Petite Pants & Jeans Tips

When it comes to pants and jeans, remember to always think VERTICALLY.

This is an art form.  You must visually elongate yourself in the vertical direction.  Avoid things which  break up the vertical silhouette you are trying to create.  Bringing in horizontal lines in the wrong places will be your undoing. Vertically elongating your look is not about wanting to be taller or thinner. The idea is to create balance through your clothing choices.   Dressing to visually lengthen the legs is one of the most ideal ways to accomplish this.

Rise:

The rise of the pants is the space between the crotch and the top of the waistband. There are 3 types of rise: high rise, mid rise, and low rise.

High rise: High rise pants extend above your natural waistline and create the illusion of longer legs.  High rise pants can also hold in the “muffin top” – I personally love high rise workout leggings for this reason.   However, if you have a short torso or a full bust, high rise pants may present difficulties, such as making a short torso look even shorter.  

Mid rise:  Mid rise pants fit between high and low rise and may also be called original rise, regular rise, or medium rise.  This rise also works well for petite women.  I personally love mid rise jeans for my body type in particular (apple shape) because I feel likes it holds my stomach in enough without being uncomfortable (some high rise denim without enough stretch is too uncomfortable for me because it presses on my waist).  I also have a large bust, and mid rise pants help extend my leg lines vertically while preserving my torso.  

Low rise:  I recommend avoiding low rise pants for petites for the simple reason being that they make already short legs look even shorter.  Call me old fashioned, but I also personally think it is unprofessional to see underwear, particularly in the workplace, especially thong underwear, making a bold appearance while sitting down in low rise pants.  

Inseam:

Inseam is the length of the inner leg measured from the crotch to the ankle.  Knowing this number is helpful for determining how long your pants and jeans should be.  One way to measure inseam length is to take an existing pair of pants that fit well and take the measurement.

Many brands will have this number listed on their clothing descriptions, but not always.  If you end up with a pair of pants or jeans that end up being a little too long, you can always try wearing a heel (which also will visually elongate your legs).

Strategies to vertically elongate:

• Choose high waisted  or at minimum, mid rise pants
• Match shoe color with pants color, such as black shoes with black pants) or wear nude or lighter color shoes with lighter color pants
• Styles such as flare, bootcut, straight, and jeggings typically work very well on petite women. Boots or heels also look great with these styles.

Things to avoid:

• Low rise pants, skirts, and shorts. These will make your legs look even shorter.
• Cropped pants, especially wide leg cropped pants
• Patches, holes, and bling on jeans (a solid wash will draw the eye upward)
• Pants with wide flares 

If you do wear pants with a wide flare, I recommend going a little longer (like to the floor) and wearing them with heels.  I also recommend trying these types of pants with a flowy fabric to visually contain the width.