Our last post where we went through our closets and found hidden gems.
The #KnitPetiteProject plan.
All other #KnitPetiteProject posts.

The #KnitPetiteProject now has a Ravelry group. Join us!

SURVEY: Checking in with how you think the #KnitPetiteProject is going! Are we addressing your questions?

October’s focus for the #KPP is shopping for petites. What to buy? Where to buy it? How and when to modify your current off-the-rack clothes?

Today, we’re talking about what to look for in new clothes.

By now in the #KPP, you’ve constructed a clear idea of what you want from your clothing, and gotten an idea of how to achieve that through modifying for your own body and shape.

I thought it was important for us all to get to this point before jumping into a discussion of shopping and fashion advice, because these advice sources can wield great influence on us and make us feel we should want certain things, and we should avoid others.

Of course, if your goals, aesthetics, and interests line up with that advice, then proceed! If, on the other hand, they do not, I encourage you to ignore that advice and forge ahead with whatever works for you. I want us all to be able to sort through what IS and IS NOT for us; what is HELPFUL and what is HARMFUL.

That’s the focus of the next two weeks.

Here, we’ll talk about some language, some fashion bloggers, and body positivity.

One of the most powerful feelings I’ve felt recently is the confidence of altering items in my own closet; just because I bought it in a store doesn’t mean it’s perfect and untouchable.

What to look for

1. Quality: as makers, we have an understanding of clothing quality. Make sure you’re getting the expected value for the dollar amount you’re spending.
2. Fit: as a #KPP person, you’ll be familiar with the issues surrounding picking a size in shops, more familiar with your own shapes and sizes, and be armed with an idea of how and what to modify.
3. Styling: this is a biggie, and one that I’d like to focus on for the rest of this post, and the next couple of weeks.

Styling Advice: Be Critical of What you Read

One of the major reasons I started the #KPP was the plethora of advice out there regarding the “dos and don’ts” of dressing for petites. I want to encourage us all to put on our critical-thinking caps and keep in mind that behind advice articles are authors, and those authors will have a bias and/or assumed end-goals that can conflict with our own and even cause us to feel inadequate, wrong, and ashamed of our bodies.

Remember: wear what you want and what makes YOU feel fantastic, no matter what the “advice” says.

Case in point: this article tells us as petite women not to wear flat shoes because “they will not give you the additional height you need” (emphasis added by me).  This article is assuming I, as the petite reader, “needs” additional height. I “need” to feel that I look taller than I am. You also find a lot of language like this in articles written for larger women; in many cases (that I’ve read), these articles amount to nothing more than fat-shaming. Pay attention to the words the article uses. Do you “need” that? Really? What are they assuming you want?

Compare this to the following point in the same article that says I, as a petite woman, shouldn’t wear anything cropped  because “it will shorten your torso”. This piece of advice feels less egregious, since it’s not telling what I NEED, though it is still assuming my end goal is to avoid appearing the height that I am. On the flip side, they are at least being clear about what affect they think wearing something cropped will have.

You’ll also encounter advice from experts that is directly contradictory to other experts. For example, this article’s expert suggests petite folks should indeed wear cropped items, and high-waisted pants (something that’ll visually cut your torso into different proportions).

For me the fact remains: I love wearing crop tops, like the way I look and feel when I wear them, and I don’t think they make me look shorter, squat or in a proportion that’s displeasing. Your ideas and preference may vary! I mention this to illustrate how being armed with a thorough sense of what YOU want and an eye to critically dissecting advice means you can sort through what IS and what IS NOT for you.

Aesthetics

I’m going to very quickly touch on aesthetics here, as we’re traipsing toward that territory and I think it’s a good line to draw when thinking critically about these types of advice articles that can ultimately be body shaming and harmful to our sense of worth.

I’d like to go further in depth about aesthetics next week, using art and symbols as a sort of neutral territory, but for now keep in mind that some of these pieces of advice are such because they assume your aesthetic end-goal is the same as theirs. This business about “don’t wear crop tops because they make you look shorter” may indeed have merit in an aesthetic basis. I may very well appear shorter if I wore something like that because of the proportion that cropped line would visually “cut” my body in to.

The questions we have to poke at are do I care if it makes me look shorter, do I agree that it makes me look shorter, and what are the other factors happening in my own personal array of shapes and sizes that affect this advice?

For example: I happen to like the aesthetic of crop tops for myself because, even though I’m short, having that visual line run across the smallest part of my torso gives me a curvy shape that I’m quite happy with. And to be frank, this aligns culturally with the preference for women to have this sort of shape. Aesthetics and personal taste. It’s up to you.

Look at this photo: what do YOU think? And of course remember, I don’t care what you think, nor should you care what I think. Dress for your own joy, not someone else’s oppressive thoughts about what you should want. Be critical of that “need” language that pops up so much in this sort of advice. It’s insidious, so easy to read, take in, and have pick away at your sense of self.

First decide what YOU want your goal to be. If you agree that you want to look taller, then this is the advice for you. But if you don’t agree, don’t let it make you feel you have to want to be taller –  you NEED to be taller.

Getting into the Advice Articles

In a rare instance of a petite styling tips article that I think is pretty open and pretty much free of body shaming language and assumptions is this one from Buzzfeed. I appreciate how it takes a practical approach to some of these tips (ie: layers can cover some ill fit, don’t be afraid to take scissors to unwanted details), and I really appreciate that some of that “general rule” advice they give is actually explained. For example, “Cuffed sleeves (and a quick tuck) can break things up and emphasize shape” tells you why it’s making that suggestion, and the functional outcome of it. Same with this line, which I think you can imagine my crop-top-loving little heart fully agrees with: “Pair a fitted crop top with high-waisted skirts or shorts, says Gordon. This can help balance both halves without sacrificing shape.”

One of the consultants for that Buzzfeed article is Kelly of Alterations Needed. Her website is easy to navigate and thorough, but as with anything

Jean Wang of Extra Petite has a useful alterations section, where she outlines the way she alters off-the-rack clothes for her own petite body.

Sarah from Curvily is a petite plus fashion blogger who shares her OOTD and has a handy shopping guide that includes discussion on trends and fit with topics like “best plus size rompers of 2017” (find a great interview with Sarah here on the Curvy Fashionista)

This article includes shopping tips for petites from popular petite fashion bloggers, including some of the women we’ve mentioned above:

Kelly: Find a tailor in your area who understands your petite needs. It’ll make shopping easier when you know your tailor can work a few miracles for your figure!

Jean: Don’t limit yourself to solely the petite department. Train your eye to look for petite-friendly signs—I’ve found lots of gems in regular sizing. For instance, go for items that appear to be three-quarter length on models as these often fit well on a smaller frame.

Nadia:  before any shopping trip. If you’re not sure, it’s always best to go up a size and have a seamstress tailor the item to your body. That’s what I often do.

Find a list of other petite fashion bloggers here on Buzzfeed.

Jessica Torres has a fantastic post recently here on her blog where she wore “what she wasn’t supposed to” for her body type and felt fantastic in the outfit.

Question

Do you follow any fashion bloggers?

Resources

• Jessica Torres. I wore the Most Unflattering Outfit for my Body type. July 16, 2017. Accessed October 9, 2017.
• Nadia Aboulhosn. Accessed October 9, 2017.
• The Curvy Fashionista. FASHION BLOGGER FRIDAY: Curvily- A Petite Plus Fashion Blogger. July 4, 2014. Accessed October 9, 2017.
• Alterations Needed. Accessed October 9, 2017.
• Isis Briones. Instyle. 4 Petite Fashion Bloggers Share their Best Styling Tips. August 10, 2015. Accessed October 9, 2017.
• Nora Whelan. Buzzfeed. 17 Petite Fashion Bloggers who’ll give you Big Fashion Envy. February 1, 2017. Accessed October 9, 2017.
• Curvily. Accessed October 9, 2017.
• Budget Fashionista. The Best Petite Fashion Advice Ever! Accessed October 9, 2017.
• Melissa Harrison. Buzzfeed. 17 Super Useful Styling Tips for Women Under 5’4″. December 13, 2014. Accessed October 9, 2017.
• BombPetite. Petite fashion stylists share fashion tips: Part 1/2. Accessed October 9, 2017.

 

Our last post where we looked at our future pattern plans.
The #KnitPetiteProject plan.
All other #KnitPetiteProject posts.

The #KnitPetiteProject now has a Ravelry group. Join us!

SURVEY: Checking in with how you think the #KnitPetiteProject is going! Are we addressing your questions?

October’s focus for the #KPP is shopping for petites.

What to buy? Where to buy it? How and when to modify your current off-the-rack clothes?

Today, we’re starting with a good look-through our closets. What treasure (or, potential treasure) do we have right under our nose?

First off, let’s define “off-the-rack”:

off-the-rack
mass-produced clothing; purchased in a store; clothing not tailor made for a particular individual

So, for many folks, that’s the majority of their closet. For us crafty folks, we’re in a better position to alter that percentage and make our own items from scratch.

I’ve often been inspired by those individuals who do the whole “throw out all my closet” thing and produce their entire wardrobe by hand. Working with a clean slate must be so motivating!

And while I love that idea, there’s still the impulse in me to work with what I already have.

Working with your Closet: Sorting it out

I recently did a whole re-assessment of my wardrobe, using the following steps:

1. take it all out
2. try it all on
3. sort it all out

This task was, admittedly, a few days in the making. I tackled them by type: tops, dresses+skirts, pants, and other.

For step 1. take it all out, there’s a few points of value: seeing it all at once, and making (re)discoveries. This sometimes intimidating pile leads to the practical end of literally cleaning out the space (are there any dreaded clothes moths or carpet beetles lurking in the closet?), as well as de-emphasizing any incorrectly remembered value in the clothes. That is, you might be reluctant to chuck that white blouse because you’ve forgotten that you have about five of them.

It was step 2. try it all on that ate up the most time. There’s a couple reasons I’m not going to sit here and tell you that you have to get rid of anything that doesn’t fit you. For one thing, I recognize that there can be sentiment associated with stuff, and I don’t denigrate that at all (sorry, I’m no Marie Kondo-ite).

There’s also the very valuable point that we are makers and that some ill-fitting clothes may only need a bit of studied assessment and tweaking to become well-fitting clothes.

And finally, my favourite, step 3. sort it all out. I created five piles: keep, modify, store, pillage, donate.

• Keep: stuff that fit well, I want to wear, and/or is important to me
• Modify: stuff that didn’t fit well, but that I want to wear and feel I can fix
• Store: stuff that straight up doesn’t fit, I can’t/won’t modify, but I don’t want to part with
• Pillage: stuff that I’m happy to cut up and use in other ways (eg: cut off buttons and zippers)
• Donate: stuff that I don’t care about, doesn’t fit (and I don’t want to fix), or is a multiple of something I have plenty of

My donate pile was very small, and it felt good to throw all those far-too-small-pants into the “store” pile. I know they’re around if I want them, but I don’t have to look at them all the time now!

Something pretty important that came to light in this closet assessment was a particular jacket.

This jacket is going to be a guinea pig for me this month; it got sorted into the modify pile. It’s ill-fitting, but a very well-made article of clothing that is also pretty sentimental.

It’s one of my grandfather’s winter coats. It’s a wonderfully fuzzy corduroy with suede sections on the yoke, a sheepskin collar, and lovely quilted satin-y lining. And, while my grandfather wasn’t a very large man, he was still a man, and this jacket is certainly NOT shaped for my petite female frame. But man, I’d LOVE to make this jacket fit me!

This is the journey I’ll be sharing with you this month: Can I modify this men’s coat to fit my petite female frame? It’s a big challenge, but one I think will be a great example of what petite folks may have to consider when modifying clothing for their body.

Working with your Closet: The Modify Pile

Follow Along with My Modification Plans

My modify pile has plenty of items: skirts, dresses, tops, even bras. But for now, I’d like to share with you my plans for modifying my grandfather’s coat.

From this year of #KPP, I’ve learned a few things about fitting, my own shape, my own taste, and my own abilities:

• Amy Herzog’s CustomFit and other valuable resources helped me focus on proper measurements
• Pati Palmer and Marta Alto’s Body Graph in Fit for Real People helped me get a more objective understanding of my shape and proportions as compared to some off-the-rack clothing
• Some of the many essays and research from experts have opened up the world of sizing to me and shown that 1) NO ONE will have perfect fit off-the-rack, and 2) petite really do have particular concerns that are not being addressed in clothing, including knitting design

With this encouragement and list of tools, I know that:

I have narrow shoulders: this men’s jacket is going to need some serious re-structuring around that part of my body! Across the back, across each shoulder, narrowing the sleeve opening, and readjusting the sleeve cap/width incredibly!

I have a slightly short waist: because this is cut straight for a man’s body, I’ll have to add in some waist shaping. That said, the extra length may work to my advantage, as I’d like something about mid-thigh anyhow.

I have proportionally shorter arms: and by shorter, I mean shorter than a man! As you can see, the length of these sleeves need some attention.

But those are just items I’d determined I’ll need for my own modifications.

Things you should consider when sorting your modify pile

As I mentioned above, one of the most powerful tools I used this year for learning about shape, fit, my own taste, and gaining an objective point of view is the Body Graph from Fit for Real People.

This graph really helped bring my attention to the parts of my body that were different (and HOW they were different) from the sizing used in home sewing patterns.

Even if you don’t sew, this activity can show you in a very concrete way what your shape is, and the real distinctions and uniquenesses you have in relation to an established point of comparison.

Your personal plethora of shapes will be different from any other individual; that said, us petite folks sometimes share areas of fit concern. So, when you’re sorting items into YOUR “modify” pile, consider these common petite fit areas of concern and their possible alterations:

• Shoulder Width: do the shoulder seams droop down beyond the prominent bone on your shoulder?
• Armhole Depth: are sleeve caps too deep? This is particularly clear in a sleeveless top – can you see your bra band?
• Sleeve Length: are the lengths ending in a spot you’re happy with? Are there any details (eg: elbow patches) are are not in the place you think they should be?
• Neckline Depth: is the lowest point on the neckline showing more chest than you’d like?
• Neckline Width: do your bra straps keep showing? Particularly in the recently trendy off-the-shoulder style: does your top almost fall off because that neckline is so wide?
• Back Waist Length: are any belt loops/fancy waist details falling too far down on your body?

From the Modify Pile to the Keep Pile

Those pieces in the modify pile will get there is you both want them to fit differently, and are willing (or interested in learning how) to modify them

There’s loads of guidelines for altering clothing for different fit concerns. With what you’ve learned this year in the #KPP, you likely already have an idea as to what you’d like to alter, and perhaps an idea as to how.

A few places to learn the nitty-gritty next steps of altering include:

• sewing company websites: they can sometimes have free resources and fit guides (eg: Simplicity sewing pattern quick fit guide)
• crafting community/learning websites like Craftsy: these can have message boards where folks ask other particular questions, but also can include a regular schedule of helpful blog posts (Petite Sewing: Achieving a Perfect Fit, Finding the Perfect Patterns and Styles) and classes (Tailoring Ready-to-Wear, pretty much any class from Petite Plus sewing designer Kathleen Cheetham)
• petite fashion bloggers: after initially dismissing this group of folks (believing they’d just have aesthetic advice and personal opinions), I found that I was wrong. Petite fashion bloggers sometimes share tips about altering items at home (for those who don’t sew much or even at all!), when/if to take items to professional tailors, and have the added bonus of lists of manufacturer reviews, shopping tips, and inspiration (if you happen to find someone who meshes with your own style!)
  Check out these lists on Stylecaster, Buzzfeed, and Not Dressed as a Lamb.

We’ll be looking a bit further at some of these fashion bloggers in the coming weeks when we examine what to look for in off-the-rack clothes.

Question

Have you ever considered starting your wardrobe from scratch? Share your thoughts by hitting reply to this post!

Resources

• Craftsy. Accessed October 2, 2017.
• Craftsy. Petite Sewing: Achieving a Perfect Fit. March 31, 2013. Accessed October 2, 2017.
• Craftsy. Tailoring Ready-to-Wear. Accessed October 2, 2017.
• Palmer, Pati and Marta Alto. Fit for Real People. Palmer/Pletsch Publishing; 2 edition. September 2006.
• Amy Herzog, Craftsy class. Knit to Flatter. Accessed on April 17, 2017.
• Simplicity. Sewing Pattern Fit Guide. Accessed July 3, 2017.
• Stylecaster. 26 Petite Fashion Bloggers with Truly Amazing Style. Kristen Bousquet. January 2017. Accessed October 2, 2017.
• Buzzfeed. 17 Petite Bloggers who’ll give you Fashion Envy. Nora Whelan. Fabruary 1, 2017. Accessed October 2, 2017.
• Not Dressed as a Lamb. 10 Petite Fashion Bloggers with Amazing Style. January 2016. Accessed October 2, 2017.

The #KnitPetiteProject plan.
All other #KnitPetiteProject posts.

The #KnitPetiteProject now has a Ravelry group. Join us!

Hi everyone!

Quickly popping on here to let you know we have a mini survey up this month to make sure the #KnitPetiteProject is on track. You can reply to the survey below.

We’ll be going over the answers at the end of the month.

Thanks!