Petite *Does Not* Mean Skinny

By Courtney Sturniolo

We loved pouring through the inspiring and honest answers received from our customers and followers about your experiences being a petite woman. One common theme as we read them was that a lot of petite women, who are 5’4” and under, don’t even know they are petite. 

How is that possible? Well, there’s a giant misconception that petite women are skinny! Some petite women are skinny, but the petite label on clothing has nothing to do with weight. The petite label on women’s clothing is entirely related to height – and corresponding measurements, like the length of your torso, legs, and arms. 

To be clear: petite women can have all the features of a womanly body. Petite women have booties! Petite women have thighs! Petite women have bellies! And petite women have boobs! Well, we don’t all have all of them. Personally, I was not blessed in the boobs department (as a very rare 36AA, bras are just one more thing I struggle to buy off-the-rack) and that’s okay because I’m beautiful exactly the way that I am. I feel even more beautiful in my Sugopetite dresses because they were made for my body, not for someone 5’8” tall. 

The True Definition of Petite
A petite woman is any woman who is 5’4” and under. The petite label means that clothing was designed with shorter measurements, not thinner measurements. At Sugopetite, we specifically:

•    Shorten arms lengths to lay naturally at your wrist without extra material bunching
•    Shorten the torso length to sit appropriately at your natural waist
•    Shorten the hem length to hit your leg at the intended mini, maxi, or midi length
•    Do not make the clothes skinnier or thinner, just shorter

If you are a large in standard women’s clothing, you are a large in Sugopetite clothing - but you can expect the arms, waist, and hemline to fall at just the right length for your short frame. If you are an extra small in standard women’s clothing, you are an extra small in a Sugopetite garment, and you won’t look like you are wearing your big sister’s clothes. 

While it is important to check the detailed sizing guide that we provide for each dress, here are some general guidelines for your size in a Sugopetite dress.