For many petite women, shopping for petite activewear is never easy. Regular size work out pants, mostly with 31inch inseam, are made for women of average height (5’4”), thus they are always too long for petite girls.
Sure, you always have the choice to take them to the tailor, but, that comes at extra time and cost. Some petite women have been going to kid’s department to look for petite work out clothing, which is ok once in a while, but junior’s clothing cannot compare to sophisticated looking petite work out clothing that are meant to be worn by women under 5’4”. Our guide gathered the 4 best places to shop for petite work out clothing at price range from low, medium to high to fit the needs of petite women with various budget in mind.
You can also find all kinds of work out wear from Parka to yoga shirts at these stores that will suit your needs for different activities (yoga, running, cycling and etc). They all are specifically designed for shorter girls, so no alterations are needed. (Read related article: 5 Tips on How to Find Petite Yoga Pants that Make Your Legs Look Longer).
Old Navy
When you think of Old Navy, what comes to mind might be T-shirts, casual dresses and sweat pants, and you may not associate it with activewear. Actually, Old Navy carries a full line of petite clothing for not just petite dresses, jeans, and tops, but also petite maternity clothing and petite activewear. In fact, this is one of the best places to find well priced and well designed petite activewear that many petite women did not know about.
They carry high waisted style petite workout pants, which are very flattering for petite girls who want their legs look longer (who doesn’t, anyways?). I also found the high wasited design most comfortable when running or doing yoga, without having to worry about showing panty edge. Their price point is unbeatable, $23 to $33 for full length petite workout pants- doesn’t get better than that.
If you are thinking for this price, it must be the most basic style with boring and plain design- then you are wrong. They have some really cute designs such as knotted hem, lattice hem or mesh side panel. For this price, don’t they always make you want to grab a bunch before you head to check out?
Gap
Many of us know Gap has a full petite clothing line, just like Old Navy, but they offer higher quality petite activewear at a slightly higher price. Their full length petite work out pants are about $69-79. They have some high rise designs that are meant to be “waist changer”, i.e. engineered panels shape and smooth your mid section and hips so that you look and feel amazing during your work out. They have regular, tall and petite length for these pants, which is great news for petite women.
Athleta
This is one of the most traditional places to shop for petite activewear and also my personal favorite. What I like about it is they offer full range of work out clothing for petite women (as well as tall and plus sizes), including tops, bottoms and dresses. So, that means, we can not only find petite work out pants which are cut shorter, but also tops and dresses proportioned for our petite body frame.
Their full length work out tights are $69 to $89, in general $20 lower than Lulu Lemon. Their quality is pretty good, and some swear quite comparable to Lulu Lemon. They use fine quality stretchy and breathable materials which make your movement easier in yoga glasses or other workouts. They have plenty of choices of high rise and mid rise designs which have the leg elongating effect for petite women. Their full length inseam length for petite work out pants is around 24 inches, which fits petite women nicely.
Lulu Lemon
This is one of the names very popular amongst petite women who are work out junkies and has some incredible brand loyalty- it is not uncommon to see someone showing a full wardrobe of Lulu Lemon on their Instagram. Although to others, Lulu Lemon’s prices might be a little steep. They do not have a “petite activewear section” per se, but they do have some 7/8 designs with inseam of 25inches, which works for women under 5’4”. With their work out pants priced at $98 to $118 per pair, you may be wondering if it’s worth the splurge.
According to the company, this is because the type of cotton and raw materials that they use are different. For example, combed cotton is a much higher quality material and also much more expensive to manufacture and therefore used by Lululemon to produce higher quality clothing. If you are looking for great quality petite work out clothing, by all means check it out. They do have some sale promotion going on once in a while, in which times you can grab a pair of petite friendly work out pants at $69. One thing to keep in mind that Lulu’s sizing skews particularly small, with a size 2 close to XXS.
So if you are very skinny petite girl, this brand will fit you really well. For the rest of petite girls who are petite in height but not super tiny in weight, be mindful of their sizing. The great thing is they offer free hemming on all products, including tops, which makes it easier for petite women without having to spend extra on tailoring cost.
Sweaty Betty
For those of you searching for petite activewear, you may not be familiar with this brand since they are based in London. They carry a petite line for shorter ladies and they call on petite girls to rejoice the yoga pants, running leggings and workout tops that are perfect for petite figures. Don’t worry about international shipping, in fact, they offer US Standard shipping which normally takes 3-6 business days, no different than any other US based brands. They have not only yoga pants and work out leggings, but also outdoor activity wear such as merino pants and North Pole Parka- all proportioned to suite petite women’s work out needs. Their price point is $135 for a pair of 7/8 length leggings and $85 yoga top, a little above the economical brands. However, if you are in need of petite sized parka or merino pants for your next outdoor adventure, you may want to check them out.
