Sad news for petite ladies

nancy324

nancy324

Cathlete
The New York Times had an article yesterday which said that three of the major department stores have either "quietly eliminated or drastically scaled back" their petite departments "infuriating many long-time customers". Bloomingdale's, Saks and Neiman-Marcus are at the forefront of a movement to eliminate petite departments!

The department stores are saying that sales aren't strong, but the article says that, in fact, overall sales have grown. The real reason, the article says, may be that "high-end department stores view the petite consumer as older, unfashionable and undesirable." :( :(

The stores apparently feel that petite departments carry mostly "traditional" (frumpy) career-oriented clothing for older, consumers.

That's me. Old, traditional and career-oriented. And I like to think that my salary is higher than those twenty-somethings they're trying to attract. Maybe those young people are willing to spend more on clothes than I am even though they have less to spend?

I sure hope the other stores don't follow suit. Is anyone else affected by this?

-Nancy
 
I don't think I've ever bought a single petite item at a department store. No, wait, I have found a few petite things at Bloomies. Occasionally, I find things petite things at Banana Republic, but usually I just order online. Amen for Intenrnet shopping!

I'm one of those twenty-soemthings who doesn't dress like a twenty something. A lot of the clothes marketed to my age group are downright trashy. I think department stores need to do a better job in consumer research. There is a huge petite market, and it isn't a homogoneous thing. Just like people that are average heights, we like a variety of styles.
 
If I were to go into business, I'd market to the older adult who spends LOTS of money! Older women are the ones who sit in front of the TV and order tons of stuff from QVC and HSN. Bloomingdale's loss is QVC's gain!

"It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt." Mark Twain ;-)
 
I'm not petite, but I understand where you're coming from. In my local market, apparently I'm the odd size out. Professional clothes are often sized too big for me, aiming for the older, "heftier" woman, as so many are around here. Smaller sizes, though not petite, are few and far in between.
 
Yay Gina! It's true. A professional has to dress like a professional no matter what her age. Thank you for saying that.

As for ordering online: are you constantly mailing things back because they don't fit right? I love ordering everything I can online, but clothes and shoes are so difficult because you can't try them on. How do you do it?

-Nancy
 
I agree, HB. I think the baby boomers who are in my age group clearly have more money than the younger women. It just doesn't make sense that the stores, especially the high-end, stores, aren't interested in us anymore.

-Nancy
 
I'm confused. I thought petites were just cut differently for petite women. I didn't think they were a whole other style of clothes. I often look in the petite department for tops. I think it's just another marketing ploy to make us all buy the same dang thing, whether it fits of not, and be happy with it. All the big department stores seem to be owned by the same one or two companies anymore, aren't they? Why should they go the extra mile to make their customers happy? The days of "the customer is always right" are long gone.
 
It is confusing, Robin. Petite departments are supposed to have the same stuff as the other departments in a different cut. I didn't realize there was a certain "style" to petites until I read the NYT article. In fact, in Bloomingdale's the clothes in the petite department always looked exactly the same as the other departments, so the article confused me. The article mentioned that the "contemporary" woman "does not want to be called 'petite'." What's so bad about being called "petite"??? It's just a size to me, nothing more. I must be old-fashioned, because I just don't get it.

-Nancy
 
Hmmm.. that's odd I love the term petite. I always laugh how much better that is than short.

Fortunately I work in software at a start up so don't have to do the professional clothing thing. I always have an interview suit for each season but that's about it.

Strange Nancy when you have money to spend. I wonder who the execs at these stores must be - TALL women or men.... makes no sense to me either
 
I know, Robyn. Petite just means there is less distance between the chest and the waist, the waist and the hip, etc., and that the arms and legs are shorter. Unfortunately, it's not enough to shorten the sleeve or the leg, because the proportions are still off. This is particularly true for a blazer or a suit jacket. Admittedly, causal clothes are a bit easier, but even a short-sleeve t-shirt comes down too far on my hip and doesn't look right.

The article did mention that women are getting taller, but so far the average height is only about .3" taller than it was in 1980. Still not enough to make much of a size difference.

-Nancy
 
>Hmmm.. that's odd I love the term petite. I always laugh how
>much better that is than short.

But is someone still "petite" if they are 'short and stout."? Somehow, it doesn't seem to fit!
 
Actually, Kathryn, they are! Some of the stores have those sizes, although I forget what they are called. Sometimes I buy tops that are "PL" which mean Petite Large, and I call it "Jumbo Shrimp". :+

Seriously, though, petite sizes are NOT just for thin women. There are plenty of larger sizes in the petite department.
 
I agree with you about the Blazers. A regular Blazer does not fit right on me, I need a petite or it is sloppy in the upper arms and does not look good.

I am sorry to hear this.
 
Nancy,

Unfortunaetly, it is a lot of trial and error. I know I must spend a lot on shipping, but if it allows we to avoid the aggravation of the mall, it's worth it!
 
What is the average height for woman anyway? I'm 5'7" and consider myself a tad tall. I know I'd tower over Cathe and her crew. I never thought of petite as a derrogatory word either. Jumbo shrimp, very cute Nancy. Would you like a gross of petites? Sorry, I'm tired and that's all I could come up with.
 
I think that the stores are doing that because people are getting bigger and bigger. Of course, 7 out of 10 American adults are overweight, but I also think that women are getting taller, and there are fewer of them that are under 64 inches, which is the cutoff for petite. Think about this: Years ago, the average bra size was a 34B; now it is a 36C. Is it because people are getting heavier? Probably.

I am one of the shorter ones at 62 inches.
 
Caitlin-
That's what I thought, but the article said that the average American woman is only .3" taller than she was in 1980.
-Nancy
 
I am petite (4'11") and the department stores drive me crazy! Every time I go shopping, the petite department is filled with polyester pants with elastic waistbands and tops with lots of flowers and glitter. Nothing remotely professional, contemporary, fitted, and forget about style. When I asked a buyer for my local L.S. Ayres store, I was told that most petite shoppers are seniors so that's the style they stock. I told her that being petite has nothing to do with age -- I am 32 and will be petite for the rest of my life.

So what are all of us petite but young women supposed to do? My local Macy's has a fairly decent petite section, and Talbot's works well for work clothes. What other shops have you other petite ladies tried (either on-line or bricks-n-mortar)?

Mel
 
Mel-
I already looked up where the nearest Talbot's is, and I'm planning to give them my business for now on and never go back to Bloomingdale's!

I love the clothes at Macy's, but the one here in Manhattan is overwhelming in size, and the fitting rooms are always full on weekends, so I'm going to try to avoid it.
-Nancy
 
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