Dear amazing petite gals everywhere,
As you've all heard, the trade situation between the US and my home country of China took a turn for the worse last week. It is a sad time for me as a Chinese American and for all of us on team Petite. Our brand is impacted with the tariffs and we want to be open about the steps we are taking in response.
In short, I am writing to share that (1) we are thrilled to be accelerating our transition to primarily natural fabrics! And (2) we will be implementing a tariff price increase next week on April 21st.
First, regarding our exciting transition to natural fabrics. Over the past 24 months I heard from many of you that natural fabrics were important to you. Natural fabrics have been more difficult for us to source, but we are now partnering with some amazing natural fabric mills with outstanding quality. We are thrilled to announce that most of our Spring and Summer 2025 styles incorporate natural fabrics, with even more to come in 2026! Cottons, linens, wools... you name it.
Secondly, as a part of this transition to higher-priced natural fabrics, and in response to the tariff situation, we will be raising our prices.
We know that higher prices are hard for everyone. So let me explain the reasons.
Ethical supply chain has always been a priority for me. Our first factory (and still our primary factory) is in my hometown in Zhejiang, China. It is managed by a personal friend of mine and staffed with people that I know and care about. Having grown up in China before moving to New York City for school, I knew that I wanted to support my hometown community with our supply chain. I am proud to still source our amazing product from a community of people that are near and dear to my heart. You can see some pictures and read about our Factory here.
By planting permanent roots with our supply chain, it also allowed us to have more say in the quality and composition of our collections. This was critical to us as a Slow Fashion brand. It simply resulted in a better, longer-lasting product.
As a result of these deep roots, it is not realistic for us to simply uproot our supply chain and move to a different country. Our personal friendship and relationship with our factory is deep. Moving would certainly negatively impact the quality of our product, and we simply are not willing to risk it.
As a result we will be paying the new tariffs on China. We wish the situation were different, but we must accept the decision that our leadership has made.
We wanted you our amazing customers to have a last chance to shop our old prices before they increase. This week will be the last chance before prices start to increase on April 21st.
My dream with Petite Studio has always been to make long-lasting, investment pieces that offer fabulous petite women the best fit anywhere. Thank you for partnering with me in this dream and helping make it a reality.
All my best,
