A look from the Adela Mei summer lookbook
Though petite shoppers may be small, they’re usually not content with the small selection of petite options at mainstream retailers (although Anthropologie is trying to remedy the situation in their own way). San Francisco’s Adela Mei is giving those shoppers a new way to shop. The online retailer is focusing solely on clothing that will fit — and flatter — smaller frames. With a focus on contemporary labels and clean, modern silhouettes, Adela Mei takes away the inconvenience of alterations and brings petite women a huge selection for work and play.
A look from the Adela Mei summer lookbook
“Nurturing our entrepreneurial spirits and our obsession for fashion,” says Stacy Leung, co-founder of the site. “We knew we had to create Adela Mei to honor a great idea for the often over-looked stylish petite woman.”
Leung, along with her business partner Sasha Moyer, decided to open Adela Mei after struggling to find fashionable clothes in department stores and having to alter just about everything they bought or returning items that just didn’t fit right. The name of the e-boutique comes from their grandmothers, both of whom were petite and fashionable as well.
The Adela Mei site shows each and every piece on offer modeled on a petite model (generally speaking, other sites will photograph clothes on a model that’s about 5’10”) and Leung and Moyer provide precise measurements and details with every product listing. They even test out the items themselves, bringing a razor-sharp focus to the site and only offering the pieces that they both love.
A look from the Adela Mei summer lookbook
The duo have opposing senses of style — Leung is all about comfortable classics while Moyer is a proponent of taking risks and trying out the latest in fashion — which gives the site a broad assortment that’s both functional and fashion-forward. Shoppers can shop by style (girly, sporty, romantic and more) or by product type. The site offers a great mix of pieces from bigger labels such as Shades of Grey by Micah Cohen and Line and Dot as well as under-the-radar brands such as N/TICE and Cameo.
“We don’t believe in rules and champion riskier pieces,” says Moyer. “With our international perspective, we are always looking beyond the city we live in for style and fashion and we are constantly on the hunt for new designers and talented people from across the globe.”
In addition to showing the clothing on models, Adela Mei’s website also features the site’s standout looks in seasonal lookbooks that are shot on a 5’4” model, giving customers inspiration and a peek at how the clothes look in the brand’s San Francisco environs. Non-petite women are also encouraged to take some fashion inspiration from the lookbooks and shop Adela Mei, too, since many pieces are offered in a full size range, petite and regular.
For more information and to shop the site, visit www.adelamei.com.
Images courtesy Adela Mei
