This one goes out to all the shorties out there, for all the ladies under 5'4" struggling with finding dresses that are the right length. What's up, ladies? How ya doing?
OK MC moment over. But seriously, if you're petite like I am (5'2" over here!), you are always wary of ordering retro style clothes in fear they will be on the long side and end up making you look frumpy. Many vintage reproduction brands make garments on the long side to be historically accurate since the style back in the 50s and 60s was pretty conservative and the trendy look was full and long skirts. It's a beautiful look and one I adore tremendously, but so many times I order a dress or skirt and upon trying it on, am frustrated to find it a SMIDGE too long on me. I have learned that if a skirt passes 26" in length, I won't like how it looks fully.
Collectif is my favorite brand currently. I always go to town when they have their huge 50% off sales and love how their styles fit me. They're reliable and usually of good quality. However, many styles can be very long. I ADORE some styles, such as the Caterina swing dress, but would love them even MORE if they were 2" or so shorter. But that just seems to be a common challenge as a petite gal.
Well, if you struggle with length like I do, read on! I have collected a handful of Collectif styles that are petite-friendly to help with your future shopping! It can be hard to tell by the photos on the website so I hope this guide helps you learn which Collectif styles will work best for you.
Full Disclaimer: I am sure there are MORE petite-friendly looks by Collectif that I haven't tried yet. These are just ones that I currently have in my closet and love to wear.
Amber-Lea
I only recently discovered Amber-Lea this year and it has become my ultimate favorite! Not to be confused with its sister style, Amber (which has a less full skirt), Amber-Lea is practically perfect from shoulder to hem. I love the way it fits my torso and arms (GASP!) and the waist falls right at my waist (I have a short torso and often run into issues with space in the shoulders or the waist falling too low) and the full gathered skirt falls perfectly just past my knees. They have released the Amber-Lea in a few colorways just this last season - the blue stripes pictured here as well as a gorgeous leaf print for fall as well as green/orange/black/white stripes for Halloween. I hope they continue releasing Amber-Lea dresses in 2021. It will quickly become my staple for cooler weather, if so!
Janet
Out of all of these dresses, the Judy is the longest. However, I found it to still be a flattering length so I decided to include it as an honorable mention. I hope to buy more Judy in the future as the collar is unique and the sleeves are loose and easy to wear with my chubby arms. It just has a very laid back and comfortable look and it was PERFECT for summer this year when I didn't want to make too much of an effort to get dressed in the heat. Unlike the Janet, the Judy's button front is the way to get her on and off but it doesn't cause any kind of pulled muscle since the buttons reach pretty low on the dress to allow comfortable wear!