Imogen, what do you suggest for petite and skinny girls. As you may have guessed, I’m really tiny, and am tired of people thinking that I am still in college, while I have been working for over 6 years. Any advice on how to look more professional and less small would be great. Thanks a ton!
1. Make sure your clothes fit perfectly. A too long sleeve will emphasise your lack of stature. Any clothing that doesn’t fit you well will look ‘borrowed from your bigger sister’. Expect to have all your clothing tailored to fit your unique size.
2. Avoid ‘little girl’ clothing styles. If it’s a fashion commonly found in the kids department you don’t want to be wearing it.
3. Wear more neutrals and more muted colours. We associate bright colours with children, neutrals with grown ups.
4. Stay away from clothes with volume. Too much fabric will overwhelm your small frame and make you look even smaller.
5. Wear more structured clothing, a jacket (even one made from a fabric with some stretch for comfort) will make you look more professional than layers of knits. A shirt with a collar, tailored trousers, a simple, elegant shift dress all go to making you look more mature.
6. Be careful of the scale of collars. A huge collar next to your face will make you look smaller.
7. Look for shoes and accessories that say sophisticated rather than student. Quality leather rather than vinyl or nylon.
For more Petite Tips check out
Formal Wear for the Petite and Busty
What to Wear – Petite and Busty
Top 5 Tips for Petite Dressing
Stylish Thoughts – Alterations Needed
Try this blog for lots of advice: http://www.extrapetite.com/
Jean is super-petite, but she always manages to look put together and professional. Even I refer to her style and I’m 6 ft! o_O
Thanks for the tip!
Oh, I love the Extra Petite blog. Another good one is Alterations Needed; she looks very polished and stylish. http://www.alterationsneeded.com/
I’ve started to realise just how crucial it is to wear clothes that fit well, as Imogen recommends. Though I’m of average height and weight, I often have to make adjustments to sleeve and hem length. Some alterations are simple and you can learn to do them yourself if you’re interested in sewing.
Pneu – yes Alterations Needed is fabulous for petites. Clothes that fit are important to every size and shape! It’s great you’ve learned to sew so you can do them yourself.
My daughter has similar issues. She follows the above advice and also does a couple of other things to really up the ante, which you might find helpful. First, she pushes the level of refinement up a little, not a lot but looking a little more refined helps her appear more mature. Second, she is meticulous with her make-up and hair. This also helps her appear more mature. College girls don’t usually take the time for those extras.
Now that you mentioned, I do exactly the same! I think it really works for me. My personal style would be dramatic/classic/creative/rebellious – I emphasize the classic aspect at work (usually with some interesting bracelet or scarf to make it “mine”) and leave the quirky things for the evenings and weekends.
Great tips Sherilyn, Hair and makeup – overall grooming are important in looking stylish. Keeping your look polished gives you more poise and credibility.
Nice post, I like your idea and way you describe everything which is helpful for a most petite person.