Small of Stature, Big on Design – Petite Designer Clothing Savings

Shopping for petite clothing used to be a challenge.  Finally, designers have seen a need for petite clothing made especially for the more petite statured and have really increased the petite sized selections.  No longer does the smaller framed fashionista have to be limited to only petite boutique clothing or the hassle of personally tailoring every new purchase.

Regular sized women’s clothing is designed for women who stand at least 5’5” tall while petite sizing is made for women who are 5’3” and below.  The average height of an American woman is about 5’4” and up to 40% of all American women fit the standards of petite. 

The most obvious alteration for clothing to “become petite” is the lengths involved, especially on the inseam of slacks. One of the joys of petite sized clothing is not having to hem every single pair of pants that one purchases. Sleeve lengths and torso measurements are also altered in ratio to the desired sizes.

Besides sizing, apparel designed for the petite in mind will also have significant differences as often a petite sized version of a regular designed garment will not flatter a smaller body.  If regular clothing lines are just reduced in size, then the newly create petite garment can look boxy and unflattering.

The best petite designs will use style elements in the design of the garment to visibly elongate and slim a woman’s body.  Vertical stripes, shorter skirts, smaller patterns, drop waists, princess seams, and carefully arranged patterns to draw the eye up and down the body all assist in provide optical illusions for the shorter set.   Also, monochromatic color combinations maintain a longer look. For a petite person, the idea is not to break up the line of the eye so anything that might “cut” the body will have a negative and shorting effect.

Other fashion hints to make you look taller include a pair of perfectly fitting pants worn with heels. You will want the hem of the pants to almost touch the floor when you wear your heels so you create the illusion of longer legs.  Keep with a 3” or under heel though. It might seem to make sense to add that much needed height with a sky high shoe, but the proportions will look odd on a shorter leg.

Matching color high boots that meet a calf length skirt with no gap in the middle also elongate the legs. For a shorter skirt length, wear tights or hose that are the same colors as your skirt and shoes or boots. Don’t go ankle length on skirts; a bit of leg is needed on petites. Even for formal wear, a shorter skirt will be more flattering.

Vertical lines don’t have to be stripes; a jacket with a zipper or a long flowing scarf will also draw the eye up and down creating length. Watch out of clothing with details that “chop” up your body image. Big cuffs on pants or shirts that have eye catching hems say with ruffles cause the eye to stop to observe the details, which makes you look smaller. Also avoid huge sweaters that can swallow you up and double breasted coats that can make the top half of your body look like a bulky square. 

Lafayette 148 NY is one such design house that tailors to the petite frame.  With over 6 pages of petite outfits and many selections from casual to formal to the business suit, the only thing that might get a shopper nervous is the pricing. MaxStudio and Anne Klein also have substantial petite choices as well. Often, the specialty design garments carry a slightly higher price tag as well.

 It’s a good thing, for that 40% of American women, that Loehmann’s has petite clothing. In addition to the above mentioned designers, Loehmann’s has petite offerings from Zoe D and Lapis as well as many others who design for petite dresses, pants, etc. The spring fashions will be, as expected, up to 70% less than department stores and the best in designer trends.

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