I Asked 2 Petite Fashion Experts How to Wear an Oversized Blazer as a Short Girl—Here Are My Results

First things first: nailing the fit. While, yes, going for a borrowed-from-the-boys look is the idea, as Foster says, you don’t want to veer into “stole it from my linebacker boyfriend” territory. To avoid an all-around ill-fitting garment, pay attention to where the shoulders and sleeves hit; the shoulder seam should remain above your bicep and the sleeves should hit at your wrist—not your fingertips. I also find that scrunching the sleeves up the forearm a bit can help to balance the look by showing some skin.

Length is another factor. As Wang adds, “a blazer that ends above the hip or at mid-thigh elongates the legs and prevents the look from appearing bulky,” but the closer the hem gets to the knee, the more it can dwarf your frame. Personally, I’ve found a great fit in the Petite Studio Vito blazer (pictured left), which was designed with petite proportions in mind, as well as the Madewell suede Kline blazer (pictured right) in a standard size, albeit one below what I usually wear.

Loose and slouchy styles may convey a sense of effortless cool on the more vertically gifted among us, but they can drown out shorter statures and appear more frumpy than fashionable. That’s why Wang suggests opting for pieces with some structure. “Look for blazers with structured shoulders and a slightly tailored silhouette to keep the oversized look polished rather than overwhelming,” she explains. Again, you don’t want football-sized shoulder pads, but a subtle touch of shape can keep your form from getting totally swallowed up. I never thought I’d be on team shoulder pad, but consider me a convert.

Elongating my silhouette is always top of mind when getting dressed, but wearing a longer layer can compact my figure and shorten the look of my legs, a universal issue among us shorties. “Oversized blazers can easily overwhelm petite frames, so what we wear underneath is critical—specifically the proportion,” Foster remarks.  Luckily, she has found the solution in the 33/66 ratio. “The 33/66 ratio is brilliant on petites. [It means that] the pieces underneath [should] create the illusion that 33 percent of our height is from the top of our head to our waist, and the remaining 66 percent comes from our waist to the floor.” This echoes Wang’s advice of donning the style with high-waisted bottoms. Here, I styled my blazer over a graphic tee tucked into high-waisted jeans. Combined with the leg-lengthening flare of the pants, this approach to proportioning did exactly what it was supposed to. Hello, long legs!

When building the outfit beneath your blazer, you’ll also want to save those wide-leg pants for another day. Foster advises to instead stick to slim-fitting trousers or narrow skirts (I’m also a fan of some good ol’ fashioned leggings). “When petites choose a style that adds volume on top, they should avoid adding volume on the bottom. Two oversized pieces paired together make us look shorter and wider,” she explains.

Both Foster and Wang suggest cinching in bulkier blazers with the help of a belt. They don’t have to tell me twice—adding a belt is one of my own go-to fashion hacks for making everything from chunky turtlenecks to maxi dresses look more flattering. “Popping on a belt over a blazer adds definition at the waist, improves the overall proportion and feels unexpected (especially when we wrap the front versus fastening the buttons),” Foster says, adding, “Narrow belts work best. Ones that are too thick will kill the relaxed vibe.”

Lastly, Wang recommends pairing the statement-making silhouette with a minimalist, monochrome outfit as a base layer. Indeed, going all in on one hue is a great way to create the illusion of length on shorter statures, and serves as a sleek and streamlined contrast to the more dramatic shape of the blazer. While I’ll take any excuse to don an all-black-everything ensemble, that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun with your color choice and experiment with different combinations to complement your outer layer.