Michelle

Finding stylish petite clothes a struggle

Ginger Reeder, vice president of corporate communications for Neiman Marcus, explained her store's move: A major vendor for petite sizes decided to get out of the petite business, so Neiman's decided to downsize that department. She was uncertain if the vendor's decision was based on lagging sales.

Neiman Marcus has cut back to selling petite sizes in just eight of its 36 stores nationwide. The company will offer petite sizes and styles online and through its catalog.

Nationally, sales of petite clothing climbed 11 percent to $10 billion in 2005, according to NPD Group, a market research firm. Petites also had the highest growth of all women's clothing categories, including juniors, misses and larger sizes.

Petite clothing is typically designed for women 5 feet 4 inches and shorter. Some garments are only cut shorter, but true petites are designed with smaller proportions, such as a shorter rise in the pants or narrower shoulders in a jacket.

Petite sizes hit the retail scene in force in the early 1990s to meet consumer demand. But petite lines then rarely matched their taller-size sisters. The clothing styles were either little-girl cute or matronly -- but rarely were they stylish.

To get what they wanted, many petite women had to buy misses size clothing and spend more to have them tailored.

Fashion consultant Roz Pactor, who's 5 feet 1 inch tall but rarely buys petite clothing, says many designers and retailers are just starting to understand that shorter women want stylish clothes -- and want to be able to find them inside stores.

Also, many short women don't exclusively buy petite sizes and some taller women buy petite pieces if they find the length of pant legs or shirtsleeves fit them better.

"The petite customer is a crossover customer. She buys certain pieces in petites and shops in regular sportswear for others," Pactor says.

Some department stores and specialty shops however, know exactly what they want: more of the petite market.

Kathryn Pickering, a senior vice president at Macy's, says some fashion trends, such as long, full-tiered skirts, are difficult to adapt for the petite customer, and that may account for the lack of sales success at high-end retailers.

Macy's private brands, such as INC International Concepts, cater to petites, and Pickering says the company will continue to carry Karen Scott, an in-house brand at Foley's available in petite sizes. (Macy's parent company, Federated Department Stores, purchased May Department Stores, which includes Foley's, last year.)

Dillard's has begun upgrading and expanding brands offering petite sizes and adding more modern styles.

"We have no intentions of backing off," said Janie Hund, women's division merchandise manager at Dillard's. "It used to be that our petite looks were very mature. Now we're trying to give more variety."

At specialty stores such as Banana Republic, Ann Taylor and Ann Taylor Loft, designated areas for petites have wide appeal with customers.

Ann Taylor began offering petite clothing in 1993 at just 23 stores, and now has petites in 83 percent of its stores.

"In general, we are looking to give the petite client the same look as our missy client," said Mary Loux Geoghegan, a vice president in merchandising who oversees petites and missy suits and dresses for the company. "We want her to feel the same."

That means sleeves and pants are shortened, of course, but print patterns may also be scaled down 15 percent to 30 percent and big buttons made smaller, Geoghegan says.

Finding the right fit can be tricky, so the company provides "petite specialists" for customers who call at 800-DIAL-ANN (342-5266)(select "P"). Ann Taylor also tries its clothes on a petite model to make sure the fit and proportions are right for a real body, Geoghegan says.

Ann Taylor stores typically stock 40 percent of missy clothes in petite sizes, Geoghegan says.

Fashion designer Dana Buchman, who launched her petite line in 1992 in sizes 0-16, says she has seen a decline of petite selections in department stores.

"The petite customer still exists, but some stores have scaled back in the last five years," she said. "Women didn't all of a sudden get taller. My mission is to design for all women."

Houston fashion designer Gayla Bentley, who designs clothes from petite to plus sizes, says designers and stores need to remember that women of all shapes, sizes and heights want good-looking clothes.

"We are just people who want clothes with style," Bentley said. "It's not about big, tall or short. Women want stylish clothes that fit."