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for a Vancouver fall
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Short women's fashions
getting easier to find

WHEN MUSICIAN Randy Newman wrote a lit-
tle ditty with the words, ‘short people got no
reason to live,’ he wasn’t lamenting the dearth of
tailored fashions for petite women, but he well

could have been.

Short people have long
been short on options,
especially businesswomen.

Either they’ve had to wear
ill-fiting clothes or, what's
worse, buy an outfit and
then spend the extra money
to get it professionally
aitered.

But this is changing.
PManufacturers and retailers
are picking up on the poten-
tial short people’s market.

Retailers use the word
petite, which is often mis-
leading, in terms of height
(generally 5°4’’ and under)
and not necessarily size.

“The biggest stumbling
block is getting over the illu-
sion that petites are small,’’
said Keith Farr, national
sales manager for Marjorie
Hamilton, a Vancouver
manufacturer.

Farr said Marjorie
Hamilton’s petite line, Ziba,
is for women 5°4”’ and under
and from sizes four to 16.

What differs in the petite
clothes is the measurements
— Farr said they are shorter
but can accommodate most
sizes.

Linda Lee, manager of
Just Petites in Park Royal,

By ELIZABETH COLLINGS
News Reporter

said even taller people can
shop at petite stores for sep-
arates if they are particularly
short waisted or have short
legs.

Penny Fuchihara, manag-
er of One Plus One Petites in
Vancouver, also finds the
petite distinction misleading.

“Half the problem is
educating women to what
petite is — it’s not just being
petite, it’s being shorter,”
Fuchihara said. One Plus
One Petite carries sizes two
to 14.

Open for almost a year
now, Fuchihara said that in
a word, business is ‘‘incred-
ible.”” She attributes this to
the business clientele the
store is targetting — a group
she said that wasn’t served
by existing petite sections in
department stores.

But department stores are
also building their petite
stock.

The Bay in Park Royal is
opening a petite department
this fall with everything
from career clothes, dresses

and coordinates to separates
and casual wear,

Woodward's is also target-
ting the petite market, with
petite sections in all 26 of its
stores.

“*We've always had petites
but we’re more aggressively
pursuing the petite market
because we recognize it’s
growing,’ said Pam Pescod,
assoc‘ate buyer for Wood-
ward's.

*“*Woodward’s is going
after the shorter, full-figured
person,’' Pescod added,
pointing to sizes eight
through 14 as their goal.

Top of the line suppliers
are also climbing on the
petite bandwagon.

Mr. Jax is starting a
limited petite division this
fall. Liz Claiborne and Jones
of New York are also ex-
panding their petite division.

Jackie Clabon, marketing
director for Mr. Jax, said
she is already secing positive
results from the packages for
petites Mr. Jax has
distributed to limited stores
to test the market.

**Our hope for fall 1990 is
to be able to offer Jax to all
our customers,’? Clabon
said.

So ‘‘petites’? of all sizes
can take heart this fall: con-
trary to Newman's assertion,
short people do have reason
to live.

Photo submitted

BEING SHORT doesn't mean being restricted in your choice of clothing — speciality stores
and departments for petites are on the rise. The woo! flannel mu'ti-plaid jacket (eft) and
the wool flannel jacket and skirt (right) are both from Braemar Petites, who will be opening

a store in Vancouver this fall.