[This article was previously assigned by Petite in 2001. It ceased operation.]
by Jennie S. Bev
The fashion industry is more than selling clothes and creating trends. It is seasonal and trendy. Above all, it is psychological. This philosophy is evident from the standardizing of measurement to making the final decision on which models to hire and from selecting the style designs to making the final alterations before mass manufacturing.
It is interesting to note that while the majority of American women are 5’7” and below, the fashion industry prefers to use 5’8” models. This becomes a tradition and subsequently flourishes a multi-billion dollar modeling industry.
Nonetheless, this interesting phenomenon raises many questions. Is it true that the industry prefers 5’8” models or is it a myth? How does the industry perceive the majority, who are mostly petites? How would the future of petite fashion industry be like? How is it going to have an impact on petite women and models?
On Standard Fashion Measurement
Many household names in fashion industry use 5’8” models to measure their standards, but California State University at San Bernardino Professor of Business Marketing Victoria Seitz, Ph.D said that there is actually no standardized sizing in the fashion industry.
Dr. Seitz has ten years experience as a Marketing professor. She is the author of “Your Executive Image,” published by Adams Media. Among her fashion experiences include working at Burdiness Corporate and Frec Baggs in Miami, Florida. She also worked in Retail Management for Saks Fifth Avenue in Phoenix, Arizona.
“Over the years, sizes have been getting larger,“ she said. What used to be a size 10 is now a 6. The more expensive the item, the larger the size is as well.
Virginia Marti College of Fashion and Art President Virginia Veith said that many people believe that they fit in smaller size in better garment. This is called psychological sizing.
President Veith has worked in the fashion education for 38 years. She was educated at Sol Vodels School of Fur Design in New York and L’Ecole Guerre Lavigne, Paris. She also manufactured plus size clothes under Virginia Marti, Inc.
The logic of psychological sizing is simple. If someone usually wears a size 14 and get into a size 8 or 10, she will most likely to purchase it. In men’s wear, for instance, suits are also cut larger than sportswear. Suits tend to be more expensive than sportswear; therefore psychological sizing also works very well.
This “no standard” standard is particularly apparent in the sizing charts. There are several similar universal measurements, such as waist sizing. But every brand –and line– carries its own distinctions. For instance, it won’t be surprising to find out that J. Crew’s XS size may be larger than Esprit’s S size.
On Petite Fashion Industry
On average, America is smaller than we thought. Quoted from a series of national studies compiled by Banana Republic, 43 percent of U.S. females (45 million) fit the definition of petite women. However, according to Banana Republic spokesperson, the actual number of petite women could potentially be much greater than this number, as many women over 5’4” may also be considered petite, though they do not realize it.
Many women have petite upper body or lower body, but they don’t realize it. With proper information and awareness campaign, they can become a promising niche market to tap. Over the years, more women will become more aware of this.
According to “Women’s Wear Daily” (December 1998) and Banana Republic spokesperson, petites have become the sizing choice for many American women due to the fact that many who have never worn petite clothing are now realizing that the reproportioned fit is more flattering for their body types.
To many women, this creates a major psychological impact. Wearing petite size clothes (either on top-or-bottom or both top-and-bottom) is a new way to feel slim and beautiful. Why would a woman who fits in a petite size dress perfectly would want to purchase an average size that will make them feel average and less slim? As long as the notion of being slim and slender is beautiful, women who fit in petite size clothing would be tempted to purchase it.
Since petites –from top to bottom– are proportionate, it would be unwise to oversimplify the measurement of sizing petite women. Shortening the sleeve or the skirt length will not result in useable industry standard because they are smaller and their proportion is different.
Many designers take this into careful consideration. For example, they select smaller buttons, change the width in between buttons and change the width of the flap of pockets. “They would also consider the size of the pattern of the fabric because petite women cannot carry large patterns, which will be out of proportion on them,” Dr. Seitz said.
Nordstrom spokesperson said that its exclusive brands must follow a strict procedure in measuring petite sizes. First, they use a set of specifications that they have developed over the years to convert their missy-size garments to petite sizes patterns as closely as possible.
Second, as soon as they get the petite samples, they try them on petite fit models to make further modifications as needed. Because regardless of standard conversions, further adjustments always need to be made based on the way the fabric and style of a specific garment fits and looks on a petite figure.
“For instance, the hem of a calf-length jacket may need to fall a bit higher on a petite person than on a taller one so the proportion and look of the garment will look most flattering,” she further added. “A waistband or other waist detail on that jacket may also need to be higher on a petite customer than on a missy customer. This is particularly important for garments made from heavier fabrics, which can potentially be overwhelming on petite women.”
Banana Republic spokesperson further said that the company has completely re-proportioned its fit for petites and tested the line exclusively with petite fit models. Petite apparels are offered to customers online at BananaRepublic.com. They are available in sizes 0-16 and petite pants are available in two inseams: 26.5” and 28.5.”
Among other fashion household names that carry petite lines include Gap, Bebe, Talbots, Ann Taylor, INC, Elisabeth by Liz Clairborne and Land’s End. Some of the brands sold at Nordstrom, Saks’s Fifth Avenue, Macy’s, Wal-Mart, Kmart, JC Penney and Sears also carry petite sizes. Nordstrom-exclusive brands, such as Caslon and Classiques Entier, carry petite sizes as well. Also Dana Buchman brand sold at Saks Fifth Avenue.
Other brands might not have petite lines, but most of them offer XS size. Old Navy, Esprit and J. Crew are among them. Neiman Marcus department store does not carry petite lines either, but offers XS size to its smaller customers.
On Petite Modeling
Today’s petite modeling looks more promising than a few years ago. Many modeling agencies now aggressively represent and market petite models to various companies, prints and other media. Taller models, however, are still dominant on the runways and TV.
This is primarily because petite models look great in print and are irreplaceable as fit models, while taller ones look more elegant in real life and on the screen. People tend to look shorter on TV and runways need tall ones to outshine the others. “Tall models look better in front of camera because TV appearance actually shortens one’s appearance,” Dr. Seitz said. “Maybe it is an optical illusion,” College President Veith added.
Unforgettable Faces Only (UFO) talent and production agency in Sylvan Lake, Michigan recognizes this trend early. Most of its models are between 5’3” and 5’5”. Annalisa Koolwick, the president of UFO agency, said that they hire models who wear sizes 2, 4 and 6. She said that there are numerous talent agencies across the country that hire petite models. “Talent agencies typically have a petite division. I am not aware of an agency that only hires petite models,” she added.
UFO President Annalisa Koolwick has worked in the fashion industry all her life and produced beauty pageants for 16 years. Her last production was the 1999 Miss Michigan USA/Teen USA. She established UFO agency in 1992 due to the high demands for print models, live fashion, on camera, trade shows and other promotional endeavors.
UFO Talent Agency represents many promising petite models, including models Annette Sinclair, Rebecca Williams and Tara Schaefer. Annette Sinclair was the model for Glaxo Wellcome’s Cerenex Pharmaceuticals. Rebecca Williams’ petite smiling face has appeared in national Hush Puppies, Meijer’s Baby Club maternity wear and Spanish Gerber’s Matern Aid campaigns. Blended Dannon yogurt campaign used petite hand model Tara Schaefer. Among UFO’s clients include Jacobsons, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Marshall Fields and Meijers.
Even though the demand for petite models is not as high as the demand for taller 5’8” models; they are most likely to succeed if they work hard to aggressively market themselves. Thus, selecting an aggressive and reliable talent agency is of utmost importance. Developing an impressive model’s portfolio and high quality comp cards are equally important.
Fashion and Art College President Virginia Veith said that she uses petites as fit models, but never in shows. However, she has better luck in hiring petite models through classified advertising.
Finding an agency that knows the capability, quality and uniqueness of its talents is definitely crucial in a petite model’s career. But there might be some opportunities in classified advertising as well.
Nordstrom spokesperson also confirmed that her company uses petites as fit models. “Their specific body types vary, but generally the fit models we use in this category are between 5’4” to 5’6” and around size 22W,” she said. Nordstrom uses both petite and plus size models for its catalogs and live fashion events that promote special size merchandise.
On Future of Petites in the Industry
Don’t be surprised to find more fashion brands will be carrying more petite lines in the future. They have realized the strong potential of this niche and are working hard to earn their market share in this highly profitable proposal. Imagine this. Less material is used but a product is sold with the same price as other sizes.
According to various researches by a major research company, NPD, the petite market has a compound annual growth rate of 8.6 percent in the period from 1997 to 2000, creating an $8.3 billion market. The petite market itself is 8.9 percent of the overall $93 billion women’s apparel market.
Further research by NPD revealed that many women are actually petite on the bottom or top and don’t realize this. Thus, the total sales of bottoms and tailored clothing account for a soaring 54 percent of total petite sales. This number is likely to increase when more women realize this newly found need.
Proper consumer education and campaign will be able to raise awareness of this need. After all, the fashion business is more psychological than most of us have ever thought it was. This promises even higher sales for petite sizes in the future.
Petites are larger than they look, obviously. Half of U.S. total female population are petites. There are 45 millions of them and the fashion companies are not foolish to stick with their larger-than-average 5’8” market and models. They are becoming more aware of this newly found fact.
The industry is busy developing new petite standard measurements, launching new petite lines and, above all, hiring more petite models than ever before. “Earlier this year, we introduced a selection of petite plus sized apparel in about 40 of our stores and have so far had extremely positive customer response,” Nordstrom spokesperson said. She believes that the future of petite fashion industry is going to be very promising.
Petites are definitely much larger than they look. Petite women and models are becoming the norm of the future even though their taller counterparts will probably stay for runway and TV modeling assignments. More than ever before, petite women and models are acknowledged as trendsetters in the fashion industry.
“The facts speak for themselves,” General Manager of Banana Republic Online Lesa Musatto said. Wanna bet?[]
