I’ve found a new victim class — me!
Bookworm on Feb 12 2010 at 3:55 pm | Filed under: Uncategorized
I’m in a seriously foul mood. Several years ago, I read that high end designers were phasing out petite clothes. That didn’t bug me, because I don’t wear high end clothes. I wear jeans, and simple shirts.
But what starts at the top, trickles down. The stores have now done two things: they’ve either stopped stocking petite clothes entirely, or they’ve redefined petite to start at 5’4″ inches tall, with a size 6 shoe. I’m 5′ tall, with a size 5 shoe. I spent almost 2 hours today going from one store after another in our local mall looking for a pair of jeans, since my old ones are on the point of disintegration. I ended up spending $100 (!!!!) on one pair of jeans at Nordstrom, because it is now the only place that sells jeans in my size. I’m could just spit!
If I wore dressier clothes it would be easier, but even the dressy clothes leave something to be desired because, in the Bay Area, they’re made for fragile Asian women who like tight skirts and high heels. So not my style….
Feh! Aargh! Ptui! I’m just so mad.
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30 Responses to “I’ve found a new victim class — me!”
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You might have better luck online, but you’ll definitely have to shop around and find the right brand and the right size. Once you _know_ a brand and size that fit you the way you want, then start looking online. It’s amazing that even though they _say_ they’re size x, different brands that say “size x” are really different sizes. According to my Mom, the more expensive the brand, the larger the actual piece of clothing, even if they say the same size. At least “back in the day”…
Who knows about _today_!!
I have to buy “petite” size jeans which absolutely cracks me up – because I’ve _never_ been petite. I’ve been 5’6.5 since I was 13, and for a lot of years was skinny – but petite? not exactly! I was even considered “long legged” once upon a time … Still, if I don’t get petite, the pants legs drag on the ground.
Dear newest victim, may I suggest Macy’s. At least in these parts they still have a petite department. Now, I am wondering why …? It could be just to clothe the seniors that live in my building. I don’t think there are more than a dozen wome that are over 5’4″.
Good grief, save Nordstrom for shoes!
On-line has been a mixed proposition, especially since quality control is so bad. At the store, I tried on two identical style jeans in size 4: one black, one blue. The blue fit, the black were two inches too long. Had I bought them online, I would have had to go to the inconvenience and expense of sending the black one back. There’s no substitute for trying clothes on. Even when you think you know what you’re getting — it’s not true.
Same with shirts. At the store, the medium sized t-shirts fit perfectly. I ordered the exact (or so I thought) shirts online. They definitely had the “M” on the label, but they were huge. I wear them to work-out in (anything to avoid having to ship something back), but they certainly weren’t what I expected.
I am very, very disgruntled.
Macy’s is one of the earliest and worst offenders when it comes to the Petite = 5’4″. I haven’t been able to shop at Macy’s for years.
<B>Several years ago, I read that high end designers were…
You know the scary thing about this, Book? I actually remember reading that post as well as the one Neo-Neocon wrote in a close time frame along side.
If you have it in your area, try Nordstrom Rack. I’ve seen lots of petite stuff there. Also try Ross or TJ Maxx if you want cheap.
The thing is that the petite label is illusory. Petite used to be for women 4’8″ to 5’2″. Now, though, “petite” targets women who are 5’4″. I am a petite amongst petites. The “P” is there on the clothing, but it’s meaningless for me, because the clothes are still cut for giants.
Ummm…have you considered adding sewing to your list of activities?
Didn’t think so…but thought I’d mention it!
Costco this month sent an “online only specials” brochure. I can buy a fairly super Dell desk computer plus a flat screen, plus a wireless photo printer for $499 (I think). A sewing machine with all sorts of neat stitches was $599.
Interesting.
For me, sewing is a last resort — and you just can’t sew jeans, which are my favorite clothes, unless you’ve got a special, heavy duty machine and special skills. Home sewn clothes were a fixture in my childhood, and I always hated them. Still do.
I think I know why I am finally finding clothes for “short petite.” They actually don’t drag the floor when I try them on. I am shrinking to less that 5′ but I think my legs are still the same length, shrinkage is mostly in the spine. I do not have a problem finding petites in my area but it is South Texas and there is a large Mexican population here and they tend to be shorter than the considered norm.
The solution seems pretty simple to me. Since conservatives are notorious proponents of torture, it stands to reason that somebody among us has a rack we could use to stretch Book’s height.
Try the kid’s section maybe? Pretty sure some of my relatives do that.
Sorry, about the Macy’s suggestion. You’re right the new petite is 5’4″ – the older version was to 5’2″. Sorta like the old 50 is the new 40 type of marketing.
Gotta go hem. Think of it as keeping another part of the economy going – seamstresses and tailors. I wonder where all the young Asian girls and women shop for their jeans?
I once read that retail clothing stores for men stocked heavily in the bigger sizes, and ended up running out of smaller sizes too soon, especially in areas with a lot of Asian and Hispanic immigrants/illegals. You would think that retailers would realize there is a demand for clothes of a certain size and stock them.
I’m glad that men are not so much at the mercy of retailing whims, where the pants I buy today are in pretty much the same style I bought 30-40 years ago. Shirts have changed some, but I have a 40 year old shirt I still wear.
Here is Randy Newman singing Short People. I was going to post the Chipmunks’ version, but decided that while conservatives like torture, listening to the Chipmunks do that song would constitute cruel and unusual punishment, even for conservatives. I couldn’t bear more than 30 seconds of the Chipmunks’ version- which is about the length of my tolerance for rap/hip-hop.
Have you tried Ann Taylor? I’ve had good luck with their petites. Also, I wear more skirts than I used to, mainly because it is such a headache searching for that perfectly fitting pair of petite jeans.
The problem with both teen/children and Ann Taylor clothes is that I’m curvy. Ann Taylor was wonderful in the pre-child era, when I was built like a runway model, only small. I can still close my eyes and see the most beautiful work outfit I ever owned: black fabric with white dots, a short bolero jacket, and a short straight skirt. I wore it with jeweled colored t-shirts and 3 inch heels. I looked like a million bucks. I miss those days. Sigh….
Bookworm, maybe that’s why so many of our closets are ‘stuffed’. We can literally hold onto the memory when we were {fill it in here}. I am a bit of neatnik and more so as I got older. I am down to only 3 or 4 pieces of the past. They no longer hang in a closet but are folded and put away in a memory box. One day, someone will open up the plastic container, I call a memory box and say…who owned these things?
Don’t feel too badly about missing those days – some women never had them.
I’m not a sentimental type, and seldom get attached to objects. But some things do live in my memory, and that outfit . . . oh, I loved that one. I had to force myself to wear it only once a week.
Have you thought about trying clamdiggers or pedal pushers, or whatever the hell they call them these days? Cropped pants? Anyway, try to find some in the average height department and see how they fit you. I knew a quite short girl years ago who did this.
Mass production is such a wonderful thing, it brings costs way way down and does in fact give us lots of options.
Unfortunately, mass production doesn’t fit.
I have long arms, which meas that I either have to get long sleeves shirts and coats with enough room in the torso for Two, or I have half my forearm sticking out the sleeve ends.
And don’t get me started on underpants…please.
I know the feeling. I’m 5’5″ and wear pants w/inseam 28″, but those aren’t made w/32″ waist. It’s disconcerting being bigger around than up and down. I have to cut and hem all my pants which I hate doing. I have pants I waited too long the hem and they don’t fit me anymore. Shirts are the same problem, except with arms. Long sleeved shirts are 2-3″ too long. I stick with pull-overs or flannel shirts so I can roll-up the sleeves. It’s hell living in the land of giants. And why are the smaller sizes on the top shelves and the gargantuan sizes on the bottom shelves so I always have to ask for help?
I was going to suggest Ann Taylor too. I’m not straight-hipped, and their pants fit me better than anybody’s. For jeans, though, I usually go to K-Mart. They have a huge selection of different styles of jeans, and a lot of them are $20. Probably Wal-Mart does too.
Here’s the thing about petite sizing: It’s only partly about your height and your girth. Properly sized petites should be about proportion. I am very short-waisted and until petite sizes came to be it would take me all day to find a dress that fit me. And all my long-sleeved shirts had to be rolled up. I am actually petite — short and light — but even if I gained 50 pounds I would still wear petite. Size 16, I guess, and there are clothes in that size.
Try Lands End. If they change the cut of their classics, they say so.
Yeah. 6’3″, 52″ chest and 40″ waist. Big and Tall Stores tend to have clothes that look like they come from Ukranian Fashion Collective #53, Seniors Collection.
Daughter is 5’1″, weighs 96 lbs, has all the curves in the right places, and is available at your local Blockbuster. I am of course clueless about where she shops in LA, but if you want I can find out for you. If it’s in LA it’s probably in SF, too.
Thanks to all of you for your commiseration and advice. I seem to have found a temporary stop gap. The jeans I bought at Nordstrom are called “Not Your Daughter’s Jeans” or NYDJ. They are ridiculously expensive, but I have to say that, as both a short person, and a gal who doesn’t wear skanky, drop-waisted, skinny-legged jeans, they are incredible. They are comfortable and they look great. I warned my husband to expect a regular charge when I go for my annual jean’s buying trip.
For those of you gals who like clothes that look great, feel great, and maintain your dignity, here’s the link:
http://www.nydj.com/
(And, jj, that’s what I used to look like. I miss that.)
Abercrombie & Fitch, size zero, turns out to be the answer. They run around $50. Also those stores in Chinatown carry stuff other than tight skirts and heels it turns out: occasionally tiny girls from the East do put on jeans, and that’s where they get them.
I feel your pain. I’m 4’11″ and have a size 5 shoe (a true size 5, not a 5.5, not a 6 — no matter how hard the shoe salesman tries to convince me to give them a try). I used to be a size 2 but am now a 6-8. Extra complication? I’m a curvy, hour-glass petite. I really prefer to say that I’m ”short,” rather than “petite” because I think there’s a difference. I have not been able to avoid having pants tailored, but I have found a local, inexpensive alterations shop ($5 for simple hem; just brought a jacket in for the sleeves to be shortened — $6). It’s inconvenient, but unavoidable for me. And I’d rather just not hassle with the sewing. So, my tips for shopping:
Shoes
– Shoebuy.com or Zappos.com for shoes: It’s hit or miss for fit, but you can return items for free. Again, inconvenient, but better than walking the malls for hours on end.
– I tend to buy well-made, classic shoes so that I don’t have to be continually on the hunt for something that fits. Stuart Weitzman is one shoe designer that truly makes a size 5 shoe. He’s on the expensive side, but I did find a wonderful pair at the Nordstrom rack for under $50. I wear them at least once a week to work. Ann Taylor used to have beautiful Italian made shoes in size 5 that fit wonderfully, but I don’t see them in the stores all that often anymore. Maybe online?
Clothing
– I finally had to branch out and check out stores I didn’t normally shop at. JC Penney was a find for me. I found these great Lee trouser jeans there for $29. They fit perfectly except for the length. I ended up buying 5 pairs and had them altered to work with nice work pumps. Add a nice top or sweater and the outfit looks a lot more expensive than what I paid for it.
– My “go to” stores: Ann Taylor and Eddie Bauer. Traditional styles that you can wear from year to year (hence, fewer futile shopping trips)
– Most luck with tops? Target. Yes, Target. They do a lot of 3/4 sleeve tops and sweaters (no sleeve shortening), they’re relatively inexpensive, which means I can add a few new tops to my wardrobe every year without breaking the bank. And they last — they’re mostly good cotten tops and they hold up well with gentle washing.
Just a few tips…..
Book…doesn’t Nordstrom have monster sales?? Maybe….?!!!
Prowled around a bit. Found the link below that looked interesting. So many styles to choose from! Don’t know if any are the type you prefer, but it looked like a place to check out if you needed a second pair. I found the link through Amazon, by the way.
http://www.designerapparel.com/not_your_daughters_jeans.html?KID=4490660&gclid=CP-NiqHx8p8CFQtfagod-ROeXg
This link showed up on Ebay! Ebay had a _bunch_ for sale. The problem of course is getting the size plus the style plus the condition without having to spend your entire day looking for it. It said it had 1240 some available!
However…for some of you that have indicated size availability problems, this site looked interesting… (and no…you don’t actually _make_ the jeans yourself – you send them measurements and _they_ make the jeans.)
http://www.makeyourownjeans.com/ebay