Myth Regarding Petite

Many people tend to be one size at one store, yet another size at another store. For example, a woman may be a size 2 in a Cache dress at Banana Republic, but a size 4 at Forever 21. Always try the piece of clothing on and make sure it fits you well before you decide to make the purchase. The reason for this is because each individual brand have their sizing chart not consistent with other brands. Be wary with the one size fits all phrase, as it is just one of the biggest fashion myths out there.

Here are some fashion myths many people remain unaware of:

In the fashion industry, petite means small.

In fact, petite actually means short! Petite clothing is cater to short women and offer its own sizes. This type of clothing is designed to fit women under 5'4” who may have trouble with pants being too long or shirts not fitting properly. This make them a favorite among short women.

For petite, some of the best places for clothes are at the junior or boys department.

This is not true, as the petite frame is unique and neither of these departments have clothing cater for such frame. A petite girl can get away with shopping in the juniors department depending on if her measurements are large enough and she does not have problems with overly long pant legs or sleeves. You may find some girls shopping in the boys department and in general, its arguably the worst idea for a petite woman. Those who can wear clothes from the boys department usually have boyish figure.

All you need to do is shorten the garment to make it petite.

Another misconception as shortening the hems of a garment is not enough to make it fit properly. The problem with this approach is that petite woman tend to have narrow shoulders, a small frame and a shorter back waist length.

Petite women should try to look taller.

Looking taller isn't a bad idea; however it is not the main objective of fashion. What you want to achieve is to look good in clothing with flattering accessories. Obviously, wearing heels is one of the best way for a woman to appear taller.

A petite garment has the same bust-waist-hip measurement as misses clothing of the same size.

Petite apparel are usually cut a bit smaller compared to those in misses. For instance, a petite size 8 at Talbot's has a bust, waist, and hip measurement of 35 - 37 - 35, while a misses 8 is half an inch bigger in each particular measurement.

In conclusion, the term petite is widely misunderstood and give rise to some of biggest fashion myths. The misconception around this term is contributed by retailers who claim that a size extra small as petite. Petite women tend to have narrower shoulders, smaller back waists and a small frame and hence, petite clothing uses its own set of guidelines and measurement to cater for this group.