Or bras for that matter. It's not unusual to have a full cup size difference, but do designers care.....NNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOooooo. And what's up with the newer "Nearly A", "Nearly B" and "Nearly C" bra sizes...how about a "Nearly watermelons" for the rest of us???

ETA: Waiting for the males to chime in at this point about how their brains are going to explode.:) ;)

Lol, you're one of THOSE people. I hated when I had to work in the department that included shoes back in HS when I worked at TJ Maxx. There were so many single shoes that lost their mate, due to one-footed people and people like you! lol

LOLZ.

Damn peg-leg pirates! ARGH!!!

You know what, they did a damn good job of hiding it too... Keeping those damn parrots quiet is quite a feat!

Maybe they borrowed the parrot from the Monty Python Sketch.

Are there? I can name the following that are NOT matronly:

Banana Republic (but they do not carry the entire line in petites, not even online)

Ann Taylor/Ann Taylor Loft (see above)

J.Crew (see above)

Reitmans (see above (and they do not have an online store))

Laura Petites (part of the Laura chain of stores. Mall staple in Canada. Petite sizes are okay, but only for formalwear. Their "regular" clothes fall into the Talbots category of "matronly")

INC International Concepts (decent collection)

Anthropologie (again, not their entire collection)

Jones New York is pretty decent, I think, but it's very career-y

As for not knowing about petite sizes: I think this is a very "English speaking country" thing. I have cousins, who are from Hong Kong, and are right on the border between "regular" and "petite" did not realize that petite sizes exist. I have never seen "petite" sizes in Europe or in Asia. In addition, many people do not realize that they are petite, because they are led to believe that either:

A: They are too tall for petite sizes or
B: That "petite" means under size 8 (as my aunt does. She took her very proportioned 5'6 1/2 daughter into a petite sized store for a formal dress.)

As for shoes: It is NOT that easy to find shoes if you are under size 6.

Congratulations, your entire family is loaded with morons. You come by it honestly.

(Are you starting to understand that you're not going to convince anyone here that a person of normal intelligence does not know that petites exist).

PS Why for the love of GOD do you care if they sell petites in Europe???

:eek: :eek:

Actually not knowing about petite sizes is pretty "normal" if you are not from an English speaking country. My family is from Hong Kong and the foreign brands that are there do not come in petites (even though the average woman in Hong Kong is one inch shorter than the average woman in North America). The ladies there just accept the fact that they need alterations and have never even thought to ask for petite sizes. THIS IS WHY I THINK MORE LINES SHOULD HAVE PETITES. The market is out there, so why not enter into that market?

As for European clothes: Frame-wise, I fit into European sizes better than American sizes.

If an entire continent of women have accepted the concept of tailors/alterations...why can't you???

You are never going to find an entire department of clothes that fit you perfectly right off the rack. NO WOMAN IS! There is a reason that celebs and rich women don't buy off the rack.

:eek: It's official. I'm a whale.

They accept it because they don't have an alternative if they want foreign brands. If petite sizes are made more readily available, they will certainly buy petite sizes.

But I thought they were too stupid to know they exist. If they can't figure out they exist...how can they buy them?? (And does the cashier count their money at the register for them, because that would be extremely challenging for these women):rolleyes:

They aren't too stupid to know that they exist. They just didn't realize they exist because they have not seen in stores. It's like Greek Life in Canada. Do you know how many people at the University of Toronto don't realize that we exist (and all houses have letters on their doors)?

Now that sounds like a problem you can handle. Go out and spread the word on UofT's campus. Run along now, there's GDI's to educate.:rolleyes:

Once again, I'm CTHU @ this thread. Too dayum funny!!! :D :D

Here is the problem. Petite sizes are available, but women aren't buying them which is the reason department stores will shut down the petite sections. Why aren't they buying petite sizes? Maybe because they aren't fashionable. Maybe women would prefer to have an article of clothing custom made or a misses size altered to fit them perfectly.

If this is such a big problem for you, write letters to the department stores and fashion designers voicing your concern. Encourage your petite friends and relatives to do the same. You might get some satisfaction.

This is already being done. I am starting out with the petition (see signature) and will go from there.

Again, I am really surprised by this. Would you react this way if I wore size 22? Everyone praises plus sized women for challenging the standard, but when a shorter woman does the same, THIS happens.

Jebus. I would say it's only been in the last 50 or so years that mass-produced, mass-market clothing has been the main source of clothing for most people; prior to that people either made everything themselves or had it made/tailored to fit. Tailoring is definitely not a new concept. And I would say it's only been in the last 10 years that plus-sizes have been given more attention due to market demand (not challenging the standard as you put it).

And don't even bring Europe or Asia into the argument; their cuts and styles are completely different than what we have in the states becuase the average body type in those countries is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WE HAVE HERE!!! If the styles from Europe fit you so well, then why don't you buy all your clothes there and quit your martyr parade?

For. Real. I could go on and on about how I can't find clothes as a tall person with big feet but I won't because I've learned to work with what I do find instead of demanding everyone change to suit my needs.

When you read about body/size acceptance, it is almost always about accepting a larger body size. You hardly ever hear about accepting someone who is very small. It is "more okay" to tell a very slim person (regardless of height) to "eat a cheeseburger" than it is to tell a larger person to go on a diet. Many people say that size 0 or 2 is an "unrealistic" size and they don't realize that it's just as insulting as calling someone who wears a size 12 "fat." Height-wise, short people have sometimes been mistaken for children. Don't you think it's insulting to ask a 20-something woman if she is "looking for Mommy" or being denied services, even after presenting a very real ID card?


ISUKappa: The issue here is that petite women aren't demanding petite sizes, or at least, not in department stores (the NYTimes article did say that Banana Republic seems to be doing okay with petites). Maybe we just aren't voicing enough.

ETA: Ideally, I'd like to see petite sizes in European brands. European brands may be slim enough for people who have my frame size, but the length is still missy.

Trust me, if you were ranting about size 22 Rudey and Bobby would be all over this thread and it would be a train-wreck.

They would if they're educated about it and if the clothes look nice.

I have one word for you, NORDSTROM.

I have shopped there all of my 36 years of life, in the petite section and have never been disappointed except when they tried an experiment of going trendy with all of their clothes and lost most of their customers. I can buy jeans, capris, skirts, pants blouses and anything else I want and the clothes are FAR from matronly. I have found the same things there that are in the regular size section too. I've even seen Lily Pulitzer (sp?) dresses.

My only gripe is that I can rarely ever buy a dress since I'm two different sizes (bigger on top).

As has been said, Taualumna I think you're the one with the problem.

Goodness, now that I am aware of the mass discrimination and trauma faced by petite women from all over the world, I am enraged! I will take up the fight for my differently-heighted sisters! Here is what I will do in the United States:

I will meet with high-ranking officials of INS to discuss the possibility of implementing a petite-clothing education requirement that must be completed during the citizenship process. The packet of information to be distributed to each and every person stepping foot into this country legally will include definitions of the word "petite" in every language spoken anywhere in the world, diagrams, publications highlighting stores that carry petite clothing, glossy pocket-sized maps of major metropolitan areas with all stores that carry petite clothing highlighted, and perhaps even a teeny tiny woman who can accompany them as they begin their new lives in this country and remind them that petite clothing is available, lest they forget.

Then, I will meet with the Minutemen to see if they are amenable to distributing a condensed version of the "Petite Package" to the people they catch attempting to enter this country illegally before they are returned to Mexico. For those who do make it into the country, I will engage in a leaflet campaign in border towns and will provide weekly support groups for the petite and potentially petite immigrants. Hopefully, if we also can educate the townsfolk, they will be able to spread the word if we miss anyone.

After the website petiteangst.com is up and running, I will work to have it translated into every language and marketed in every country. I will then schedule an air-drop of computers for people in remote locations, so everyone there will be able to access the website.

Hopefully, after these programs are implemented and Petite Education becomes more widespread, we can require each and every local school district in this country to provide mandatory Petite Education starting in the second grade. We must teach children that being petite is completely normal, and alert them to the petite fashion possibilities that hopefully by then will be readily available. After children reach middle school, the Advanced Petite Education program will educate them as to the height and sizing differences between countries across the world, and provide them with a handy slide rule that will provide easy reference when attempting to convert sizes and average heights into different languages and sizing systems.

The Petite Ambassador System will appoint Petite Ambassadors to each country. The duties of Petite Ambassador will be one part foreign relations, one part education, one part personal shopping, one part design skills, and 100 parts pure sass! At this point, it is unresolved whether the Petite Ambassador will wear a sash, tiara, or both. At all times, she will be a stellar example of the best that the petite women of her country have to offer.

The Affordable Petite Clothing Initiative will require that every designer manufacturing clothing in North America or that imports clothing into North America will design at least 20% of its line for petites. Fines and other penalties will be levied on violators. In the near future, it is anticipated that other NATO countries willingly will join in the Initiative.

Slim people do need to eat more cheeseburgers. They need to enjoy life. How about I'm short and chubby and don't give a damn who accepts it? I'm happy with me, ufkc everybody else.

Isn't this kind of like a white person complaining that there is no movement toward white acceptance in our society? When have people who are "small" been viewed with the same -- I don't know -- judgment and lack of acceptance that is faced by larger people?

And this is where I have to respectfully disagree. I have a degree in International Business and Marketing so I know a little bit about this. Don't assume anything before you've done your market research. Just because women in America are willing to buy petite sizes, that doesn't mean that European women will be. Some cultures have a mentality of not sticking out or of not drawing attention to yourself. And while you may not believe that you are drawing attention to yourself, asking a sales clerk if the store carries anything for short people because the clothes in the store don't fit you would be considered drawing too much attention to yourself for some. There is a reason for why women would rather have clothes tailored. In addition, you have already stated that European clothes fit you better. (Mazal Tov, go shop in Europe then.) That is because they're cut and proportioned differently. If that is the case, some people might not see the point in creating a line of petites.

Look at you, and you haven't even started law school yet.;)

If it's truly due to a lack of voicing by petites, why do you expect non-petite people to care? I don't expect my mother or my sisters who are all 5'4" to care that I can't find clothes to fit me (well, maybe my mom only because she can alter/make clothes for me if I need.)

Evidently some designers and stores have decided it's not cost-effective to mass-produce and sell clothes for petites. It's about business and money and following market trends and demands, not slighting the petite woman. You've said twice now that you should just design your own line of petite clothing, great! Have at it. Start your own petite boutique. Offer tailoring services. DO something (yes, I realize you've started the petition) instead of bitching and getting angry when people aren't 100% sympathetic.

How do you know this? Have you done an extensive survey? Asked one or two people? Or are you going on your personal feelings if you lived in Europe? I'm sure every major designer has done some sort of market research to learn what the demands are in the various countries they serve. If the need/demand was *truly* there, they would have acted upon it.

OK, Taualumna. We get it. You are tiny and slim and fragile. Congrats!

They still won't fit me length-wise, necessarily. In terms of American stores, ATLoft is as perfect as it can get.

she is a delicate flower, waiting to unfold.

On a sidenote, I think I might have a cheeseburger for lunch now. Maybe it will help my legs grow so I don't have to get my pants hemmed.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...4/Tri-Star.jpg

TRISTAR PICTURES & GREEK CHAT FILMS Bring to you...

In Association with PerfectVerse Productions


TAUALUMNA IN...

SISTERHOOD OF THE PETITE PANTS

Watch as Taualumna and her friends travel the globe and help raise awareness of the plight of the petite woman. From Bangcock to Belize, Canada to Cambodia, the Netherlands to Nigeria they spread the word. And because petite clothes are so hard to find, Taualumna and her pals must share one pair of pants amongst them. The adventures each girl has in those pants are astounding! You'll be on the edge of your seats the entire time!!!

The New York Times gives this film 5 stars!!

"The greatest story ever told" -- Some Random Critic

"I'd like to get in those pants!" -- Horny Pervert Who Was Spanking His Monkey in the Theater

"Taualmuna really understands how hard it is to be a petite woman in today's society"-- The One Other Woman Out There That is Just as Concerned About the 'Lack' of Petite Sizes in Stores Besides Taualumna

Coming to a Theater Near You!!

:cool:

Writing Credits- PerfectVerse
Directed By-PerfectVerse
Best Key boy grip PerfectVerse
Supervising sound editor- PerfectVerse
Sound effect operator- PerfectVerse
Boom effect operator- PerfectVerse

As perfect as it can get is all ANY of us can hope for.

Seriously, I think the best alternative for you is to make all your clothes. It might take a little more time in the beginning, but it's not *that* difficult.

And looking like you're an 8 year old playing dress-up in mom's clothes when you're trying something on ISN'T drawing attention to oneself? Also, if petite sizes are available in the stores, then most people will know where to find them (provided that the signs are clear).

http://images.deviantart.com/i/2002/..._Heart_You.jpg


The only question left is who will play Taualumna in this movie??

And hang low enough for the shorties to be able to see them.