Top 10 things to know when you're a Petite Woman (under 5ft 4in)

So people have told you your entire life "good things come in small packages" - well what about clothes?!? Are you 5 ft 4 in or shorter and frustrated that nothing fits right and you always feel short? Here is a list of things to look out for when shopping and where you can get them!

**Pictured above are my petite clients. Mother and daughters all 5 ft 3 in and shorter. I dressed them according to my petite guidelines and they looked and felt great on their special day!

#1 - Elongate your legs as much as possible. The longer your legs are the taller you will appear.

* Wear high-waisted pants and tuck your shirts in

* Look for pants with vertical elements such as pinstripes, center seams and creases

* Dresses with seams that are high at the waist vs low drop waist

* Wear belts high at the waist with pants, dresses and skirts.

* Wear pants as long as possible , to the floor. Stay away from cropped pants and no cuffs.

* Straight leg pants or best, with flat fronts.

#2 - Stick to Monochromatic colors - wear the same color from head to toe. This will keep the eye moving up and down and make you appear taller and leaner. Maxi dresses and pants jumpsuits work great!

#3 - Shorter tops, at the hip line or above are best. Again making your legs appear longer.

#4 - Wear your skirts tight or tapered, pencil skirts best. Bubble skirts, skater skirts, full skirts will shorten you.

#5 - Shoes - flesh colors shoes with skirts to elongate legs, point toe, skinny heel. Match shoe color to pants. Stay away from strappy sandals or cropped boots with skirts.

#6 Tops- V-necks elongate torso , tops with vertical elements work great, like zippers, vertical prints

#7 Accessories - always scaled down to your own proportions, NO oversized handbags, scarves, jewelry, belts, no exceptions. Not even if its latest trend. Sorry :(

#8 Jackets - one button jackets work best with narrow lapel

#9 Tailoring is KEY. Nothing makes a petite look shorter then clothes that aren't properly tailored. Pay attention to hems, sleeve lengths and shoulder widths.

#10 Shop in the petite department as much as possible. Many stores and department stores have petite sections, and if not certain brands run shorter then others. French Connection, Trina Turk, Theory, Weekend Max Mara are all examples of designers that run on the shorter side.