What is Petite Clothing?
Should You Wear a Petite Size?

Find the answers to frequently asked questions about petite and petite plus clothes

Questions

• What is petite clothing?
• What is petite plus clothing?
• What is the difference between petites and regular sizes?
• Am I a petite size?

Answers

What is petite clothing?

Petite clothing is designed for women under 5'4" (162.56 cm). It is about height, not about weight. Petite clothing can come in sizes from 00P to 14P, 16P, or sometimes 18P.

What is petite plus clothing?

Petite plus clothing is also designed for women under 5'4". Sometimes called "women's petite clothing," it is the equivalent of plus size clothing for petites. Most petite plus clothing comes in sizes from 16WP or 18WP to 24WP or 26WP. But some sources carry sizes up to 32WP and a few up to 44WP.

What is the difference between petites and regular sizes?

Regular sized women's clothing is designed for a woman roughly 5'5" tall and will not fit properly on someone who is significantly shorter. Petite clothes have shorter sleeve, length, and torso measurements. Some petites also have narrower shoulders. In addition, the best petite clothing will be more than just scaled down versions of misses styles. Well-designed petite clothing uses styles specifically chosen to flatter the petite figure. For example, a designer can give petites a longer, slimmer look using such features as vertical stripes, scaled down prints, smaller buttons and trims, and monochromatic color schemes.

Am I a petite size?

Forty percent of women in the United States are under 5'4". If you're one of them, you may well look better in a petite size. Petite sizes are targeted to fit women between about 4'11 and 5'3". To find your size in petites, check your measurements against the size chart below.