A young internet friend writes:

I absolutely adore your blog. I’m fifteen, and I need some cute skirts that I can wear to school this winter. I’m looking for something that hits around my knee, maybe a little above to wear with tights and flats, or heels. I have pretty short legs, and I can never find skirts that will actually fit me. They’re all made for tiny little stick girls! (BTW, I’m around a size 10 to 14.)
Can you help me?
Thank you so so much

~Emily

Just 15 and already superfantastic! She is eschewing jeans and baggy sweatpants for skirts! Heels to school! Francesca is so proud (and, a leetle beet scared).

This question gives Francesca an opportunity to post links to many, many different sites which sell clothes for the non-tiny-little-stick-girls! So, when clicking, please look around for other things you might like at the same store.

Francesca asked Emily a few questions and learned that we must search for petite sizes or skirts that run short, which are suitable for the artsy high school girl (though Francesca is wondering how to reconcile “artsy” with “heels” and “cute”), and which are under $75. Oh, and dear Emily does not like denim! Wow! This girl is a diamond to be treasured.

First, Francesca, who is also a Short Girl, advises Emily to learn to sew or to make friends with a nice seamstress who can bring up hems and take seams in, for a perfect fit. These things are quick and inexpensive to do, and make a big difference in how things look. This plan frees Emily to try all sorts of skirts which may in the past have been certainly too long. Of course, skirts with interesting detailing at the hem cannot be shortened without disturbing the pattern, so this plan works best with skirts that are all of one color or one continuous print.

Unless otherwise noted, all of the skirts which Francesca is about to suggest will have to be shortened by Emily. Some also start at size 14, so they might have to be taken in, too. But! The prices are low enough that Emily can bring several skirts to a seamstress and have them altered, without going over budget! And this way, you know they will be exactly the length which Emily wants.

We start with flirty skirts from Torrid.com:

Red plaid pleated skirt

Please, leave the patterned stockings at home!

Black pinstripe pleated mini-skirt(which would fall longer on the Petite girls)

And now, from Lane Bryant, a fuschia floral-print gored skirt, very psychadelic meets conservative! Some of the pattern would be lost upon shortening, but Francesca thinks this would be OK.

Above-the-knee pencil skirt from JC Penney, very pleasing to Francesca!

If Emily is willing to try longer skirts, there are several very cute, and very artsy, styles at Alight.com.

For example, here is their tie-dye skirt (available in 4 colors, starting at size 14; easily shortened or taken in)

And, for days when you want to look more conservative because you have a meeting with your stodgy math teacher, who is a throwback to the 50′s himself, here is an adorable number, called the Urban Renewal skirt, which can be shortened in a wink:

And SWAK Designs also has several mid-length skirts which Emily might like. However, Francesca worries that the smallest size available there, 14/16, would be much too large for the teenage Emily who wears up to 14. But I mention it in case you wish to try.

Believe it or not, the Home Shopping Network has lots of great skirts in a range of sizes. Just go to HSN.com and do a keyword search for “skirt.” The prices are mostly higher than for the skirts above, but often there are clearance discounts.

This skirt at HSN is on clearance sale and would come to Emily’s knees, since it is not a Petite size:

And this orange dessert is on deep clearance:

Finally, this would not be a post by Francesca without a skirt from Talbots. Here, from their online outlet (73 percent off!), is an adorable skirt available in petite and women’s petite (and in brown)

Happy shopping!

xoxo, Francesca

Our internet friend Colleen writes:

I am writing on behalf of my maid of honor, who is too shy to write for herself. The wedding is in five weeks and the dear girl has not found shoes yet! She is a lovely Big Girl with sensitive feet — she usually wears orthopedic insoles, and has difficulty walking in heels higher than an inch and a half. Shoes should be black, closed-toed (no pointy toes, though), come in size 7 regular, and because my pal is a graduate student and coming all the way across the country for my wedding, as inexpensive as possible. The wedding will be in the morning, and she will be wearing a cranberry-red satin. Please help, Francesca!

Francesca was delighted by this letter for several reasons.

First, she is happy to see that the Colleen is not a bridezilla, and is trying as best she can to be sensitive to her friend’s wallet.

Second, she is happy to see that Colleen loves and cares for her friend and wishes to help her friend look beautiful, fatness and orthopedics and all.

And third, though the friend is described as a Big Girl, since she wears a regular width shoe this is technically not a Big Girl question. I was going to send it to the Manolo to perhaps answer on his regular shoe blog, when I realized: We have reached our goal! The clothing and shoes highlighted on this blog are so beautiful, that even when someone needs items in regular sizes they come to us for advice! Hallelujah!

In response to questions by Francesca, we learned that it will be a fairly formal indoor morning wedding, and that the cranberry satin dress will be to mid-calf, not the floor. We also learned that the Maid of Honor likes playful shoes but they must be entirely closed, and would prefer to spend under $50 but would be willing to go up to $80 for something superfantastic (which of course is our goal here at Manolo for the Big Girl). The fact that she wears regular widths makes things easier.

Here are several different models to try. Francesca recommends, since the wedding is in a few weeks and Colleen is clearly becoming anxious, that Colleen’s friend take advantage of Zappos’ generous return policy: Order several shoes, keep what works, and send back the rest. Zappos pays for return shipping! Tip: If an item is “currently not available,” try again the next day. Sometimes items come back.

Here we go . . .

Francesca favors the “Dip” by Ros Hommerson , since they have a playful element while still accomodating (one hopes!) the orthopedic inserts, and offering a good, stable heel for the comfort of the Big Girl Bridesmaid who will be on her feets for many hours, helping the Colleen. . . .

And here are three different models to try, all by the superfantastic Fitzwell:
Stacey, available in three shades / fabrics of black! Here, the black suede . . .

Dawn, made of lambskin

and the very sweet Sasha

If Colleen’s friend truly must watch every penny, she could try the Hush Puppies Gem IV . . .

And finally, here is a very adorable black shoe with a kitten heel by Gabriella Rocha, called Ellie, which might suit if the toe is not too pointy:

Congratulations, and let us know which shoe is “the One”!

xoxo, Francesca

Our internet friend Tanya wrote:

I love your blog, and was hoping you might have some suggestions. I’m short and a bit heavy and have wide feet… I would like to become short and not so heavy with wide feet, and to do so need a pair of gym shoes that will fit and possibly be semi-attractive without being so expensive that I can’t bring myself to buy them. Any suggestions?

Once again Francesca states that on this blog we neither encourage nor discourage weight loss. Rather, we encourage good health, and we believe that our readers are intelligent enough to decide for themselves when, if, and how they wish to lose weight.

So, Francesca applauds Tanya’s decision to take action toward reaching something she wants, and wishes her good health. Francesca, herself, is not a gym person. When Francesca wishes to exercise, she prefers playing sports, or doing aerobics in the comfort of her own living room, or carrying home Chinese takeout or heavy bags of groceries which contain, among the fruits and veggies, only one box of Entenmann’s cupcakes. So you see, to each her own!

The important thing about gym shoes is not whether they are attractive, but whether they will support and cushion your feetsies. However, blinding colors are to be avoided, and detailing should be as non-busy as possible.

Tanya did not say whether she plans to use the gym for weights or for dance / aerobics classes, so Francesca searched for a good general all-purpose fitness shoe, available in wide widths and costing under $100. She suggests that Tanya try the WW744 model by New Balance, which is a sturdy walking shoe and comes in all-white or with light blue trim:

Happy shopping and happy exercising!

xoxo, Francesca

Many of our internet friends have written bemoaning the lack of boots suitable for the girl with the wide calf. Well gals, I have good news and I have bad news.

The good news is there are boots out there. The bad news is that it’ll cost you.

It is the mantra of the Manolo Blogs that instead of buying cheap footwear made with deplorable lack of attention to detail by whatever 8-year old Bangladeshi child was cuffed to that particular table, one must save up for the superfantastic shoes, lovingly made by handsome gruff men named Aldo who drive cool Italian scooters and get 90 minute lunch breaks.

Give Aldo a cow and a dream and he’ll make you a pair of boots that will last you until the cows –at least the ones who have not as of yet become court shoes– come home.

Some internet friends have had success with Sudini, whose boots come with a standard 14″ circumference and elastic goring for a better fit, like the mid-heel brogue-style “Tiffany” that goes all the way up to a 13 Wide.

But for my money, custom is the way to go. Duo Boots offered hand-tooled, custom fitted boots for calves up to 20″ in a variety of traditional and modern styles. Even better? Most boots ring in at under 150 pounds!

Here are a few of my favorites.

From Top: Moscow, Almeria,  Odessa & Versailles

Remember to order slightly smaller than your actual calf size because leather stretches over time. Happy shopping!