Petite Dressing Tips That Will Make You Shine

First, why buy petite?

Welcome petite women! We have so much to offer the world. Unfortunately, the world isn’t offering us much in terms of clothing. There aren’t many brick and mortar shops offering all petite options.  Some stores have a petite section, but it is usually very limited and in many cases, picked over.  If you feel like going to the mall to shop for petite clothes is a waste of time, you’re likely right.

In the clothing world, manufacturers have designed the vast majority of clothing for women who are 5’4” in height and above.  For someone shorter than 5’4”, this fact presents many challenges.  Petite women typically have shorter legs, arms, and torsos.  Many have narrower shoulders.  Therefore, when wearing regularly sized clothing, petite women notice that the lengths of sleeves, pants, dresses, and skirts are too long. Details like placement of where the armholes, knees, and crotch should be are off.  It’s not just about lengths!  If the waist and crotch are too low on a jumpsuit for example, hemming the piece will not solve the problem.

It’s about proportions.

Petite clothing is designed to take into account a smaller proportion to accommodate a smaller frame. Well-designed petite pieces will scale properly the shoulders, torso, and limbs.  In pants, the rise and inseam will be adjusted to accommodate for a smaller torso and leg length.  I’m always amazed that petite sweaters end at my wrists. In fact, I’m always amazed when anything I try on that is sized for a petite frame works better.  Thankfully, we do have options – we just have to dig deeper to find them.

That being said, not all petites are created equal.  You may be under 5’4” and have longer legs and a shorter torso.  You may have shorter legs and a longer torso.  You may find that some things work for you in regularly sized clothes, and that’s great!  Don’t give that up – keep your options open.

However, you may find it worth your time and energy to be selective about what you buy, as well with where and how you shop for clothes.  Having a fantastic tailor is indispensable – but the costs quickly add up.  Why not buy something that is scaled for you in the first place?

A Word About Body Types

In the realm of fashion, there are no rules.  You are entitled to your personal style, and you should enjoy that! Wear what you are comfortable in. Wear clothes that boost your confidence.  Enjoy discovering what you love.

Luckily, there are tips available to help your clothes help you. There are benefits to dressing for your body type in terms of comfort as well as presenting yourself in the best possible light.  I recommend taking some time to assess your body type and learn which clothing styles, cuts, prints, and even which types of fabric work best for you.   I also recommend color draping and discovering which color season you reside in to help you learn what colors work best for you to wear.  We are all unique – you may find that you have multiple categories that describe you.  I, for example, am a 5’2” petite woman weighing in at 110 lbs. with half of that weight in my bra (not really, but some days it feels like it).  Even when I am in peak physical shape, I lean towards having a round/apple body type – I have no hopes of ever having a snatched waist.  On top of that, I am in the light spring color palette.  A fashion challenge trifecta if there ever was one. For me, I have found it extremely helpful to research what works best for someone who is petite with an apple body type and large bust.

Here are some general body types that women fall into:

• Rectangle/straight
• Round/apple
• Large Bust
• Hourglass
• Pear/Triangle
• Inverted Triangle

As this is a website designed for petites, most advice offered will be for the petite category.  There are many resources available online in terms of the color seasons.  Happy learning!

Another good use of time is to know your body measurements.  These will help you determine what size of clothes to buy, especially when ordering petite clothing online.

• Bust – To measure your bust, wrap a soft tape measure around your back and across the fullest part of your chest.  Keep your bra on and wear a bra that provides good shape and support (and preferably is not padded).

• Waist – To measure your waist, wrap a soft tape measure around the narrowest part of your waist.

• Hips – To measure your hips, measure around the fullest part of your hips and buttocks.  Stand with your feet together and toes pointing forward.

• Rise & Inseam – One way to measure inseam length is to take an existing pair of pants that fit well and take the measurement.  The measurement from the crotch to the hem is the inseam length.

Petite Tips in a Nutshell

The key piece of knowledge to dressing as a petite woman is this: you must start thinking 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.

Strategies to vertically elongate:

• Wear one-piece styles like jump suits or dresses
• Choose high waisted pants and skirts
• Elevate the waistline with A-line, wrap, empire waist, and high belted styles
• Embrace monochromatic dressing (wearing the same color or color blocking on top and bottom)
• Match shoe color with pants color, or wear nude shoes with shorts or shorter skirts and dresses
• Incorporate vertical details such as slits
• Wear well fitted styles and consider cropped outerwear
• Choose full length pants in styles such as flare, bootcut, straight, and jeggings.  Try wearing them with boots!
• Wear shoes with heels.  Pumps and sandals are your friends.

Things to avoid:

• Low rise pants, skirts, and shorts. These will make your legs look even shorter.
• Cropped pants, especially wide leg cropped pants
• Slouchy boots
• Oversize or puffy coats
• Patches, holes, and bling on jeans (a solid wash will draw the eye upward)
• Pants with wide flares (if you must, try a flowy fabric to obscure the width)
• Large, loud, and busy prints
• Big, bulky, chunky shoes

Here is a photo showing a woman with a hem of her top that is far too low (lowering the waistline), and another hem of her pants that is too high on the leg.  The visual effect is a very short leg.  Don’t wear this.

Here are some good examples of monochromatic dressing. The high waistline of the jumpsuit is doing a great job of making the legs look longer.

Consider vertical details in your clothing to draw the eye upward.

The print of this dress is too large – the eye is drawn to the huge print instead of the person wearing the dress.

Tips for Petite Dresses

• A-line, wrap, empire waist, and belted dresses (think of creating/vertically lifting your waistline) are typically universally successful for petite women.  Don’t shy away from maxi dresses either!
• Midi dresses are a danger.  The hem of a midi dress lands between the ankle and knee.  This introduces a badly placed horizontal line that has the effect of making your legs look shorter.  On a petite person, this is not ideal. However, you may be able to pull off a regular sized midi dress if it lands closer to your ankle, essentially becoming a maxi dress.
• Incorporate slits – these are excellent vertical details that visually elongate the legs.
• Avoid dresses that are bulky or busy. Complicated designs and patterns tend to overwhelm your frame, so consider avoiding those as well.
• Dresses that are too loose will overwhelm you, as well as dresses that are too puffy.
• A petite sized dress will help bring the waistline higher on your body, thus elongating you vertically.

The following photo shows how an elevated waistline on a dress gives the illusion of longer legs.

I love the A-line cut of this dress, great hemline location, and the clear/nude shoes.

The hem of this midi dress visually cuts off the leg length.

Tips for Petite Jumpsuits

Say yes to fitted, self-tie, belted and wrap jumpsuits, as well as jumpsuits that have an elevated waistline. Solid colors will be look fantastic on you.

As with other petite clothing, avoid large prints – they tend to be too overwhelming on a small frame.

Remember: get a petite size so the proportions, rise, and length will work for you!

Tips for Petite Coats

The best coat lengths for petite women are knee length and maxi. These will hit your leg at just the right spot to keep your overall look proportional.

Wrap coats and belted coats are fantastic options as well.  Placing the belt above your natural waist will help your legs appear longer.

Trench coats can be an excellent option but proceed with caution if you have a large bust. Double breasted coats or coats with added details on the top of the body can have the effect of adding more visual weight where you do not want that visual weight placed.

For maxi coats, choose one that is well fitted to keep the overall volume down.  Wool or cashmere are excellent fabric options for maxi coats.  Consider having the length be longer than your midcalf but not too long as to be overwhelming.  These maxi coats look great with heels!

Avoid puffers as these can overwhelm your frame.

Tips for Neckline and Tops

Elongate your body vertically by choosing a neckline that helps you achieve this.  Do this by choosing a V neck, sweetheart, asymmetric, scoop, halter, or square neckline.

Finding a top in a petite size is very beneficial in that your sleeves will not be too long or sloppy looking. Better yet, the armpit holes will be in the right place.

¾ sleeves look great on petites as well!

Tips for Skirts

Skirt options that work well on petite women include high waisted, A-line, mini, and maxi. If you do choose a mini skirt, consider avoiding pairing this with a revealing top.  Don’t reveal all your assets at once!

Mix up the details in your skirts with slits and asymmetrical hemlines. Avoid busy, loud, and large prints.

Remember that midi lengths are difficult because of the location of the hemline- it just does not fall in an ideal spot.  If you can pull off a midi length from regular sizing and it lands near your ankle, you may be able to work it out.

Consider fitted tops or tucking in your top when wearing a skirt. If you can pull off a crop top, good on you!  I wish I could!

Tips for Shoes

Petite ladies, remember who you are and what you are working with.  Avoid introducing horizontal lines on your legs through your shoe choices – there is risk of breaking up your vertical silhouette.

Say yes to shoes with pointed toes. These shoes elongate your legs beautifully. Low vamp shoes (shoes that show toe cleavage) are a yes for you too!

Wearing shoes that are the same color as your pants is a great strategy to elongate the legs.  Booties work well on petite women. Nude colored shoes will serve you well.

Try not to wear shoes with ankle straps – the strap will interrupt the vertical lines you are trying to achieve.  Ankle straps cut off your visual leg length when you need it most! If you can’t avoid an ankle strap, choose a skinny one or use it on a nude colored shoe.

Square or round toe shoes are not as flattering, so proceed with caution.

Other types of shoes to avoid include platforms and bulky shoes. Chunky heels and wedges also add too much bulk and draw your eye downward.  If you must have a wedge shoe, get a thinner wedge to reduce visual heaviness.

Lastly, gladiator and strappy sandals tend to work against petite interests – there are simply too many horizontal lines added to your legs, which cut off length visually.

Tips for Boots

Boots that work well for petite women:

• Booties
• Ankle Boots
• Knee high boots
• Over the knee boots

Knee high boots are a gorgeous option that are fantastic for us petite gals! However, it is fraught with challenges.  We must find a shaft height that hits right under the knee.  But when you’ve got short legs, this is difficult.  If you can find a boot with a shaft height under 15.5 inches, give it a try.  If your petite body type has long legs, you may be able to get away with 16 inches.  But if your legs are short, a 14-15 inch shaft would be better.

Boots to avoid:

• Slouchy boots
• Bulky or chunky boots
• Midcalf boots

As with your shoes, choose boots with pointed toes and either nude colors or colors that match your pants.

Midcalf slouchy boots.  Bad.