Best Clothing Stores for Asian American Women

Find Trendy Clothes that Fit Right!

Source: AsianAmericans.com
By Kassidy Emmerson
February 15, 2006

When women walk into a clothing store, they want to find fashions that fit their individual forms. Unfortunately, most clothing manufacturers have a "one size fits all attitude". And that attitude doesn't work when it comes to clothing many women, especially Asian-Americans. The women of this culture come from such places as China, Japan, Hawaii, or other Pacific Islands. They tend to have petite, and sometimes curvaceous, body styles. "Off the rack" fashions are often too long in the legs, arms, or they're just too baggy.

In the fashion industry, tall, larger framed women have long been accommodated. Some brands such as Ralph Lauren and Banana Republic are designed for the taller females of the world. But what about the Asian-American women who, on the average, wear a size 6 or smaller?

After realizing the increase in the Asian-American population, and noting the added buying power they possess, some stores are finally changing their clothing lines in order to accommodate these female shoppers. One of the largest retailers in particular is Sears. Sears has come up with the idea of "multicultural stores" in order to supply Asian-American women, as well as other minorities, with the designs, styles, and sizes of clothing they want. Designers for Sears have turned up the volume on color, added form-fitting Lycra to the materials, and have reduced clothing sizes. Out of their 870 stores across the United States, the retailer is changing 97 of them to this new type of cultural outlet. These stores are conveniently located in areas where at least 60 per cent of the shoppers are minorities.

To find the location of one of these outlets, log on to the Internet and type "www.sears.com" in your favorite search engine.

Another retailer who is trying to provide the clothing that petite Asian-American women are yearning for is J.C. Penney. J.C. Penney's thick catalog offers most of its clothing in petite sizes. The age-old retailer has also added Asian models to its pages in an effort to be more representative of the ethnic culture.

Women who are interested in checking out this retailer's clothing lines can browse online. Or you can request one of their catalogs by logging onto www.jcpenney.com on the Internet. You can also find the location of the nearest J.C. Penney outlet on their web site.

While Sears and J.C. Penney seem to be leading the way when it comes to attractive, form-fitting clothing for today's Asian women, other companies are competing in the race as well. Nordstrom, for example, is another age-old company that offers petite sizes. Their outfits for women start at a small size 2. The company has even expanded the petite departments in some of their stores in order to meet customer's needs.

Nordstrom has been in business since 1901. Based in Seattle, Washington, they offer women's styles in name brands such as A Wish, Anne Klein, Nine West, Ralph Lauren, and Misook, just to name a few. They offer a variety of slacks, dresses, sweaters, blouses, blazers, skirts, and outfits, as well as accessories that will match or jazz up any outfit.

You can find this clothing store on the Internet at www.nordstrom.com. Or, you can phone them at 1-888-282-6060. You can shop online or you can request that a catalog be sent to you.

Asian American females who are seeking jeans and other clothing that fits them correctly can also shop at the ever-popular Gap. This clothier prides itself on offering jeans that fit any size or type of body, from curvy to straight. They also have a petite department that offers their customers a wide variety of items that start at size zero.

You can shop online at www.gap.com, or you can visit one of their many outlets.

And finally, the rise in the Asian-American population in the United States has also spawned specialty clothing stores as well. Women who want to add a snazzy, yet more cultural look to their wardrobes can shop at places like Lychees Gone Wild, (www.lycheesgonewild.com.) This business was started by entrepreneur Jane Liaw in 2003 as a way to promote Asian pride. Liaw specializes in tee shirts that have catchy slogans on them such as, "“Control your tempura!”

You can find other specialty clothing shops that appeal to the Asian culture by performing a search on the Internet.