Are you petite? Do you have inverted triangle shape?
First, I want to start with that I am also petite (I’m 5’2″) and my site is about fashion for short women. I have many readers who reached out and asked about how to dress their broad shoulders.
Celebrities with Petite Inverted Triangle Body Shape
If you are not sure what is an inverted triangle shape (sometimes known as the strawberry shape), in today’s Hollywood, these petite celebs have the most typical inverted triangle shape.
- Victoria Beckham, 5’3″
- Lucy Liu, 5’2″
- Renee Zellweger, 5’4″
This post may contain affiliate links, which means we earn a small commission (at no cost to you) if you follow the links and make a qualified purchase, which enables us to keep creating amazing free content for you. Thanks! Click here to learn more.
What it Means to Be a Petite Inverted Triangle Body Type
Inverted triangle shares some similar characteristics with rectangle shape.
Some women are clearly inverted triangles. Others tend toward some features of being rectangle shaped, but are slightly triangular in an inverted way.
At Petite Dressing, we believe each petite body type have their own unique treats and everyone has the potential to be attractive, as long as we use the right dressing techniques to enhance our assets.
First things first, let’s take a look at what is an inverted triangle shape.
- You have prominent and broad straight shoulders, which are wider than your waistline or your hips.
- Like the rectangle shape, you are likely to have athletic build
- You have ample bust and a wide back. Your chest may be larger and your back may be fuller than petite rectangles.
- You have a proportionally larger upper body
- You tend to have rather flat buttocks. Your hips are slim and your bottom may have a tendency towards the flat side
- Your waist is subtle and you have a tendency to gain weight first in your belly and upper body, especially your back, when you gain weight.
In one word, petite inverted triangle shape women have an “athletic build”, and above are the typical features of petite body shape.
However, because human body have some many different variations, most likely not one body would fit into all features of one body type. If you feel like you have some but not all of the traits above, it is possible you are a combination of inverted triangle and other body types. Click on Petite Body Type to read more and take the quiz and find out what body type is closest to you.
Strengths and Weaknesses of of Petite Inverted Triangle
Now that we talked about how to define the inverted triangle shape, it may have become clear to you that the best assets is your beautiful, shapely legs. Even if you are petite, you are still likely to have nice toned legs, which is one of your best assets you should accentuate.
The key to dress an inverted triangle body type is to balance your broader shoulders, chest and back with your narrower lower body to create more of an hourglass effect.
This is achieved by choosing clothes that add curves to your hips and bottom while creating a more defined waist.
For instance, a nipped-in waist and flared bottom will add curves to your hips. I will get into more details next.
Best Tops for Inverted Triangle Shaped Petite Ladies
First of all, because you are petite, you need to always make sure your tops are well fitted. Anything loose or shapeless never looks good on a shorter woman.
Tops with vertical detail
The inverted triangle shape should think vertical- as anything that has width in a horizontal direction is only going to make your shoulders look wider.
For petite women, another benefit of wearing vertical details is they will also visually create length in your body, and thus make you look taller. Consider vertical stripes, thin lapels, and vertical seams that draw in at the waist. Princess seams, side paneling, pin tucks and top stitching all look great on inverted triangle shaped petite women.
It is important for the inverted triangle to create some balance between the slimness on your bottom half and the width of the top. Tops with vertical details on the upper body will make your upper body look more slender and therefore will balance with your slim bottom half.
Deep V neck tops
You will look great in tops with narrow v-necks and nipped in waists that flare slightly at the hip, as they will narrow your upper body while creating some curves around the hip.
Wearing deep shawl collared or lightly coweled tops, particularly in dark colors with a light shell underneath will also achieve the same effect.
Deep V-neck wrap style tops is universally flattering to petite women, because they make your neck look longer and proportion look better. They are especially suitable for inverted triangle shape petite women.
Tailored button down
You will also look great in a highly tailored button downs that emphasize your waist and can be unbuttoned at the throat. Even collarless looks are great for inverted triangle shape, especially if you can unbutton at the top a bit and the shirt is tailored at the waist.
What not to wear
If you want to distract people’s attention away to your prominent shoulders, you may want to stay away from strapless tops and off shoulder tops. These tops draw attention to your broad shoulders and make them more noticeable than any other necklines.
The Importance of a supportive bra
For inverted triangle shaped women, your bra can help to balance the width of your shoulders by bringing more attention and definition to your bust. The right bra will help to accentuate your waist and give your more options when it comes to tops and dresses.
Best Jeans for Petite Inverted Triangle Shape
Best Jeans style
We mentioned earlier your best assets are your beautiful legs.
In order to balance your bottom with your prominent shoulders, what you can do is to create volume in your bottom half. These are the best leg shapes and most flattering on your figure.
- Boot cut
- Slightly flared
- Trouser cut jeans
- Wide leg jeans
Since you are petite, the best jeans are those with a subtle flare at the hemline. Because of your petite height, you don’t want the flare to be too exaggerated, which would widen you horizontally and make you look shorter.
For petites who have the inverted triangle shape, you need to make sure the wide legs pants are full length.You should avoid wide leg pants at crop length because they can make your legs look cut off.
Jeans with pocket details
Whiskering at the hips and flap-pockets will add curves to your lower half. Similar to petite rectangle shape, if you want to create some curves back, then you should go for jeans with pocket details.
Jeans with brighter colors
Best petite jeans for you is straight or skinny jeans in light or bright color, which will balance your broad shoulders and add some femininity to your athletic body frame.
Olive color jeans has been the favorite choice of color for jeans by many Hollywood celebrities and models in recent years, because it is sexy, classic and chic.
Best Pants for Petite Inverted Triangle Shape
Similar to jeans, pants with wide or flared legs are flattering to your figure.
Side pockets or flap-style back pockets also help balance your upper body.
Cargo style pants are particularly flattering because they add volume to your legs which balance out with your wider top.
Best Skirts for Petite Inverted Triangle
You have amazing legs so feel free to play with skirt lengths, but don’t go too short otherwise you will further a top-heavy look.
A-line skirts fill out your slight hips while balancing your upper body. Look for details around the hips or bold colors and prints to further enhance the effect.
Full or ballerina type skirts add curves to your lower half and balance your broader, upper body. You have great legs, so feel free to play with length.
As a petite woman, you should especially pay attention to the length of the skirt because when the hem of a skirt falls across a thick part of the leg, either thigh or calf, it makes you look wider and shorter.
In most cases, the best skirt length for short women is 3-4 inches just above the knee. However, don’t go too short otherwise you will further a top-heavy look.
