I’m a 4ft2in fashion fan & pay £1.2K a year on clothes alterations – I don’t care what trolls say, my wardrobe’s bangin’
A FASHION fan who has dwarfism has told how she spends a whopping £1.2k on clothes alterations a year.
Stylish Lucy Sleight, 24, from Lincolnshire, is 4ft 2in and has achondroplasia, which is the most common type of short limb dwarfism.
She spends an estimated £1.2k on clothes alterations each year – and has won over a legion of fans thanks to her super trendy wardrobe which she often shares on social media.
Speaking exclusively to Fabulous Digital, Lucy explains: “I was born to two average height parents.
“My parents didn’t know I had dwarfism until I was born…I was diagnosed when I was around three-weeks-old.
Lucy, who is the only person with dwarfism in her family, has always been a lover of all things fashion.
“I enjoy keeping up with the latest trends and putting outfits together,” she says.
“I believe everyone should be able to wear what they want and should feel good in what they are wearing irrelevant of their height/weight/disability etc.”
FABULOUS BINGO: Get a £20 bonus & 30 free spins when you spend £10 today
Growing up, Lucy, who is a business support assistant, says she was “very fortunate” to have a super supportive family who would pay to get her clothes altered so she could keep up with the latest trends.
“My parents would always get my clothes altered to allow me to wear the clothes I wanted to rather than just settle for something that fit me because it was easier,” she recalls.
“With most clothes items I was unable to just go into a shop, purchase an item, and wear it straight away as it wouldn’t fit me.”
Lucy says that her best friend’s grandmother would often alter her clothes, before she became unable to do it anymore.
“I’d regularly be round her house after school standing on a chair whilst she took my clothes up,” Lucy recalls.
I believe everyone should be able to wear what they want and should feel good in what they are wearing irrelevant of their height/weight/disability etc
Lucy Sleight
“I then found an amazing seamstress who lives local to me and she has been altering my clothes for the past 9 years – I truly couldn’t live without her!
“She’s incredible at her job and knows exactly how I like my clothes to fit, it’s at the point now where I don’t even need to tell how much I would like altering, she just knows!
“99% of the clothes I wear are altered, but nobody would know as my seamstress makes my clothes look exactly like they did before but just smaller!”
Lucy says the price of her alterations varies depending on the item, and estimates she spends a whopping £1.2k per year getting garments altered.
“A top that I’m just getting the sleeve length altered is around £5-£7, whereas a jacket that needs the length of the body and the arms taking up may be up to around £15,” she explains.
“Some months I’ll see my seamstress once and some months she is round every other week.
“For the months where I have a lot of items altered I’d say I spend up to £100 maximum.”
While Lucy is more than happy to pay for alterations, she does buy some clothing from the kids’ section.
I then found an amazing seamstress who lives local to me and she has been altering my clothes for the past 9 years – I truly couldn’t live without her!
Lucy Sleight
“My go-to shops are PrettyLitttleThing and Zara Kids,” she says.
“I do buy basic items from some kids’ sections like coats and jackets, or plain items with no patterns.
“People assume and regularly ask ‘why don’t you just buy from the kids section?’ but they don’t understand that I still have a ladies body and want to wear clothes any other 24-year-old would wear.
“A lot of the times kids clothes don’t fit me, even in the biggest sizes as they’re not designed for a woman’s body.”
Lucy often posts her fashion finds and alterations online, but has unfortunately received the odd negative comment from trolls.
“Having dwarfism makes me stand out and a lot of people are curious and can’t always hide this by their facial expressions,” she explains.
“I’ve been very fortunate to have never really received much negativity.
“I have the most incredible family and group of friends, so even if someone was going to say something negative whilst out, they’d have to get past them first!”
The fashion whizz continues: “There are lots of tools on the various social media platforms where you can block certain words from your comments, so I find this very useful.
“Although I’m at a point in my life where these comments don’t bother me, I’d hate for someone else with my disability to read such a comment and be hurt in any way.
“So I always block and delete any negative comments.
“I find with the people who leave negative comments, it says a lot more about them than it does me.”
I find with the people who leave negative comments, it says a lot more about them than it does me
Lucy Sleight
Trolls aside, Lucy often finds herself inundated with positive responses from others with dwarfism.
“I get so many comments and messages from other females with my disability, thanking me for using my platform to spread awareness around dwarfism and for showing that we are real people with real lives just like anyone else,” she explains.
“I find a lot of people with dwarfism feel that they must just settle for clothes that they can get to fit them, when it shouldn’t be like that at all.
“We deserve to feel good and wear our favourite clothes just like anyone else!”
She continues: “I started showing my alteration process on my TikTok (@lucysleight2) platform and the response to these videos has been incredible, as people don’t realise that is what I must do just to have an outfit fit me.
“My alteration videos have amassed millions of views and brands have also re-posted these videos.
“Some of the brands I’ve worked with have paid for my alterations, which is incredible!
“I’ll always tag where my outfits are from as I regularly get asked.”
As for her favourite outfits, there’s almost too many to choose from.
“I have so many favourite outfits,” says Lucy.
“I absolutely love keeping up with the latest trends whilst also having my own style.
“I live in cosy matching tracksuits!
“Day to day you will find me in a pair of jeans or cargos and a crop top.
“For a girl’s night out I absolutely love to wear a corset and matching jeans.”
She adds: “I have a few pair of staple cargo trousers/jeans now that I have had altered to fit me perfectly and I’ll always find a cute top to wear with these, sleeveless tops, and corsets I don’t need altering which is perfect.
For anyone who doesn’t feel confident enough to wear the clothes that they would like to through fear of what others may say, Lucy has a message.
“Who cares what people think,” she says.
“Everyone is different and if everyone was the same this world would be a very boring place.
“Everyone deserves to feel confident and happy in what they are wearing and you should never let someone else’s opinion change that.
“I think as well with people who stare at me, I used to always feel it was negative, however more recently I have started to realise they may just be appreciating my outfit or just curiously looking with no harm intended!”
She concludes: “One of my favourite quotes is “why fit in when you were born to stand out?”