Cynthia Cheng Mintz
Bloggers in the petite blogging community, which is growing each day, started to post regular “petite fashion challenges” back in late August. Participants are encouraged to find and put together outfits, take pictures of themselves and post them on their blogs. The host blog will then post links to participants’ blogs on their site. Each challenge has guidelines, with the purpose to offer tips and to show how shorter women (and for the most part, tiny-framed (the typical petite blogger is probably around five feet tall and 90 pounds) can look amazing in clothing, even outfits which are typically advised as no-nos for them (e.g. below-the-knee dresses or capris).
A version of one of the pictures used in Petite Fashion Challenge #4
The most recent challenge, the fourth one held, posted last night, was holiday-related. Previous challenges transitioning from summer to fall, as well as “dressing like a celebrity.” Hosted by blogger Curls and Pearls, participants were encouraged to put together the ideal holiday party outfit. It seems that the Little Black Dress as well as “festive” holiday colours like red and gold are ruling this time around. Generally, bloggers would post where they got their outfits as well as the size, even if they were no longer available. Unlike many other body image blogs, size is very important in the petite world (especially for those who are small-framed who are often really happy to hear that they need to size up!) as it’s difficult for us to find things small enough to fit us. We want to know which brands actually have our size and seeing it on others like us help. Most bloggers also list their height, weight and measurements somewhere on their blogs, again to help readers associate themselves. These challenges are open to everyone who identify as petite (usually under 5’4″, period. Petites who are NOT under size 4 are certainly welcome!) and having a blog is not necessary. Those without blogs usually have their pictures posted on the host blogger’s post. These challenges are important, I think, as we need to think beyond what so-called fashion magazines and style experts say look good on us. It’s something that we need to figure out for ourselves and this would depend on our bodies.
My other site, Shorty Stories, will be hosting the next challenge, to be announced in the coming weeks. You can see other petite bloggers’ challenge posts through links at Curls and Pearls.
