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It's tough for the truly small sized woman to find clothing that fits
By KATE BRASSFIELD
Published January 4, 2007
I still have some jeans I used to wear in college, and they still fit. They're a size 4. Today if I tried on a new pair of size 4 pants, they'd slide off my womanly hips and fall to the floor. Welcome to the other side of vanity sizing. Sure, it leaves the size 18s feeling good when they shimmy into a size 12. But it leaves women like me feeling naked. I'm not anorexic. I'm not Nicole Richie. I'm not a supermodel or a meth user. I'm just a normal, 5-foot-3, 105-pound woman. I'm 35 years old and I'd like not to have to dress like a teeny-bopper just because I'm, well, teeny. It was a tragedy for me when the Petite Sophisticate chain closed last year. My husband called it the Skinny Sexy Store after I told him other larger, meaner women would razz me for shopping there. I don't think of myself as particularly sophisticated, but they did have pants for lean people. I went to four malls in two counties before the chain closed, buying every pair of pants that fit. I don't know what I'll do when those wear out. Believe me, I know all the stores with petite racks. I haunt them. But "petite" in store lingo doesn't mean thin. It means short. There are plenty of "petite" clothes out there as wide as they are tall. I'm accustomed to taking an item I love to the sales clerk and saying apologetically, "Um, I hate to ask, but do you have this in a size zero petite? No, the size zero doesn't fit . . ." But why should I be embarrassed? There's nothing wrong with me. In my mind, there's something wrong with those women who are too vain to admit they're not the size they used to be. I don't expect the size 12s (18s?) of the world to love me. I don't ask for or expect sympathy. But is it too much to ask that stores put a few 00s on the rack so I can wear attractive, age-appropriate clothing too? Kate Brassfield can be reached at (727) 893-8216 or kbrassfield@sptimes.com.
[Last modified January 4, 2007, 06:27:27]
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by Gerd
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09/25/07 08:25 AM
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I like to wear stylish jeans..I usually visit CouponAlbum site for shopping..i found there many discounts for shopping..
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by cass
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03/05/07 07:16 PM
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I am a small woman too. 5'4' and 105 lbs. Although I used to be embarassed, on occasion I can find some things in the girls department that fit well in a size 16. You may want to try there. There are some clothes that don't look "childish".
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by M
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02/02/07 12:53 AM
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As a petite woman (5'1) who wears a (gasp!) size 18 I have the same problems with finding petite clothing (probably more). And now I have to put up with "00s" who apparently find me repulsive *and* vain? Vain is thinking 5'3", 105 lbs is "normal".
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by Kate
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01/07/07 02:41 PM
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Realistic -- Perhaps that was a stretch. But what I meant to show was that I don't have the figure of a prepubescent child. I have curves in the usual places, in the usual proportions. Thanks for reading!
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by Dorothy
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01/07/07 12:53 PM
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I agree with everything you said, about petite sizes. I lost weight from trying to get my cholestrol down and watching what I ate. I used to fit into an 8 or 10, but now I need a size 4. The waist are too big and the legs are baggy. Size 2 is the sam
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by realistic
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01/05/07 10:08 AM
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if you're 5'3, weigh 105 and are too small for a size 0, it's a sure bet your "womanly hips" are a figment of your imagination
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by Heather
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01/04/07 12:50 PM
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Speaking as a larger woman (size 18),I would love to be able to wear attractive, age-appropriate clothes myself. I can't afford to shop at Lane Bryant, and their clothes are not very business oriented either. Learn to adjust, I have had to.
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by wanda
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01/04/07 12:43 PM
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I shop the childrens dept for pajamams and they fit great,have not tried pants yet but maybe they will fit. Sizing is crazy as no one wants to be a size 18 but there are a lot of overweight people in denial
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by Beverly
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01/04/07 06:05 AM
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I could not agree with you more. I am a petite woman also, 5'2", 118lbs, but i am very athletic and I Have no choice but to buy my pants, jeans, etc., in the juniors dept. as everything else just falls off my hips. i dread the womans or misses dept.
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