Spring is all about orange...but what about the rest of winter?

More Banana Republic...

I was at Banana Republic this weekend and their spring clothes were already out.  There is quite a bit of pretty spring colours, including orange/salmon to be seen (I was not surprised by this, since I saw quite a bit of that colour at LG Fashion Week in October).  It's a good change from the drabby dark colours of winter, though it would be a while before I can wear any of it, since the weather has been very cold as of late.

More Banana Republic...

Annie Faux Wrap Dress (petite)

Of course, you can bring some spring in to your winter wardrobe by spicing up your mostly dark-coloured winter wardrobe (like the dress above) with something colourful (which reminds me:  If you haven't signed up for Petite Fashion Challenge #5, click here!)...


Suggested items:

More Banana Republic...

Vertical ruffle cardigan (available in petites)

More Ann Taylor...

Solid Merino V-Neck Cardigan (available in petite)

And if you want to be a little more sophisticated.....

More Hermes...

Hermes cognac silk missions square scarf

Ahhhhh....scarves.  So few young women wear them these days!  Personally, I like long flowy scarves in bold colours as they really do pop when paired with dark colours!

More Bebe...

Triple tier stretch belt

Something like this gold Bebe belt can also bring some shine into basic black or navy.

And who can forget shoes?  If you're a conservative shoe-wearer, why not be a little more daring and wear something other than black, charcoal or dark brown in the winter?

More Aldo...

Chilvers (from Aldo)

I think these shoes can look AMAZING with a darker-coloured dress and dark tights and maybe some sort of flowy scarf!  By the way, I suggest that these shoes stay in the office or indoors if you live in a snowy part of the world.  They are not meant to be worn in the snow!

Tired of Pencil Skirts!

Preen Line Jenny Stretch Cotton Skirt

Who is sick and tired of the pencil skirt?  They've been "in" for the past couple of years and many petite women look great in them, yes, but there are just so many around!  I really want to see a return of the A-line.  They're just as lovely, and I think flirtier looking in many ways.  Right now, I have at least four pencil skirts in my closet, two which are black (if you include the lace H&M skirt that many petite bloggers bought).  I don't think I'm going to buy any more.  I have enough to last me through the cold weather (three are winter-friendly) and am hoping that more work-appopriate non-pencil skirts will hit the market in the next couple of months (ok, there are definitely some for a very business casual environment, such as the Anthropologie skirt below, but I have yet to see plain, suit/separates appropriate ones in stores or catalogues).



To note:  I am also tired of jeggings and skinny jeans.  I'm NOT buying any more (though I'll continue to wear them, just like pencil skirts)  Glad to see more boot cut and wider-legged jeans for Spring/Summer 2011.

Petite Fashion Challenge #5 DATE CHANGE: NOW JANUARY 25!!!

Ladies,



I have decided to change PFC#5 Challenge to JANUARY 25 at 8 PM EASTERN TIME (5 PM Pacific).  Please mark your calendars and sign up via THIS POST.    While we have a good number of people who've already signed up, I am hoping that by delaying it one week, we are going to get MORE!!!!!

Reminder:  If you don't have a blog, please email me at shortystories(at)gmail(dot)com with your picture and description.  Please do so by January 24th at 9 PM EASTERN TIME so I can set up the post!

Thanks!

C

December Petite Designer Poll Results!

In December, we asked readers whether they have worn anything from a petite-exclusive designer.  We were not exactly surprised at the results when 68% of you didn't even know that petite exclusive designers existed.  It's sad, I think, that they don't get the promotion that they deserve.  If it weren't for the petite community, I don't think many of us would know about Allison Izu, Henrietta Pertuz or TLe!  Let's hope that 2011 means some mainstream coverage!

15% said that they've worn petite-exclusive designers and love them

0% said that they've tried them, but it didn't fit well

5% said that petite-exclusive designers haven't been their style

10% chose other

What do you think of these results?  Do you agree or disagree?  What do you think it'll take to get mainstream media to give petite-exclusive designers more press?

Marshalls Coming to Canada

A Marshalls store in Illinois

According to this Toronto Star article, the US discount retailer will be opening its doors in Canada in 2011.  The first location will be at what used to be Circa, a downtown nightclub which shut its doors after just three years of operation.  Marshalls is the sister store to Winner's (TJ Maxx in the US), owned by TJX Cos. The store is not meant to compete with Winners, but to "compliment it" - similar to Chapters and Indigo.  Interesting, since I have heard from some people that Marshalls is supposed to be slightly lower end than TJ Maxx/Winners - in other words, you are more likely to find designer labels in the latter chain (not that the prices are all that discounted). 

What do you think of this?  Do you prefer Marshalls or Winners/TJ Maxx?  Is there really a difference?

This is also posted in DelectablyChic!

The Petite Challenge #3: Dress like a Celeb

OK, so I don't really have a favourite celebrity, so after much searching, I found a picture of Lucy Walker, an indie director previously known for her work on Blue's Clues.  Here she is, wearing a blue dress with a black belt:

Here I am, in my Henrietta Pertuz Molly dress, as worn at Toronto's LG Fashion Week:

Dress:  Henrietta Pertuz, size 2

Belt:  Jacob, XS

Boots:  Donald J. Pliner, size 5 (yep, Donald J. Pliner was all I wore during Fashion Week!)

This was a:

 

LOONNNNNNNNNNG Wedding Gowns Rule!

I wasn't surprised when over 40% of you said that you wouldn't wear a short wedding gown!  However, there were some of you who want to go short, either because you can't pull off long (8%) or think that it would depend on the venue (16%).  There were also those who thought that like long dresses, some shorter dresses aren't petite friendly at all (13%). 5% of you chose "other" (I assume that those of you did not wear a traditional western wedding gown).

What do you think of these results?

Fashion/Media Challenge Follow-up

Three years ago, I posted a video challenging the fashion industry to use more non-traditional models and to profile non-traditional designers (i.e. plus, petite, petite-plus). Here is the new, follow-up vid:



Don't you think that it's sad so little has been done?

Original post in previous post.

LOFT and "Real People" on Facebook

Recently, LOFT posted pictures of staff wearing the same style of cargo pants on Facebook.  The "models" varied in size, ranging from 5'3" to 5'10" and sizes 2 to 12.  This caused a burst of comments on their Facebook page and in the general blogsphere, and were both positive and negative.  There were those who congratulated them for using "real" women, yet others who said that it made them NOT want to purchase the item.  Question to those people: So you're saying that you would purchase the item if it were on a tall, slim woman, even if you looked more like the employees in the photos?  Does.  Not.  Compute. 

One issue I *DID* have was photo quality - some of the images looked like they were either taken with bad lighting (and/or an older cell phone camera).  I am not looking for perfect pictures - I realize that the photos are snapshots, not professional images which have been edited - but it could be a bit better.  However, I am very happy that a store has answered to its followers' requests for using "real people" rather than professional models.  We get to see what things look like on us!!

(the picture here is of LOFT's digital manager, who is 5'3")

J.Crew Dress

Embossed basket weave beach dress from J.Crew in size 0P.  I don't think it's available anymore.

Note:  I really need to figure out how to take good pictures without having someone else at the camera!  Any suggestions?

Petites Ruling Fashion Week!

The fashion world may be full of tall amazons, but Toronto's LG Fashion Week certainly isn't! In fact, there were plenty of petite ladies at the shows. Maybe some day, the fashion world will see an actual petite collection! By the way, yes, the woman in the floral dress in the centre of the middle right picture is INDEED Jessica Biffi, an alumna of Project Runway Canada.

Bella Petite Magazine Model Search!

Ann Lauren's Bella Petite Magazine, a lifestyle and fashion publication which targets women 5'5" or shorter is currently holding a petite model search for women under said height. Yes, you read correctly. Unlike the recent cycle of America's Next Top Model, Bella Petite is looking for truly petite women. There will be no "fake" petites (i.e. 5'6" and 5'7") for this magazine. After all, lying is bad, right?

Bella Petite believes that since media have paid a great deal of attention to "curvier" women as of late, why not shorter women? Featuring only designers who focus on petites, have petite lines and/or are petite friendly, the publication surely will change the way the media, fashion industry and even the general public view the shorter woman. So finally, there will be a magazine for petite women, feturing petite women.

The search is open to women all over the world under 5'5" and over the age of 16 (no upper limit in age, though girls under 18 will require a parent or guardian's signature on a release form should they be chosen). The deadline to enter is February 28, 2010. For more information about this, please visit Bella Petite Magazine.

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).

They announced a plus size model search winner....what about petite?

Recently, Canada's Lou Lou magazine, along with several plus size stores and a modelling agency with a plus division held a plus size model search, where a contestant was chosen by a panel of judges. She won a modelling contract with the agency, plus the chance of appearing in a campaign as well as the magazine (Prospere Magazine has a more detailed article on the search). But what about petites? Sure, Tyra Banks is hosting a petite cycle in the fall, but will the cycle actually draw attention to petite issues? OR, will Tyra just run the show like any other cycle? What we really need is a petite clothing company or the petite division of a misses company to hold a search of its own. The petite issue is never discussed, and often even dismissed. And that needs to be changed.

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?