The founders
Our story
We make petite dress pants for work, and we made them for ourselves first, because we know how frustrating it is to find a pair that actually fits.
Elizabeth is a physician and 4 feet 11 inches. Denise is 5 feet 2 inches and has been an entrepreneur since her teens. Two different builds, the same problem with every pair of pants.
We are both Filipino immigrants. Most of the women we grew up around are petite too, so a pair of pants that needed shortening was just normal to us.
But petite women do not get taller when the size goes up, and the pants on the rack are still drawn for someone taller. The leg runs long no matter which one we take home. We stopped waiting for that to change and made our own.
Where we started
Why dress pants came first
We needed dress pants for work, so that is where we started. For a petite woman, dress pants are one of the hardest things to buy off the rack, because both the length and the rise have to be right. We are building toward a shop where everything on the rack is already ours, and this is the first piece.
The standard we hold
We set out to make dress pants that feel right on a petite woman and stay in her closet for years.
Flattering
Cut to fit petite proportions, so the line feels right on our frame.
Timeless
Made in colors and a shape we would keep reaching for, season after season.
Comfortable
Made to feel easy through the day, without losing its shape.
Where they are made
Cut and sewn in Los Angeles
Made in the USA of imported fabric.
We had a new pattern made for a petite frame, with the waistband cut to sit at your natural waist and the same 26.5-inch length carried across every size.
We cut and sew these petite dress pants in Los Angeles, at our manufacturer there. Every pair is inspected before it ships, with the waistband checked to lie flat and the length measured.
When you open the box, you are opening something two petite women made because they needed it to exist.
The heritage
The winged mark is an alate.
Our mark draws on our Filipino heritage and the lines of Baybayin.
Our mission is to design timeless pieces cut to a petite woman's proportions, so her wardrobe fits her and works together.
To us, a polished petite wardrobe is one where the pieces already fit, work together, and are easy to reach for. Getting dressed should feel straightforward, and your clothes should be one less thing to manage in your day.
More questions? Read our FAQ.
About The Petite Standard
The Petite Standard is a petite-only clothing brand in the United States, started in 2026 by two Filipino petite women who immigrated from the Philippines, Elizabeth Cadag and Denise Chicano, who design timeless pieces cut for petite proportions.
Its first product is a pair of petite dress pants for work, designed to a 26.5-inch length at every size and made for petite proportions. They are cut and sewn in Los Angeles, in two colors, Espresso and Midnight.
- Price $295 a pair.
- Sizes XS, S, M and L.
- Colors Espresso and Midnight.
- Length Designed to a 26.5-inch length at every size.
- Made Cut and sewn in Los Angeles, of imported fabric.