Petite Fashion

[advo]

Gina Tricot - for people in Scandinavia only, I think - makes jeans down to 30" which I can fit. I'm loving their Kristen high waist model atm - perfect for short legs

 

[mordant]

So I've decided to decrease my spending and save money by echoing a bit from the 4-5 piece thread. I will only buy 5 items each season and just spend the money to have them altered, if need be. That way I will have well-fitting staples that I can just live in.

 

[advo]

^I'm doing the same. But I need to find a great tailor as well. I also found this great guide for hemming my pants myself so I can at least save money on that for bigger alterations.

 

[mordant]

^Thanks for the vid! I really need to learn how to hem my pants. It costs $10 to hem pants/jeans at my tailor, which is super reasonable, but I have to hem pants often. After that I can work on learning to take-in my garments, then maybe I'll barely have to go to the tailor.

 

[RedandNavy]

Hey petites out there!

Anyone else looking at most of the new collections with the thought: "Hmmm, nice. But how on earth should I pull this off?"

I feel it's not an easy time for petites like me (I'm tiny in height and also rather slim). I look at so many pieces in pictures, stores, collections and feel they are definitely made for tall women. All the over-sizing going on... it completely swallows me. I need a new coat, for example, but I have no idea how I should wear one of the many boxy, oversized versions out there.

How do you deal with this current trend in fashion or is it no issue to you??

 

[lucy92]

i think the problem has gotten worse here, a lot of department stores are getting rid of their petite departments.

and the standard length on pants and jeans here is 33 now. i usually try to go for a 30 inch inseam.

most pants at H&M are too long for me.

 

[mordant]

I really, really, really have to think twice/thrice before I buy a garment. I have to evaluate the fit, and see if there's a possibility that it COULD fit. If the shoulders are too wide, then it's an automatic wash because it just costs too much to alter. I have to calculate how much the garment costs + the alterations that would be needed. There's a DKNY dress that I absolutely am coveting, but the purchase wouldn't be worth it because it is pleated all around. It would either cost too much to alter or not be alterable. Tailoring is the only way I can stay on trend or purchase clothes in general without having to venture into children's clothing.

Vanity sizing is KILLING me. When the 00Ps or XXSPs still gap at the waist or have sleeves that extend to my fingertips, I can't help but want to scream.

 

[advo]

Hey petites out there!

Anyone else looking at most of the new collections with the thought: "Hmmm, nice. But how on earth should I pull this off?"

I feel it's not an easy time for petites like me (I'm tiny in height and also rather slim). I look at so many pieces in pictures, stores, collections and feel they are definitely made for tall women. All the over-sizing going on... it completely swallows me. I need a new coat, for example, but I have no idea how I should wear one of the many boxy, oversized versions out there.

How do you deal with this current trend in fashion or is it no issue to you??

I don't usually buy after trend so it's not a typical problem for me. But it does happen that something is trendy which I also fall in love with. Case in point, the flat, ankle boots. I just love the look, love the practical heel. But, they just cut my legs in such an unflattering way. I got these Topshop ones - and I'm doubting if I should keep or return?

I was thinking... maybe with high-waisted jeans? The jeans on the picture are probably the worst possible pick because aside from a low-waist, they have the wide waistband.

(my own pic)

 

[mordant]

^Advo, what did you end up doing with your ankle boots?

I'm in desperate need of some casual flat boots in black. Because my legs are shorter, I tend to go for the mid-calf length boots. But all I seem to be finding are knee high boots, which go over the knee for me, or ankle length boots. I haven't tried any ankle boots on, but there is a pair I saw online that I think are really beautiful and practical. But I'm afraid they won't look right on me.

 

[advo]

^I kept them. I've come to terms with that they are not the most flattering footwear but they are just so practical that comfort > beauty this time. And I don't think they are really that terrible tbh.

 

[mordant]

So I recently bought a suit skirt at United Colors of Benetton and had to have some major alterations done on it - take-in of the waist, shorten the hem, slim the silhouette. (Time crunch or else I would have kept looking for a better fitting skirt!) The skirt looks so much better on me now, and I really love it. It's just frustrating because I have an older UCB skirt from the 90s that I thrifted that fits me perfectly. Ugh, I know I sound like a broken record, but I HATE VANITY SIZING!

 

[Meg]

I don't get many thinks tailored in the UK because I don't know anyone who hems cheaply and of quality, and a lot of tailoring is quite expensive here. The worst is pencil skirts - everyone keeps going on about how flattering they are but being curvy and petite the shape of the skirt is totally thrown off, so I've only been looking for jackets and skirts in places that offer petites (Banana Republic and J Crew) but I wish more places here offered petites...