My rules for Spring are simple- choose staples, roll and tuck to your heart's content and neutrals truly are timeless. The past few years have been good to us. So many brands, high street or premium, now have petite ranges. One of my favourites if your budget can stretch is LK Bennet's new range, but ASOS is also a go to for a selection of my favourite brands such as Mango.
The following guide splits into three sections, looking at my go to pieces for the season, and the things I'm trialling for the first time.
1. Neutral love
2. Avoiding demin Disasters
3. The cardi-jacket trend
For all of my outfits below, click here.
Neutral love
It has taken me quite some time you could say to find my style. If you scroll through this blog I'm sure there are a number of posts where I dictate my style for that year or period, convinced that it would last. It never did. Whilst I jump from ultra-feminine to monochrome, one thing always sticks around- my love of neutrals. For a petite girl, I've always found basic colours easier to wear, but most importantly, easier to find. There will be countless pairs of trousers for example, in weird and wonderful shades or designs that I simply cannot wear because they will never fit. I am truly tired of buying jeans and cutting off the bottoms (more on this in a minute) and find that the "basic" (nothing about me is basic honey) colours are always the ones that come in petite sizes too.
Neutrals are the colours that can be paired with everything. Fancy a vibrant skirt? Your neutral wardrobe works well. Three different shades of brown? That works. In two images above, whilst the jeans and bag are the same, the tops and shoes are different. Replacing one or two items (usually a jacket or shoes) really changes the look. Make your wardrobe interchangeable. Utilise the capsule wardrobe trend and go for neutrals, even as a base.
Avoiding demin Disasters
As mentioned above, I spent many a day cutting off chunks of my jeans to get them to fit, only to have cut one a little too short, or to quickly have the hems roll up without warning after one wash or fray ridiculously. Petite jeans have come along way in recent years. Most brands now offer a petite denim section, including for jackets, still some just don't jean as they should. I have been on a mission to find the perfect pair of casual, not too skinny but not oversized, perfect ankle lengthed jeans... and I think I may have my final collection. The pair in the top pictures are wide legged from Mango (see link below). A perfect length and a great option for wide jeans. I wear nothing bar high waisted. It lengthens the leg and I will not hear otherwise. My second pick are the Hannah jeans from New Look (see link below). I should have thought to go back to these after my first pair from a few years ago are still my go to, but when I recently picked up a white pair, I instantly knew I'd found the holy grail.
Not only are frequent-jean-wearing a new concept for me, as someone who refused to wear them for anything bar a food shop until recent, owning a denim midi skirt was not on my 2024 mood board. I opted to stay well away for a number of reasons. First, my own personal style choice. I didn't feel that a blue skirt went with my wardrobe and that a white one would be too chunky looking. I also felt that it would swamp my figure and again, make me look wider. When the trend started earlier this year as Spring-Summer 2024 items hit the racks, I thought that it was time to give one a go. I'd seen a few looks like the one I've styled above, pairing the skirt with boots I already owned and thought that the striped bardot top brought something a little more feminine to the look than a t-shirt would. Whilst the skirt isn't something I know I would reach for myself, again just due to my personal style, I really do think that they look great on smaller frames and allow you to be covered, but still cool with that slit, in the changing spring weather. Next for me is to try a denim mini skirt. I'm thinking pure white with dark brown accessories. Stay tuned.
Denim is a tricky fabric to get right when you are petite. But I can only imagine the search for the perfect pair is only going to get easier from here on.
The cardi-jacket trend.
I have never been more obsessed with a trend that isn't a trend. By this I mean that I have been wearing cropped (as in waist cropped, not chest length cropped) for quite some time. So when they became what I believe to be this Spring's greatest item, I was over the moon. In the same breath, the cardigan trend has come about, and both items are interchangeable and worn in the same way.
Again, neutrals here will be your best friend. White, cream, green, brown and even navy are staple colours this season and of course, I have jackets and cardigans in each of the colours. I wear a few of these pieces a week. Wide wide leg culottes, high waisted midi skirts or my new favourite jeans. Again, all interchangeable and the perfect piece whilst the weather decides what it wants to do.
And Finally...
Spring is fast becoming one of my favourite seasons and brands really have stepped up their offerings this year. Supermarkets have taken over as the place to shop, with Tesco, Sainsburys and Marks and Spencer gaining a new audience in fashion lovers. I myself had a walk around Tesco's F&F clothing section just before a recent trip to the States, and was thrilled to find something that I've been hunting for, perfect in each design aspect, and with 25% off, as supermarkets often do member discounts on clothing. Definitely not one to pass up on your weekly food shop.
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All of the outfits you styled and were wearing in the photos above look fabulous -
ReplyDeleteyou implemented your fashion styling initiative beautifully!