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Petite clothing stores in Sydney?

by Karen
(Lower North Shore Sydney, NSW, Australia)

I am a petite 158cm (5' 2") and typically an Australian size 8.

Can you recommend any petite clothing stores in Sydney?

Many thanks, Karen.

Jane's answer... I have quite a few petite clients, but until you asked this question hadn't seriously looked for petite clothing ranges here in Sydney. Now that I have, I'm surprised at how little choice there is here for petite women!


What is petite?


Petite is French for small. It also refers to women who are 5' 4" (162cm) or less.


A common misperception is that it also means a small dress size. However, the term refers to height and has nothing to do with weight.



Do you need petite size clothes?


Petite size clothes are designed for women 5' 4" and less who are also a balanced body vertical body shape.


If you are one of the other vertical body shapes, even if you are a bit taller, you may be better suited to petite clothes for your shorter proportion. For example if you have long legs and a short body petite size tops may work better for you.




David Jones and Myers both have a small range of petite clothes.

For those who are both petite and a small size there are some clothes labels that go down to a size 6 and sometimes scale down their clothes in the smaller sizes. These include...
  • Jigsaw

  • Marcs

  • Veronika Maine


The only shop I've managed to find specifically for petites is Petite Chic in the Chatwood Westfield. It's a small shop stocking casual and smart casual clothes. In particular they have a range of petite jeans and petite dresses.

Other options include...
  • Alterations -- I recommend Lilyn for alterations. They are both in Mosman and Chatswood. If you're not near either of these locations ask around for a good alterations place.

  • Custom made clothes -- either make your own and alter the patterns before you sew or have items custom made. Lilyn also custom make clothes.

  • The Juniors Departments of Department Stores -- these are clothes designed for teenagers. However, you may find some clothes that work for you here, especially casual clothes. If you have a rectangle body shape the Boys Departments may also work for you!



If you know of other petite clothing stores in Sydney, or Australia please let us know in a comment below.

Related Articles


>> Petite Clothes: What are they? And where to find them?
>> How to choose stylish clothes for petite women

Comments for Petite clothing stores in Sydney?

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Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Shorter and older
by: Margaret

Thank you for this website. I'm sorry to break the news to you but David Jones does not do petite clothes any more. Not that it was much chop when they did. Long ago there used to be a dedicated Petite Store in Sydney and Melbourne. If I remember correctly they were started by a chap who worked in Myer and saw the need. The shops obviously weren't patronised enough as they didn't last. The clothing trade is a hard business. There are lots of shops for larger sized ladies, also places to buy long shoes. I'm thinking to just eat up and put on a lot of weight and I'll have plenty of choice. But! I am also short so that won't work. Added to that I am a seriously senior citizen so pair that with short and (a bit) wide around the bottom and you'll see my dilemma. I'm looking forward to checking out the Chatswood place you mentioned but I won't get too excited as it's probably for young slim chics and sadly I'm not one of those. I'll report back soon. Kind regards.
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		My experiences with petite sizing
by: Anonymous

I mainly must also shop online and notice that Boden uk are not mentioned here yet. They have quite a nice range for petites. I am happy to hear about Petite chic in Chatswood and definetly plan to visit there. I was very dissapointed with the Danni Minogue range at Target. The quality was very poor and that is my main issue with petite ranges. I have not tried Ann Taylor USA yet,they seem a lot more expensive and I assume that means better quality. This is a great blog, thank you for sharing everyone.
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Aussie petite store
by: Denise

Just came across this Aussie petite store - looks like they've just started up and quite active on Facebook too.

Nice to be able to support a local business I suppose.

Will probably buy from them as soon as I get paid this month. http://www.simplykate.com.au
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Online UK site for stylish petite working women
by: Anonymous

If you're looking for stylish petite office dresses, or quality petite clothes for work, try www.jeetly.com a UK-based petite brand which I discovered on Facebook.

Their clothes have been worn by many TV presenters in the US and Europe so they look like a reputable company. They deliver free to Australia with this promocode AUDELIVFREE. I don't know when the free delivery offer ends though.
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		PETITE PANTS
by: DRESSING STATION

We have been making a very popular petite pant in Mechanical stretch, black and navy, for the last 15 years. We are situated in Melbourne at 38 Station st. Fairfield,(03)94866867. In South Australia at shop 7a,Marden Shopping Centre, Portrush Rd. Marden.(08) 83634909.
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Petite clothing
by: Anonymous

I also recently shopped at Marks and Spencer (Prague)and found so many clothes with the right proportions for my 5'
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		shop online
by: Anonymous

Shopping from USA is much cheaper than UK from Australia and I find Nordstrom, Jc Penney and other shops like Banana republic great shops to shop from.
Even Nextdirect is awesome.
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Style Makeover HQ
by: Jane

@I shop online: thank you for your comment. Marks and Sparks is one of my favourite stores in the UK. I haven't used their online shopping yet so it's nice to hear from someone here in Australia (I'm assuming that's where you are?) who has tried it and liked the service.
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		I shop online
by: Anonymous

I buy most of my everyday clothes from Marks and Spencer online from England. They have a great range of petite clothes that change from season to season.

Within their petite range they have short and standard and maybe even long lengths, I think. I'm 157 cm or around 5 foot 2 inches and I fit the standard length - no need to take up the trousers. In Australia, I still need to take up the usual "short" length found in department stores. A petite "short" length from Marks and Spencer is too short for me.

BTW, they have an excellent return policy if you aren't satisfied. I always read the customer reviews of the item - they are usually pretty accurate.

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