33: Petite Style: What You REALLY Need This Spring (And What You Don't)

Have you ever walked into your closet (that's packed with clothes) yet can't find a complete outfit you want to wear?

The fix is way simpler than you think.

This week, Petite Style Coach Angela Foster shares the exact three-step process she used with a private coaching client who had just been promoted and wanted her wardrobe to reflect her new executive role.

The problem? She had plenty of pieces she liked... but very few complete outfits.

Before you shop for spring and summer, discover how to identify what’s actually missing from your closet, choose pieces that fit your height and flatter your body shape, and stop wasting money on clothes that almost work.

Inside the episode you'll discover...

👗 The 3 filters every new wardrobe addition should pass before you buy

👗 Which spring accessories are Petite-friendly and which ones may overwhelm your frame

👗 How to turn “almost works” pieces into polished, complete outfits

In 15 minutes, you’ll have a simple plan for filling the gaps in your closet, shopping with purpose, and creating Petite outfits you’re excited to wear.

Resources Mentioned:

• Petite Body Shape Quiz
• Ba&sh
• Reiss Petite
• Hobbs London
• The Fold

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

You know those mornings when you're pressed for time and you walk into your closet that is packed with clothes, yet it's so difficult to find a real outfit. At least an outfit you're excited to wear. So you settle for good enough or it almost works. Does that sound familiar? If so, before you do any or any more shopping for spring and summer, stop. Because this season, more than any season in recent memory, the styles available seem created with petites in mind, which is amazing as long as we know what to look for and where to find them. So this week we're gonna pinpoint which new items are your particular must-haves. Not every other petite's must-haves, but meant for you. The ones that flatter your favorite feature best, the ones that work best on your particular shape, and where to find them. All so that you leave the house feeling confident this spring and summer. I'm Angela, your petite style coach, and when you're ready, let's dive in. Welcome to Inside Petite Style, the only podcast created exclusively for women 5'3 and under. You've built an incredible career, you've navigated all the crazy life changes. And somewhere along the way, getting dressed stopped being easy. Maybe your body's different or your role is different, and your closet, it just has not kept up. I'm Angela Foster, Petite Style Coach since 2018, and creator of the Spark Petite Style Method. And together, you and I will get your wardrobe back in shape. Every week we'll talk about why petite proportions require a different approach. Discover what actually flatters your body shape and works with your lifestyle. And get all the insider shortcuts on where to shop so you're not wasting hours scrolling or even worse, settling for good enough. This is about more than looking good. It's about walking into any room, whether it's a big presentation or client meeting, a family event, or heck, just Tuesday. And feeling confident, polished with a style as smart and savvy as you are. Let's get this style party started. Now, while every coaching session is fun and interesting for different reasons, no two are ever exactly the same. What made this one so memorable is the style speed bump the client revealed and how we overcame it. Now, just a bit of background, she had just gotten a promotion and felt like it was time to level up her wardrobe to better reflect her new executive role. She started by sharing pieces she already had that she liked. It started with a skirt and then another skirt and finally a pair of pants. And after each one, I asked what she wore with them. Her answer was always a bit slower and decidedly less enthusiastic. Well, I've worn this, but it's too blousy when I tuck it in. Or I've worn it with this, but it's too long to work untucked. And the sleeves are too puffy to wear it under the matching big blazer. Bottom line, everything she'd shown me was this solo piece, either missing the companion top or bottom or shoes, you get the idea. This is such a helpful epiphany and way more common than you likely think. So you and I are gonna walk through the exact same three-step process she and I took so that moving forward you can avoid the same kerfuffle or know how to solve it when you find yourself in the same position. Now, in this session, we focused on Monday through Friday career wear, but you can follow the same exact steps when you're struggling with what to pack for a conference, or debating what to pack for a spring vacation, or heck, just when you want to like switch up your casual weekend wardrobe. Step number one is to decide the bare number of outfits that you need. This isn't how many outfits you hope to have someday. This is what do you need to get by starting tomorrow. Now, in her case, because we were focused on career wear, she wanted five complete outfits. If you, though, are looking for outfits for a trip, it might be three or six or however many days you're gonna be gone. Or if you need outfits to wear to church or synagogue, you might need four. But really, you already have two that you like, and then you have another two that are missing tops or bottoms and so on. Whatever number you pick is perfect and it can always be increased later. The great thing about focusing on such a small number of pieces, it makes identifying the gaps a piece of cake and takes updating your spring wardrobe from feeling like a huge undertaking to feeling super duper doable. Step number two is to put any potential wardrobe addition through three very specific filters before committing. First is the favorite feature filter, second is the body shape test, and last, does it support your personal style, or at the very least, will it support the image you want to portray? Let's stick with the career wear scenario and to keep it simple, keep using the skirt example. Favorite feature first. Say your bust is your favorite feature, then to fill in this gap to go with that skirt, we start picturing a v-neck blouse or a blazer. Great. What if your waist is your favorite feature? In this case, you'll want to have a belt that works with the skirt. You could also pair it with a top, but instead of a v-neck, you may want to look at a peplum or a wrap top, both of which will subtly emphasize your waist. When your bum is your favorite feature, you'll want to gravitate towards cropped blazers and tops, both of which are super popular this spring, and you'll have no trouble finding the perfect one. Since we're talking about a skirt, if your legs are your favorite feature, we've likely already taken care of that. However, if you want to do more, you can always look to the shoes, maybe shop for a heel or a pointed toe, or a pair that blends with your skin tone. You get the idea. At this point, we have a rough idea of what we need to go with this skirt. Nothing too specific yet, just because we still have two more filters to put it through. In case you're new here and aren't familiar with favorite features, or haven't had a chance yet to pick yours, then first of all, welcome. Thank you so much for stopping by. I'm glad that you're here. And as soon as this episode wraps, you'll want to hop on over to insidepetityle.com and take the petite body shape quiz. Because knowing the styles and the silhouettes that flatter your shape best and the ones that don't is the first step towards great petite style. Not to mention how much easier it'll make knowing what to buy and how much faster it'll make getting dressed in the morning. Now, in case you're thinking, I already know my body shape, I'm all gonna skip the quiz, you may want to reconsider because we look at body shape differently around here. Despite all the popular nonsense out there, you are not an apple or a pear or anything else that goes into a fruit salad. You are also not a circle or a square or a rhombus. The petite body shape quiz is super fast. It's only seven questions and takes less than two minutes. Afterwards, you'll know the very best styles and even more important, the ones to run away from screaming. I'll also add the link to the show notes so that you don't have to hunt it down. Back to our regularly scheduled programming. Next, we put the items on our potentials list through the body shape test. Just a reminder, we need a blouse and a blazer or sweater to go along with that skirt. And for sake of ease, let's say it's a tailored pencil skirt. When you're up signature body shape number three, you have a choice. You can add volume to the top or bottom, but not both in the same outfit. Since the skirt is tailored, you can pair it with a tailored top, or you can add volume to the top. So what does that look like? Oh hey, by the way, signature body shape number sixes, these styles will look perfect on YouTube. A top that will add volume could be a blouse with ruffled sleeves or some detail around the neckline, a blazer that's a bit boxier, or in a material like a tweed that has some thickness and structure to it. For this season in particular, look for a military-inspired blazer. Bash has some fantastic ones. And keep in mind, while they're not a petite brand, they are French and they run shorter and smaller than US brands, which puts them firmly into the petite-friendly category. The next few examples will work well for signature body shape number threes, yes, and will be perfect for signature body shape number fours, because these styles won't add any volume from the waist up. A top without volume could be a softer, less structured material, or a tailored blazer. When you're in the market for one of those, definitely check out Reese. Yes, they have a petite line and they do tailored blazers brilliantly. There's always a bit of a twist that keeps them from being like Ann Taylor expected. On a side note, they also do a beautiful suit vest, cropped so it's the perfect length for us, and then it's paired with a V-neck that is never too deep for the office. You can also look for sweaters and a thinner knit. Okay, so now we've put everything through the body shape filter and have narrowed our selection down to neckline, material, and style itself. Next is where the magic really happens. We ask ourselves, does this item support my personal style and the image I want to reflect? This helps so much when it comes to where to find your perfect piece, right? When you're creative and fashion forward, we likely won't go to Ann Taylor or Macy's or somewhere traditional like that. On the flip side, if you're more conservative, then you'll absolutely want to look at Hobbs London and the fold. By the way, I'll add all of these links to the show notes so that you can find them easily. The third and final step is to ask yourself, is this outfit as polished as you'd like it to be? And that's where accessories come into play, because we know the easiest way to up-level any outfit is to add an accessory to it. And again, accessories are not only huge this season, but they seem like they were chosen with petites in mind. For example, square scarves that are small enough not to overwhelm our frames, double belts, which are so fresh and modern and do a gorgeous job emphasizing our waist, baguette bags, couldn't be more ideal for petites. The structured shape, the shallow body, and then combine that with the longer length so you can actually fit something inside. Perfection. Now, this wouldn't be an inside petite style episode if there wasn't a small word of caution when it comes to shopping this season. The first is be careful with the super popular chunky cuffs and ginormous statement earrings. Both are so oversized that they can easily overwhelm a petite woman. Now, in case you're tempted to try one of them, go right ahead. But do me a favor and try it on with the outfit that you have in mind to wear with it, and be sure to be in a full-length mirror. If it's so big that it's the first thing you see when you look at yourself from head to toe, it's too big and it's best to downsize. How is that, my friend? Three easy steps to fill in the gaps in your closet so you can create real outfits and update your wardrobe for spring without falling victim to any trends that are not good for us short girls. Now, do you know what time it is? Yep, it's time for this week's style challenge. Pick a category in your closet that's the biggest struggle. It could be career wear or packing for a career trip that's coming up, or maybe it's weekend casual. Then pick your favorite piece that you rarely wear because there's something stopping it from being a full and complete outfit. Is it the top or the bottom that you're looking for? What style would that missing piece need to accentuate your favorite feature and flatter your body shape? Then finally, keeping your personal style in mind, go to the places and hunt it down. And let me know how it went and be sure to spill all the juicy details so you and I can celebrate how you're getting closer to a wardrobe where you're actually excited to get up and get dressed in the morning. Before you leave, be sure to follow the show so you never miss out on a petite style tip. Thanks so much for hanging out, and I will see you next week. Till then, have fun and stay stylish. Thanks for tuning in to Inside Petite Style. When you're ready to create a wardrobe that fits your height, flatters your body shape, and makes getting dressed fun and easy, head over to insidepetitstyle.com and take my free Petite Style quiz. You'll get personalized tips and strategies made just for your proportion and your height. And hey, you know that girlfriend who's always rolling up her sleeves and hemming her pants? Share this episode with her. She needs to know she's not alone and that there are real solutions. See you next week. Until then, have fun and stay stylish.