My hunt for a petite-friendly ski jacket continues. I was browsing the website of Helly Hansen, and noticed that their size chart had detailed information that included the height and centre back length of their sizes.
Unfortunately, they don’t carry petites, and their regular sizes are mostly cut too long for me. So I sent them an email inquiring as to which jacket model or size might fit best, given my height. And this was the email I got in response:
We apologize for the difficulties you have experienced locating a jacket that fits properly. Unfortunately, we do not offer petite sizing in our jackets. You may be interested in our children’s jackets. We have provided a link to the children’s jackets that we currently have available on our website for your convenience.
Sheesh. I may be short, but I’m a fully grown woman. I am not opposed to wearing children’s stuff when it’s basics or when they’re of similar quality and styling. But most kids’ stuff doesn’t fit me, because I’m busty and hippy in ways that children just plain aren’t. And the complete cluelessness by customer service teams is what really irks me.
I sent them the following email in response:
Wow, condescending much?
No, thank you, I am a 35 year old woman and I am most definitely *not* interested in your children’s jackets. I also would advise you to stop answering inquires with that response, since women who happen to be shorter than average do not appreciate being treated like children.
If you ever decide to serve the 50% of the female population you currently exclude with your sizes, let me know. Until then, I’ll be sharing this response in social media as an example of the way you treat shorter customers.
Not impressed.
I never got a reply. Helly Hansen, welcome to my petites’ Wall of Shame.
Did you ever find a petite ski jacket that works for you? I’m 5’2” and have always struggled to find anything petite for ski season. The only thing I see now is obermeyer and they all have that ugly fur trim and minimal waterproofing and breath ability.
Yes, I did, but it was a bit of an adventure to get it! The jacket itself is from Nils and it’s the second item here in this post. Nils doesn’t have that exact model anymore, but they do have a couple of other petite styles on their website. Unfortunately, getting it in Canada was a huge hassle, and I hope I will wear mine forever because I don’t want to have to go through that again.
Obermeyer does actually make great-fitting petite jackets; my previous ski jacket before this one was by Obermeyer. Again, they’re hard to find in Canada, and some of their styles are warmer / more waterproof than others. But they’re one of the only brands catering to petites in ski wear.