If you're in the under-5'5-club, congratulations! You're a short girl. I have been a certified Short Girl since I hit my first and only growth spurt early, in fifth grade, and never got past that. This lead to about a year and a half of being awkwardly tall and then the rest of my life being awkwardly short. While being tall is fun and glamorous and there's always hope of being a model, short girls are pretty cool too.
However, clothes sometimes become a problem. When the hems of your pants drag on the ground until they're frayed and have holes in them (guilty) it feels difficult to ever look put-together. But fear not, short girls of the world, we do have options.
Heels.
This one's obvious. A short girl's best friend is something that brings her up to height with everyone else. Short girls who can wear heels (and wear them well) and be a force to be reckoned with. We can go both heights. We're versatile. We're transient. We also get to announce our presence like teachers do, which is fun in that it's commanding.
High-waisted jeans.
Because this is trendy right now as well as flattering, it's a good bandwagon to jump on. It's figure-flattering and makes your legs look longer, a Holy Grail of short-girl clothes. Extra points if they're the cute sailor suit pants that button on the sides. Not just for being short, but because they're super adorable.
Long skirts.
While long skirts look great on tall girls, they are a source of stress for short girls. We're told they'll swallow us whole and we'll be no more than a flower crown and lots of fabric. But here's a few tips: short girls get to wear mid-length skirts like full-length skirts to make up for some nonexistent inches. If you stick to monochrome patterns, you're golden.
Short skirts.
Remember being in high school and having to use that stupid length-of-your-middle-finger rule? Perks of being a short girl is that you can get away with much shorter without it looking obscene. They look good on short girls, especially with cute shoes or a nice pair of heels.
Embrace fitted clothing.
Short girls get lost in big clothing. Bodycon dresses, tight skirts, and well-tailored blazers are all good friends. Losing yourself in loose clothing is sometimes comfortable, but like so many things in the fashion world, are made for tall girls.
V-neck and scoop necks.
Lower necklines give the illusion of height because they draw the eye down. This is a great tactic because v-necks are made in pretty much any print of t-shirt and are a very low-key addition to your wardrobe. They are also easy to pair with delicate necklaces or long earrings.
Long earrings.
Along the same lines, long earrings can give the illusion of height in a very subtle way as it can give a little more visibility from the neck down. It's a small but surprisingly effective trick.
Avoid big accessories!
When you're a small person, pay attention to what you pair with your clothes. Chunky bracelets -- not in so much now as they were in the '00s -- make small girls even smaller. This is the same thing with huge purses, enormous sweatshirts (though they are super comfortable and I can fault no one for wearing them), or clothes you get lost in.
Even though short girls don't get a lot of runway attention, there's still a lot of fashionable potential to be tapped into!
