I’m shorter than my mother.  This is a rarity, especially for first generation Canadians with immigrant parents.  You’re pretty much expected to be taller than your mom.  When I was a little girl, I expected to be around 5’6″ or 5’7″ – one to two inches TALLER than mom.  Never happened.  I reached my current height of about 5’2″ when I was 16 years old.  As a girl who really wants to be stylish and at one point, wanted to model (commercial, not runway, since that’s where the money is), I was devastated.  Clothes didn’t fit right and as most short women and my regular readers know, the petite department was just too mature-looking for a teenager (with the exception of a few stores, it’s still too mature for me).  Sure, there are plenty of celebrities who’re my size (height and clothing), but they all have “people.”  On the other hand, I’m just a regular person.  Tailoring is an option, but it doesn’t always work (and people have to get that).  Besides, short women, famous or not, are never “beautiful” and “elegant.”  While they can most definitely be “sexy” or “pretty” the typical adjectives used to describe them include “cute” and “adorable.”  Cute is for babies and pets.

Then, in 2006, I started the first version of this site, which at that time, was not a blog (or anything close to one).  That year, which I consider my “beta year,” had some success.  I still felt like I was preaching to the choir because every body image activist I’ve come across doesn’t pay any REAL attention to height issues.  They might acknowledge it if I bring it up, but it usually feels like lip service because they quickly forget about it.  And the worst comes from some individuals in the fashion industry (especially those who happen to be short themselves).  I interviewed a menswear designer a few years ago who was probably no taller than 5’5″ or 5’6″ – short for a guy – I asked him if he’d ever produce clothing to fit smaller men and you know what his answer was?  No.  They can always get things fixed.  This is a guy who was very small framed and could probably get his shirts from the tween department.  And guys have it worse than us.  Except for a few niche shops, there isn’t a men’s equivalent to “petite.”  Anyway…

CynthiaC in a Traffic People dress. Image originally posted in a Petite Fashion Challenge

Real success for me came when I discovered other petite bloggers.  We have a nice community who share our issues, ideas, tips and sometimes, even even meet up.  We have found petite-exclusive designers and have profiled them.  Some of us have even held events, both live and online (such as Petite Fashion Challenges which are held several times a year).  It’s blogging buddies like these that have made me feel less isolated about my size issues because they share the same problems.  It’s actually funny how non-petites think we don’t have any issues because we’re size 0s and 2s (for the most part).  They, like anyone else who isn’t under 5’4″, have no idea what it’s like to be shorter than average and how, unlike plus size, our voices aren’t heard as often (but at least we have an avenue now to be heard).  Let’s just hope that media catch on and actually openly allow petite women, especially those of us who are smaller-framed to be open about our issues.  I’d be even happier if that happens.  Somehow, I think it’s going to take a long time.

Note: This post is part of August McLaughlin’s Beauty of a Woman BlogFest. You can find her original post about this event here.

Check out my post about overcoming my issue with small feet at DelectablyChic!