If you are a short plus size woman, dresses are your best friends! The reason is they create a single column of color, which can effectively elongate your frame and make you appear taller and leaner. However, not all the dresses will look equally good on you and it is important to choose the right styles and avoid the wrong ones. Before we get into the full list of the best (and worst) dresses for your shape, let’s first fully understand your unique body features.
Traits
- You have a bigger body build and you tend to carry excess weight in several areas of your body.
- The usual height of a short plus-size girl like you is around 5’4 and below.
- Because of your plus-size figure, you most likely have a fuller bust size as well.
- You may lack waist definition because of the presence of extra weight in your midsection area.
- You’ve got full hips and thick thighs.
- It’s also highly likely that your arms and legs are big and chubby.
- Your buttocks are perky and curvy.
Celebrity examples
Below are examples of celebrities with short plus-size body shapes.
- Ashley Graham
- Lizzo
- Chrissy Metz
- Gabourey Sidibe
- Tess Holliday
Below are the best clothes for short plus-size shapes.
Below are the best outfits for short plus-size shapes.
Tailored Peplum Dresses
Being plus-size should never hinder you from looking shapely and curvy! So for you to keep your incredibly feminine curves showing, you have to pay close attention to the silhouette of what you’re wearing, and in this case, tailored peplum dresses should be your easy go-to!
Peplum dresses feature a very distinctive silhouette wherein the fitted bodice gently extends into a flared or ruffled overskirt at the waist. This particular design mimics the hourglass shape and also brings attention to your waist, highlighting the narrowest part of your figure.
The flared peplum is also very helpful in camouflaging bulges and broadness around the hips or tummy area. It adds a bit of extra fabric around the midsection that seamlessly provides coverage while still maintaining a stylish and fashionable look.
Flowy A-Line Dresses
Flowy dresses are always super comfy and when they come in the classic A-Line silhouette, they can instantly look flattering on your short plus-size figure! The gradual widening of a flowy A-Line dress from the waist prompts an optical illusion of an elongated silhouette to effectively make you appear taller.
In addition to its universally flattering silhouette, the A-line shape also naturally emphasizes the slimmest part of your figure and the soft flare of the skirt diverts attention away from areas where the presence of bulges might be present. This design choice cleverly balances your plus size proportions while also keeping your frame visually elongated.
The gentle drape of the flowy fabric skims over the body and this fit is ideal as it avoids clinginess, most particularly in areas where you carry extra weight.
V-Neck Dresses
Of course, the V-neckline will always be a staple in every short girl’s closet, especially when you’re also plus size! This neckline elongates your upper body and helps create a continuous vertical line that gives your frame the illusion of added height.
V-neck dresses can also help balance out your proportions by drawing the gaze upward and away from the midsection, creating a more pleasing upper and lower body ratio. This can be particularly helpful for plus-size girls who carry more weight in the lower part of their bodies.
The V-neck design of this dress can also enhance the neckline and collarbone, which helps create a leaner look. This provides a more open and flattering look to the upper body that also prevents visual constriction.
Floral Off-the-Shoulder Dresses
Floral patterns are fabulously dainty, we all know it! And when they are strategically placed on the dress, they can highlight your best assets and downplay problem areas you may want to minimize. For example, a well-placed floral pattern can draw attention to your full and shapely bust and distract from the midsection or hips.
Other than the floral pattern itself, the off-the-shoulder neckline also effectively directs the eye towards the upper half of your figure which detracts attention away from the lower body. This can help create a balanced look between your upper and lower body by diverting focus from areas you might not want to emphasize.
Open necklines are ideal for a reason as showing off the shoulders and collarbone can create the illusion of a longer, leaner overall frame.
Belted Coat Dresses
Belted coat dresses are edgy and sophisticated so if you’re in search of a dress that can take you to more formal or business events, this is something you should absolutely have in your closet. Belted coat dresses are very structured, so you can expect a flattering, streamlined silhouette to work with your short and plus size frame.
The belted waist serves as a natural focal point so when this area is cinched, it brings the illusion of an hourglass figure by accentuating the narrowest part of your body. The silhouette this dress creates helps enhance your curves and provide a sense of proportion.
Moreover, the structure of the coat dress design nicely elongates the body, as the vertical lines of the coat draw the gaze upward. This visual effect gives the impression of added height as the length of the coat dress provides coverage while maintaining a sophisticated and streamlined look.
Structured Sheath Dresses
Maintaining a shapely, tailored silhouette is very important in keeping visual balance for petite ladies who are also plus-size. The clean lines of a sheath dress effectively induce vertical lines that visually add height to your frame. This elongating effect not only contributes to making you look taller but also slimmer.
Many sheath dresses come with a well-defined waistline through the strategic placement of seams and darts. This feature helps accentuate your waistline, which helps bring balance to your overall look and steer attention away from your heavier areas.
Button-Down Flared Dresses
Button-down dresses can instantly make you look slimmer because of the vertical placement of the buttons alone. This style detail, in which the buttons run down at the front, naturally leads the eyes up and down to create an unbroken visual line that will make you look way slimmer and at the same time, taller.
Also, the flared design of the dress creates a classic and very flattering A-line silhouette. As I have previously mentioned earlier in this blog post, this silhouette helps to balance proportions by making the dress flare out at the bottom and creating the illusion of a more defined waist.
Linen Wrap Dresses
I will never get tired of recommending wrap dresses to every girl out there because of how this silhouette features details that flatter almost every body shape. For short, plus size ladies out there, you are going to absolutely love one of the wrap dress’ most notable features – its adjustable fit!
The wrap design of this dress features an adjustable fit and it can be very helpful for plus-size girls who need some extra space without the additional unnecessary volume. You can customize how tightly or loosely the dress wraps around your body to give you comfort while also highlighting your best features.
In addition to this, wrap dresses feature a V-neckline and this elongates the neck and draws attention upwards. This can create the illusion of height and visual continuity to make you appear more balanced.
Color Blocking Dresses
Dresses with color-blocked panels running vertically down the dress can help lead the eyes up and down to visually increase your height. Moreover, you can effectively maximize the visual effect of your color-blocking dress by placing contrasting colors in vertical segments, emphasizing the vertical aspect of your figure.
When you strategically play with your colors, you can easily achieve a more shapely figure. For instance, dark colors tend to be more slimming, so placing them in areas that you want to minimize can be beneficial, such as the sides of the dress to create a slimming effect on the hips.
This color placement trick can also divert attention from horizontal width, making your plus-size figure look slimmer.
Dresses with High Slit
A simple detail such as a slit can help give you the illusion of a taller and slimmer frame. High slits create vertical lines in the dress, and this line can visually elongate your legs and the overall silhouette.
High slits show more of your leg and this efficiently draws attention to this area and keeps the visual continuity of the dress. This draws the eyes up and down in an uninterrupted manner, which creates the illusion of height and diverts the focus from the bigger and broader areas of your body.
Dresses with Vertical Stripes
Vertical stripes will always be a timeless fashion choice and it can also bring a lot of style benefits for our petite ladies out there who are also plus-size. We all know how vertical stripes create the illusion of length, so it’s very effective in creating a taller and more slender stature.
In a nutshell, the uniformity of vertical stripes helps create a sense of cohesion in your overall look. This visual continuity can make the eye move smoothly up and down to reduce the perception of width and therefore enhance your overall proportions.
