Is 5 foot 4" Petite?

[Deggy]

I'm slightly prompted another S&B thread here, but I'm convinced I used to be 5 foot 7 " and always considered myself quite tall. However, I'm losing height as I go through menopause and I'm only a shade over 5 foot 4 now.

It hasn't occurred to me to ever buy petite clothes, but I'm constantly sending clothes back and moaning about how ridiculously long everything is

Am I really starting to edge into 'petite'?? I always imagined petite clothes were for much daintier looking women than me!

It depends on the range but also on what size you take. I am 5'3'' so really on the cusp. When I was a size 16 I needed petite trousers from M&S. Now I am a 10 I need the regular length. It's not the same in all makes though.

Bear in mind that petite isn't just about height, bone structure also comes into it. I used to be 5'4" but post menopause and with scoliosis, I'm now 5'3". I still can't wear petite because I have big bones; broad shoulders, wide rib cage, long arms.

I’m 5’4” and only buy petite length trousers. Anything else is fine in normal length. Clearly I must have short legs, but have been everything between a size 12 - 18 and always need petite length

I'm 5'3"" on a good day.

I might fall under the petite umbrella but for the most part, petite clothing proportions are completely wrong for my body. I'm a size 10 (whatever that means!) and a healthy weight but I'm an hourglass and petite ranges dont seem to realise that you can be short and curvy but not plus size. I also have a long torso.

If you are a different shape to me you may find petite ranges fit you, particularly if you are talking about trouser length.

TBH now when I buy something I either accept it wont fit quite right, be realistic about whether I will alter it myself or factor in the cost of alterations.

I'm 5'9 and find that wide leg trousers are actually just designed to kill you.. because why are there an extra four inches on the bottom suddenly???

Zara trousers have always been long, I used to buy trousers from there when I first started work 20 years ago. I'm 5ft 8 and I always had to take them up.

At 5'4" I buy short trouser lengths but regular range everything else.

3 inches is a lot to lose. It's worth talking to your gp.

I think petites have generally got longer in ver time. I’m 5ft and used to guarantee a fit with petite - but now they could still be too long.

I’m 5ft3 ish, but I think my legs are proportionally longer as I find petite trousers a bit hit and miss for me and often grazed my ankles.

Petite is generally 5’3 and under but I’m 5’4 with short legs so often need petite trousers, but normal length in everything else. It really depends on the shop, the item and your particular body shape and what look you want from the clothes

I'm 5" 4 and I buy petite or short leg in trousers/jeans. Mostly from next. Anything off the rack in most high street stores don't fit me in length.
I'm 48 and I'm convinced I was 5"7 at some stage. I definitely wasn't as short towards my dh(5"8) as I am now.

I thought 5'4 was the average height for women in the UK. Petite is 5'3 or under.

Please hot foot it to a doctor - that is very severe change in height

I’m 5’4 and it depends on the style/item of clothing, and the shop, as to whether I’ll buy petite or not.

Watching this thread with interest.

I used to be 5ft 6 / 5ft 7 but I also appear to be shrinking rapidly! I noticed the gradual creep up of trouser leg lengths over the past 15 years or so. I do have a longer torso and proportionately shorter legs. Have been wearing short leg trousers for a while now, with the odd exception. I’m pretty certain I’m perimenopausal and the osteoporosis comments have me a little worried, especially as I’ve started having annoying lower back pain issues this year.

I have however lost more than 5 stone since this time last year - and have noticed as I size down the leg lengths don’t seem quite as extreme (ie I have found some ‘short’ trousers a bit too short!). I do think are huge clothing size inconsistencies across all brands.

It depends on the brand for me e.g. Boden trousers (well going back 5+ years when I used to buy from there a lot) I either take up the regular or buy petite. I am 5'4.5'' (I used to be 5'5.75'' - I am 52) but John Lewis and Monsoon jeans have been fine in regular.

5'4" is average for a woman. It's not petite.
I'm just under 5'4" and petite clothes are the wrong proportions for me.

If you shop in M&S, you will now need to look at Short. They've changed the measurements.

3 inches is a lot to lose. Most loss of height is when we're much older - you say you've lost it going through menopause.

I thought petite was entirely on the height. You can get the full range of dress sizes in petite fit, no?

@Viviennemary , it has nothing to do with being small-boned and slim. In clothing, it's down to height.
Petite sizes could be outside the usual size 8 - 16 range.

e.g. Veronica Dress - Seasalt Cornwall

I’m 5ft 4 and definitely need petite length trousers

I think it depends more on proportions really. I’m tiny, around 5 foot but I have quite long legs and a short body but also boobs! So I buy petite in things like jackets and tailored stuff, sometimes jeans because they’re always long on me. You’d have to go into a shop with a good petite section like Next (although the smallest petite sizes there are big on me!) and see what fits you and how they sit on your body. In Next I buy teenage girls size, but in Zara I can buy from their petite range, even to fit my boobs.

this drives me mad, why do they assume that if you're thinner you're also shorter??

Where do you find good fitting trousers in petite? I struggle with the proportions with some brands..

Again it depends on the brand. Some petite ranges are petite all over so for slimmer women, but some have all sizes for shorter bodies.