Happy Hump Day! Like I mentioned earlier, this has been the longest week due to the following. But I’m excited to attend an event with Home Chef and Francis Ford Coppola wines tonight! Also, my friend Christina will be in town this weekend for a wedding so I’m excited to see her! (She moved to San Francisco late last summer).
Today, I wanted to share a summer style tip for short or petite women. At 5’4,” I’m not super short/petite, but I often feel that way after shopping. So many items off the rack are made for girls who are 5’8″ or above. I guess that does make sense though…it’s easier to hem or cuff your pants than to add on extra material. But it’s not that easy! You still have to take it in to a tailor, get measured, PAY, and come back and pick it up. The last item I got hemmed was this dress from my Australia trip. I paid $35, removed 5 inches, wore heels, and it was STILL a little too long and dragged on the floor. Who was this dress made for??
But I do love maxi dresses – yhey’re so versatile! I like wearing them while traveling since they’re comfortable for a 20-30 degree range in temperature, from a chilly plane (with a cardigan) to the beach. They’re conservative enough for a casual office environment, and let’s be real, if you forget to shave your legs one morning, you’ll be fine.
While some brands are offering petite sizing for their maxi dresses, plenty of them still don’t. Also, depending on the print on the dress (especially if the pattern is unique to the hem), it might not work to cut several inches off the bottom. When I’ve used Rent the Runway, I’ve ended up with dresses that were WAY too long. I’ve resorted to a temporary hem using PACKING TAPE. Oh, and that time I used binder clip. And when I grabbed a handful of the skirt and secured it with rubber band at the waist. I do not recommend any of these options travesties. So what do I do to expand my choices without extending my wallet?
I get midi dresses in regular sizing!
As an example, there are currently 154 styles of maxi dresses available in petite sizing at Nordstrom. But are 1,708 styles of midi dresses available in regular sizing. Most of these midi dresses will work on shorter women – they’ll just look like maxi dresses instead!
No trips to the tailor required. And you can buy more dresses with the money you save 🙂 Here, I’m wearing a midi dress, available here. If you’re under 5’4″, it’ll be even longer on you.
How tall are you, and do you have issues with sizing?
Have a great day!
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