Petite Dresses For Wedding Guests
You just received this invitation to the wedding of a friend. Great! Another nice summer party ahead! But hold on… do you have anything to wear? After trying many dresses, you had in your wardrobe the answer is: no.
Before you start the lifetime crusade of finding the right outfit, take a step back and enjoy reading the following tips on petite dresses for wedding guests.
One garment can make you look stunning even though it had nothing special when you saw it hanging on the store rack. On the contrary, a beautiful dress that seems flattering on a model with similar proportions as yours just doesn’t look anything close to what you expected once you put it on.
In this post, I will specifically provide tips for women that are 5’4″ or less that want to look taller. You can buy these dresses through the following link: Guests And Mother Of The Bride Dresses.
Petite Dresses for Wedding Guests – What to Look for
Here are a few tips to put in practice when going through a store rack or shopping on the web for a dress that will elongate your silhouette.
Emphasize the Waistline and Above
This creates a horizontal line that gives the illusion of longer legs by making the torso look shorter. Simple but effective!
A classic dress design that has this attribute is the Empire dress. There are many options to emphasize the waistline.
Some dresses will incorporate a detail at the waistline level and above (under the bust line). It can be Rhinestones ornaments, a sewed belt or sophisticated pleated details as shown in the example at the right.
Note that this large belt line detail wouldn’t work to make the legs look longer if it was not as high under the bust line.
A sequin ornated bust contrasting with a matte finish fabric dress is very efficient to achieve this effect as well.
If you decide to go with a dress that has some kind of belt design under the waistline, it would be better to keep it narrow and subtle. For example, a fine and delicate Rhinestones strip or a belt made of a satin fabric with the same color as the dress would add a bright touch.
Petite vs Gown
Gowns always look beautiful on that tall model in the magazine. No matter the color, print, shape or fabric used. When you are petite it can be tricky to wear. The following black and white dress feature a vertical pattern that tends to elongate the silhouette.
Look for a type of sewing detail or pattern that present vertical lines design and avoid at all cost wide horizontal stripes that cut the figure in half.
Nude Tone Shoes – Petite Women’s Best Friend
“Nude” refers to the shade that is the closest to your skin color. You can lengthen and slim the silhouette by wearing “nude” tone shoes.
Any color change interrupting the leg line is making the whole silhouette look shorter.
Large, Bulky and Horizontal Pattern
No matter how trendy this is since a couple of years it’s not suitable when you want to look taller rather than shorter. Here are a few examples of what fabric designs you should avoid:
These dresses are beautiful but won’t help you look taller:
Delicate patterns, textured but solid colors and vertical lines are best options
Why this thing about wanting to look and perhaps be taller makes no sens…
I’m 5’3″ and it never really bothered me. I wear pants most of the time because I find it more practical to move around with the kids and also because I have an active lifestyle.
There is one thing that used to exasperate me about being petite: finding a dress. It was always complicated. It often didn’t look flattering or looked dull on me. If you are feeling the same way you know how discouraging it can get.
After the tenth dress that makes you look like you are wearing a jute bag, you start to feel annoyed enough to finally decide that this idea of wearing a dress was not a good one. Or worst: many times I trusted someone else’s opinion and ended up buying the one that the sales person told me that looked sooooo good on me. Once at home when I tried it on, I was convinced that I would never leave home dressed like that. Arggg!…
After many painful failures and countless weeks looking for “The” dress, I’ve started to understand what made it look odd and what works for me. Eventually, I learned by trial and error that there are certain aspects to consider when you are petite women. I wrote this post to share my personal tricks so you don’t have to feel anxiety when stepping into the exiguous fitting room. I always wonder why they build them so small… thank God I’m petite…!
My Best Advice
Here’s what I’ve learned lately. If you love large floral patterns, bold horizontal stripes, and long floating fabric gowns, try it on. Close your eyes and think of the previously mentioned tips for 1… 2 … 3 seconds.
Open your eyes and see that smile on your face while you look at your reflection in the mirror. If you love what you see, just wear it proudly!
I hope you liked my selection of petite dresses for wedding guests and that you enjoyed reading the tips. If you have any questions, leave a comment in the section below. It’s always a pleasure to read you.
Guests And Mother Of The Bride Dresses
Things You Should Bring To An Outdoor Wedding
Pictures For Black Mother Of The Bride Dresses
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Hey,
This is a great post for all petite women. I know because it took my girlfriend forever to find a matching dress for her sisters wedding.
I will most definitely forward this site to her for the next wedding we will attend!
There’s a lot of useful information for her that will save us tons of time and effort 🙂
Thanks,
Esteban
Hi Esteban, Looking for the right dress can be very exhausting and frustrating. I hope these tips can help. Thanks for dropping by 🙂
Very comprehensive article. My wife is petite and I understand the problems for petite women when it comes to any type of clothing purchase. You covered not only the dresses, the patterns but commented on shoes as well. It looks like you really are an authority and this article is a great example. Great read and very helpful.
Hi Jerry, I’m glad you like it. The only real problem I see about being petite is our own judgement. I know many women that are petite, confident on their looks and that break all the laws of petite clothing 😉 The best of it all, they look gorgeous and blooming. That’s what really counts!
Thanks for your comment!
I am not a lady but i must say i am impressed with this article.
You have really shown most women the way when it comes to what to wear to wedding functions. From my little experience with women, i have noticed most of them don’t have an idea of what to wear to a particular function and more often than not, need a dressing advice from a stylist as to what to wear.
with a blog like yours, I am sure most women will from hence forth take their dress advice to functions from you. Keep up the good work
Thanks Fidel! I humbly hope that my personal experience can help someone out there though, nothing I write should be taken as a strict instruction.
Dressing up for any occasion, formal or casual, should be fun and self-rewarding. That’s what my best advice is! Thanks for your appreciation!
A lot of nice gown and dress there! I bet a lot of ladies will be going crazy with your website! Your website is very detailed, they’ll inspired a lot of ladies in choosing your gown and your idea will touches their heart. Keep the good work! I think you’ll still be able to update with a lot more items! such as pendent, or even more into details for wedding planner! See you around.
Hi Bernard, thanks for your kind words! Indeed, there is a lot to be discussed when it comes to weddings! I’m doing my best to find interesting and useful ideas and products. I wish I had more time because I sure have tonnes of ideas! Thanks for dropping by!
Nice article on picking dresses for petite women. I am petite. I am five one. I’ve never really thought about wanting to look taller though. The only two dresses I wear have prints and they are sundresses. I’m sure I look short them. If I were going to need to buy a nice dress for a special occasion then I would keep your tips in mind. Thanks again!
Hi Melanie, I’m petite too. Being petite is not a defect and everyone is free to wear what they want and feel good about it. If you feel like wearing a dress of any type because you like it, well, it’s what you should do!
These tips are just those I found to be helpful for myself. If it can help someone else, than why not share it 🙂 Thanks for dropping by!