Over the past few weeks, I’ve had the pleasure of working with multiple petites and they all say the same thing: it’s hard to find clothes! It’s true, many petite women (anyone shorter than 5’3”) struggle to find items that fit off the rack, but being on the shorter side shouldn’t create limits in the fitting room! It takes a little bit more leg work, some imagination and thought, but petites can most definitely rock a lot of amazing clothes. Check out some of my tips:

Styling a trend: Wide Leg Pants

Try on the wide leg pants. Don’t be afraid! Wear a heel and cuff the pants under to get a visual of how they will look after they are hemmed. Go for a high waist, tuck your blouse, and add a belt to exaggerate that you have a waist! 

Minimal Contrast

A simple rule of thumb for petites is to keep the colors of your bottom and top within the same color family. This lengthens your look front top to bottom. You can also minimize the contrast between your shoes and pants to lengthen your legs. If you’re wearing a jacket, like Britt, and you want to add some color, create an external column by minimizing the contrast between your jacket and your pants. Add a top in the color of your choice to keep things fun! In this look Britt picked navy.

Styling a trend: Utility

Utility fabrics are tough and durable, so they feel boxy and ill-fitting on a petite. Luckily, there are designers like Veronica Beard who create the utility style in fabrics that stretch, so a petite can wear it with ease. Other details to pay attention to include cinched wrists and ankles, banded cropped jacket hem, and hardware that draws attention to your waistline and curves. 

Showing Skin

Showing some skin creates space and helps to lengthen. I like to roll up the sleeves on petites to show their wrists and forearms. Cropped jeans with vertical slits in the seams, a slit in a skirt, or an asymmetrical hem are fun ways to show your legs and ankles. Lengthen your neck with V-necks and button-downs. 

Prints

When pairing something with a print be mindful of the background color of the print. If the background is predominantly light, pair with something light, if it’s dark pair with dark. Or buy a matching set in a print to take the thinking out of it! All of this will lengthen!

Bags

Have you ever seen a petite carrying a giant tote? It looks off. Think about the size of your bag in proportion to your size. You can carry any bag you want but choose a small to medium version of the style! 

Shop petite sizing or find a good tailor.

The body inclusivity movement has made a wonderful impact on sizing across brands. Start to browse the web for labels you love and see if they offer petite. You’ll be pleasantly surprised, and this makes a world of difference. Otherwise, find a fabulous tailor. Keep in mind, petites aren’t the only ones who need their clothes altered. Successfully shopping off the rack is hard to come by for most of us!