Petite does not mean cutesy wootsey eeney weeny. And I need a blazer. whelm

[popularinthe80s]

Two questions:
Looking for a short blazer (to break up a long body)
In a deep colour, but not black
That fits a petite

Second question - is there a current petite thread?
Why does 'petite' to some retailers = cutesy, flowery, sicky

I mean offences against sophistication like this
www.marksandspencer.com/petite-floral-v-neck-mini-relaxed-dress/p/clp60445066?color=MULTI

In fairness they make those for 'normal' sizes too, inc tall.

For decent petite stuff I'd try Boden, Uniqlo, Banana Republic and sometimes Gap.

www.boden.co.uk/en-gb/smyth-ponte-blazer-navy/sty-t0429-nav?cat=C1_S2_G189

I have found US retailers will label their Juniors items as petite for the European market. Very few US retailers do actual petite lines. What they have is Juniors which is sized for young teen girls who are as tall as an adult but not actually an adult, so in teeny tiny sizes. So these can be in pretty juvenile patterns and cuts as well as there is a lot of Korean fashion influences.

And then they have Women’s which is sized for adult women and having more mature/career styles. But rarely do they make anything in the women’s range below a size 12 U.K. or for anyone shorter than 5ft 5”.

So petite women in the US usually end up left out.

Annoying PlandeR isn't it.
Thank you for the blazer link. It's too long, though. Long body, short legs - need a short one. I also find a lot of Boden (sorry) a bit twee.

Have you looked at french and italian brands? They don't specifically do petite, but their clothes are much smaller.

Are you petite height-wise or weight-wise? Unless you are very small a lot of french brands do carry items for my size (160cm, UK size 8)

Topshop do a decent petite range. They are also prone to making petite versions of anything in a ditsy floral print, but they are less twee than the likes of Boden so you might get lucky.

I find British companies tend to cut for 5’5, which sits okay on my 5’2 height if I size down and hem things. European brands like Zara and Scandi ones are cut for at least 5’7 or above and it’s just too out of proportion on me to work.

Good idea with going Continental. I'm size 6-8, depending on the store.
I find H&M size 8 is perfect, they just don't have the right blazer I'm looking for online at the moment.
Thanks for the TopShop tip - will have a look. I'm 50 so would have to choose carefully, but it will be fun trying.
Any other recs very welcome

Honestly, I found a good tailor and I paid the extra to have trousers, skirts and blazers taken in/up.

Blazers are the worst because they are hard to alter. I stalk ebay for petite blazers from the good old days when Next, Wallis, M&S were good quality.

I think petite evening dresses are the worst to find. The waist is always in the wrong place.

Have you had a look at Dorothy Perkins? They have a decent petite range online.

PlanDR, you're right and thank goodness, I have a good local tailor (I have really missed her during lockdown). It's just that I have to factor in cost of tailoring on top of each item.
NotMe, me too - I currently have a search on petite short blazer. No luck so far but I'm trying.
Little Miss - I got a lovely denim midi dress from DP this year. So far their blazers are the wrong colour, but I'm looking.
If I had a business and fashion head, I would set up an online petite store (for all short women, size 8-18). I honestly think it's a gap in the market. It's so hard to get sophisticated petite.

Yes, I often complained about the fact that I ended up paying what taller/bigger women paid for professional wear plus tailoring costs.
I offset the extra costs a bit by doing a capsule wardrobe and buying high quality items that could last a few years. When I’m paying €20 to tailor a pair of trousers, I don’t buy the €15 fast fashion trousers!

@Mosaic123

I think petite evening dresses are the worst to find. The waist is always in the wrong place.

Yes! That is true. And more often than not, they are too low cut in the chest area as well.

I was thinking exactly the same thing about that same M&S dress the other day. I am petite, and am struggling now more than ever. Boden has the best range of petite clothing by far, but I really struggle to buy what I need.

I am 44yo, but fondly remember the days when Richards and Principles did amazing, good quality petite ranges and I knew that they would cater for everything I needed - going out clothes, wedding wear, evening wear, work wear.

Precis used to be good for work wear too, and for coats. I bet you'd have found a blazer there (if they'd moved with the times).

J Crew (www.jcrew.com/uk/c/womens_category/blazers/size-petite?crawl=no) has a good petite section that is not cutesy. I also agree with French labels being better for smaller women.

J. Crew is great, but its a pain for returns unless you can get to central London.

Banana Republic petite section any good, OP?

If I had a business and fashion head, I would set up an online petite store (for all short women, size 8-18).

Then me and my size 4-6 sisters and daughters ( all 5'0) would not be able to buy from you . It's fairly common for petite women to be slimmer and smaller all round and finding tiny sizes is really difficult

I know this comment won't be helpful now but shopping in Asia for clothes is amazing when you're petite. Everything is cut for shorter women

nomorelove Petite Affair used to be an online store for petites. A bit hit and miss, but I had some nice stuff from there. I'm not sure it went down to a 4 though.

Another good blazer is the jersey fabric blazers that Whistles do - different colours every season and a few variations on collars/pockets. they are a really nice fabric, dye well if you need to tweak the colour and the sleeves are just plain finished so very easy to take up. Not court-appearance smart but pretty good for day to day.

What bugs me really is so much choice of clothes, whole ranges, 100's of items yet they come in five or six sizes and no choice of lengths. I would love one of those Ilse Jacobsen raincoats but I know the arms and fit will be way too long. 60 different colours and variations but not one single petite.

Precis went very mother-of-the-bride towards the end. I expect manufacturers will say there's no demand for petite, because what they do offer is so hopeless we don't buy it.

Also I think Hobbs have recently introduced a tiny petite range, as it were.

What about Wallis petites? They do formal-type wear. Some of the stuff is a bit footballer’s wife, but their trousers are just right for me.

Cutesy stuff - nooooooooo. You end up looking like Bette Davis in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane.

Couldnt agree more about the lack of petite ranges. M&S for example has a tiny range compared to their standard size clothes.

If I were able to, I'd open a department store that only stocked petite - in every brand of petite - River Island / Top Shop/ Miss Selfridge/ Boden etc etc. (I only found recently that River Island do a petite range!) . Us shorter people would then just to that store rather than having to search for petite ranges in the main stores),

And why do they hang petite ranges on high level that we cant actually reach? (Matalan, I'm looking at you...)

Petite clothing is a big bone of contention for me as I'm only 4'10". I have the Whistles jersey blazer mentioned above and that fits me well so I would second that recommendation. I also have a blazer from Miss Selfridge petite which is a perfect fit.