Overview

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  Petite women want to be taken seriously, but petite-size clothing that is both professional and fashionable isn't always easy to find. A petite woman's height is usually 5 feet 4 inches or shorter, regardless of her clothing size. She can give herself the illusion of extra height with several fashion tips. Some of these tips may seem counter-intuitive, but they do work to give the look of extra height.
  
  

Go Monochrome

• Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes that the petite woman should wear solid or patterned pieces, such as skirts, pants and jackets in the same shade. She can do this by finding, for instance, grey separates in a small houndstooth pattern and pairing them with black, charcoal grey or silver blouses or sweaters. She can also wear a light grey houndstooth vest over a charcoal grey blouse and a pair of light grey houndstooth slacks or skirt with the same pattern.
  
  

Avoid Bulky Fabrics

• Petite Resource advises petite women to avoid items made with bulky fabrics, such as sweaters featuring a thick, bulky yarn. Instead, the petite woman needs to wear soft flowing fabrics, such as cashmere.
  
  

Fist Rule

• Petite women can employ the “fist rule” when looking at an item with a printed pattern. If the pattern is larger than her fist, the pattern is too large and may overwhelm her small frame, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
  
  

Wear V-Neck Tops

• V-neck tops help give the illusion of additional height to a petite woman. If she doesn’t own any pieces with V-necks, she can create the look of a V-neck top by pairing a V-neck cardigan or vest over a blouse. She can also wear a V-neck halter top under a blazer, suggests Petite Resources.
  
  

Have a High Focal Point

• A petite women can give herself more height by wearing pieces with an eye-catching focal point positioned higher--for instance, pinning a brooch to a dress or blouse. The high focal point helps draw peoples’ eyes higher up her body, thus giving the illusion of being taller.
  
  

Short-Over-Long or Long-Over-Short

• Normally, petite women don’t attempt to divide their height. However, using clothing items of differing lengths, such as a long tunic over a short skirt or a short jacket over long pants, helps to create the look of more height, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The longer clothing item helps to lengthen either the lower half or upper half of her body. She can make more of an illusion of height by choosing separates in the same tonal family or color.
  
  

Use Tonality or Color Intensity

• The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review recommends choosing separates or outfits with pieces in one color family, such as a burgundy skirt and jacket paired with a dark pink blouse. The petite woman adds additional height to her slight frame by wearing pieces in different shades of the same color or color intensity, such as pastels or darker tones.