Fashion is a popular style, especially in clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories.  Fashion designers work in a number of ways in designing clothing and accessories.  Successful fashion designers attempt to design clothes that are functional as well as aesthetically pleasing to their target audience. They consider who is likely to wear a garment and the situations in which it will be worn, they have a wide range and combinations of materials to work with and a wide range of colors, patterns and styles to choose from.

In addition to fabric, colors, & style trends, designers must consider garment sizes.  Although not the average size, the petite size market is an important aspect of the apparel industry.  Many of the popular fashion brands and designers will produce clothing in petite sizes.

Petite is having a small and attractively dainty build.

When shopping for petite fashion, you may want to consider the following.

• Tailored for your 4'11" - 5'4" frame
• Shortened sleeve, inseam & torso
• Styled for flattery
• Constructed for comfort
• Perfectly proportioned for your petite frame

Petite designer jeans

Petite designer collections

Average female sized clothing is designed for a woman at least 165 cm (5 ft 5 in) tall (without shoes) and will not properly fit a woman of significantly shorter height. Even if the bust, waist and hip circumferences are appropriate, the sleeve lengths, leg inseam lengths and vertical torso measurements (such as the back length and bust-waist length) will most likely need to be altered significantly to fit well. Non-petite size dresses cannot be easily altered to produce the equivalent petite size, since, in general, these lengths (particularly the critical torso measurements) cannot be altered without introducing an unsightly seam to the garment. Significant errors in the torso measurements will make a well-fitted look impossible, e.g., if the bust-point darts are off by three inches. In addition to its measurements, a petite-size garment may have a different design from those intended for taller women. For example, style elements may be added to give a longer, slimmer look, e.g., vertical stripes, princess seams, short skirts, large patterns or patterns arranged helically around the whole body.

You may want to also visit our women's fashion brands section to find designers that cater to various size ranges.

Learn more about petites.