The Best Petite Scrubs Brands Ranked by Fit, Comfort, Style and Practicality
If you’ve ever spent one hour in a 12-hour shift and realized you’re already annoyed at your clothes, you’re probably one of my people: someone who’s constantly struggling to find a uniform that fits.
I’m on the shorter side myself (just on the edge of 5 feet), so I’ve never really been able to order scrubs from a random catalog and expect them to fit. If you’ve landed here, searching for the best petite scrubs brands, you’re probably in the same boat.
You’ve already spent way too much money hemming pants marked as “petite”, and bought way too many uniforms that still puddle in all the wrong places. I get it.
The worst part is, all the recommendations you get on Reddit and similar forums aren’t always super helpful. People try to give honest advice, but they end up getting all poetic about the best petite scrubs they’ve ever tried, without thinking about how varied the world of “petite ladies” actually is.
I’m on a mission to make sure I’m not one of those well-meaning single brand advocates. I could tell you right now that Dolan scrubs are the best ones I’ve ever tried, but I’m going to be more objective here, and tell you what I’ve actually learned after trying some of the top petite scrubs brands out there.
What Women Actually Need from Petite Scrubs
If you’re looking for brands that sell petite scrubs already, you probably know all this, but I’ve honestly met quite a lot of women that still think petite just means shopping for a smaller size.
It’s not really your fault. A lot of brands do treat us shorter girls the wrong way. They might take a regular pattern, chop a couple of inches off, and hope for the best. Or they’ll market scrubs as petite just because they’re “extra small” around the waist.
So, if you’re looking for a brand that actually understands your body, here’s what I’d recommend focusing on:
· Inclusive sizing: Just because you’re shorter doesn’t mean you weigh nothing. Brands that understand petite women also know we come in a range of shapes and sizes. They still offer plus sized and curve scrubs with a shorter leg.
· Lots of length options: Short can mean different things to different people. You might be just under 5 foot 7 and still consider yourself “petite” or you might be struggling to reach the five foot mark.
· Variety: Shorter women still want options. Scrub pants with lots of pockets, different colors, different shirt cuts, jogger pants, leggings, plenty of different materials. You shouldn’t be relegated to “one set” because you’re smaller.
· Quality: Seems obvious, but scrubs shouldn’t feel “cheap” just because they were made for shorter women. They still need to be durable. They still need to work as hard as you do.
· A rise that works with shorter torsos: When the waistband is too low, you spend the whole shift pulling your pants up. When it’s too high, you start wondering if the scrubs are trying to become a sports bra.
If you really want to narrow down your options, you could even look for a brand that can actually adjust scrubs to fit you. Dolan, for instance, offers free hemming if you can’t find the scrub pants that match your size. That’s customer service.
The Best Petite Scrub Brands: Ranked
I might not need to tell you this, but although more companies are starting to offer “petite ranges”, there really aren’t a lot of genuine petite scrub brands out there. By that, I mean most still treat petites as a “side category”, not as a genuine part of the market. So, I’m going to keep this list short, but hopefully, still informative.
Dolan: The Best Petite Scrub Brand
I’ll be honest: when I first tried Dolan, I didn’t expect much. I’d already been burned by so many so-called women’s petite scrubs that I’d lost track of the returns. But something clicked the moment I pulled on my first pair. The proportions felt actually right. Not “good enough.” Not “it’ll do.” Tailored. Like someone finally remembered short women exist in more than one shape.
Dolan doesn’t treat petite like an afterthought. They don’t shrink a regular pattern and call it a day. They think about the whole fit, the leg length, the rise, how the fabric sits when you bend or squat, the way joggers fall on someone who isn’t standing on stilts.
Their pants run high-rise (hallelujah), which is honestly a blessing for petites. Nothing shifts, creeps, or folds in a weird way. It just stays where it should.
But here’s the part that made me a full-on loyalist: the consistency. If you’ve ever been burned by scrubs that fit your waist but strangle your thighs, or pants that fit your legs but gape so badly you could hide your lunch in the waistband, you know how rare it is to find a petite design that actually considers proportion.
They also actually customize your scrubs for you, offering free hemming if you can’t find the ideal fit. I’ve never found another brand that does anything like that. All that, and you get so many colors, styles, and designs to choose from, you could fill an entire wardrobe.
“I’m 4’11” with an inseam that’s impossible to find anywhere… the petite short are almost PERFECT! They’re buttery and soft and so flattering.”
FIGS: Popular, but Not Truly Petite Focused
Okay, FIGS. The brand everyone on TikTok, Reddit, and every breakroom seems to have an opinion about. I’ve worn enough FIGS sets over the years to say this with love: they look great… if you’re the exact kind of “petite” their designers had in mind. That tends to be women hovering around 5’3” to 5’5”, the “borderline petite” zone where pants labeled “short” actually work.
They do a lot right. The fabric feels good. The colors are fun. The branding is confident, and I totally get why some people swear by them. But if you’re under 5’2”? Or you’ve got a curvier lower half? Or your legs are short-short, not just “I can hem these” short? FIGS can be a gamble.
Their petite lengths aren’t wildly short, I still had pairs that hit the tops of my shoes, and I’m not exactly tall, and the fit can be tight. Not in a cute “supportive” way. More like, “Why do these pants seem mad at my hips?”
As one reviewer for Dolan’s scrubs said: “I’m 5'4… the petite length is perfect, and they hug my curves but aren’t skin tight like some brands (cough cough FIGS).”
If you’re an average-height petite with a straighter build, FIGS might be great. If your proportions land outside their sweet spot, you might find yourself tugging, adjusting, wishing the pockets sat differently, or wondering why the petite version still brushes your ankles.
Cherokee: Reliable, Durable, and Everywhere, but Limited
Cherokee feels like a name every medical person knows. Their petite scrubs are everywhere: scrub stores, uniform shops, online, group orders, and honestly, I appreciate how accessible they are. They wash well, last long enough, and come in a ton of colors. But when it comes to scrubs for petite women, Cherokee’s version of “petite” still leans toward the generic side.
Their petite pants are often “shorter” but not proportioned for women who are genuinely small-framed or under 5’2”. I’ve had Cherokee petites that still sag at the knees or need hemming. The tops are awkward too. Sometimes the torso length feels like they assumed petite women have regular-height torsos but tiny legs.
“I’m new to scrub wearing… I tried on EVERY pair of petite jogger pants at 3 different scrub stores. Most were terrible, a few were ok… then a friend introduced me to Dolan.”
They’re a solid option if you just need something durable, something inexpensive, or something you can buy quickly without overthinking. But if you’re shorter than average or you have a curvier-petite build, Cherokee petites can feel a bit boxy or oddly long, almost like the patterns weren’t fully rethought for petite proportions.
Healing Hands: Soft, Stretchy, and Still a Coin Toss
Healing Hands is one of those brands everyone describes the same way: “Oh, they’re so soft.” True, I guess. Their fabric blends have that silky, stretchy, easy-to-move-in thing that makes long shifts a little less miserable. I wore them a lot in the early days of my career because they felt good right out of the package.
But when it comes to women’s petite scrubs, the fit is still unpredictable. Their petite offerings aren’t as dialed-in as brands that design specifically for shorter bodies, and you can feel that. I’d try on one pair where the rise was perfect, then another where the waistband felt like it was drifting toward my ribs. The lengths vary too, some petites actually work on a 5’1” frame, and others feel like they forgot to shorten the pattern.
The proportions definitely don’t land all the time, not like they do with Dolan.
“I’ve tried FIGS, Mandala, Landau, Cherokee, Healing Hands, Dickies… but these pants (Dolan) might be my new favorite.”
Healing Hands isn’t doing anything wrong, they’re just designing for “general petites,” not the truly short crowd. If you’re looking for comfort and actually accurate sizing, I’d still recommend Dolan
Dickies Medical: Tough, Affordable, and Generic
Dickies is a name most of us know for being durable, functional, and straightforward. The brand you buy when you’re worried about stains, snags, or general shift chaos. Honestly, there’s something refreshing about a brand that doesn’t try to be fancy. But when we’re talking about the best petite scrub brands, Dickies lands pretty far down the list.
Their petite sizing is there, technically. But the proportions still feel like regular scrubs that got a quick trim. The rises run a little high or a little low depending on the style, the legs often hit that awkward “barely petite” zone, and the hip-to-waist balance tends to favor straighter shapes.
When you compare them to brands like Dolan that tailor petite sizes more thoughtfully, the difference becomes painfully obvious.
Dickies isn’t a bad brand, but like most companies selling scrubs these days, they weren’t designing their clothes with petite women at the top of their minds.
Breaking it Down: Why Dolan is the Best
Honestly, all of these brands do offer something in the way of petite scrubs. We’ve all heard of them for good reasons, whether it’s Figs with their “specific petite” sizing, Cherokee with their quality, healing hands with softness, or Dickies with durability.
Dolan, though, is the only brand that gets it all right, and then goes a step further. They’re the first brand I’ve found that I consider to be genuinely “all inclusive”. They’re not just designing for one or two women who might be a little shorter.
They’re making scrubs for all of us. The petite women with curvy bodies, the plus-sized shorter women, the tiniest ladies who can never reach the top shelf. They even have dedicated catalogs for taller women too. It’s all proof that they recognize our bodies actually do come in different shapes and sizes, and we all deserve to feel comfortable, stylish, and supported.
“As a curvy petite, the waist and the hips fit, no gaping waist, no tight thighs. The petite short inseam is a dream come true.”
They’re also the only brand I’ve mentioned here that actually commit to helping us all make the right sizing choice. They’ve got their own fit quiz on their website, the most useful size charts I’ve ever seen, even a team of testers who make sure everything looks and feels great.
Plus, there’s that free hemming option that I just haven’t seen anywhere else yet. If you’re looking for a scrubs brand that treats petite women like a priority, rather than a minority, you really won’t get better than Dolan.
The Best Petite Scrubs Brand is an Easy Choice
After trying what feels like every brand in the scrub universe, Dolan is the only one that consistently feels like it was built for someone my height, and not as an afterthought. There’s something incredibly calming about putting on a pair of pants and not immediately checking the length or adjusting the waistband. The fit just works.
What makes Dolan stand out is that inclusivity isn’t just a “marketing term” for them. It’s an actual mission. You can tell in the way they connect with their audience, learn what people actually need, and adjust to suit the women they serve.
I always tell my coworkers the same thing: if you’ve never had a pair of scrubs that truly fit your petite frame, the first time you try Dolan is weirdly emotional, and something really, everyone deserves.
