There's a range of reasons for the first.

• Some women do it because it's a way for them to feel they have social power. If a more attractive man acknowledges her, she will exercise that power by drawing him in. If he's less attractive, she exercises her power by denying him. Dressing more attractively/provocatively increases her power because she will have both more men interested and more choice in whom to accept/reject. This is probably the stereotype you're describing.

• A lot of women, probably more than men realize, dress the way they do because it makes them feel more confident. They're not trying to place themselves above anyone, they're just trying to look out the outside as attractive as they feel on the inside.

• A lot of women also just wear what they feel most comfortable in, and statistically speaking some percentage of them just feel most comfortable in less clothing.

And of course there's any number of other reasons someone might dress a specific way, from societal conditioning, to seeking to impress one specific person only, to wanting to project a certain persona, what have you. The range is infinite.

For height, I guess from the responses that a lot of women like to feel protected, or just that taller = more attractive (which actually goes for both men and women, and as always there's a range of preferences on both sides). I also think it's possible that because adult men are generally taller than women, a woman who sees a man who is shorter than she is may associate him with children. (Sorry, short guys, couldn't think of a nicer way to put it clearly.) Thus a preference is born for taller men, and eventually some people take that to extremes.