Short but not shortsighted...why are all petite ranges so foul?!

[Cinderariel]

I have just browsed the John Lewis Online petite "fashion" pages and, no word of a lie, I am almost weeping in anguish.. WTF?! Honestly, go and have a look..Its like a Per Una reject sale!
Why oh why oh why are all petite ranges so fecking awful? I am 5ft tall, size 8, 34 but I cannot find a simple scoop neck T shirt that covers my tats for love nor money! Don't even get me started on jackets/shirts/dresses arrrgh. I just want to go and buy something and not have to fiddle with hemming/nipping/tucking it.
Fashion Insiders of S&B, which shops cut for shorter ladies? I like Reiss/Cos/Whistles (but they don't like me ).... Are there any Japanese brands or shops which tend to cut for the less willowy end of the market?

Banana Republic do a nice petite range but only available in their shops, not online.

Really?! Didn't know. Thanks.

No BR near me sadly but will keep my eye out on my travels..

Try Warehouse for dresses. Not petite but often quite short, so fine for us little uns!

I didn't realise that BR had a petite bit - will deffo go and investigate that. Unfortunately we don't have one here, so I can only go in when in London.

Topshop, new look, m&s, boden and miss selfridge all do petite ranges off the top of my head.

Shops like comptoir des cotonniers cut well for petite ladies although I find the quality a bit dubious for the price.

Zara has the odd thing - their jackets can come up very small but you do have to try everything on as their cuts can be quite odd.

For basics - h&m is quite good at the moment.

If you don't mind ordering from the US then j crew do an excellent petite range.

Sadly, the M&S petite stuff is pretty universally vile; ditto Miss S and New Look. In their 'normal' range, M&S do some excellent skinny jeans (called 'treggings' - shudder) in a range of colours and in a short length. I also really rate The White Company, though lots of it comes up big and long, so it needs careful trying on!

You are my height, age, and size twin!

I can't remember the last time I bought from a petite range, they're just too limited.

Sadly I don't even know how to fiddle with hems myself so I'm jealous of you there.

Anyway, I'll watch this with interest. :)

Its bloody maxis that are the problem. There are so many nice dresses and skirts out there for freakishly tall normal people, yet you look at petite ranges and everything is horrible. We want to wear maxis too!

I feel your pain OP. I am five foot and a size 10. I did however buy a gorgeous pair of trousers in New Look the other day. They were meant to be cropped but as I am so short they were the perfect length for normal length trousers i.e. not trailing along the floor.Sometimes you have to be creative

Yes I must say the only petite range I ever buy from is j crew - I just spend a lot of money at the tailors.

ASOS have a massive petite range, you can pretty much always find something there. It's actually pretty fashion-forward too :O Celtic, Dorothy Perkins have a good selection of maxi's for small people, I got a stripy one I've been living in since I bought it

the thing that stops me spending money on something regular and then having it take up is that it isn't just the length is it? (well i don't find it so) - it's the waist being too high as well - on a pair of jeans for instance - mid rise looks ridiculous on me - way too high - and something like a skinny bootcut - it's not just a matter of making it shorter - you would lose the skinny bootcut part, wouldn't you.

I wish gap would do their petite range over here - esp with their crazy vanity sizing

At 5ft 3 I'm not that petite, and I'm prepared to get stuff altered. But I'm sick of all the jackets having little buttons and stuff on the cuffs. And dresses/skirts with hem detailing/fancy prints at the bottom etc. Both of which mean the design is spoilt if I get it altered.

I feel your pain, but slightly differently. I am not petite - far from it! I am a 5 foot 7 size 20, and I have to say the clothes often out there for plus size women can be equally depressing. WHY do they assume that bigger women want to vile bright, manic gaudy patterns/colours? Is it to show our "bubbly" personalities?!

Anyway, sorry for the hi-jack, I hope you manage to find something lovely soon.

Stop whinging - at least you have widely available ranges specifically suited to your lack of height. Unlike tall people.

[bitter]

I find mini/shorter length normal range skirts make lovely knee lengths for me.

I can usually do regular length trousers,but I don't even look at regular sizings in longer skirts or dresses.

I get very annoyed at crazily short sleeves.

A good tailor can take stuff up but not lose hem details etc.

I get all my jeans altered and pretty much always buy premium - although j brand etc do a lot of petite fits too nowadays.

I am 4ft 10 and a bit and even petite stuff is too big for me and I can't wear teenage as I am a size 16 and I would look daft at age 47 in teen clothes, the proverbial mutton. Since when is 5ft 3in petite? I am sorry but it isn't, 5ft 1in is petite, over the years the petite range seems to have been made for taller people.

To be petite, you have to learn to sew, unfortunately. its easy to adjust a waistband on a dress or shorter sleeves/hems.

Yeah! Got myself a sewing machine recently but I feel really pissed off that I have to do so after spending good money on nice clothes, I feel why should I have to and I could potentially ruin something in my sewing attempts and what if I need to return it? I can't because I have altered it, s'not fair

I'm 5'1 size 6-8 I find petite ranges very limited and like some of you ladies have to be a bit creative
-I can do alterations (hems, darts, taking things in, taking straps up etc) all a bit trial and error really!
-wonderweb is my friend, I am short of body and like my vest tops and t-shirts to stop at my waist
some shops like warehouse, river island and smelfride I can get away with a dress
-as skinnyvanillalatte said some skirts meant to be "short or mini" can be a knee length

• also agree that a lot of the petite ranges are horrid and old fashioned (DP and miss selfridge ok)

That's just it.. I can/could adjust stuff, a bit, but I just resent having to, especially when there are so many shorties who must want decent stuff too..
And I cannot adjust a cashmere jumper. Or a sweater dress.

Randy, have you tried Pepperberry? They are the clothes arm of Bravissimo that sell bras for curvy ladies.

Their clothes are not strictly petite but I'm a 4ft 11 person and a size 14 and some of the styles were surprsingly great on me. Each clothing item comes in different shapes eg: the same dress in size 14 comes in "curvy", "really curvy" and a couple more curvier names. They seemed to suit and yet not show too much at the top. Something I've found difficult as being so short a v neck comes too far down my short body.

They do sell online or there are shops around the country. I'd definitely go there again.

God, that sentence was terrible, i meant..

Taking the proportions of a dress up, so the waist fits on your waist, not where the shop thinks it should, also shorten sleeves/hems.

One thing i really resent shortening is Jean hems, because unless i can use the fancy machine at Uni, it never quite looks the same. I like altering dresses though, to fit my proportions.

When I was thinner (a long time ago) I went to Singapore and all the sleeves were the right length. It was fab.

Another place I went which was good was New York City. In a big department store I was confronted with a whole floor of full-lenth petite evening dresses in sizes zero to 30. It was like a dream. Evening dresses are, in my opinion, the most difficult thing to buy for a a petite person.

Kylie should do a range - although I can't see me waiting for a bus in her hooded white number