Meet Caitlin Hellyer, the fashion blogger with dwarfism who has been an inspiration to others.

Meet Caitlin Hellyer, the fashion blogger with dwarfism who has been an inspiration to others.

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Meet Caitlin Hellyer, the fashion blogger with dwarfism who has been an inspiration to others; Dwarfism is short stature that results from a genetic or medical condition. Dwarfism is generally defined as an adult height of 4 feet 10 inches (147 centimeters) or less.

Caitlin Hellyer, 20, was born with achondroplasia dwarfism, a condition that rendered her a height of 3ft 8ins tall.

She has long embraced her body, but struggled to find clothes that fit her frame, often buying bits from the children’s sections.

Wanting to help other small women who aren’t so keen to wear tops with Peppa Pig and similar childish designs on, she started a fashion blog and Instagram to share her finds – and has gained thousands of followers.

Caitlin reveals that there are certain kids’ brands that manage to be stylish, with her favourite lines in Zara, River Island, and Primark.

Plus, shopping kids’ ranges saves her money – especially on shoes, as she wears a children’s size 13.

A pair of Dr Martens, for example, cost her just £50 – a big discount from the adults range.

Caitlin, a student from Plymouth, Devon, said: ‘I used to find it so hard to find clothes that fit me and that I wanted to wear.

‘Now I’ve found the confidence to explore the children’s sections with pride, I want to share that with other people who might be having the same difficulty.

‘People with dwarfism message me from all over the world asking where they can buy my clothes – I love being able to think that I’m helping people.’

Caitlin got into fashion when she was just nine years old, when her mum, Jacqueline, started to let her choose her own clothes when shopping.

 

But even then, picking items was tricky, as at nine years old Caitlin had to go for clothes aimed at five to six year olds.

It took a while for Caitlin to be diagnosed with achondroplasia – the most common form of dwarfism – because both her parents are average height.

Her mutation of the FGFR 3 growth gene means she has an averaged sized torso, but shortened limbs.

‘Challenges are the norm for me but life would be pretty boring if there weren’t any,’ Caitlin said.

‘Some of these include reaching things, cooking, turning the shower on and even just getting around college.’

She has a great group of friends who have supported her through school – but when they started to go on shopping trips together, Caitlin started to struggle with finding clothes that fit and that she also liked.

‘My friends were starting to shop in Topshop and H&M, but nothing fit me,’ Caitlin said.

‘I loved going shopping with them, and they tried to help me find stuff that fit, but the sleeves on the jumpers were always too long and the trouser legs drowned me.

‘My mum is really good at taking trousers up for me – cutting the bottoms off so they fit me perfectly.

‘I tried to learn to do it myself – but it’s a challenge to work neatly with a huge pair of scissors and my little hands.’

That’s when she started looking to the children’s collections.

Caitlin said: ‘I did get some funny looks at first, but where else am I meant to shop?

‘I knew I would have to be selective – I didn’t want anything with Peppa Pig on it!

‘But a lot of the items are really fashionable, and just smaller versions of what you would find in the adult section and they obviously have a much cheaper price tag, which was a bonus too.’

Caitlin started an Instagram page and blog documenting her fashion finds in April 2018 and found that her struggles really resonated with other people with dwarfism.

She started getting messages from all over the world with people asking her where she shops and how she finds clothes that fit so perfectly.

This encouraged Caitlin to include information on what store each item is from, how much it was and what size she wears.

‘I don’t follow trends, because it’s too hard for me to find the items,’ Caitlin said.

‘It’s much more fun to create my own style anyway.

‘It’s much easier to be playful and mix it up without caring whether I’m ‘on trend’ or not – and I think people really enjoy that about my style.’

source: metronews uk