Am 5'4" and move pretty easily between regular and petite. My legs are too long for petite pants, but shirts, sweaters, dresses and skirts often fit better in petite. In Talbots, my petite size is one up from the regular size whether the item is sized by number or by SML.

OP here again. I'm 5'4" too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's helpful. My torso fits in clothes just fine. I think I need to try on some petite jeans and slacks. Still a good idea to size up?

I can wear almost no dresses. The proportions just never work for me or I look shapeless and terrible.

I would plan on sizing up. Until you have a feel for how different brands fit you, I'd suggest bringing at least three sizes into the fitting room.

Don't give up on dresses. You just haven't found that cut and/or brand that works for your body. It took me a long time to figure out the challenge for getting dresses to fit me (short torso). I thought the problem was that I lacked a waist, when the reality was that the waist (smallest part) was down around my hips (usually a woman's widest part). I've also become a fan of belting otherwise shapeless dresses (maxi dresses, shifts, t-shirt dresses). It takes a while to figure out the best belt width and placement for you though.

http://youlookfab.com/2010/04/20/how-to-wear-belts-7-guidelines-for-the-belt-challenged/

I can wear some wrap dresses, if they're cut right. At a 34H, it's impossible to find any other style that fits both top and bottom without that tent look. I love dresses. If I can ever afford to have them custom made, I'll fill my closet with dresses.

Thanks for the advice. I'll hit the mall this weekend and see what fits.

I'm 5'4" but have longish legs and am very short-waisted (short distance between my armpit and waist). I am slim but decidedly pear-shaped. So, e.g., I am a 6 or an 8 in bottoms but a 4 or a 6 in tops. I usually wear petite tops and almost always wear petite dresses, because in order to get a good fit in the hips, I have to, say, get the size 8, which will be big on the top, and even bigger in a regular (non-petite) size. I find that I wear pretty much the same size in regular or petite. Finding pants that look good is a big problem for me. I can't wear petite pants because the length is too short, but regular sizes are too long and sometimes too long in the rise as well. Then of course there is the pear-shape issue--my waist is much smaller than my hips, which creates a whole 'nother layer of pants nightmare. I almost always have to have pants altered, both length and waist.

I thought the cut off for petite is 5'4" - I am 5'4" and a half, so often wear petites. I almost always wear petite pants (the only exception is ankle pants- i buy them in regular sizes and they are the perfect length, go figure.

As others have said, often they are proportionally smaller - the rise of pants, higher armholes, etc.

There are some brands though where if I wear an 8 in regular sizes, I wear and 8 in petites, and other brands where if I wear 8R, then I need a 10P.

Talbots over the past year has resized and for sure their petites are a size smaller. Ann Taylor though is not, generally. LOFT is hit or miss, sometimes yes sometimes no. Banana I've found the same size, generally for both petite and regular.

I also find great luck with "short" lengths - Old Navy, Gap.

I'm a huge fan of petite sizing- I haven't hemmed pants in a decade! - but you really do need to try on and figure out what works.

Anonymous wrote:That's helpful. My torso fits in clothes just fine. I think I need to try on some petite jeans and slacks. Still a good idea to size up?

I can wear almost no dresses. The proportions just never work for me or I look shapeless and terrible.

I would plan on sizing up. Until you have a feel for how different brands fit you, I'd suggest bringing at least three sizes into the fitting room.

Don't give up on dresses. You just haven't found that cut and/or brand that works for your body. It took me a long time to figure out the challenge for getting dresses to fit me (short torso). I thought the problem was that I lacked a waist, when the reality was that the waist (smallest part) was down around my hips (usually a woman's widest part). I've also become a fan of belting otherwise shapeless dresses (maxi dresses, shifts, t-shirt dresses). It takes a while to figure out the best belt width and placement for you though.

http://youlookfab.com/2010/04/20/how-to-wear-belts-7-guidelines-for-the-belt-challenged/

If I try on an 8 regular and 8 petite, there is definitely a difference for pants - not just in terms of length. It often feels very noticeably roomier around the waist, butt, and thighs in a regular, than petite.

I'm 5'3" (on a good day) if it matters.

I buy petite and short pants (short legs) and normal tops. I think the sizing varies by brand more than anything.

You can also try Short instead of petite. I've found Short jeans work for me but I need Petite slacks.

That's helpful. My torso fits in clothes just fine. I think I need to try on some petite jeans and slacks. Still a good idea to size up?

I can wear almost no dresses. The proportions just never work for me or I look shapeless and terrible.

In most brands, a size 10p has width (bust, waist and hip) measurements of an 8 misses.

The inseam is not the only thing that is shorter. The rise (distance from crotch to waist) is also shorter. And the distance from shoulder to waist is also shorter. The neckline is usually a bit higher and the armholes might be a bit smaller/higher, too.

Supposedly the height cut-off for petite is 5'3". I am 5'5" and frequently wear petite dresses and tops, as I'm short in the torso. My inseam is 31" (not really short), but I sometimes will wear petite, short or ankle pants because i don't wear the sky high heels that designers seem to think all women wear.

All of my pants and jeans are 3-5" too long. I've had them hemmed when necessary.

I've recently moved from plus sizes to misses sizes and the length is a bigger issue. Is length really the only difference between regular misses and petite clothes? Are they smaller in the waist or hips?