I just read about plus-sized models. They start at 1X. The size starts at 1X, the big and beautiful bellow, because the fashion industry is only exalting size 0s. And while there are a few average-sized models sizes 4-12 making their way into the fashion tabloids, and even a diverse selection of skin colors and hairstyles following them, one cry for equality is still being ignored. The fact that it may be ignored because their ears are at least a few feet higher than the pleading voices is no excuse. For even if you can't hear us way up in your Dior castles, that doesn't mean we don't have a voice--and bodies, too, for that matter that long for clothes just like yours, only in petite.
Just because the Dutch and American women are much taller than a woman from Asia or Mexico on average does not mean that vertically-challenged women are a minority. American women are from a myriad of backgrounds, and still their average height is 5’4”. That's the break-off point for petite women. Is it so outrageous, then, for petite women to clamor for representation in the fashion industry when most women buying clothes are petite?
Sometimes petite women are obviously dealt an unjust hand. Stores where the average American woman might shop--like Walmart and Target--sell affordable petite clothes that are actually jeans that were meant for taller women before they shrunk. Petite clothes don't just need to be shorter. The entire cuts need to be made for a smaller frame--even plus-sized petites are little people.
As one can imagine, learning how to dress as a petite woman is difficult. Skinny petites are practically banned to the pre-teen section, and curvy petites struggle to find clothes that won't accentuate their compact hips and short legs. What is stylish and chic on many women instantly become frumpy and awkward on a short ones. As one fashion designer put it, clothes just look better on taller women. That's why tall twigs traditionally trek the cat walks. Yet now, stylish clothing has become much more accessible and fashion much more individual and practical. Even the 4’9” Susie is a scarf connoisseur; we have Pinterest, after all.
In an industry finally experiencing growing pains from inclusion and diversity, it needs to point its nose down, just for a moment, to recognize petites. Petites are everywhere, yet are strangely ignored. While petites may indeed be plus-sized, plus-sized models in no way represent petite women. Yeah, it's kind of funny that we’re down here squeaking at your knee-highs--but, we buy the most clothes.
