Is it possible to be stylish, smart etc whilst short!????

[B1ueberryFields]

Sorry for the shameless copy cat thread!

I sympathise with the other poster feels.

I feel like I put an awful lot of effort into carefully choosing clothes for my shape. NO matter how much i like something on the hanger if I try it on and it's not right I won't get it.

I don't wear patterns. I wear boots with a block heel I can walk in. I am constantly on the look out for outfits that flatter me and yet....... for all the thought I put in to it, if I catch a glimpse of myself in a mirror or a shop window I'm never pleased. I'm size 12 and five 2. So I'm not like dannie minogue for example whose thinness makes her overall shape longer iyswim.

So are you under 5'4". Share your secrets. Do you also avoid patterns or is that just me?

It must be SO SO easy for kate moss to look good. Honestly, she doesn't put half the effort into looking ten times as good as I do.

[IceBergJam]

Im under 5 foot and a size 8. I really struggle with jeans and coats but I do think I look smart with not much effort.

I wear jersey dresses from the White Company in plain dark colours, tights shoes or boots. Hair in scruffy bun.

I have one pair of jeans which im not happy with but wear them with plain cotton or cashmere sweaters and a scarf.

Always heels!

I wear dark plain colours. Black, navy, grey and teal. Or white. No jewellery apart
from my rings. Hair tied back.

Small bags.

I really cant find a coat though that fits.

[Ilovecrossfit]

Ladies, Id love to be smaller!! Believe me being 5ft11 is sooo much worse, cant do any gorgeous shoes...Im always jealous of my petite friends ..and most of them are about your height...always looking beautiful in karen Millen coats/dresses etc x

[motherinferior]

I don't think of my height (I'm five nothing) as something that particularly gets in the way, to be honest; it can be a nuisance with some clothes, but I'm used to it by now. I always wear flat shoes, anyway.

It is of course utterly debateable whether I'm stylish. Many would say not. But I work on a women's glossy and nobody's fainted yet.

[IceBergJam]

I wish I dared to wear flats but im 4'10.

[motherinferior]

Heels make my feet hurt (well, they did last time I wore a pair in 1981). I don't see any point in making myself look like a slightly less short person anyway. I'd rather be a Shortarse and Proud.

I tend to think 'do I like that' in the charity shop rather than 'can I wear that because I am so incredibly short'.

[LittlePandaBear]

I'm also 5ft 1 1/2 5ft 2 and a size 10-12.

I don't give myself any particular rules when it comes to dressing, but generally if it makes me feel good when I wear it, I wear it! Or if it's clean and fits

I've never hated being short, it's not really something I can do anything about. Although I do love high heels for a night out.

Height and size isn't the only thing that someone will notice about you - what about your face, hair, smile, laugh, great boobs, shapely legs etc?

It's sad that you feel down about your appearance when it sounds like you have no reason to. I know it's easier said than done to look at your positives rather than your negatives, but if you dress to accentuate what you do like then maybe you won't notice your lack of height/Kate Moss looks when you look in the mirror.

Even Kate Moss doesn't look like Kate Moss without airbrushing!

[TapselteerieO]

I think it is possible, but finding clothes is hard, generally petite is too long for me, especially trousers/jeans - I always have to wear heels with them and even then the hems trail.

Dresses in high street shops generally drown me (giving me the look of a child dressing up in her mother's clothes).

I am not a size 8 (I was when I got married, but I had that lollipop look where my head looked too big for my body) I am 5ft, a size 10/12 with 30G norks and broad-ish shoulders. I think I look quite sturdy/solid and, well, dumpy.

I do wear dresses with patterns i.e yumi stuff, but generally wear plain colours + patterns on my scarf, though a small print is okay I think.

[LFCisTarkaDahl]

I don't wear heels. Well apart from heels like the Queen, 2 inches max and thick block heels at that.

I've been on the fat thread but I'm short too (4foot 11 and a half ).

I DO wear pattern and plenty of colour - pattern distracts the eye in my opinion rather than that all black look.

The key to being short (and/or fat) for me is to thin parts of you - so I always wear 3/4 sleeves and cinched to the side waists, basically wrap or mock wrap dresses with camisoles under.

I always get dresses shortened to on the knee. My legs are really long for my height (don't need petite trousers) but I'm very shortwaisted so I hoik my norks up in a well fitting bra and cinch in the waist.

[motherinferior]

I'm far more self conscious about other bits of my body than my height, tbh.

[BrandyAlexander]

Over the last couple of years, I have discovered dresses for work and that's made a huge difference to me. I am 5'2" and a size 8 (sometimes 6). Eg if the dress is meant to be shortish then it will be on the knee or just below, which is just fine so I haven't had to buy from petite ranges. I am currently wearing work dresses from places like Hobbs, Coast, LKB, Austin Reed, M&S, Fenn Wright & Manson petite, Banana Republic and have had more compliments than at any other time. I think block heel is too "dumpy" for me so I have either gone with high heels or mid heels/kitten heels. So the answer is yes I can be stylish but like you, have to dress with care.

[IceBergJam]

Yes, its finding things to fit. I cant walk into a shop and find something that fits. A nice pair of jeans or a dress is ruined with alterations. Suits look ridiculous on me, like im playing dress up. So I just stick to one or two shops and certain items .

[LFCisTarkaDahl]

And I think another key thing is to let go of how you look in your head or how you wanted to look when you were a teenager - you're not tall, you're never going to be, you couldn't look less like a model in a magazine.

Instead, you're always going to look curvy (even at a size 8).

You're Nigella, Marilyn, Kylie, and Dita von Teese.

[motherinferior]

Actually I am a hideous old boot but I take your point.

[cathyandclaire]

I'm with you! If you're teeny- tiny with relatively long legs you can wear anything, like Kylie. I'm an 8 but I still look curvy and my legs are short with
thundergenerous thighs so I have to wear heels.
I like heels but sometimes I see people looking effortlessly casual in flat shoes and want to kick them sigh.
So it's heels and nothing too voluminous or boxy for me, things need to skim my body to stop me looking square.

[TapselteerieO]

What I would like to know is if any of you have found a good party dress?

I have a significant birthday coming up in January and dreading trying to find something for my relaxed, laid back birthday bash..... any ideas gratefully received!

[Mominatrix]

I am 5foot 2, size 4-6, and am more stylish than fashionable. I stick to fitted (not tight), tailored pieces as the basis for any outfit. On their own, each piece is quite conservative and boring, but I spice it up with something trendy/eye catching. For example, today I was wearing a pair of dark indigo slim fitting jeans ( just a bit looser than skinny) and a tailored white shirt - so far so boring. To add a bit of fun, I wore a black sleeveless peplum top with a beaded neck on top of the white shirt. I do wear heels quite often - not towering stilettos, but usually 3 inches, to give me a bit of lift.

I avoid many petite ranges because many manufacturers think that petite women want to dress like large toddlers. However, J Crew is one place that does a fantastic petite range which is stylish and good quality. Many French labels are also good.

Many of the Hollywood slebs are short-arses too, yet are stylish, so it can be done!

[MoomieAndFreddie]

hmm i wonder about this

am five 2 and size 8 but don't think i look slim cos i am so bloomin short

what i wouldn't give for an extra inch or 2 (ooer)

[B1ueberryFields]

looks like we all have similar tricks!
i must have a look at jcrew website. is that american? link please?
littlepandabear, i'm not down on myself honestly. if i had to go swimming tomorrow I wouldn't mind. Or sun bathing. (if only). I think my body is in good nick for my age because I stay fit and eat healthily. But if I put on clothes I look dumpy! so do you see? it's not self-loathing!

[LittlePandaBear]

Well that's amazing if you look better without clothes than with them, I'm definitely the opposite - if you look better without clothes then just walk round in a swimsuit

[Mominatrix]

J Crew is an American company, but it does sell here, and is starting to open shops here. Here is its website. I could buy 3/4 of the things they sell, and needs to constantly apply restraint when I browse their site.

[B1ueberryFields]

great.. thanks for link.. i'm gonna have a look later! Just a look. That's the plan. [frugal face]

[IceBergJam]

I like the look of J Crew! But wonder what the return charges are. Those coats are just what im after.

[Ephiny]

I think you definitely can be smart and stylish while short. I'm 5'2" and not particularly stylish, but that's not because of my height :)

What is difficult is having that elongated/willowy/elegant look, like model proportions. It's just not really ever going to happen for most of us. However much weight you lose, you still probably have a different width/height ratio to a tall slender person.

You can do things to help though. Wearing elongating/slim-fitting styles, nothing boxy or sticking-out. Buy from petite ranges for tailored stuff like suits (it's not enough to turn up hems/sleeves for these IMO).

For me (and I got flamed for saying this on another thread) I like how I look better when I keep my weight under 8st, so about a size 8, above that I start to feel dumpy. That's a personal thing though.

Remember 5'2" is not that short. It's only a couple of inches below average for a woman.

[ithaka]

I am 5'1" and a size 8 and I do look slim, not 'curvy'. Maybe because I am very fit? Or because size 8 is a loose, comfy fit on me, I don't squeeze into it.

Anyway, I don't wear high heels, both because they aren't comfy and because I think mega heels look silly on small women.

I don't like flouncy, fussy clothes or big silhouttes. I keep my clothes slimline and simple, but happily wear patterns. So I will wear skinny jeans and boots with a slim fitting top and perhaps my lovely fitted tweedy jacket.

In general, people comment with envy on how 'petite' I am - some taller female friends say I make them feel like a drag queen.

I like being small, I feel like I can slide under the radar and get away with things because I look so unthreatening.

The only issue I really have is with jacket sleeves - always too long.

[B1ueberryFields]

no I hear you, I'm size 10-12 and I know if I were 8-10 I'd feel more stylish, although I don't feel fat per se either.