trulypetite.com

Here are some definitions:

Defintion of Petite

1.  American Heritage Dictionary

pe·tite  

ADJECTIVE:

Small, slender, and trim. Used of a girl or woman. See Synonyms at small.

NOUN:

A clothing size for short slender women.

ETYMOLOGY:
French, feminine of petit ; see petite

2. Merriam Webster:

¹pe·tite

Function:

adjective

Etymology:

French, feminine of petit

Date:

1784

: having a small trim figure —usually used of a woman

3. Dictionary.com

pe·tite       /pəˈtit/ Pronunciation Key -

–adjective

–noun

[Origin: 1705–15; < F; fem. of petit ]

4. Yourdictionary.com

petite Definition

pe·tite· (pə tēt′)

adjective

small and trim in figure: said of a woman

petite Synonym References

small

Clothing labeled “Petite” is supposed to be specifically designed and cut for women whose arms and legs are shorter than the average.  The sleeves, inseams, pants crotch, and skirt lengths are shorter.  In addition, high-quality petite clothing also scale down things like the size of collars, jacket lapels, torso lengths, and even the size of patterns and prints on fabric.

All these things are key to identifying clothing that look and fit well for the smaller woman.

Some designers have both a petite line and a short line.  Typically there is a 1 to 2 inch difference in the inseam length of the pants.  A good example is Levi’s Jeans.  Their petite jeans have a 29-inch inseam while their petite short jeans have a 27½-inch inseam.  Also, their average and junior jeans in short have a 30-inch inseam.  Any of these lengths might work for a petite woman.  So, know your inseam!

The clothing in the kids or girls department is not cut for a mature woman.  They are straight and boxy.  For instance, girl’s pants are generally disproportionate to the size of a woman.  In other words, if the length fits then the waist will be too big and vise versa.  In addition, they are designed to appeal to children.  The color schemes, patterns, and prints are juvenile and, for lack of a better word, cutesy.         

Juniors clothing have similar problems for adult women.  However, some things in that department might work for petite women who are at the top rung of petite height ladder.

Petite sizes range from P00 - P14, and from XXS – PL.  However, most retailer who sell petite clothes start their lines at a size P4 and sometimes even P6.  So don’t bother looking for an extra small in those stores.

Because clothing manufacturers have to scale down the size of clothing for petite women, they sometimes offset the cost of additional designs, patterns, cutting, etc. by passing on to the consumer.

A number of designers have decided to cater to the woman who has a very large ego and wants to convince others and herself that she is smaller than she really is.  Since the world seems to be consumed with being thin, some women like to boast that they are a size or two smaller than they really are.  So the designers cut their clothing bigger than they should.  Hence what should be a size 6 is labeled a size 2 or a 4.  Great for the size 6 woman who wants to be smaller, not so great for the size 2 woman who now has no clothes that fit.  This is something to look out for when shopping for your small size.  If it looks like it couldn’t possibly be a small size it probably isn’t.