| I'm not a regular church goer and I need an Easter appropriate church/event dress. The thing is, I really don't want my legs showing at all and I am also short, so many longer dresses swallow me up. Synthetics also make me break out. Any ideas or brands to look at for this? I have looked in person, but stores don't seem to carry any merchandise anymore. |
| Anthro somerset dress in petite sizing. |
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Would you consider pants and a pretty top?
I'm not short, but I am petite, so I know what you mean about getting swallowed up by long dresses. |
Yes I would but am sort of clueless about fashion. Maybe white linen pants and some kind of dressy top. Is that as dressy as ... a dress? I don't know, as someone who rarely wears dresses, they seem a lot more dressed up to me. |
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The key to avoid the "swallowing" is to create an hourglass look by cinching clothes at your natural waist, or finding clothes with a structured waist. My daughter is 5'1" and I'm 5'4". We both have short legs, and look great in long A-line skirts that fit at our natural waist. I have some dresses that fit my waist perfectly. You can find cotton or silk blouses to pair with skirts.
I hear you about the polyester, it's gross. We look for cotton fabrics online, mostly on Poshmark, so we're not tied to this season's collections. I have bought 100% cotton A-line skirts sold as petticoats on Amazon that I wear as skirts because they're not see-through (made in China). And I have a number of LoveShackFancy skirts and long dresses with defined waists: most of their line is cotton or silk, but their cheaper collabs (with Target, for ex) are sometimes polyester, so check the label. That brand has a distinct feminine vibe you might not like, but for Easter, it's maybe the one time of year people don't roll their eyes at that (I happen to love that style). Anthropologie might have some skirts and tops, or dresses, for you too, but most brands in the Anthro universe run quite large. I discovered, belatedly, that the worse for short legs are skirts that hit somewhere near the knee. They break up already short legs in the worst way. So now I wear either really short mini skirts or shorts, or long A-line skirts or dresses. |
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This Board loves to hate on Lilly Pulitzer, but as a 5’0” person, I find that their midi-length dresses work as a maxi dress for me without needing to buy a petite. They have a store in Tysons Galleria and Bethesda and you can see online which items and sizes they have in stock before you go.
https://www.lillypulitzer.com/dresses/?prefn1=refinementDressMeasurement&prefv1=Midi&sz=60 |
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Check out Lands End, they have petite midi and maxi dresses.
https://www.landsend.com/shop/womens-petite-maxi-dresses/S-xfg-xez-y5c-ys2-yov-xec This one has a small sleeve https://www.landsend.com/products/womens-chiffon-flutter-sleeve-v-neck-wrap-maxi-dress/id_400090?attributes=43307,43324,44256,44959,45074,46384 |
oh my... most of those dresses are fugly. |
I don't think these designers realize what doesn't look good on short people with short legs. As a PP stated, you want above the knee or a line long. Knee, just below knee and shin length aren't good for short people. |
| lol "long line'.. not "line long". |
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This board also hates on Boden but they have a lot of dresses that are mostly Cotton which I really like. They have a lot of midi or short styles. Like something like this could work for Easter if you want long sleeves and like a pattern (they also have simpler short sleeve no pattern things):
https://us.boden.com/products/women-smocked-jersey-shirt-dress-merida-red-decorative-blossom-d1365red |
This dress is 0% cotton. Not sure if viscose counts as a synthetic? |
| All these big floral- bug prints don't look good on petite women. Or at least not on me, I look like the dress swallowed me. Not OP, but was hoping to get some good ideas. A-line or a wrap dress, usually in small prints or solids usually works for me (am petite/short, with a tiny waist but also have a bust and hips) |
Really? I feel like I see boden recommended here quite a lot. And they do have a lot of 100% cotton dresses mixed in with their knit jersey dresses. |
| I’m 5’2 and have found nice dresses at Boden and even Anthro. |