Womens Petite Clothing Advice

"Fashion Advice On How to Dress Your Petite Size Frame"

Courtesy of ASOS

If you're 5'4 (162cm) or shorter then read along and discover the best petite fashion styling tips and tricks to create an appealing and longer-looking silhouette! Here you'll find fashion advice on recommended cuts, prints, necklines and styles suited for your petite frame. And if you're a size 14 (or bigger) you'll also find advice on petite plus size clothing.

Your main focus when putting on clothes is to elongate your stature, so you have to avoid "cutting" up your frame. And if you're a full-figure woman your goal is also to look leaner as well as taller.

To get an accurate image of what clothes flatter your petite frame, we need to take a close look at the proportions and contours of your body:

Determine Your Body Shape

Courtesy of Macy's

I advise you to start with very basics by determining your body shape to get a clearer picture of how to place accessories, colors and cuts on the right areas of your body to create a visually pleasing hourglass body shape.

Another key factor when buying womens petite clothing is your silhouette's vertical line; which is how in line your upper half (hips and up to your shoulders) is with your lower half (hips and down to your ankles). So in short, you might have longer legs compared to your upper body part, or vice versa.

Learn more about how to dress to flatter your vertical body shape.

Petite Plus Size Clothing

Learn more about how to dress your plus size petite frame.

Elongating Womens Petite Clothing Tricks

Choose garments with strong vertical prints and details

Such as zip front, cable patterns, ribbed knits and vertical pleats.

Courtesy of Dorothy Perkins/Womens Petite Clothing Section

Go for a monochromatic (same color but in different nuances, eg. black, grey, navy blue, etc.) from top to toe

This helps create a long and lean silhouette. Top it off with accessories in your favorite colors but make sure you place them on areas you don't mind drawing attention to. Also pay attention to your body shape. If you don't want people to notice your hips then avoid wearing bags that dangle around that area. However you can never go wrong with black bags as they are not that eye catching. The trick to looking taller is to dress in a way to draw the eye up and down, instead of to the sides!

A monochromatic look also includes light colors. Try this example: White, cream and beige.

Show a little skin.

Showing some skin can help elongate your frame. So go for knee, length to mini skirts and dresses and deep necklines.

Select three quarter sleeves

This will make your arms and upper body look longer. So make sure that the sleeves on a garment aren't long on your arms. Even just a half an inch can make your arms look obviously shorter in comparison.

You can also roll up the sleeves of a sweater. This creates a cool-casual look.

Opt for 'open' shoes

Again, showing off some skin makes you look longer and leaner. So go for open toe, narrow toes, heels and t-straps to make your ankles and legs visually longer. Choose knee-high boots in dark colors.

Avoid creating contrasts with colors, like for example brown boots with white pants, it'll chop your legs in two and make you look shorter. Well, unless you have super-long legs compared to your upper half.

Courtesy of Miss Selfridge/Womens Petite Clothing Section

Wear a V-neck.

It's known to be one of the necklines (along with deep scoop necks) that help elongate your body frame. Everything else, like square and boat necks seem to add pounds to your upper part, making you look stubbier.

Tip: If you're wearing a round or square neckline you can counter the widening effect by topping it off with something vertical like a long necklace.

If a pattern is bigger than your fist

Then it's too big for your frame.

Avoid heavy layering

That means avoid piling on several garments and accessories on top of each other to avoid "expanding" your frame and dragging it down, making you look smaller in comparison to your body figure. Not a good look.

Ready to shop?

• Fashion 101: Basic Fashion Tips on How to Dress Stylishly and Look Fabulous
• Guide to How to Dress Your Body Shape
• Petite Dresses
• Petite Skirts
• Petite Jeans