One thing that annoys me about dress shopping is that everything is always so long on me. The reality is that the majority of us aren’t model tall, but because you can reduce fabric (but not add to it), retailers create dresses with the expectation that you’ll get it altered or you’re one of the few blessed with tall height. It makes sense from a business cost perspective since companies save money when they don’t have to create as many sizes, but it sucks as a consumer since it gets costly getting alterations. I rarely hem my clothes since I try to buy clothes that already perfectly fit. It’s usually not worth it to me to buy something, then to pay more to get it altered. It can get challenging buying dresses that you don’t have to hem but there are stores out there that offer petite sizing or a wide range of sizes. These are my go-to stores for petite dress shopping.
My favorite places to buy dresses that fit well, and that you most likely don’t need to hem:
- Princess Polly: I kept seeing bloggers wear this brand on Instagram and wondered why it was so popular, aside from the cute/trendy clothes. After making my first order, I understood why. They offer sizes all the way from 0-12. It’s extremely rare for me to find a brand where they offer a size LOWER than my actual size (I’m a size XS, XSP, or a size 2). Their sizes run true to size and most of their dresses have adjustable straps to make it fit even better. I own 4 dresses from Princess Polly and never had to hem any of them!
- Topshop: Similar to Princess Polly, Topshop offers sizes from 0-14 and even a whole section for petite sizing, specifically for women 5’3″ and under. Their fabrics aren’t the best, but I love shopping Topshop for affordable, trendy clothes. Nordstrom also carries Topshop making it more accessible to shop. Their stuff always fits me super well and I’ve never had to get anything hemmed from Topshop.
- Bloomingdales: I love Bloomingdales since they have a great selection of merchandise, great sales, and a filter for petite and plus sizing online. Bloomingdales is my go-to for wedding guest dress shopping since they have a great selection of formal dresses. Some of my favorite brands that fit well include Aqua, Keepsake (I usually size down to an XXS for this brand), and Likely.
- Reformation: When Reformation came out with petite sizing, I was SO happy. Their petite sizing is still long but because you often wear heels with dresses, their petite-sized dresses usually end up hitting the perfect floor-length (I’m a total height of 5’7″ with heels on). I also love the styles of their dresses and tend to get compliments when I wear their stuff, which is priceless ;).
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