Henrietta Pertuz: Petite and Classically Fashionable

Like most petite women, Henrietta Pertuz has had a great deal of difficulty finding clothing which fit her 5'2" figure. Regular clothing was just not cut properly, and alterations were not always possible without paying a great deal for reconstruction. Getting tired of the difficulty, she left her job as an advertising executive to launch her line of clothing which is made to fit women 5'4" or below. The line, which features simple dresses, tops and and pants, are great to pair up with other existing pieces in a woman's wardrobe.


Being a petite designer, there have been many challenges for Henrietta. Just finding the right models can be hard. Agencies don't usually have women who're the right size - Henrietta's clothes fit women 5'4" or below. Even a "short" model most agencies have are too tall for her clothes. Some agencies are even surprised at her requests. Luckily, Henrietta has Carolyn, a 5'4" fitness model. Recently, she also did a shoot with some America's Next Top Model Cycle 13 (petite cycle) contestants (though they were a little bit taller than her other models). There have been other challenges as well. First and foremost, it is convincing women that they are petite. Many people are still under the belief that "petite" not only means short, but also small framed. They do not think that someone who is, say, 5'2" tall and a size 10 is petite. That is completely incorrect. In fact, the line ranges from 0P to 12P (and will expand to 00P and 14P in the fall).

(Left: Denim trousers; Right: Molly dresses featuring ANTM Cycle 13's Laura and Jennifer)

Henrietta's line has received some press recently. In a world that is full of tall skinny women, and now, a few tall, not-so-skinny women, it is very difficult for petite designers to even get a wee bit of notice. However, last week, Glamour.com published a post about the line. She has also received press on petite blogs like Extra Petite and The Good Girl Gone Blog. Where would Henrietta like to be in five years? Definitely in more stores! She would also love to dress petite celebrities, including Eva Longoria, Kristen Bell, Kristen Chenoweth and Carrie Underwood. Currently, Henrietta Pertuz is available online via her website and in these stores, with price points similar to Banana Republic and J.Crew.

Also posted in Prospere Magazine

Fashion industry and size

A recent New York Times article mentioned the fact that model Coco Rocha is being booked less this season because she is now a size four and considered "too fat" by industry standards. WTF!!!! Really, it's up to the designers to make changes. We can complain all we want, but there won't be any changes unless the designers change.

Note: A similar post (with this very video) is up in Prospere Magazine as well.

Update: Coco Rocha has a post about this very topic

Petite Bollywood Actress Rocks the Runway in Archana Kockhar

According to Bella Petite, Bollywood actress, Minnisha Lamba is only 5'1". Though Minnisha rocks the dress (designed by Archana Kochar, who is 5 feet even), would she be modelling if she weren't an actress?

From Alterations Needed: Industry Standard Model Looking Ridiculous

I thought I'd like to draw your attention to THIS POST from Alterations Needed. Basically, what she is saying is that the model looks like an idiot because the pants are too short (they aren't supposed to be cropped/ankle pants - they're a PETITE LENGTH!) It's really a WTF situation here, don't you think?

By the way, I sent Gilt Groupe and email about this. Will let you know what they tell me (if they tell me anything).

ANTM Survey - Cycle 13 Results

Last month, we asked you what you thought of America's Next Top Model's current petite cycle. Most of you, at 59%, thought that the contestants weren't that short, since the average height seemed to be 14% aren't fans of the show, 2% don't know about the show and another 2% chose other. What do you think?

Petite Posts in Prospere Magazine

Sorry for the lack of posts in the past few days. I've been really busy with Prospere Magazine! Anyway, just to let you know that we've had a few petite-related posts over there, including one on the new cycle of America's Next Top Model and a profile of petite model, Isobella Jade. Check them out!

America's Next Top Model - PETITE CYCLE

....premiere's THIS WEDNESDAY! Petite model, Isobella Jade will be discussing each episode on her website. Look for discussions here too!

Petite Model Isobella Jade's Book Now Out

Almost 5'4", a novel written by petite model, Isobella Jade, has now been published. The book is available for sale at stores such as Barnes and Nobel as well as online.

April Poll Results

Last month, Shorty Stories asked what you thought of ANTM's decision to do a petite cycle in the fall and whether they'll still focus on fashion, even though shorter models can never make it in the industry. The results are as follows:

27.8% said: Of COURSE Tyra's going to focus on fashion! How many of the contestants have actually made it big-big, anyway?

22.2% said: There's going to be more of a focus on commercial, with a little bit of fashion with petite focused/petite-friendly designers.

0% said: Who decided on a petite cycle anyway?

27.8% said:They're doing a petite cycle?

22.2% said: Other

What do you think of these results? Do you agree? Do you think Tyra should actually focus on petite and petite-friendly designers?

Oh, and don't forget to take part in the May poll question, found on the right hand sidebar.

Petite ANTM Riot

Apparently, during the ANTM auditions in New York this weekend, a handful of people were arrested due to unruly behaviour. This caused a media sensation. Maybe it was planned all along? After all, the Internet is already abuzz about how Cycle 13 is really only to satisfy the complaints of many women, who wanted to be on the show, but were not tall enough to be "real models." What's a "real model" anyway? Why do we only consider the women (girls, really) who walk down the runways of Fashion Week and appear in the spreads of fashion magazines like Vogue and Elle "real models"? While I do hope that Cycle 13 will showcase some petite designers (who, IMHO, deserve the media spotlight - many people don't seem to acknowledge their existence), I really hope that Tyra focuses more on print/commercial work, as that's what's mostly available to people of all heights. At the same time, I also hope that the show doesn't end up turning this into some kind of joke (as it seems to be right now, at least on the Internet). I think shorter people and their fashion issues need to be taken just as seriously as plus size issues. After all, we're supposed to accept "all body types," right? And being petite is a body type. Actually, being petite is made up of many body types!

(I also don't want people to think, based on what happened in New York), that petite women are crazy rioters either!

America's next top PETITE model?

I can't believe I found this so late!

Interesting they're doing a petite season before a plus one.

What do you think?

Why is it so difficult to find petite related articles?

First of all, apologies for not updating all that frequently. Things have been absolutely crazy with Chinese New Year and Prospere Magazine (Prospere Magazine has been taking off like crazy!). Anyway, I've been searching all over the Internet for petite-related topics to write about, but everything seems to be very similar! Practically every petite advice post/article gives the same advice on what to wear, how to wear it and so forth. Isn't there anything new? What about designers? I haven't really been able to find all that many. I wish more designers would start a petite line. And maybe we'd see a Next Top Model-esque reality show (not that I'm all that into reality shows or anything like that...) featuring a search for petite models!

Just a thought!

Alternative Model Appreciation Week: August 11-17

An "alternative model" is anyone who doesn't fit the "standard" model one sees in magazines. While most people, including those in the Facebook event page fall into categories like roleplay, cosplay, etc, petite and plus sized models fall into the category too.

Suggestions to Alternative Model Appreciation Week (from a petite perspective):

Comment on a petite model's blog

Write to fashion-related companies an tell them why it's important to not only have a petite line, but use petite models

Make a video about the importance of petite sizes and upload it to YouTube

Send a letter to your local newspaper about the importance of petite sizes, and how it is often overlooked

Go to a body image board and write about beauty/body image from a petite perspective

What about you? Do you have any suggestions?

Alternative Modelling and Petites

Petites, of course, are supposed to fall into this category, but for some reason, we aren't included in the Facebook Event celebrating alternative models (Alternative Model Week is in August. More information will be posted here and in Prospere Magazine closer to the date). I've even posted a note on the wall, but the admins have not changed anything as of Wednesday afternoon. Perhaps we need to have a bigger voice. You see tattooed people, people with multiple piercings, goth and even the more mainstream plus being celebrated, but us shorties? Nope. Nada.

Maybe there just aren't enough designers interested in risking it, especially in Canada. Maybe we need to encourage fashion students to go an alternate route. Isn't it interesting that people are more willing to be "weird" alternative than mainstream-alternative (i.e. plus and petite)? I would think that there are more people who'd be interested in mainstream-alternative, especially in a country like Canada. We're, after all, generally less risk-taking. Even Ben Barry, the Canadian modelling agent who encourages all shapes and sizes seems to ignore the shorties.

So what can we do? Well, starting a website to talk about these issues is one. This seems to be the most common, though most petite websites don't seem to update very regularly (Serafina, Petite Fashionista and this site are the most regular). Encouraging designers to think outside of the box is another. Of course, the latter can be hard. The fashion industry, as creative as they are, seem to be very narrow-minded when it comes to what looks good. Last year, I was at an event where one of the guests was a Canadian designer who has had shows in L'Oreal Fashion Week (won't name this person, as I am afraid of getting into trouble). I told this designer about this blog, and though this person was very friendly prior to my mentioning Shorty Stories, stopped talking to me all together afterwards. And trust me, it was NOT the alcohol. Petite fashion shouldn't only be shows like Petite Fashionista Presents. Petite fashion should be everywhere.

Of course, even if we are successful in encouraging designers to go petite, there's no guarantee that the Canadian Fashion Design Council will respond well to them. I've heard that some people there have a reputation to be pretty much the Anna Wintour of the North. And we all know what that means.

Attention Toronto Area Petite Models!

Christa Jean from Petite Fashionista to cast petite models for an upcoming petite fashion show! Please go to this post for contact information.

This sounds like a very exciting opportunity and a way to show the world that yes, shorter girls can do fashion too! Hey, maybe some day, shorter girls can prove to the fashion big wigs that we're not non-existent (I just saw Horton Hears a Who!, so I'm really tempted to say that we're Whos and the fashion industry is pretty much everyone (other than Horton) in the Jungle of Nool (ESPECIALLY the kangaroo), but that's really a whole other post).

The show is going to be in Toronto later this year and the show will definitely be covered both here at Shorty Stories and Prospere Magazine!

Petite Model Isobella Jade Talks About Self-Promotion...

From the new issue of Prospere Magazine:

Since I self-published my book I have gotten press on it one way or another in the New York Post, The New York Times (business section), Page Six, Media Bistro, New York Metro, computer magazines, fashion magazines in Italy and Sweden, Fashion Television and I recently spoke on German radio. You can find me in over thirty pages of Google. The best part is it hasn’t cost me a dime. It isn’t over either. My self promotion to gain more press on my self-published book and myself is an every day effort....

This is the first paragraph "Self-Publishing Means Self-Serving (Part One)", published in the new issue of Prospere Magazine. You can read the rest of it here.

In the next issue of Prospere Magazine...

Hey Shorty Stories Readers:

The second issue of Prospere Magazine will be posted on Tuesday, February 12, 2008 around 8 am Eastern Time. What does the issue have to do with petites? This issue will feature an article written by petite model Isobella Jade!

Also, the current weekly Prospere Magazine question, which asks you what you think about Microsoft's offer to purchase Yahoo! expires MONDAY FEBRUARY 11 at 11:59 pm Eastern Time, so please participate if you haven't already done so. It'll be replaced by another question just after midnight.

-CynthiaC