- Blog
- Bios
- Boards
- Classifieds
- DIY
- Gallery
- Vendor Reviews
- Shop Weddingbee
Weddingbee boards
Hiya, I am 5' and not a skinny minny! I actually had no issues with trying dresses on, of course there where those one that were ment for someone 5'11 who is a rail but thats like all fashions!
I tried on all shapes and sizes and it just comes down to preference as well in the end.
Is there anything that you are particularily interested in? a-line? ballgown? mermaid? etc etcc
I wore a rediculously large ballgown dress for my prom, it was huge! I was swimming in it, but its what i wanted and I felt wonderful so I think I looked great!
You'll find it! and the girls will be able to help!
Oh and you can also get most dresses in a petit size, thank goodness for that or I would be spending tons on alterations! keep that in mind too
Thanks! I really have to get my booty in these stores and try dresses on. Since I'm still far out, I thought I'd wait until June. I guess I have no idea what style I like, nor can I imagine myself in any particular dress.
Yes, thank goodness for petite sizes!
I found standing on the pedestal thing really helped. Probably because it gave me another 5-7 inches? :) I should have brought heels though, and be SURE to ask the salesperson about alterations. We studied the lace on the bottom of my dress to make sure the hem could be easily altered. I wish I had ordered a petite - now I'll probably have to pay more to take off more.
!BpOHY,w!Wk~$(KGrHqUH-CEEumu4CURoBLqZz.jpg (12.8 KB, 58 downloads) 1 year old
Also 4'11'!! woop woop!
I really didn't have any trouble finding dresses (I was worried about the same thing!) I also thought that I would need an A-line dress, because I'm so curvy (my hourglass is all at the bottom!) but many of the bridal shops recommended a trumpet or mermaid shape to me. For us petites, it is really elongating. On me, the A-lines were just too much dress. Like the others said though, it just comes down to trying on many different dress types and seeing which look best on you and fit with your personal style!!! I also found that dresses with sashes or lines across the middle cut me off and made me look shorter...but again, that could just be my shape!
The hollow-to-hem measurement (this is what is taken if the dress can't be easily altered from the bottom, so it requires a petite size to be made) didn't come with all the dresses that I tried on, but it is certainly worth asking about when you find a dress you love.
Also, no worries about not having an exact idea of what you want. You'll figure it out based on what looks good on you when you go try the dresses on!
PS - I got the Marisa 737. Love love love.
I'm 5'1.5" (though sometimes I like to round it up to 5'2" ;) ), and the biggest issue I had while dress shopping is that pretty much every single dress I tried on was about a foot too long and I couldn't just walk around to see how the dress moved without holding the skirt up a bit lest I trip and fall flat on my face...
I was never a big fan of the poofy skirted gowns when I was looking at dresses online, and while shopping I only tried on one dress that had a big skirt. It wasn't even a ball gown style, it was just a wide-skirted A-line with lots of "poofing layers" underneath, and I felt teeeeeny tiny in it, like the skirt was drowning me. I found that mermaid/trumpet/fit-and-flare styles made me 'feel' taller, because they were tight and fitted down to somewhere between the hips and the knee and then flared out. Slim A-lines and sheaths were also good for the illusion of elongation.
You can also add a few inches to your height by wearing big heels. I won't be doing that because I'm not very skilled at walking in high heels. Anything taller than about 2.5 inches makes me wobble. I can go up to 3.5 inches if the heel is wide and chunky, but if it's a skinny heel I'd be in constant danger of losing my balance and falling over...
I had the biggest time finding a dress that would fit because I'm petite and short 5'1 (rounding up). I think I tried on at least 50 dresses before I found that ballgowns make me look to short and dumpy and the best dresses on me were ones that lay closer to my body. You can never go wrong as well with A-line dresses, which are supposed to look good on all body types. I know that David's Bridal carries a Petite line (so you can get some ideas on dresses that would suit your style), but I had mine custom made through Casablanca Bridal, which is a very popular wedding dress maker.
Good luck in finding a dress and post some pictures when you have a chance to so we can all see!
107_2180.JPG (403.7 KB, 48 downloads) 1 year old 107_2169.JPG (502.5 KB, 44 downloads) 1 year old 107_2186.JPG (493.8 KB, 43 downloads) 1 year old 107_2187.JPG (622.2 KB, 47 downloads) 1 year old 
Im 5 feet. Its hard finding things for us. Good thing they make petite dress.
I'm 4' 10" (rounding up!) and dress shopping was a bit like a slapstick comedy routine - the sales consultant would put a dress over my head and it would just fall to the floor. Let's just say I required a lot of these industrial clips.
Anyway, my one bit of advice is to take a critical eye to the smaller decorative details if you're considering gowns with lace appliques or sashes, etc. Some of those details were very out of proportion on my frame and they would not be alter-able. In general, it can be difficult to see how a gown will look once it's fitted to you when you're so much smaller than the sample size - the clips only do so much. So don't be shy about asking how far the alterations can go. You don't want to get stuck with an absurdly large applique or something because it didn't get shrunk down in proportion with the rest of the dress. Hope that makes sense...this is a problem I didn't even consider until my mom started asking some very specific questions at the dress stores.
I'm 5'2.5" and CAN'T wear heels at the wedding! (Fiancee is short too!)
For the dress, I wanted something more simple and classic, so I picked a dress that didn't have beadwork or pick-ups in it.
The only thing is that my torso is so short that the top rouching probably should have ended higher (near the belly button) but it goes a bit further down. The gown will get altered so that it looks like the rouching is suppose to end mid hip (which I prefer anyways).
I think you definitely want to minimize any detailing at the bottom of the dress, since it makes it much more difficult to hem. Then I would figure out how your body is proportioned. I have abnormally long legs and a super short torso, so a lot of dresses looked funny on me since the waist went down to my butt. It took some manuevering by the consultants to give me a true idea of what the dress would look like on me after alternations!
I would caution against standing on the pedestal, only because the added inches throws off your perception of the proportions of the dress. Definitely bring heels and step on the pedestal to see how the dress flows, but step off to see if the dress proportions work.
Good luck!!
Hey thanks for everyone's advice; it was really helpful to hear people's experiences and I am admittedly less scared now
BOW3.jpg (69.6 KB, 29 downloads) 1 year old
I'd try Alfred Angelo as well. They have a great selection of dresses for petite women.
Dress3.jpg (32.7 KB, 146 downloads) 1 year old Dress2.jpg (26.8 KB, 98 downloads) 1 year old Dress1.jpg (46.8 KB, 92 downloads) 1 year old 
I'm about 5'2 on a good day and very curvy. Most long, poofy dress looked dreadful on me. I ended up with a tea lenght Mori Lee and I love it!
5'1.5" on my tall days! I actually didn't run into any problems trying on dresses with my height. The only thing I encountered was LOADS of extra fabric at the bottom to be hemmed up. The only alterations I had done on my David's Bridal dress is the hem (my dress is pictured below, I don't have one of me in it yet). Guess I lucked out. My heels are 3". My FI is 6'0" so no worry being taller than him.
Now as far as other clothes and my size... that's another story ;)
dress2.JPG (16.5 KB, 32 downloads) 2 years old 
Haha, I guess I'm a "tall shortie" at 5'4" -- it was still tough to picture what a wedding dress would look like on me when there were so many extra feet of fabric on the samples! The saleswomen were good, though about putting me on the pedestal thingy and then tucking the extra under so I could have an idea of what the bottom would REALLY look like without all the extra material!
Hi! I'm 5'2 and like the posters above said, I was able to pay a little more to get the dress ordered specifically to my height- My dress had a lot of detail on the bottom of the skirt, so it was really necessary. Dress shopping is so fun- enjoy!
Did you see the board on petite bride dresses? Tons of gorgeous gowns for all us shorties!! Here it is again:
http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/petite-brides-show-us-your-dresses
I'm 5'4'' and got my gown at Priscilla of Boston...their sample dress was actually not terribly long on me once I put heels on. In fact, it didn't need any alterations done when it came to length. Def. take some heels with you once you start shopping so you have an idea of what it's going to be like, if you plan on wearing some heels.
You must log in to post.
| Visit our sister sites | eHarmony Online Dating |
eHarmony Advice Dating Advice |
Project Wedding Wedding Songs |
JustMommies Pregnancy Calendar |
Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
| User | Posts Today |
|---|---|
| Brielle | 44 |
 vorpalette |
29 |
| caseyleigh10 | 26 |
| les105 | 24 |
| ellisrobertson | 24 |
| mypinkshoes | 23 |
| fishbone | 23 |
| ndreighton | 22 |
| lionskitty | 22 |
| SouthernGirl | 21 |
| User | Posts Today |
|---|---|
| chikita | 5 |
| Jenlon | 4 |
| Brielle | 4 |
| vreelans | 4 |
| takemyhand | 4 |
| TeeVeeBee | 4 |
| turtles73 |
4 |
| stressybride | 4 |
| KristenGotMarried | 3 |
| sienna76 | 3 |
I'm (proudly!) 4'11 with an hour-glass shape. And I'm not looking forward to wedding dress shopping. I'm afraid all the dresses will look like they're wearing/eating me! I know I just have to try a bunch on, but even finding pics of dresses I like/might be flattering has been a challenge. I would love to see pictures/hear tips or commiseration from any other short brides!