Ask Fashion Girl

Dear Petite Teen,

The fashion classification "petite" means women who are 5' 4" and under. By this definition there are more than 20 million petites in the U.S. alone! Did you know that the average woman in the U.S. is 5' 4"? Most clothing stores have a petites department with sizes ranging from 2 to 16, which gives you lots of clothing options. The main goal in dressing for petites is to create the illusion of greater height. Here are some suggestions for this effect.

Stick to wearing the same color scheme from head to toe to create a long, flowing look. Layering separate pieces in similar shades of the same color will also have this effect. The key is to avoid high contrast colors in separates, like a white shirt with a black skirt. This can cut your figure in half and give the illusion of a "choppy" silhouette instead of a longer one. If you do wear contrasting colors, then repeat them in at least two pieces of the whole outfit, like a jacket and pants.

Stay away from large prints and horizontal stripes because these will also cut up your figure. Vertical stripes are your friend! Vertically-striped clothes follow the line you are trying to lengthen, and will draw the eye up and down into this illusion. Solid colors are also a good choice for petites. When considering choices of clothing cuts, go with fitted and tapered rather than baggy or gathered. This will make the most of your body shape, keeping your form long and lean instead of hiding it under too much fabric.

Accessories like hats, earrings, nose rings, barrettes, and necklaces will attract attention upwards to the face, once again lengthening your overall look. Go with small-scaled, detailed accessories because loud, large baubles will overpower you and make you look weighed-down. Keeping details like buttons and pockets scaled down will prevent an overpowering effect as well.

When it comes to shoes, keep in mind one word: heels. High heels literally add inches to your height. Tapered heels on dressy shoes, square heels on boots, chunky heels on sandals; you can wear heels with almost any outfit. You can't go wrong right now with platform shoes. It seems like no shoe style has escaped a platform-heeled version of itself, which gives you lots of choices to wear with fitted pants and skirts. Good luck with customizing your outfits!