Petite Mother of the Bride Dresses

June 7, 2018 Carolyn

Looking for petite mother of the bride dresses? Here are a few tips to help you find the ideal dress.

First off, petite fashion is made for women measuring between 5′ and 5’4”.

That being said, if you’ve already been looking for a dress that was intended for petite women, you probably noticed that it’s usually not a perfect fit either.

Obviously, if a piece of clothing is big enough for a 5’3” person chances are, it will look somewhat loose on a 5′ tall.

This is especially true for pants and long sleeve shirts as you need to fit the merchant’s pattern standard in more ways. Personally, it’s almost impossible to find pants that have the correct rise length and inseam.

Even now I wear pants that are not my size. I’ve made the choice to not care anymore. Some battles are not worth fighting for (sighs).

Dresses, on the other hand, have other measuring standards that you can turn to your advantage.

Fortunately, depending on the type of dress you choose and your body shape it’s possible to find a ready-to-wear petite mother of the bride dresses that look cut for you.

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Petite Mother of the Bride Dresses

To ensure a dress looks good on a petite silhouette there are a few key elements to look at. Here they are the petite mother of the bride dresses aspect to take into account.

Shoulders

The shoulder length in petite fashion is usually different than regular fashion intended for a 5’5” person. This is important to ensure that the upper part of the bodice doesn’t look puffy with excess fabric.

It’s an important detail if you are looking for a dress with sleeves. However, you can avoid the hassle of trying to find the right shoulder/sleeve seam position by wearing a sleeveless dress and pair it with a cardigan.

There are many necklines options some offering more support than others as you will see in the next paragraph.

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Bust

The bust line is another measurement that is adapted to fit petite frames. Do you remember wearing a strapless dress and constantly pulling on the bodice, leaning forward, or using a scarf to hide your cleavage? I know I do…

Unless the size of the dress is completely off, this can happen with a non-petite garment as the bust line is too low compared to your actual bust line.

In fact, there is more distance between the shoulder line and the bustline in regular fashion sizes.

Necklines

Off-the-shoulders and strapless necklines are particularly flattering and elegant with updos. However, they require the use of shapewear or corset to add support for larger busts.

In a not so distant past, having a large bust meant that you couldn’t even think of wearing strapless bodice design.

Fortunately, new fabric blends and inventive designers have created shapewear garments providing a comfortable and efficient solution if you intend to wear a strapless neckline dress.

On the other hand, necklines like the halter, portrait, and bateau styles are perfect options.

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Supportive Necklines

Halter neckline: consists of a strap that goes behind the neck. This allows you to wear a nude shoulder design without compromising on the bust support.

Portrait neckline: a chic style that reveals the collarbone and sits at the edge of the shoulders.

Bateau neckline: provides a vintage glamour to the dress (think Audrey Hepburn’s elegance).

Finally, use vertical lines instead of horizontal lines for a slender and slim figure. Also, a V-neck dress tends to elongate the silhouette and makes the neck look longer.

Arms

The lengths of the sleeves are a bit shorter and armholes have a narrower width in petite fashion. The latest characteristic prevents from showing the edge of your bra if you’re wearing a sleeveless dress.

Waist

The waistline is higher and closer to the bust line compare to regular fashion.

In fact, choosing a dress that has some kind of ornaments that emphasize your real waistline makes it look more flattering. If the waistline is too low it shortens the leg length and makes the body look shorter than it is in reality.

The empire waist dress goes beyond this concept to create the illusion of shorter torso and longer legs.

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Skirt Lenght and Patterns

I’ve mentioned earlier some elements that can help elongate the silhouette. While it can be good to know if it’s important for you, I encourage you to try the dress styles based on what your gut tells you.

I’ve seen many articles mentioning how petite should not wear this and that. Truth is it really depends on your body shape.

Above all, it depends on your taste.

Tea length dresses, large prints, and horizontal lines are said to be unflattering to shorter people. On the other hand petite should only wear solid color dresses, vertical lines, etc.

I know I rarely adhere to such principles because I think diversity is beautiful and don’t really like monotony.

Oh, I almost forgot. I can’t follow these rules because next year the fashion BCBG rules will change again and I will find myself with a wardrobe full of outdated garments.

Hope you’ve enjoyed this article on petite mother of the bride dresses. Let me know what you think by leaving a comment in the section below.

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