Fashion advice for short gals?

[xiaozhu85]

Dear all,

I'm new here. I need some fashion advice.

I'm about 1.56 m tall. My legs are slightly longer than my body. I wore mostly tee-shirts and jeans like forever. I do wear some skirts here and there.

I'm quite small in size but not that skinny. Have small bust, wide hips & thighs and also butt. Any advice on what I can wear to enhance the bust area and de-emphasis on the hips, thighs and butt?

I will also like to wear those frilly skirts but have no idea how short I can wear. I'm sick of just wearing denim skirts.

And also, because I'm small in size, I look a little younger than my actual age. And I'm told I don't look good in clothes such as frilly tops, lacy spag tops.

Do advise me on what I can wear to look my age and look good at the same time.

Thanks a million!!!

[saresha]

I have the same sort of figure, but am even shorter! I like:

a. V-neck tops and shirts that are fitted and a little snug, nothing too frilly or flouncy.
b. Boot-cut trousers and jeans (more flattering than straight-cut or tapered).
c. A-line calf-length skirts in heavier fabrics, so that they fall nicely. Nothing poofy or flouncy or frilly or tiered or with too many pleats - they make my arse look huge.
d. Dresses with a fitted waist.
d. Heels. I may be killing my feet, but I don't care.

Basically, you need a clean, streamlined silhouette.

[xiaozhu85]

how lucky for you to be able to wear calf-length skirts. calf-length skirts look horrible on me. i look like a cow when trying on skirts that are longer than knee-length. and minis are a no-no too. coz my thighs are like HUGE. but anyway, thanks a million for your advice.

[atypical]

I am small busted & petite.

I waer almost anything I want as long as they're not baggy.

I love fitted tops, sweaters, t-shirts

boot legged jeans & pants. Capri pants too.

any length of skirts. pleated skirts are the most flattering on me. Wear anything a-line at the bottom if you're trying to give illusion of smaller hips.

heels are important when my bottoms go longer than below knww length. else I'll look stunted.

You can still wear your t-shirts & jeans if you're most comfortable in them. Just make sure you jazz them up with interesting accesories like belts, bracelets, earings, heels, etc.

[xiaozhu85]

Geez... I feel so ignorant. Now I know what to look for to spruce up my wardrobe.

[Glossie]

The most basic art of dressing is the distraction/attraction method, I feel.

~If you're heavy-bottomed, avoid drawing people's attention towards your bottom with big prints or dizzy patterns. Rather, you should be distracting people's eyes towards your top. So if you like prints, wear them on your top, not bottom.

~If your shoulders look narrower than your hips, wear tops that have sleeves - caps or half or 3/4, doesn't matter much which.

~Actually, you're lucky to have a shorter torso/longer legs. You can still try to *balance* out your proportions. Heavy bottoms can do with darker colours to give the illusion of slimmer hips. You can still wear fitted pants to show off your longer limbs. You can then hide your wide hips with a top that falls slightly over them.

~Taking a leaf from Stellat, make use of accessories with this *rule* (distraction/attraction) in mind. A short torso becomes more obvious if you wear your belt at your waist. Instead, belt up lower, to somewhere above your hips NOT where your hips are, else you're emphasizing your wide hips.

Go experiment in front of a full-length mirror! HTH! BTW, I'm a shorty too. 158cm, with no waist. I do wear whatever I like or feel comfy in and get away with it usually. There're stuff I just can't pull off, of course, like long skirts. And I think I look weird in chunky shoes.

[atypical]

I am 1.57 and funnily enough, really long skirts (think floor length) makes me look taller. I wear high heels with them of course and I always pair them with fitted tops like singlets or racerbacks.

[xiaozhu85]

wow stellat, i envy you so. there are times when i walked past stores that sell really beautiful long skirts but i can't buy. i had tried from knee-length to calf-length to floor length and it just doesn't look good on me at all. you are so lucky.

[saresha]

Originally posted by xiaozhu85
how lucky for you to be able to wear calf-length skirts. calf-length skirts look horrible on me.

It really depends on the cut. Strangely enough, skirts that cling a little to my hips and arse are more flattering. Bias cut skirts are good for this, or a knit fabric. They give a sleeker outline to your lower half. I avoid minis and knee-length skirts because my thighs and calves are huge! I MUST wear heels. I look awful, stunted, even, in flats. Eeks.

FYI, Stella is a skinny little thing, so, unlike me, she can wear whatever she likes

[atypical]

Hmmm .. I thought since you have poportionately longer legs, that won't be a problem :eh: Did you try wearing heels?

anyhow ... check out this link for fashion inspiration : http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/jump....0&home050110&1

[Alya]

not a petite girl but huge.
it's really pure envy coming into this thread.
pettite ladies look great in flirty skirts!
i think anything fitted but not suffocatingly so, helps to 'lengthen' the figure. My girlfriend is who is very petite and skinny looks absolutely fab!

[Glossie]

Actually, me and my petite friend won't really suggest fitted clothes for ourselves. I guess we've gone through trial and error to know what works and what doesn't. Skinny or bow legs shouldn't be attracting attention there with fitted and dark-coloured bottoms. Then again, only she can pull off wearing an oversized top and not look stunted whereas I feel I'd rather wear fitted tops than look stunted with long and wide tops that've been all over the shops for seasons.

[saresha]

Originally posted by Glossie
I guess we've gone through trial and error to know what works and what doesn't.

This is so true! It's very hard to generalise; so often I find myself disagreeing strongly with those dos and don'ts for different figures that you see in magazines. By the same token, don't dismiss styles out of hand, you really have to give it a go first. Go shopping with a friend who's got a good eye for fashion, and try everything. You might be pleasantly surprised!

I only "got back" into skirts recently. What works for me are the tweedy skirts from Zara, and also a couple of nice ones from The Station. Calf-length is my new favourite length! But heels, heels, heels - you have to be prepared to live in them.

[Alya]

true true to the above
what do i know about petite girls
can't base on a few i know and give any conclusion,.

i think trial and error is indeed the key. be it petite, talls,plump or anything

[xiaozhu85]

Alya, I'm also petite and I don't even know what works for me.

Sometimes I try on clothes that I think look good on me only to turn around to see my mum shaking her head at it. So I look at it from her point of view and see that it doesn't look that good at all. But then, it probably could be that she had been too used to seeing me in tees and jeans. Now that I'm starting to learn to wear more feminine clothes, I'm earning weird looks from my friends. Hai...