Shopping for clothes (and shoes) when you’re a short ass might just be one of the biggest struggles of any elf women’s life. When clothes are created for the catwalk they typically fit women who can reach to 6 foot. Simmering down to the high street brands and they shoot down to about 5’7”. Considering 70% of the female population in the world are 5’5” or under what the hell are shops doing catering to those 30%’s? I don’t understand why petite is even a thing. If anything clothes fitting girls above 5’7” should be counted as tall, right? What the hell is going on?
As a child saying I was short is an understatement. For my high school life 95% of the time I was the shortest girl in the room. I can’t say I minded too much, until everyone had growth spurts, and didn’t need I.D. At 19 I have genuinely been mistaken for an 8 year old. Yes by an elderly women but still, eight. Mainly in this post I’d like to provide advice on shopping when you’re size 5’4” and below. When I was a teenager this is the kind of thing I needed to know, instead of wearing size L men’s shirts.
This post is advice; I don’t want to tell you what you should wear. As a petite woman I see a lot of articles/adverts/tips telling me what I ‘shouldn’t’ wear. I mean c’mon if I want to wear big blocky patterns then fuck you I’m gunna do it. If we listened and obeyed every article on petite shopping then there’s nothing you can wear without being ‘wrong’. That’s another thing that bugs me. The style guides out there for petites are usually pretty warped.
So this is my no-nonsense, no bullshit, clean-scraped view of shopping when you’re petite. Hold on to your hats.
Things that have worked for me in the sense of extending my body are high-waisted skinny jeans. I have a fairly long body, just stubby legs, so elongating my legs in spite of my torso give me a little extra. I also generally avoid anything but skinny jeans, although I have been dipping into the destroyed boyfriend jean trend.
I absolutely hate wearing horizontal lines. The first time I tried on a black and white striped top I looked like I’d gone from a size 8 to size 12. Personally I stick to vertical lines which can extend the body. The Get EvenTwo Piece Set from Beginning Boutique is a dream in term of stripes. Even though it’s not petite it’s a piece I’d definitely risk. The not-so-straight lines give it a modern unique edge.
Above horizontal lines on my ‘to hate’ scale are jumpsuits. I know some petite women can pull these off and look like badass bitches but anytime I’ve tried one on I look ten times smaller and frumpier than Santa Claus. For those of you who can/want to rock wearing a jumpsuit try to stay away from patterns, a solid colour will be more favourable (apparently). Cinching your waist in with a thin belt will also help.
A petite body usually comes hand in hand with petite feet. And when I say petite I mean you have to shop in the kids section to buy shoes that fit. Although there are some upsides to this, like the fact that kids shoes are a lot cheaper, it does mean that there is little choice in what you can buy that looks 'womanly'. Thankfully there are a few stores which save us from this, my top choice being Zara. As well as selling a beautiful array of shoes from cosmopolitan heels to beachy sandals they do a range of sizes which quite frankly I was surprised at.
A petite body usually comes hand in hand with petite feet. And when I say petite I mean you have to shop in the kids section to buy shoes that fit. Although there are some upsides to this, like the fact that kids shoes are a lot cheaper, it does mean that there is little choice in what you can buy that looks 'womanly'. Thankfully there are a few stores which save us from this, my top choice being Zara. As well as selling a beautiful array of shoes from cosmopolitan heels to beachy sandals they do a range of sizes which quite frankly I was surprised at.
From my experience tops have never really been an issue. If they’re long-sleeved I tend to like the extra length. I know some more structured tops look better when the shoulders and arm holes are more fitting.
Where to shop
The first place I ever bought petite clothing from is Topshop, and still to this day it stands as my favourite store. The main item I buy from here are the jeans, which they (thankfully) have a wide range of. The clothes are incredibly stylish, on trend and age appropriate. I can never understand stores that decide their petite section should be for women who want to dress like their in their 40’s or tweens.
Hallelujah, a store with petite directly in the head banner. Banana Republic doesn’t make a big deal out of their amazing diversity. They don’t advertise with “hey guys, look, we’re catering to the little people now, I mean there’s not much to choose from, but points for us yeah?” It’s no fuss with the choices of any other online store.
Personally I’ve never shopped at Nordstrom and it’s not particularly my style, but I’ve heard some pretty good things. Most petite fashion bloggers I’ve come across have specifically mentioned this online store as being their go-to for clothing. If you’re going for a more conserved look then you’ll have to up your budget to shop here.
Want more? Check out BombPetite – a blog dedicated to petite women. They’ve compiled a list of the best places to shop.
Sometimes, if you want to get that perfectly fitting dress, you have to resort to tailoring. It’s not something you should have to do regularly however, only for those key pieces that are a one in the lifetime opportunity; that Louis Vuitton dress you’ll wear every month, those perfect jeans that fit almost just right, your wedding dress.
Hem jobs for petite clothing are quite common, and annoyingly fussy. If you’re going to tailor a skirt with a patterned hem be mindful that you’re going to lose the very pattern hat you paid so much for. As for jeans tailoring is simple, but you could always just roll up the bottom.
AlterationsNeeded is a blog completely dedicated to petite fashion. They have a very thorough section of DIY tailoring to guide you through your own alterations.
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Honestly I want to see a store that does nothing but petite clothing. If most of the population is petite then surely you won't lose out on too much money, would you? Let us have a place that supermodels can’t shop. I’m sick of seeing petite outfit descriptions saying that the model is 5’9” and wearing blah blah in petite. ASOS what makes you think that watching a leggy model wander down the catwalk in petite clothing is going to make me want to buy it? You can’t fool us.
What I wanted to address in this article are things that will help you give the impression that you’re taller, where to shop and other tips. By all means if you enjoy being short honestly wear whatever the fuck you want. I’m not completely content with the height I became so I like to dress myself in a way that will help me feel more comfortable with myself, but I understand some people don’t need that. Not all the advice here will be for every petite woman.
There is nothing wrong with being short.
It’s not a genetic defect; you shouldn’t have to dress in a way to make yourself more ‘normal’ to the public.
There is nothing wrong with being short.
It’s not a genetic defect; you shouldn’t have to dress in a way to make yourself more ‘normal’ to the public.
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