Petite women
Petite women are considered those 5’4” and under. If you are smaller-framed and under 5’4” definitely try out the petite clothing offered in many modern clothing stores, most likely you will find the proportions fit you better than the standard clothing size. Some petite women that are on the taller side (5’3” or 5’4”) will be able to wear most regular sizes in stores as well! For petite women, regular length pants will often need hemming to ensure the proper length without bunching up at your feet. Keep in mind the following style tricks when dressing, and you’ll create the illusion you are supermodel-tall!
Petite Celebrities:
Alison Lohman (5’2”), Alyssa Milano (5’2”), Amanda Seyfried (5’3”), Anna Kendrick (5’2”), AnnaSophia Robb (5’0”), Ariana Grande (5’1”), Ashley Olsen (5’1”), Ashley Tisdale (5’3”), Audrey Tautou (5’3”), Carmen Electra (5’3”), Cher Lloyd (5’1”), Christina Ricci (5’1”), Elizabeth Taylor (5’2”), Emma Roberts (5’3”), Eva Longoria (5’2”), Hayden Panettiere (5’2”), Hillary Duff (5’2”), Isla Fisher (5’3”), Jada Pinkett Smith (5’0”), Jennifer Love Hewitt (5’2”), Jessica Simpson (5’3”), Kate Mara (5’3”), Kim Kardashian (5’2”), Kourtney Kardashian (5’1”), Kristen Bell (5’1”), Kylie Minogue (5’2”), Lady Gaga (5’1”), Lea Michele (5’3”), Lucy Hale (5’2”), Lucy Liu (5’3”), Megan Fox (5’2”), Mary-Kate Olsen (5’0”), Mila Kunis (5’3”), Nicole Richie (5’2”), Natalie Portman (5’3”), Rachel Bilson (5’2”), Reese Witherspoon (5’1”), Rooney Mara (5’3”), Salma Hayek (5’2”), Sarah Jessica Parker (5’3”), Shakira (5’2”), Vanessa Hudgens (5’2”), Vanessa Paradis (5’3”), Victoria Beckham (5’4”), Zoe Kravitz (5’2”)
Petite tip: Don’t Get Swallowed Up
Shorter girls need to take care not to be "swallowed up" by their clothes. Certain styles can be too long or too huge for a shorter body frame. In order to avoid appearing overwhelmed by the cut of your clothing, pay attention to if something is really long or if it has a very full cut. Though you can still wear most long or full-cut clothing if you keep in mind overall balance! Pair these things with something more form-fitting or by showing skin somewhere, so that your body is still seen somewhat for visual definition. Be careful about wearing oversized layers — they’ll tend to dwarf you and make you look shorter. Make sure any long-hemmed items (like maxi skirts and long pants) hit at the floor or just a hair above — never pooling since that would make you look too short for your clothes! Same goes for shirt cuffs — roll too-long shirt cuffs to expose some extra wrist and forearm.
Petite tip: Show Skin
Showing skin helps give definition to your body and keeps you from looking overwhelmed by your clothes. Show some skin with knee-length or shorter skirts/dress hemlines or deep necklines. Try wearing a mini printed dress — the short length elongates your legs visually and an all-over pattern is a strong style statement with just one clothing item, rather than wearing lots of fabric. And just as with showing your legs, revealing as much of your arms as possible can help you look taller! That means when wearing a longer skirt hemline or pants, try showing off your arms for a great lengthening effect. Another place to expose the body can be the neck area — wearing hair up off the neck draws attention there and is like a lightning rod for the face, helping bring the eye up and making you seem taller.
Petite tip: Elongate Legs
The goal for petites is to elongate the legs as much as possible while showing off either the shoulders or midriff. Draw the eye upward on the body, instead of down, through interesting necklines and details at chest height and above. Keep the outfit simpler and more streamlined below the chest. You’ll want anything that creates the illusion of length, particularly on the lower half of the body, be it a strapless jumpsuit or a simple cotton long-sleeved maxi dress for daytime. High-waist skinny jeans worn with heels has an ultra-flattering leg-lengthening effect!
Petite tip: Use Color to Your Advantage
Too much going on in your outfit with color, print, or detail is too much on you — you don’t have the physical space to handle it. Simplicity will help you appear more streamlined and taller. Monochrome outfits can work well for this reason! Wearing one color from top to bottom won’t break up the line of your body, as opposed to breaking you in two by wearing more than one hue. When wearing a monochrome outfit, try breaking it up just slightly with a touch of a lighter or deeper color to avoid being overwhelmed by one shade. You can also try wearing pants and a top in complementary/similar hues, which is a tonal look. This helps create an elongating line making you appear taller.
Petite tip: Pay Attention to Your Prints
Smaller and subtler prints work well on you generally. Don’t be afraid of prints, just seek out small motifs that won’t overpower your frame. Vertical patterns, like vertical stripes, will always elongate and would be especially good for your pants, skirt or dress. Horizontal stripes are best avoided.
Best Dresses for petites:
Dresses in general are a perfect option for you since well-fitting separates may be harder to find.
A great look for you is a simple shift dress, with little color accent details.
Short dresses can be very effective for short women who are young — if you’re over 40 you may want to opt for styles than fall at the knee or just below.
A well fitted dress will give you a great silhouette. Tight, slim silhouettes are good. If you want to wear a looser-fitting dress, just make sure it at least nips in at the waist!
Buttoned shirt dresses that stop just above or at the knee will create a nice vertical line.
Slimmer cut maxi dresses look great!
A jumpsuit is elongating on the body, but choose one in a solid color rather than a print for the best lengthening effect.
Best tops for petites:
V-necks and scoop necks help you look taller.
Sweetheart necklines enhance the appearance of curves on petite women with small breasts and narrow shoulders!
Try higher necklines as well, like a mock-neck top — it makes your neck (and whole body) look longer.
Wear a crop top with your high-waisted trousers and skirts. Show off just a slither of skin in between.
Wear tops that create vertical lines for an elongating effect — like vertical stripes and V-necks.
Create nice vertical lines with straight-cut jacket and cardigans worn open. A flattering look is to have a cardigan or jacket the same length as your dress!
Make sure your sleeve lengths are not overly long. ¾ length sleeves are especially good on you.
Wear fitted pullover sweaters and fitted cardigans that are scaled to your size.
Pay attention to your armhole when shopping for tops and dresses — make sure it doesn’t expose any of your bra.
Tunic tops make you look shorter so be careful about these! Make sure that your tops stop at the hipline or above. Tucking in tops is also great for this reason.
Be careful about the size and thickness of a cowl neck since it is a neckline that tends to stand out with volume which can be overwhelming on you.
Boxy tops tend to shorten the frame. Be careful with very wide tops and definitely don’t do wide cuts on both top and bottom!
Avoid cropped, boxy coats which can make you look stumpy. Instead show your shape in a tapered style coat that hits just below the hip.
Best skirts for petites:
Shorter skirt hemlines (above-knee, knee-length) and maxi skirt hemlines (hitting at the floor or just a hair above) are the most flattering on you!
Wear knee-length skirts with medium-sized heels.
Choose maxi skirts that are slimmer cut rather than full — full maxi skirts are usually too voluminous for you!
Midi skirts are harder to wear because they visually make you look shorter.
Avoid stiff A-lines because they create a squat silhouette.
Best jeans/pants for petites:
If you are petite and curvy, instead of wide-leg trousers and bootcut jeans which are flattering for taller curvy women, choose cigarette pants or straight-leg styles in cotton or rayon with at least 5 percent stretch. These slimming styles hit the sweet spot between too tight and too much fabric, they won’t drown you and their clean lines slim you. Or try a dark color monochromatic jumpsuit with a slim or tapered leg for the same effect. Wear your slim bottoms with heels that show a lot of skin — you’ll seem taller.
Skinny jeans, straight-cut pants, or wide-leg pants, preferably high-waisted, are great on you worn with heels.
Stick with fitted or relaxed style jeans, instead of baggy jeans.
You can pull off cropped pants — showing a bit of ankle will give the illusion that your legs are too long for your trousers and it’ll add a few inches to your height.
Choose shorter-cut shorts instead of Bermudas for an illusion of longer legs.
Getting clothes with the right fit and size is super important for short women. Ill-fitting clothes will add extra bulk. Pants and jeans are often too long for petites, so have them hemmed. A proper fit will help you to look taller.
Avoid slouchy or overly-voluminous wide-leg jeans.
Best shoes for petites:
Wear heels. You don’t need to wear sky-high heels, but a moderate two to three-inch heel will make you stand taller!
Pantyhose that match your shoes in color as closely as possible is elongating.
Shoes that are nude colored, or similar in tone to your skin, create an illusion of height as well. They extend your leg line, without chopping up anything.
Wear shoes with low vamps because skin-baring styles visually extend the leg line. Avoid high vamps or straps around the ankle.
Sleek, pointy-toe heels will do wonders for lengthening your leg line, instead of round-toe heels.
Under your wide-leg pants and maxi skirts hemmed to the floor, you can disguise super high heels underneath!
Shorter ankle length boots are your best boot choice.
Boots that stop just below the knee can be tricky to wear since they cut the legs in half. Wear these in a matching color — black with black tights or black jeans, for instance — to make them more flattering.
Avoid boots that end on the mid part of your shins.
Best belts for petites:
Belts should be narrow, anything loud would only appear odd on the body of a petite woman. You can get away with a wider belt if you wear it very high up your waist.
Petites often have relatively short legs. To make legs appear longer try wearing the same color belt as your pants or skirt!
Best bags for petites:
Choose a handbag that fits your smaller physique — often smaller sized handbags look properly scaled to you (just be stricter with your essentials). Oversized handbags are usually not your best choice.
A long rectangular bag can help you look taller.
Go easy on the oversized/bold accessories in general as these may overwhelm you.
Best hats for petites:
Choose hats with a small brim and a low profile crown, and avoid big hats which can overpower you.
Many cloche style hats are flattering on a petite frame.
Best hair for petites:
Wear hairstyles that add inches on top of your head — such as high ponytails, topknots and big buns worn high on the head! They will give you additional height.
Shorter hair actually helps you look proportionally taller, but longer hair is okay too. If you go with longer hair, try not to keep it poker straight — soft and bouncy is best.
If you have short, cropped hair, it’s easy to add a couple inches to your height by wearing volume in the top sections, and ideally, keeping the sides of your hair flatter than the crown area.
For longer hair, an elegant updo has a similar neck/body lengthening effect as shorter hair!
Stay away from really long hair — it will overpower your figure.
