Being petite often times makes it harder to find the size and style to fit you. However, I’m sure you have noticed there is plenty of short actresses in Hollywood who are under 5’4″ but still looks stunning on or off red carpet. What is their secrets?
Some of these short celebrities are lucky to be born with easy-to-dress proportions. Even though they are under 5’4″, their torso is shorter and legs are longer, which means they can easily create the illusion of height when they are on the screen. If you have never met these short actresses in person, there is no way you can tell how tall they actually are.
But that is not the only reason. This has a lot to do with how they dress as well, and there is many skills you can learn from these short actresses. If you have short legs but want to know how to look taller, Petite Dressing has a lot of useful tips such as 9 Best Petite Fashion Tricks of All Time, 10 Fashion Mistakes Every Short Girl Should Avoid, How to Dress if you are under 5 Feet tall.
In this post, we have summarized these 7 petite style looks that are tried and true by our favorite short actresses (all under 5’4″) that you can easily copy.[
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Crop top + high waisted bottom
A crop top plus a high waisted skirt or a pair of high rise jeans is an effortless look that every petite girl can pull off with their existing wardrobe. This simple look doesn’t take too much styling, but it is very flattering to petite woman. The crop top makes your torso look shorter, and the high waisted bottom effectively elongates your legs, thus the combination doubles the power to make you look taller. This look is very versatile and can be worn at any occasion.
A cropped off the shoulder top plus a high waisted skirt is a perfect look for a date night, but it can also be a very causal look for the beach or resort, or even just for running errands around town. Even if you are just going to the gym or the grocery store on weekends, throw on a cropped shirt plus a high waisted jeans will make an easy outfit but also make you feel chic.
This petite style is constantly seen on short actresses especially Kim Kardashian. Whether or not you like her reality TV show, Kim Kardashian is on our list of best dressed short actresses because she always pulls the most chic petite style looks whether she is on the red carpet, walking out of a grocery market or holding her baby on the street.
Maxi dress
The Bohemian style has been such a darling of fashion for many years, and there is no sign that it will fade off any time soon. One of the signature looks is maxi dresses, especially floral maxi dresses. In the summer time when you are hanging on the beach or by the pool, nothing seems to be better than a flowy and sexy maxi dress.
When you are packing for vacation at a resort, maxi dresses are the no brainer as they are so light and easy to care for. Sure, most stylists advise us to go with short skirts, if we want our legs to look longer. That is true to some degree. Wearing a short dress above or at the knee is one of the most obvious ways to lengthen our legs and look taller than we are. However, wearing a long dress is another way of effectively extending our frame and thus could be very flattering to petite girls.
The reason is creating length in our outfit is one of the key factors in styling short girls, which can be achieved through creating a column of colors. Because of its continuous color and pattern, maxi dress can effectively elongate your body frame. Therefore, wearing maxi dress the right way will actually make a short girl look taller. We have seen this look on many short actresses, especially in resort pictures.
Nicole Richie is the master of Bohemian style of all short actresses, and she sets a perfect example of how petite women can totally rock this look.
Short print dress
A short dress is a timeless classic in petite women’s wardrobe. How to pick the print that will flatter the petite body frame remains an art and a skill. While some say that petite women should only wear small prints, others have tried it out and proved that rules can be broken. We do believe you should try any print you love, but the key is it should be proportional to your body frame. The general guidance is the print should not be bigger than the fist, if you are petite.
Since petite women have smaller body frame, you want to make sure you do not look swamped by the prints. Of all the short actresses, Reese Witherspoon is the master of this style. In one interview, this southern girl from Georgia mentioned black is only for funerals where she grew up, thus wearing colorful clothing is the most natural thing for her to do. Her love of print dresses is also manifested by her own clothing brand Draper James, which has plenty of preppy southern style short dresses with pretty prints. Read more on How to Wear Prints Learned from Reese Witherspoon.
Fitted crop jacket + shorts
A well fitted jacket hitting a couple of inches below your natural waistline is the most flattering outwear for petite women. Paired with short shorts, this petite style look will make your proportion look better and legs look longer. Mila Kunis is one of the best dressed short actresses to pull this look and sets a perfect example of how to effectively use the length of jackets and shorts to optimize the proportion of petite body frame. If you want your legs to look longer, you should wear ¾ sleeves. If you have very short legs, wear ½ sleeves. You could also apply the rule of monochromatic dressing by wearing similar color of jacket and shorts- they do not have to be the same exact color, but monochromatic means are from the same hue but just of different shades.
Fitted long pants+ stiletto
Well fitted long pants can effectively elongate the petite body frame and make your legs look longer. Pairing them with slender high heels will double that effect of lengthening. The most flattering pants style is high waisted pants, which raise focus point to above your natural waist line and create the illusion of height. As a style icon of the short actresses, Victoria Beckham has rocked many different stunning looks and her style is simple and sleek. One of her signature looks is wearing long pants with stiletto.
Skinny Jeans+ OTK boots
This is one of our favorite looks on short actresses especially in the winter times. Over the knee boots is the best pal of skinny jeans when the weather gets cold. This look is super flattering to petite women as the over the knee design just officially adds several inches to your legs. The OTK boots can be low or medium heels, and still achieve the lengthening and elongating result. If you want the maximum benefit of the OTK boots, go with pointed toe style high heel OTK.
Standing under 5 feet, Mira Duma has rocked this petite style in many different occasions.
Jumpsuits + Heels
Jumpsuit has been so trendy in recent years that you see it everywhere. Jessica Alba was wearing a black wool Emilio Pucci jumpsuit, Miranda Kerr was in a floral print jumpsuit, and Kate Hudson was in Roland Mouret jumpsuit… You name it. It seems like overnight jumpsuit had become the go to outfit for Hollywood A listers, and they are worn in cocktail parties, at charity events and even on the red carpet.
We have seen a few short celebrities such as Mira Duma (5′), Kim Kardashian (5’3”) and Scarlett Johansson (5’3”) wearing petite jumpsuit, so that means it is possible for petite women to pull it off. If worn correctly, jumpsuit can really elongate the petite body frame and be one of the most flattering pieces in your wardrobe.
