Petite clothes for women: how to put together a stylish outfit

Petite women often face similar challenges when styling their outfits. Often, their sleeves and trouser legs are too long and loose-fitting clothing looks baggy. Fortunately, there are a lot of outfit options for petite women that will flatter their dainty figure. We will show you which styling tips you should know and give you some ideas for stylish outfits for petite women.

Sporty or smart: the most important styling tips for petite women

Regardless of your height or body type, it is important to wear something you love and feel comfortable in. This means that tried and tested styling tips for petite women are more about you expressing your personal style and helping you balance your proportions. They can help you show off your dainty figure without feeling like you are playing dress up. Whether you are looking for a top, dress or a pair of trousers, you can follow some general tips and tricks:

• Opt for clothes with a vertical line: tops, dresses and trousers with a vertical line can elongate your body optically. Not only striped tops and trousers have this effect, but also blouses and dresses with buttons can make you look taller.

• Balance your silhouette by emphasising your waist: fitted blouses, blazers or dresses draw attention to the narrowest part of your upper body. This type of fit will suit your body type and make you look great. A similar effect can be achieved by wearing trousers with a high waistband. High-waisted jeans or paperbag trousers highlight your waist and make your legs look longer.

• Avoid oversized styles: baggy clothing can tend to look too big on a petite silhouette. Oversized blazers or coats can thus have the unintentional effect of making it look like you are “drowning” in your clothes. Nevertheless, if you would like to give an oversized style a try, you should combine this with a form-fitting item of clothing. This helps balance your silhouette despite the oversized style.

• Choose dainty patters: you can use colour and patterns to express your personal style. However, outfits with bold prints can look too busy on petite women. Dainty patterns like polka dots or fine floral details look feminine and avoid making you look shorter.

• Style monochromatic outfits: you can create a particularly refined style with monochromatic looks. Use items of clothing in similar shades or from the same colour family to create particularly harmonious and elegant outfits for petite women. Clothes with vertical lines will make you appear taller.

• V-neck tops make you look taller because they emphasise yourshoulders and slightly elongate your neck optically. This makes your proportions look more balanced than with a round-neck top.

• Depending on the occasion, you can leave the top button on your blouse undone. This little trick also helps make your neck long longer and is visually more harmonious.

• If you like to wear polo neck or mock neck jumpers, then there is a simple trick which you can use to optically elongate your silhouette. To do this, try layering your polo neck jumper with a light cardigan or blazer to mimic a V-neck look.

• Ruffles and flounces give you more volume on your upper body. This effect is often used to conceal wider hips and to create a symmetrical silhouette. For shorter women, however, wearing just the right amount of ruffles and flounces is key. Too many can make you look shorter.

• For knitwear, figure-hugging fine knit clothes are the best option for petite women. Chunky knits and wide-cut jumpers often look baggy on dainty women.

Jeans and smart trousers in petite sizes take the average proportions of petite women into account. This means that regular-sized trousers will have shorter trouser legs, so that you won’t have to compromise on the fit.

Discover our petite jeans

You can also find flattering jeans and trousers for petite women in regular collections if you keep the following tips in mind:

Trousers for petite women: dos and don’ts

• Knee-length midi dresses are especially flattering for petite women and look very feminine. Additionally emphasising your waist creates a particularly harmonious silhouette.

• Mini dresses and short skirts highlight your legs and make your legs look a little longer.

• If you would like to style a maxi dress or maxi skirt, ideally you should pair them with high heels or choose a style with a slit up the leg. It will also make you look a little taller if your ankles are slightly visible.

• A-line dresses and wrap dresses are versatile all-rounders that flatter all body types and sizes. Waist-defining cuts with flowing skirts will optically elongate your proportions and therefore, they are a must-have for petite women.

• A coat should not go down past your calf. A knee-length coat is an even better option for petite women. This type of coat will make you look fantastic.

• Short coats can make your legs appear even shorter.

• Maxi-length coats are often too long on petite women and can make them look squat. Petite women can achieve an oversized look with a mid-length coat.

• Ideally, jackets and coats for petite women should have a belt or should be fitted around the waist. By emphasising the narrowest part of your body, you can balance your proportions and look a little taller.

Smart coats for petite women

Conclusion: look stylish with petite women’s clothing

As a petite woman, choosing clothes should not be about hiding your smaller stature. This means, you should not feel like you need to wear high heels or choose styles that don’t make you feel comfortable. Tried and tested styling tips for petite women can help you balance your proportions and highlight your best features. You can use these tips to put together outfits that express your personal style and help you feel confident whatever the occasion.

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The image sources in this text are in chronological order:

Cover photo: iStock.com/jacoblund
1. Image in text: iStock.com/jacoblund
All other images in text: C&A