For All the Petite CDs

[Clara]

Do you feel blessed to be petite? And did you endure nightmares before starting (and accepting) your dressing because of being petite?

I was hesitant about sharing this...but who else I could share this but with you. Finally, after starting dressing I got to like myself, I mean the physical me. I am 5”10 and 130. And I look 10 years younger. I was always very petite. And as a teenage boy and a young man in his 20s I struggled with it, a lot. Teenage boys naturally compete who's the biggest and baddest boy. And how much authority can you have when you are a 25 year old young man but you look like a petite 15 year old? The answer is, not much. So, you can imagine my joy after many years of wishing to be more manly I found out that I am lucky not to look manly. There were oh so many times I wished I was more like my dad. But now when I'm browsing skirts size 6 I feel really happy.

P.S. Yes, it seems I have some issues from my growing up:)

[KateSpade83]

Maybe you mistyped, but you said you're 5' 10" tall - that's not petite!

At 5' 4" tall I'm on the petite border, but I'm at the avg height of an American woman.

Before, I was alway fat and a size 12 to 16, then I lost 65 lbs and became a 4. I've been a 4 to 6 for 3 years now, and the clothes selection is awesome.

[Clara]

The thing is that I never looked 5"10. I just always look tiny. There were lots of guys shorter than me but I always look smaller than them. Even my wife warned me before meeting her family to be prepared that I'll be the smallest man and not to feel too bad about it. Only to find out when I was standing right next to them that I was the tallest.

By the way, you're the perfect size!

[Crystal Galadriel]

I'm 5'7" ish, have been for 5 years and am only 20, haven't gained more than 5-10 pounds during that time either, so I'm only 115-120. I'm a sophomore in college now and am pretty much the same size I was as a freshman in high school! It does give a nice selection of clothing, though, I'm about a size 5-6 and like it a lot. Now that I'm pretty much out on my own, it's become even more necessary for me to get my own clothes instead of borrowing my mom's and sister's, but I needed to anyway, I'm too small for their clothes even though I'm 4 years older than my sister! It's mostly that I have no hips....

But yeah, being petite is kinda nice, I really don't mind being smaller than most everybody else. My SO is taller than me, which I only mind a little bit, and much larger than me physically, which I don't mind at all, love her for who she is. I know she loves me for who I am too, which is why I hope everything will go well when I tell her, I'm just nervous that she'll think I'm not the same person I was before...

In conclusion, petite-ness is nice (and I like longer posts)!

[Barbara Dugan]

I think sizing is overrated, you must look tiny, I am 5'10'' and 145lbs and feel happy with no problem finding clothes you should look incredible at 130lbs :thumbsup:

[Sophia de la luz]

The whole clothing size thing seems a little up for grabs. I have size four jeans that fit well and size six. Underwear is size six. I have to watch out for dresses being too small in the chest area, not because of boobs, but from chest measurement.
And I'm 5'10" and roughly 150-155 lbs. I wouldn't describe me as petite???

[Elizabeth2-]

Sizes regularly vary according to manufacturer's lines.

Appleseed's has good standard in its Fall 2008 catalog.

petite: 4'11" to 5'4"

misses: 5'4" to 5'8"

womens: 5' 81/2" to 6'

The catalog shows you how to measure yourself and to translate those measurements into actual sizes.


Good luck girls! And, of course, happy shopping.

Liz

[emmicd]

I'm considered petite for my size but I am a size 14-16 petite. I am 5'5" and 165 lbs. I would love to lose 30-35 lbs. I guess I would have to try to get back into the regimen I was dedicated to when I was in highschool when I ran crosscountry.

I love dressing as a petite woman! It is more fun then dressing like a boring guy!

emmi

[Angie G]

I've always been on the small side for years I was 5'7'' and 120 pounds now I'm 150 pouns and love it.:hugs:
Angie

[kym]

well ladies, i was once six feet tall and 250 pounds almost fitting into my ex's clothes(size 20-22). I am now six feet tall and fitting into size 11-12 jeans and a natural b cup chest. for me i consider that petite and i love it!!!!!!

[renee k]

Although I'm not petite at 5'8" I wouldn't mind being a little smaller. I'm at the top end height wise and can pull off wearing wearing three to four inch heels. Which suits me just fine, and finding clothes that fit properly is a plus too!

Huggs, Renee

[JenniferR771]

Oh, fer shure! I have always hated being smallish as a guy. Me too Renee. 5"8"--not really extremely small, and 145 pounds--however I can wear size 10 dresses, and they usually fit just perfect. Wonderful advantage as a cd. I tried to give away some older outfits at a support group meeting--but no one else could fit into my clothes--even the wives were bigger than me. Sigh.

[Chloe84]

I dont think i can say im a Petite gurl, but when it comes to a guy, yes i am defiantly. Im 5'8" and 135-140lbs, with 28-30"waist. so as a guy yes i look rather small, but when im En-Fem i think i look more like your average healthy gurl, maybe my arms are a little big, but other than that average thru and thru.

so i think most of you that consider yourself petite, i think perhaps you mean, your a petite guy.

[KateSpade83]

By the way, you're the perfect size!

Yeah, 5' 4" - I can buy petite, misses, and schoolgirl sizes! - So bad for my wallet though!

[Nicole Erin]

Sizes regularly vary according to manufacturer's lines.

womens: 5' 81/2" to 6'

Good luck girls! And, of course, happy shopping.

Liz

I am ALL woman! :D

[Sara Jessica]

The size thing is something not to get too hung up on.

Petite sizing for a genetic woman is much different than describing a tg girl as petite. Very few of us would fall into the sizing guidlines to be a "petite gg". I hope I'm not being presumptious but I think the intent of Clara when she posted this was to describe herself at 5'10" as feeling blessed for being "petite", perhaps compared with the average male height out there.

I'm 5'9" and by no means would I be petite in terms of gg sizing. Yet I do feel blessed that I am not any taller. This height actually works well in both guy and girl mode. Much shorter and I'd be considered short as a guy.

And about clothes sizing, I've said before that is all over the map as well and shouldn't be considered something to brag about. I happen to be 160-ish and my figure is proportioned pretty well, including having quite the feminine tush. Just because I own one pair of jeans that are a size 4 and a size 6 dress which fits like an absolute dream, it doesn't mean I run around thinking I'm a petite girl. I start in medium or size 8 land and go up or down from there, depending on the fit.

:2c:

[Shelly Preston]

Yeah, 5' 4" - I can buy petite, misses, and schoolgirl sizes! - So bad for my wallet though!


Kate buying schoolgirl sizes should be good for your wallet
They normally cost less

Maybe you have your spending priorities wrong

[avril findlay]

I'm 5'11" in the 3" heels I normally wear when dressed, which is fine by me. I don't know any CDrs who are "petite", but the GGs who are 5'4" or under that I know all say they'd like to be at least a couple of inches taller.

[Ruth]

I guess it's all in the mind. If you're 5'10" and you think you're petite, fine, but I'd be looking up at you and I don't feel petite. But then I don't have a thing about size or height.

[Tess]

At 5' 11" I'm certainly not petite, but I am "small boned", which might be what Clara meant. I relate somewhat to what she is saying. When I was 18 (a long time ago), I was 6' but only 136 pounds with a 29 inch waist. My arms were thin, not very manly at all. Now that I'm aging I've lost an inch in height, but I still have very thin arms and legs. It has made it easier to fit into feminine cloths and put me a little closer to being passable. As far as you shorter girls are concerned, I'm green with envy.

[Nicole Erin]

Kate buying schoolgirl sizes should be good for your wallet
They normally cost less

Maybe you have your spending priorities wrong

Dear Shelly, good moderator, PLEASE don't get Kate started... :heehee:

[Sara Jessica]

Now that I'm aging I've lost an inch in height...

Cool, I might be 5'8" soon!!! :)

[Clara]

At 5' 11" I'm certainly not petite, but I am "small boned", which might be what Clara meant.

Yup, that's what I meant. By no means I am a petite girl but as a guy I always felt and look very small and not manly compare to other guys, shorter guys included.

[KateSpade83]

Kate buying schoolgirl sizes should be good for your wallet
They normally cost less

Maybe you have your spending priorities wrong

The only girl clothes I like is real Catholic Schoolgirl uniforms; I went to a school shop and the skirts were $40 each; got Salvation Army thrift ones for $1.62.

Girl Scout uniforms are ugly!

My next thing to get into - sexy club dresses!

[docrobbysherry]

The size thing is something not to get too hung up on.
And about clothes sizing, I've said before that is all over the map as well and shouldn't be considered something to brag about. I happen to be 160-ish and my figure is proportioned pretty well, including having quite the feminine tush. Just because I own one pair of jeans that are a size 4 and a size 6 dress which fits like an absolute dream, it doesn't mean I run around thinking I'm a petite girl. I start in medium or size 8 land and go up or down from there, depending on the fit.:2c:

I'm about 5' 10", 150 lbs. I do most of my shopping at the thrift stores, where nothing is organised by size. I usually fit into 8 to 12's, but I don't shop that way. If I see some thing I like, I measure the waist, chest and/or shoulders, to see if it will fit. I bought a schoolgirl skirt the other day. It says size "15". That means AGE 15! I can just squeeze it around my waist! Which I consider a "perfect fit". :heehee:

I like being slim. It's easier to ADD to my figure to create the female shape I prefer, than squeeze everything in. One problem exception being my wide ribs. They must be forced in for me to look fem!:sad:

[Tasha McIntyre]

I am anything but petite at 187cm and 90kg.....I think that's about 6ft2 and 200 lbs in USA talk! (Doesnt help the petiteness being a gym junkie either).

Even though I'm a bit lumpy, nothing stops me from getting into my girlie gear when I get the chance.

[Penelope]

Hi,
all this talk of petite or not almost sounds a little competitive. I have seen all sorts of gurls and some of the most feminine where taller than myself and just ultra femme in fact stunning!

I myself am only 5ft 6 about 150 lbs (could lose a few as 10 years ago I was 140),but age often changes many of us.

The thing I found was some very feminine CD's can be taller, slim, heavy, petite or as most I've met somewhere in between.
I personally believe it is all in how you carry yourself, your deportment,mannerisms and ettiquette(very important) and mindset.One has to be aware NOT to be that football jock or construction worker while dressed. Remember to NOT walk like a guy,take smaller strides and gently does it!
Think womanly!

hugs

Penelope :hugs:

[Clara]

Hi,
all this talk of petite or not almost sounds a little competitive. I have seen all sorts of gurls and some of the most feminine where taller than myself and just ultra femme in fact stunning!



Very true. That's why I was hesitant to write this post. And I probably didn't word it right. My point is that I often struggled with the way I looked (not manly enough, especially when younger). And that dressing made me finally to get over it.

But you are totally right. You don't have to be petite to look femme. For example, look at the old black and white pictures of pretty women from the beginning of 20th century. How curvy they are. And how beautiful they are. So, let's stop talking petite and let's start talking about how you feel as a woman and how dressing changed your perception about your physical yourself.

[LindaCD63yoNJ]

When I was young, being short and skinny was a downer. Now I few my stature, 5'5" and 120 pounds as a big benefit to my CD life!

[gabe]

Having a smaller build certainly has its advantages now, it is finally paying off, but growing up was not so much fun. I can laugh about it now, but being always the last one to be picked for a team during gym class did a lot of mental damage to an adolescent. In a way the CDing started out of necesscity, I could not find anything decent to wear. I am at ease with myself now, I do feel blessed.

[yms]

Having a smaller build certainly has its advantages now, it is finally paying off, but growing up was not so much fun. I can laugh about it now, but being always the last one to be picked for a team during gym class did a lot of mental damage to an adolescent. In a way the CDing started out of necesscity, I could not find anything decent to wear. I am at ease with myself now, I do feel blessed.

Ha! Now this brings back memories. When I was 11 or so and we'd choose up softball teams, the team that got me always got an extra player - four outfielders. Mercifully, I got better as time went on.

What I like about being petite - 5' 5" and 125lbs - is that Lori and I wear the same size, at least in skirts. She is smaller on top and in shoe size, but we share a lot of clothes and have similar tastes.

On the flip side, I can't buy any of the clothes at crossdresser.com. They all start in a size 10. That's not an endorsement by the way, although the couple of times I've talked to them they seem professional.

[Miss Tessa]

I'm tall and thick and curvey, so I'm definitely not petite.

I wish I was shorter and a little bit thinner.

But what I have found is some guys uncontrollably attracted to large women as long as they are proportionate.
Myself and two TS friends, all of us about the same size, and we took a walk down the party/club district in Tampa and guys were hitting on us literally every 10 meters or so or every club or bar we passed.

We all knew they really liked us because we were big women, though we were proportionate and good looking and it was obvious we stood out and were being hit on for that very reason of being bigger than the GG women all around us who were being ignored by the men mostly.

[Chari]

Most consider me a small thin frail male, now at 5' 6'' - 135#, but when I discovered and accepted my feminine side, I was classified as a trim petite. Strange too how all my feminine items fit and hang better on me than the male clothes.

[Penelope]

Very true. That's why I was hesitant to write this post. And I probably didn't word it right. My point is that I often struggled with the way I looked (not manly enough, especially when younger). And that dressing made me finally to get over it.

But you are totally right. You don't have to be petite to look femme. For example, look at the old black and white pictures of pretty women from the beginning of 20th century. How curvy they are. And how beautiful they are. So, let's stop talking petite and let's start talking about how you feel as a woman and how dressing changed your perception about your physical yourself.

Clara Sweety, I do hope that you don't think I was telling you off or being harsh?.No I once was petite and really wish i was again I am losing weight but am not that satisfied with it just yet.

Don't feel bad about what you posted,it was not mean sounding,you made a good point.I too was often picked on for being short and petite in school,but I felt great when I finally went out in public in 1997 as a girl.I loved it and yes all the guys honking their car horns as I strode past in my pleated mini skirt was such a rush,hehe.

Take care
and Big Hugs to you ,

Melanie :hugs:

[Rikidee]

I am 5'2" tall and weigh 130 lbs. so I consider myself petite. I also fought being the smallest boy if not the smallest person in my classes throughout school. This pretty much precluded participating in any sports and I certainly did not get into confrontations. This also caused some bad behaior in some cases where I tried to prove I was as much a man as anyone else. I started dressing when I was very young (5 or 6). I don't know if size had anything to do with it. When I got older and started getting serious I quickly realized that my size was a big plus. I can buy cute clothes at most stores but I don't think that is the biggest advantage. I have found that the biggest advantage is that women are not intimidated by my size. It is much different for me to go into a store and try on women's clothes than for a larger man. Most of the sales assistants are taller than me and that seems to give them a feeling of security. Some of them even remark and laugh about how small I am. I am also constantly "maamed" even though I am dressed totally in drab and this is brought on by my size and shaved legs.

[Sarah Martin]

...but at 6 foot tall and 20 st (280 lbs) I look like an NFL Linebacker in drag. I would LOVE to be small and petite. You are SO lucky!

xxx
Sarah

[Laurie909]

I'm petite...5' 3", which is great for buying clothes and shoes. But as I like to remind other T-girls, just being petite doesn't mean you automatically "pass." I have a very heavy beard, a bad five-o'clock shadow and a very hairy body (except for my head...where I need hair.)

So, like I say, being petite is good, but the grass is always greener on the other side.

[laura.lapinski]

The size thing is something not to get too hung up on.

Petite sizing for a genetic woman is much different than describing a tg girl as petite. Very few of us would fall into the sizing guidlines to be a "petite gg". I hope I'm not being presumptious but I think the intent of Clara when she posted this was to describe herself at 5'10" as feeling blessed for being "petite", perhaps compared with the average male height out there.

I'm 5'9" and by no means would I be petite in terms of gg sizing. Yet I do feel blessed that I am not any taller. This height actually works well in both guy and girl mode. Much shorter and I'd be considered short as a guy.

And about clothes sizing, I've said before that is all over the map as well and shouldn't be considered something to brag about. I happen to be 160-ish and my figure is proportioned pretty well, including having quite the feminine tush. Just because I own one pair of jeans that are a size 4 and a size 6 dress which fits like an absolute dream, it doesn't mean I run around thinking I'm a petite girl. I start in medium or size 8 land and go up or down from there, depending on the fit.

:2c:

I completely agree with this. I too am the same size as you Sara, and feel I can have the best of both worlds. Growing up I was always smaller than most other boys, but in High School, I shot up to 5'91/2 by 10th grade, but I only weighed 135 to 140. By my senior year I think I weighed 161, and today I'm 165. Growing up I often felt a little small, which made me feel a little girlish at sometimes, but those times were rare. Now I'm glad I'm not any bigger, as I can now try to pass if I want to go that route some day.

Laura

[Miss Tessa]

Like Laurie said, just being tiny doesn't make you pass much more.

I'm 5'10" and not skinny, but not fat either....
So I am kinda just a big girl but still proportionate.

And even though I am bigger than most GG's, I have a soft, feminine face and on hormones and have boobs and nice hips and no Adam's Apple...So I pass well almost all the time.

And that passibility has not much to do only just from how I look.
Alot of it is my mannerisms, how I act, how I carry myself, and the voice I use to speak with...

[LittleBabyMichele]

Im 'Michele' from Pittsburgh. Im 37 but still look like im 12. And have the body of one too. Im 5'7'' and only 115 lbs. I have been dressing since I was about 8 yo and I still fit very nicely in all preteen girl clothes. im 32a-26-32. Im too tiny to wear anything for a girl older than about 12ish. I really love the little girl look. Thank god for wal-mart and Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen clothes :-)

[Pernille Tiratzo]

Well, I wish I were smaller. I am 6`1" But dresses is not the biggest consern. It`s the shoes thats bothers me. My feet are size 13, and they just cant be found in normal shops. I want size 9! But my wallet is happy with my feet size, I know my closet would have been packed with shoes is they could be bougth on every corner:)
The shoe fashion in Norway these days is to die for!
But having the chance to buy size 12 dresses would also have been great. They are usually cheaper than a size 20..

[Sara Jessica]

I completely agree with this. I too am the same size as you Sara, and feel I can have the best of both worlds. Growing up I was always smaller than most other boys, but in High School, I shot up to 5'91/2 by 10th grade, but I only weighed 135 to 140. By my senior year I think I weighed 161, and today I'm 165. Growing up I often felt a little small, which made me feel a little girlish at sometimes, but those times were rare. Now I'm glad I'm not any bigger, as I can now try to pass if I want to go that route some day.

Laura

Sounds like my first driver's license (which I still have stashed away), 5'9, 135#!!!

I don't think I would want to weigh any less than my current 160ish right now. I'd risk losing what curves I have. But as we age, especially after 40, we lose muscle mass and muscle weighs more than fat so I wouldn't be surprised that all other things being equal if my weight didn't naturally drop another 5# or so in the next 10 years.

[Billie1]

With my small frame (135 lbs or so) but height (6'0") size 6 dresses fit like a glove, but, oooo, that hemline! It's so much fun to show a little bit of leg sometimes. :D

[Sweet Cindy]

Yep, at 5'4", 125 lbs I fit very nicely into a high school locker. On the bright side, I also fit into a size 0 miniskirt. So yes, it's a blessing and a curse.

Don't worry, I only got stuffed in a locker once and it was by a buddy just for laughs to see if I'd actually fit. A sense of humor went a long way to offset my stature (and still does).

[Karren H]

All the petite guys I know go out of their way to be uber masciline to make up short stature.... so they think...

[jimfromny]

I've always been intrigued by the psychology of how our sizes affect our self perceptions, particularly if we are either bigger or smaller than average. I would love hearing from those of you who were much smaller than average growing up and whether you think being small played a role in your turning to your feminine side, where it was a positive, rather than a negative as it is for many small boys/men.

[Joanne f]

[QUOTE=Clara;1488942]The thing is that I never looked 5"10. I just always look tiny. There were lots of guys shorter than me but I always look smaller than them. Even my wife warned me before meeting her family to be prepared that I'll be the smallest man and not to feel too bad about it. Only to find out when I was standing right next to them that I was the tallest.

By the way, you're the perfect size![/QUOTE

Now i have the opposite problem , i am very small 1`6" but i look bigger,(had the chairs made very small) i just make sure that i never go out with taller people .:bovered:

[Paige Philips]

Clara-I'm glad somebody raised this topic! I am 5' 7" & about 137 pounds-with a 28" waist. (I'm a compulsive runner-I would turn down the presidency if it interfered with my running schedule). Like a lot of smaller guys, I had a childhood that was grim at times. NOW, though , things have changed! The guys who were bigger and stronger than me are over-weight and look quite a bit older than they actually are. I am thirty-seven, and I can pass for mid-twenties, on a good day. Best of all (a lot of you have had this experience too), some of the ladies I know are jealous-you hear comments from a lot of attractive-but-overweight girls like: "I wish I had your body-type-it's wasted on you!" And speaking of shopping-have you noticed this? A lot of times when you're browsing in the ladies section, you look up, and ALL the women around you are bigger and heavier than you. Let's be honest-it's a pretty nice feeling, isn't it? Paige Philips.