Where can you buy a 1920s style dress in a petite length, especially a long length evening gown? This is a perfect question for me to answer since I am just shy of 5’2. Here are my favorite brands for both long and short 1920s style petite dresses:
My favorite 20s long petite evening dress brand is Pisarro Nights. They have short dresses too, but the long ones hit me right at the ankle – no alterations required. The beaded gowns have a lot of stretch, so they can accommodate multiple sizes. I found mine on sale at Dillard’s in a size 12. It fit me when I went up to a size 14, and it still fits now that I am a size 6/8.
Adrianna Papell is another similar dress designer with some Petite lengths, but at a slighter higher price point ($250 and up).
My Pisarro Nights mesh gown won best 20s costume!
My next best option is the “flapper” dresses at Unique Vintage. The shortest knee-length dresses will look short on their tall models but on me, they come down to mid shin, which is the appropriate ’20s length anyways. They have mid-quality sequin/fringe dresses for under $100 and high-end fully beaded dresses for $200 and up. I recommend ordering one size up (or get two in different sizes). An authentic 1920s dress should hang straight on the body, not hug curves, but most modern women want to see their curves…. so choose the fit that makes you feel your best.
I also love the high-end flapper dress at Deco Haus. Their designs and fit tend to be more accurate to the ’20s. They also have cute cotton day dresses.
1920s reproduction dresses (Me on the Right) wearing a Deco Haus dress and Lauren (L) wearing a Unique Vintage dress
One of my Unique Vintage flapper dresses (on a tall model this would have been at the knee, but on me it’s perfect for the 1920s)
Another brand that comes in Petite is J Kara (on Amazon). The brand often features beaded or sequin decoration, tiered skirts, long sleeves, capes, and other design elements appreciated by the modest or mature woman.
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- J. kara long petite 20s dress with sleeves
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- J Kara petite hanky hem 20s dress
The final brand I highly recommend is Nataya, sold by Wardrobe Shop. The tea length dresses work perfectly on me as a full-length gown. They are not beaded flapper dresses, but romantic light and airy dresses that look and feel vintage without the costume effect. See them all here.
Titanic – 1920s Inspired Dress from Wardrobe Shop
Besides these few brands, I have hand made a ’20s dress, remodeled a thrift store dress, and bought a last minute day dress on Amazon. The wonderful thing about ’20s dresses is that the short styles end up being the perfect length, but long dresses are much trickier. If one of these brands doesn’t work for you, let me know and I’ll hunt for something else for you.
~Debbie
