Long torso, short legs, means that I wear a TALL bathing suit style and have to SHORTEN petite pants! If it fits my butt, it's too long in the front rise most of the time. And it's actually EASIER, after I had my daughter. I used to have a THREE SIZE difference between my waist and my hips--just TRY to find jeans for that!! Now it's only 1 to 2 sizes (my ribcage got bigger during pregnancy), and it is POSSIBLE to find stuff that fits, well, sorta-fits.

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!