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Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Ma Petite Cheri

Translation: My Little Darling/My Little Dear One

It's become somewhat of a weekend habit to go shopping. Not that I'm complaining--much.

A little bit of background before I turn this into a rant post. I'm 4'11; 5 ft. on a good day. I consider myself "tiny" pretty much everywhere. In fact, my whole family is tiny. My mom is 5 feet and my grandma is even tinier. Her maiden name is actually Little--which I find ironically suitable.

A few weekends ago, I was shopping with my mom at LOFT (usually one of my most favorite places to shop for Petite clothes). This particular day, however, my mom and I were trying on the SAME EXACT pair of white skinnies. We are relatively the same size and tried on the same pair of size 2 pants.  They fit her perfectly, but bunched MAJORLY around my ankles. Come to find out, her legs are longer than mine (we measured), but my torso is longer than hers. We are both still considered petite.

This weekend, similar problems occurred when shopping at a popular boutique. NOTHING FIT. Dresses were too long, shirts were way too big, and pants/shorts; forget it. Every once in a while you'll get lucky, but it's frustrating to be a tiny person.

I have a quite few problems with retailers and how they cater to the "petite" crowd.

Problem 1: "Petite" means different things to different people/stores/brands. Sure, you may be 5'4 and consider yourself petite compared to your 5'11 friends, but I, at 4'11, am petite to you. Petites come in different shapes and sizes. Even if you're the same height measurement, you may have the same problem as me and my mom.

Problem 2: Most brands with "petite" labels are actually made for the person that is 5'2-5'4. It's like you don't need cute clothes when you're under that mark. And really how is the same pair of pants labeled with a "P" going to fit a 5'4 person and me? Ridiculous.

Problem 3: Many brands/stores DO NOT have petites. Most boutiques actually.

Problem 4: A good tailor is hard to find. In fact, I'm still looking for one (help me)! Also, if I pay $50+ for a pair of pants or a dress, I don't particularly want to pay another $50-$60 to have them altered--no matter how badly I want them to fit perfectly.

Problem 5: I DON'T WANT TO SHOP IN THE KID'S DEPARTMENT MY WHOLE LIFE! I fit a size 0 or XSmall at Lilly Pulitzer. However, because I'm petite, some of the pants or dress don't fit properly, mostly because they are too long. Enter, the children's section of Lilly Pulitzer. This weekend, I bought a pair of children's palazzo pants and THEY FIT (granted it was an XL, but still). Perfectly. Perfect length, perfect around the waist. It worked out well this time because the children's section is significantly cheaper than the adult section. But still. I'm 23, I don't want to be shopping in the children's section forever!

What's a girl to do? Can there be an extra petite classification? Or can all of the tailors with good reputations come out of hiding now?

Rant over. Sorry (not sorry) for the rant like post--it had to be said.




12 comments:

  1. Girl I have the same problem! I'm 5'0" and I also find that a lot of stores only have pants in petite! Ummm...I am proportionately small, so I need some petite tops too! Good tailors that won't rip you off are super hard to find.

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  2. Wow! I had no idea it was so challenging! I'm 5'8" so I definitely don't have the same fit problems, but there are definitely areas that make it challenging to find clothes that fit me properly. I think women's clothes manufacturers just suck in general, lol. So sorry you're having difficulties finding the perfect fit!!

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    1. Haha it really is! I agree. Women's clothes are probably made by a bunch of men who have no idea what they are doing!

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  3. Girl I totally feel you! I'm not only 5'2" but pretty curvy for my height, so finding pants that fit waist-wise AND length is like going unicorn hunting. Pants like that literally don't exist. Also once I get them altered, I can't ever Poshmark them later because who's going to buy a pair of pants in such a random size??? Short person struggles for sure.

    acupoftay.com

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    1. Heaven forbid we aren't all toothpicks and 6 feet tall lol I'd give anything to find someone to alter my clothes!

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  4. I have the same issue!! I'm small. I can barely find something to fit me the right way, especially dresses and jeans.

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  5. I'm a shorty too so I feel your pain. I have long legs though and sometimes petite pants are a little too short but regular are too long. When I do find pants that fit well I'll buy multiple pairs so I have backups

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  6. I love this post! I am 5'3 so I fall under that category but a lot of times I hate looking for jeans because NOTHING fits like I want them too since I am a bit curvier. I am sorry I am not 100lbs and 5'3 .. ugh i just give up on shopping most days

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  7. I totally understand the struggle is real!! I'm 5'3, so a little taller, but am still pretty small and completely flat chested haha.
    It does suck shopping in kids, but when needed their clothes ARE cheaper, which makes things kind of great. :) The Target kids section has been great to me for basics. And they have some really cute non-childish looking other pieces as well. Not sure if you've gotten much from there?
    I hope you find some more great companies to buy from!

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    1. That's the only good thing about shopping in the kids section--WAY cheaper prices :) I haven't shopped the Target kids section, but may need to check that out!

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  8. UGH so frustrating, Allison!!! I'm nearly 5' 7'', so while I can't understand your struggle in that department, I DO get the annoyance of shopping and just being unable to find anything that properly fits for one reason or another. It's a pain! And I'm surprised the LOFT is still not en par, because I love shopping there and am always seeing Petite options - boo! I'll be on the lookout for you...

    cominguprosestheblog.com

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    1. You are too sweet! Loft caters to the petite people that are like 5'3--and while I'm glad they will have something to wear, it dramatically slashes what I can find. It's like a game lol

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