Top, Pelmet Skirt, Socks, Faux Fur Gilet, Bag & Ring - Topshop
Shoes - River Island
Shoes - River Island
I don't know if you can tell by the photographs since there isn't really a frame of reference, but anyone who knows me in real life can tell you that I am pretty tiny. Standing at only just 5 foot (maybe taller if I wear heels!), I can make pretty much anyone feel like a giant. This may seem irrelevant, but I'm only mentioning it because it makes shopping and styling a bit of a challenge sometimes! Yes, there are petite sections in many shops, but they don't make a petite version of every garment (and sometimes I still have to take the jeans up..) - for example, my beloved faux fur gilet. There were black and dark green versions in the petite section but I (obviously) fell for the pastel pink, and while I adore it I do feel a little swamped in it sometimes!
There are some ways to really dress for a petite body, so here are my tips! If, like me, you are actually well-proportioned, you can follow the rules of an hourglass figure while shopping in the petite sections. However, when you hit the 'average-sized' sections you need to consider a few things...
- Jeans: notoriously problematic, and even more so for those of us at either end of the height spectrum. Unless you're a wizard with a sewing machine and can take them up, I recommend sticking to the petite sections.
- Crops: when buying anything cropped, remember they were created for people several inches taller. Always try them on and see where they fall. Alternatively, those slightly cropped t-shirts often fit as regular t-shirts, saving the embarrassment of wearing a t-shirt that fits like a dress!
- Skirts & Dresses: often the waistline on dresses won't hit right, and the skirt length could be incredibly unflattering (a normal skirt could become a midi, which makes a short girl look shorter, and a maxi could just become a pool of fabric on the floor). But there is also the joy that any dresses that would be inappropriately short on an average-size woman will fit perfectly!
- Jeans: notoriously problematic, and even more so for those of us at either end of the height spectrum. Unless you're a wizard with a sewing machine and can take them up, I recommend sticking to the petite sections.
- Crops: when buying anything cropped, remember they were created for people several inches taller. Always try them on and see where they fall. Alternatively, those slightly cropped t-shirts often fit as regular t-shirts, saving the embarrassment of wearing a t-shirt that fits like a dress!
- Skirts & Dresses: often the waistline on dresses won't hit right, and the skirt length could be incredibly unflattering (a normal skirt could become a midi, which makes a short girl look shorter, and a maxi could just become a pool of fabric on the floor). But there is also the joy that any dresses that would be inappropriately short on an average-size woman will fit perfectly!
Basically, my golden rule is to always try things on! Being petite means that anything that doesn't fit right will never look good, and since most of us can't magically transform dresses with a sewing machine these days it is always better to be safe than sorry. I also rely quite heavily on heels to elongate my legs and give me those precious few inches of height.
Tara India xo
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