I love trench coats, therefore, I love the ultimate classic, Burberry. I pined for them from afar, but had convinced myself they would be too big. Then, the fantastic man in my life gave me a big Burberry box for Christmas last year (thanks babe!), and now I’m hooked.
Burberry runs pretty small…and if you buy from a Burberry boutique, the alterations are FREE! Getting my coat altered was a wonderful experience with the luxury brand, and I highly recommend the Beverly Hills Burberry boutique to anyone who’s in the area.
My first trench was the classic and always available Harbourne. The Harbourne is cut to end mid thigh on a taller person, so on a petite, it will end closer to the knee. The smallest size is a US 2 (UK 4), and the coat is alterable. I had the sleeves on my coat shortened, and because I like my coats fitted, I had the chest taken in just a bit. If you live in a cold climate and layer under coats, then the width of the chest will probably be perfect without alterations. Another option is to get the trench shortened, but I kept mine near the knee.
My latest acquisition is the Burberry Ledstone Trench in Military Red (my favorite color!). My favorite feature about this coat is the buttons are spaced closely together, which makes it easier to wear the coat open without a bunch of extra fabric flapping around. This coat hits me near the knee, and again I had the sleeves shortened and the chest taken in.
Trench coats have been a chic and stylish part of a woman’s wardrobe for decades, so a Burberry coat can be viewed as an investment piece. And if you still need more convincing, here are two more stylish girls in great trench coats:
Now, if only the Southern California weather would hurry up and get cold!
More posts with the Burberry Trenchcoats:
Petite-Friendly H&M Lace Skirt – I Wasn’t Sure If I Was a Lace Girl
Petite Outfit: Who Needs Sunshine When You’ve Got Burberry?
Review: The Elusive Burberry Petite
Hi there, just wanted to say how fabulous the coats look on you! I too am a petite gal and find myself having a hard time finding coats that fit right on me. Just today, we went into the B.H. store and my wonderful husband bought me my first Burberry short wool trench coat. I got the sleeves shortened so it will be ready in a week. Can’t wait!
Congrats on your first Burberry! And congrats for being so lucky as to have a husband with good taste who buys you beautiful coats! The BH boutique is wonderful isn’t it? Now the trick is to curb the inevitable Burberry addiction before it’s too late.
Thx! Just picked up my coat yesterday (after alternations). I don’t know if it’s just me or if I should go back and have the coat altered a little more. I’m so used to tight fitting clothes that I feel the coat is too big on me. I’ll post up pictures this week and ask again for your opinion =) I absolutely love my new coat!
opps! I’m not signed in as Cait
Hi there- thanks for referring me to your blog from tpf! I am a huge fan of Burberry coats. I know the Harbourne style runs slim (the SA suggested it) and it looks great on you. Their size 2’s run differently though, be sure to ask them for all the ‘slim fits.’ Also, Burberry makes some gorgeous coats for little girls. I’ve (shamefully) bought one in a size 12 and 10 and they fit great.
Little girl’s coats are also a great idea. I haven’t tried them personally b/c I’m stubborn and determined to fit into the adult sizes, no matter the alterations! But I’ll definitely keep an eye out! Not to mention the prices are fantastic!
Hi!! I am ready to purchase my first Burberry trench. I’ve been looking at the Ivybridge. I am 5’4″ and 112 lbs. I am thinking I need a size UK6 which is a US4, as I read the Ivybridge runs on the small side. Does anyone have any experience with this style Burberry? I have a 36 bust, 26 waist, 36 hip. Your help is appreciated!! BTW, you look fantastic in your coats! You look like you may be more petite than myself. I am between regular and petite, so it makes it challenging to find the perfect fit!
Hi Smiley1! I’m not an expert, but based on your measurements, I’d shoot for a US4 if you want a tighter fit, and a US6 if you’ll be doing lots of layering. I bought the US2 and had that taken in just a bit, and I’m about 30 bust, 22.5 waist, 32 hip. So I’m thinking a US2 is probably a tight fitting 32-24-32…and a US4 is probably a tight fitting 34-26-34. If you’re busty, go up a size for sure, because the coat bust is the tightest fitting area. Hope that helps, and enjoy your coat!
Hi!! just wanted to say that your Harbourne looks great on you. I bought one recently and unfortunately, it doesn’t fit on me as well as it does on you. Comparatively, mine seems to have a lot of loose cloth around me still. I was wondering whether did you have your belt loops moved up? I’m only 5ft and the belt ties too low around my waist, it’s actually closer to my hips! :(
Hi lynn!My coat is a size 2, and it was still too big in the bust for me. I had mine tailored at the Beverly Hills boutique, so they took in the sides a bit, hence the nice fit. If you didn’t buy yours at the boutique, I suggest you take it to your favorite tailor and have them take a look at it…they should be able to take the sides in a bit for you. Also, the belt hits me at my low waist/high hip. I thought about moving it up, but because I am short waisted, the belt actually looks best on me lower down than my natural waist. A good tailor should be able to move that up for you as well. The moral of the story is…get a good tailor.
hi again! I bought mine in a US4 (nowhere near as thin as you!), and although the shoulders fit fine, it seems baggy around the chest area. I thought previously that it might be because I am short, but it’s good to know I can have it altered. One concern about moving the belt loops is whether they will leave permanent stitching holes on the coat. Thanks for the advice btw, your coats are definitely the best fit on someone who isn’t mannequin height!
Hi lynn,Definitely look into getting the sides taken in…you will love your coat so much more after it’s been perfectly tailored to fit you! As for the stitching holes, yes, there will be a few. I had the sleeves of my coat taken up, and the tailor had to move up the sleeve cuffs along with it. It left a few tiny stitching holes, but I’m the only one who could see them because I was super paranoid, and I’ve since completely forgotten all about them now b/c I love my coat so much. If your coat will fit/look better with the belt raised, don’t worry about the stitching holes…no one will see them b/c they’ll be looking at how cute your coat is!
Hi Again- just bought another winter coat from Burberry today and had it fitted for alterations, which brought me back to this post of yours! I got a size 2, and had the bust, sleeve length, as well as the sleeve width taken in. The tailor at Burberry begrudgingly agreed to take in the bust and sleeve width saying it would be a lot of work and that coats don't need to be so “fitted,” but I was persistent. Which brings me to ask … did you get your sleeve width taken in on your two trenches? Your trenches are gorgeous but the sleeves look very wide for your tiny frame! Especially the Harbourne. You'd be surprised at what a difference it makes : )
i would like to invest in Burberry trench coat and would appreciate your advice regarding which style has the most slim fit and what size is the smallest in this brand. This will be my first (and for a while only) Burberry trench. Thank you very much.
I'm sorry, I forgot to ask if Burberry has trench coats in petite sizes and if so, would you recommend it over regular sizes.Thank you again.
Hi Anonymous! Congrats on your decision to invest in a Burberry coat! You won't regret it.
Your best bet is to go to a Burberry boutique and try on the Harbourne and the Ledstone styles in size 2. Size 2 is the smallest they carry, but they are quite slim. The Harbourne is a slim classic style, but the Ledstone is even slimmer! You should go to a Burberry boutique because they will provide FREE ALTERATIONS! How great is that? Just make sure they do all the alterations you want them too. Since they are doing it for free, sometimes they try to take shortcuts. Here are links to the Ledstone and Harbourne styles from burberry.com:
Burberry Ledstone Trench (very slim fit)
Burberry Harbourne Classic Trench
Yes, Burberry makes petite size coats, but only sells them at department stores like Nordstrom and Bloomingdales. I reviewed a petite Burberry coat in this post:
http://www.alterationsneeded.com/2009/12/review-elusive-burberry-size-2-petite.html
I would not buy a petite Burberry from a department store because they WILL NOT alter your coat for free like a Burberry boutique will. The petite coats are also not any smaller than a regular size is. Go to the Burberry boutique for sure!
Hi I have a question. I recently bought a Burberry coat (in Washington state) and tried to get them to take in the chest and the sides in for free. The sales rep told me that the sleeves would be taken in for free but there's a fee to alter any other parts of the coat. I just want to confirm that your store in Beverly Hills does ALL alterations for free on full-priced item. I want to use that as a leverage with my local sales rep. Thank you so much!
Hi!
Yes, the Beverly Hills boutique did ALL alterations for free (sleeve shortening, taking in chest and taking in sides). The blogger at http://www.petiteasiangirl.com has also had her Burberry store in Boston take in coats completely free of charge. See her post here:
http://www.petiteasiangirl.com/2009/11/new-jacket-reveal-burberry-part-4_16.html
They are usually resistant (because it's a lot of work to take all that stuff in…and they're doing it for free…so of course they don't want to do it!), but hopefully some persistence will get them to fit the coat properly to their customer (you!) like they should.
Best of luck!
Help.. I am 5'2, bust 38 bust.28 waist.
I got the burberry short trench is a US8.
I am thinking of the Harbourne or Ledstone?
Which size should I get? Which has a slimming effect and fits better.
Where I live, there is no Burberry Store. Mine will be mail order.
Anon (Aug 3, 2010) – I like the fit of the Ledstone better, it's slimmer than the Harbourne. Both are great trenchs though. You might need to size up to a 10 since you're a bit busty. Here is the Burberry size guide.
Burberry Size Chart
Love the Ledstone on you!! Thanks for reviewing the petite coats too. I was thinking of getting one from Nordstrom, but not if they fit that huge! Alas, will wait until I'm near a Burberry store to try on the size 2 or the kid's sizes!
Hey so I bought a Burberry men’s trench not knowing from an outlet didn’t try it on just saw a small do you think I can get alteration on the jacket cause Its not too bad Juss the sides and hands
You can certainly get it taken in! I got the sides taken in on both my coats, as well as had the sleeves shortened. If you live in a big city with a Burberry boutique, you can try taking it in and seeing if they’ll alter it for you for free. The Burberry boutiques in Los Angeles did both of mine for free, but their policy is to alter full-price coats bought at the actual store. They might not check where you bought it, in which case you’ll get lucky! Otherwise, any skilled tailor should be able to alter it for you.
Have you ever tried the Burberry boy’s trench coat? I read somewhere that they fit well on petite women, look the same but at half the price, but thought I would ask your expert opinion first! Thanks!
I’ve never tried boys but Jean tried on a few kid’s Burberry coats once. Take note of the differences she found between boys & girls sizes. She ended up buying a women’s coat a few months later:
http://www.extrapetite.com/2010/08/trench-quest-part-ii-burberry-kids-sz.html