Unfashionable and undesirable

Once more, the article that caught my attention in today's New York Times is also today's most emailed: "Where's the Petite Department? Going the Way of the Petticoat" (28 May, 2006).

The love affair with little women appears to be over. Three of the country's most influential fashion emporiums — Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and Bloomingdale's — have quietly eliminated or drastically scaled back their petite departments in the past several months, infuriating many longtime customers.

Executives at the three department stores said the decision was based on the poor sales of petite sizes, which are traditionally designed for a woman 5-foot-4 or smaller, with pant lengths and jacket proportions cut accordingly. Petite women, they said, would rather wear the more youthful, skin-baring and tighter-fitting clothing in the contemporary departments, even if it does not fit them as well. And, they point out, there is always tailoring.

But despite what executives say, overall sales of petite clothing sizes have grown in the past several years, reaching $10 billion. So petite women suspect another culprit: high-end department stores that they say view the petite consumer as older, unfashionable and undesirable.

I guess I'm screwed in terms of buying a new suit for Martin's wedding.

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Interesting girly link: iVillage.com's My Virtual Model lets you key in your body's dimensions, hair color, hair style, eye shape, skin color and so on, and it will create a computerized you. At the moment they are featuring swim suits that you can "try on" — I don't look good in any of them, sadly. In fact, I look unfashionable and undesirable. [Damn you, petite body!]