Lunch last week took me to the Fashion District, where I lunched with Lynn Colclough, designer of the new petite clothing line Balzac over sushi at the ever-bustling California Mart. She introduced me to her line and her thoughts on petite sizing.

As a petite woman herself, Lynn is all too familiar with the struggle to find well-fitted clothing—not just for the short woman, but also for the petite woman with curves. It is this passion for quality and style that inspired the idea of Balzac Clothing.

The newly launched site of BalzacClothing.com fulfills the need of petite women to have trendy, fashionable clothing without compromise. This isn’t your Ann Taylor or J.Crew run-of-the-mill collection. Its debut, 2008 Spring/Summer line is replete with sexy and comfortable designs for after work.

Everything about Balzac is lovely and feminine. Colorful prints, comfy cotton and designs that accentuate all the right places. Lynn met me in her Joanny dress, and she rocked it.

“We strive to push a bit beyond the basic and hope to enhance the petite woman’s wardrobe. We believe that the petite woman should have many options for any occasion. So whether you’re a size 0 or 10, the petite woman should be able to express her special style without sacrificing fit, or creativity. Our style of clothes is yours to represent the best of you and how you want to be seen.”

We talked endlessly about petite sizing, the denotation of the word ‘petite’ and how we dislike it. As you know, 40% of American women are 5′4″ or less in height. Yet, the clothing manufacturers have neglected the petite clothing market. Many department stores have either eliminated their petite department or their petite presence seems to lack variety and a contemporary approach to style. Even the upscale boutiques do not carry women’s petite clothing. Balzac Clothing hopes to bridge that gap and provide contemporary petite women’s clothing. Which, as you know, is a huge gaping hole.

Balzac Clothing’s goal is to become a leading brand of contemporary fashion for petite women worldwide. Future plans for expansion includes a petite maternity and active wear line for petite women. The company also plans to be in clothing boutiques in the U.S. and around the world.

Until then, you can purchase Lynn’s petite designs on her Web site. I’ll be sure to keep you in-the-know on her debut in local boutiques. Oh, and I must mention her line is made in L.A. Wait there’s more! She writes a petite fashion blog. Yet another reason to check out Balzac!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 1st, 2008 at 12:00 am and is filed under Designers, Dresses. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.