From DelectablyChic! - The Ideal Work Wardrobe (Women)

So with UBS recently publishing what they consider an appropriate work wardrobe being one of the most trending topics last week (and apparently, people are *STILL* talking about it), I've decided to post one of my own as well. To prevent readers from getting bored, I will try to keep it very brief, not 40-something pages like the Swiss-based bank (really? My high school handbook was able to say all they needed to say about appropriate dress within a page or so - on 8.5 x 5.5 paper).

As DelectablyChic! is an online media publication, the most ideal dress code leans towards the casual side. This means that standards are all the more important - different people have different views of what "on the casual side" means -especially in the fashion and style industry. For some, "casual" means relaxed - yoga pants, flip flops, sweat shirts and so forth. This is fine if you are working at a home office, of course, but not if you work in a "real" office. In fact, flip flops are NEVER fine, unless you're doing a spa day or meeting at the pool or beach. Below are a few ideal outfits for different situations:

A regular day at a casual office (with denim):

Bootcut Denim by Joe's Jeans Platforms by Balenciaga

If you work in a very casual office which allows denim, be sure that the wash is darker. Whether you pick a flowy top or cardigan and shell, make sure the jeans are professional looking and not sloppy weekend wear.

To read the rest of the post, please visit DelectablyChic!.

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.

Remember this video from 2007?

Sadly, nothing much has changed.  :(  They don't want to listen to me!!!

Yolanda Alonso adelanta CARTOON CONNECTION

CARTOON CONNECTION será el primer encuentro de productores de animación que se celebre entre Europa y Latinoamérica; un programa especialmente diseñado para iniciar y establecer relaciones profesionales entre creadores, productores, distribuidores y señales de televisión tanto de Europa como de América Latina. Yolanda Alonso, encargada de Cartoon Connection desde la sede de Cartoon en Bélgica, compartió con nosotros las premisas de este esperado evento.

Mas detalles de este interesante encuentro con Cartoon Connection a través de la web de Expotoons.
Muchos de estos proyectos de los que habla Yolanda Alonso, logran contar con el apoyo de Media para su financiación. Algo que nuestros colegas animadore sy productores de animación deben de tomar en cuenta.
LaNuez
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Not really a petite post, but I'm wearing Allison Izu jeans in this vid

Can't really see the jeans, though...

The video is me talking about issues I have with media.

The petite/non-standard challenge for media continues...

I created this video over a year ago, opening a challenge to major media regarding petite and other "non-standard" sizes. So far, the only real piece I've noticed was the article in US Glamour's January 2008 issue. Are other magazines open to this? Will other publications be interested? I'd like to see other magazines do something within the next year. Would you? Ideally, I'd like to see actual petite designers featured, but if that isn't possible, then regular lines with petites are fine.

Public Input: Why aren't we heard?

This is a question I want to put out to everyone, and rather than a poll, I'd like to actually hear comments. The question is this:

Unlike other body image blogs, why are media so quiet about us?

Non-Standard Size Fashion (Media) Industry Challenge - UPDATE

Remember the challenge I issued to the world of fashion media back in July? As the only REAL publication to publish something that's truly petite-related was the January 2008 issue of US Glamour, I'm reposting the video (this is the second time I'm doing so. I did an update about a month after the video was originally posted at Shorty Stories), hoping that this time, more media people will catch on. The video DOES say that it should be done within the "next fourteen months or so", which means that it would expire in September of this year. I DO realize that most of you plan well in advance, and September might not be enough time, so I'll extend this challenge to December 2008 (for a January 2009 issue). Up to it, media? I hope so and let me know!

Guy or Girl....height is an issue if you want to win awards...

The average height of a male winner is tall. No different than that of women. However, unlike women, the comedy-drama ratio varies. For women, the dramatic actress is generally taller than the comedy actress, while it isn't necessarily the case for men. In fact, there are several instances where the comedy actor is taller than the dramatic actor in the Golden Globes, both in the television and film categories. In any case, the average heights of Emmy and Golden Globe winners, broken down into comedy and drama categories are (as I didn't include TV movies/miniseries in the posts about women and height, I won't include them for the guys):

Comedy:

Emmy: around 5'11"
Golden Globe (TV): 5'10 3/4"
Golden Globe (Film): 5'11 1/4"

Drama:

Emmy: 5'10 1/2"
Golden Globe (TV): a little over 5'10 1/2"
Golden Globe (Film): 5'11 1/4"

Notice the difference compared to women (where comedic actresses are, on average, shorter than drama), huh?

I am totally not surprised that the average height of an award winning actor is taller than the national average in the US. Why would it be the same? Has Tom Cruise, a SHORT MAN, ever won an Oscar? Nope. Though women are allowed to be shorter, at times (for the Oscars, women can be as short as 5'2" (Reese Witherspoon)), but no male winner has been shorter than 5'9" in the past eight ceremonies.

I've asked a few of my friends about this whole height thing, and many feel that taller people win not because voters prefer taller actors, but because it "just happened to be that way." I don't know if I really believe that, though. Being recognized with an Oscar, Emmy or Golden Globe is like being promoted to senior management or executive. And studies have shown that people in these positions are more likely to be taller than average.

Award Winning Actors and Height, Part III

So how tall is the average Oscar winning actor? For women, the Oscars had an average height of around 5'6 3/4" almost three inches taller than the US national average! 5'6 3/4" is also the average height of a woman in the Netherlands. So what about men? Would the average Oscar winning actor be around 5'11 3/4" or maybe even 6'? While I don't have this year's winners (of course not, they won't be announced until tonight!), I do have a list of winners from the 2001 to 2007 ceremonies.

2007: Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland), 6'2"

2006: Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote) 5'9 1/2"

2005: Jamie Foxx (Ray), 5'9"

2004: Sean Penn (Mystic River), 5'9"

2003: Adrien Brody (The Pianist), 6'

2002: Denzel Washington (Training Day), 6' 1/2"

2001: Russell Crowe (The Gladiator), 5'11 1/2"

Average Oscar Winner (2001-2007): Just over 5'11"

This is actually a little shorter than I had thought as I thought that it would complement the women's average of 5'6 3/4".

By the way, this year's nominees are:

George Clooney (Michael Clayton), 5'10 1/2"
Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood), 6'1 1/2"
Johnny Depp (Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street), 5'9"
Tommy Lee Jones (In the Valley of Elah), 6'
Viggo Mortensen (Eastern Promises), 5'11"

Average height for 2008 nominees: Around 5'11 1/4"

(For actresses, the average height of 2008 nominees average to 5'5", with two nominees being truly petite, including the predicted winner)

All signs point to Daniel Day-Lewis, especially since he won the Golden Globe. Daniel is the tallest out of this year's nominees...hmmm

Anyway, break a leg to all of this year's nominees. I'll have an Oscar wrap tomorrow and a wrap-up of this entire series on Tuesday.

Award Winning Actors and Height, Part IIB

Last time, we examined height and male Golden Globe winners for television acting roles. Today, we move on to film, as we inch closer and closer to Oscar Night. For Golden Globe TV winners, we noticed unlike the women, there were actually five years where the actor who won the dramatic role was shorter than the actor who won for comedy. Will this be true for film as well?

2008:

Comedy or Musical: Johnny Depp (Sweeney Todd: The Barber of Fleet Street), 5'9"
Drama: Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood), 6'1 1/2"

Average: 5 '10 1/4"

2007:

Comedy or Musical: Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat), 6'3"
Drama: Forrest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland), 6'2"

Average: 6'2 1/2"

2006:

Comedy or Musical: Joaquin Phoenix (Walk the Line), 5'8 1/2"
Drama: Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote), 5'9 1/2"

Average: 5'9"

2005:

Comedy or Musical: Jamie Foxx (Ray), 5'9"
Drama: Leonardo DiCaprio (The Aviator), 6'1"

Average: 5'10"

2004:

Comedy or Musical: Bill Murray (Lost in Translation), 6'1"
Drama: Sean Penn (Mystic River), 5'9"

Average: 5'10"

2003:

Comedy or Musical: Richard Gere (Chicago), 5'11"
Drama: Jack Nicholson (About Schmidt), 5'9 3/4"

Average: just under 5'10 1/2"

2002:

Comedy or Musical: Gene Hackman (The Royal Tannenbaums), 6'2"
Drama: Russell Crowe (A Beautiful Mind), 5'11 1/2"

Average: 6' 3/4"

2001:

Comedy or Musical: George Clooney (O Brother, Where Art Thou?), 5'10 1/2"
Drama: Tom Hanks (Castaway) 6'0 1/2"

Average: 5'11 1/2"


Total Average: 5'11 1/4"

I'm actually not too surprised at the averages. As with the women, the male film average is a quarter of an inch taller than television. Also like the women, the winners in the comedy/musical category tend to be slightly shorter than the winners in drama. The winners' heights also show that there's more discrimination when it comes to short men than short women. Out of all the winners in since the 2001 ceremonies, only Joaquin Phoenix is under 5'9" and at the reported height of 5'8 1/2", he's really close to the 5'9" average. However, with women, there have been three winners, if you include Julie Christie (5'2") who won for actress (drama) this year.

Up Next: OSCAR WINNERS (up to the 2007 ceremonies, of course) on Sunday, February 24, 2008.

Award Winning Actors and Height, Part II a

We continue to look at actors and height in part two of our series. On Monday, we looked at Emmy winners, and it was found that the average actor who won an Emmy was just over 5'10", which is slightly above the US national male average. This matched the female winner, whose height averaged just above 5'5", again, slightly above the US national female average. Today, we continue the series by looking at Golden Globe winners, starting with television

2008 - Television:

Comedy: David Duchovny (Californication), 6' 1/2"

Drama: Jon Hamm (Mad Men), 5'11"

TV movie/miniseries: Jim Broadbent (Longford), 6'1 1/2"

Average 2008 height: Just over 6'

2007

Comedy: Alec Baldwin (30 Rock), 5'11"

Drama: Hugh Laurie (House), 6'2 1/2"

TV movie/miniseries: Bill Nighy (Gideon's Daughter), 6'2"

Average 2007 height: Just under 6'2"

2006

Comedy: Steve Carell (The Office), 5'10"

Drama: Hugh Laurie (House), 6'2 1/2"

TV movie/miniseries: Jonathan Rhys Myers (Elvis), 5'10"

Average 2006 height: Just under 5'11"

2005

Comedy: Jason Bateman (Arrested Development), 6'

Drama: Ian McShane (Deadwood), 5'9"

TV movie/miniseries: Geoffrey Rush (The Life and Death of Peter Sellers), 6'

Average 2005 height: 5'11"

2004

Comedy: Ricky Gervais (The Office UK), 5'8"

Drama: Anthony LaPaglia (Without a Trace), 5'11"

TV movie/miniseries: Al Pacino (Angels in America), 5'7"

Average 2004 height: Just over 5'8 1/2"

2003

Comedy: Tony Shalhoub (Monk), 5'10"
Drama: Michael Chiklis (The Shield), 5'8 1/2"

TV movie/miniseries: Albert Finney (The Gathering Storm), 5'9"

Average 2003 height: Just over 5'9"

2002:

Comedy: Charlie Sheen (Spin City), 5'10"
Drama: Kiefer Sutherland (24), 5'9 1/2"
TV movie/miniseries: James Franco (James Dean), 5'10"

Average 2002 height: Just under 5'10"

2001:

Comedy: Kelsey Grammer (Frasier), 6'1"
Drama: Martin Sheen (The West Wing), 5'7"
TV movie/miniseries: Brian Dennehy (Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman), 6'2"

Average 2001 height: Just over 5'10 1/2"

Total average height: Just under 5'11"

I'm not too surprised at the total average height of 5'11", about two inches above the US national average. The average female Golden Globe winner (for television) is about 5'6", also two inches. I've also noticed that, at least with male Golden Globe winners, comedic actors aren't necessarily shorter than those who win in the drama category, unlike women. Are you surprised, readers?

Next up: Golden Globe winners, Part II B - Film on Friday, February 22.

From O Magazine: Style and the Short Woman

The February 2008 issue of O Magazine gives great advice for different types of petite bodies, more shapes than in the January 2008 issue of Glamour. The women featured come from all walks of life (the women featured include designers, lawyers, cops, etc) and range from 4'11 3/4" to 5'4". The ladies also wear very different outfits and offer great advice. You can check this out as well as a link to stores on the O Magazine site.

Do you agree with the tips?

My favourite tips :

Get petite sizes, not misses'; with alterations you lose the trench's great sleeve details, and it's difficult for a tailor to fix too-big shoulders.

Keep bags in proportion. Get a scaled down version, such as a large clutch.

Attention-getting jewelry (like these triple pendants) is fine for petites if it's worn with simple clothing.

Do you have any favourite tips?

There's also a shopping link!

Nikki Blonsky, a Homecoming Queen?

Plus petite actress Nikki Blonsky will star in an upcoming TV movie Queen Sized recently premiered on the American television channel, Lifestime (not sure when/if it will air in Canada or elsewhere in the world.) Nikki plays a high school girl who somehow ended up as a nominee for homecoming queen at her school. Rather than drop out of the race, she decides to represent the so-called "outcasts" of the school.

I have not seen this movie, but I really doubt that height would really be brought up. Body image issues tend to be very weight-dominated (I've actually sent an e-mail to a body acceptance organization asking why. This was about a week ago. Not too surprised that I haven't heard back.) I guess there really wouldn't be much of a story if the main character weighed 90 lb, would there? Even though she's like a foot shorter than most runway models? I really think people in general believe that say, size 2 is size 2. Regardless of the person's height. In the media's eyes, height is not even in the radar when it comes to (women's) body image issues, though it really should. Things won't be done unless one talks.

Hanna Troy, Inventor of the petite size

I came across this post from Petite Fashionista a few days ago. The inventor of petite sizes, Hannah Troy, died almost 15 years ago at the age of 93. Mrs. Troy thought up the petite size when she noticed that many women were pulling on shoulders and waists, making them fit their figures properly. And yes, like many of us petites who know from experience, Mrs. Troy knew that alterations can "spoil the design."



While Mrs. Troy did get a big obituary in the New York Times, she is little mentioned in the fashion industry today. Now why do you think this is? Bad PR? Sexism? Agism? Mrs. Troy was well into her 40s when she invented petite sizes. Perhaps it's because she wasn't petite herself (Mrs. Troy was a former model). Maybe based on her age, she really invented the "Granny Petite," inventing a size for her peers (after all, women in their 40s post-WWII were much "older" than women the same age two generations later.) Or, more likely, it just wasn't the right time. Even today, the fashion industry seems to have an unwritten book of "rules." While some of these rules can change, such as a model's shape (robust, yet skinny look of the 1980s Supermodel to today's too-skinny, sickly look), height isn't something that the industry is willing to accept, at least not in the mainstream. It's the belief that clothes hang better on a taller body. Clothes hang better on such figures because we're conditioned into believing so. Because of this, many so-called fashion experts on message boards don't understand that shorter models might be required if the designer makes clothes specifically for the shorter woman. They continue to repeat the typical "shorter people just don't look as good" line. Well, if you put a 6' tall model in a suit meant for someone who is 5'2", how could it look good? Would it even fit the 6' tall model properly, or would she look like a kid who has outgrown her clothes? Maybe some people in the fashion industry just needs to use their heads a little.

But back to Mrs. Troy. Without her, it's unlikely that I would be blogging about these issues today. I'm not sure if anyone else could have thought of something like this, especially someone who was a designer (Mrs. Troy also invented the tent dress, which many women use to hide certain flaws they believe they have.) Maybe if big powered PR machines existed in the 1940s or if the fashion industry is just a little more accepting of non-standard sizes, then Mrs. Troy would be better-recognized today.

Introducing, Shortypantz.com!

Yesterday (December 15, 2007), a new site especially for petites launched online. It is shortypantz.com, a new quarterly e-zine, social networking, chat and message board especially for women 5'4" or shorter. Articles in the Winter 2007/2008 issue include East Alternatives to Petite Jeans, Petites in Television and Film and regular women's mag type articles on health, such as Winter Weight Gain, Holiday Eating Survival Guide. There are also links to petite-friendly shops and petite resources.

In addition to being an e-zine, there's also a shortypantz.com community, which includes social networking, a message board and blog, written by shortypantz.com's editor-in-chief, Christina Marie. A chatroom is forthcoming.

Shortypantz.com is a pioneer in petite issues and will certainly put petite issues in the limelight. Writers in writing for shortypantz.com can get in touch with the magazine by filling out their contact form.

Heightism petition from NOSSA - END HEIGHT DISCRIMINATION

The National Organization of Short Statured Adults, based out of New York, has an online petition aimed at the entertainment industry. I don't know how long this has been up, but it only has 168 signatures as of 7:40 Eastern Time this morning. Many say that heightism is one of the only remaining forms of discrimination that people accept - to many people, calling someone "shorty" isn't as insulting as calling an overweight person a "pig." But it does make some shorter people insecure. We are a society obsessed with being tall and yes, the entertainment industry has much to do with it. How many award-winning actors have been short? How many shorter actors get major dramatic roles? Not many. Shorter people are usually given comedic roles or, if dramatic, "real person" roles. This seriously contributed to our society's dislike of shortness.

Many super-short kids (according to the petition and the FDA, "super short" would be girls who have a predicted height of 4'11" or shorter and boys whose predicted height is 5'3" or shorter) are given hormone treatments. But should these kids be given treatment if they don't have any other health issues? The treatment is not only painful, but expensive, at $20,000 US annually. In some parts of the world, people are getting surgery to extend their legs because local laws allow height discrimination for jobs that don't require one to be a certain height (I can understand why some bars and clothing stores want "models who serve" or "models who sell" but I'm talking about working at an office.) The corporate world doesn't need "models who manage." The corporate world needs managers. Period. Height discrimination needs to end, not only in the fashion industry (which this and other petite-related sites seem to focus on), but socially and career-wise too. We need to stop treating shortness as a problem. We need to stop thinking that short people are some how inferior, and this starts with the media, since they are such a major influence (whether we like it or not) in our lives.

Other short-related petitions:

A More Petite Friendly Fashion Industry
Short is Beautiful - Canada's Next Top Model Height Restriction
Petition for a Petite Forum at Lou Lou (this one hasn't seen much activity, unfortunately)

Glamour Magazine's January 2008 "Petite Issue"

Well, it's not exactly an issue specifically for petites. It's a two page "what to do" for three different petite shapes: boy shaped (what most magazines use when they advise petites), curvy and pear-shaped.

Boy Shaped: This is the shape most magazines and other forms of media use as a "real person example" when it comes to petites, so the advice isn't all that new/different. The girl's original outfit was more than a "Glamour Don't" It was a Glamour YUCK! I also like the other suggestions that Glamour gave, although the Calvin Klein dress might be a little big for the smallest of petites (sizes range from 2P to 14P)

Glamour's January 2008 issue on how to dress for the petite body

Curvy: Yes! Finally, a magazine says you can be petite and curvy. Like the Boy Shaped example, the before/Glamour Don't picture was awful. The outfit was also a very typical mistake made by plus-sized women. The after/Glamour Do outfit, was, of course, amazing and a great outfit for the office. I would have liked it even more if Glamour had suggested brands with plus-petites. Unfortunately, plus-petites are very hard to find.

Pear-Shaped: Unlike the previous two examples, the before/Glamour Don't picture wasn't all that bad, especially if you compare it to the other before pictures. While horizontal stripes and cropped anything aren't that great for most petites, the outfit wasn't super-awful on Stephanie (the girl pictured.) Of course, the after picture was much, much better.

As I said in the video above, I'm pretty happy that Glamour acknowledges that petite sizes exist and that petite women come in different shapes. However, the clothes on all three women were more for the office than for weekends or nights out. It would have been even better if they showed outfits for different types of occasions on these women. I am, however, very happy that someone in the media has FINALLY indicated that different types of petites actually exist.

LATE BREAKING NEWS: Dressing the petite body in Glamour's January 2008 Issue

The January 2008 issue of the US edition of Glamour has hit newstands, and you'll find info on how to dress for the petite "boy-shaped" figure, curvy figure and pear-shaped figure on pages 56 and 57. I'll have a full review of this on Saturday.

Meanwhile, don't forget to fill out the December Shorty Stories survey!

Short issues through the eyes of the media - It's NOT just a guy thing

Notice that whenever the media talk about heightism, it focuses predominantly on shorter men. It's the guys who have the trouble dating, getting higher salaries or being promoted to senior management or executive. Is it just me, or is this a form of sexism? Now, most people will say that shorter women have an easier time, and I do agree with them, but it doesn't mean that short women don't have problems (outside of fashion) too. For example, petite women are often cited as being more likely to be married with kids by the time they reach their 40s. OK, but many people associate a "wife and mother" with the home, and not the work place or the party scene. It sounds like people are trying to say that petite women are, well, boring (I know that there are plenty of petite celebs who are well known in the party scene, but Hollywood and the music industry are very different when it comes to the public and private spheres.) The stereotypical lady at the charity ball is NOT petite. She's also a SECOND wife of some very wealthy guy, and USUALLY NOT PETITE (though that wealthy guy's first wife may very well be.) There is also little talk about women and work. Most articles about being short and how much short people earn focus on men. Whenver they talk about women earning less, it's about women as a whole or broken down to ethnic groups, rather than height. Same with work. I have very rarely read, heard or seen anything about height in relation to the speed of promotion for women. And I'm a little tired of the media not bringing women's height issues to the spotlight.