I'm petite (5'2" and can't wear heels) but fairly proportional, so I do think I can wear most silhouettes as long as they are scaled appropriately. A disproportionate amount of my wardrobe came from BR, AT and Loft for awhile. I agree with others though that finding the appropriate pieces can be a bit more difficult, so I've learned to leave more time to find the right one and snap it up when I do find it. Or be happy when the slightly oversized trend (in terms of tops and knitwear) hits, because then I can just buy a regular size and not worry about it.

Gigi, it's true that Zara quality is all over the place. But some of the stuff is surprisingly good. In particular, jackets, and some of the knits. I would try those out -- returns are free, so there is little risk to you. I don't like all the fabrications of their stuff, either (I'm picky about the feel of things, too) and some of their items are definitely more cheaply made than others, but in the midst of the chaff you can often find fun, well fitting pieces at a good price point. Especially if your weight is changing, that would be ideal. No big investment.

I'm 5'3" but I never think of myself as petite. I am a slender rectangle with long arms and legs for my height so petite sizes usually don't fit me, except skirts where I prefer an above knee length to elongate my leg line. I don't think I've ever not worn a style because of my size but I am careful of proportions. But I only really notice that I am smaller than a lot of people when I see photos. Kind of like the little dog with a big attitude!!

Suz, I'll give Zara a try! :^)

I was just on the Theory website, and unfortunately, all the sale stuff is final sale only. But I really liked the styles. I'll have to look them up when I'm in Nordie's this week--I think Nordie's has them on the sales floor, so I could check out the sizing at least.

Gigi, you've probably seen these sites, but
http://www.extrapetite.com/
and
http://www.alterationsneeded.com/
often have reviews of petite-sized items, plus plenty of inspiration.

I've also found the Olsen sisters, especially Mary-Kate, to be inspiring in terms of how you can have a very strong style direction while ignoring the constraints of your body. I'm not sure I'd copy it, but I find it freeing to see someone so petite ignoring conventional advice about figure flattery. I think of it as a good complement to all the helpful, important advice on fit and body type.

At 5'3" I put myself in the borderline petite group. Some bottoms fit me with petite just fine, others are one inch too short. I do find some styles I shy away from because I can't figure out the proportions for my lower half. I adore long pieces, especially sweatercoats and tunics, but am never quite sure where they should fit. A petite top is too short on me, so I have to sport a "average" top, but then some styles make me feel short. But I wear them anyway because I like the comfy factor of these pieces. I tried cropped trousers for a while, but I find the proportions so hard to figure out I've decided to stick to full length styles. I'm looking forward to more "how to adapt for the lower half when the top half is not petite" posts in the future. But some of my fit issues are not just because I'm petite but also because I am a pear shape. An extra variable.

I'm 5'2" but don't always wear petite sizes. It all depends on the brand and how the garment is cut. In a way, this is exasperating, but in another way, it's liberating. At least I don't always have to shop in the petite dept.

I love those blogs you mentioned, Greyscale. I've learned a lot about alterations from them, like which alterations are easy and which are very expensive. I've also learned that Forever 21 will probably eventually have a top that fits me, since I've seen Jean wear F21 clothing occasionally. :^)

Sorry to have made myself the focus of this thread, everyone!

To contribute something helpful (!), I will say that I have found spaghetti-strap-type tops and dresses to work well, as long as you get them with adjustable straps. That helps with the armholes and the waist being too low.

On the blogs that Greyscale mentioned, sometimes there are entries about shrinking clothing to get it to fit. Kelly (the Alterations Needed blog) does quite a bit of it. That can sometimes be helpful if you have the right fabric.

At 5'4" I straddle the line but almost never shop in pettites...nothing fits me correctly, as others have mentioned. But in the regular sizes, I often have to get items hemmed. I struggle with the oversized look too...tunics tend to look like minis on me. If I am buying online, I am very careful to look for or ask for item measurements.

At 5'3" and shrinking ( used to be 5'4"), I can often use petite tops except that the sleeves can be too short. Regular sizes are my starting point. I always buy regular bottoms.

Angie - Thanks for these thoughts! I love that you don't have any style "rules" for petites and approach it as just another variety of fit challenge.

Gigi - I'm 5'2 and have some similar fit requirements. I've had success at various retailers, but by far the best for me is J.Crew. Their cuts tend to be slimmer and straighter. I have purchased both their 00P and 00, depending on whether I need additional length since I'm pretty long-limbed for my height. I still get sized out there occasionally, but it's been my best option in the mid-price range.

Angie-Great topic. I am barely 5'3". I rarely shop in the petite section. If I find something in a regular size that might work better in petites then I will try it.

Since joining this forum I have found that at lot of things I was passing on can be worn. I might have to alter the proportions but doing that is often better that passing up the whole trend.

I never thought I could do the high low trend but with a little tweaking it works great.

Angie thank you for helping us reach our full fashion potential.

5'0" checking in here... I am proportional and yes I do agree almost any style can be adapted if the proportions are right. But -- if shopping in regulars rather than petites -- it is much easier when my weight is on the lower side of the BMI scale, than when it creeps up just a few pounds. It doesn't take much weight creep to do this. We're still talking within healthy BMI here. If I have to go up just one size in a regular to accommodate extra width, the vertical scale will be completely wrong, and we are talking massive tailoring $ that just doesn't make any sense (as the tailors say "you'd be better off starting from scratch").

Yes, petites can get it done by focusing on petites, but my biggest gripe, as I've written about before, is that the quality of what we're starting with is just not there. The trailing end of the curve, it makes sense that petite manufacturers will cut costs, I get that, but as a consumer this means:

1) "Online exclusives" -- resigned to ordering online, sight unseen, with inconvenience, cost and hassle of returns.

2) Way cheaper fabrics -- to cut corners. I am a sucker for good quality fabrics AND I have the $ to pay for high end... but it just doesn't fit me!! Even with tailoring -- there is a limit to tailoring, and it's very real. It's often not just about shortening hems!

3) Lack of range -- okay I can order a petite top from BR. Great! But in petite it's only offered in black. In regular it's offered in 10 colors.

I'll conclude by saying that my girls are 5'3.5 now, and when it comes to clothes shopping challenges, there's a big big difference between that and 5'0. That little bit of height opens up a lot of doors for them in regulars department.... but they still have their own challenges regardless! The lesson is that *every* woman has a unique clothes shopping challenge. Very very few woman can just buy and wear anything.

I no longer say "no, I can't wear that because I'm only 5'..." ... I say instead, "I WANT to wear that and I KNOW I can make it work.... but I can't find it." There's a difference.

(still shopping for my perfect real leather jacket)

Great comments and thoughts. Thanks for being positive. THAT'S WHAT I LIKE TO HEAR.

Suz, I will try to follow through on your idea. Thanks for the great suggestions. You are so fab. You are also so, so right when you say that being petite means different things. You can be petite in length and height, but not in frame. I am actually petite as far as the French use the word - I have a dainty frame. But I stand at 5ft 6, so petite clothing is *disastrous* on me in terms of length. (It's apoplexy-inducing seeing me in petite lengths). So I need to find regular length clothing with narrow-fits.

Gigi, Zara, H&M, Bebe, French Connection, Topshop, Express and Uniqlo’s clothing in their smallest sizes usually run smaller than AT’s 00P. In fact J.Crew’s and Madewell’s XXS does too. Premium denim runs very small these days. Almost 2 sizes smaller than 4 years ago. There will be no problem finding jeans that fit. And if you want, we can talk better-end too. Like Theory, Sandro and Maje. Plus fluid fits are your friend. It’s fashionable to wear things bigger. That will help too.

Greyscale, Kelly’s blog is fabulous for extra petite clothing fit information. Thanks for bringing that up.

Angie, thanks for the suggestions. I just recently discovered Topshop at Nordie's the other day, and I ordered a faux leather pencil skirt in 00P. I tried the small misses' on in-store, and I was pleased with how small it was compared to a regular misses' small. The skirt will arrive in a couple of days. So here's hoping that Topshop will come through for me!

I once ordered a pair of skinnies from Express in 00P and they were huge, so I didn't go back. But I will now, since it sounds like this may have been an anomaly. And maybe I would stop by Bebe when I'm at the mall tomorrow--I've never been in there. But now it's calling my name. :^)

We also have an H&M, but they carry only the low-end stuff in the store, and it's pretty cheap looking. I'll have to order online. I know that a lot of petites are able to wear H&M. :^) I've just been a baby about paying for shipping. Guess it's time to pony up!

Gigi, in addition to the great suggestions you've gotten, I would also steer you toward BCBG, where they carry an XXS in addition to their XS.

This is a great topic & I'm loving the discussion here. While I am not petite, just made it over the line by hitting 5'5, my sister is... and I will be sharing all the lovely thoughts expressed here as I do feel she is stuck in a rut with short bodycon dresses.

My sister is 5'6" and is round where I am angular with larger bone structure. She absolutely fits best in petite jackets because she has narrow shoulders and short arms and torso. Petite is complicated.

Thank you for this topic Angie! I also noticed the petites can't wear this or that comments on your trend post and they surprised me. I mean height is relative - if we were invaded by giants we would all look petite, does that mean tall women would have to start avoiding flats? Ok, I realize that probably doesn't really help.
In practice, I am 5'3" and wear flats, oversized fits, long jackets, fluid fits, midi's, volume over volume you name it. Not always successfully, but I don't think my height is the reason. I love Suz's ideas and I think it is a great time to revisit your wonderful posts with your super stylish friends.

Interesting thread. I am definitely petite - I have to buy petite jackets and dresses almost exclusively and nearly always have to buy petite shirts, or they simply don't fit in the shoulders and the bust area. I'm short-waisted, short-necked, large-busted, and petite sizes are a necessity. I don't shy away from trying out various styles because of my stature, but I am am very conscious of dressing for my short neck and bustline, just as a taller gal with similar issues would be. For example, I tried out a JCrew t-neck recommended by Angie - fitted around the neck and boxy elsewhere. I was fine, even as a petite, with the boxiness, but the neck looked comical on mey, because it was so high (I looked like I had a floating head). So, I am conscious of "dressing my body type" in many ways, but don't feel constrained because of my height, necessarily (except that I have to mail order many of my clothes, especially those from JCrew, GAP, and BR, because they don't have a "petite" section, or the section is very limited).

Angie it's a deal! I'm 5ft1 and a bit:). But you know I actually believe I can wear anything I want to and as you say it's tweaking the proportions that makes or breaks an outfit:). The things I don't wear, I don't wear because I don't want to:). I admit there are some garments that I do think look better on taller women but it wouldn't stop me from trying:) xxx

Its great to hear from you that petites can actually wear anything Angie! I am one of those guilty of shying from certain styles (although I loved them) just because I stand 5 nothing! Would be great to get a peak into your insights like Suz suggests about even a couple of typical petite shy aways like Wide leg trousers or Midi length skirts!

This thread has definitely been fascinating to read!

I think it's definitely good to keep in mind that anything can work, even on my curvy 4'10" self, with enough work, and that I shouldn't dismiss things just because they'd be tricky on a petite. I do happily wear flats, horizontal stripes, long cardigans, tunics, and a bunch of other things that always end up on those lists of petite "don't"s.

What is frustrating for me is when a particular thing that's harder for a petite person to wear well, and that I don't love so much I want to put a huge effort into making it work for me, saturates the market to the point where it's harder to find other options. The example I'm thinking of is how so many sandals have been really high-vamped and strappy, almost like booties or shooties with a lot of cutouts, for a while now. Shoes like these don't speak to me enough that I want to look at a million pairs to find one that doesn't make me feel stumpy, but so many sandals are like this that it's hard to find lower-vamped ones that don't seem blah to me. (Although maybe we're moving away from that by now? I haven't really looked at sandals for this year yet because it would just be taunting me when it's this cold.)

I also share the annoyance at trying to find things that fit when the issue is more things hitting me wrong everywhere than just a simple hem or sleeve alteration. Since I'm extra-short with curves, this happens pretty frequently for me and can get old really fast. It can be really tempting to just run back to the few brands and styles that I know will usually work, but then that can get boring.

Anyway, enough rambling from me! As people have mentioned, everyone obviously has their own fit challenges, and my shortness certainly hasn't stopped me from having a big overstuffed closet full of clothes that work on me.

Guilty as charged Angie! The man coat and oversized coats scare me!! I feel I might drown in them!! Thanks for the reminder that I should try and quit thinking that my size is somehow a disadvantage in terms of dressing. You are a sweetheart

At 5 feet even, I am definitely in the petite category. But it's not just in my overall height: the petite category applies to the length of my limbs, my shoulder width and the length of my torso - short arms, legs and torso and very narrow shoulders. I have found that I pretty much need petite sizing in button up blouses, blazers and any kind of jacket so that the shoulder seams are in the right place. And then sleeves always need to be shorted. For trousers, I can get away with regular sizing and look for best fit in the rise primarily and then just shorten the legs as required.

I am learning that I can wear most styles and trends as long as I work the proportions for ME. I am willing to try almost anything - you never know until you try right? and it might surprise you

Angie - thanks for reminding us vertically challenged women that we can be just as stylish as you lovely taller women.

Wow, I had no idea so many Fabbers were borderline petite. You dress so well that I imagine you all to be 5'6"-5'8".

Alasse, IKWYM! I'm almost thinking that petites outnumber taller gals around here.

Love hearing the positive energy on this thread, especially from the super petite ladies themselves.

Janet, that makes sense, since the average height of the American lass is about 5ft 3.5 ish - which is essentially petite. Many, many of my clients are that height, or shorter. I'm lucky to dress a range of heights though. I dress clients right up to 6ft 1, and as short as 4ft 10.

Gigi, I forgot to mention Club Monaco. *slaps forehead*. My very stylish 4ft 10 friend loves buying size 00 there. They are smaller than any other 00 I've seen. She also almost always wears fluid or oversized fits on top. She is very modern, fashionable and chic.

Sarah, a long neck is better suited to that J.Crew t-neck, which has a particularly bulky funnel neck shape.

At 5'4" (just measured to confirm, thought I was a bit less than that), I consider myself petite-ish. I like the way petite tops and jackets fit due to my short torso and narrow shoulders. But I have a prejudice that petite clothing is not going to deliver the style I desire. I do find that some higher end brands have a size P that is scaled with a shorter torso, shorter arm (Helmut Lang comes to mind), but unfortunately I can't fit that size. If anyone sees any petite tops and toppers that deliver a strong style element, let us know!