Banana's more "upscale" limited edition line (think Ann Taylor Collection or J.Crew Collection), Monogram, launched yesterday online and in their Bleeker Street shop in New York City (which means that Canadians our out of luck unless they make it south of the border...Banana doesn't deliver up here nor do they take non-US credit cards...not that we don't already have issues with not being able to find size 00/00P already...and most of the petite collection too) Like Ann Taylor Collection and J.Crew Collection, none of its pieces are available in petite sizes. I understand that it takes money to make clothes and that petites don't sell well (I still don't understand why...after all, 40% of all women are petite! And even if many of the women are older, we do know that people of a certain age are more fashionable today than they were even 20-something years ago.), but do they not realize that petite women are as equally "fashion-obsessed" as non-petite women? I think petite women will buy petite sizes if there was more choice for them. Many don't buy petites because of the limited and boring selection (Banana Republic is actually pretty good about NOT being boring when it comes to their petites. However, the choice is still more limited than "regular").
Oh well, at least they have an on-site tailor who'll alter for free. Still, as they are "regular" sizes, the pieces won't fit as well on most petites as actual petite sizes. Maybe they'll launch a petite collection in the near future, but I really doubt it, as according to the fashion industry, we aren't really supposed to be all that "fashionable" (hey, if we were, there'd be more petite designers that are actually RECOGNIZABLE out there, right?)
I'd love to hear from the source, so if Banana Republic higher-ups are reading this, feel free to comment.
WWD article on Monogram
