Nike for Petites: Products I Like as a Petite Woman

I’m writing this as I’ve had sort of bad luck lately with “regular brands” and trying to wear their clothes as a petite woman. I’ve shopped petite all my life in workwear, business casual attire and professional clothing, but what I find to be lacking in the world is athleisure apparel for petites.

Let’s chat about Nike: the company does not have a petite line of clothes, but I seem to have struck a streak of luck in picking out Nike products that fit my 5’2” frame. I even happened upon Nike’s “Short” option in bottoms, which is perfect for me and might as well be size P for petite.

In this list, find out what I’m wearing from Nike’s activewear apparel and how it fits me when I want to wear activewear and athleisure every day.

Bottoms

Let’s start with bottoms: I’ll get right into leggings, pants and shorts. Remember: I’m 5’2,” so I’m basing all my size critiques on that.

Nike joggers

I was delighted to find out while shopping for joggers that Nike offers some women’s bottoms in a “Short” option for length. This is PERFECT if you categorize your needs as “petite” when you shop!

I tried the Women’s Mid-Rise Joggers in Fleece and was happy that they were in stock in XS Short. Here’s how they look and where they hit my ankle. (If you’ve been shopping for joggers in regular brands with regular inseams, you’ve probably been frustrated like I have been!)

Nike leggings (in 7/8 length)

I find that the 7/8 length fits me closer to the ankle, so I stick with that rather than “full length leggings.” You can see how the 7/8 fits me here. I’m fine with it and it’s comfy. I think the full length would always be too long on someone my height.

Try this: Nike High-Waisted 7/8 Leggings

Nike Biker Shorts

I like my biker shorts to be long, to avoid chafing and sweating when I’m biking at the gym or on my bike. As a petite, I’ve never found fit issues with Nike’s 8” bike shorts, which are the longest, so if you’re short like me and want to err on the side of going shorter, try the shorter 7” style of bike shorts from the [women’s bike shorts product page]](https://www.tkqlhce.com/click-101184554-15734707?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nike.com%2Fw%2Fwomens-bike-shorts-clothing-4gqndz5e1x6z6ymx6).

They don’t come in short sizes, but by going up to 7” or even the 5” styles, you’re basically getting a “short” style that works for petite women. As a side note, Nike’s bike shorts also come in a maternity version (including small sizes like XXS), which I talk about in my list of cute brands for maternity clothes.

“Brief-Lined Shorts”

I originally got the Nike Tempo Brief-Lined shorts (and really liked them as an athletic product), and I’ve more recently opted for the Nike One Dri-FIT Mid-Rise 3” Brief-Lined Shorts. They have a high-waisted fit, so keep that in mind, but even petite women should excel with this fit because you can wear a cropped tee and they won’t run too long on the legs.

I’m thankful for this style of shorts, because with other brands, I’ve had issues with bagginess and general lack of flattery.

Tops

Nike doesn’t make any specifically size P or petite tops, but I’ve found some suitable ones after missing the mark on my first try.

Cropped Tee

Another mistake I made as a petite shopper when I first tried athletic tops from Nike was getting a “regular 50/50 training tee,” as I had gotten the Sportswear Club Essentials T-Shirt, and it ran too long. It never fit me right. I gave it away on Buy Nothing, actually.

I opted this time around for a cropped tee specifically, and I chose the simple Solo Swoosh T-Shirt, which is a cropped style to wear with high-waisted shorts or leggings/pants. While it could probably use to have half an inch taken off the bottom of it in order to fit me best in this style, I can still tuck it into something high waisted and have the back tucked out.

Tank top

I lucked out again with the Nike One Classic Women’s Dri-FIT Tank Top, which doesn’t run too long. It hits me at the hips and can be tucked into a high-waisted bottom like joggers or training shorts.

Socks

This one’s a trick: socks don’t come petite, but Nike tends to run kind of small, so by getting a regular women’s size sock (the cushioned lifestyle socks are for shoe sizes W6-10), they won’t be giant even though they’re meant to stretch.

Try these: Everyday Plus Cushioned Socks.

Outerwear

I think it’s worth noting that Nike’s outerwear like jackets run big and long for petites. I tried the Jordan teddy-style jacket in XS, and it was massive. I also tried a maternity jacket in XS, and couldn’t believe how giant it was. I’d suggest against Nike’s regular-length jackets for petite women, or oversized-style coats similar to these.

The long-style rain jacket was heaps too long on my short figure, but here’s where I have a suggestion: I think that petites could make out OK with cropped style jackets from Nike. Of course, they’ll run longer than they would on women taller than 5’4” or so, but hear me out: they may look cute.

Nike tends to carry some cropped styles in track jackets, sport jackets, and even some puffers. Just remember to size down, or get two sizes and return the one that does not work.

Sports bras

As I write this, I’m wearing my Nike sports bra. In the past, I’ve had trouble with bras, because the size-to-true-fit ratio is impossible to discern from brand to brand. I decided to go for it, especially without being able to try on in person, and got a “Light Support Non-Padded Sports Bra.”

I couldn’t believe that it fit on the first try, and I think that’s partially due to the fact that it’s very stretchy in all the right places. Luckily, the straps ran fine for me as a petite (from other brands, I’ve had issues with straps being too long in a size that fits my torso circumference).

Just remember that styles like the “bra tanks” that Nike makes may run too long on your torso, and might look oversized.

Shoes

Of course, Nike shoes don’t have to run petite to fit you! But as a matter of fact, if you’re petite, you may also have narrow feet (I think I do).

Personally, I have had the best luck with the Nike Flyknit line for running sneakers that I use for all my walking (I walk every day at lunch time, and then again before dinner). I like the Infinity RN 4. The Flyknit series is known for being adjustable and comfortable for narrow-footed people, and it’s my top pick for cool mom sneakers.

If you’re feeling adventurous, check out my Nike By You review to learn about how you can customize select Nike sneakers. It was so much fun to do this!

Plus-size petites

If you’re wearing plus size in Nike and you’re also short/petite, I would use the same guidelines as above as you shop in Nike’s plus sizes (2XL-3X). For example, Nike’s athleisure pants and skirts that I’m looking at come in plus sizes with no length-adjusted sizes like Short.

If you wear a “Short” size, I’d advise against getting regular-length items that may not fall at the correct spot on the calf or ankle.

As a disclaimer, the inclusion of the above products from Nike is not sponsored; however, Nike sent me these products as a gift, to try out and review in order to create content.

Nike maternity for petites

This might be surprising to you, but I did have some GREAT luck with Nike’s maternity clothing for someone as petite as me. See what fit me in my Nike maternity clothing review.