As a petite 5 ft 1 in, I’ve learned that buying pants is always the toughest. Hemming is not so much an issue as much as just finding the right fit.
Some things I’ve learned
1) Merely buying a smaller size in regular pants results in the “saggy butt” look which will not flatter you at all. This is because the pant was just not cut for little girls.
2) On the rack, if the waistline of the pant is cut very straight across rather than in a gentle curve, this tends to result in gaps. Visible undies is not a look, it’s a faux pas.
3) Believe it or not, petite girls with short legs but long torsos can wear high rise pants. In fact it can actually help balance your proportions out. Obviously, try to pick a high rise pant that looks retro, not granny.
4) Stay away from cropped lengths as they just make your legs look shorter. In fact, walk around the mall and just watch what looks more flattering on other women and you will see that cropped pants and pants that “float” above the shoes are not flattering.
5) Before hemming pants, decide what type of shoes (heels? flats?) you are going to wear with those pants. Then decide how short they need to be hemmed. Ideally, for longer looking legs, they should cover the top part of your shoe and even better, nearly reach the floor. I’m not into pants that touch the floor, but it is an option to go for with denim.
6) As counterintuitive as it sounds, pants with wide legs do not make your bottom look bigger. Tapered legs do because the biggest thing left on you is your bottom. Try a wide leg, see if you like it.
So far my major sources for petite pants have been the ones below. However, I will note that all of them require hemming after I buy:
1) Ann Taylor (in regular, Loft, and Outlet flavors) – reliably stocks 0 and 00 petite work trousers. Sizing tends to run a bit on the roomier end of the scale so consider sizing down. Not a good source for denim. Tends to be classic rather than trendy. Good fabrics.
2) New York and Company – website reliably stocks 0 petites, but you’re less likely to find a full range of petite items in-store. Sizing tends to run a bit smaller so you may want to consider sizing up. Has slightly trendier styles, but colours are limited to black, brown, navy, grey, khaki, and white. Any fabrics with manmade blends tend to pill after time so don’t bother splurging on them. Good denim selection.
3) American Apparel – I love their Cotton Spandex Jersey Yoga Pant. Haven’t tried their other styles.
4) Pathetic as it sounds, digging around the children’s sections of places like Nordstroms for size 14-16 girls pants that can pass off as adult pants. Occasionally, items can be found.
Most recently I came across a site called 5ft2in which specializes in pants for women 5 ft 2 inches and below so you can finally quit hemming them, damnit. I have not ordered as so far the selection is rather skimpy and not cheap, but it will be interesting to see if additional styles are added.
Finally, when will someone open a store with trendier pants for petite women?
