At Spitfire Petite, we believe that every woman should have access to clothes that won’t hold her back from whatever moves her! If you’re under 5’5” you know that can be a tall order. So we created Spitfire Petite.
If you are reading this blog post, you may already know that Spitfire Petite performance sportswear is meticulously designed to fit and flatter petite women, 5’4” and under. You may also know that each piece combines modern figure flattering style, technical details and innovative intelligent fabrics for the ultimate in athletic performance and apparel for your active, on-the-go lifestyles. Each piece is carefully engineered for petite proportions in the overall length, the rise, the waist and where the garments hit the knee and break at the ankle to keep you at the top of your game.
These facts alone make Spitfire Petite a one-of-kind company, but there is more to our business than what meets the eye. Here for the first time, we’re giving you a behind-the-scenes glimpse at some of the other things that make our company and apparel exceptional.
First off, we proudly manufacture all our garments in the USA. In fact, everything is designed in New York City and the greater Los Angeles areas, and manufactured in New York's garment district, with its rich history of ready-made clothing dating back 160+ years. Our factories were all carefully selected to ensure the highest quality garments; from their expertise in cutting patterns to ensure proper placement of prints on the finished piece, to high-quality stitching and flat seaming that is comfortable and won’t chafe.
We wanted to create apparel meticulously designed for petites that would combine the ultimate in athletic performance and would easily transition and function equally as well at the office, a casual dinner or brunch with friends. To accomplish that we choose intelligent high-tech fabrics sourced in the USA, Japan and Italy. Fabrics are stretchy for a wide range of motion and a comfortable fit, quick drying, breathable, UV protected, moisture wicking, toning and lightweight.
Our signature pink leopard print was created by our design team and is exclusive to Spitfire Petite. This fan-favorite was inspired both by nature and haute couture. It went through many iterations before we were satisfied that the artwork was perfect. Then we used a performance fabric as a base to print the fabric, also in New York’s garment district. It’s made of a lightweight stretch fabric with 3-dimensional structure that gives it a beautiful hand. We are delighted that our customers have made this print one of our best sellers and we are planning to design more prints for future collections.
It is well known that starting a company takes a founder with an entrepreneurial spirit willing to take the road less traveled. But every successful company relies on a village of passionate professionals dedicated to achieving the vision. Our brilliant head designer, Betsey Lee, makes sure that the proportions, silhouettes and every detail of our collection is crafted to perfection. Each piece is engineered for petite proportions in the overall length, the rise, the waist and where the garment hits the knee. The necklines, hemlines, and waist hit in the right place. The knee breaks in the right place. Darts are in the right spot and the armholes are proportioned so they won't reveal your undergarments. All of this means that garments fit perfectly with no alterations required and you can spend more time enjoying the people and things that you love.
And speaking of the perfect fit, that doesn’t happen without wear testing and fitting our garments multiple times throughout the development process. To that end, we work with an incredible petite fit model, Jennifer Piacenti, to ensure that everything about the design, cut, and fit is flawless. Jennifer is multi-talented and we love her for that. When she is not fitting clothes for Spitfire Petite, she is singing, acting, working out, and let’s not forget watching baseball. Then, to be sure our customers feel confident, comfortable and chic in our clothes, they’re all personally wear tested by our founder too.
Once all the details of each piece are perfected, then it is time to present the collection to our customers. We selected Kendal Riley Photography and her expert team along with three petite models to produce our first photo shoots. Kendal Riley DeLaura and her team Christina Chi Craig, photo assistant, Lauren Reid and Victoria McGrath of Vixavage as our makeup artists and Julia Reeser, stylist along with our models Vicki Vodar, Maria Mehalis and Sofia Santos to capture the look and the lifestyle that is Spitfire Petite and bring our brand to life.
Still in our first year of business, we are delighted to have such an incredible and talented team working together to achieve the vision of Spitfire Petite. Our goal is to put an end to shopping in the kid’s departments, having to settle for boring basics, and spending too much time and money on tailoring. Now, petite women have sophisticated, stylish, feminine, and sexy elite sportswear that fashionably blends form with function for the ultimate in petite athletic performance and ready-to-wear.
Please let us know any of your suggestions for making Spitfire Petite perfect for you and your lifestyle.
I am 5’1" and have been looking for well-made, youthful active wear that fits and flatters and is comfortable. However, I am turning 65 years old soon, and I would not wear most of your clothes even though they are beautifully designed and flattering, but for much younger women. Please consider us “baby boomers” and include styles that are fitted, but definitely not too tight, too low-cut, or too revealing. We are definitely staying active and want to look and feel good too! Thanks for your consideration.