Don’t Trip: These Jeans Are Perfect for Petite Ladies

This female-founded brand may be new on the jeans-scene, but it’s shot to the top of the list for its dedication to a single purpose: Making great jeans specifically for women 5’4″ and under, no tailoring required. As such, the knee placement, hip placement, and rise are all carefully calibrated to work for shorter bodies and achieve the perfect fit off the rack. This particular pair has a relaxed fit that’s easy to style, but Nelle also carries a bootcut option that’s great with heels and a tapered cut with added stretch. Your tall friends will wish they could get a pair.

At best, some brands offer three inseam options to choose from: short, regular, and tall. To our applause, Abercrombie has two additional lengths for extra-short and extra-tall needs, going far above (and below — we had to) the usual offerings. The brand suggests that those who are 5’ tall or shorter opt for the extra short inseam, and those between 5’1” and 5’3” go for the short inseam. Even better, Abercrombie offers both Classic and Curve Love (extra space in the hip and thigh) options, meaning you can find whatever style of jean you could want in the right proportions for you. Flares in particular can be difficult to find for petites — sometimes if you hem them, they end up more bootcut than bell bottom — but Abercrombie created a pair that’ll flare the same amount for all wearers and won’t leave you tripping over your pant legs. 

It’s disappointing to find a style of jeans you love only to discover they don’t carry your waist measurement. With Universal Standard, that’s a thing of the past. Sizes range from a 40 (about a 70-inch waist) to a 00 (about a 24-inch waist). While the current petite selection only includes skinny styles, reviewers say that they’re the perfect length if you’re around 5′ tall or shorter. If you want to explore wider-legged options, the brand carries plenty of other silhouettes in cropped styles that would work on petite frames, too.

Jeans are a wardrobe staple that lasts you years, so if you’re gonna splurge, this is the department in which to do so. Rarely do luxury labels have additional petite sizing, but here’s an insider tip we alluded to above: Check out cropped styles. In our opinion, nobody does cropped denim better than FRAME. The brand takes their most popular cuts and basically snips them — and those versions tend to fit pint-sized women very well. This style is called the Jetset, so consider it the lovechild of jeans and leggings, and leave your schlubby airport style behind for chicer travels.

Straight, bootcut, skinny, flare: You can find any and all silhouettes at J.Crew, available in a range of lengths. If you prefer a clean-cut jean without fussy details like distressing or bright colors, this is the place to shop. They offer short, regular, and tall inseams, with most short inseams measuring around 28.5 inches. We admit that might still be long for most petites, but some styles are offered in inseams around 24 inches — it’s all about taking the time to find the right style for you.

While these specific pants aren’t technically jeans, they are made of a thick cotton material that’s similar to denim and have a 27.5 inch inseam (and Madewell offers petite inseams in lots of their denim styles). Katie loves Madewell’s Emmett pants and the brand just released a revamp of the popular style in new colors. Its high rise and slant pockets are universally flattering, and these come in four different hues. Katie owns them in yellow and orange. 

Even though we love stretchy jeans, you can’t beat the vintage look of rigid denim. Non-stretch jeans get softer with each wash and mold to your body over time, plus they’re tough enough to stand up to regular washing. This wide-leg pair comes in regular and short inseams (29.5 and 27.5 inch inseams, respectively), and there are four colors to choose from. Our editorial director Molly Simms has these pants and loves that the wide-leg fit is chic without swallowing her whole. 

If you aren’t loyal to a certain denim brand, Nordstrom is the place to browse. You can sort jeans by style, rise, and length, making it easy to find exactly what you’re looking for. This particular pair from Levi’s has a 27-inch inseam, and extra-high rise. Reviewers caution that the style runs on the smaller side though, so consider ordering a size up. 

Let’s face it: Most clothing sizing isn’t as inclusive as it should be. Good American made it their mission to upend that notion, offering waist sizes up to 32 plus (around a 55-inch waist). For this ’90s-inspired petite pair, they shortened the inseam and the rise to better fit those on the slighter side. 

Gap manages to hit the sweet spot of affordable pricing and solid quality, with a great selection of both classic and trendy styles and plenty of sales. These streetwear-ready cargo pants are available in a 27.5-inch inseam, and so are these faux-leather pants.

While you’re stocking up on essentials from Amazon, why not add a pair of jeans to your cart, too? These will arrive in two days if you have a Prime membership, and you’ll be able to return them for free if they don’t fit the way you imagined. 

There’s nothing wrong with preferring the simpler things. Banana Republic has a huge selection of easy-to-wear jeans in classic fits and colors, all without fussy distressing, embroidery, or embellishments. This pair has an easy-fitting straight leg and lifting flap pockets in the back, and it comes in three different inseam lengths.

Reformation doesn’t offer short inseam sizes, but they do offer free hemming, which is a win in our book. Simply try on your Reformation jeans (like this sexy straight pair), measure how long you want your inseam to be, and send them back to have them hemmed to a custom length for free.