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5 Rules for Wearing a Maxi Dress as a Petite Person, According to a 5’1” Editor
By Stephanie Maida,
5 hours ago
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Anything you can wear, I can wear shorter... This has always been my style philosophy as a petite gal, and it’s mostly proven true. From jeans to swimsuits to celebrity style icons , we petites have plenty of options these days. I’ll admit, however, that things can get a little tricky when it comes to maxi dresses . After all, with “maxi” right there in the name, they’re not exactly made for us “mini” folk. But I don’t believe in writing off an entire category of clothing—especially one that can actually be really flattering—just because of my height, and to my fellow petites : neither should you!
It is worth it to consider some style strategy, though. Short of donning platforms or hauling ‘em to the tailor, there are a few ways I’ve been able to make those lovely long dresses work for my 5-foot-1 frame. After plenty of trial and error, and many years of soaking in the advice of fashion blogs and the stylists I follow on social media, I’ve developed five “rules” for wearing a maxi dress as a petite person—and I daresay they can work for anyone who wants to add a little height to their look.
As much as I enjoy the look of a billowy, bohemian frock flowing in the wind, I know just how easy it is for my shorter stature to get lost in the sauce of excess fabric. Throw in the fact that I’m more filled-out in the bust area, and I run the risk of making a cute dress look like a circus tent. For this reason, I stick to slimmer silhouettes when wearing maxis, or, at the very least, ones that feature a more fitted bodice or waist. While you don’t have to go full bodycon, I find that less volume creates more height, and the more you can define your petite figure in a longer dress, the less likely you’ll be to get totally swallowed up by it.
If you decided to skip rule number one (as I admittedly have on occasion), and find yourself feeling shapeless in a roomy maxi, a belt can be your best friend . Use it to cinch in your waist and, again, deliver your actual shape from beneath a sea of material. This trick has saved me from looking like a pint-sized rectangle in many a ‘90s-style slip dress. Just remember that, if you’re petite, you should stick to thinner belts that are proportional to your frame; thicker belts or bands at the waist can break you up too much, leading to you looking even shorter. On that note, maxi dresses with built-in belts or waist ties are a plus.
Optical illusions aren’t just for Las Vegas magicians—we short peeps can use the same visual trickery to our advantage in our wardrobes. Case in point: Donning a lower neckline to seem taller. Not only does a V- or scoop-neck style help to lengthen your neck, and by extension, your entire figure, but in the case of a maxi style, it also prevents the aforementioned issue of getting overwhelmed by too much fabric. Any dress that shows off the décolletage is a major “Do” in my book, though even a modest hint of skin below the neck can aid in this department.
Similar to how too much volume can overwhelm a shorter stature, so too can larger prints. I personally love big, bold patterns and splashes of color, but whenever I shop for a maxi dress, I tend to stick to smaller, more delicate prints to avoid being drowned out by them—and I’m not surprised that this advice is echoed throughout the petite style community. Alas, busyness tends not to benefit us shorties. Sticking to solid colors is an even better bet, as sleek, clean lines can work wonders to elongate your figure.
I’ve written about my love for dresses with princess-style puff sleeves before, but beyond my passion for period pieces, I couldn’t really put my finger on what, exactly, I found so flattering about them. Then I came across this YouTube video by creator Petite Elliee. In it, she explains that puff sleeves or shoulders help draw the eye upward, again creating the illusion of length and height. I completely agree with this, and I’d go a step further and say that adding any extra interest toward the top of your body can work to shift the focal point of your look. Puff sleeves not quite your cup of tea? Try ruffled straps or flutter sleeves, or even a unique neckline detail, like a twist or a knot. If you’re trying to maximize your height in a maxi dress (no pun intended), the higher up the eye is drawn, the better.
Although I’ve long ago accepted the need for tailoring as a fact of life, it doesn’t mean I enjoy putting all that time, energy and money toward getting my clothes hemmed. So I’ve given myself a bonus rule to follow whenever I’m in the market for a maxi dress and turning up empty: Don’t buy a maxi dress at all—instead, buy a midi . As I’m sure most of my fellow petites can attest, midi dresses that are shown to hit at the mid-calf of a 6-foot-tall model end up skimming our ankles. They’re the perfect “maxi” length, sans the extra fabric pooling at our heels. If a brand doesn’t offer maxi dresses in actual petite sizing, snagging what’s marked as a standard midi is the next best thing. And let me tell ya, this approach, along with all of the above, has yet to let me down. So, shorties, go forth and conquer maxi dresses once and for all—even if they’re technically midis.
PureWow's editors and writers have spent more than a decade shopping online, digging through sales and putting our home goods, beauty finds, wellness picks and more through the wringer—all to help you determine which are actually worth your hard-earned cash. From our PureWow100 series (where we rank items on a 100-point scale) to our painstakingly curated lists of fashion, beauty, cooking, home and family picks, you can trust that our recommendations have been thoroughly vetted for function, aesthetics and innovation. Whether you're looking for travel-size hair dryers you can take on-the-go or women’s walking shoes that won’t hurt your feet, we’ve got you covered.
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