Journal

Wondering what petite means in clothing? Petite simply means short in height. Learn if your height is considered petite, why petite sizing options can be so limited, and what it takes to design and make clothing for short women.

I've been short my entire life. All the way through school, I was guaranteed to be in the front row of every class photo! This means I'm quite used to people meeting me for the first time, and saying, "You're short!" (Believe me, it happens). And they're not wrong - compared to the average/mode/median of the population, whichever reference point you'd like to use -  I am short!  Here's the thing, I love being the height I am. Standing 151cm tall, I can use my fingertip-to-fingertip length as a handy guide when measuring up a space. I never have to worry about legroom. I never hit my head on any low overhanging branches or beams. More than all of those practical things, I've learned to be content in who I am and how I am. The world, however, can send some pretty suspect signals that being short is a liability. Just think of how we use the word "short" in everyday life: falling short; being short changed; getting the short end of the stick; shortcomings... the list goes on. Beyond language, many of the objects and systems we interact with every day are made with taller people in mind, for example, kitchen bench heights, supermarket shelves, chair depths, bathroom mirror placements. Even the airbags in our cars pose greater risks for shorter people (who generally sit closer to the steering wheel). It's understandable that objects and products need to be standardised according to averages. Even designing for the 95% of the population still leaves out millions of people! But as a short woman, I interact with products and objects every single day that were not designed with people like me in mind - including most women's clothing! So what does all this have to do with the word "short"? If you look around, most clothing ranges for women up to 160cm (5'3") are labelled as "petite". In English, we've borrowed the word "petite" from the French, meaning "small".  At On A Good Day, however, we wholeheartedly embrace the word "short". To us, the word "petite" is problematic for two main reasons: The word "petite" seems to be a euphemism. A euphemism is used to talk around something potentially offensive or unpleasant. Being "short" is not offensive or unpleasant. It's a perfectly good way to be! "Petite" can be confusing, as people tend to associate it with a slender body type, rather than as describing only height (which, technically, is what it's meant to mean). At the end of the day, maybe it's a small thing, but it matters to us. What do you think about the word "short"? Signing off,  Gill

Our ethos On A Good Day is here to solve a problem for short women, by providing clothing that is wonderful to wear. We know that the business of making products - particularly clothing - can also create or contribute to some other big problems for people and the environment. We want to tread as lightly as we can in the way we work with our suppliers, make and sell our pieces. We're also intentional in our marketing not to feed into narratives that drive overconsumption and waste. If you have feedback for us or thoughts on how we can do more (or less), please let us know. Our suppliers Our supply chain is one of the most important areas of our business. Our team has personal working relationships with our fabric and clothing suppliers. To date, we have visited one of our fabric suppliers, our dyer, and our stitch and sew manufacturer in person and inspected their facilities. We aim to do this with all of our suppliers over time. Our 100% organic cotton jersey fabric is knitted in Tamil Nadu, India. Our supplier is certified for OEKO-Tex Standard 100 (tested to be free from harmful chemicals), the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), and certified with Grade 'A' by the Worldwide Responsible Apparel Production (WRAP) (for standards of ethics and industry best practices). Our 97% organic cotton twill / 3% elastane blend is woven in Tamil Nadu, India. Our supplier is certified for the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS). Its facility is 100% solar-powered. Our pieces are stitched and sewn with in Jaipur, India. Our supplier is a SMETA 4-pillar member of Sedex. SMETA is an ethical trade audit that aims to safeguard workers and covers labour standards, health and safety, environmental performance and business ethics. Our fabrics We prioritise natural and certified organic fabrics, including organic cotton. We currently use small quantities of elastane in some of our fabrics. We are researching other (more) sustainable fabric options (such as responsibly sourced linen, wool and Tencel) for future collections. We welcome feedback and advice on our fabric selections. We use AZO free (non-toxic) dyes across our collection. We have researched natural dyes, but have decided not to use them in our collections for now, due to their impact on our customer experience, including fading and colour transfer. We are open to re-exploring this as technology develops. Our packaging We use minimal packaging on our products. The packaging that we do use comes from (more) sustainable sources, including recycled paper and FSC certified paper. Our shipping packaging is made from recycled content and is recyclable in your regular paper/cardboard recycling bin. We avoid using soft-plastic and non-recyclable packaging wherever we can. Our focus areas As a small business, we haven't yet reached a scale where we have resources to develop full life cycle analyses of our social and environmental impact. However, these are some areas we've identified as important and are focusing on next: Freight emissions Shipping packaging Sustainable fabric options Using data to refine our production runs Ongoing supplier sourcing and reviews

When fashion overlooks you Have you ever found a clothing brand, and liked what you were seeing, only to be left disappointed because nothing fits your frame properly? The sleeves hang past your fingertips. The hemlines drag on the floor. The armholes go for days. Everything seems designed for someone else. As a short woman myself, I've spent years tucking, rolling, and altering clothes just to achieve what taller women get straight off the rack: clothing that fits. What should be a simple shopping experience becomes a frustrating exercise in compromise. This shared experience among shorter women isn't just an inconvenience—it's a design oversight that affects so many women. And it was this oversight that sparked the creation of On A Good Day. From frustration to creation Our journey began while walking on a Sydney suburban street, where a simple question —"Why is it so hard for short women to find clothing that fits?"—sparked the idea to do something about it. We spent months researching, meeting with producers across India, designing, and getting feedback from Australian women their experiences, and testing of our early samples. What emerged was a clear pattern: shorter women were looking for quality pieces that matched their proportions.  Beyond "petite" One of the first decisions we made was to move away from the term "petite." While commonly used in the industry, we found that many women associated it exclusively with smaller body types across all dimensions. At On A Good Day, we recognise that shorter women come in all shapes and sizes—our focus is on creating proper proportions for height, not limiting the range of body types we serve. This isn't just about semantics. It's about building a brand that celebrates height diversity while acknowledging the specific design needs of shorter frames. Our clothes are proportioned differently from the ground up—not simply scaled-down versions of standard sizes. Our launch collection is available in sizes XXS, XS, S, M, L, XL, which covers approximately Australian women's sizes 4 to 14. We hope to expand our size offering with time. The origin of our first collection Our launch collection represents everything we stand for—foundation pieces for your wardrobe, crafted from quality organic fabrics, and in proportions specifically designed for short women. We test for comfort while sitting, reaching, and moving through a typical day.  I began with some serious comfort pieces: the Everyday Tee Dress, and Luxe Lounge Pants, both crafted from a beautiful light-mid-weight organic cotton jersey. The fabric construction gives a natural stretch and is super soft.  Next came pieces with a bit more structure, things you could easily wear on the weekend or at work, even a party. Our Classic Pants, the Gather Dress, the Breeze Mini Dress. I also wanted to include pieces that I have always wanted to wear: our Spruce Shirt Dress, and our Revel Jumpsuit. All of these designs are made from a beautiful mid-weight organic woven cotton, with a little elastane for added comfort. Looking forward On A Good Day isn't just about selling clothes. It's about creating a community where shorter women feel seen and celebrated. Where finding beautiful, well-fitting clothing isn't the exception but the expectation. As we grow, we're committed to listening to our community. Your feedback shapes our future collections and helps us refine our approach to proportions, fabrics, and styles. This is just the beginning of our journey to redefine fashion for shorter women. We're so glad you're here with us. Gill Pereira, Founder of On A Good Day Join our community by signing up for our monthly newsletter below. Be the first to receive styling tips, new collection announcements, and exclusive content. You'll also receive 10% off your first order.