Being a petite woman

mollybird

Anyone out there like me and living the small lifestyle. Im currently at the min shopping shoes for my friends wedding where im a bm. i found out last year that im offically a size 2.5 in shoes. Have you ever heard of the like :eek:

How does anyone find being small? Sometimes i must say i do love it. My husband is really tall at 6'4 so sometimes it can work for us being the opposite height.

Im 5ft and find it impossible to find any trousers to fit or shoes. Anyone know of any places to get smaller length trousers/jeans and tiny ass shoes that don't cost the earth???

Mars Bar

I'm just a small bit shorter than you and trousers...sweet mother of jesus it is a pain.
I could do with losing a three or four inches around the waist and hips though so really suit my frame.

The upside is that kids shoes and clothes are cheaper!

jaja321

Am 5ft 1.. jeans used to be an absolute nightmare for me and always had to get them tailored.. but since I've started wearing skinny jeans its much easier as the ends don't trip you up and if you need to you can kinda just turn them up at the end and they still look cute (depending on the jean)..highwaisted is also good for shorties! Cigarette trousers might also be a good option?

Can't help on the shoes I'm afraid!

Caprica6

There is nothing wrong with being small ...it is a bit a annoying getting pants to fit....and I have to say some shops petite ranges are just awful looking. Some are even to long in the leg. Your better of sticking to children's clothes. A wear aren't to bad for jeans though

Penny Tration

Same as jaja, I'm 5'1 and found it impossible to get jeans. Skinny jeans are grand though.

My friend is 4'7 and has size 1 feet. She gets all of her jeans taken up, and gets shoes in the kids section

Caprica6

Also you could try tk max for shoes or a boutique type place. I am a five and half in a shoe but noticed lately in some places I could be a six and others a three depends on the brand I guess. Had an awful time trying to get nice looking shoes a while ago either miles to big or a bit tight

rainbow kirby

Caprica6 wrote: »

and I have to say some shops petite ranges are just awful looking. Some are even to long in the leg.

5'6" here and I have some pairs of jeans from petite ranges. Fecking madness, how the hell are shorter women supposed to shop if I can wear those?

Dark Phoenix

I'm 5'2" but bizarrely I have size 6 feet?!

Jeans - go to forever 21 they are the only place I can find some to fit. They are often €7 and the best bargain ever. They also have a denim section on the top floor of the one in jervis centre and they have petite size jeans that have the shorter leg.

I am just raging I didnt but two pairs of my favourite ones - dark navy jeans that come exactly to my ankle and have a little zip on the calves i adore them.

I am no use for you on shoes im afraid

Mars Bar

Skinny's have been a life changer for me too. I don't look as frumpy and now save a fortune on getting jeans turned up.

Sunny Dayz

I'm 5'1", size 8/10 on top, 10/12 on bottom and size 4 feet. It's great to buy runners in kids sizes, even for other shoes I do look in the kiddies section for flats!


I sometimes find it hard to get dresses to fit correctly, I do find that some are long in the body which doesn't sit well as then the proportions are out on my body. Maxi dresses! They go on for ever - you could nearly chop off the ends and make a skirt with them! Also found I needed to wear v high shoes with them. I got a petite one from Boohoo and it's great - I can wear it with flip-flips / sandals.


I tent to wear bootcut jeans (I know, so out of fashion!) with heels to try and elongate my legs. I agree with the comments above about skinny jeans, although I think I do look a bit stumpty sometimes.


I do like being short though - I dunno I think you can get away with looking a bit younger

eviltwin

I'm 5ft 2, size 14 - 16 and have an E cup. Its impossible to find decent clothes. I live in jeans and baggy tops.

Caprica6

eviltwin wrote: »

I'm 5ft 2, size 14 - 16 and have an E cup. Its impossible to find decent clothes. I live in jeans and baggy tops.

Dunnes stores petite collection are good for curvy sizes my mams nearly the same as you, but she manages to get nice stuff in there or A wear

Penny Tration

eviltwin wrote: »

I'm 5ft 2, size 14 - 16 and have an E cup. Its impossible to find decent clothes. I live in jeans and baggy tops.

5'1, size 14, H boobs.

Forever 21 all the way! Their jeans and tops are a great fit on me, although not their dresses. For dresses, i go to new look.

confusticated

Caprica6 wrote: »

Dunnes stores petite collection are good for curvy sizes my mams nearly the same as you, but she manages to get nice stuff in there or A wear

You know AWear has been closed for a few months?

Sub 5fter here and I'm very slightly built to boot (6st at the moment). Some European countries cater for very small girls with good ranges of sizes 4 -6, but a larger size would probably be very hard to find in petite fittings. The best place for clothes is the USA, where most big cities carry large size ranges to reflect the diverse ethnicity of the populations. My height and size wouldn't be unusual amongst Asian girls and many large stores carry sizes to suit. It's slim pickings in the UK and Ireland though. And skinnies are a life saver, as has been said.

I'm a size 3 shoes and get most of them online. I just bought some lovely boots on Amazon that were half the price of the more common sizes so there are some advantages to being miniscule!

CathyMoran

I would be 5ft 1in but I find normal length jeans are fine as i have a short top section - I do get some clothes in the children's section though, they are cheaper too! I have size 7 feet though and it is sometimes harder to get them.

Rubberlegs

I'm barely scraping 5 foot, size 10-12 on top, 8-10 on the bottom, size 4 feet. Jeans, or any kind of trousers are a nightmare to find . Most petite ranges are still too long. I wear bootcut jeans, and end up shredding the ends of them, walking on them. Skinny jeans look absolutely woeful on me, they bunch up around my knees and ankles, and make me look even shorter. I don't wear heels, and they just look terrible on me with flats. I'm actually at the stage now where I badly need new jeans. Our A wear is gone, but I found their petite range, while it used to be perfect, seemed to get longer. I absolutely hate buying clothes online, as usually end up having to send stuff back:'(

Rubberlegs

confusticated wrote: »

You know AWear has been closed for a few months?

I may be wrong but think I heard at the time that about 3 or 4 reopened?? Not our one though:'(

Teyla Emmagan

eviltwin wrote: »

I'm 5ft 2, size 14 - 16 and have an E cup. Its impossible to find decent clothes. I live in jeans and baggy tops.

You are basically me then. I live in dresses from m&s and sometimes zara. Knee length size 14 ones that stretch over the boobs but still aren't the size of a tent. I have over 25 dresses of that description just for winter. Small heels or knee boots in a 4.5, good tights and a chain. It's basically my uniform. You don't have to get the dresses taken up, you can get yhem in petite lengths and you can wash the hell out of them. That's me six days a week. Looks neat but doesn't swamp me.

athtrasna

I'm 5'1", size 35.5 shoe (that's a proper 3, yet some shops insist on branding a 36 as 3 grrrrrrrrr). Size 8 but with a D cup chest.

Most of my clothes come from America, the short fits there fit way better than most petite ranges here. My jeans are Calvin Klein ($50 in the outlets) and they fit perfectly. Tesco short length are OK too.

Shopping here is hard work when you're petite, thank God for the Internet!

M&S and Next do 35.5 shoes as do Nine West. Most high street shoe shops brand 36 as 3

Precious flower

Debenhams and Marks and Spencer are pretty okay for petite ranges except that the clothes can be a bit expensive for a student like me, I only get maybe two pairs of black jeans or something once in a while.The petite range is about 5'4-5ft and I'm 5ft so there's still a number of inches left over in some trousers but still it looks a lot better. As someone else said here I wear normal length skinny jeans because the extra length just bunches up at the end and when your wearing boots no one would really notice.

I hate being petite. I really wish I was an average height, I just feel so stumpy (not that I'm overweight, I'm 8 stone but I feel like my body looks less slim and sleek) and not as attractive or pretty as a girl who is an average or tall height, they always seem to look so much nicer in clothes.:( I'm always also convinced that I look about 12!:o Being small is hard!:(

jos28

Another 5ft er here and I find trousers the worst to find. Like Marsbar I love the skinny jeans and leggings. Must check out Forever 21 for €7 jeans :eek:

I learned to sew a long time ago and it makes life easier. I have to take everything up and I manage to do skirts/dresses/trousers myself, I leave coats to the professionals. I'm a size 4 shoe which is fine, a friend with size 2 always shops online using Asian sites for small shoes.
I think the hardest thing about being small is grocery shopping. I look like a maniac in the supermarket. Stuff on the top shelf rarely makes it into my trolley. My options are limited, I can stand and wait like an eejit for a tall person and ask them, I can drag those heavy roundy step things the staff use to my chosen destination, I can scale the shelves like an mountaineer until I reach the top, or my favourite one is to wallop stuff off the top shelf using a baguette or any long implement I can find :D

lukesmom

I'd love to be small and petite. I'm 5 foot 8 and can't wear heels or I look like a giant. I've friends who are short and can wear the stunning heels, really high and I'm very envious of you all

camoramo

New Look have a great petite section. I'm kinda stuck in the middle cause I'm about 2 inches too "tall" to fit the petite range but it's great for jumpsuits which would never fit me in the normal section!

Salty

I'm 5'2" and live in skinny jeans. I have 2 pairs from River Island which are perfect lengths for me. I find their short leg to be spot on! I was on a J-1 over the summer and picked up 2 pairs of American Eagle jeggings which I'm in love with, they are a perfect fit. I've never had trouble getting clothes really though. I'm a size 8-10 and a 3-4 foot. Maybe I'm just lucky with the stuff I find? I wear a lot of knits + jeans + ankle boots/converse kind of outfits and always feel I look fine in my clothes.

I buy most of my clothes in New Look, H&M, River Island, Vero Moda and Penneys.

I love fitted, high-waisted pencil midi skirts too, the ones that come to just below the knee. With a pair of heels, I feel I look a bit more elongated !

Mars Bar

_meehan_ wrote: »

I'm 5'2" and live in skinny jeans. I have 2 pairs from River Island which are perfect lengths for me. I find their short leg to be spot on! I was on a J-1 over the summer and picked up 2 pairs of American Eagle jeggings which I'm in love with, they are a perfect fit. I've never had trouble getting clothes really though. I'm a size 8-10 and a 3-4 foot. Maybe I'm just lucky with the stuff I find? I wear a lot of knits + jeans + ankle boots/converse kind of outfits and always feel I look fine in my clothes.

I buy most of my clothes in New Look, H&M, River Island, Vero Moda and Penneys.

I love fitted, high-waisted pencil midi skirts too, the ones that come to just below the knee. With a pair of heels, I feel I look a bit more elongated !

I found the petite section in JC Penney's pretty decent when I was in America!

mollybird

oh girls ye have no idea how great it is to hear im not alone in the world. like a few of ye i wear boot cut jeans also. I think they do make my legs look a bit longer as shorter on the legs than on the top.

Im a size 10-12 on the top and a size 10 on the bottom. i def going to take a look into forever 21 for jeans.

Can anyone recommend a place to get trousers/jeans online that don't get couriered as both me and my husband work so no one at home during the day. if they can get sent by an post and i could pick up at the postal depot would be perfect. seen lovely jeans on the littlewoods site but they courier and no good for me as have no other address to send package to.

also someone mentioned an asian site to get shoes could someone send on the details for that id love to have a look. im not a heels kinda gal anymore im afraid, my poor feet just cant hack it anymore. for summer flats kids section is fine but for more winter boots and going out shoes kids section is no good.

athtrasna

mollybird wrote: »

oh girls ye have no idea how great it is to hear im not alone in the world. like a few of ye i wear boot cut jeans also. I think they do make my legs look a bit longer as shorter on the legs than on the top.

Im a size 10-12 on the top and a size 10 on the bottom. i def going to take a look into forever 21 for jeans.

Can anyone recommend a place to get trousers/jeans online that don't get couriered as both me and my husband work so no one at home during the day. if they can get sent by an post and i could pick up at the postal depot would be perfect. seen lovely jeans on the littlewoods site but they courier and no good for me as have no other address to send package to.

also someone mentioned an asian site to get shoes could someone send on the details for that id love to have a look. im not a heels kinda gal anymore im afraid, my poor feet just cant hack it anymore. for summer flats kids section is fine but for more winter boots and going out shoes kids section is no good.

Why don't you use Parcelmotel?

Penny Tration

mollybird wrote: »

oh girls ye have no idea how great it is to hear im not alone in the world. like a few of ye i wear boot cut jeans also. I think they do make my legs look a bit longer as shorter on the legs than on the top.

Im a size 10-12 on the top and a size 10 on the bottom. i def going to take a look into forever 21 for jeans.

Can anyone recommend a place to get trousers/jeans online that don't get couriered as both me and my husband work so no one at home during the day. if they can get sent by an post and i could pick up at the postal depot would be perfect. seen lovely jeans on the littlewoods site but they courier and no good for me as have no other address to send package to.

also someone mentioned an asian site to get shoes could someone send on the details for that id love to have a look. im not a heels kinda gal anymore im afraid, my poor feet just cant hack it anymore. for summer flats kids section is fine but for more winter boots and going out shoes kids section is no good.

Last time I used asos and boohoo, delivered by an post.


Some of ye seem so down about being short. Tbh I can't ever imagine being unhappy that I'm short. Yeah, buying clothes is a pain in the boobs, but I genuinely love being short! I don't know why, I just do. Every boyfriend I've ever had has loved it, too, even the 6'10 giant who had to pick me up to kiss me :pac:

camoramo

green_screen wrote: »

Last time I used asos and boohoo, delivered by an post.


Some of ye seem so down about being short. Tbh I can't ever imagine being unhappy that I'm short. Yeah, buying clothes is a pain in the boobs, but I genuinely love being short! I don't know why, I just do. Every boyfriend I've ever had has loved it, too, even the 6'10 giant who had to pick me up to kiss me :pac:

I think asos' s petite section has really tiny clothes , never tried boohoo.
I'm 5ft 5 and quite like my height but people do say I'm small so I wouldn't mind being an inch or two taller. My best friend is 5ft 8 and well over 6ft in heels , I look ridiculous beside her. But yeah I've gone out with men a foot taller than me and they loved how short I was so it's not a problem. I think tall girls get a bit pissed when we steal their men though :P

Penny Tration

camoramo wrote: »

I think asos' s petite section has really tiny clothes , never tried boohoo.
I'm 5ft 5 and quite like my height but people do say I'm small so I wouldn't mind being an inch or two taller. My best friend is 5ft 8 and well over 6ft in heels , I look ridiculous beside her. But yeah I've gone out with men a foot taller than me and they loved how short I was so it's not a problem. I think tall girls get a bit pissed when we steal their men though :P

5'5 is small now?! Isn't it about average for women?

TheBeardedLady

green_screen wrote: »

5'5 is small now?! Isn't it about average for women?

It's the national average, in fact. I'm 5' 5" too. It's not petite.

applesock

im 5' 2" great reading this thread to get ideas on where to shop.I find shopping for trousers and jeans a nightmare i always put it off as i can't face it. I must check out the jeans in forever 21 & river island

camoramo

green_screen wrote: »

5'5 is small now?! Isn't it about average for women?

I know it's not classified as petite but people always say I'm small. Maybe I don't stand up straight..!

jaja321

green_screen wrote: »

Last time I used asos and boohoo, delivered by an post.


Some of ye seem so down about being short. Tbh I can't ever imagine being unhappy that I'm short. Yeah, buying clothes is a pain in the boobs, but I genuinely love being short! I don't know why, I just do. Every boyfriend I've ever had has loved it, too, even the 6'10 giant who had to pick me up to kiss me :pac:

I like being short too. There's the odd time I just wish I could stretch my legs a bit... but heels are my friend! Weight is the only other thing.. a few pounds and I can really see it. That works either way though.

Sunny Dayz

jaja321 wrote: »

Weight is the only other thing.. a few pounds and I can really see it. That works either way though.

+1 I really notice any weight fluctuations. There isn't really anywhere to hide it!!

Ilyana 2.0

I'm 5ft 1 and, for the most part, I do like it. I like being a fairly compact person, although I do find that people (mostly men) are always so quick to assume I can't lift heavy things or manage anything too physical.

Clothes shopping can be pretty awkward though. I'm a size 12 with big hips and boobs, so I often have to size up when buying petite clothes. New Look do nice petite jeans though, and I tend to manage fairly well overall. However, I end up swimming River Island's tops, and I have to be careful with things like my bra exposed under my arms in strappy tops/dresses.

As other posters have said, being petite gives you very little wiggle room weight-wise. A 2-3lb gain will show on me, and my weight is at the very top of my BMI range, even though I'm not a big size. It's definitely something I have to keep an eye on.

Mars Bar

Nothing worse than telling a person you're 8st 7lbs but need to lose approximately a stone in fat and then they go on a rant saying "oh 7.5 stone is awful skinny, you wouldn't want to lose any more weight, you'll look gaunt..." and other such ****e. I was measured by a god damn professional and I understand how my weight correlates with my height. Go educate yourself before projecting your unwanted ignorance on me.

Lia_lia

lukesmom wrote: »

I'd love to be small and petite. I'm 5 foot 8 and can't wear heels or I look like a giant. I've friends who are short and can wear the stunning heels, really high and I'm very envious of you all

Same here! I'm just under 5'10 and have never really liked being tall. It's hard for us to find clothes too! Pants aren't too bad. They make different lengths. Sleeves on coats/tops are always too short for me. Really annoying. The main thing is dresses and skirts. Very hard to find one that I can wear without tights without exposing myself

I've never worn heels anyway..they hurt too much.

lukesmom

Lia_lia wrote: »

Same here! I'm just under 5'10 and have never really liked being tall. It's hard for us to find clothes too! Pants aren't too bad. They make different lengths. Sleeves on coats/tops are always too short for me. Really annoying. The main thing is dresses and skirts. Very hard to find one that I can wear without tights without exposing myself

I've never worn heels anyway..they hurt too much.

Oh I hear you about the sleeves being too short! I've really long arms and tops are always too short on the arms. Sigh!

starlit

I'm the same I find it hard to buy clothes especially trousers and in particular shoes. I have a size 3 foot but varies depending on type of footwear. Need 2.5 for sandals, a 4 for trainers and 3 for boots and shoes/pumps. I am about 4'10-5' foot depending on footwear. I've a small frame too size 8-10 on top, 10 below waist. I've a small waist too. I found A-wear was very good for jeans, pity they closed down near me, I end up with the leggings/jeggins sometimes. Marks and Spencers are ok. Top shop and a few other places are good for petites some shops like them are good to stock jeans and trousers for those with shorter legs. You really have to search for them though and are pricey but the quality of the jeans are very good. I've had a few from Top Shop less than 8-10 years and they have lasted. River Island and Dorothy perkins be good too. Oasis I find can be a bit too big for me sometimes.

I'd look around for the shoes for wedding, can be hard to find, but go somewhere you could order your size or near enough to them?

iguana

I'm 5'1" but have never found buying clothes too difficult. And I have to buy adult clothes for the most part as I have big boobs and curvy hips. I just make sure to get a 29" or 30" inseam for jeans and if I can't get them in the shops I get them online. For other pants I take them up if I have to.

I think the main trick is to measure yourself thoroughly and then shop with a tape measure. It saves time and hassle meaning you are more efficient and can quickly dismiss what won't fit you without getting frustrated.

The thing I find hardest is buying shoes. A lot of kids ranges stop at 2 and the adult ranges often start at 4. So for someone who regularly takes a size 3, it can be hard to find shoes sometimes. But if all else fails, I just go online.

starlit

I often end up buying kids clothes sometimes to fit me!

CathyMoran

My 3 year old loves the fact that i can get the same dresses as her, abeit in a larger size - age 13-14 in Tesco is great for dresses, as is Next (age 14-15). I find it great Jeans I need the longer leg though so sometimes need the long leg which is funny as I am 5ft 1in.

Dial Hard

Lia_lia wrote: »

Same here! I'm just under 5'10 and have never really liked being tall. It's hard for us to find clothes too! Pants aren't too bad. They make different lengths. Sleeves on coats/tops are always too short for me. Really annoying. The main thing is dresses and skirts. Very hard to find one that I can wear without tights without exposing myself

We're never happy - I'm 5' 7" and would love to be another couple of inches taller!

Shakespeare's Sister

I'm between 5ft 4 and 5ft 5. Other than a brief desire, in my teens, to be taller (it was the 90s and modelling was just the THING) I've always been happy with my height.
I can't wear very high heels either. I guess I have long legs in proportion to my overall build, and a medium height heel is enough to give off the illusion of me being relatively "leggy".

beks101

I kinda love being a shortaRse. It can lend itself to a sort of innocent and 'cutesy' look and you can get away with murder

Clothes-wise, I've never really had problems. I pretty much live in skinny jeans - the petite ones in Top Shop are almost perfect length-wise and any other pair I'll just fold over on the bottom and no-one knows the difference. Otherwise it's skirts or dresses, which tend to fit just fine as my torso is normal-sized (I just have leprechaun legs )

Top-wise, I have a pair of knockers on me so no kids clothes for me, a size 10 or 12 works most of the time.

It's a fair point about the weight issue - I can gain or lose half a stone and look like a different person. On the other hand, I find I simply don't need to eat as much as other people - I get full fairly quickly and find myself eating about half of what by OH would eat, for example. He's 6'3 and a bottomless pit! I guess the result of that is that I tend to lose or gain weight fairly quickly. Which is either wonderful or a curse!

Aoifums

New Look do a decent enough range of shoes in their teen section if you need small sizes. They can be very fashionable and very teenagerish but there are some nice shoes. I think they do sizes 1 to 7.
Marks and Spencers go up to a 5 or 6 in their children's section. I took a look there and a lot of their shoes are very childish but some of their flats look alright and there's a pair of boots that wouldn't look out of place on an adult

Salty

I bought a pair of heels yesterday in New Look for my graduation and went online last night to find a picture to post in the "latest purchases" thread over in the fashion forum. When I looked the shoes up on their website, it said under them that they were also available in a size 2!

This note was appended to a few pairs, I didn't really pay all that much attention to roughly how many, but it great to see one company acknowledging the more petite ladies.

I'm a size 3-4 myself, always a 3 in heels and I find it hard at times to get dressy shoes in my size. Can't imagine how difficult it is for those with even smaller feet!

Penny Tration

beks101 wrote: »

I kinda love being a shortaRse. It can lend itself to a sort of innocent and 'cutesy' look and you can get away with murder

Clothes-wise, I've never really had problems. I pretty much live in skinny jeans - the petite ones in Top Shop are almost perfect length-wise and any other pair I'll just fold over on the bottom and no-one knows the difference. Otherwise it's skirts or dresses, which tend to fit just fine as my torso is normal-sized (I just have leprechaun legs )

Top-wise, I have a pair of knockers on me so no kids clothes for me, a size 10 or 12 works most of the time.

It's a fair point about the weight issue - I can gain or lose half a stone and look like a different person. On the other hand, I find I simply don't need to eat as much as other people - I get full fairly quickly and find myself eating about half of what by OH would eat, for example. He's 6'3 and a bottomless pit! I guess the result of that is that I tend to lose or gain weight fairly quickly. Which is either wonderful or a curse!

I'm the same with the legs 26 inch legs, normal torso, so no issues at all with skirts and dresses.

I agree with the weight thing.

I'm overweight, at 11 stone (used to be twice that). If I drop 7lbs,my clothes hang off me. If I gain 7, I look SO much bigger.

My boyfriend is tall too, and tends to be shocked by how little I eat in comparison to his family (all of his family, kid sister and all, are between 5'9 and 6'7). :pac:

Penny Tration

_meehan_ wrote: »

I bought a pair of heels yesterday in New Look for my graduation and went online last night to find a picture to post in the "latest purchases" thread over in the fashion forum. When I looked the shoes up on their website, it said under them that they were also available in a size 2!

This note was appended to a few pairs, I didn't really pay all that much attention to roughly how many, but it great to see one company acknowledging the more petite ladies.

I'm a size 3-4 myself, always a 3 in heels and I find it hard at times to get dressy shoes in my size. Can't imagine how difficult it is for those with even smaller feet!

A good few shops do tiny size shoes now, it's great for people with small feet. My best friend is a size 1 in shoes (she's 4'7) and I always end up ordering shoes online for her. I'm lucky, I'm a size 5 in shoes, so never any issue buying them.