You Hate Vanity Sizing!

We aren't surprised here at Shorty Stories!  65% of you mentioned that you did not like vanity sizing because you have been sized out of clothing at most stores.  Another 25% of you don't know what vanity sizing is (REALLY?  Haven't you noticed that you're taking a smaller size, despite NOT losing weight?).  5% of you said you love it, because you now wear a smaller size without any effort and another 5% chose other.

More Petite Diversity Needed!

Almost every petite blog, including mine, is run by "Hollywood sized" women - short and thin - usually size 2 or less.  Where are the non-size 2 or below bloggers?  I know that you are out there, and do blog.  But why don't you guys join in the petite revolution?  As many bloggers have said, petite means short, not short and slim.  In fact the short and slim only make up 8% of the population, according to Petite Style.  If it's just the 8% of us making any noise, then no one, and I mean no one, will listen.  We simply aren't a big enough group and are also fairly represented in the entertainment industry (i.e. we shouldn't be complaining). 

What we need are petite women of all sizes to talk about their size issues.  We need women who are size 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and so forth, along with us tiny people.  Unfortunately, many actually need to be CONVINCED that they're petite before anything can be done.  So there, I said it.  If you're 5'4" or shorter, you're petite, period.  I don't care if you're size 28, YOU ARE PETITE.  If all of us actually do something, we can make changes.  We need more of you ladies!

Have you ever noticed...

I was doing some Googling and looking around Facebook the other day and it somehow occurred to me that the British seem to be the most vocal against size zero. During the F/W 2007/2008 Fashion Week period last spring, plenty of newspaper articles debated the size zero issue, and most were British.

Anti size zero Facebook groups include:

NO to size ZERO! (this group makes it sound like being size zero is wrong, period. Regardless of height. Although they'll tell you otherwise.)

Against size zero models (okay, this group makes sense...5'10 models are way, way, way too tall to be zeros. HEAR THAT MAINSTREAM DESIGNERS? SIZE ZERO PANTS SHOULD NOT HAVE A 34" INSEAM. MOST PEOPLE WHO WEAR ANYTHING UNDER A VANITIED US 4 ARE SHORT TO AVERAGE HEIGHT.)

Girls should be happy with their own size f*** size zero (same idea as the first link)

I understand that in the UK, sizes are different and that what we know as a size zero in the US and Canada is a 4 there. Still, they seem to say that anyone under a UK 6 or 8 is kind of gross, including petite women.

On another note, some of the comments in these Facebook groups are pretty much borderline racist(if you go back far enough in one of the groups, you'll see that one girl mentioned something about "tiny Chinese women" being fit models for Marks and Spencers (back when everything was manufactured in mainland China and Hong Kong) and that these don't fit "real British women." I was thinking, there are plenty of Chinese British women in the UK. As in UK born and raised. You know, BBC (British Born Chinese). She really should have worded it "ethnically English" or something like that), though I'm thinking that the posters don't really know that they are being so. Clothing size and ethnicity, however, is another post for another day.

Reopening the Size Zero is Curvy debate from June 22

I was going to write about another topic today, but felt that I had to get this out of the way first. I recently received a very late anonymous reply/comment from a post dated June 22 where I wrote about size zero and its "curvyness." In this reply, the poster called me an "idiot" and went on to say that the reason why larger sizes are "less curvy" was because it's a "time- and cost- effective method." OK, fine. It's pretty obvious, based on the size charts that I posted up. But did she (I'm assuming that the poster is a she) have to call me an idiot? I'm open to debate, but I think it could have been written another way. So yes, I am re-opening this topic for debate. On June 22, I posted sizing charts from several different stores, comparing a smaller size (size 0 or 2) with size 12 and the waist-to-hip (WHR) ratio of these sizes. According to many studies, the "ideal"/"curvy" WHR is approximately 0.7 (which many actresses and female icons have).

Here are the size charts I posted up (you can also find them by clicking here):

J. Crew:

Size 0 is: 24" waist; 34" hips. 24/34= approx. 0.706 WHR (At J.Crew, a 0P is 23" waist, 33" hips, which works out to approx 0.7!)

Size 12: 31" waist, 41" hips. 31/41= approx. 0.756 WHR (12P is 30" waist, 40" hips or a WHR of 0.75. J.Crew does not make 14 or 16 in petite (neither does Banana Republic)).

Jenny Yoo: (bridesmaids dresses)

Size 0: 25" waist; 35" hips. 25/35= approx. 0.714 WHR (no petites)

Size 12: 32" waist; 42" hips. 32/42= approx 0.762 WHR

Talbots:

Misses and Petites:

Size 2: 24.5" waist; 34.5" hips. 24.5/34.5 = approx. 0.71 WHR (in petites, the waist is 24" and the hips, 34". Therefore the WHR in petites is approx. 0.706)

Size 12: 30" waist; 40" hips. 30/40= 0.75 WHR. (In petites, the waist is 29.5" and the hips = 39.5". 29.5/39.5= approx. 0.747 WHR.

Talbots Woman and Woman Petite:

Size 12W: 30.5" waist; 41.5" (lower) hips. 30.5/41.5=0.734 WHR (Unlike non-plus petites, the waist and hips have the same measurements. Therefore the Woman Petite WHR is also 0.734)

So based on the size charts, would you say that size 0 is curvier? Do you think manufacturers should do a better job when it comes to sizing? In other words, rather than adding one inch to the waist and hips (and bust if it is a dress) as the size increases, should they try to keep the ratio as close to the sample size as possible (I also realize that sample sizes aren't necessarily the smallest size a company makes)? Why do you think larger sizes are "less curvy"?

Video: Comparing Petites with Regular Sizes

OK guys, the video that compares petite sizes with regular sizes is now up. I know it's a little choppy, but it's the first time I've edited a video on my computer! :-) I promise that there'll be more videos to come in the future.

Please feel free to make comments and also, let me know what kind of videos you'd like to see!

Models Threat To Sue Blocked Size Zero Ban

From a February 11 Observer article

Alexandra Shulman, an editor of (British?) Vogue and member of the London Fashion Council, said this: "We would not be allowed to discriminate in that way. It would be like saying you can't have black or white models. By imposing new rules on models' size, you would be trying to prove whether someone was ill or well."

Melissa Richardson of Take Two model agency said:

"It was one of the points we made. You can't say to models, "you can't work because you are black or because you are blind", so why should you be able to say 'you are too thin to work?'."

Ummm, Ms. Shulman and Ms. Richardson, your industry ALREADY discriminates! Why do you think I have this blog? Why do you think I have my Shorty Stories site? If you didn't discriminate, Ms. Shulman and Ms. Richardson, the runways would have models of all sizes and HEIGHTS. Yes, Ms. Shulman and Ms. Richardson, that's right. In the perfect world, someone Eva Longoria's height and size would be walking down the runway (so yes, in the perfect world, it would be realistic to believe that Gabrielle Solis is a former model.)