"Dress Problems of the Short Woman

Ladies' Mirror, Volume 5, Issue 1, 1 July 1926, Page 26

"Dress Problems of the Short Woman

Styles she should zAdoft and Styles she should

The other day I received a letter from a reader who signed herself "A Five-Foot-Nothing Girl." ■"Do give me some more advice about the styles of dress I should choose," she wrote.; "At one time you gave lots of hints on the subject of how the short woman should dress, but you haven't been doing so lately." I am very sorry, my "Five-Foot Nothing" reader, that I seem to have neglected you, but for some time now fashion has been kind to the short —styles have been so simple as to be becoming to almost any type— is to say, until the godets came in. Godets and pronounced flares do not suit short women, but as these are going out of fashion we need not reckon with them now. Let us consider only the question as to how the Five-Foot-Nothing woman can dress in the present-day fashions in such a manner as to minimise the effect of her shortness, and to make her look as smart as it is possible for a very short woman to look. zAvoid Exaggeration TF the short woman is slim, there -*■ is no reason why she shouldn't look as well dressed in every way as her taller sister; but if she is at all inclined to be plump and has, in addition, the handicap of clumsy legs and ankles, then for her to dress well is a more difficult matter, and she must be careful what style she chooses. No short woman should wear very short frocks, not even the girl who has a slim, graceful figure and neat ankles, because a short frock decreases materially from one's apparent height. A short, slim ' girl of

twenty-five with shingled hair and frocks reaching to just below her knees looks for all the world like a tomboy of fourteen. It is nice to look young when one is grown up, but one does not care to look like a schoolgirl. There is one's dignity as a grown-up person to be maintained. The Colour Question THE short plump woman should -*- choose dark colours in preference to light ones. They can always be brightened up with a touch of brighter colour, and quite a liberal touch, too, in these days of accor-deon-pleated front panels from neck to hem, and so she need not resign herself to a sombre style of dress. Black she can wear relieved with white, blue, cerise, beige, any colour she likes, and there is no doubt about it that light stockings also serve to brighten up a dark frock. OUT be careful how you choose -*--' the shade of your stockings if your legs are at all inclined to be

thick. Don't wear the flesh shades; beige or taupe or grey will suit you better. And wear good stockings, not cheap ones. You will find it pays better to have a few pairs of really good silk stockings than to have dozens of pairs of cheap artificial ones. Good stockings look so much better, and make the legs look so much neater, too. The U^eckline ONE cannot lay down hard-and- ' fast rules as to how the "Five-Foot-Nothing" woman should dress, because types vary so much ; but the plump, short woman should be careful about the cut of her neckline. The "V" neckline will suit her better than the square, or even the round one. She should avoid belted frocks. There should be nothing to break the straight, simple line. Crossover effects are becoming to her. too. She should be careful to choose the right corsets, the perfectly

straight ones, and she should remember also that it is better for her clothes to be loose-fitting than to have them to define the figure in any way. Keep To Simplicity Tf VEN expert couturiers go wrong -*— in dressing the small, plump woman. I know a girl for whom a Paris fashion expert made a black velvet frock, cut square at the neck and with a train at the side to give her dignity. It only made her look matronly and years older than she was. In a simple little sleeveless georgette frock, cut perfectly straight, with slightly gathered panels at each side and a posy of bright flowers on her shoulder, she looked a different girl, and very neat and smart. "Picture Frocks /- T , HE dress problems of the slim, -*- short woman should not be difficult. Picture styles are for her. There are many who admire the petite woman much more than they admire the taller woman. In the daytime, demure little frocks with Eton collars and turned-back cuffs; in the evening, full skirts of georgette or taffetas will bring out her flower-like prettiness, especially if she has the quaint, early Victorian look about her, which so many small women have. And she can wear the pretty bolero styles which are to be all the rage next Spring, and in which many a tall woman looks clumsy and ungainly. ■ No, I don't think the small woman has much to complain of in regard to her dress.