Skirt style for Smaller Frame

[dancingirldancing]

I am making a new ballroom comp dress yaaay ! I want a really big fluffly skirt however I am only a little skinny person 5'4 tall.

What will be the best skirt shape/style for me ?

I don't want to look like a cupcake but at the same time I want volume.

 

[Tangos_with_Tim]

I am a similar frame to you by your description, although I don't get to wear competition type ballroom dresses. But I would guess you can get away with a skirt that, when you aren't in full flight, hangs flat, but with fluffy edging and structure round the hem? So when you are dancing it will spin out and look lovely and 'voluminous'! If that's a word...

 

[canismajor41]

I'm 5'4" also and have always wanted a big fluffy skirt too. I think a skirt that is cut out or rouched on one side looks the best on petite girls. Diagonal lines do good things for short ladies. Here's what I mean:

Example of full skirt that is angular in shape:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p98d8yiTqeI

Example of non-angular (full circle) full skirt:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXtOcUVKV98

As much as I ADORE Karina and this routine in particular, the dress does nothing for her shape. Although...Karina could wear a trash bag and still look great!

 

[bia]

I think the main thing to avoid is having the skirt be poofy too high up. If the volume starts at the natural waist, it'll probably cut you off and make you look even shorter. But as long as it's slim over the hips and then gradually flows out, it'll give an impression of longer lines that will still allow more skirt volume lower down. I'd avoid tiers in the skirt -- again, horizontal lines cutting you off -- and instead have the top layer of skirt go all the way down.

ETA: And it's also something to consider in decoration -- vertical or diagonal patterns/lines rather than horizontal. And in fabric color choice -- no sudden color change at the waistline.

 

[twothreefourone]

In my humble guy opinion... (If a guy may comment on pretty topics...) I feel that a cut which is fitted snugly from the waist to just below where the iliac crest/pelvis sticks out a little (ca. aroundabout the middle of the hips) often suits that body shape. Some dresses which are fitted till even lower around the, ahem, bum also work, depending on how curvy that particular bit of the dancer is. From there, I like how a nice gentle taper out to a flared hem will generate a nice bit of volume/ movement. IMO, avoid anything that tapers out too soon, has too many layers, hangs like a wet rag, or makes you look like you're wearing a meringue/sitting in candyfloss. My sister is 4'11" WOS and we've discussed this dilemma hehe.

Anyhoos... pictures will probably provide better food for thought. (Hopefully my friend won't mind me using her pictures for illustration... )

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gqbwIBwEkKg/TsWe_3U3yJI/AAAAAAAAAAY/gzTtcB-85zc/s1600/IMG_9834.jpg

The fluffy winner?

Boo for candyfloss:

 

[tanya_the_dancer]

I think in the first picture the abrupt color change makes the wearer look shorter. But if the top was not so different in color from the bottom, the wearer would look taller.

 

[dancingirldancing]

The blue one in the last pic sort of bunched up weird ? Why is that ?

 

[stash]

The blue one in the last pic sort of bunched up weird ? Why is that ?

I do not believe that dress is bunched up. It looks like they are doing runs in Quickstep, and her dress has a fishline hem. These two in tandem will give this effect.

I do agree with other posters. I am also very petite (5'1 without heels) and I would look for a dress that ideally has a dropped waist (see pictures above. They make your torso look longer and the volume (if the skirt does have any) tends to be concentrated at the bottom of the dress.

Also if you want to skirt that flows out more but doesn't have a lot of volume at first glance I would suspect that skirts with gudets (the triangular inserts you see in some skirts) would be a good options. They add material without really adding a lot of bulk and puff.

 

[dancingirldancing]

Yes actually I think it makes her legs look a little short.

I don't like the look of the skirts at all and I have a lot of hops and run in QS so this style probably is out for me !

 

[canismajor41]

I agree that the blue one makes the legs look short. I actually have a standard gown that is a cupcake style and it doesn't make me look short. The reason is that the seam at the hip is not so noticeable - there is a smooth line from the bodice to the skirt and the color from bodice to skirt is also uniform, which helps to create the illusion of height. All but one layer of the skirt are sewn onto a single 2nd layer underneath which keeps the bulk at the hips to a minimum, if that makes sense. In the blue dress it looks like most or all of the layers were sewn at the hip. Plus there is a slight color contrast there which also doesn't help.

 

[Ambao]

The fluffy one looks really good, do you think it is made of feathers or of small pieces of material?

 

[Ambao]

Thank you, it is a really pretty dress!

 

[twothreefourone]

Thank you for the edit, Larinda I'm sorry, I must've selected the wrong link with my big fingers on the fiddly tablet.

On a dress note, I'm suffering from sparkle overdose in Blackpool; I'll try to document any particularly striking dresses if I make it to pro ballroom next week!