Michelle

By Demand, Saks Revives Petite Department

But the reaction from apparel makers was swift. The clothing label Ellen Tracy, which ceased producing petite sizes after Saks eliminated its department, said yesterday that it would now re-enter the business for spring 2007.

Saks said that petite sizes would be carried in 32 of its 55 stores in November and that it would hold trunk shows around the country in October to welcome the petite clients back.

Andrew Jennings, president of Saks, said that the retailer "had heard loud and clear the expression of concern from shoppers" about the elimination of the petite department.

Saks scrapped petite sizes, which generated $35 million a year, in January because it found that many shoppers preferred to buy clothes in the misses department — which is larger and offers a wider variety of fashions — and have garments tailored to fit their smaller proportions.

This time around, the retailer will try to inject more energy in petite clothes, emphasizing sportswear, knitwear and day dresses, rather than focusing heavily on classic-looking suits for work.

"In the past, the petite assortment has been very suited and very classic in nature, not really addressing the lifestyle needs of the customer," said Joseph Boitano, senior vice president and general merchandise manager for women's clothing at Saks.

The Saks re-entry into petites reflects the strategy of the chief executive, Stephen I. Sadove, to recapture the business lost under the leadership of Fred Wilson. Critics of Mr. Wilson said he alienated older — and in this case, smaller — customers with his emphasis on skin-baring urban fashions.

For designers who specialize in petite sizes, the decision by Saks will create a much-needed outlet for their garments.

The abandonment of petite sizes at Saks, Bloomingdale's and Neiman Marcus — three of the most influential fashion emporiums in the country — had forced labels like Dana Buchman and Eileen Fisher to re-evaluate how much to invest in the business.

In a telephone interview, Ms. Buchman called Saks's return to the business "fabulous."

For weeks, Ms. Buchman said, she has been quietly telling loyal customers that Saks would once again carry the smaller sizes, after being told the decision was imminent. "When I do, I feel like a heroine," she said. "People are thrilled."

Ms. Buchman said she had spent the last few months consoling women who wanted to know why they could not find petite versions of her clothing at Saks, Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdale's.

"My mission as a designer is to dress the women of America," she said. "If I am not making clothes for women 5-foot-4 or smaller I am not succeeding."

Howard Rosenberger, the president of Ellen Tracy, said the re-establishment of the department at Saks "allows us an opportunity to go back into the business."

"Saks was a major factor in the petite business," he said, and "when it decided not to do petites, that pushed us over the edge."

But all is not perfect in the petite department.

In the last year, Bloomingdale's has cut the size of its petite department by half in many stores, and Neiman Marcus, which now carries petite clothing in 8 of its 36 stores, will soon stock it in just 2.

And there are no signs that either will reverse that decision. Spokesmen for both retailers did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Longtime Saks shoppers expressed relief — and, in some cases, euphoria — after learning yesterday that the retailer had reversed its ban on petites.

"It is just great news," said Laurel Bernstein, a 5-foot-1 New Jersey resident who had shopped at Saks for decades before she discovered this spring that the company had dropped petite sizes. Since then, she has bought her petites at specialty chains like Talbots.

"I missed Saks," she said, adding, "I am definitely going back."