As most of you know, I’ve ranted endlessly about the persistent heightism that plagues the fashion industry. It’s a prejudice that makes its way from runway to retail, making it difficult for the half of us women who are under 5’4″ to find clothes that fit our bodies.
Which is why it was so refreshing this week to see petite representation at New York Fashion Week this year. JC Penney has partnered with petite celeb Ally Brooke to release a new collection aimed primarily at petites. Called Bold Elements, the 29-piece collection differs from much of what mass fashion usually does; instead of making petite sizing an afterthought, this collection designs for petites first, and makes taller sizes the secondary element:
“At 5’0”, I know firsthand how often petite women are overlooked — and how difficult it can be to find fashion that fits. I wanted to work with JCPenney to break down those barriers in fashion and create a collection that fits and flatters all body types,” Brooke says. “What makes this collection so special is that it’s not straight-sized clothing that happens to offer petite, it’s petite clothing that happens to offer straight sizing. The difference is so apparent in the pieces.”
Now, I’ve never heard of Ally Brooke, who is apparently formerly a member of pop group Fifth Harmony, one of those groups that never quite made it onto my radar but presumably sounds like all the other identical-sounding girl groups of the era. And, like most of you, I’ve been rather dismayed at the shrinking petites sections at most department stores lately, as well as with the uninspired old-lady fashion that seems to form most of them.
These pieces look promising, though. It’s a small collection to start, but it’s getting some buzz and hopefully that’s something to build on. Also, unlike most of the dowdy pieces that have made up department store petites collections for far too long, these items look cute and actually pretty fashion-forward, and might appeal to a younger petite audience.
But even more exciting than the collection itself showing up on notoriously height-obsessed runways, JC Penney took the additional opportunity to create a Petite Power List of petite influencers and celebrities making a difference in their fields:
The Petite Power List honors eight influential petite women, including Brooke, who are making waves in their industries: April Lockhart, an advocate for the disability community; Averie Bishop, a social activist and cofounder of the Tulong Foundation nonprofit; Shan Berries, CEO and founder of Shades by Shan Cosmetics; April Whitney, a certified personal trainer and founder of Petite PWR; Eli Rallo, a content creator and author of I Didn’t Know I Needed This; Imani Ellis, CEO and founder of CultureCon and The Creative Collective; and Armani Latimer, a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader who has embraced her alopecia and inspires others to do the same.
Each honouree received a $5,000 grant to fund the work they’re doing in their area of expertise. More to the point, they received recognition in a milieu – fashion – where we petites are usually overlooked.
The only one of these women I am personally familiar with is April Whitney, whose petite-oriented fitness content I follow on YouTube. But this is making me want to check out the others.
As a Canadian, I haven’t seen any of the Bold Elements line in stores yet and haven’t had occasion to try it. But if you do, let me know in the comments what you think!
Thanks for featuring this. I hadn’t heard of this collection and want to look at it. Also as an American I want to apologise. I think you know what I mean.