Petite: Proportioned to fit women 5’4” or under.

Can Anything Go?

Fall fashion has defined itself as the season where everything goes. Styles from the 80’s have returned with tight sweaters that are long enough to make you look like a man eater from a Hall and Oates video. “Watch out boy, watch out boy!” Disco colors from the 70’s have graced the catwalks with designs from Elie Tahari to seduce women into sashaying and stunning a crowded room. Sequins, buttons and buckles are back on large handbags, saddlebags and tote bags. I actually had a black pleather bag from 1986 which was adorned with a big copper buckle in the front until I decided to chuck it in the trash two years ago. Now I’m mad as hell for having dumped it. I could have been hip now and saved myself some money. Alas, all is well when we see that fashion options have arrived for petite women of various body types. Regardless, there are basic rules petite women must follow in this season where anything goes because not everything should be allowed on a petite woman’s body. Petite women should stay away from wearing outfits that would make them look shorter. Anything that is large is bad like large prints, bows and ruffles as well as the table clothed checkered print, puffy sleeves and super mini denim skirts with white leggings are just disastrous. Also, if you’re a 20 year old and you look good wearing an outfit that a high school teen would wear you still do yourself a disservice. Often petite women are tempted to dress younger because they can but think how you don’t want to be referred to as “cute” all the time. Keeping up with the changing times in fashion is still a challenge and that is why we must look for tools to educate ourselves. The 840 pages in Vogue, 418 pages of Glamour and 200 pages from Saks 5th Avenue have all declared that the color for this fall season is grey. Dark grey, light grey, charcoal, storm grey, heather grey, grey mélange, dark nickel, grey herringbone, night shadow grey, silver, titanium and graphite are all shades of grey that look great in a skirt suit, slacks, sheath dress, sweater, chiffon or satin gown. I believe that designers have chosen grey to be fall fashion’s color because it’s the new black. Grey is versatile because you can wear it with anything and it looks elegant in any shade or texture. If you buy attire that have a tailored cut with sharp lines and carefully chosen stitching you will in turn own timeless pieces. Remember, grey is like a pen. Pens normally need a cap like grey suit, slack, sweater or sheath needs color added to it. Vibrant color is what will make whatever grey you are wearing stand out as a powerful, classical yet sexy and modern outfit. This is where fashion from the 70’s and 80’s come into play. You need color to make any type of grey stand out or else you risk looking like a librarian from the 1950’s. The most vibrant color hitting the fashion pages and runways today is purple, glorious purple. Purple just like royal blue has always been associated with kings and queens of ancient times. Sometimes you don’t need to wear actual accessories to make an outfit stand out. With grey, wearing a color like a vivid red, orange, purple or even soft pink becomes the actual accessory to a grey pantsuit. If you would rather not wear a different colored top make sure you choose any of the grey colors mentioned on various textures like a wool grey mélange skirt with titanium or graphite satin blouse. Mix dark grey with a lighter grey to give your body a defined shape of your waist, hips and legs.

There are specific grey articles of clothing that petite women should never wear like a light gray pleaded polyester skirt. If you don’t know what I’m talking about think parochial school skirts. Children don’t even wear that color they wear navy blue which is not so bland. This idea that anything goes is true but it’s with the assumption that you will wear clothing tastefully. If I see another woman wearing a t-shirt with fringes on the sleeves and at the bottom of the shirt with slacks I will take her photo with my camera phone. Then I’ll send it to a fashion magazine so it can be printed in their Fashion Don’t section. Trust me when I say that you do not want to be the one to recognize yourself in a magazine with a thick white block covering your face. Honestly, if you are unaware on how to put outfits together with the latest looks then take a walk. Take a walk to a department store like Macy’s, Saks or Bloomingdales and check out their displays. I am not saying to buy the outfits off the backs of the mannequins at Lord and Taylor because the purpose of shopping is to buy quality by shopping wisely. Just take notes on what you liked, memorize the look and find a store that doesn’t hurt your wallet as much to get that same look at affordable prices. I make these suggestions for all petite high school and college students and the 20 year old women, who are starting their careers and need to work with a specific budget. Macy’s, JC Penny and Sears are all department stores that have a petite section which is reasonably priced with modern looking attire. Also, malls have great stores for petites who want to maintain a hip look such as Joyce Leslie and Forever Young. These stores are not advertised as catering to petite women but their cuts are shorter and at times more narrow for the smaller framed petite woman or teen. One last note as you all plan on updating your wardrobe. Quality is always better than quantity. There is no need to buy lots of clothing if they are going to break at the seams or fade in color after two washings. Buying and wearing quality clothing is more cost effective, more comfortable to wear and better looking regardless what style or cut you’re buying. So I say to all you petite ladies, do your homework. Formulate your budget, read or peruse through fashion magazines and catalogs and window shop. Shop within your budget without compromising quality and style for the grey season is upon us. But please, stay away from girlie pleads.

Dear Darling Delia.

I love catalogues. Catalogues are the reference guides to your fantasies and adventures in declaring your personality with style. Every woman looks to become something more than what she is and catalogues are tangible items that we can travel with like a good book. My first dinner outfit came from a Victoria Secret catalogue. I felt mature and sexy attending my cousin’s wedding in a sheath dress and jacket. But there is nothing more boring or disappointing than getting the first catalogue of the Fall/Winter season with regular clothing displayed throughout its semi-glossy pages. If you’re going to put a catalogue together and appeal to women of all sizes then make sure that your clothes stand out slightly better than a clothing rack from a department store.

On the September 8, 2008 issue of Crain’s New York Business magazine, Writer Adrianne Pasquerelli wrote a feature about Delia’s clothing line being revamped in an effort to boost lagging sales. Delia’s new President, Michelle Donan Martin is positive that adding color to the 12-19 year old girl clothing line will make an impact for shoppers.

For the petite woman who has never heard of Delia’s, it is a store for the 12-19 year old junior girl that can wear odd sizes from 1-18. For many years, I have gotten my hands on many Delia catalogues and agree that it is a line that every parent loves for their daughter. Its GAP imitation sweaters, tops, dresses and jackets are a mom’s answer to keeping her daughter looking decent, girlie and fun. Delia’s main sales come from their jeans collection and executives at Delia’s are happy about that. They even name their jeans with tough gal and guy names like Brooklyn and Alexa. Jeans are the in thing like the little black dress which makes selling them a sure thing. Delia’s line caters to teen girls in their development stages which some petite women can benefit from since their cuts run narrow and at times shorter than even petite clothing.

Like a pollster, I asked several shoppers from 15-18 what they like about a particular outfit they picked to purchase. One young lady told me she liked the plaid pale yellow and dark blue bomber jacket that her grandmother choose for her because it was different. A positive comment from a shopper but Delia’s other plaids would make any lady look like an old maid. There are tables of vintage t-shirts that sell very well like Hello Kitty, the original Slinky, Batman and MTV shirts but there are classic rock tees that sell at 50% off their retail value because no one is buying them. I asked a 15 year old if she knew who David Bowie or John Lennon was and she couldn’t tell me. Not knowing who James Dean was is a true shame.

If I were having lunch with Delia’s President I would give her the following advice:

1. The store’s front must change. Execs and analysts find that Delia stores in the malls do poorly. This is correct. The exterior looks like a white sterile dollhouse. Barbie’s house has more personality than the store itself and looks more hip.
2. Forget the 12 and 13 year old age group to sell to. These girls attend Junior High School and making them equal to an older teen from High School is unfair. Don’t make them grow up too fast now. The catalogues are geared towards High School and the College bound anyway because they have more buying power and are truly into pop culture.
3. Educate your consumers. One way to please renovate the dollhouse is to devise areas in the store that make sense. Teens are all aware of the latest singers like the Pussycat Dolls, Maroon 5 and Kelly Clarkson but Delia’s is not selling their T-shirts are they. They are selling shirts with The Police and the Ramones. Why not put a bunch of flat screen TV’s around the store and play old footage of Rebel Without A Cause and see if some James Jean tees will sell or some scenes from an old rock concert. If you teach them they will shop. Why not set up a Pretty in Pink section in another corner or a NYC 10023 section if Delia’s wants to sound clever like Beverly Hills 90210. It can’t hurt!
4. Add real color to your catalogue. My last point returns me to Delia’s catalogue. Instead adding hues of red and green why not add some ethnicity to the catalogues. Having one young, pretty African American 15 year old model your blue and purple tops and sneakers does not cover all the young minority women in the United States. Latinas, Asians and Middle Eastern teens like to shop too and have impressive tastes in clothing. It’s time for Delia’s to broaden their customer base and do not underestimate any groups buying power.

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